2014-2015 GSSW Faculty & Staff Award Winners announced

Congratulations to all the award winners!

MSW Priority application date is right around the corner!

For some readers of this blog our subject might be a reminder to submit an application. For some readers this might be the first time you’ve thought about submitting an application to get your MSW. For some, you’ve already submitted and are probably thinking “did I get in?”

For those that have not yet submitted their application it is not too late! We thought we would provide some tips for applying and know it’s not too late to apply and still join us next Fall!

Tip #1

GSSW has three different MSW program applications currently available. One in Denver, one in Durango, and one in Glenwood Springs. Now the question might be: what program is right for me? Well ask yourself the following question:

Where do I currently live or would prefer to live as a MSW student?

If you answered Denver then you will need to apply online by visiting: http://www.du.edu/socialwork/admission/index.html

• Our Denver program is currently accepting applications for our Advanced Standing (BSW holders only) and Two-Year MSW programs. If you are applying as a two year student select Fall, if you are applying as an Advanced Standing select Summer when starting your application.

If you answered Durango then you will need to download our application and mail it into our office. To get your very own copy of our application please visit: http://www.du.edu/socialwork/media/documents/fourcornersapplication.pdf.

• Our Four Corners Program (located in Durango) is currently accepting applications for our Advanced Standing (BSW holding) students only.

If you answered Glenwood Springs then you will need to download our application and mail it into our office. To get your very own copy of our application please visit: http://www.du.edu/socialwork/media/documents/westerncoapp.pdf.

• Our Western Colorado Program (located in Glenwood Springs) is currently accepting applications for our Two Year program.

Tip #2

Have your transcripts sent to GSSW directly. This is for all programs!

What’s the address you may ask? Well our address is:

Graduate School of Social Work

University of Denver

2148 S. High St.

Denver, CO 80208

GSSW can accept some electronic transcripts. Before requesting an electronic  transcript be sent please check with Nick Ota-Wang at Nick.Ota-Wang@du.edu.

Tip #3

Ask for recommendations before you apply.

Giving a recommender a heads up that you are applying will give them time to watch for our recommendation request and give them time to submit your recommendation.

Remind your recommenders  that our email maybe in their junk/spam folder.

Tip #4

Your career goal statement, and your resume are your documents. Both tell us about you and why you would be a great fit to join the GSSW student body.

Keep your career goal statement between 7-10 pages double spaced. Answer questions in order asked, and if you want to use labels please do. If you want to write a flowing essay please do. It’s up to you!

Your resume should be a professional resume but remember that volunteer experience.

Tip #5

Email gssw-admission@du.edu or call our office 303-871-2841 with questions, check your application status, and to ensure we have received your materials. We want to hear from you!

Fun face about GSSW: We were founded in 1931, have been fully accredited since 1933, and are the oldest MSW program in the Rocky Mountain Region. Come be part of a long historic tradition of excellent Social Work Practice!

GSSW & DU closed for the Holidays & New Year!

Happy Holidays & Happy New Year!

We at GSSW want to wish all of our readers of this blog a very Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year!

As a reminder we will be closed from December 25 – January 1, re-opening on January 2.

See everyone in 2015!

9th GSSW Director/Dean – James Herbert Williams, PhD – GSSW’s current Dean

James Herbert Williams, PhD, MSW, MPA, University of Denver

9th GSSW Dean/Current Dean

2010 – Present

James Herbert Williams is Dean and Milton Morris Endowed Chair at the Graduate School of Social Work at the University of Denver. His research and practice focuses on human security and economic sustainability, health promotion and disease prevention, behavioral health disparities and health equity, global practice and sustainable development, adolescent violence and substance use, mental health services for African American children in urban schools, disproportionate minority confinement of African American youth in the juvenile justice system, school safety and violence prevention, and community strategies for positive youth development. James Herbert joined the University of Denver faculty as dean in 2007; prior to his appointment as Dean, he was the Foundation Professor of Youth and Diversity at the School of Social Work at Arizona State University and the E. Desmond Lee Professor of Racial and Ethnic Diversity at the Brown School of Social Work at Washington University in St. Louis. He also served as Associate Dean for Academic Affairs at the Brown School. His funded research and training includes grants from NICHD, NIMH, NIDDK, DOJ, DOE, DHHS, UNCRD, OMH, and the Danforth Foundation. His scholarship has been published in several health and social science journals.

James Herbert is currently the Editor-in-Chief for Social Work Research. He is a member of International Editorial Advisory Board for Regional Development Studies; member of the Editorial Board for the Journal of Adolescent Health; and member of the Scientific and Technical Advisory Group for the Global Risk Forum’s One Health Initiative. James Herbert has held various leadership roles including President of the National Association of Deans and Directors of Schools of Social Work (NADD), and three CSWE Commissions (Educational Policy, Diversity and Social and Economic Justice, Information Management and Research); a member of the Action Network for Social Work Education and Research (ANSWER), a board member of the Institute for the Advancement of Social Work Research (IASWR), a member of the International Committee of the National Association of Social Work, and he has twice served as a member of the Society for Social Work and Research (SSWR) Board of Directors both as a member-at-large and as Vice-President. He served as a member of the NADD strategic planning task force and co-chair of the NADD task force on health disparities.

James Herbert received his B.A. from Grambling State University, his MSW from Smith College, his MPA from the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs, and his PhD from the University of Washington, Seattle..

If you like to get an appointment with Dean Williams or contact him please email gsswdean@du.edu or call the Office of the GSSW Dean at (303)-871-2203.

The Work-School Balance

As a work-study student in the admissions office, many prospective students ask me if people work in the program, if it’s possible, and if not, how on earth does anyone make ends meet?

When I first came to GSSW for orientation, I remember worrying about my future schedule, consisting of work-study, internship, class time, and a part -time work schedule. I was worried I wouldn’t be able to do it and wondered if anyone else was experiencing the same sense of hesitancy. On that first day, I sat next to a woman who, it turned out, had a full-time job, kids, and was in the full-time 2-year program! I decided to keep my little worries to myself as it became clear that others had similar if not more demanding schedules.

What I’ve learned over the past year and a quarter is that, yes, working and going to school is possible. Not only is it possible, many of my classmates make it happen. We are all under the stress of an intensive program but we all also need to eat and have shelter. So, my answer to prospective students is “yes, it is in fact more than possible to work and go to school.”

For those of you entering the two-year program full-time, I would suggest keeping a part-time work schedule. I find that if my work-time exceeds 20 hours a week, I become a bit frazzled. I also think it’s important to find jobs that are somewhat flexible; after all, during the quarter, you may need to pull an all-nighter or cut your hours a bit, but for the rest of the year, your schedules open up. Lastly, I would remind you that you are not alone and that many in this program are both going to school and trying to sustain life (and that both are important to succeed).

—-

In solidarity,
Julie

8th Director/Dean – Catherine Alter

CATHERINE FOSTER ALTER (1938-present)

Dean and Professor (1996-2006)

Dean Emerita (2006-present)

Catherine Alter attended Grinnell College (Iowa), graduating in 1960 as a double major in American Studies and Journalism. Her MSW was completed at University of Iowa (1975). The results from her masters thesis, indicating the overrepresentation of children of color in special education classes in the Davenport, Iowa School District, were used as data in supporting a complaint of racial bias filed with the U.S. Civil Rights Commission, which eventually led the school district to institute a plan of remediation. She completed her Ph.D. in social work at the University of Maryland (1985), conducting dissertation research on interorganizational service delivery systems.

Alter’s prior professional practice career includes staff and executive positions in public relations, television production, urban planning, administration of area-wide services for seniors, directing a program for at-risk children, and conducting research on social and economic development. She has held paid and/or consulting positions with the Children’s Defense Fund, the Carnegie Council on Children, the Institute for Social and Economic Development, and served as technical expert for the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention, U.S. Department of Health & Human Services.

Prior to coming to GSSW as the eighth head of the social work at DU, she was a faculty member at St. Ambrose College (Iowa), University of Maryland, and University of Iowa. At University of Iowa, she chaired the four-city social work satellite programs, was Director of the School of Social Work, and Coordinator of the Graduate Program.

Notable achievements during her tenure as GSSW Dean include curriculum innovations such as: the distance education program in the Four Corners area; certificate programs in working with Latino/as, survivors of trauma, and the use of animals to assist social work practice. She instituted the first comprehensive strategic planning and budgeting process at GSSW; greatly expanded the size of staff and faculty; significantly increased the financial aid assistance to MSW and doctoral students; created continuing education and outreach programs to alumni, community practitioners, and human service agencies; networked with other Colorado social work education programs about the advancement of the profession; coordinating the efforts among NASW, Colorado Society for Clinical Social Work, and other groups to continue social work licensing in Colorado; and, most recently, successfully led a seven year capital campaign which raised over $11 million for the renovation and expansion of the School’s present home, Craig Hall. As a result of these efforts, along with increased faculty scholarship and research, GSSW has moved significantly higher in the national rankings of accredited schools of social work place.

GSSW On the Road: Upcoming Graduate School Fairs and Panels

2014-2015 GSSW is on the road and we’d love to see you!

Colorado

September 23, 2014 – Colorado State University  Graduate School Fair– Fort Collins, Colorado

October 2, 2014 – University of Denver Graduate School Fair – Denver, Colorado

October 9, 2014 – Virtual SW Graduate School Fair – Online. Contact Nick Ota-Wang (Nick.Ota-Wang@du.edu) for details.

October 15, 2014 – Metropolitan State University of Denver – Graduate School Panel – Denver, Colorado

Florida

October 23 – 26, 2014 – CSWE National Conference – Tampa. Florida

California

November 8, 2014 – Forum for Diversity in Graduate Education – University of San Diego, San Diego, California

April 8, 2015 – Forum for Diversity in Graduate Education – Sonoma State University, Rohnert Park, CA

If you are near any of our travels and would like to chat with an admission counselor please contact Nick Ota-Wang by email to Nick.Ota-Wang@du.edu or call (303)-871-2779.

We hope to see you soon!

2014-2015 Information Sessions

Interested in obtaining your MSW degree? Ever wonder how the application process, financial aid, and academic work happens at the University of Denver’s Graduate School of Social Work?

If your answer to any or all of the questions above is YES then please consider signing up for one our information sessions this year!

• September 20 (Saturday, 9-noon)
• October 10 (Friday, 1-4)
• November 14 (Friday, 1-4)
• December 5 (Friday, 1-4)
• January 10 (Saturday, 9-noon)
• March 6 (Friday, 1-4)
• May 15 (Friday, 1-4)

To RSVP click here.

The sessions will be held in the Community Room in Craig Hall.

If you have any questions or would like to have the opportunity to speak with one of our Admission & Financial Aid staff please email us at gssw-admission@du.edu or give us a call (303)-871-2841.

We look forward to seeing you or speaking with you soon!

GSSW Deans and Directors Series: Leverne McCummings, 5th GSSW Dean, 1978-1985

LEVERNE MCCUMMINGS (1932-)

5^TH GSSW Dean, 1978-1985

The first person of color to serve as director or dean of GSSW.

The first African American to serve as a graduate dean at the University of Denver.

LeVerne McCummings was born and raised in South Carolina, attending segregated elementary and secondary schools in Marion County. Although his family moved to Philadelphia when he was 19, McCummings returned to the South, attending St. Augustine’s College in Raleigh, North Carolina from 1952 to 1960. (His undergraduate work was interrupted by two years of military service in the U.S. Army.) He graduated from St. Augustine’s (a four year liberal arts college for African Americans, operated by the Episcopal Church), majoring in social studies, with minors in psychology and urban mental health. As a college student, he was active in two national civil rights organizations. After graduation, he married Betty Hall, who later earned a doctorate in public administration from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs.

He began his practice career in the Philadelphia area, starting in 1960. Over the next 15 years, McCummings worked in various positions as a public school teacher; a public welfare caseworker; development director for the Lutheran Social Mission Society; community development director for the Wharton Settlement House; and held several administrative or executive positions in the Model Cities Program in Philadelphia. He also held administrative positions in public and private agencies in Columbus, Ohio, while completing his doctorate.

McCummings completed his MSW in 1966 at University of Pennsylvania. In 1973, he joined the social work faculty at University of Kentucky. He earned a doctorate in social work from Ohio State University in 1975, while also serving on that faculty as an assistant professor. His areas of expertise were group work, administration, health, and aging. He spent two contentious years as a faculty member at Syracuse University School of Social Work, battling what he perceived to be entrenched institutional racism.

He came to DU in 1977 as Associate Professor. Became GSSW Dean in 1978, at age 45. Later, was elected president of the Council of Deans and Directors (1982-1985). His tenure as GSSW Dean occurred during a period of prolonged severe financial crisis at the University. Much conflict occurred with the faculty over program direction, hiring, budget and spending priorities, and the threat of GSSW’s potential consolidation with the School of Professional Psychology and College of Education–which would have resulted in the loss of GSSW’s status as an independent academic unit. McCummings left GSSW in 1985 to become the President of Cheyney University in Philadelphia, one of the oldest Historically Black Colleges in the United States, which was threatened with loss of accreditation because of its own prolonged financial crises and administrative turnover. McCummings served as president of Cheyney until 1991.

4th GSSW Dean – Kenneth W. Kindelsperger (1914-2000)

KENNETH W. KINDELSPERGER (1914-2000)
4th GSSW Dean (1971-1978)
Interim Vice-Chancellor for Academic Affairs (1978-1979)
Acting Dean, Colorado Women’s College, 1980-82 (supervising its merger with DU)
Recipient, Outstanding Service to the University of Denver Award, 1986

Ken Kindelsperger was born in Galesberg, Illinois. Ken received a B.S. and M.S. degree in social group work from George Williams College (Chicago) in 1942. He completed his doctorate at the Syracuse School of Social Service Administration in 1956. He held various social work positions in Chicago while attending college and graduate school. During WW II, Ken served as Lt. Commander, U.S. Naval Reserves, which included a stint as Fleet Morale Officer at Pearl Harbor. After the war, he was the Secretary for Planning and Research for the Council of Social Agencies at Syracuse, NY, and eventually joined the social work faculty at University of Buffalo in 1950. Subsequently, he served as dean of schools of social work at three universities: Syracuse University, University of Louisville (KT), and University of Denver.

Two major themes highlight his career as a social work educator and administrator. First, he was committed to international social work. He worked for two years in India, studying social problems and helping to establish schools of social work. Later, he made two visits to South Vietnam as a consultant for the Agency for International Development, studying social welfare conditions and making recommendations. He traveled to many other countries and served on numerous international committees at CSWE and other social work organizations. Second, he was deeply committed to the advancement of civil rights for oppressed racial and ethnic groups. As Dean of the Kent School of Social Work at Louisville, he participated in the march on the state capital to demand passage of civil rights legislation.

He came to GSSW during the time when student protests over the Vietnam War and racial discrimination were at fever pitch. Although faced with the loss of federal stipends for social work training, instituted by the Nixon administration, he nonetheless managed to increase significantly the number of MSW and doctoral students of color, and also increased the faculty of color. He was a widely respected administrator, known as hard working, compassionate, and fair.
Ken and his older brother, Walter, were both deans of social work at the same time–the only known set of “brother deans” in the history of the profession.