There are many things to take from the conference. I hope you were all able to hear Tina Hancock present the Ron Federico
Memorial Lecture titled "Come the Revolution: Human Rights, the Far Right, and New Directions for Social Work Education."
It was thoughtful, insightful, and motivational, making us think about what we do to challenge our students and ourselves
to address social justice.
Anissa Rogers received the Mit Joyner Gerontology Leadership Award and discussed "Leadership
for the Next Generation of BSW's: A Model for Mentoring students to Work with Older Adults." Her focus on encouraging students
to apply for grants and pursue graduate study in gerontology and the importance of infusing gerontology into social work education
is one we need to support. There were many presentations that focused on how we can do our best to prepare the next generation
of social workers. We also learned about the process of developing the new EPAS. Make sure you keep abreast of that development
over the next two years.
I am excited to begin the next year of conference planning and involvement with our many
sister organizations. We are now all voting members, so we can make decisions together. We have been invited to be more involved
in EPAS planning, so I am nominating several BPD members to serve on the CSWE Commission on Curriculum and Educational Innovation
(COCEI). We are expanding our conference committee to allow more members to be a part of the process. We want to re-create
a research committee to link with the Society for Social Work Research (SSWR) and provide opportunities for members to learn
more about the research process. We need more members on the publications and membership committees and in leadership positions.
The list of committees and committee chairs is on the website (
www.bpdonline.org). Go there and contact the chair of any committee if you are interested in serving. Please let Kristine Moreno (
kmoreno@cswe.org), me (
l.moore@tcu.edu), or any member of the nominations committee know about your interest in board positions, committee membership, or CSWE appointments.
We want all of us to have the opportunity to work within BPD to enhance undergraduate social work education, to make necessary
changes in existing policies or programs, to affect CSWE and particularly work on accreditation standards, and to meet each
other and network. Service is fun!
The conference was wonderful. Next year we meet in L.A. at the Wilshire Grand Hotel
for another great celebration. Between now and then, there is much to be done. Please get involved, be vocal, join early,
and keep that commitment to BPD. I look forward to working with you all!
Linda Moore, President
