TY - JOUR
T1 - Reflections on the history of the society for social work and research, 2008–2018
AU - Fong, Rowena
AU - Gehlert, Sarah
AU - Marsh, Jeanne C.
AU - Uehara, Edwina S.
AU - Williams, James
N1 - Funding Information:
By 2008, SSWR had enjoyed extraordinary growth and success in meeting its original goals. Beginning with Williams, the organization was graced with strong board leadership that acted swiftly to establish and expand the society. From its inception, SSWR was energized and guided by an active membership base and supported by organizations within and beyond social work. SSWR’s first conference was launched, for example, by a small, dedicated cadre of member volunteers with assistance from the Institute for the Advancement of Social Work Research and financial support from the National Institute of Mental Health and the National Institute on Drug Abuse.
Funding Information:
The aforementioned events caused profound introspection within the social work profession that challenged SSWR’s identity and place in the sphere of social work professional organizations. SSWR leaders participated in discussions to consider new organizational alliances and configurations that might strengthen the profession to address the worsening economy and plight of disenfranchised and economically impoverished individuals, families, and communities. SSWR was faced with how it could leverage its greatest asset: its ability to conduct research and use evidence to improve health and well-being. A historic meeting of 10 social work organizations and associations—entitled “Social Work: Future of the Profession”—was held at the Wingspread Conference Center in Racine, WI, on June 18, 2007, with representatives from the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE), the National Association of Social Workers (NASW), SSWR, the Association of Social Work Boards, the National Association of Deans and Directors of School of Social Work (NADD), the Group for the Advancement of Doctoral Education in Social Work (GADE), the Action Network for Social Work Education and Research, the Association of Baccalaureate Social Work Program Directors (BPD), the Institute for the Advancement of Social Work Research (IASWR), and the St. Louis Group for Excellence in Social Work Research and Education (SLG) in attendance. I represented SSWR as its president. Julia Watkins (2008), executive director of CSWE at the time, argued that the lack of a unified voice for the profession hampered its influence on social policy and political decision-making. Facilitated by an outside professional, the meeting aimed to explore how to develop such a unified voice. A number of ideas were proposed at the 2-day conference, ranging from a way of structuring or positioning the organizations to allow for the development of a collective voice and vision, to dissolving the separate entities and reforming them as a single organization. One idea for the latter was to develop subgroups within the organization that specialized in education, practice, and research. These subgroups were to be configured logically based on the aims of the individual organizations. SSWR clearly fell into the category of research. The resulting Wingspread Unification Resolution was supported by all in atten- dance (Hull, 2008). However, although goals were identified, no specific actions were delineated.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2019 by the Society for Social Work and Research. All rights reserved.
PY - 2019/6/1
Y1 - 2019/6/1
N2 - Founded in 1994, the Society for Social Work and Research (SSWR) is social work’s scientific society, widely recognized as the world’s foremost venue for scientific exchange, advancement, and connection of social work researchers at all career levels. In 2008, in an effort to preserve the organization’s history, SSWR’s first 7 presidents collaborated on an account of the society’s first 14 years (1994– 2008). This article brings the assessment of SSWR’s history to the present day by sharing the perspectives of SSWR’s next 5 presidents (2008–2018). During their terms, SSWR experienced dramatic expansion of membership and annual conference offerings, introducing new avenues for broad participation among its membership and conference contributors. Increasingly, SSWR has assumed a smart, collaborative role in promoting social work science in the profession’s maturing ecology of social work knowledge development.
AB - Founded in 1994, the Society for Social Work and Research (SSWR) is social work’s scientific society, widely recognized as the world’s foremost venue for scientific exchange, advancement, and connection of social work researchers at all career levels. In 2008, in an effort to preserve the organization’s history, SSWR’s first 7 presidents collaborated on an account of the society’s first 14 years (1994– 2008). This article brings the assessment of SSWR’s history to the present day by sharing the perspectives of SSWR’s next 5 presidents (2008–2018). During their terms, SSWR experienced dramatic expansion of membership and annual conference offerings, introducing new avenues for broad participation among its membership and conference contributors. Increasingly, SSWR has assumed a smart, collaborative role in promoting social work science in the profession’s maturing ecology of social work knowledge development.
KW - Research
KW - Research infrastructure
KW - SSWR
KW - Scientific organization
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85062235065&partnerID=8YFLogxK
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U2 - 10.1086/702826
DO - 10.1086/702826
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85062235065
SN - 2334-2315
VL - 10
SP - 189
EP - 211
JO - Journal of the Society for Social Work and Research
JF - Journal of the Society for Social Work and Research
IS - 2
ER -