By James Fay
Catherine Breneman, assistant professor of social work and director of field education.
Breneman received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Pittsburgh and a master’s in social work at West Virginia University. She earned her PhD at the University of Pittsburgh and is taking post-graduate classes to keep her skills up to date in the clinics.
Q: Where are you from?
A: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Q: Have you taught anywhere else prior to Hood?
A: Towson University for 10 years.
Q: How long have you been teaching?
A: 14 years. 10 years at Towson and four years at Hood.
Q: Why did you choose Hood?
A: I took a position at Towson which was a larger school but decided I wanted a smaller liberal arts school. So, I came to Hood during the pandemic which was an interesting transition time.
Q: What got you into teaching?
A: I have been a social worker for 30 years. I had a lot of experience and worked in a variety of settings and was doing some teaching on the side. I decided to pursue my Ph.D. later and after that, I started to transition full-time faculty position at Towson.
Q: Why do you enjoy teaching social work to students?
A: Because social work has been such a wonderful career to me. I think preparing future social workers and other students in other majors who might experience people with life problems is very import to understand and prepare for what they encounter.
Q: What classes do you teach here at Hood?
A: I teach Introduction to Families, Community Mental Health, Addictions, Social Work Field Seminar and my primary responsibility as the field director is I coordinate the 500-hour field placement for seniors that they are required to do for their major. I look to identify sites in the community that we can partner with to match students with those places.
Q: What research are you interested in?
A: I’m interested in case management and working with people with behavioral health needs. I’m also interested in working with children and families coping with illness.
Q: What is your biggest challenge here at Hood?
A: My biggest challenge is to help students recognize their confidence in their skills and ability to be more confident and competent in their decisions and support them.
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