Social Work Program Coordinator Jana Pankey (right) pictured with social work students Kyree Watts (left) and Anna Goforth (middle)
She grew up less than a mile from Cleveland State Community College, riding her bicycle on the tennis courts and going to basketball games with her father. Later, she became the first medical social worker and youngest department head at Cleveland Community Hospital. Now, Jana Pankey is an associate professor and the Social Work Program coordinator at Cleveland State.
Ms. Pankey’s father taught welding at Cleveland State and saw the importance of education and learning a trade. Her parents encouraged both of their daughters to go to community college after high school.
Ms. Pankey was always interested in the medical field and nursing but chose to major in criminal justice at Cleveland State.
After earning her associate degree, Ms. Pankey transferred to the criminal justice program at Tennessee Wesleyan University. While going to school, she worked second and third shifts in the behavioral health unit of Pine Ridge Treatment Center, a part of Cleveland Community Hospital at the time. “I observed a social worker there and thought that I really liked the rehabilitative side of things better than the punitive side of things,” said Ms. Pankey.
She decided to dual major in criminal justice and human services.
With bachelor degrees in both areas, Ms. Pankey became the first medical social worker at the hospital, building a department and developing policies and procedures while she earned a master of science in social work from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. After five years, Ms. Pankey worked in home health then spent seven years with Bradley Memorial Hospice.
“I loved hospice, but sometimes I would question why I was in this field surrounded by death,” said Ms. Pankey. “I look back on that now; I had a lot of spiritual growth at that time. I cared for people at the most difficult times of their lives. I saw some peaceful passings and some not so peaceful passings. Getting to know the families was very important. I think my students have filled that gap for me - being able to help but in a different way now. Every student is different and brings a different life experience.”
Ms. Pankey started teaching at Cleveland State in 2003. Dr. Spencer Culbreth was dean at the time; he gave her the opportunity to design and build the social work program. Starting with 14 students in 2004, the program grew to 123 students in six years; now, it averages 80 students per year.
Ms. Pankey designed the curriculum following national social work guidelines. Cleveland State is the only community college in Tennessee that offers this program with six social work classes as well as a field placement the final semester. There are seven articulation agreements, and more than 85 percent of her students continue to a four-year university after the associate degree.
Careers with a bachelor of science in social work are varied with opportunities in nursing homes, hospitals, home health, schools, nonprofits, human services and more. “Only 4 percent of social workers work with children’s services; I think that is a misconception,” said Ms. Pankey. “I’ve gotten to see students go and be social workers all over the United States. I have a student in Germany working for the Department of Defense. Another student in Minneapolis has opened two homes for homeless pregnant women. There are some great stories of students who have done some amazing things. I am proud of my students; I keep in contact with most of them.”
“Mrs. Pankey was wonderful; she gave me the foundation,” said social work alumna Nicole McCraw, MSW. “She really prepared me to move on with my bachelor’s degree. Every class that I took with her was very interactive; we did a lot in the community. We were around many different types of foundations and agencies. I feel like Mrs. Pankey was the rock that got me started in social work.”
Ms. Pankey was awarded the Distinguished Faculty Award at Cleveland State in 2018; the same year that her twin sons, Clay and Matt, graduated with honors from the college. Both sons went on to earn master’s degrees. Clay is an environmental scientist at Olin Corporation, and Matt teaches the science labs for Cleveland State at the McMinn Higher Education Center. Ms. Pankey and her husband, Mitch, also a community college graduate, have been married for 30 years this May.
When asked what inspires her most about being part of a community college, Ms. Pankey responds that it is the community here. “Being part of this community, growing up here and knowing how important it is to be part of a community and not one of 200 people in a classroom. My classes are usually under 20 students. I know my students; I know their kids’ names; I know when their kids are sick. I know when their car breaks down. I know when they are having a hard time at work. That’s community. I’ve been to a community college, a private college and a large university. You don’t get that community in the other schools like you do at a community college.”
She continues, “Cleveland State is invested in this community and gives people an opportunity to go to school with Tennessee Promise and Tennessee Reconnect programs. I’ve had students tell me, ‘I never thought I would be a college student, because I never thought I could do it,’ and they see that they can. My door is open; students can come in and tell me what is going on. I had that community as a student at Cleveland State too, and I’m glad that I got to come back and teach here.”