Minutes of Southern Region

at

BPD Conference in LA on Friday, Oct. 29, 2006

8:00 – 8:50 a.m.

Submitted by

Ginny T. Raymond, Ph.D.

The Southern Region meeting had over 30 in attendance, as it consistently does, in spite of the change to an 8:00 a.m. meeting time.  Those who signed the sign-in sheet were: Kim Shackelford (U. of MS); Brian Anderson (MS College);Vincent Venturini and Mohammad Hogue (MS Valley St.); Deb Rougas, Patty Babcock and Diane Scott (U. of W. FL); Adela Beckerman (FL Memorial U.); Vickie Williams (TN State); Jack Sellers (Univ. N. AL); Ron Green, Linda Ashley and Sue Lyman (Winthrop U., SC); Cindy Lee and Jose E. Coll (Saint Leo U., FL); Jeannie Duke (U. of Montevallo, AL); Emily Myers (Auburn U., AL); Laurie Bernard (U. South AL); Dennis Long (Univ. N. Carolina-Charlotte); Robin Kohn (U. Central FL); Daysi Mejia (FL Gulf Coast U.); Javonda Williams (Miles College, AL); Harvey Heckes (FL Gulf Coast U.); Alinda Sledge (Delta St. U., MS); Ira A. Neighbors (S. Univ., New Orleans); Marge Shirilla and David (Pat) Boyle (Dalton St. College, GA); Chris Atkins and Octavio Ramirez (Southern Adventist U.); and Ginny Raymond (U. of AL).

Ginny Raymond, Facilitator, asked on behalf of the Board of BPD if anyone present knew of programs in their area whose faculty did not have e-mail and web access.  BPD leadership is considering going totally online/electronic with our UPDATE newsletter and possibly other things, but wants to be sure that all members have access.  All present gave an e-mail address when they signed in, but some stated that they knew of small private BSW programs where faculty did not have e-mail and web access provided them. Some, they said, may be members of BPD, but some, they were sure, are not, and they said that most of these small private programs cannot afford to provide funding for attendance at the BPD Conference.

Next, Raymond said that the Board members were asked to bring to their regional meeting news of the Social Work Reinvestment Project, which leaders of the major SW organizations (NASW, BPD, CSWE, SSWR, NADD, ISWR, ANSWER) were meeting about and hoping to support nationally, such as the profession of Nursing did recently, which many believe had very positive outcomes (national television commercials to name only one).  BPD President, Linda Moore, introduced the Project in one of her addresses during this year’s BPD conference. There seemed to be a warm reception to this idea by those present today. Members expressed particular interest in the entire continuum of social work education, including ideas about how we can better engage pre-BSW students, including high school and community college students who may not know about SW as a profession.  Some, specifically David (Pat) Boyle from Dalton State, said that there is such as thing as a “social work assistant” in Georgia through the technical colleges.  Others had not heard of this and said they would like to learn more.  Many expressed interest in ideas about how to develop a closer relationship with community college so that their students could learn more about SW.  We know that some programs (U. of Kansas) have worked with community colleges in a more formal way, and some present today stated that they have also done so.  They were encouraged to submit proposals for presentations at the BPD conference in Sandestin about these programs.

            Next, the group discussed the other end of the continuum in SW Education, doctoral programs. Several expressed interest in having a PhD program in the region whose class schedule or delivery mode would make it more accessible to SW educators, including program directors, to pursue the PhD.  The major focus of today’s discussion was on course offerings in the summer, which are offered in Ohio and Texas, but not in the Southeaster Region.  Raymond agreed to bring this information to Paul Stuart, Ph.D., Chair of the Ph.D. program at the Univ. of Alabama, and the new President of GADE.  Raymond said that she hoped a meeting could be arranged, perhaps at UA, with representatives of the Univ. of Alabama Ph.D. Program and those in the region who are interested in a PhD program.  If this does not work out, perhaps other Ph.D. programs in the area would hold such a meeting with interested BPD members.

            Finally, there was discussion, led by Jack Sellers, who is overseeing the 25^th Annual BPD Conference and Anniversary Celebration to be held in our region in Sandestin, FL March 5-9, 2008.  Members present were encouraged to serve on the local planning committee, which Alinda Sledge (Delta State) will chair.