Celebrating the Career of Dr. Ronald Toseland
After more than 40 years of service to the University at Albany and the social work profession, Distinguished Professor Ronald W. Toseland has retired from the School of Social Welfare. Throughout his career, Dr. Toseland integrated research, social work practice and teaching in two major areas: social work practice with groups and interventions for problems faced by older persons – including dementia, multiple chronic health problems and the physical and emotional demands of providing care for the elderly. He is internationally recognized for his impact in both areas.
Dr. Toseland is a known leader in social work intervention research aimed at addressing problems faced by aging individuals. His approach bridges other disciplines, particularly psychology, nursing and public health, and advances practice models for older persons that include individuals’ family and other significant persons. He was at the forefront of conducting intervention research focused on caregivers of the frail elderly and other persons with chronic illnesses. As a trailblazer in proving the effectiveness of social and health care services for the aging in the United States, he was one of the first social work scholars to receive National Institute of Mental Health funding. Under his leadership, the Institute of Gerontology established UAlbany as a beacon of excellence in social work research in aging. Among the many contributions internationally in this area, Dr. Toseland organized the first conference on gerontological services in Russia while serving as a Fulbright Senior Specialist.
Dr. Toseland’s second area of expertise is social work practice with groups. His research has contributed to knowledge about how to improve outcomes for participants of various groups such as support groups, self-help groups, and administrative task groups, and the aspects of group process that contribute to positive outcomes, including group dynamics and group leadership skills. His book Introduction to Group Work Practice with co-author Robert F. Rivas, is widely used by professionals, educators, and students in schools of social work throughout the United States and the world. Currently in its 8th edition, the book has been translated into Japanese, Chinese and Dutch. An edited book (with David Haigler and Deborah Monahan) Education and Support Group Programs for Family Caregivers: Implications for Practice, Research and Policy is forthcoming.
Over the course of his career, Dr. Toseland has received numerous acknowledgements and awards for the quality of his research and the importance of his findings for the field of social work. His research has been supported by more than $10 million in research grants from federal and state government agencies (e.g., National Institutes of Health, Agency for Health Care Policy and Research, Veterans Administration, NY State Department of Health) and national foundations (e.g., American Cancer Society, John A. Hartford Foundation, and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation). He received UAlbany’s Award for Excellence in Research (1998) and the Research Foundation’s Outstanding Research/Scholar Award (2008). In 2004 he became a Fellow of the Gerontological Society of America, the premier, interdisciplinary scholarship organization in the U.S. for gerontologists. Thereafter, he received the 2007 AGE-SW (Association for Gerontology Education in Social Work) Career Achievement Award, one of the highest awards in gerontology in social work, and the 2008 Society for Social Work and Research Distinguished Achievement Award. In 2010 he was inducted into the American Academy of Social Work and Social Welfare.
According to Dean Lynn Warner, “Ron is an irreplaceable member of the School of Social Welfare faculty. His prior academic homes include Fordham University where he earned his MSW, and the University of Wisconsin at Madison, where he earned his Ph.D., but UAlbany SSW is where he dedicated his talents and forged his career. His legacy consists of a prolific publication record with 6 books, over 110 articles and book chapters, and dozens of invited presentations around the world which nourished his passion for adventure and travel. Beyond these numbers, he has indelibly shaped the way social work interventions are delivered and improved the quality of life for countless older individuals and their care givers -- locally, nationally and globally. We are so grateful to him and wish him good health and safe travels during this next phase.”