University of New England

Nexus
Social Work Professor Stephen Rose
Discovers the Charm of the Baltic Countries

by Danielle Vayenas

In the fall of 2003, Steve Rose, professor in the School of  Social Work and director of the UNE/Spurwink Center for Research, was awarded a Fulbright Scholar grant at the University of Helsinki, Finland, and he spent the semester there teaching and conducting research on chronic illness care in collaboration with faculty and social workers. That visit was one of many trips Rose has made to the region. Since 1986, when he first visited Finland, he has traveled there and subsequently also to Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, lecturing throughout the region on topics such as social work practice in health and mental health in the 21st century, as well as the impact of poverty and income inequality in different political environments on human life - comparing the USA to Finland and the Baltic states.

Stephen Rose, Ph.D. (2nd from left), professor of social work, recipient of an honorary degree from the University of Lapland, poses with his wife, Wilma, and other dignataries.

His initial interest in the region began with a connection he made with a Finnish faculty member who came to Stony Brook to explore what M.S.W. education was all about; she was the host for his first visit in 1986, and in 2003, also served as his faculty host at the University of Helsinki.

Honorary Degree
In 1999 he received an honorary doctorate from the University of Lapland - the northernmost university in Finland and in the European Union, located in the city of Rovaniemi on the Arctic Circle. The University of Lapland confers the title of honorary doctor on people who have participated in developing research and teaching at the University Lapland and who, through their activities, have promoted international cooperation or made the culture and livelihoods of Lapland well known.

Rose said the conferment ceremony is much more formal than a typical U.S. commencement, and it’s only held once every 5 years. The dress code for men, rather than the robe and mortarboard, is white tie: tailcoat, black vest, white bow tie, white gloves, doctoral hat (which come in different colors for each area of study, and different symbols for each university) and sword (yes, sword). According to the University’s website, the doctor’s hat acts as a symbol of freedom. The sword is a symbol of a weapon of the spirit: it is needed in the battle for what has been scientifically researched and what has been discovered as true, right and good.

At the banquet the night before the ceremony, Rose was surprised when suddenly there was a flourish and everyone stood up and the President of Estonia came in - he was getting an honorary doctorate too. Rose said this is the type of thing he enjoys so much about foreign countries - learning new customs, and not always knowing what to expect.

Like many European countries, teaching in the Baltics tends to be somewhat different than in the U.S. "Stimulating discussions with Finnish students isn’t easy, and the straight-ahead lecture style works best," Rose said. In Estonia and Latvia, Rose needed a translator, whereas in Finland, many of his students were fluent in English, and could speak and understand a lot more than they thought. "On the whole they tend to have a lack of confidence in their language skills, wanting it to be absolutely correct," Rose said.

International Studies
Regarding international studies, Rose says, "UNE should go for it - international studies are incredibly valuable for faculty - and we need to be as welcoming here as they are of us."

For example, if UNE were to reciprocate and put up the resources for a Fulbright Scholar, it would mean providing housing, transportation, daily living expenses etc., so there is a real cost. Rose is currently working on trying to get a visiting professor, Dr. Mirjam Kalland, who heads a multi-service center for children in Finland, to come to UNE along with a group of fellow social workers. They would love to come and observe/job shadow with American social workers. Rose had met Dr. Kalland last year in working with her as part of an advisory group on a project working with single pregnant teenagers.

"You discover so many things about people and their culture when you travel abroad, both in and out of the classroom," Rose said. He illustrated several examples, one of which involved his trip to Riga, Latvia, where the hosts of his training sessions, including his translator, and the supervising manager of the department of social services, took him out to activities as varied as seeing the German opera by Strauss, "Die Fledermaus," performed in Russian; a night of bowling in an ultramodern space complete with neon lights and fully automated lanes; and a sushi dinner.

Relating to the sushi, Rose told another story about his experience at the open-air market in Helsinki. Among the several fish vendors, he found one who spoke English, and asked him if they had any salmon. The man responded, "No, but you’re in luck, we have better fish" - a white fish. He then proceeded to filet it, and cut a good 1-2 inch piece, sprinkled it with salt and dill and handed it over to Rose to eat raw, which he proceeded to do, and said it was actually quite good. He ended up buying fish from the man probably four times a week and really enjoyed the interaction as well as the food.

Overall, Rose said he has a great time when he’s traveling abroad, "Even if things get screwed up, and they often can when traveling, I always assume they will work out. People are so welcoming, and the experience makes it all well worth it - I can’t recommend traveling and working abroad highly enough."