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Aug. 28, 2003

Two ULM Professors Receive PH.D.'s

Pamela Higgins Saulsberry, professor of social work, and Jenny Savage, associate professor social work, both at the University of Louisiana at Monroe, were awarded the doctor of philosophy degree Aug. 2 at Jackson State University in Mississippi.

Saulsberry's dissertation is entitled "Racial Socialization, Academic Performance and Social Adjustment in African American Youth: A Multivariate Analysis." Her study establishes that parents who include strong positive racial socialization in child rearing improve the ability of youth to cope with racial discrimination that may deter their personal success in adulthood.

Savage's dissertation, "Keeping the Promise of Permanence: Older Child Permanent Placement Stability Predicted From Externalizing Behavior and Adaptability, describes the use of standardized assessment instruments in the process of matching children exiting state custody with parents wishing to adopt them. She found that prevention of adoption disruption for these children over the age of three years might be possible with more deliberate matching procedures.

Saulsberry and Savage have been members of the social work faculty for 29 and 16 years respectively.

Jackson State University, located in Jackson, Miss., is a Research I University and is the oldest urban historically black college or university in the South. Its School of Social Work, with both undergraduate and graduate programs accredited by the Council on Social Work Education, began its Ph.D. in social work program in 1997. Savage and Saulsberry were among the charter class members and are the first women graduates with a Ph.D. in social work from JSU. They were the third and fourth graduates among the original 13 members of the 1997 charter class.

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