Shanti Khinduka

MSW ’61

Shanti Khinduka was the founding director of the Kothari Center for Environmental Research in Calcutta, India, and later served as dean of the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis from 1974 to 2004. During his tenure at Brown he was instrumental in establishing several path-breaking centers for research and training, including the creation of 12 endowed professorships, construction of a new state-of-the-art facility, development of dual degree programs, transforming interdisciplinary and international research and building an endowment for the school of over 100 million dollars. He also fashioned a curriculum emphasizing evidence-based practice, economic and social development, and capacity building for individuals and communities.

Khinduka was a member of the board of directors for the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE), and held a seat on the Commission on Accreditation and House of Delegates for CSWE. He has chaired and been a member of the Publications Committee and International Activities Committee for the National Association of Social Workers (NASW).

He has published worldwide on social action, social work education, community and social development, globalization, international social welfare and ethnic conflict, and written extensively on social work education, international social work, ethnic diversity and juvenile services. Khinduka founded the Journal of Social Service Research in 1977 and chaired its editorial board until 2004.

Among his many honors, Khindika has received the Significant Lifetime Achievement Award from CSWE, the Outstanding Social Work Educator and Scholar Award from the Asian American Social Work Educators Association, and the President’s Award for Excellence in Education from NASW. .