School of Social Work Receives Grant from The Louisville Institute

February 8, 2010

Follow us on Twitter:@BaylorUMediaCom Dr. Diana Garland, dean of the School of Social Work, has been awarded a grant of $24,530 to do research on social work with congregations from The Louisville Institute. Co-investigator is Gaynor Yancey, associate dean for baccalaureate studies and the Professor of Church and Community.
Garland is one of the pioneers of research and publication in the integration of faith and social work, with previous publications that include Family Ministry: A Comprehensive Guide (InterVarsity Press, 1999), Sacred Stories of Ordinary Families (Jossey Bass, 2003), and Church Agencies: Caring for Children and Families in Crisis (Child Welfare League of America, 1992).
The new project is designed to describe congregational social work and to serve as the basis for a textbook for social work educators and students in preparation for social work practice with congregations.
"Social workers in congregations bring an added dimension of professional leadership and knowledge that help the church envision and achieve its mission and ministry goals in long-term, transformative ways," Garland said.
Garland and Yancey will conduct in-depth interviews with 50 social workers employed as consultants or staff members at congregations to develop descriptions of congregational social work grounded in their experiences.
The Louisville Institute is a Lilly Endowment-funded program based at Louisville Seminary supporting those who lead and study American religious institutions. The fundamental mission of the Louisville Institute is to enrich the religious life of American Christians and to encourage the revitalization of their institutions, by bringing together those who lead religious institutions with those who study them, so that the work of each might inform and strengthen the other.

Contact: Diana Garland, Dean of the School of Social Work, (254) 6223

Contact: Gaynor Yancey, Associate Dean for Baccalaureate Studies, (254) 710-6424