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About the School of Social Work

History
Mission
Accreditation
Governance/Organization of the School
Faculty and Academic Professionals

History

The first social work faculty members at Illinois State University were hired in 1968 by the Department of Sociology-Anthropology as part of the continuing national movement toward social work professionalization. In 1970, the Board of Regents recommended that Illinois State develop an undergraduate social work program to meet the growing need for entry level professionals. In 1976, the social work major was implemented.

In 1980, the undergraduate social work program received its initial accreditation from the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE), retroactive to 1979. In 1992, the social work program became independent of Sociology and Anthropology Department and became the Department of Social Work. In 1998 the Illinois Board of Higher Education approved our proposal for a Master of Social Work degree program at Illinois State University.

In August 2000 the first class of MSW degree candidates began their graduate study at Illinois State and in September 2000 the Department of Social Work became the School of Social Work. In 2002 the first MSW students received their degrees; in 2003 the MSW Program received Initial Accreditation from CSWE. In 2007 the concentration School Social Work was added.

The School of Social Work is committed to high standards of teaching, scholarship and community service. We take great pride in the quality, diversity and experience of our faculty. Several of our faculty members are recognized nationally and internationally as leaders in their particular areas of expertise. Many publish books and articles in professional journals and present papers at professional meetings. Some serve on the editorial boards of major journals. Others hold posts on the boards of professional and academic associations and councils. Many serve as consultants to local, state and national agencies and are involved in professional and community service apart from their teaching, service and scholarly work.

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Mission

The mission of the School of Social Work is to further social and economic justice, progressive social change, human dignity and personal freedom in a pluralist society undergoing rapid technological and social change. To this end, our School strives to provide leadership in graduate, undergraduate and continuing education, applied research and both academic and community service with support from public and private partnerships.

The School of Social Work seeks to advance the mission of the University and the social work profession in general through education for excellence in generalist (BSW) and specialized (MSW) practice with a particular commitment to outreach to the disenfranchised, the vulnerable and the poor.

The baccalaureate curriculum prepares beginning level, generalist practitioners with fundamental skills for assessment and case planning, linking clients to resources and coordinating social services for clients in need. Our MSW curriculum prepares advanced practitioners who can effectively serve clients and the social work profession through providing clinical services, supervision, program administration, research and leadership in public service and advance the profession of social work.

To achieve our mission, we embrace the following beliefs:

We believe that faculty, administration, staff and students must share a common and well-articulated view of the future of the School and that it is the responsibility of all to work toward this vision. A core component of this vision is academic freedom.

• We believe that the School must be committed to excellence in research, teaching and service to the community and that it is the task of all faculty, students and administration to continually refine the measures of effectiveness of our research, teaching and service.
• We believe that the role of the faculty is to teach, to expand the boundaries of research and to apply knowledge through community service to local, national/international problems and issues in a manner that is consistent with the School’s vision.
• We believe that the role of the administration is to lead the School in defining and developing management structures that address the School’s needs; and to acquire and manage the resources necessary to move toward accomplishing the School’s goals.
• We believe in participatory decision-making; that is, all faculty, administration and students have the right to participate as well as the responsibility to seek and promote informed participation in the School’s decisions. Input from students and the practice community will be sought on specific matters.
• We believe in open communication.
• We believe faculty and administration should be accountable and that performance should be linked with the reward systems of the University.
• We believe that the School’s decisions should be debated and formed within the framework of the governance structure.
• We believe that faculty members should be given adequate resources to conduct research and promote their professional development.

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Accreditation

The School of Social Work’s Baccalaureate and Graduate programs hold discipline-based accreditation. The School of Social Work’s BSW Program has been continuously accredited since 1979 and its Master of Social Work (MSW) Program has been accredited since 2003 by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE), the accrediting body for social work education programs. Please see the CSWE web site for other information on accreditation at http://www.cswe.org/CSWE/accreditation/.

Illinois State is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools. All teacher preparation programs are accredited by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education and are certified by the Illinois State Board of Education. The University holds institutional memberships in the American Council of Education, the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education and the Council of Graduate Schools of the United States.

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Governance/Organization of the School

To find out more about the School of Social Work department, please see the Web site at http://www.socialwork.ilstu.edu/about_us/admin_governance.shtml

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Faculty and Academic Professionals

For a complete listing of our faculty and staff, please see our Web site at http://www.socialwork.ilstu.edu/faculty_staff/index.asp.

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