Release

UAlbany School of Social Welfare's Blanca Ramos Honored by New York State Department of Health

Contact: Catherine Herman (518) 437-4980

ALBANY, N.Y. (September 22, 2005) -- Blanca M. Ramos, an associate professor at the University at Albany's School of Social Welfare, has received the 2005 Hispanic Heritage Month Service and Leadership Award, presented annually by the New York State Department of Health. The award is in recognition and appreciation of Ramos' "compassionate concern and pioneer spirit in the provision of effective health care and culturally competent services to the community."

Ramos is the education core director for UAlbany's Center for the Elimination of Minority Health Disparities (CEMHD). Her scholarly interests are centered on cross-cultural social work, gerontology, and domestic violence with a focus on US Latinos. Dr. Ramos holds an affiliate appointment in the Department of Latin American and Caribbean Studies. She teaches courses on clinical social work, diversity, immigrants, Hispanic cultures in the U.S., and research in Latino communities. Her international work includes partnership building with higher education institutions and communities and with the national association of social workers in Peru. Ramos serves on a variety of local, regional, and national boards and commissions and has extensive experience as a practitioner and community organizer. She is past first vice president of the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) and has served in the National Board of the Institute for the Advancement of Social Work Research. She is a current member of the editorial board of Social Work and the NASW National Committee on Inquiry. She is originally from Lima, Peru.

As an NIH EXPORT (Excellence in Partnerships for Community Outreach, Research on Health Disparities and Training) center, CEMHD works to identify health problems and seeks ways to reduce, and eventually eliminate, minority health inequities by building the University's health disparities research capacity, and by strengthening community partners' ability to collaborate on research and intervention programs. For more information, visit https://www.albany.edu/cemhd/ .

UAlbany's School of Social Welfare is ranked second in per capita scholarly productivity among the social work programs in the nation. The school's mission is to further social and economic justice and to serve people who are vulnerable, marginalized or oppressed. Through education, knowledge development and service, the school promotes leadership for evidence-based social work with a global perspective. As a recognized national and international leader in developing innovative and creative programs, along with facilitating public-private partnerships, the school has been able to attract premier students, providing them with an unsurpassed educational experience at the bachelor's, master's, and doctoral level.