Undergraduate Bulletin > Social Work
Department of Social Work
Faculty
Elizabeth W. Lindsey, Professor and Chair of Department
Professors Rife, Schmitz, Wineburg
Associate Professors Claes, Coakley, Dennison, Floyd-Pickard, Hurd
Assistant Professors Bacallao, Poole, Washington
Academic Professional Assistant Professors Carter, Kanode, Register
Lecturer Pearson
Mission of the Department of Social Work
Our mission is to educate students to become competent, engaged social workers who demonstrate the knowledge, ethics, values, and skills of the profession. We accomplish this goal within a transformative learning community that encourages the professional development of students, staff, and faculty. We promote civil rights and pursue social justice for oppressed and marginalized people. We improve the lives of citizens of the Piedmont Triad and beyond through our signature pedagogy, field instruction; through our community-engaged scholarship and research; and through the ongoing leadership of our students, alumni, and faculty.
Department Goals
- Prepare graduate and undergraduate students to become competent, engaged social workers who demonstrate the knowledge, ethics, values, and skills of the profession.
- Prepare graduates to work effectively with diverse and marginalized people.
- Prepare students to facilitate inclusion at all systems levels—individual, family, group, organization, community, and policy.
- Create a learning community that respects diversity and encourages the exploration of difference.
- Increase engagement with social service agencies and other community institutions to promote social change.
- Conduct change-oriented research to promote social and economic justice.
Mission of the Bachelor of Social Work Program
Our mission is to prepare competent, ethical social workers who will become the backbone of the social services delivery system in the Piedmont Triad and beyond. We prepare students to engage with others at the intersection of race, gender, and class, in order to promote healthy functioning for individuals, families, groups, and communities. Our goal is the transformation of personal history into professional identity through mentoring, teaching, our signature pedagogy—field education, research, and engaged scholarship. Learning takes place within an intentional, collaborative community that respects and embraces diversity and promotes inclusion.