Carol Hurst

Dr. Carol Grace Hurst has served as Associate Professor & Social Work Program Director, for the EMU Social Work Program since 2014.  She holds PhD and MSW degrees from the School of Social Work, Virginia Commonwealth University and is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) in the State of Virginia.  Previously, Dr. Hurst was an instructor in both BSW and masters’ programs at VCU.  And, before coming to EMU, she also served as Director of Continuing Education & Evaluation for Providence Service Corporation, a professional training and development division for the company’s more than 8,000 employees in 43 states and Canada providing behavioral health services through diverse programs and contracts. 

Dr. Hurst’s more than twenty years in clinical practice focused on children, youth, and families from a predominantly family systems’ perspective.  She believes in the power of attachment, love, and deep spirituality to anchor resilience in families.  Dr. Hurst’s scholarship endeavors have focused on family caregiving from two stages of the life cycle: early childhood and eldercare.  Her research and writing collaborations have focused on breastfeeding, care giving, and clinical supervision.  She has a special interest in preparing clinicians for respectful practice with families of all forms.  She has extensive experience supervising social workers from the student to licensure candidate levels.   

Dr. Hurst supports students in her teaching and supervision in cultivation of professional self-awareness and practice of self-care disciplines.  As a teacher of practice, she believes that a trauma-informed perspective is necessary for personal, professional, and organizational effectiveness.  Being a professional helper means learning to be present to others’ stories and experiences of trauma, and designing programs and organizational procedures to be trauma responsive.  Yet also to be present to oneself and one’s own inner work.   As key to preventing compassion fatigue, personnel who do people work must care sustainably for their own needs and the needs of their families to root themselves while caring for others.

The EMU Social Work Program:

prepares students to serve and lead together as generalist social work practitioners seeking justice in a global world,

engages students in rigorous curriculum and cognitive and affective processes  that form intersectional self-understanding and

appreciation for the strengths-based potential of diverse persons, families, and communities.

mentors students for trauma responsiveness and sustainable stewardship of human capabilities and earth’s resources.

Inker, J. & Hurst, C.G. (2019, April 29). Virginia Geriatric Society Annual Conference Winds of  Change: Geriatric Care in 2019.  Oral Presentation: Ageist bias: How common is it among professionals & patients. Richmond, VA.

Hurst, C.G. & Lefmann, T. (2018, November 11). Council on Social Work Education 2018 Annual Program Meeting: Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) 2018 APM: Expanding Interprofessional ucation to Achieve Social Justice.  Oral Presentation in the Health Track: Committing to breastfeeding in social work: Applying core values. Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Resort, Orlando, Florida.

Hurst. C.G. (2018, June 6).  Marpeck Conference. Session 3—Speaking and Silencing in Academy & Community. Charlottesville response to right-wing rally: Case study on power and community. Canadian Mennonite University. Winnipeg, Manitoba.

Hurst, C.G., Singley, D. (2012, January). Comparing continuing education distance learning formats versus live workshop for a making parenting matter training course.  Presentation at the 2012 Society for Social Work Research (SSWR) Conference: Research That Makes A Difference: Advancing Practice and Shaping Public Policy. Grand Hyatt Washington, Washington, DC.

Hurst, C.G., Singley, D., & Sampson, A. (2011, August). _Teaching an Organization to Fish-Learning and ROI Results from a Blended Training Effectiveness Study._Presentation at the 2011 American Psychological Association Annual Meeting. Walter E. Washington Convention Center, Washington, DC.

Hurst, C.G., (2010, March). Sexual or maternal breasts? A feminist view on the contested right to breastfeed in public. Presentation at the 5th Symposium on Breastfeeding and Feminism: Informing Public Health Approaches. Weatherspoon Art Museum, Greensboro, NC. Hosted by: Center for Women’s Health and Wellness, University of North Carolina at Greensboro and Carolina Global Breastfeeding Institute, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Hurst, C. G., (2009, November). Encouraging and discouraging breastfeeding: Relational odysseys concerning mothers’ milk. Poster presentation at the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine 14th Annual International Meeting “Lessons from History, Implications for Tomorrow” Williamsburg, Virginia.

Hurst, C. G., (2009, March). Sexual perception as a constraint on low-income mothers’breastfeeding choices. Poster presentation at the 4th Symposium on Breastfeeding and Feminism From Birthplace to Workplace. University of North Carolina at Greensboro.

Hurst, C.G., (2009, January). _Constraints on breastfeeding choices for low-income
mothers._ Presentation at the 13th Annual Conference of the Society for Social Work and Research (SSWR); Research that Promotes Sustainability & (Re)Builds Strengths. New Orleans, LA.

Bickman, L., Douglas-Kelley, S., Walsh, T., Hurst, C.G., Casey, S. (2008, May). Real change in the real world is real hard: Improving client outcomes. Session at 38th Annual Conference of the National Council for Community Behavioral Healthcare. Copley Place, Boston, Massachusetts.

Walsh, T., Hurst, C.G., Mitchell, R., & Laverty, F. (2007, November). Practice-based evidence and CFIT (Contextualized Feedback Intervention Training). Workshop at the 31st Virginia Juvenile Justice Institute Partnering for Better Outcomes for Court-Involved Children. Roanoke, Virginia.

Hurst, C.G., (2007, May). Encouraging and Discouraging Breastfeeding: Relational Odysseys Concerning Mothers’ Milk. Presentation at the Third International Congress of Qualitative Inquiry. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Hurst, C.G., (2007, May). The EPA in My Backyard: An Auto-Ethnography of Poisoned Earth. Presentation at the Third International Congress of Qualitative Inquiry. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Hurst, C.G. (2007, April). Sexual Perception as a Constraint on Low-Income Mothers’ Breastfeeding Choice. Poster Session at Women’s Health Research Day. Sponsored by Virginia Commonwealth University Institute for Women’s Health. Medical College of Virginia. Richmond, Virginia.

Hurst, C.G. (2006, November). Socio-cultural Constraints on Low Income Mothers’ Breastfeeding Choices. Poster presentation at VCU Institute for Women’s Health All About You: Advances in Women’s Health Research 2006. Jefferson-Lakeside Country Club Richmond, VA.

Howell, M., Hurst, C.G., & Leisey, M.R. (2006, May). Co-creating social justice in the classroom: A Gadamerian approach to teaching. Presentation at the Second International Congress of Qualitative Inquiry. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Hurst, C.G. (2006, March). Socio-cultural constraints on low income breastfeeding choices. Presentation at the First Virginia Graduate Research Policy Forum. Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia.

Hurst, C.G. (2006, February). Constraints on the breastfeeding choices of low income mothers: A pilot study. Poster Session at the 52nd Annual Program Meeting of the Council on Social Work Education. Chicago, Illinois.

Howell, M., Leisey, M.R., & Hurst, C.G. (2006, February). Co-creating social justice in the classroom: A Gadamerian approach to teaching. Special Session at the 52nd Annual Program Meeting of the Council on Social Work Education. Chicago, Illinois.

Hurst. C.G. (2018, July 26).  Mennonite Women USA/Dove’s Nest.  Empowering Women: Claiming Healthy Personal Boundaries. Speaker for An Intergenerational Gathering to Provide Practical Resources and Support on Healthy Boundary Management for Girls Ages 13–18 and Women of All Ages. Sessions: Finding Your Voice; Celebrating Self. Barbara Weitz Community Engagement Center, Omaha, Nebraska

Hurst, C.G. (2016, October).  Virginia Social Work Education Consortium (VSWEC) Fall 2016 VSWEC Rally in the Valley: Engaging Government with Social Work Values.  Facilitator of Panel Discussion on Graduate Program Applications with representatives of ten graduate programs in Social Work

Hurst, C.G. (2016, March).  You are the key to unlock the door for the next generation: Field education in social work.   Invited guest speaker for Social Work staff at Western State Hospital, along with Dorothy Harriman of James Madison University & Doris Dodson of Mary Baldwin College Social Work Departments.  Western State Hospital, Staunton, Virginia.

Hurst, C.G. (2015, May). Ethics and boundary concerns for school social workers. Invited Guest Speaker for Spring 2015 Meeting of the Valley Visiting Teacher/School Social Work Association. Front Royal, Virginia.

Hurst, C.G. (2015, April). Let’s talk about suicide. Facilitated conversation for members processing experiences with suicidal thoughts or suicide grief in a Connections session sponsored by Overseers’ committee of Charlottesville Friends Meeting, Baltimore Yearly Meeting Religious Society of Friends. Charlottesville, VA.

Licensed Clinical Social Worker, State of Virginia (0904002440).
NASW certified Clinical Supervisor — Virginia

Member, Washington Community Scholars Center (WCSC) Advisory Council, 2015-2018.

Member, Institutional Effectiveness Committee. 2017-2019