By Valerie Fields Hill
School of Social Work
The UTA School of Social Work, with its top-ranked graduate program, is hosting a conference for university doctoral program directors from Social Work schools across the country.
The Group for the Advancement of Doctoral Education in Social Work’s annual conference brings together directors from Fordham’s Graduate School of Social Work, the Crown Family School of Social Work at the University of Chicago, Loyola University School of Social Work and many other programs in the United States.
Representatives from the industry organization the Council on Social Work Education, which influences curriculum and determines accreditation for the nation’s Social Work schools will also attend this week’s conference.
In all, more than 75 scholars will gather Wednesday, March 29, through Friday, March 31, at the Arlington Hilton and on UTA’s campus to discuss the challenges facing Social Work instructors and teachers as they try to forge a path forward on an increasingly complex American political landscape.
This year’s event will be the first in-person gathering since members met three years ago in Los Angeles. The group met virtually in 2021 and in 2022.
“Our theme this year is Doctoral Education in Divisive Times: Learning from the Past to Educate for the Future,” the organization said in a statement to members on its conference website.
“We hope that the conference will serve as a forum for purposeful dialogue on how we can draw on lessons from our shared history to prepare Social Work doctoral students to be instrumental in achieving a more civil, equitable, and just society,” the statement read.
“The annual conference also serves as a vital resource for doctoral program directors for networking, resource sharing, and professional development.”
The Group for the Advancement of Doctoral Education in Social Work, or GADE, encourages the attainment of doctoral degrees in the Social Work profession.
Dr. Justin Harty, an assistant professor in the School of Social Work at Arizona State University, is the conference’s keynote speaker.
Among UTA professors and staff members participating at this week’s conference are Dr. Scott Ryan, professor, and dean of the UTA School of Social Work; Dr. Marcela Nava, assistant professor; Monica Cinazares, graduate research assistant; and attorney and UTA Title IX coordinator Michelle Wilbanks.
Please view photos of GADE 2023 Annual Conference.