Rena D. Harold

Title: Professor; Associate Director of the School of Social Work; Coordinator of Graduate Programs
Office Location: 232 Baker Hall
Phone: 517/.432-3733
Fax: 517/353-3038
E-mail: haroldr@msu.edu

Education

• Ph.D (Social Work & Psychology),
  University of Michigan
• MSW, Wayne State University
• Ph.B, Monteith College/Wayne State University

Professional Interests

• Family development including socialization practices of parents and lesbian parenting
• Assessing needs and examining the impact of macro social issues on individuals and families, and those factors that can mediate the effects
• Practice research including program evaluation and using qualitative methodology
• Socialization influences of schooling and schools as a context for social work practice

Research/Grants

• An ecological systems theory approach to examining the impact of Information Technology (IT) use on children's cognitive, social, psychological and moral development. National Science Foundation.
• Entrepreneurship Training Program: A Ghana-United States Exchange Program US Agency for International Development.
• Michigan Public Health Training Center Evaluation. US Department of Health and Human Services Health Resources and Services Administration.
• Ontogeny of Self and Task Concepts and Activity Choice. National Institute for Child Health and Human Development (NICHD).
• A Study of Intra-Family Similarities and Differences. The University of Michigan Institute for Social Research (ISR) Director's Discretionary Fund

Teaching

• SW 840 - Social Work Practice: Generalist Methods
• SW 851 - Clinical Social Work Practice with Families and Groups
• SW 900 - Doctoral Proseminar in Social Work
• SW 901 - Knowledge Construction in Social Work

Articles & Publications

• Colarossi, L., Berlin, S., Harold, R. D., & Heyman, J. (In press). Social work students' experiences and training needs after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Journal of Teaching in Social Work.
• Harold, R. D., Colarossi, L. G., & Mercier, L. R. (Under contract). Smooth sailing or stormy waters? Stories of family transitions through adolescence and their implications for practice, research, and policy. Mahwah, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
• Mercier, L. R. & Harold, R. D. (2003). A feminist approach to exploring the intersections of individuals, families and communities: An illustration focusing on lesbian mother research. Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment, 7, 79-95.
• Mercier, L. R. & Harold, R. D. (2003). At the interface: Lesbian-mother families and their children’s schools. Children and Schools, 25, 35-47.
• Harold, R. D. (2000). Becoming a family: Parents’ stories and their implications for practice, research, and policy. Mahwah, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
• Freedman-Doan, C.R., Wigfield, A., Eccles, J. E., Blumenfeld, P., Arbreton, A., & Harold, R.D. (2000). What am I best at? Gender and grade differences in elementary school-age children's beliefs about their abilities at different activities. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 21, 379-402.
• Harold, R. D. (1999). How many men does it take…? Re-visions, 12, 10-11.
• Harold, R. D., Mercier, L. R., & Colarossi, L. G. (1997). Using the eco-map to bridge the practice-research gap. Journal of Sociology and Social Welfare, 24, 29-44.

Presentations

• Lesbian health care: Women's experiences and the role for social work. Annual Program Meeting: Council on Social Work Education, San Francisco, 2007.
• Tradition, continuity, legacy: The role of doctoral programs in social work education and the profession. Invited keynote: The Ohio State University’s 15th National Symposium on Doctoral Research in Social Work, Columbus, OH. April 2003.
• At the interface: Lesbian-mother families and their children’s schools. Paper: NASW-Michigan Chapter: 25th Annual Conference, Mackinac Island, MI. May 2001.
• Social work curricula: Information technology and direct practice. Paper: Annual Program Meeting: Council on Social Work Education, New York, NY. February 2000.
• A qualitative look at balancing work and family: Implications for parenting. Paper: Biennial Meeting: Society for Research in Child Development, Albuquerque, New Mexico. April 1999.
• Lesbian-parenting research: A key to a conceptual model for understanding alternative families. Paper: Annual Program Meeting: Council on Social Work Education, San Francisco, CA. March 1999.
• Becoming a family: A qualitative analysis of the role of social support. Paper: Annual Conference: Society for Social Work Research, Austin, Texas. January 1999.
• Pedagogical issues and strategies for teaching on the internet. Presentation: MSU College of Social Science Conference: Using technology in teaching: Opportunities, challenges, and lessons learned, East Lansing, Michigan. February 1998.

Other

• LMSW (State of Michigan)
• 2004. Outstanding Woman Faculty. MSU Faculty and Professional Women’s Association.
• Member. MSU’s Women’s Advisory Committee to the Provost.
• Member. Editorial Board of Reviewers, Journal of Social Work Education.
• Guest Co-Editor. Journal of Gay and Lesbian Social Services volume on lesbian parent families.
• Member. Council on Social Work Education Council on Sexual Orientation and Gender Expression.