Florence Stier
National prominence grows after World War II After World War II, the School established social work departments in leading Seattlearea hospitals. In 1951, Victor Howery became director, with a mandate to refocus the School, rebuild connections with local welfare agencies and national organizations, and build a stronger research base. As enrollment grew, a Spokane branch program opened and the School became a regional leader in social work education. In 1955, the School moved into Social Work Hall—its first dedicated building— and in 1958 it was designated as an independent professional school. Howery was named its first dean. Several faculty members with doctoral degrees were recruited, including Henry Maier, Florence Stier, and Cal Takagi. An undergraduate program was established in 1959. By 1960, the School had become the eighth-largest social work school in the nation. The Spokane program—a precursor to the social work program at Eastern Washington University—trained 125 master’s-level graduates during the next decade. Charles Brink assumed the deanship in 1963, continuing an Henry Maier era of expansion and increased national prominence. The School established the Center for Social Welfare Research and became the first social work school in the country to offer a specialization in aging. Faculty diversity and doctoral credentials increased.
The 1960s saw the emergence of the Organization of Student Social Workers. In a time of rapid social change, the School responded Charles Brink by offering a program in community organization, developing a teaching center in Seattle’s historically African American Central District, and hiring faculty of color, including Jim Leigh, Jim Anderson, and Lee Allen. In 1966, the School relocated to Eagleson Hall.
Jim Leigh
Eagleson Hall (1966)