Co Carew, BSW, MSW, LCSW Co Carew, the Department Chair (chief administrator), has an MSW from a CSWE-accredited program and fourteen years of post-master’s professional experience and six years post-baccalaureate professional experience. She has been licensed by the state of Montana as a clinical social worker since 1993. She was hired to guide the development of this social work program because of her extensive knowledge of Native American culture; her programming and administrative abilities, as evidenced by the development of high caliber programs for Native American youth; and her strength of leadership. She has been remarkably effective in working with the faculty to develop a comprehensive professional curriculum. She has demonstrated considerable skill in defining program goals and objectives and in developing course materials appropriate to the unique needs and resources of Native peoples. She is respected by faculty, students, and administration and has proven to be a demanding, supportive, and creative department head. As this is her first academic appointment, her vita does not show extensive academic experience or scholarship. She has, however, during her relatively short tenure with Salish Kootenai College, demonstrated exceptional leadership through teaching, curriculum development, department administration, and development of collaborative relationships with faculty, administrators, and local practitioners. Co Carew's major interest has been developing a culturally-sensitive assessment instrument to assess cultural competency among Social Work students, focusing not just on American Indian cultures but on diverse cultures worldwide. This includes researching definitions of cultural competency, considering how these definitions translate into practice and the implications of these definitions for all aspects of the academic program. This involves looking at policies and laws that affect people of color, how these policies and laws have been developed, and by whom. It also involves developing ways for students to learn to communicate in culture-specific and culture-appropriate ways. This work has resulted in including historical trauma in discussions of cultural experience, viewing culture as a resource for surviving and transcending this trauma, and incorporating culturally sensitive assignments and assessment tools in the SKC curriculum. |