About
60th Anniversary Speaker Series
In celebration of the 60th anniversary of the Doctoral Program, the School of Social Work Speaker Series for 2008-2009 highlighted four of our graduates from the Doctoral Program.
Dr. Anita Bryce (MSW ’76, PhD ’82)
"The Integration of Doctoral Education, Social Work Practice, and Psychodynamic Concepts: One Graduate’s Journey” - September 17, 2008
Dr. Anita Bryce received her undergraduate degree in Psychology from Vanderbilt University. She received both her MSW and her Ph.D. from the University of Pittsburgh. She is a graduate of both the Adult and Child Psychoanalytic Training Programs of the Baltimore Washington Psychoanalytic Institute. Her primary professional identity has been that of a practitioner in the mental heath arena. She has been the Director of both a Children's Partial Hospitalization Program, and a Adolescent Day Treatment Program, and for the last 25 years, she has been in private practice in McLean, Virginia. She has been recognized as a distinguished practitioner in the National Academies of Practice, and is Past President of the Baltimore Washington Psychoanalytic Society. Dr. Bryce has been on numerous faculties through out the years, including The National Catholic School of Social Service, The George Washington University Doctor of Psychology Program. She has been a Teaching Analyst in the Baltimore Washington Psychoanalytic Institute, as well as Co-director of the Institutes Child Psychoanalytic Training Program.
Dr. Bryce has been a Field Instructor at the following Schools of Social Work: University of Pittsburgh, University of Maryland, and Catholic University. She is past Chair of the Continuing Education Program of the Greater Washington Society for Clinical Social Work. She was a founding member of the Board of Trustees of the Clinical Social Work Institute (CWSI), a free standing Ph. D. program licensed by the District of Columbia. She served as it's first Dean and currently remains involved on it's faculty. Dr. Bryce is licensed in both the District of Columbia and Virginia. She is a member of the American Psychoanalytic Association, the International Psychoanalytical Association, the Association for Child Psychoanalysis, the National Association of Social Workers, the Cosmos Club, the National Academy of Practice and the Washington Psychoanalytic Center. Dr. Bryce has published in the areas of partial hospitalization for children, mental health worker burnout, and mental health law. She lives in Washington DC with her husband and they have two grown daughters.
Dr. Elizabeth Beck (MSW ’89, PhD ’96) 
Raymond R. Webb Lecture
"Conflict transformation, Restorative Justice, and the Role of Social Workers in Addressing Neighborhood Violence” - November 5, 200
Dr. Elizabeth Beck is an associate professor at Georgia State University. Her work has been in the areas of community practice and forensic social work. She brings those two areas together through her research and development of intervention strategies that seek to support violence prevention in neighborhoods, assist defense attorneys in capital cases to explore community effects on clients’ lives, and explore restorative practices in a community context. In the area of community practice her research centers on current and historical methods of organizing, and curriculum development. In forensic social work her research explores trauma, capital punishment and restorative justice. Her recent book “In the Shadow of Death: Restorative Justice and Death Row Families,” is published by Oxford University Press, and received the American Library Association CHOICE award for Outstanding Academic Title of 2007. She is Principal Investigator to the Georgia Council for Restorative Justice, and Director of the Georgia State University School of Social Work Center for Community Social Work. In addition to being a researcher Beck is also involved in a number of community based and forensic initiatives, and has consulted on numerous capital cases and has been asked to serve as an expert in state and federal cases.
Dr. Ram Cnaan (PhD ’80) 
"The Epidemic of Incarceration and the Role of Social Work” - February 11, 2009
Dr. Ram Cnaan is a professor, associate dean for research, and chair of the
Doctoral Program in Social Welfare at the University of Pennsylvania, School of
Social Policy & Practice. He is the current president of ARNOVA (Association for
Research on nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary action). He is the director of
the Program for Religion and Social Policy Research (PRSPR) at the University of
Pennsylvania, School of Social Policy & Practice. Professor Cnaan received his
doctorate from the School of Social Work at the University of Pittsburgh, and
his B.S.W. and M.S.W. from the Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel.
Professor Cnaan has published numerous articles in scientific journals on a variety of
social issues. He is the author of: The Newer Deal: Social Work and Religion in
Partnership (Columbia University Press, 1999): The Invisible Caring Hand:
American Congregations and the Provision of Welfare (New York university Press,
2002); and The Other Philadelphia Story: How Local Congregations Support Quality
of Life in Urban America (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2006). Along with
Professor Carl Milofsky from Bucknell University professor Cnaan edited the
Handbook of Community Movements and Local Organizations (Springer’s series of
Handbooks of Sociology, 2007); and along with Professor Stephanie C. Boddie from
Washington University, Professor Cnaan edited Faith-Based Social Services:
Measures, Assessments, and Effectiveness (Haworth Press, 2007).
Dr. Mandla Tshabalala (PhD ’83) 
World Social Work Day Lecture
"Developing New Frontiers for Social Work Education” - April 15, 2009
Dr Mandla Absalom Tshabalala was born in Alexandra Township, Johannesburg. He is married to Zaba and the couple has been blessed with three children. After matriculating at Ohlange High School in 1966, he studied at the University of Zululand where he qualified with a BA (SS) (Hons) degree. He then proceeded to the United States of America where he completed his MSW at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1980 and his PhD in Social Work at the University of Pittsburgh in 1983.
His research experience is varied having worked in Marketing and Advertising, Social Development areas covering Early Childhood Development, the Aged, the Blind, Housing, Family Life and Social Work Education fields. He has many years of lecturing and Higher Education Administration experience. His teaching experience spanning a period of 15 years was in the areas of Research Methods, Social Policy and Development, Social Planning, Family Studies, Children and Youth Development. He has supervised several Masters and Doctoral Students. His publications include the fields of population development, multicultural social work in South Africa, Black family life, African attitudes towards homosexuality, social and policy planning. He has also presented many papers at conferences in Southern Africa and overseas.
He holds official positions on, and acts as consultant to, the boards of many welfare and business organizations, among others, Grassroots Educare Trust, Abbeyfield Society of South Africa, League of Friends of the Blind, Sanlam Community Development Forum, Cape Mental Health Society, HCI Foundation, Fulbright Western Cape Student Program and Go for Gold Students Development Programme. He is a former member of the Board of Valkenburg Hospital, Desmond Tutu Education Trust, Foundation for Contemporary Research and the Western Cape Gambling and Horse Racing Board.
He is currently involved in consultancy work with governmental, business, tertiary institutions, and non-governmental organizations. He is also involved in various projects covering research, student development, human and community development, business enterprises in transport and retail facilities development and tourism development in the Western Cape. He holds directorships in four companies.