Dear Colleagues,
The Juneteenth holiday, which UConn will observe on Wednesday, June 19, commemorates the day in 1865 when the Union army delivered the news that the last community of enslaved Americans in Galveston, Texas, were free. Long recognized as a day of celebration by the African American community, Juneteenth became a holiday in the state of Connecticut in 2023.
At the UConn School of Social Work, observing Juneteenth is a part of our mission to advance social justice and anti-racism. A core component of our five-year Strategic Plan is a commitment to promoting diversity, equity, inclusion and anti-racism (DEI-AR). Our administration, faculty and staff have been working hard to meet our DEI-AR goals in all areas, including research and scholarship, teaching and learning, practicum education, and emerging areas of social work. Our commitment to DEI-AR as a school of social work will not waiver, even as these values face backlash.
To hold ourselves accountable to this important work, we conducted listening sessions with students, staff and faculty this year and established a new committee structure to oversee our DEI-AR efforts. We have also provided presentations, workshops and trainings focused on key topics such as anti-racist supervision, Black contributions to social work, and a Diversity Seminar, among other strategic outcomes.
On this Juneteenth, let’s reflect on both the history and the work ahead with our values as social workers as our guide to fostering anti-racism at our school and in the communities we serve.
Laura Curran
Dean and Professor
