BPD Comes to Austin

The twenty-third annual BPD Conference was held in Austin, Texas, November 3-6, 2005. The conference theme was "Rounding Up Resources to Strengthen and Preserve Children and Families."

At the opening plenary, BPD president Linda Moore welcomed BPDers to her home state of Texas. We were also welcomed by Kim Womack, conference chair and president of the Texas chapter of NASW.

Local planning committee cochair Deneece Ferrales then introduced the plenary speaker, Dr. Christine Ludy-Dobson, director of programs at the Child Trauma Academy of Houston, Texas. Dr. Ludy-Dobson made an excellent presentation in which she discussed the prevalence of child maltreatment in this country and then went on to relate this phenomenon to social changes. Although in the past there were many adults for each child in a family, there are now many children per adult family member. She discussed the change from an interdependent clan structure to the individualism touted in today's society. With these changes have come increases in mental illness, suicide, and other social problems. Early experiences of children help to organize their brain systems. If a young child's brain does not receive proper stimulation, the child fails to develop organizational skills required in school and in lager life. The brain of a severely neglected child may actually fail to grow in size at a normal rate. The child has difficulty forming attachments and may exhibit violent behavior later in life. More information can be found at the organization's website: http://www.childtrauma.org.

The plenary was followed by a very special opening reception in which Groove Labs invited each of us on stage to become a star. A few photos of that event are included here, with more to follow in the winter issue of BPD Update Online.

BPD president Linda Moore gave her address on Friday morning after the BPD-sponsored continental breakfast. Her address was titled "Linkages and Leadership: Making Our Way Together." Noting that 2005 is the thirtieth anniversary of BPD, she began by quoting the mission of BPD, which is to support excellence in baccalaureate social work education. The year 2005 is also the tenth anniversary of BPD's Journal of Baccalaureate Social Work (JBSW). She reminded members that the March 2008 conference in Destin, Florida, will be the twenty-fifth conference that BPD has sponsored. In keeping with the roadstops outlined by former BPD president Anita Curry-Jackson, BPD now has written policies; sound accounting practices; and an amazing full-time staff person, Kristine Moreno, who is housed at the Council on Social Work Education in Alexandria, Virginia. Based on member feedback, a major change was approved by the membership this year, giving full voting rights to all members. New challenges that face the organization have prompted BPD to form linkages with leaders of other social work organizations, including the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE), the National Association of Social Workers (NASW), the National Association of Deans and Directors (NADD), the Group for the Advancement of Doctoral Education (GADE), and the Society for the Advancement of Social Work Research (SSWR). BPD will work to have influence on the development of the new accreditation standards and on the development of new curriculum models. BPDers hold many leadership positions in CSWE, and all BPD members are urged to become members of CSWE. BPD is working with GADE to increase the number of doctorally prepared faculty as a means to address the current shortage of faculty. The organization is working with NADD to address issues related to the continuum in social work education. BPDers were well represented in the first NASW Congress, held earlier this year, and members were urged to add their expertise to NASW's public awareness campaign http://www.helpstartshere.org. The organization is working with SSWR to emphasize research and scholarship for social work educators and to focus on evidence-based practice. Together with other social work organizations, BPD supports the Action Network for Social Work Education and Research (ANSWER), the Institute for the Advancement of Social Work Research (IASWR), and Influencing State Policy (ISP). BPD is also working to increase its membership (both in numbers and in diversity), to mentor its members, and to market the BSW. The address ended with a plea to all members to become actively involved by joining committees, running for office, and sharing their leadership skills.

Friday's sessions were followed by a "Deep in the Heart of Texas" buffet, including salad, Southern-fried chicken and catfish, and Southern pecan pie. Following the buffet, many members were off to a memorable evening at Esther's Follies.

Saturday morning was the time for the annual membership meeting. We were pleased to learn from Treasurer Debbie Simpler that we have a balanced budget. Kim Womack announced that the conference had 660 regular registrants, 151 students, and 61 exhibitors, plus invited guests, for a total of more than 1,000 participants. Next year's conference will be at the Wilshire Grand, in the heart of Los Angeles, with a theme of "Bridging Borders: Building Ties-Transforming Relationships." Proposals are due on February 1, 2006. Members were informed that the bylaws revision was passed with an 80 percent majority of those who voted. There were also verbal reports from many of BPD's newly revamped committees.

The Ron Federico Memorial Lecture was held immediately after the membership meeting. Brad Sheafer, Eleanor Downey, and Connie Kledaras introduced speaker Tina U. Hancock, whose presentation was titled "Come the Revolution: Human Rights, the Far Right, and New Directions for Social Work Education."

Later on Saturday, the Mit Joyner Gerontology Leadership Award was presented to Anissa Rogers of the University of Portland. The awardee discussed "Leadership for the Next Generation of BSWs: A Model for Mentoring Students to Work with Older Adults." Dr. Rogers gets her students to think of long-term projects in gerontology and then gets them out of the classroom and into the community to implement those projects. Two of the projects were cross cultural, involving Mexican American and Japanese American families. She encourages her students to apply for grants and keeps them informed of funding available to those who wish to pursue graduate study in gerontology. She also mentioned the importance of infusing gerontology into social work education.

Also on Saturday afternoon, the Jim Wahlberg Scholar, Katherine A. Vance, was presented with a full scholarship to the University of Michigan.

Saturday came to a close with a rousing performance by the Shameless Blues Band. BPDers danced well past the witching hour of midnight.

The annual recognition luncheon was the final event of the conference and was held on Sunday afternoon. At this luncheon, BPD presented its first lifetime achievement awards. The first recipient was Dr. Will Braxton Scott. His award was accepted posthumously by his wife. Dr. Scott was described as a leader who assisted many BSW programs in their development. He helped to develop opportunities for African American students and advocated for BSW accreditation. He is a former recipient of the lifetime achievement award of the Council on Social Work Education.

The second lifetime achievement award was presented to Grafton Hull, current editor of JBSW, founder of BEAP, and former editor of BPD Update. During his career, Dr. Hull has authored/coauthored seven books, served on numerous committees, completed nineteen site visits and candidacy visits, and developed two BSW programs.

The award for Outstanding Baccalaureate Program Director was presented to Ann Myers, who established University Center for Service Learning. She has served on many BPD committees and on the BPD board. She was described as a mentor to faculty and a role model for students.

Awards were also given to past BPD President Anita Curry-Jackson and to former BPD board members Steve Anderson, Freddie Avant, and Virginia Cruz.

Eleanor Downey, who is in charge of exhibits, was honored for her work. She has increased the number of exhibitors at the conference from twenty to thirty, up to sixty-one exhibitors this year.

A special award was given to Kim Womack, who has served as conference chair for the last few BPD conferences and who is completing her work in that role this year.