A Family Affair

Passing down a passion for social work

BY TYNAN POWER

For many SSW alumni, their first glimpse of the School came at a campus tour for prospective students or, even later, at check-in for their first summer. For some, though, SSW has been a part of their lives—and their families’ lives—for almost as long as they can remember.

Dean Emerita Ann Hartman was 11 years old the first time she visited her mother, Lois Hartman, M.S.S. ’37, at Smith. “I slept on the floor of the dorm,” she recalled.

Lois had started working at Family Welfare Society in Rochester, New York, in order to support her children after she and their father separated. Soon, though, she found she needed to return to school.

“They were just beginning to require graduate work,” said Hartman. “There weren’t very many graduate programs at the time. There was nothing in Rochester.”

Lois entered SSW’s 15-month B program and was placed in a field internship in Chicago—creating a challenge for a single mother that SSW would avoid today. In Chicago, Lois lived at Hull House and interned at the Institute for Juvenile Research. Meanwhile, Ann and her sister, Betty, stayed in Rochester with a young couple who cared for them.

Years later, Ann Hartman followed in her mother’s footsteps, returning to SSW as a B program student. With her Smith M.S.S. in hand, she moved to New York, obtained a D.S.W. from Columbia University—and fell in love with Joan Laird, a single mother with an adorable 16-month-old son, Duncan. The trio settled down together, eventually moving to Michigan. Then, in 1986, Hartman returned to Smith with her family to serve as dean of the School for Social Work.

Laird taught at SSW as well, and her family therapy course led to the growth of their own family. After Duncan returned to the family home to recover from an illness and consider his own future plans, he met—and eventually married—one of his mother’s students, Meg Behr Laird, M.S.W. ’92, who was about to embark on a field internship at Duke University in North Carolina.

Meg also came from a family of social workers that included her mother, Louise Frieder Behr; brother William Behr, M.S.W. ’76; and sister, Sarah Behr Moaba, M.S.W. ’83. Although Duncan wrestled with possible career options, the path was clear to Meg. “Social work is just what we do,” she said.

With encouragement from his mother, Hartman and Meg, Duncan obtained his M.S.W. from SSW in 1993 and is now the co-owner and clinical director of Learning Solutions for Learning Success in Florence, Massachusetts.

Juanita Dalton Robinson, M.S.S. ’51, also shared a passion for social work with her stepdaughters, Miriam and Rachel. “My stepmother was a great influence in my decision to attend Smith,” said Rachel Robinson, M.S.W. ’94. “She was the primary factor that drew me to Smith.”

Juanita Dalton Robinson (center) encouraged her stepdaughters Miriam (left) and Rachel (right) to study social work at Smith.

Shana Sureck Photography

“My understanding of a social worker was someone who removed children from their homes, distributed food to the poor and only worked in agencies for a substandard wage,” said Miriam Robinson, M.S.W. ’87. “When my stepmother explained all the positions she had as a social worker and the ways she was able to impact the community on a multilevel front, I was all in!”

Alan Doyle, M.S.W. ’79, didn’t expect his son Jackson to become a social worker. “I was completely surprised and pleased by my son’s desire to pursue a social work career,” said Doyle. Once he knew of Jackson’s interest, he encouraged his son to consider Smith because of the emphasis the program gives to the field internship.

“Everyone I met [at an SSW event] echoed similar sentiments as my father: strong field placements, social justice values, clinical focus, experiential learning,” said Jackson Doyle, M.S.W. ’17. “I’m sure it was very affirming for him that I opted to go to Smith, but I think he did his best not to influence my decision.”

Alex Daniel Bacon, M.S.W. ’98, initially avoided following in her mother’s footsteps—but wound up sharing the path with her. “I hesitated to pursue SSW because of my mom’s enrollment in the Ph.D. program at the time that I was applying to schools,” said Bacon. “But in the end, I couldn’t deny that Smith was the best program out there for me and I knew that my mom and I could navigate the crossover of our shared time at Smith with mutual respect and space.”

Alex Daniel Bacon, M.S.W. '98, embraces her mother, Margery Daniel, PhD. '98.

Shana Sureck Photography

“Alex and I lived on the Smith campus at the same time for two years, and it was inspiring to me, observing from afar, the academic and professional commitment demonstrated by Alex and her friends,” said Margery Daniel, Ph.D. ’98. “Their sense of purpose was motivating to me.”

“We kept our relationship on the down low and enjoyed interacting in easy, natural exchanges, whether it be through silent smiles exchanged in the halls of Seelye, or over a dinner down Main Street or, better yet, a 9 p.m. ice cream date at Herrell’s!” said Bacon. “Both being members of the SSW community (then and since) has been a wonderful opportunity to bond in new ways thanks to the energy and growth that our classroom and classmate experiences brought our way.”

When generations of the same family attend SSW, they have an inside view of the School’s evolution—and the impact it has had.

Alan Doyle noted that, over the years, Smith has demonstrated “a coordinated effort to raise awareness of respect for others, enhance well-being of all peoples, and conduct that work to the highest personal and ethical standards.”

“I have seen Smith evolve over time, particularly in its commitment to eliminating racist practices that had inhibited students of color when I was there,” said Rachel Robinson.

“I am an African-American clinician and, wherever I have practiced social work, I have been able to represent the profession in a unique way,” said Miriam Robinson. “Frequently, I am the only person of color in clinical settings. I am able to exhibit advocacy, case management and clinical skills in a way that I could have only learned at Smith. My experience—the training I received from the placements, the recognition of that training in the clinical community—has placed me on a path I would never have dreamed possible. In 1985 I walked on to that campus in Northampton having absolutely no idea that I would be leaving with a power and knowledge that would carry me to so many, many places.” ◆