Suffolk Reporter

Kristen Brock-Petroshius, an assistant professor at Stony Brook University's School of Social Welfare, has been honored with The Frank R. Breul Memorial Prize. This award is presented by the Social Service Review, a leading journal in social work.

Brock-Petroshius received recognition for her article titled “Race Talk to Change Carceral Attitudes: A Field Experiment on Deep Canvass Organizing,” featured in the December 2024 issue. Her research employs a randomized, placebo-controlled field experiment to show that deep canvassing can effectively shift ideological views about the carceral state and foster support for anticarceral policies. This method involves building emotional connections through personal stories and demonstrates effectiveness when discussing anti-Black racism.

“I hope this paper provokes further discussion within social work about the role we can play in using community practice interventions to build support for racial, economic, and social equity policies,” Brock-Petroshius stated.

Despite strong competition among nominated articles, members of the Crown faculty and the External Review Board commended the paper's rigor and novelty. They noted its innovative combination of experimental methods and community organizing practice offers a way to address racially polarized attitudes in the United States. The paper is rooted in social work practice values and tackles a challenging topic while providing actionable insights.

Brock-Petroshius focuses on community organizing and policy practice, racial justice policies, anti-carceral social work, attitude change interventions, as well as race, ethnicity, and politics.

The prize honors Frank R. Breul's career as an educator, administrator, and editor of Social Service Review during his tenure at the University of Chicago's Crown Family School of Social Work, Policy, and Practice. It is awarded annually for the best article published in SSR over the previous year.