UTEP Social Work Contributes to First National Encyclopedia of Macro Social Work
Published March 20, 2023 By Darlene Muguiro UTEP College of Health Sciences
This spring, Oxford University and the NASW Press released the first-ever Encyclopedia of Macro Social Work, and the UTEP Department of Social Work played a lead role in the three-year project.
Encyclopedia co-editors Drs. Terry Mizrahi and Darlyne Bailey, two of the most prominent scholars in macro social work practice, approached Dr. Eva Moya, associate professor and interim chair for Social Work, approximately three years ago about becoming part of the associate editorial board. Moya says that she was excited by the invitation to be part of the initiative and delighted to learn about the project scope. She believes that UTEP Social Work was selected to help lead this project because of the program’s commitment to social work practice and the faculty’s unique approach to teaching future social workers, as well as the university’s U.S.-Mexico border locale – a place she calls “macro practice rich.”
Moya said the editorial board followed a rigorous peer-review process to identify the articles that went into the publication. The end result yielded well over 200 overview articles that focus on methods, theories, ideologies, and interventions. UTEP Social Work affiliated authors include Moya, Dr. Silvia Chavez-Baray, Dr. Bruce Friedman, Dr. Hyejin Jung, Rosario Olivera, Dr. Margie Rodriguez Le Sage, Dr. Mark Lusk; MSW graduates Amy Joyce Ponder and Jackie Cordero, PhD candidate; and community scholars and collaborators Drs. Dave Stoesz and Omar Martinez.
“An encyclopedia is a natural place to look at entries that are timely and meaningful, and are written by some of the very best practitioners and scholars in the profession. UTEP is represented in this publication by faculty, former students and graduate and partner scholars who are contributors. This speaks volumes about their work being recognized at the national level,” said Moya.
As a macro practitioner and faculty member, Moya envisions accessing the materials within the classroom as a resource for her students, as well as for her own research. She says that students need to understand the value of policy and macro principles in order to succeed in social work services individuals and families, and to better serve their clients in the long term.
“Historically, the profession origins initiated with a macro focus. We were community organizers long before we shifted the pendulum to micro, one-one-one therapy and counseling. Our foundation has always been about the interactions between persons and their environment,” she said.
The Department offers several opportunities throughout the year for students to engage in macro practice, including Social Work Advocacy Day in Austin, Texas each March. This year, students had the opportunity to meet with policy and decision makers and to present findings from the UTEP Food Equity Project focusing on homelessness and hunger on campus, as well as “Calls to Action” from research participants of several UTEP projects, including cervical cancer survivors who delineated their needs for prevention and care, as well as transgender immigrants and migrants.
###
Go Miners!
For more information about the Department of Social Work, visit www.utep.edu/chs/sw