History of the Social Work Program
Dr. Norman Eggleston chaired the Social Work Department from its inception in 1976 until his retirement in 1995. Under his leadership CSWE accredited UAB's social work program at the baccalaureate level in 1977.
Dr. Eggleston's retirement coincided with the University's plan to reduce operating expenses so as to increase efficiency. Early in 1996, the Social Work Department merged with the Department of Political Science and Public Administration to become, The Department of Government and Public Service. Political science, social work, and pulbic administration all charged to work on behalf of public interest formed a multi-disciplinary department, with each making contributions to enhance the well-being or our community's citizens.
Under the leadership of Dr. Virginia Sweet, the social work program developed an innovative curriculum that breiged distinct world views held by each discipline.
In 2002, the social work program merged with the Department of Anthropology to create the Department of Anthropology and Social Work. The fields of Anthropology and Social Work are linked intellectually by their parallel commitments to a methodology that demands long term personal relationships between scholarly investigators and professional practitioners on one hand and informants and clients in their social and cultural settings on the other.
