Jackson State University Associate Professor of Social Work Dr. Olga Osby has been invited to the Council on Social Work Education White House Briefing, Addressing the Social Determinants of Health in a New Era: The Role of Social Work Education, to be held at the White House on Wednesday, Sept. 25.
Osby recently secured a $220,000 grant from Delta Sigma Theta Sorority for a research project on the role African-American grandfathers play in child rearing. The proposal is titled American Grandfathers in Community Engagement and Family Stabilization.
Delta Sigma Theta Sorority announced the award at its July 12 public meeting of the 51st National Conference and Centennial Celebration in Washington, D.C.
Osby first started working on her winning proposal last summer during a writing retreat for JSU’s female faculty members. The retreat was part of the JSUAdvance program, which is a leadership development program for women faculty funded by the National Science Foundation. Osby took part in the retreat with support from JSU’s Center for University Scholars. She further developed her project through her participation in JSU’s Academy of Research and Scholarly Engagement, which launched in the fall of 2012. Through that program, researchers get support and coaching to develop their ideas into funded research projects. Osby’s is the first academy project to earn a grant award.
JSU’s Division of Institutional Advancement worked with Osby to identify Delta Sigma Theta as a possible funder for her proposal.
Osby’s work has been featured in several publications, and has also made special presentations on special topics in the field of social work.