Photo of the graduating class from 1957, School of Social Work.
The History of the School of Social Work
The School of Social Work began in 1949 as part of St. Patrick’s College of the University of Ottawa. In 1967 it joined Carleton University and moved to the Carleton campus in 1972. In1998, a reorganization of University faculties shifted the School of Social Work into the newly-created Faculty of Public Affairs and Management (PAM), which was renamed the Faculty of Public Affairs (FPA) in 2006. The School continues to be housed within FPA where it works closely with a variety of traditional, interdisciplinary and professional academic units (e.g.Economics, Public Policy and Public Administration, Journalism, Political Economy, Law).
Carleton’s School of Social Work is recognized as one of the founders of the structural approach to social work that emphasizes the social, economic and political contexts of individual, family, community and societal problems. This approach recognizes that the community in which we live, and of which social work is a constituent part, consists of diverse groups of people who have differential access to political and economic power.
Today, the School’s mission continues to be guided by its commitment to social justice, equality and dignity for all people. To help further its mission the School houses the Centre for Studies on Poverty and Social Citizenship.
Photo of School of Social work PhD students, 2020. From left to right. Prince Owusu, Alicia Kalmanovitch, Deborah Young, Katherine Occhiuto, Ann Seymour, Tara McWhinney, and Sandra Elliott.