Feature Article Writing: Biannual Donor Magazine

In this article, I was asked to write a profile piece about a featured faculty member at a university. The piece was published on the university's website and in its biannual magazine that went to parents, alumni, and donors of the university. My objective was to interview Cindy and capture her passion for teaching social work and professional accomplishments.

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New faculty member Dr. Cindy Faulkner takes everyday approach to social work

Rachel Ashley, for Triangle Magazine

Dr. Cindy Faulkner has heard the sound of God. That’s how she found herself in the field of social work and how she has come to love something she never imagined would be her lifelong pursuit.

During undergrad at Kansas State University, Dr. Faulkner was studying to be a teacher when she says God woke her in the middle of the night and said, “You’re going to be a social worker.” Without hesitation, she changed her major the next day and began the first of many years devoting her life and career to people.

Dr. Faulkner loves to travel, and she regularly takes students on study abroad trips. She once found herself in a congested train station in Europe. Platforms were filled to the brim with people eager to board, and she and her husband, Sam, had been waiting for what felt like ages. Finally, they were able to squeeze onto a train. That’s when she noticed an elderly woman on the platform drowning in a crowd of people. Just before the doors closed on the train, she reached out and pulled the woman onto the cramped car.

That’s Dr. Faulkner’s story – the everyday practice of social work that gets the marginalized off the platform and onto the train.

Dr. Faulkner and her husband, Dr. Sam Faulkner, are accomplished social workers, teachers, and researchers. They met while working at the same shelter in Anchorage, Alaska—he worked with the men and she with the women. Since then, they’ve been pursuing their careers side by side. Together, they completed their Ph.D.’s at the University of Texas at Arlington. Together, they were hired to teach at Morehead State University in Kentucky. Together, they have authored and published multiple books. “It’s our common interests that really bonded us together,” she noted.

She and her husband retired from Morehead not long ago and moved to Texas to be close to family. When she applied for the position at Indiana Wesleyan, she had no experience teaching at a faith-based higher education institution, but it became clear in her interviews where she belonged. Dr. Faulkner, as of May 2017, is the program director for the Master of Social Work (MSW) program at IWU–National & Global’s School of Service and Leadership.

She claims that the support of the IWU community has been tremendous since she started as program director. Subsequently, she evacuated her home due to a hurricane, had multiple family health crises, and chipped away at the boulder that is the Council of Social Work Education (CSWE) accreditation for the MSW program. With her expertise and leadership, along with the help of other vital team members, the program is in the final stages of accreditation.

Among Dr. Cindy Faulkner and Dr. Sam Faulkner’s recent publications are:

Research Methods for Social Workers: A Practice-Based Approach, 3rd Ed. (2018), Oxford University Press

Addictions Counseling: A Competency-Based Approach (2018), Oxford University Press