Two college social work instructors recognized with award

WHITEHORSE – Dana Jennejohn and Janice Wiens will be recognized on Wednesday, March 20th with a Distinguished Service Award from the Canadian Association of Social Workers.

The award is being presented to the two Yukon College instructors, as well as Sandy Little, a social work instructor at Aurora College in Yellowknife, for their work with the Association of Social Workers in Northern Canada (ASWNC) promoting the profession of social work which includes teaching social work students in Yukon and Northwest Territories.

“Yukon College congratulates Dana and Janice on receiving this recognition from their peers,” said Dr. Deb Bartlette, dean of Applied Arts and associate vice president Academic at Yukon College. “This award indicates the high caliber of our instructing staff in the Bachelor of Social Work program.”

Jennejohn and Wiens are grateful for the award but believes that the recognition should extend beyond them.

“We certainly could not run the program and have an effective community of social work practice without collaboration with our peers, who teach, guest lecture, and mentor the students. There is also ongoing collaborative support of Yukon NGOs, Yukon government and First Nation governments who partner with the program to provide students with a meaningful practicum experience,” said Jennejohn, who has instructed in the BSW program for seven years.

Since 1995, 134 students have graduated from Yukon College with a Bachelor of Social Work degree granted by the University of Regina. The program is accredited by the Canadian Association for Social Work Education.

Wiens notes that, with over 200 social work-type roles in Yukon, graduates find jobs in the territory very quickly.

“We have a high retention rate; in the past 10 years 87% of Yukon College BSW graduates have remained in the territory,” said Wiens, who has been with the program since it began in 1993.  “Being able to complete the entire professional degree in Yukon is a significant benefit to students, but also to employers and the community.”

March is National Social Work Month and the ASWNC has proclaimed March 17-23 Social Work Week in Nunavut, Northwest Territories and Yukon. The theme of National Social Work Month this year is “social workers defending social programs for a stronger Canada”.

“It is a challenging time for social workers in Canada right now with many social programs experiencing cut-backs across the country,” said Jennejohn. “We are always being asked to do more with less, and social workers in the North are doing some amazing things to collaboratively promote the health and well-being of our communities.”

The deadline to apply to become a student in the 2013 intake for the Bachelor of Social Work program is March 28th. For more information go to www.yukoncollege.yk.ca/.

-30-

For more information, contact:

Michael Vernon
Communications Coordinator
College Relations
Yukon College
867.668.8786
867.332.4722
mvernon@yukoncollege.yk.ca

Jacqueline Bedard
Director
College Relations
Yukon College
867.456.8619
jbedard@yukoncollege.yk.ca