Skip to Local Navigation
Skip to Content
California State University, Long Beach
Print this pageAdd this page to your favoritesSelect a font sizeSelect a small fontSelect a medium fontSelect a large font
 

Message from the Director

John OliverWelcome to the Spring 2008 semester. Collectively, the department's students, faculty, and staff have an opportunity to continue shaping our learning community as a place where different ideas are embraced and people are valued and respected. Members of our community are empowered when they are included in policy decisions that affect them and when our operating procedures reflect principles of equity and social justice. To that end, I invite your participation in the department's governance structure. I also encourage you to attend the large number of educational forums sponsored by the department, our Alumni Association, NASW Unit, the Associated Students of Social Work (ASSW) and its affiliated organizations.

During the Fall 2007 semester, the department increased the scope and volume of research and training contracts, faculty publications and student stipends. We also embellished our reputation as a national leader in distance education and in the education of social workers who are specialized in providing evidence based services for elderly populations. Located in the most ethnically diverse mid-size city in America, the departments’ academic programs provide students with a unique exposure to current practice, policy and social issues.

In the future, it is anticipated that the campus will approve the department's proposal to develop our Center for Research in Social Work and Social Change. Supported by 1.2 million dollars in base funding provided by the department, the center will greatly expand research opportunities for faculty, students and local practitioners. Conceptually anchored to an applied research theoretical framework, the center will seek funding for and implement collaborative projects that enhance the professions knowledge base while contributing to the application of empirically supported practice modalities. The Center will represent the culmination of our departmental plans to integrate our educational mission with our commitment to support the practice community in providing effective social services.

Please accept my best wishes for a productive Spring semester.

Envision Peace and Joy,

John Oliver, Ph.D

Mission of the Department of Social Work

The Department of Social Work at CSULB is situated in a multiculturally diverse and dynamic area of the nation. It makes itself broadly accessible to prospective students so that graduates can serve the varied needs of the local, state, national and international communities in which they practice. The Department is committed to recruiting and maintaining faculty who are highly skilled and who display excellence in teaching; undertake research and scholarship to advance the knowledge base; and provide service to the profession, university and the larger community.

The primary mission of the Department of Social Work is to educate a diverse student group for BASW and MSW entry into the profession who can demonstrate competent and ethical social work practice with diverse populations in systems of all sizes based on interventions that reflect state of the art and evidence-based knowledge.

In addition, the mission of the Department for faculty, students, and graduates, is to engage in activities to promote social justice, to enhance the quality of life for all persons, to advocate for the elimination of poverty, oppression and discrimination, and to take leadership roles in the development of effective service delivery systems.