"The George Warren Brown community has earned the right to celebrate with pride the accomplishments of its faculty, staff, students and alumni," said Dean Shanti Khinduka, Ph.D. "In its distinguished history, the school has contributed greatly to social work research, education and community service."
Dedicated to training outstanding practitioners and scholars, the school consistently places at the top of social work school rankings. But rather than dwelling on the past, it is celebrating its anniversary with a look ahead.
"It is important to realize that our world is changing at an amazingly fast pace," Khinduka observed. "If the school is to continue its leadership role, we cannot afford to rest on our laurels. We must look ahead and begin preparing for the issues that will shape social work in the next millennium."
In keeping with this theme, keynote speaker Kenneth Prewitt, director of the U.S. Census Bureau, will discuss "Census 2000: A New Picture of America." Prewitt will focus on the social implications of dramatic demographic shifts during a lecture at 3:30 p.m. Oct. 6. Peter H. Raven, Ph.D., the University's Engelmann Professor of Botany and director of the Missouri Botanical Garden, will lecture on "The Social Consequences of Our Changing Environment" at 11:45 a.m. Oct. 7. Both keynote addresses will be in Brown Hall auditorium.
Other conference highlights are seven roundtable discussions and 24 panel discussions covering such issues as information technology and social work practice, productive aging, women's mental health, social work and spirituality, racial and cultural diversity in the new millennium, international social welfare trends, and neighborhood empowerment.
"A main focus of the conference will be how social work can more effectively involve communities and residents in every level of social work policy and practice," said David L. Cronin, Ph.D., associate dean for administration and chair of the conference planning committee. "There's been a major shift away from simple problem-solving and toward programs that encourage long-term community development and capacity building, and those themes are strongly reflected in our conference offerings."
The conference will feature 119 practitioners and academics serving as session chairs and presenters, including numerous alumni, 24 social work faculty and six professional staff members. Two students will serve as master of ceremonies for the plenary session and alumni banquet.
The conference theme underscores the school's long-standing commitment to innovative research, education and community service projects, which will continue to guide the profession in responding to social challenges of the future.
Before the October conference, the school and its faculty hosted several major academic symposia about research and policy issues. Topics included:
¥ expanding initiatives to base social work practice on empirical evidence;
¥ effects of welfare reform on American Indians;
¥ ways of expanding asset-building strategies for the poor; and
¥ impact of globalization on a nation-state's role in economic and social development.
Other anniversary events have included a film festival highlighting social issues in cinema and the ongoing "Advocates for Change: 75 Years of Journalism and Social Work" exhibit of 76 St. Louis Post-Dispatch editorial cartoons on social policy issues.
In more than two decades as a social work dean, Khinduka has witnessed dramatic changes in the school, the profession and the world. Preparation for change will continue to be essential, he said.
"Social work practice will need to be more evidence-based, more linked to specific positive outcomes in the community," he said. "Rather than simply alleviating short-term suffering, we must focus our efforts on helping people learn to help themselves, on building the internal capabilities and capacities of the individuals, families and communities that we serve."
The conference and banquet are open to registered participants. Sessions begin at 8:30 a.m. Oct. 6 and run through 4:30 p.m. Oct. 7. For more information on conference schedules and reservation fees, call Diane Broste at 935-4780 or visit the school's Web site (www.gwbweb.wustl.edu).