Baylor Celebrates 50 Years of Social Work
In the span of 50 years, Baylor Social Work has grown from an academic division within the department of sociology, anthropology, archeology, gerontology and social work to a nationally ranked and renowned school. A celebration of this milestone and those who made it possible was the focus of the School’s annual Family Dinner on April 26. The event paid special tribute to the program’s founding chair, Dr. Preston Dyer, who continues to serve students and alumni as professor emeritus through teaching and mentoring.
An alumni brunch followed on April 27, when the School announced its Time Capsule Project. The project invited alumni, students and current and former faculty and staff to provide notes of advice to future students, reflections on their Baylor social work experiences and related memorabilia for a capsule that will be placed and sealed at year’s end for the next generation of Baylor social work students to unseal in the future.
“It is an exciting time to be a part of the Diana R. Garland School of Social Work. Social work education at Baylor University is holistic training focused on the enhancement of individual well-being, the need for community engagement and the power of social change,” said Jon Singletary, dean of the School of Social Work. “For 50 years, we have trained social workers to see beyond the present state of affairs and work toward a better future for all. We have taught the importance of faith in social work practice, recognizing the role faith plays in the lives of clients, families and communities.”
In conjunction with the University's Give Light Campaign, the School’s anniversary celebration includes a goal of raising “$50,000 for 50 years” to support two funds: The Preston and Genie Dyer Endowed Scholarship and the W.O. Carver Endowed Fund. The School has set a goal of increasing the Dyer Scholarship by $25,000 to better support social work majors. Additionally, a Carver School alumna has committed $25,000 to match new gifts to the W.O. Carver Endowed Fund, which honors the continuation of Carver School of Social Work through Baylor’s program.
The rich heritage shaped by Drs. Dyer and Garland continues to inspire the purpose, passion and ever-expanding presence of the Diana R. Garland School of Social Work. Within five years of the social work program’s inception in 1969 under the guidance of Dr. Dyer, Baylor was recognized among the top 100 programs for social work by U.S. News & World Report. The program grew rapidly and became a division within the College of Arts & Sciences.
Dr. Garland helped secure the future of social work graduate education at Baylor University as the first director of that new program back in 1999. She’d brought to Baylor a deep conviction that faith enhanced the social work profession from her years at the Carver School of Church Social Work in Kentucky. After the closing of the Carver School, she and colleagues from Carver developed social work curriculum for Baylor, threading the 100-year history of the Carver School into Baylor’s legacy.
When the master’s in social work program launched in 1999, it was the only accredited MSW program of its kind in the country, with an emphasis on church social work and concentrations in child and family services, gerontology and international cross-culture practice. It ranked No. 87 in the annual U.S. News & World Report “2005 Best Graduate Schools” edition (and today is No. 59). The same year saw the establishment of the School of Social Work, which Dr. Garland would lead as inaugural dean for the next decade.
By 2010, the School had outgrown its space on campus as its national influence on the study, discipline and practice of Christian social work also grew. A move to an expanded 33,000-square-foot space in downtown Waco enhanced student learning by better accommodating community collaboration and field internships with more than 100 local nonprofit social service agencies, at the time providing more than 68,000 hours of complimentary professional services for Central Texans annually. Immersed in the heart of the community, in Waco and beyond, the School has continued to flourish.
“Today, the School of Social Work offers the BSW, an MSW available in Waco, Houston and online, and a PhD available online,” said Singletary. “Faculty and student research is having an impact on the profession, as is the work of alumni who are serving all around the world. As we celebrate our Golden Anniversary, we want to celebrate the accomplishments of our students, faculty, staff and alumni.”