The National Association of Social Workers (NASW), and the School of Social Work in the Falk College at SU, began its annual commemoration of National Professional Social Work Month on March 1. The NASW designated March as National Social Work Month in the 1960s to provide recognition and voice for social workers who represent one of the largest professions in the country. SU’s School of Social Work has been recognized nationally for community organization and activism, clinical training in family systems, gerontology, and concentrations in health and occupational social work. SU’s School of Social Work has educated generations of social workers for more than 50 years, offering a bachelor of science in social work and a master of social work. In 2013, it announced the offering of the nation’s first dual master’s degree program in social work and marriage and family therapy.
As part of National Professional Social Work Month, SU social work students and faculty attended Lobby Day on March 4 in Albany, a collaborative project of NASW and the New York Association of Deans and Directors of Schools of Social Work. The legislative issue was “Loan Forgiveness.” Later this month, members of the NASW New York State Central Division will sponsor lunch for social work students, which includes a meal of soup and bread to remind students of the profession’s history in advocating for the poor.