OU professors awarded $2.2 million Health Resources Service Administration grant

Oakland University faculty members Dr. Maria Beam, director of the Social Work Program, and Dr. Lisa D. Hawley, a professor in the Department of Counseling, have been awarded a four-year, $2.2 million grant from the U.S. Health Resources Service Administration’s (HRSA) Behavioral Health Workforce Education and Training (BHWET) Program.

The grant will be used to establish a Behavioral Health Academy and fund students for careers in behavioral health in medically underserved communities.

“We are grateful to be a BHWET grant recipient over the next four years,” Beam said. “This funding helps us strengthen student training in the behavioral health field while also providing financial support as they work toward their graduate degrees. More importantly, it helps us prepare future social workers and counselors to serve in communities where behavioral health care is often limited.”

The Behavioral Health Academy is a structured training and fellowship program for Master of Social Work and Counseling students. Selected students will receive financial support and advanced training in areas such as crisis response, suicide prevention, interprofessional education, trauma-informed cared, and telehealth. They will also be matched with experienced mentors while enrolled in the Academy and post-graduation.

“We’re focused on recruiting students from diverse backgrounds who have a strong interest in serving underserved communities,” Beam said. “Through the Academy, they’ll gain the skills and support needed to succeed in those roles. This is important because underserved communities often face serious gaps in behavioral health care. Preparing students to meet those needs helps address workforce shortages and improves access to care in historically underserved communities.”

In addition, the grant also provides financial support of $25,000 per year for 12 Master of Social Work students and eight Counseling students, which brings the total of funded students to 80.

“We are excited about the continued partnership between Social Work and Counseling at Oakland University,” Hawley said. “This collaboration strengthens how we train future behavioral health professionals and helps us directly address the shortage of providers here in Michigan.”

To learn more about the Counseling program at OU, visit www.oakland.edu/counseling.

For more information about OU’s Master of Social Work program, visit www.oakland.edu/socan/social-work/msw.