SSW TIMELINE
Our History
1952
100 Years of Michigan Social Work
T
his timeline depicts the U-M School of Social Work’s history, from its origins as an undergraduate program, to its current position as one of the world’s most prominent schools of social work. The timeline will continue to expand to reflect the contributions of the School of Social Work community and our shared commitment to advancing social and economic justice in a rapidly changing and diverse world.
1921
Meeting the social service needs of the people was U-M’s predominant goal for developing a formal curriculum in social work in 1921. The required courses included rhetoric, mathematics, history, foreign language, botany, zoology or geology, English, economics, political science, psychology, sociology, psychiatry and public health.
The Center for Graduate Study in Detroit 1935 included educational programs for study in public administration and social service. U-M was given free use of a building at 40 East Ferry Street by owner Tracy McGregor, a prominent Detroiter who ran a mission for homeless men.
The Link: Alumni Organization Institute of Social Work was an alumni newsletter that included curriculum information and a section dedicated to alumni updates. A selection from the February 1952 issue: “We are proud to report we have 135 members in the Alumni Organization.”
1951
The School began operating in Ann Arbor in September 1951 in an old frame house at 320 East Washington, where the Modern Languages Building now stands. The house held faculty offices and a small meeting room. According to Professor Emerita Katherine Reebel, “The house was eventually torn down, but we used to affectionately call it the little gray house in the West. Others dubbed the house, less affectionately, as “the shack.” Fedele F. Fauri, 1951 Fedele F. Fauri was appointed the first dean of the School. Fauri was a pioneer in the field of social legislation and public welfare. Much of the current social welfare legislation at both the state and federal levels is the product of his activities, first as director of the Michigan Department of Social Services, and then through his years in Washington, DC, where he held numerous leadership positions.
The School of Social Work became an independent unit. The curriculum included courses in social casework, group work, community organization, public welfare, research and statistics, administration and field work.
1946
The Rackham Building, at 60 Farnsworth in Detroit, housed the school during the ’40s. ONGOING · Winter 2021 · 7
