PhD Student News

Marie-Celeste Condon Weisenburg Wins Social Work Dissertation Award

Our warm congratulations to Marie-Celeste Condon Weisenburg, this year’s recipient of the School of Social Work Dissertation Award. The criteria for this award focus on students conducting original research with a priority on qualitative studies and dissertations that have potential to contribute significantly to the professional knowledge base. As in other years, there were very strong proposals submitted, making the selection process very competitive.

The focus of Marie-Celeste's dissertation is the experiences of young children affected by incarceration; the beliefs, mental images, and social meanings that surround them; what becomes of children's relationships when their mothers are released from prison; and roles professionals and incarcerated mothers have in mediating child outcomes.

The setting for Marie-Celeste's qualitative study is a unique program at Washington's Correctional Center for Women that combines a relationship-focused Residential Parenting Program with an Early Head Start program located onsite within the corrections facility.

Marie-Celeste will use the Graduate School Medal Award to enable mothers to continue to participate in data collection, advisory board, and data analysis meetings after they are released from custody, by funding travel costs incurred for their participation.