Posted on February 15, 2023 by Amanda Cerreto
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February 15, 2023 – Candace Christensen, associate professor of social work in UTSA College for Health, Community and Policy has earned a prestigious nomination from the Society for Social Work Research (SSWR).
SSWR Fellows are members who have served with distinction to advance the mission of the Society — to advance, disseminate, and translate research that addresses issues of social work practice and policy and promotes a diverse, equitable and just society.
Christensen has been involved with SSWR since 2015. They began as a presenter and became co-chair against the Violence Against Women Special Interest Group. As co-chair, they were responsible for coordinating panel presentations, reviewing proposals and implementing a gathering of the group the day before the annual SSWR conference.
“Dr. Christensen has made major contributions to SSWR, the premier national research organization in our discipline, in addition to being a leader in using arts-based and intersectional, feminist research methods," said Amy Chanmugam, chair of the Department of Social Work. "Under their leadership, SSWR’s Violence Against Women Special Interest Group has expanded the number of proposals each year, and provided excellent mentorship for new scholars. Naming Dr. Christensen a SSWR Fellow is well-deserved recognition of these contributions.”
Christensen’s research focuses on campus sexual violence prevention, violence against sexual and gender minority youth and, most recently, white supremacy in organizational structure.
“White supremacy has a negative impact on everybody, regardless of your social position,” Christensen explained. “By addressing it at the organizational level, you’re restructuring organizations to be equitable, innovative, brave spaces that share power with employees and service recipients - as opposed to harming those invested parties.”
As a Fellow of SSWR, Christensen will have more leadership opportunities within the organization and help to shape its trajectory. The Society for Social Work and Research was founded in 1994 as a free-standing organization dedicated to the advancement of social work research. SSWR works collaboratively with a number of other organizations that are committed to improving support for research among social workers.
“I’m among a wonderful group of scholars, who are also fellows,” Christensen said. “It’s very nice to see that service to the organization rewarded.”
— Amanda Cerreto
