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Noor Paracha Hayat Found Home at Loyola
Noor Paracha Hayat gave the student address at the School of Social Work's commencement ceremony in May 2026, reflecting on her journey that led her to Loyola.
Ren Horst Awarded 2026 President's Medallion
As this year’s recipient of the President’s Medallion, Ren is recognized not only for her academic excellence, but for the lived experience, cultural grounding, and unwavering purpose that inform her work in social services.
Loyola professor spotlights mental health on campus
As demand rises for mental health resources on college campuses, Loyola serves students with evidence-based resources. School of Social Work Professor Jonathan Singer, Ph.D. is leading the way.
Introducing Three New Faculty Members
We are pleased to welcome three outstanding scholars and educators as new full-time faculty members: Shannon Dunn, Ph.D., Amzie Moore II, Ph.D., and LaTasha Smith, Ph.D. Each brings a deep commitment to social work education, innovative research agendas, and a passion for teaching and mentorship that aligns with Loyola’s mission and values.
SSWR Conference 2026 Presentations
More than 40 presentations from School of Social Work faculty, students, and alumni were accepted for presentation at the Society for Social Work and Research Conference 2026. Find out when and where you can see them.
Building Bridges Through Bilingual Social Work
Loyola University Chicago’s Online Bilingual Master of Social Work (MSW) program is preparing a new generation of compassionate, culturally responsive social workers capable of navigating systemic barriers and providing critical care in both English and Spanish.
Dr. Abha Rai Named Top 2% Scientist
Assistant Professor Abha Rai, Ph.D., MSW was recently named to the prestigious Stanford/Elsevier Top 2% Scientist List for 2025, a global ranking that honors the world's most influential researchers.
CADC Grant Renewed
The School of Social Work is excited to announce a $452,000 grant for the Certificate in Alcohol and Other Drug Counseling (CADC) Workforce Expansion Program. The grant was renewed for the third year by the Illinois Certification Board and the Illinois Department of Human Services/Division of Substance Use Prevention and recovery.
Serving Those Who Served: A Day in the Life of a VA Social Worker
Join us November 5 for our panel discussion collaboration with Military Veteran Student Services and the Jesse Brown Veterans Association.
Loyola University Chicago’s School of Social Work celebrated the grand opening of its new Behavioral Health Simulation Lab on Friday, October 17, marking a major milestone in the University’s commitment to advancing behavioral health education and training.
Maribel Lopez, Ed.D. Recognized with President's Volunteer Service Award
Professor Maribel Lopez was recognized with the prestigious award in May for her impressive volunteer work
Goutham M. Menon, PhD, Appointed Dean of the School of Social Work
Goutham M. Menon, PhD, has been appointed as the dean of the School of Social Work. He will join Loyola on July 1 from the University of Nevada-Reno, where he serves as director of the School of Social Work.
Awards
Benjamin Marton: Empowering youth to be advocates for change
Marton, who is one of this year's President's Medallion recipients, is studying for his master’s degree in social work, serves as a graduate and research assistant for two professors, is the president of the School of Social Work Student Organization, and works several days a week as an intern at Loyola Community and Family Services.
Active alumni presented with Damen Award
Licensed social worker Daniel Kill is a long-time advocate for mental health
"Social work education is the future of all academic teaching, even if most academicians don’t know it yet. It mixes training in social theory with mandatory hours of work in the field, putting those theories decidedly into practice -- something that most students clamor for."
SSW Alum and Adjunct Faculty Member Honored as Emerging Leader of the Year
In celebration of Social Work Month, Loyola SSW's very own Sarah Buino has been honored as the Emerging Leader of Year by the National Association of Social Workers (NASW)-Illinois Chapter for her exceptional work as a clinician and leadership in promoting social justice and social change.
Loyola Faculty, Staff, Students and Alumni Present at the Society for Social Work and Research Annual Meeting
Join us during the SSWR 23rd Annual Conference in San Francisco, CA from January 16 - 20, 2019. Attend to our faculty, students and alumni talks. We have included a copy of the presentations. On January 18, our school will be hosting a reception and we hope to see you there.
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SSW Faculty Contribute to Goal of Ending Gender-Based Violence
On May 25, the White House The comprehensive plan directly addresses issues of sexual violence, intimate partner violence, and stalking among other forms of gender-based violence.
Loyola School of Social Work faculty have also worked tirelessly to develop tools and advocate for victims of gender-based violence.
Assistant Professor Abha Rai, Ph.D., Professor Susan Grossman, Ph.D., and Assistant Professor Nathan Perkins, Ph.D. have created an online intervention resource called , designed to inform the South Asian community about the nature of gender-based violence and how bystanders can intervene.
“Domestic violence is a taboo topic within the South Asian community. Because of this taboo, it is difficult for survivors both male and female to seek help; hence friends and family whom survivors can often turn to must be adequately trained to support survivors,” Rai said. “I saw this notion about help-seeking in my dissertation, hence decided to develop B.R.A.K.E. The Cycle and invited my two colleagues, Nathan H. Perkins and Susan F. Grossman to support this effort.”
Grossman said she is hopeful that B.R.A.K.E. The Cycle’s success could lead to similar models that could be applied to other communities.
“I wanted to be part of this effort because of the innovative way in which education about intervention was provided through the website and the potential for a model like this to be used in many other racial and ethnic communities that are often overlooked in intervention strategies,” Grossman said.
Perkins called the model a great example of how research can lead to positive outcomes after application.
“Educational interventions aimed directly at diverse populations are warranted to address all types of gender-based violence,” he said. “B.R.A.K.E. The Cycle is an intervention that has the capacity to help individuals in the South Asian community learn about bystander intervention with the hopes that the knowledge gained can help others in the community experiencing domestic violence. This intervention has the potential to help those to help others, which resonates with how I view research and the benefits of research to communities.”
Rai has also developed , the first culturally-responsive instrument to measure in-law abuse among South Asians. She and Perkins are currently working a validation study to examine the prevalence of in-law abuse across diverse immigrant communities. Their study is the first one to examine in-law abuse among male and female immigrants.
Rai is also making an impact at the municipal level, serving on the , a subset of the Gender-Based Violence Task Force. That Research Advisory Group is working on making Chicago the second city after New York to undertake the UN Women Safe Cities and Safe Public Spaces Project. Additionally, the Research Advisory Group is helping the city with the implementation of the Citywide Strategic Plan to Address Gender-Based Violence and Human Trafficking.