News Briefs

Briefs

UNC Highway Safety Research Center
establishes scholarship for graduate students

The UNC Highway Safety Research Center (HSRC) has created a scholarship for graduate students interested in pursuing a career in highway safety.

The $1,000 scholarship is available to a full-time graduate student with a career goal emphasis on transportation safety and who will be enrolled in the fall of 2006 at any of the 16 University of North Carolina system campuses.

"The field of transportation safety is currently going through a transition period that has created many new career opportunities," said David Harkey, the HSRC's interim director. "We hope this scholarship will serve to encourage more students to pursue a career in one of the many disciplines of highway safety."

Candidates will be evaluated on academic performance, career goals, extracurricular and professional activities, work experience and a 1,000-word essay on a current highway safety issue.

The scholarship will officially be awarded to the graduate student finalist during the HSRC's 40th-anniversary dinner event scheduled for Oct. 5.

The deadline for applying is July 1, and the application can be downloaded at www.hsrc.unc.edu/scholarship/scholarship.htm.

###

UNC's School of Social Work receives grant
to strengthen field experiences with older adults

UNC's School of Social Work recently received one of 25 grants awarded by the Social Work Leadership Institute at the New York Academy of Medicine in partnership with the John A. Hartford Foundation.

The $75,000, three-year award is part of the Practicum Partnership Program Initiative and will help develop university-community partnerships that will strengthen master of social work (MSW) students' field experiences in gerontology.

The initiative's goal is to increase the number of students who specialize in working with older adults by developing aging-focused field internships in graduate social work education programs.

Ultimately, the goal is to increase the number of social workers who are leaders in the field of aging.

The Practicum Partnership Program awards will be matched with at least $75,000 by participating schools. These grants build on the work of the initial six pilot sites and 10 expansion grants awarded in July 2005 and are part of a program to bring the Practicum Partnership Program to 60 MSW programs nationwide.

The Social Work Leadership Institute at the New York Academy of Medicine was established to ensure that older adults have an opportunity to stay in charge of their own lives by training and advocating for a qualified social work labor force. The institute cultivates leaders in the field of social work and acts as a central agent in cultivating and enhancing multidisciplinary partnerships to succeed.

- 30 -

News Services contact: Deb Saine, (919) 962-8415 or deborah_saine@unc.edu