Deans Gelman & Hendricks Picked as "Pioneers of Social Work" by NASW

Wurzweiler's Dean Sheldon R. Gelman, and Associate Dean, Carmen Ortiz Hendricks have been named “Social Work Pioneers” by the National Association of Social Workers (NASW).

NASW Pioneers are social workers who have explored new territories and built outposts for human services on many frontiers. Some are well known; others less famous outside their immediate colleagues and the region where they live and work. But each has made an important contribution to the social work profession and to social policies through service, teaching, writing, research, program development, administration, or legislation. (Read more about NASW Pioneers)

During his 19 years of service at Wurzweiler, Dean Gelman has hired prestigious faculty, strengthened academic standards, embraced new technology, and encouraged research-oriented practice. The results are evident in our top 50 ranking in US News and World Report, our recognition as having one of the most productive faculties of any social work school, and, most recently, our 2009 re-accreditation study by the Council on Social Work Education, where every aspect of the program received enthusiastic praise.

In addition to his outstanding work at Wurzweiler, Dean Gelman has published numerous articles in social work and social welfare policy journals and has contributed to The Encyclopedia of Social Work, The Social Workers’ Desk Reference and The Handbook of Human Services Management. Dean Gelman holds advanced degrees from the Heller School at Brandeis University and from Yale Law School.

Associate Dean Carmen Hendricks joined the Wurzweiler administration and faculty in July of 2005. She is a former president of the New York City Chapter of National Association of Social Workers, and is well-known for her in work culturally competent social work education and practice. As a member of NASW’s National Committee on Racial and Ethnic Diversity, she helped develop the Standards for Cultural Competence in the Social Work Practice. She is a founding member of the Latino Social Work Task Force. She has co-authored and edited seminal books in social worked education including, Learning to Teach—Teaching to Learn: A Guide to Social Work Field Education, Intersecting Child Welfare, Substance Abuse and Family Violence: Culturally Competent Approaches and Women of Color as Social Work Educators: Strengths and Survival.