Radio-Television-Film Professor Recognized by Texas Legislature

AUSTIN, Texas – April 16, 2007 – Two University of Texas at Austin faculty members will be recognized by the Texas Legislature April 18 for their involvement with Girl Scout Troop 1500, a program for women in prison and their daughters.

Dr. Darlene Grant and Ellen Spiro will be honored at 10 a.m. on the Senate floor of the capitol. The Senate resolution commends them for their work on behalf of the troop.

The goal of Troop 1500 is to break the cycle of crime and allow incarcerated mothers to participate in their daughter's lives.

Grant, associate professor of social work and associate dean of graduate studies, has worked closely with the troop since its inception. Her research focuses on incarcerated women and their children, family systems and adolescent psychiatric issues.  The National Association of Social Workers named her 2006 Social Worker of the Year.

Spiro is an associate professor in the Department of Radio-Television-Film and an award-winning film producer. She received the national Gracie Award for her documentary, "Troop 1500 - Girls Scouts Beyond Bars," which aired on the PBS series Independent Lens in 2005. Spiro gave the girls opportunities to act as cinematographers and interviewers in the film's production.

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Contacts: 

Nancy Neff

School of Social Work

(512) 471-6504

neff@mail.utexas.edu

Erin Geisler

College of Communication

(512) 475-8071

erin.geisler@austin.utexas.edu