For Immediate Release
Contact:
Carrie Murdock deGuzman
1.703.519.2057, cmurdock@cswe.org
September 22, 2010 – Mitchellville, MD—CSWE will celebrate Katherine A. Kendall’s 100th birthday on Saturday, September 25, at her residence from 1:00 pm–5:00 pm. During her impressive career Kendall made trailblazing contributions to international social work, higher education, and CSWE.
One of CSWE’s founding members, Katherine A. Kendall’s research helped raise the reputation of social work as a professional career. Kendall also helped expand the definition of international social work, among countless other contributions.
“Katherine is a champion of CSWE’s mission and has truly defined the present-day meaning of international social work in both higher education and practice,” said CSWE Executive Director Julia M. Watkins. “Her success in internationalizing the profession has inspired CSWE to expand its efforts to achieve an increasingly interdependent global professional community.”
During the early years of the United Nations Kendall conducted a world survey of social welfare training and need qualifications. This survey’s findings, published in 1950, influenced the United Nations to pass a resolution that called for the professionalization of social workers. It was also the first of what eventually were 5 world surveys of social work education sponsored by the United Nations.
In her role as a founding member of CSWE Kendall served as the organization’s first educational secretary in 1952. In 1958 Kendall became associate executive director until she was promoted to executive director in 1963. Stepping down from that role in 1966, Kendall became CSWE’s director of international education. In 1971 she left CSWE to become the secretary general of the International Association of Schools of Social Work (IASSW).
As IASSW secretary general Kendall lead a global, multiyear family planning project through a grant funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development. In this role she also helped IASSW evolve from a Western/European-centered organization to a global one represented on all continents.
The Katherine A. Kendall Institute for International Social Work Education strives to prepare educators, researchers, students, and practitioners for an increasingly global community through its programs and initiatives. Established in 2004 with contributions to an endowment in honor of international social work icon Dr. Katherine A. Kendall, the Institute promotes standards of excellence for international social work to integrate related concepts into social work curricula and seeks to enrich perspectives, understandings, collaboration, and networking within the social work community.
The Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) is a nonprofit national association representing more than 3,000 individual members, as well as graduate and undergraduate programs of professional social work education. Founded in 1952, this partnership of educational and professional institutions, social welfare agencies, and private citizens is recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation as the sole accrediting agency for social work education.
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Learn more about the Katherine A. Kendall Birthday Celebration and the CSWE institute carrying her name by visiting CSWE Honors Katherine A. Kendall.