In writing this particular column, I recall the closing moments of the School of Social Work’s Centennial Celebration in June 1998.  On that occasion, I told the School’s assembled alumni/ae, faculty, students and friends that I hoped it would be possible to raise funds before long for a new home for the School of Social Work.  As you probably know, in 1971 CUSSW relocated from the glorious Carnegie Mansion to McVickar Hall.  That move was supposed to be a one-year “transitional” relocation for CUSSW until the School could be situated in a more suitable building on the Columbia University campus.  Even then, everyone recognized that McVickar Hall did not lend itself readily to modern professional education.  Now, nearly three decades later, McVickar Hall is even less suitable.  Information technologies and professional education have been transformed markedly in the last 30 years.
 
For most of its life as an educational facility, McVickar Hall has had only seven classrooms.  Many are L-shaped or have I-beams in their midst that obstruct teaching and learning for nearly 1,000 students.  McVickar Hall does not have a lecture room that can bring together large numbers of students.  It cannot house the Social Work Library which, regrettably, is situated six long blocks away from the School.  McVickar Hall does not lend itself readily to modern information technologies that will shape the future of social work education.  In nearly every respect, it fails to meet the standards of excellence that are expected by the School’s alumni/ae, faculty and students.
 
Fortunately, however, all of this is about to change!  Thanks to the stalwart support of countless alumni/ae and friends of the School of the Social Work, CUSSW is on the threshold of constructing a new state-of-the-art educational facility that will extend and assure the School’s leadership throughout the second century of social work education.  Tentative plans call for the construction of a 10 or 11 floor building that will house the Social Work Library, advanced information and computing technologies, superb classroom facilities of many kinds, attractive social spaces, a café, and many other amenities needed by the School.  Concurrently, McVickar Hall will be renovated and used primarily for faculty offices and research programs.  The new facility will not only modernize CUSSW’s educational capabilities, but double the physical space available to the School.  

It is anticipated that the total cost of the new building will exceed $32 million.  The “good news” is that all but several million dollars already have been assured through gifts, pledges, and direct or indirect assistance from the University.  The “bad news” is essentially the same: several million dollars remain to be raised.  Attainment of the School’s fundraising goal for the new building will require modest but indispensable help from every member of the CUSSW community.  Alumni/ae assistance in this regard will be especially welcome.
 
At the conclusion of the 1999-2000 academic year, I am delighted to inform you that the School of Social Work is faring extraordinarily well on other fronts as well.  Contrary to the trend at peer schools, applications for admission to CUSSW have grown considerably beyond last year’s already high level.  Concurrently, the School and its students are benefiting from the establishment of many new endowed scholarships.  In 1999-2000 alone, the following endowed scholarships were established at CUSSW:
 

• the Jennifer Corn Carter Multiple Sclerosis Fellowship for students at the Columbia University School of Social Work who choose the New York City chapter of the Multiple Sclerosis Society as their field placement,
• the Dunmore Family Endowed Fellowship for Doctoral Students, 
• the Ruth Fizdale Doctoral Dissertation Support Fund for doctoral candidates whose dissertations focus on clinical social health care services for older adults and their families,
• the Lowenstein Loan Repayment Assistance Fellowship Program for students who are 35 years or over, who show a prior commitment to social work, and who indicate their intention to enter full-time, not-for-profit social work upon graduation, 
• the Blanca Rosenberg Scholarship for students with a special interest in aiding victims of war, relocation, and immigration traumas, and
• the Louise G. Scheinberg Fellowship for students at the School of Social Work who choose St.Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital as their field instruction placement, working with the neurology research and training program for multiple sclerosis patients.

I am especially pleased that the spring 2000 issue of U.S. News and World Report, which ranks 117 social work schools in the U.S., has placed Columbia in the #3 position, tied with two other schools, and only 0.1 point from second place and 0.2 points from first place.  This represents an improvement from the fifth place ranking of three years ago. Once the School's new building is constructed, it is my expectation that Columbia will rise to the very top of the U.S. News and World Report ranking.  Both of the schools ahead of CUSSW on that list (namely, the University of Michigan and Washington University, St. Louis) have constructed a new building within the last 12 to 24 months.

 It probably is more appropriate, however, to judge Columbia’s stature on the basis of the last four independent studies of faculty scholarship and productivity that appear in refereed social work professional journals.  Three of these rank CUSSW first and one ranks it second to the University of California at Berkeley. It is a well-deserved tribute to our faculty, administrators and alumni/ae that their talents and hard work have enabled CUSSW to progress upward on every recent rating despite the severe constraints imposed by the deficiencies of McVickar Hall.

CUSSW also has appointed four new faculty members for the 2000-2001 academic year.  Each will greatly strengthen the quality of instruction and research at the School of Social Work.  They are: Richard Embry, from the University of California, Berkeley; Vincent Guilamo-Ramos, from the State University of New York, Albany; Steven Onken, from the University of Texas, Austin; and, Ronald Mincy, from the Ford Foundation.  Pending approval by the Columbia University Board of Trustees, Dr. Mincy will be the first appointee to the Maurice V. Russell Professorship in Social Policy and Social Work Practice.

In June of this year, Dr. Charles P. Gershenson completed two terms as Chairperson of the School’s Advisory Council.  Under his adept leadership, the Advisory Council has strengthened the School of Social Work in many critical respects including curriculum development, fundraising, student life and community relations.  I am especially appreciative to Dr. Gershenson for his leadership in this regard.  He will be succeeded by Donna Rosenthal '67, who will employ her own extraordinary talents toward further assuring that the Advisory Council is the best such group in all of social work education.  Donna’s efforts will be augmented by those of six additional alumni/ae who were appointed to the Advisory Council in spring 2000: Martha Bush '96, Lissa Goldberg '83, Arlene Goldsmith '61, Erlin Ibreck '82, William O’Reilly '71, and Sylvia Rosenberg '58. In addition, Allyson Brown served this past year as the master’s student representative to the Advisory Council and L. Donald McVinney served as the doctoral student representative.

Finally, we remember with gratitude and esteem four special members of the CUSSW family who passed away this year: Sidney Berengarten, Hyman Grossbard, Barbara McFadden and Rita Ortiz.  Each is well known to CUSSW alumni/ae for all that they contributed to the School and to social work education over the years.  While their leadership, skill and dedication to the School of Social Work will be sorely missed; their unique accomplishments and unflagging commitment to CUSSW will serve as a lasting example for all who follow.