Social work is an empowering profession. Individuals who are committed to helping others, and to promoting social and economic justice, will find a wide range of meaningful career options in the social work field. For example, some of the settings where social workers are employed include schools, mental health agencies, hospitals and medical clinics, family and children’s agencies, criminal justice programs, addictions facilities, women’s and youth shelters, nursing homes, community development organizations, and government agencies. Within these various settings, social workers draw on the strengths of individuals, families and communities to help people discover and use their problem-solving capacities. We counsel individuals and families, facilitate therapeutic and educational groups, link people with needed resources, and expand opportunities through social advocacy and public policy analysis.
The Social Work Program was initiated and developed by two professors in the Sociology Department, Dr. Roslyn Gerard and Dr. Stewart B. Whitney, in the early 1970's. At this time, there were many sociology students who wanted careers in social work and there was a strong need in the community for child welfare practitioners. At that time, students only had the opportunity to enroll in sociology electives with social work practice emphasis. These courses were taught by faculty with doctoral degrees in sociology and the Master's in Social Work degree. The results of a feasibility study among sociology alumni, current students, and community agencies strongly indicated that the development of a separate social work degree was needed.
In 1974, the late sociology professor, Dr. Nicholas Caggiano, submitted a proposal to the University's Board of Trustees to create a new social work degree program that would be housed within the Sociology Department. There was great enthusiasm in the university community for this initiative because the establishment of a professional degree program would serve and assist the poor and oppressed in the surrounding communities and it would help fulfill the University's Vincentian mission.
The proposal was approved and in 1975, Steve Knezevich, M.S.W., became the first social work program chair. Two other faculty members joined him, Larry Mallakie, M.S.W., and Ann Schaeffer, M.S.W., who was appointed as the field coordinator. Approximately 20 students enrolled in the program.
Later in May of 1976, the Department of Social Work was approved by the New York State Education Department as a registered degree program. In 1980, under leadership of Professor John Hickey, the Department of Social Work became an independent academic department within the College of Arts and Sciences in order to establish autonomy, a requirement for accreditation by CSWE. Dr. Roslyn Gerard was the main author of the first self-study.
The Social Work Department was successfully accredited by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) in January of 1982 and at that time had approximately 40 students enrolled. The majority of these students were traditional age full-time students. Subsequently, the Department was reaccredited in 1985, 1989, 1992, and in 1997. CSWE requires that social work programs reapply for continuing accredited status in cycles of up to eight years. During the academic year 2003/2004 the program will be reviewed.
Since its initial accreditation, the Department has undergone many changes. The number of students enrolled in the Department has expanded (on average 65 students each year), and include traditional and non-traditional students, American and Canadian students, full-time and part-time students.
The present faculty, who all have Ph.D.'s and M.S.W.'s and who have been a team since the Fall of 1994, revisioned the Department's mission and its definition of generalist social work practice. These changes are reflected in a curriculum that emphasizes the alleviation of poverty and empowerment.
