The Department of Social Work was created in 1956 and initially administered within
the College of Letters & Science. In 1963, the Department was renamed the School
of Social Work, but at this time was still administratively part of Letters &
Science and headed by a director. In 1965, the School changed its name to the School
of Social Welfare and became an independent school led by its own dean. The School
of Social Welfare during this period maintained a curriculum similar to that of the
modern Department of Social Work, although in 1968 a program in Criminal Justice was
added to the school's offerings. In 2002, the faculty of the School of Social
Welfare voted to departmentalize the school into a Department of Criminal Justice
and a Department of Social Work, citing the need for both programs to focus on their
particular specialities. The split was approved by the Faculty Senate and the two
departments split in Spring 2003.
Department Heads
| 1956-1957 |
Willard E. Downing
|
| 1957-1963 |
John W. Teter
|
| 1963-1968 |
Quentin F. Schenk
|
| 1969-1972 |
P. Frederick Delli Quadri
|
| 1973-1974 |
John W. Teter
|
| 1974-1979 |
Gregory O'Brien
|
| 1980-1988 |
Fred Cox
|
| 1988-1989 |
William Berg
|
| 1989-1991 |
James Blackburn
|
| 1991-1994 |
Robert Scheurell
|
| 1994-1995 |
Sharon Keigher
|
| 1995-1997 |
William Berg
|
| 1997-2002 |
Joan Jones
|
| 2002-2004 |
James A. Blackburn
|
| 2004-2016 |
Deborah Padgett
|
| 2016- |
Joan M. Blakey
|
