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Strengthening Diverse Families
and Communities---Our Vision our Mission
The mission
of Howard University School of Social Work is congruent with the mission of
the University. Howard University Mission Statement: Howard
University, a culturally diverse, comprehensive, research intensive and
historically Black private university, provides an educational experience of
exceptional quality at the undergraduate, graduate, and professional levels
to students of high academic standing and potential, with particular
emphasis upon educational opportunities for Black students. Moreover, the
University is dedicated to attracting and sustaining a cadre of faculty who
are, through their teaching, research and service, committed to the
development of distinguished, historically aware, and compassionate
graduates and to the discovery of solutions to human problems in the United
States and throughout the world. With an abiding interest in both domestic
and international affairs, the University is committed to continuing to
produce leaders for America and the global community.
The School
of Social Work is committed to providing quality social work education for
students irrespective of race, creed, gender, sexual orientation,
disabilities or national origin. Additionally, the School is committed to
educating students for advanced professional social work practice and
doctoral careers in teaching and researching who will be able to assist in
the solution of human, organizational and social problems, particularly
those affecting the poor and oppressed and Black people. That commitment is
realized through educational programs, research and scholarly inquiry and
community service.
The
following vision and mission statements were adopted by the faculty on March
3, 2010.
Our
Vision
is to enhance human well-being and transform those human, organizational,
social and economic conditions which impact African Americans, Africans in
the Diaspora, other people of color, and the global community.
Our
Mission
is to prepare MSW graduates for advanced professional practice at local,
national and international levels for the solution of human problems and to
become leaders in their communities; and to prepare doctoral graduates for
research, the professoriate, and leadership in the global community. We are
dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge through discovery, research,
partnerships, innovative practices, and other scholarly educational
endeavors of its faculty, staff, students, and alumni. Graduates of the
master’s and doctoral degree programs are expected to become architects of
liberating structures in culturally diverse families and communities that
are empowered to serve the best interests of all of their members.
Our vision and mission are guided by the core values of the university and
the profession. These core values are embedded in our curricula. They
include an appreciation of scientific knowledge generated by research,
sensitivity to the inequities derived from systemic and institutional
societal arrangements, respect for the history and achievements of people of
all colors, a desire for social justice and a commitment to the
transformation of oppressive conditions that serve as barriers to the
realization of growth and development of persons within societies.
The Black Perspective: Our
Guiding Philosophy
The core values reflect the Black Perspective, the guiding philosophy of the
School of Social Work. The Black Perspective has been a part of the
inception of the school and later evolved to include a focus on health and
well-being and socio-cultural dynamics to be addressed in practice. The
formalization of the Black Perspective occurred in the 1970s. It reaffirms
the richness, productivity and vigor of the lives of African Americans,
Africans, and people of color and marginalized and oppressed people in other
parts of the world and emphasizes the delineation of ways in which the
strengths of African Americans can be used to respond to oppressive and
discriminatory systems. Additionally, the Black Perspective calls for
sensitivity to the experiences of all oppressed and underserved groups and
embraces an international dimension with special emphasis on Africa and
Caribbean. Thus, while our students are uniquely prepared to engage
and work with diverse Black populations, they are equally readied to work
with all other populations, particularly those that have experienced
oppression and discrimination.
Six
Principles of the Black Perspective
Principle
1 – Affirmation:
The Black Perspective is an affirming and profoundly liberating stance at
both the individual and collective levels. It celebrates the richness,
productivity and vigor of the lives of African Americans and Blacks in the
U.S. and in other parts of the world. The School of Social Work is committed
to imbuing social work practice and theory with this Perspective. This
mission means a commitment on our part to use increasing levels of
scholastic productivity and rigor, teaching effectiveness, and social work
practice competence as tools to advance the contemporary Black agenda, as
well as a commitment to public services, a service arena of importance to
the Black community.
Principle 2 – Strengths:
Precisely
because the Black Perspective is first of all an affirmation of strength, it
insists on delineating ways in which that strength can be used to respond to
the continuing oppression of Black people. The search for the causes,
consequences and elimination of oppression is inherent in all areas of
social work practice, research, and education.
Principle 3 - Diversity:
The Black Perspective is distinctive but not monolithic. Simplistic, global
characterizations of Black individuals, families, groups and communities are
intolerable. It is equally unacceptable to overlook the genuine cultural,
economic, political and social bonds of distinctiveness that do exist.
Producing social work practitioners, researchers and educators who are
faithful both to the commonalities of interest and experience and to the
rich and complex diversities within the Black population is a demanding
educational task. Knowledge of commonalities and diversities is continually
expanding. Keeping abreast of that knowledge, contributing to it, and
shaping social work practice to it are prime elements of our mission.
Principle 4 – Vivification:
The Black
Perspective is a positive and vivifying stance, not a negative or
exclusionary one. This means that the School of Social Work has a special
mission to educate Black social work practitioners, researchers and
educators while at the same time providing quality professional education to
all students regardless of race, creed, sex or national origin. The School’s
curriculum gives primacy to Black content and, in fact, the School is a
national leader in the development of social work curriculum materials that
are responsive to the Black population. At the same time, the curriculum
provides all of our students with a broadly- based professional preparation
which gives them career flexibility and the skills to work with the diverse
elements of modern American society.
Principle 5 – Social Justice:
The Black
Perspective means a special sensitivity to the experiences of all oppressed
and underserved groups in American society. There is no contradiction
between giving primacy to the Black experience and being responsive to the
perspectives and experiences of other groups who have been subjected to
oppressive forces. Howard University’s heritage as a leader in the struggle
for social justice places the School of Social Work in a uniquely
advantageous position to work with all groups seeking equality and freedom
from oppression.
Principle 6 – Internationalization:
An international dimension with a special emphasis on Africa and the
Caribbean area is intrinsic to the School’s Black Perspective. The School of
Social Work has a mission to educate international students for positions of
direct social work practice and leadership roles in social welfare
administration and policy in their home countries. A second aspect of the
international dimension is our School’s commitment to developing that area
of social work practice dealing with refugees and other displaced
populations -- both those individuals displaced within their own countries
and those displaced across national borders. A final aspect of the
international dimension is the School’s desire to foster in its graduates a
sense of involvement and commitment to other parts of the world as an
element of their professional identity. This is especially important for
those areas where issues of social justice and social welfare for people of
color are crucial. |
