Alumni Welcome

The School of Social Work (SSW) is dedicated to societal transformations to eliminate social, political, economic injustices for poor and oppressed populations and to advancing the quality of life for all.

Dear Alumni and Friends,

"Nothing endures but change." This concept of evolution and its inevitability, stated by the philosopher Heraclitus in the 5th century BC, is something social workers often take for granted. At Temple, as the university celebrates its 125th anniversary and the School of Social Work celebrates its 40th anniversary, we are writing to share some exciting changes with you.

First and foremost is that the School of Social Work has changed its name to the School of Social Work. Many of you might ask why the name change? Some have raised concerns about the mission of societal transformation and social justice that is associated with our former moniker: social Work. We made the change to “social work” so that we will be identified by our professional title, the title in the degrees we award, Bachelor of Social Work and Master of Social Work. Also, we want to have the discipline of social work recognized among our prospective students, faculty and staff as we move forward into the 21st century. We all know how important “branding” is.

The second change is related to the first. The School of Social Work will be joining with the College of Health Professions to create a new “College of Health Professions and Social Work.” The merging of SSW and CHP reflects the university´s vested interest in the long-term success of our social work and health professions programs. By uniting the schools, we are pooling and therefore maximizing, available resources to all academic programs. The university views this new configuration as a forward-thinking move to inject vitality into both schools and build a strong foundation upon which we´ll build future success. The joining of SSW and CHP is about interdisciplinary education that mirrors trends in the current professional worlds of healthcare and social work. It is an increasingly common model nationally for social work programs to be part of colleges of health and human services.

Dean Ronald Brown will lead the new college. He brings many years of experience in higher education and is an internationally renowned scholar in the field of health psychology and public health. He has a strong interest in and commitment to social work as there is a natural affinity between psychology and social services. The synergy with other disciplines in health professions, nursing and public health for example, offers numerous opportunities for research, teaching and service collaborations. We have the potential to address some of the most important issues of our time, such as access to affordable health care and health disparities. Greater access to a comprehensive array of public health programming also will allow social work students and faculty to gain valuable insight into all kinds of health issues affecting the lives of clients we serve every day.

We look forward to many new opportunities for collaboration and exploration in this new organizational structure. Now more than ever—in this milestone anniversary year—we celebrate Temple´s commitment to social work programs and its proud tradition of educating dedicated social work professionals. Cheers to what the next 40 years will bring!

Sincerely,