UW School of Social Work Marks Fifty Years

The School of Social Work at the UW–Madison will celebrate its 50th anniversary as an autonomous university program during a two-day conference May 2-3.

The conference, “Fifty Years of Social Concern,” begins with “The Debra Beebe Memorial Lecture,” a public lecture honoring social work student Debra Beebe, who was tragically killed while working in a Madison group home.

The lecture begins at 3 p.m. on May 2 in Grainger Hall and is titled “The Portrayal of Mental Illness in the Media,” by Anne Deveson, an award-winning author, broadcaster and filmmaker from New South Wales, Australia. Deveson’s advocacy on the behalf of mentally ill persons and their families is known internationally.

Starting off the events on May 3 is the keynote address “Investing in our Children,” by Martha Ozawa, Bettie Bofinger Brown Professor of Social Policy in the George Warren Brown School of Social Work at Washington University. The address starts at 9 a.m. at Union South. Ozawa is an internationally respected social policy scholar who earned her master’s and doctorate degrees at UW–Madison in the late 1960s. She has authored four books and more than 100 journal articles.

Two other internationally known speakers — Alfred Kadushin, UW–Madison emeritus professor of social work, and Jay Cayner, president of the National Association of Social Workers — will discuss current issues and concerns in social work and social work education on May 3.

Kadushin will present “Reflections on a Half Century in Social Work Education, Then and Now,” at 10:30 a.m. at Union South. Cayner, who earned his master’s in social work at UW–Madison in the 1970s and is director of Social, Patient and Family Services at University of Iowa Hospital, will speak on “The Changing Tide of Social Work Practice” following dinner at 7 p.m. at Lowell Hall.

The conference on May 3 also features 15 workshops addressing a variety of social work issues and led by UW–Madison faculty. The Evjue Foundation is providing much of the financial support for the conference.

For more information, contact Ruth Evans at (608) 262-3561.