Meet the Race Symposium Participants: Moderator Keith A. Alford

On Thursday, Sept. 1, Syracuse University will host the inaugural Fall 2016 Symposium on Race and Our Communities. This inaugural symposium will feature student speakers, a keynote address by Dr. Marc Lamont Hill and a panel discussion including an esteemed panel of scholars, activists and experts. Moderating the symposium is Keith A. Alford, School of Social Work chair and graduate program director and associate professor of social work in the Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics.

Alford teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in social work, including human diversity in social contexts, strategies of social work intervention and social work practice with individuals, families, and groups. His research specializations include mental health service delivery to children and families, culturally specific programming for children in out-of-home care, contemporary rites of passage programming and loss/grief reactions among African American families. He was also named one of the “30 Most Influential Social Workers Alive Today” by Social Work Degree Guide magazine.

A 2009 recipient of SU’s Martin Luther King, Jr. Unsung Hero Award, Alford earned a Ph.D. and M.S.W. from The Ohio State University. He is a member of the Council on Social Work Education and the National Association of Social Workers.

The Fall 2016 “Symposium on Race and Our Communities: Race, Justice, Violence and Police in 21st Century America” is scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 1, at 5 p.m. in Goldstein Auditorium, Schine Student Center. Tickets are available at the Schine Student Center Box Office; students, faculty and staff must present valid Syracuse University ID.