University at Buffalo - The State University of New York

‘Curriculum of Social Work’ established

Dean Benjamin Lyndon and faculty and staff of the School of Social Work, 1961. Photo: UB ARCHIVES

• Print

• Comments

Published: July 1, 2010

Since its founding more than seven decades ago, the UB School of Social Work has prepared thousands of social work professionals committed to making a difference in people’s lives. The school’s history dates back to 1924, when Niles Carpenter, a family sociologist and ordained minister, arrived at UB as chair of the sociology department.

Shortly after his arrival, a group of social workers approached Carpenter to discuss the possibility of starting a school of social work at UB. He described the group’s proposal as, “to say the least, a surprise to me.” Despite Carpenter’s initial astonishment, the first social work courses were added to the UB curriculum in 1926. Courses in “Case Work” and in “Family Relations” met in the old Charity Organization Society Building on Franklin Street in downtown Buffalo.

Under Carpenter’s direction, UB filled a gap in social work education, which at the time was centered primarily in New York, Boston, Cleveland and Pittsburgh. Students from Western New York who trained in these cities typically accepted positions in the cities where they were trained, so Carpenter recognized the importance of training social workers in Buffalo in hopes of retaining them in this area.

With the onset of the Depression in 1929, the need for trained social workers became increasingly urgent, and a formal structure for social work education was established at UB.  A “Curriculum of Social Work,” was created within the College of Arts and Sciences in 1930, and upon completion of this curriculum, students received a Certificate in Social Work. The certificate program was approved by the American Association of Schools of Social Work in 1934, and two years later, the UB School of Social Work was formally established with Carpenter as its dean.

The rich history of the UB School of Social Work is outlined in the documentary video, “Living Proof: Reflections on 75 Years of Social Work Education,” which tells the story of the UB School of Social Work from its founding to the present. The school’s History Project invites past and present members of the school and its extended community to tell their stories in a collaborative effort to chronicle the school’s history.

—Kathleen Quinlivan, University Libraries