For Immediate Release
Contact:
Carrie Murdock deGuzman
Marketing & Communications Manager
Office of Member and Communication Services, CSWE
1.703.519.2057, cmurdock@cswe.org
More than 3,000 social work educators, students, and practitioners convene November 6–November 9 for CSWE’s 55th Annual Program Meeting
San Antonio, TX, November 3, 2009 – More than 3,000 social work educators, students, and practitioners will convene November 6–November 9 for the Council on Social Work Education’s (CSWE’s) 55th Annual Program Meeting (APM); Bridging Rights, Culture, and Justice: Social Work as a Change Agent. Congressman Edolphus “Ed” Towns, sponsor of the Dorothy I. Height and Whitney M. Young, Jr. Social Work Reinvestment Act, will deliver this year’s Carl A. Scott Memorial Lecture on November 9, among other headlining speakers, events, and activities.
During his 75-minute address, Congressman Towns (New York, 10th District) will discuss the opportunities that social workers have as a result of the new U.S. presidential administration. Cosponsored with the National Deans and Directors of Graduate Social Work Admissions, this year’s Carl A. Scott Memorial Lecture is fittingly titled Social Work in a Season of Change. Congressman Ciro D. Rodríguez (Texas, 23rd District), MSW, will also make an appearance at the 2009 APM Opening Ceremony on November 6 to receive CSWE’s Presidential Award.
“Both Congressmen Towns and Rodríguez are very accomplished in both social work and policy making and we’re honored to have them with us at the 2009 APM,” said CSWE Executive Director Julia M. Watkins. “Their presence will be a reminder of how important it is for all social work educators to continue their commitment to change and justice.”
Additionally, the data collection advancements of CSWE’s Institutional Research staff will premiere at the 2009 APM. CSWE’s Benchmarking Services, the only of its kind, will debut at a November 7 introductory session to help social work programs assess how progress towards their own goals compare to peers’ offerings. On November 8, another session will feature findings from the report just jointly released with Lambda Legal that examines how social work students are currently being prepared to serve the gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgender community.
In-depth discussions of particular educational topics or “summits” occurring every other year also begin at the 2009 APM. The 2009 summit is Field Education as the Signature Pedagogy, a 6-hour discussion on November 9 about the integration of classroom content and the field education experience.
Before the conference begins on November 6, preregistered attendees have new opportunities to learn from senior faculty members and administrators at Leadership Development Institutes and Field Directors Development Institutes. Both new workshop formats present a great opportunity to hear fresh perspectives on emerging and core issues in field education and social work management/leadership.
Throughout the conference, attendees are encouraged to help reduce San Antonio’s illiteracy and functional illiteracy rates (both 12.5%) by donating multicultural kindergarten–3rd grade books to the Leer da Poder/Reading Empowers service project. Organized by the 2009 APM Regional Planning Committee, the Scholastic Literacy Caravan will collect and distribute the donations in collaboration with the San Antonio Public Library.
All 2009 APM events will be held at the Grand Hyatt San Antonio and the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center. CSWE expects more than 2,600 professionals and more than 600 students from all 50U.S. states to attend.
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 in this country.
###