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School of Social Work News

The programs offered by the School of Social Work strive to instill values of social and economic justice, respect and worth of others, cultural diversity, and self-determination. We also foster a strengths-based environment that emphasizes openness, collaboration, and engagement striving towards individual and community resiliency.

Current Social Work News

Zarinah Washington in the Student Supportive Services Courtyard
People |

Setting up students for success is the goal for this School of Social Work field liaison.

A basketball falling through a hoop.
Campus News |

Students learn why a social worker can be an MVP in a team’s lineup.

A group of students play with legos on a shared large desk.
Campus News |

In this Urban Affairs class, students learn the community-building skills they'll need to overcome work and personal challenges in the future. 

UNLV seasonal eggs
Campus News |

A collection of colorful headlines featuring UNLV staff and students.

young girl and man using extinguisher on fire
Campus News |

UNLV’s Take Your Child to Work Day gives kids a chance to see what their parents do while exploring a fun range of educational and career-related activities.

closeup soldier and psychotherapist hands during consultation
Research |

Kathleen McNamara, a veteran and clinical social worker, discusses why mental health care is a crucial service offered by Veterans Affairs.

Social Work In The News

Futurity

Living in the same home, especially in recent years, was the strongest predictor of a close father-child bond during adolescence, regardless of whether the parents were married.

Mirage News

Children who grow up with their fathers under the same roof tend to feel close to them, forming strong relationships that last through challenging teenage years, according to a new study.

KNPR News

Homelessness is growing throughout Nevada, but especially in Clark County. Last fall, the county reported that estimated homelessness had increased 36% since 2022. Nationwide, the federal government reported an 18% increase from 2023 to 2024.

KVVU-TV: Fox 5

Since the pandemic, hundreds of thousands of Las Vegas Valley families were evicted from their homes, according to the Princeton Eviction Lab. Clark County has one of the highest eviction rates in the country.

KVVU-TV: Fox 5

It's almost been one year since the UNLV campus shooting. One professor taught some mindfulness techniques to help cope.

Medical Xpress

Feeling a little out of sorts as you read this? Take several deep breaths, slowly inhaling and exhaling. Move your shoulders up and down. Focus on being present in the moment.

Social Work Experts

A trauma therapist experienced with military, healthcare professional, LGBTQ, and minority populations.
An expert in welfare policies and programs.
An expert on remote health policy, eHealth literacy, and health disparities in rural communities.
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An expert in addictions and social work.
An expert on athlete mental health and well-being.
An expert in mental and behavioral health, youth and veteran homelessness, and social work.

Recent Social Work Accomplishments

An-Pyng Sun (Social Work) and Stephanie Diez (PennWest) published “Understanding the Gaming Disorder–Depression Co-Occurrence: A Narrative Literature Review” in the Journal of Affective Disorders Reports. Adolescents, young adults, and their families are increasingly seeking professional help for digital- or video-gaming disorder (GD), which often…
Nicolas Barr (Social Work), Steven Pace (Criminal Justice), and Alexandra Slemaker (Criminal Justice) published an article, “Laten Profiles of Psychosocial Risk and Associations with Suicidality in U.S. Military Veterans.” This article appears in Traumatology. Military veterans are at increased risk for suicide compared to civilians. Suicide…
William Epstein (Social Work Emeritus) has a book, Climate Change, Social Inequality, and Doom, forthcoming from Johns Hopkins University Press in September 2025.
An-Pyng Sun (Social Work), together with Ariann Chelli (Desert Hope Treatment Center in Las Vegas) and Maureen Strohm (HCA Sunrise Health GME Consortium at Southern Hills Hospital in Las Vegas) wrote an article, "Connecting Hospitalized Patients with Substance Use Disorder to Community Continuing Coordinated Care: The Critical Role of Hospital…
An-Pyng Sun (Social Work), Chih-Hsiang Ho (Mathematical Sciences), Daria J. Kuss (Nottingham Trent University), and Chad L. Cross (Epidemiology and Biostatistics) recently published an article, “The temporal stability of problematic gaming and gaming disorder: A systematic review and meta-analysis,” in the journal Addictive Behaviors Reports…
Garrett Pace (Social Work) received the 2025 Excellence in Research Award from the Society for Social Work and Research