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UNIVERSITY ARCHIVES

Finding Aid for the
SCHOOL OF SOCIAL WELFARE
RECORDS, 1967-1985
(UA-690)

VOLUME: 3 cubic feet

ACQUISITION: All items in this record group were donated to the University Libraries, M.E. Grenander Department of Special Collections and Archives, by the School of Social Welfare or through the University's printing office.

ACCESS: Access to this record group is unrestricted.

COPYRIGHT: The researcher assumes full responsibility for conforming with the laws of copyright. Whenever possible, the M.E. Grenander Department of Special Collections and Archives will provide information about copyright owners and other restrictions, but the legal determination ultimately rests with the researcher. Requests for permission to publish material from this collection should be discussed with the Head of Special Collections and Archives.

• Series 1:  Annual Reports
• Series 2:  Accreditation Studies, 1966-75
• Series 3:  General File
• Series 4:  Continuing Education Program Publications (CEPP)

School of Social Welfare
Administrative History

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The School of Social Welfare was established in December of 1963 by the Board of Trustees at State University of New York.  Impetus for creation of the School came as a result of two reports, the Moreland Commission Report in January of 1963 and the New York State Committee Report on Medical Education in June of 1963.  Both reports concluded that the State of New York faced critical shortage of social workers.  As one means of alleviating this shortage, a new School of Social Welfare was proposed situated on the campus of the State University of New York at Albany.[1]

In 1964, Dr. Richardson L. Rice was appointed the school's first dean and began efforts to establish a two-year master's program in social welfare.  The first class entered the master's program in the fall of 1965 and graduated on June 11, 1967.  The Council of Social Work Education granted accreditation for the master's program in 1969.[2]
From the start of the program, the School of Social Welfare has made every effort to recruit minorities and women as students.  In 1968 the School entered into an agreement with Gambling College of Louisiana to take minority students.  By 1970, the School had one full-time and one part-time black faculty member.[3]  The School's efforts in this area would often be frustrated by more wealthy schools competition for qualified black candidates and the growing number of alternate careers open to blacks.

1968 also saw the founding of the Institute of Gerontology with the hiring of Reverend Anthony Rocha to develop courses and academic research, foster research, and raise outside funding to support research in gerontology.[4]  The study of aging would develop into a major research and teaching emphasis of the School of Social Welfare.

In 1970, bachelor's degree program in Social Welfare was approved by the University Senate, and initial consideration was given to a proposal for a Ph.D. program.  The undergraduate course offerings began in 1970-71, and the Schools' Masters Program was reaccredited.  A broadening of the curriculum also occurred with the addition of required courses in geriatrics, social policy analysis, and program development.  Social policy analysis became a formal area of concentration.

By the school year 1971-72, as admissions soared, the school ranked 35th in size out of 76 schools of social work nationwide.  The previous year the school had ranked 60th out of 76.[5]  A new concentration in social welfare administration was added to the curriculum.  The governance structure of the School was changed by the creation of the Council of the School of Social Welfare.

The early seventies saw a rising chorus of demands for SUNYA to become active in working for social change.  The School of Social Welfare responded to this demand by continuing their pursuit of minority students and by creating a number of programs that made use of their expertise in dealing with social problems.  A Social Service
Study Unit was created to refer student volunteers to local agencies.  A Neighborhood Services Unit (renamed the Neighborhood Outreach Unit in 1973-74) was also created to provide assistance to inner city residents.  Stationed in Arbor Hill, this unit functioned as a clinical teaching facility, providing counseling to married couples, and aid to senior citizens. Together these two programs constituted the Community Service Program, designed to involve enrolled students in volunteer social work.[6]

Despite the decline in federal support and the precarious nature of state finances during the early seventies the School launched a number of new initiatives.  In the fall of 1972, a full undergraduate major was offered leading to a B.S. degree.  By the spring of 1973 the undergraduate degree program was accredited.  Field instruction was introduced in 1973-74 with courses offered in state and private agencies where staff and personnel supervised and instructed enrolled students.  The year 1972-73 saw the newly created Institute of Gerontology collaborate with the State Office for the Aging in research projects.[7]

In the face of continued fiscal strain, the School launched new programs in continuing education during 1974-75. These included an extended study management program and a comprehensive education program for child welfare workers.  Both concentrated on problems associated with child abuse and were designed to allow part-time study toward a professional degree.[8]  By 1976 these programs enrolled 750 county and state agency personnel.  The relationships established between the School and outside community agencies and institutions helped the School obtain 1.3 million dollars in grants.[9]

The State of New York, as well as the various regional agencies, sought to use the School's expertise to solve pressing social problems  In 1976, the State requested the services of the School to aid them with the Temporary State Commission on Child Welfare.  The State wanted to develop a new legal service manual for child welfare workers, overhaul state laws concerning child welfare and institute new training programs for social workers.  The School contributed to these goals by creating the Continuing Education Program during 1975-76 to extend educational opportunities to State and local social service agencies and by sponsoring of numerous educational conferences.[10]

State-wide budget cuts in the mid and late seventies slowed the schools development.  There were no significant changes in policy or curriculum.  The proportion of faculty to students remained high, with over 25 students per professor, and progress in seeking new senior faculty members was slow due to the stiff demand for the few senior candidates in the field.[11]

The creation of the Nelson A. Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy in 1981-82, and the incorporation of the School of Social Welfare into the College, signaled renewed growth for the School.  The first evidence of this development was the establishment of an accelerated bachelor's/master's program offering a shortened program (12 months instead of 18).  Program changes were also implemented to meet the needs of part-time students.  The long planned Ph.D. in Social Welfare was finally approved by the SUNY Board of Trustees in 1982, the program accepting its first doctoral candidates in 1984.[12]  The School's master's program incorporated a specialization in group child care.  Work-study placements in area agencies were arranged for graduates in the part-time master's program created the year before.  With the provision of a permanent endowment for the Institute of Gerontology by Stanley and Rhoda Ringel, the Institute was renamed the Ringel Institute of Gerontology in 1982.  The renamed institute has actively developed new initiatives to increase knowledge of the processes of aging.

The creation of Rockefeller College provided impetus for the School of Social Welfare to pool its resources with other schools in Rockefeller College.  By the mid eighties the School was cooperating in a number of endeavors with the School of Criminal Justice, Public Administration, and the School of Public Policy.  Plans were also made to create a graduate program incorporating Health Policy and Management.[13]

 Currently, the School of Social Welfare offers bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees.  In terms of faculty productivity it is ranked in the top five of the nation's 90 accredited Social Welfare Schools.  Graduate specializations to date are found in child welfare, mental health, family welfare, health, and aging.  Cooperative programs with the schools mentioned have expanded, and steps are now being taken to create a Health and Policy Management graduate program.  A new combined M.S.W./M.A. program in Sociology has been created in conjunction with SUNY--New Paltz.  The School has recently created a Center for Social Work Practice Research.  The school's long term interest in aging is manifested in its continued support and sponsorship of the Ringel Institute of Gerontology.[14]

Deans of the School of Social Welfare

Richarson L. Rice, 1964-68
Charles T. O'Reilly, 1968-69
William S. Rooney, Acting Dean, 1969-71
Charles T. O'Reilly, 1970-76
Seth W. Spellman, Acting Dean, 1976-77, Dean, 1977-81
Stuart Kirk, 1981-88
Susan R. Sherman, Acting Dean, 1989-
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Notes
1.  School of Social Welfare, Annual Report, 1967-68, p. 1
2.  School of Social Welfare, Annual Report, 1968-69, p. 2
3.  School of Social Welfare, Annual Report, 1970-71, pp. 6-7
4.  Institute of Gerontology folder, Verticle File, circa 1971
5.  School of Social Welfare, Annual Report, 1970-71, p. 3
6.  Ibid., pp. 5-8
7.  School of Social Welfare, Annual Report, 1972-73, p. 11.
8.  School of Social Welfare, Annual Report, 1974-75, p.2.
9.  School of Social Welfare, Annual Report, 1975-76, pp. 22-23.
9.  Annual Report of the Continuing Education Project, 1975-76, p. 1.
10. School of Social Welfare, Annual Report, 1977-78, p. 1.
11. State University of New York at Albany, Final Budget Request, 1985-86, p. 78.
12. University at Albany, SUNY, Final Budget Request, 1988-89, p. 125.
13. ?
14. University at Albany, SUNY, Final Budget Request, 1989-90. p. 77 School of Social Welfare

School of Social Welfare
Scope and content notes

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Contained in the record group are School of Social Welfare Annual Reports, 1967/68-1977/78; bulletins, 1965/66-83/84; accreditation reports on the School, 1966-75; internal self-studies; and proposals for the bachelors, masters, and the Ph.d. Programs.  There is little Dean's correspondence other than that addresses to a wide audience found in the Archives vertical file.

The bulk of the records consist of School of Social Welfare and sub-unit publications. The publications were received from the University print shop and consist primarily of reports and program guides.  Most of these documents were published by the Continuing Education Project, 1975/76-79, subsequently called the Continuing Program, 1979-.

The record group also contains a few publications of the Ringel Institute of Gerontology and the Community Service Program.

Photographs of faculty and students from the School of Social Welfare from the University Archives Photograph Collection are available for viewing online from the University at Albany Libraries' Digital Collections database.

School of Social Welfare

Annual Report
 1967-1968
 1968-1969
 1969-1970
 1970-1971
 1971-1972
 1972-1973
 1974-1975
 1975-1976
 1976-1977
 1977-1978

Series 2:  Accreditation Studies, 1966-75

Box 1

Accreditation Study: Vol. I--Self Study, 1966
Accreditation Study, Vol. II--Illustrative Material, 1966
Accreditation Study, Vol. II--Illustrative Material, Section 2, 1966
Accreditation, 1967
Report on Campus Visit for Accreditation, May 1967
Accreditation Study--Volume I, Self Study, February 1969
Accreditation Study Vol. I, A Self Study, February 1969
Accreditation Study Vol. II , Self Study February 1969
Proposal for a Bachelor of Science Major, December 1970
Mandatory Review following Accrediation, April 10, 1972
Applications for Approval: Undergraduate Social Work Program: Council in Social Work Education, Sept. 1973
Status Report and Projections for the School of Social Welfare, Spring 1973
Application for Accreditation Council on Social Work Education, June 1974
Application for Accreditation:  Council on Social Work Education, Appendix, June 1974
HEW Regulations on Protection of Human Subjects, Oct 1973
Reaccreditation Study, Volume II, Self Study Part A (2 folders), 1975
Reaccreditation Study, Volume 2, Self Study, Part B (2 folders), 1975
Accreditation Study, Volume I, 1975

School of Social Welfare
Box and Folder List

Administration/Supervision course concentration--Task Force Recommendation, undated
Administrative Self Study, October 1975
Admissions procedures, undated
Alumni Association announcement and notes, August 1, 1983
Alumni, form letters to, 1984-86
Alumni survey, 1976
Application for Admission to Graduate Study

School of Social Welfare
Box and Folder List

Income Maintenance, Medical Assistance, Food Stamps and Health (IM, MA, FS & H)

Box 4

#1000 Social Policy and Services: A Process-Oriented Reader, 1979

#1003 Developing Training Programs for IM: A Train the Trainer Guide for Staff Development and IM staff, 1977

#1004 Developing Training Programs for IM/MA: A Train the Trainer Guide for Staff Development and IM/MA staff, 1978

#1005 Developing Training Programs for IM/MA: A Train the Trainer Guide for Staff Development and IM/MA Staff--Year ll, 1981

#1007 Task Analysis in Public Welfare Staff Development: A Report on the New York City Experience, 1977

#1008 Training Program for Workers: IM/MA, Second Edition, 1979

#1009 Training Program for Workers: IM/MA, Year ll, 1978

#1010 Advanced Training Program for Workers: IM/MA, 1978

#1011 Advanced Training Program for Workers: IM/MA,Year ll, November 1979

#1012 Special Needs Programs: IM/MA Training, 1978

#1013 Special Needs Programs for Workers: IM/MA Training, 1979

#1015A Training Program for Reception/Intake Workers: Year ll, 1981

#1017 Selected Training Program for Workers: Communication Skills, 1981

#1019 Training Resources for Workers in IM/MA, Second Edition, 1979

#1020 Training Resources for Workers in IM/MA, Third Edition, 1981

#1021 Training Program for Supervisors: IM/MA, Second Edition, October 1979

#1022 Training Program for Supervisors: IM/MA, Year ll, 1978

#1023 Advanced Training Program for Supervisors: IM/MA, 1978

#1024 Advanced Training Program for Supervisors: IM/MA, Year ll, November 1979

#1025 Special Needs Programs for Supervisors: IM/MA Training, July, 1979

#1028 Selected Training Programs for Supervisors: Planning and Conducting Effective Meetings, 1981

#1029 Selected Training Programs for Supervisors: Supervisory Performance Skills, 1981

#1031 Training Resources for Supervisors in IM and MA, Second Edition, 1979

#1032 Training Resources for Supervisors in IM and MA, Third Edition, 1981

#1033 Selected Training Topics for Workers: Handling Stress at Work, 1981

#1035X Categorical Determination for Aid to Dependent Children and Home Relief, Workshop manual, November 1984

#1037XRegional Food Stamp Training Interview Management, Workshop Manual, May 1984

Box 5

#6209 Eligibility Calculations under the Food Stamp Act of 1977: A Training Manual, 1977-2P

#6209 Your Food Stamp Program in New York State: A Trainer's Guide, 1977-3P

#6210 Food Stamp Curriculum: The New Food Stamp Supervisor, 1983

#6213 Food Stamp Curriculum: The New Food Stamp Issuance Cashier, 1983

#6214 Food Stamp Curriculum: A Trainer's Guide (three folders), 1983

#6216 Child Support Enforcement: A Trainer's Guide to IV-A/IV-D Interface, 1983