Social Welfare's Reid Given Highest SUNY Designation
By Vinny Reda
William J. Reid of the School of Social Welfare has risen to the highest rank among State University of New York faculty: Distinguished Professor.
Reid was one of two SUNY faculty given that designation by vote of the Board of Trustees at its meeting on June 23 held at SUNY College at Plattsburgh.
Appointed along with Ronald G. Knapp of the department of geography at the College at New Paltz, Reid was praised by SUNY Chancellor John W. Ryan: "William Reid is acclaimed nationally and internationally as one of the most influential leaders, educators, practitioners, theorists, researchers, and scholars in the field of social welfare of the last four decades.
"His work was crucial to the implementation of empirical methods in the development and testing of new intervention strategies in social work. It has also been instrumental in bringing systematic knowledge to bear on practice and education in the field."
Said President Hitchcock: "Any university would be proud to include a scholar and teacher of the quality of William J. Reid within its faculty. His research and methodology have been at the forefront of the field of social welfare, and his task-centered model has involved his students in an ideally symbiotic relationship between theoretical understanding and practical application."
Reid�s persistence regarding the need to integrate research and practice was the impetus that led the Council on Social Work Education to require that accredited social work education programs incorporate this goal in their curricula. He is principally known as the inventor of the task-centered approach, widely recognized as pioneering a new method and philosophy of practice for social work, a field that had been steeped in long-term psychoanalytic practice prior to his research and writings.
Ryan referenced one of the recommendations of Reid in nomination to the Trustees, which stated: "It is no exaggeration that there would be very few social workers in the world who would not know of, and respect [Reid�s] work. There are few persons in our field of whom this can be said."
The task-centered practice model brought about a significant shift in the way that work with individuals and families is thought about, and has taught the value of short-term interventions and the importance of focusing on achievable tasks. His latest work focuses on extending the task-centered model to work with families of children at risk of school failure.
The influence of Reid�s work has been wide-ranging. His casework model is now widely used as the basis for delivering and managing private and public social work services both here and abroad. As a result of this contribution, the report of the special National Institute of Mental Health Social Work Research Task Force named Reid as one of the two most influential social work researchers in the field.
Reid joined the University faculty in 1980, and was the recipient of the Excellence in Research award in 1986. A prodigious scholar, he has authored or co-authored 14 books and more than 120 articles and chapters in scholarly books and professional journals. The breadth of his work is very broad, and his books, translated into seven languages, have contributed to psychology and education as well as to social work and social welfare fields.
His contributions to the profession include service on numerous editorial boards and a variety of consultancies. Reid was the first editor of Social Work Research and Abstracts, the field�s premier research journal.
In tribute to his accomplishments, Reid has been the recipient of several awards. He was named George Herbert Jones Professor at the University of Chicago�s School of Social Service Administration and was the recipient of the National Association of Social Workers� Excellence in Research Award.
The SUNY rank of Distinguished Professor is conferred on individuals who have achieved national or international prominence within a chosen field. The Distinguished Service Professorship honors consistently extraordinary service contributions to the community, state or the nation. Each designation constitutes a promotion above that of full professor.
Ronald G. Knapp of New Paltz is acclaimed internationally for his works on China�s cultural and historical geography.
New Admissions Director Seeks Diversity, Student Quality
By Lisa James
Harry Wood, an Albany native, has joined the University as the new Director of Undergraduate Admissions and Recruitment. Prior to assuming this position, Wood was vice president for Enrollment at Marist College for 11 years and director of Admissions at Siena College for 15 years. At both colleges he was considered instrumental in improving qualitative and quantitative enrollment circumstances.
At Albany, Wood will be responsible for recruiting approximately 2,300 freshmen and 1,500 transfer students each year. Among his other responsibilities will be to "evaluate and enhance the marketing approach and more broadly promote the University in the northeast and ultimately nationally," he said.
"Harry Wood brings a strong track record of recruitment success in higher education to this important position," said Judy Genshaft, vice president for Academic Affairs. "We are confident that he will help the University meet the established enrollment goals, to achieve greater national visibility, and an even stronger student profile."
A Korean War veteran, Wood graduated from Springfield College with a degree in biology and received a master�s degree in counseling psychology from Syracuse University. Wood also worked in the offices of admissions at Clarkson and Holy Cross colleges before going to Siena College. He was a trustee of the American College Testing Program and a consultant to the New York State Education Department.
Wood said he got into higher education after taking a position as a golf instructor at Williams College and realizing he enjoyed the collegiate environment. While teaching high school biology, math, and science in New Jersey, he became interested in guidance counseling and college placement. He went back to graduate school with the idea of going into college administration. "When I got into the college environment, I recognized that my interests and talents were more closely related to admissions," he said.
Coming to Albany is like coming full circle for Wood, who worked at the Albany Country Club before the property became the site of the University�s current Uptown Campus. Wood sees Albany as a very vital and energetic environment. "In addition, the University has a distinguished faculty, many nationally recognized programs, and an exceptionally talented student body," he said.
Wood is an ardent golf enthusiast who also loves fishing, horticulture, and reading. He resides in Latham with his wife. They have three adult children.
As assistant vice president, Sheila Mahan will oversee the activities of undergraduate admissions and the admissions portion of the Office of Graduate Studies, as well as assist in the development of enrollment plans and improved coordination of enrollment services.
Ex-Civil Right Nominee to Speak Oct. 6
The woman whose 1993 nomination to head the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice was forwarded and then quickly withdrawn by President Clinton for views deemed too controversial will speak in the Campus Center Ballroom on Tuesday, Oct. 6, at 7:30 p.m.
Harvard professor of law and former civil rights lawyer Lani Guinier will address the topic "Reframing the Affirmative Action Debate" and will discuss her support for "proportional representation" and its historical context. The event is sponsored by the President�s Speakers Series on Affirmative Action, and is free and open to the public.
Guinier will speak on her new book, Lift Every Voice: Turning a Civil Rights Setback into a New Vision of Social Justice, which she wrote after Clinton withdrew her nomination to the Civil Rights Division without a confirmation hearing. Guinier would have been the first black woman to hold this position.
Clinton claimed at the time of withdrawing Guinier�s nomination that he was not aware of her writings, including those supporting the concept of proportional representation, a system where individuals could cast multiple votes, either distributed among several candidates or concentrated on one or a few. Clinton termed her ideas "anti-democratic" and "difficult to defend." Guinier maintains that proportional representation is a process that "rewards voters for mobilizing and participating in the political process."
The book is Guinier�s attempt to look at the events surrounding her nomination as a larger view of American political culture.
