Harold R. Johnson Professor of Social Work Installation Event Program
Harold R. Johnson Professor of Social Work
Installation Event
December 4, 2025
PROGRAM WELCOME AND INTRODUCTIONS
Beth Angell, PhD
Dean, U-M School of Social Work
Phillip Fellin Collegiate Professor of Social Work
Karen E. Downing, PhD
On behalf of the Johnson Family
Patrick Meehan, MSW
Assistant Research Scientist
LEO Adjunct Lecturer
U-M School of Social Work
Letha Chadiha, PhD, MSW
Rose C. Gibson Collegiate Professor Emerita of Social Work
U-M School of Social Work
INAUGURAL ADDRESS
Trina Shanks, PhD, MSW
Harold R. Johnson Professor of Social Work
Director, Center for Equitable Family and Community Well-Being
U-M School of Social Work
MEDAL PRESENTATIONS
CLOSING REMARKS
RECEPTION
A Letter from Dean Beth Angell
Phillip Fellin Collegiate Professor of Social Work
Dear Friends,
Thank you for joining us today to celebrate the Harold R. Johnson Professorship in Social Work at the University of Michigan School of Social Work.
We are deeply grateful to honor the legacy of Harold R. Johnson, a visionary leader whose lifelong commitment to creating greater opportunity for all shaped the moral and intellectual fabric of our university. His work as dean of the School of Social Work and as a faculty member across multiple disciplines reflected his steadfast belief that higher education must serve the public good and expand opportunities for all.
Endowed professorships like this one are among the most meaningful investments in the life of a university. They honor outstanding faculty and provide the resources to advance transformative scholarship, teaching, and community engagement.
Today, we are proud to install Professor Trina Shanks as the Harold R. Johnson Professor of Social Work.
Professor Shanks exemplifies the values that Harold championed. Before his passing, he shared with me that he was deeply proud that we selected Trina to hold this full professorship in his name. Her groundbreaking research on economic mobility, asset building, and racial equity has informed national policy and created new pathways for families and communities to thrive. She is also a gifted educator and mentor whose leadership continues to strengthen the fabric of our School and the broader field of social work.
We are honored to celebrate both Harold R. Johnson’s enduring legacy and Professor Trina Shanks’ visionary work. Together, they remind us that social work is not only a profession but also a calling—to lead with integrity, to center equity, and to build a more just and compassionate society.
With deepest gratitude, Beth
Harold R. Johnson
Dean
Emeritus,
University of Michigan School of Social Work
Harold Robert Johnson was the first African American dean at the University of Michigan. Johnson brought to the university a deep foundation in community organizing and labor activism, shaped by his early work in Windsor and Detroit. After joining the U-M faculty in 1969 as Professor of Social Work and Head of the Community Organization Program, he quickly became a campus leader known for his ability to work constructively within established systems while persistently pressing for equity. In 1975, he was elected as the first African American Chair of the University Senate. That same year, Johnson was appointed Director of the Institute of Gerontology, where he established it as a national leader in aging research and education. His scholarship—spanning gerontology, community practice, juvenile justice, and public policy—shaped multiple fields over several decades. His impressive record of national and state service included leadership roles within the State of Michigan, in national agencies, and internationally.
From 1981 - 1993, Johnson served as Dean of the School
of Social Work. Through decisive and visionary leadership, he transformed the School into the top-ranked social work program in the nation. Johnson’s impact also extended across the broader university. In 1993, he joined the central administration as Special Counsel to the President and later served as Interim Secretary of the University before retiring in 1995 as dean emeritus and professor emeritus in the School of Social Work.
Johnson was driven by a steadfast commitment to justice and the belief that institutions must create the conditions for all people to reach their full potential. He is remembered for bringing life, leadership, and compassion to everything he did.
Johnson’s legacy endures at the School of Social Work through the Harold R. Johnson Professorship in Social Work, established in his honor, and through the Harold R. Johnson Diversity Service Awards, created in 1996 to recognize extraordinary contributions to diversity and equity at the University of Michigan.
Trina Shanks, PhD, MSW
Harold R. Johnson Professor of Social Work
Director, Center for Equitable Family and Community Well-Being
Dr. Trina Shanks is a Professor of Social Work at the University of Michigan School of Social Work. Her research interests include the impact of poverty and wealth on child well-being; asset-building policy and practice across the life cycle; and community and economic development. As Director of the Center for Equitable Family and Community Well-Being, she continues her own research agenda while intentionally seeking and responding to new opportunities that will empower families and communities to thrive.
Since 2018, Dr. Shanks has overseen the School’s strategic goal of community engagement and leads the evolving ENGAGE team that promotes, coordinates and facilitates greater impact in community and social justice. Shanks serves as faculty advisor to the New Leaders in African-Centered Social Work Program. She has also been a research investigator for the Saving for Education, Entrepreneurship, and Downpayment (SEED) demonstration program and consults with several
other child savings account initiatives, including one that began in Lansing Public Schools.
As a faculty member affiliated with the Technical Assistance Center – funded by the Skillman Foundation for ten years –Trina Shanks was actively engaged in six Detroit communities as part of the Good Neighborhoods program. She has also conducted multiple evaluations of Detroit’s Summer Youth Employment Program called Grow Detroit’s Young Talent.
From 2010 to 2012, Shanks was appointed by Michigan Governor Granholm to serve on the State Commission on Community Action and Economic Opportunity. She is currently one of the national network co-leads for the Social Work Grand Challenge: Reversing Extreme Economic Inequality and a non-resident fellow at the Urban Institute.
Shanks earned a PhD in Social Work from Washington University and a Master of Philosophy in Comparative Social Research from the University of Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar.
About the University of Michigan School of Social Work
Since 1921, the University of Michigan School of Social Work has been a beacon of excellence for social work education, research, innovation, collaboration and service. For more than a decade, we’ve been honored to be ranked as the number one school of social work in the country.
The School of Social Work is home to innovative educational programs that have prepared generations of students to become social work practitioners, educators, researchers and leaders. Our MSW program includes eight curricular pathways, allowing students to focus on specific interests. The School offers two doctoral programs —the trailblazing Joint PhD program in Social Work and Social Sciences and a new PhD in Social Work and Social Welfare — and an undergraduate minor in Community Action and Social Change, which provides Michigan undergraduates with an introduction to social work.
Our faculty are leaders in social work education who provide our students with top-tier instruction — both in the classroom and in their experiential learning. As researchers, they are actively developing new solutions and innovations to address the most complex social issues of our time.
The last century of commitment, action and innovation has created an incredible impact. Our alumni can be found around the world creating change, fighting for social justice and improving lives in the communities they serve. Wherever you look, you’ll find the Michigan Social Work community making a difference.
Thank you for joining us in honoring Professor Trina Shanks as the Harold R. Johnson Professor of Social Work!
