Social Action, Advocacy and Agents of Change:: Howard University School of Social Work in the 1970s - Paperback

by Ruby M. Gourdine (Author), Annie W. Brown (Author)

There are moments in time when the forces of society, government, and the individual converge to provide a window of opportunity to create something special.

For Howard University School of Social Work (HUSSW), the 1970s was such a time. Moving from the era of its esteemed founding dean - Dr. Inabel Burns Lindsay - the School transitioned to a new era with new leadership, new vision, and new energy to secure the future of the School. Using a case study approach, this book examines the people, the institution and the processes which sought to use the curriculum of the school to respond to the demands for changes in social work education at HUSSW. The backdrop of the civil rights movement provided the sense of urgency and commitment to the challenges and promises of change.

Author Biography

Dr. Ruby M. Gourdine, professor, completed her bachelor's and doctorate degrees at Howard University. Her Masters of Social Work degree was earned from Atlanta University School of Social Work. She began her career at Howard University School of Social Work in 1992. Her professional experience includes working as a clinician, administrator, and consultant while her research (serving as principal /co- principal investigator on a number of grants) and publications are in the areas of juvenile justice, foster care and adoption (child welfare), medical social work, school social work, and most recently in social work history. She is a former Social Worker of the Year as designated by Metro Chapter of NASW in (2000), and was named a social work pioneer by NASW in 2010. She currently chairs the Direct Practice sequence.

Dr. Annie Brown is an associate professor, retired from Howard University School of Social Work having joined the faculty in 1993. She earned her B.A. from Dillard University in New Orleans, LA; her MSW from the George Warren Brown School of Social Work from Washington University in St. Louis, MO; and her DSW from the Howard University School of Social Work. She served as Assistant Dean for Student Affairs, and chair of the Direct Practice Sequence. Her research and publications are in the areas of mental health and adolescents, females and violence, child welfare, social welfare history, and international social work. Dr. Brown was principal investigator for several child welfare/ Title IV-E grants and training grants on domestic violence. As a practitioner, Dr. Brown worked in the area of adolescent mental health and served for several years as clinical director of a psycho-education program for emotionally and behaviorally disturbed adolescents.