The following information pertains to STORRS, AVERY POINT, GREATER HARTFORD, STAMFORD, TORRINGTON, WATERBURY and LAW SCHOOL campuses.
Due to inclement weather, all morning, afternoon and evening classes are canceled on Monday, October 29th and Tuesday, October 30th.
All “Emergency Support Services” are required to report as scheduled. All other employees are not required to report to work on Monday, October 29th and Tuesday, October 30th.
Continue to check http://alert.uconn.edu, the emergency information hotline (860-486-3768) or the media for any changes to this announcement.
For the status of a specific activity or events, contact the sponsor/host (e.g., Jorgensen Center for the Performing Arts, Athletics Ticket Office) for updates. Check UConn’s phonebook at http://phonebook.uconn.edu/directories.html.
Doctoral student, Mollie Lazar Charter, is the recipient of the 2012 Feminist Scholarship Award presented by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) Council on the Role and Status of Women in Social Work Education.
Upon hearing the news Dean Salome Raheim remarked “I am proud that you have received this honor. You are the first UConn SSW doctoral student to receive this award.”
Mollie Lazar Charter Doctoral Student
The Feminist Scholarship is awarded annually to a person whose work has advanced feminist knowledge as it pertains to social work theory, research, practice, policy and education.
Mollie’s paper, The Role of Stigma in Feminist Self-Identification among Social Work Students, explores the relationship between feminist self-identification and the perception of feminism. She will be presenting her paper on Saturday, November 10 at the CSWE Annual Program Meeting in Washington, D.C. The presentation will discuss social work students’ perceptions of feminism, and the role played by stigma in feminist self-identification. Implications for social work education will also be explored.
“The School has co-sponsored the Women’s Networking Breakfast annually for the past several years. This year, our participation in the breakfast will have particularly special meaning, as we witness the presentation of your award, said Dean Raheim.”
Putting Universal Human Rights to Work: Policy Actions in the Struggle for Social Justice is the title of Archibald Stuart’s new book (University Press of New England, 2012).
As President Obama and his adversaries in the Republican Party debate “fairness” and economic inequality, this timely book addresses policy actions Americans can take to reduce inequality and increase social justice in all important areas of social life—jobs, wages, education, housing, civil rights, nutrition, healthcare, and social welfare.
Based on the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Dr. Stuart defines social justice as the promotion of socio-economic equality, universal human rights, and social security. He views its achievement as a struggle between the two competing American ideologies: laissez-faire conservatism and social liberalism. After dissecting the strengths and weaknesses of each ideology, he concludes that liberalism may be seen as more conducive to conditions that promote human rights, social security, and economic growth and equality. From his analysis Dr. Stuart proposes policies to increase social justice, analyzes the feasibility of implementing them in light of current social trends, and presents organizing principles Americans can use to create political actions that can bring about the needed policy changes.
This book is important for all Americans concerned about solutions to our most important social problems, and is required reading for courses dealing with social justice, human rights, public policies, and welfare issues in colleges, law schools, seminaries, and other institutions concerned about social justice.
The University of Connecticut’s first African-American professor, Rollin Charles Williams, died Monday, Sept. 24, in Waterford, Conn., after a short illness. He was 90 years old.
Rollin Williams, emeritus professor of social work. (Lanny Nagler for UConn)
A professor emeritus at the time of his death, Williams was hired as a full-time assistant professor in the School of Social Work in 1957. During his 30 years with the University, Williams spent time running the admissions office and as an interim dean.
A warm, engaging man and gifted storyteller, Williams stayed in touch with many of his former students and held many fond memories of the University. He bequeathed a significant portion of his estate to UConn as a sign of his appreciation.
“After I arrived at UConn, I received requests from five different schools of social work because they wanted black professors,” Williams said in an interview earlier this year. “Affirmative action laws had been passed. But I said no, I wouldn’t take those jobs, because UConn took me when it didn’t have to.”
“The University was truly fortunate that Professor Williams chose to share his intellectual gifts with our students and campus community, and that he was so strongly dedicated to UConn, despite other schools’ attempts to lure him away,” said President Susan Herbst. “He exemplified the highest ideals of service, scholarship, and integrity, and leaves a legacy that we can all strive to emulate.”
The dean of the School of Social Work, Salome Raheim, announced Williams’ death to her faculty and staff earlier this week. “Rollin had a deep fondness for the UConn School of Social Work, and we are grateful for his commitment and contributions,” Raheim said. “The School of Social Work community joins Rollin’s family and friends in mourning his loss.”
Born on March 19, 1922 in Kansas City, Mo., Williams was raised in Tulsa, Okla. during a period of racial turmoil in the city. He graduated valedictorian of his high school class and performed as a solo violinist with the school orchestra. He also earned honors as the Oklahoma state typewriting champion.
Williams graduated from Howard University in Washington, D.C., then served in the U.S. Army during World War II, where he earned the rank of sergeant major. He went on to earn his master’s degree in social work from Boston University. After working as a medical and psychiatric social worker for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs in Springfield, Mass. and Northport, N.Y., Williams became the first psychiatric supervisor at Norwich State Hospital. Williams, a resident of Salem, Conn., was a member of the Dime Savings Bank board of directors.
An accomplished musician who greatly enjoyed opera, Williams founded the Connecticut Early Music Society, and was proud of his collection of more than 200 complete operas on compact disc.
A published obituary described Williams as a man who “had a great sense of humor, was very cultured, and was a complement to any setting.”
A memorial service will be held on Saturday, Nov. 24, 2012 at 2 p.m. at the Fulton-Theroux Funeral Home, 181 Ocean Ave., New London, CT 06320. A visiting hour will be held one hour prior to the service. A tribute page has been created in Williams’ honor at www.fultontherouxnewlondon.com.
