UMD News Releases

Dr. Priscilla A. Day

DULUTH, MN – Dr. Priscilla A. Day, professor and head of the Department of Social Work at the University of Minnesota Duluth (UMD), is the recipient of the University of Minnesota Center for Advanced Studies in Child Welfare’s 2015 Child Welfare Leadership Award. This honor recognizes the significant achievements she has made in the field of Child Welfare. A reception will be held on Tuesday, April 28, 2015, at the 'M' Club Room in TCF Bank Stadium, on the campus of the University of Minnesota Twin Cities.

“Dr. Day’s vision has helped to make UMD’s Social Work programs strong and vibrant. Her contributions to curriculum and to student experience are remarkable. We congratulate her on receiving the recognition she so richly deserves,” said Jill Pinkney Pastrana, dean, College of Education and Human Service Professions.

Dr. Day has taught at UMD since 1993. She serves as the principal investigator and director for the Center for Regional and Tribal Child Welfare Studies whose mission is “to advance the well-being of children by strengthening families and communities through social work education, research, and outreach in the region.” Over the last three years, she was been principal investigator on grants totaling over $2.5 million dollars. Her areas of research are American Indian family preservation and cultural competence.

She was co-developer and instructor of the Learning Circle course that helps UMD Master of Social Work students incorporate concepts of cultural competence into practice. She is a curriculum developer and trainer for the Minnesota Department of Human Services. She worked for over two years with tribal human service and legal professionals to develop the innovative 307C: Bridging Our Understanding: American Indian Family Preservation curriculum for DHS.

She has been an active member of the Council for Social Work Education (CSWE) serving on the national board of directors, as vice president and member of the Native American social work educators, and as a member of the CSWE Commission for Educational Policy.

She has made numerous presentations regionally and nationally on working effectively with American Indian communities.

• In the last three years her accomplishments have been recognized by invitations to participate in national and international ventures including:
• Invited U.S. Scholar (one of four) to attend “Place, Belonging, and Promise: Indigenizing the International Academy,” 2013 University of British Columbia, Canada.
• Invited member (one of two from Minnesota) of Casey Family Projects, American Indian Child Welfare National Workgroup, 2012-2014.
• Invited U.S. Scholar (group of eight from Minnesota) to participate in indigenous education trip to La Paz, Bolivia, 2013.

She is the author of many published scholarly articles and book chapters focusing primarily on American Indian child welfare and work with elders.

Dr. Day received her BA in Sociology from Bemidji State University in 1984, her MSW from the University of Minnesota Duluth in 1991 and her Ed.D. from the University of Minnesota in 1999.

She is an Anishinaabe and an enrolled tribal member of the Leech Lake Reservation where she resides. She is a pipe carrier and Ogichidaakwe on a traditional Big Drum for her tribal community. She is the mother of three children and has six grandchildren.