Altogether, almost 900 alumni/ae, participants and friends convened for this once-in-a-lifetime event. The attendance was more than twice as large as at the School's memorable 90th anniversary celebration held in 1988. More important, this was an occasion that EVERYONE enjoyed. Countless phone calls, letters of congratulation and comments from people who did and, indeed, some who did not, attend have expressed delight and joy about this landmark celebration. Moreover, even though there were some 900 attendees, not a single negative word has come to my attention! Several of the many letters we received are reprinted in this issue of the Newsletter.

The plenary speakers, workshop participants and discussants created the most intellectually stimulating conference that I have attended in 35 years as a social worker. They were true to the three central themes of the Celebration: remembering the past, confronting the present, and envisioning the future of social work education. The range of topics was expansive. Most important, the quality of the content was breathtaking. In one of the three plenary sessions, Professor Emeritus Alfred J. Kahn expertly traced the School's 100 years of contributions to social work education. In a second plenary session, the leaders of all of the national associations within our profession shared their views about present challenges to social work while also paying tribute to Columbia's historic contributions to social work education. In the third plenary session, Rebecca Rimel, President of the Pew Charitable Trusts, Joseph Coyle, M.D., Chairman, Department of Psychiatry and Eban S. Draper Professor of Psychiatry and Neuroscience at Harvard University, and Paul Goldberger, staff writer and architecture critic for The New Yorker magazine, discussed the challenges of the future from a wide range of intellectual and disciplinary perspectives. Each of these sessions was complemented by stellar workshop discussions led by distinguished faculty, alumni/e, students and friends of the School of Social Work.

Numerous receptions, breakfasts, and luncheons provided opportunities for the attendees to relax and to enjoy one another. A high point of the opening reception was a surprise congratulatory appearance by First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton transmitted by video. At a luncheon the next day, Mrs. Tipper Gore gave an inspiring and uplifting message to the participants. The full texts of both of their speeches have been reprinted in this issue with the permission of The White House. Later that day, the attendees were regaled by the humorous reminiscences of 24 present or former deans of social work schools who are CUSSW alumni/ae.

One of the highlights of the Centennial Celebration was the inauguration of the School of Social Work's Alumni Association Hall of Fame into which five stellar alumni/ae were inducted. I am certain that many more talented and deserving recipients will be recognized in the coming years. In addition, 15 outstanding members of our profession and allied fields were honored as Hall of Fame Pioneers. For more details on the awardees, see the Centennial Souvenir Issue of the Newsletter, spring, 1998.

During Friday's luncheon, sixteen Centennial and Centennial Leadership Awards were presented to exceptional leaders in social work and related fields. Though Mrs. Marian Wright Edelman, expected as an honored guest and speaker, was to have delivered a keynote address, she was stranded at the Washington D.C. airport in severe weather conditions. An excellent description of her pioneering work and current projects at the Children's Defense Fund, founded and led by her as president, was provided by Centennial Honorary Committee co-chairs Ms. Maureen A. Cogan '77 and Dr. Marylin B. Levitt '73 '82DSW.

In truth, the Centennial Celebration was a huge success because literally hundreds of persons helped to plan and implement it. They were members of the Centennial Planning Committee, the Alumni/ae Planning Advisory Committee, the Faculty Planning Advisory Committee, the Honorary Committee and, especially, of the staff of the School's Office of Development and Alumni Relations, all of whom worked diligently and effectively to assure that everything went as planned. Special thanks are due, of course, to the Co-Chairs of the Planning Committee, Donna Rosenthal and Sheila Kamerman. Last, but foremost, the camaraderie, enthusiasm and intellectual ferment that characterized this wonderful event was due directly to all of the 900 persons who attended and participated so actively.

My own feelings about this particular celebration in the School's history are perhaps best expressed in a letter received from Mrs. Gore two weeks afterwards: "I enjoyed every moment of the Columbia University School of Social Work's Centennial Celebration. It was wonderful to meet so many men and women of such intelligence, grace, good humor and beautiful caring hearts. Columbia's social workers have made a huge contribution to the physical and mental health professions-and a profound difference in countless lives. To me, social workers are the heart and soul of health care."

If you were able to take part in this memorable event, I am sure that you share Mrs. Gore's views. Together, we can all treasure this splendid moment in the history of our School. If you were not able to attend, please know that we intend to do our very best to make future alumni/ae conferences and meetings equally enjoyable and memorable. We now know that it is possible! We need not wait another 100 years to have happy times together!