Transforming lives for more than 83 years

In 1937, the KU Sociology Department recruited Esther Twente to join faculty by invitation from Dr. Carroll Clark, chairman of the Sociology Department, to develop a social SINCE 1937, work curriculum for the department. the University of Kansas (KU) has offered SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION

Growing interest for a needed graduate program and the decision to join the American Association of Schools (now the Council on Social Work Education),

In 1946,

the Department of Social Work was created, and curriculum for a BA DEGREE WITH A MAJOR IN SOCIAL WORK and a CERTIFICATE IN SOCIAL WORK AT THE GRADUATE LEVEL was launched

Shortly after the unveiling of the program, George Warren Brown School of Social Work at Washington University decided to close its Kansas City unit, which offered KU the opportunity to quickly move from offering a BA to a MSW.

In 1947,

the Kansas Board of Regents approved the arrangement and the MSW was OFFICIALLY ACCREDITED

In 1949,

the first graduating class included TWO STUDENTS who earned a BA and the FIRST SEVEN STUDENTS to earn their MSW

In 1969,

Board of Regents to approve the status change from DEPARTMENT TO THE SCHOOL OF SOCIAL WELFARE Dr. Arthur Katz, dean at this time, was the proponent of naming the School the School of Social Welfare instead of the School of Social Work, as he believed the broader term “social welfare” provided more flexibility and the possibility to allow for future program offerings other than social work. In addition, he rejected the invitation to have the newly named School part of the graduate division; therefore, making the School of Social Welfare the third school at KU to have independent status following in the footsteps of the School of Medicine and the School of Law.

In 1972,

the BSW PROGRAM was FULLY ACCREDITED after receiving temporary accreditation approval status in 1970

TWENTE HALL SOCIAL WELFARE

In 1974,

the School of Social Welfare renovated the vacant student health center and hospital building located on the Lawrence campus and named its NEW HOME TWENTE HALL, in honor of Ester Twente, founder of the social welfare program at KU.

In 1981,

the School LAUNCHED its DOCTORAL PROGRAM and admitted its first cohort of five students.

In 1989,

then recently appointed dean Ann Weick and colleagues at KU were the first to FORMALLY NAME AND ARTICULATE THE STRENGTHS PERSPECTIVE in an essay for the journal Social Work (Weick, Rapp, Sullivan, & Kisthardt, 1989).

They summarized its main insight this way, “All people possess a wide range of talents, abilities, capacities, skills, resources, and aspirations… a belief in human potential is tied to the notion that people have untapped, undetermined reservoirs of mental, physical, emotional, social, and spiritual abilities that can be expressed. The presence of this capacity for continued growth and heightened well-being means that people must be accorded the respect that this power deserves” (p. 352). Learn more about the strengths perspective history at socwel.ku.edu/strengths-perspective.