PITT'S SCHOOL OF SOCIAL WORK MARKS 60TH ANNIVERSARY Weekend Alumni Reunion Planned

PITTSBURGH, May 13 -- As the role of the social worker continues to make headlines in connection with the Littleton school shootings, spousal abuse, and other problems within families and communities, the University of Pittsburgh School of Social Work (SSW) is celebrating its 60th year with an alumni anniversary weekend May 21-23 on the Pitt campus in Oakland.

The event includes alumni bus tours of local neighborhoods rebuilt with the help of social service agencies, and a series of speakers and roundtable discussions. Total cost for the entire weekend is $125.00 a person, or alumni may attend only a portion of the program. For more information, call Yolande Campbell at 412-624-8604.

Highlights of the weekend include:

Friday, May 21 2 - 5 p.m.

Tour of the Mon Valley

Pitt SSW Continuing Education Director Tracy Soska will accompany

two busloads of alumni to the Mon Valley, pointing out examples of how social service agencies have helped that area rebuild from the high unemployment of the 1980s.

Friday, May 21 7 - 8:30 p.m.

Social Work Profession: Past, Present and Back to the Future

David Lawrence Hall, Pitt campus

Presenters include David C. Droppa, executive director of Three Rivers Youth; Sheldon R. Gelman, dean of the Wurzweiler School of Social Work; and Sharon E. Milligan, professor at Case Western Reserve University.

Sat., May 22 8:50 - 9:50 a.m.

Presentation of the School of Social Work

Pittsburgh Athletic Association, 4215 Fifth Ave.

Remarks by Dean David Epperson; Associate Dean Michael A. Patchner; Assistant Dean Grady H. Roberts; Wynne D, Korr; and Aaron R. Mann.

Sat., May 22 10 a.m. - 12:15 p.m.

Roundtable Discussions

Pittsburgh Athletic Association, 4215 Fifth Ave.

Topics include: Impact of Managed Care on Children; Building A Strong Community; Today's Nonprofit Manager Tomorrow; Improving Family Mental Health; The Challenges of Managing a Family Therapy Practice.

Sat., May 22 2 - 4:30 p.m.

Tour of Pittsburgh

A hands-on look at programs developed by social workers in Bloomfield, the Hill District, Lawrenceville, the Northside, Homewood and other areas.

Sat., May 22 2 - 4:30 p.m.

Informal Sessions

Pittsburgh Athletic Association, 4215 Fifth Ave.

Topics include: the African-American Community Builders Project; Treatment for Women who have Experienced Childhood Sexual Abuse and who have Mental Health and/or Substance Abuse Problems; Investing for Your Future.

Pitt's School of Social Work is one of the oldest in the country, and one of the biggest in terms of enrollment, with that figure climbing 26 percent the last five years, to approximately 650 students. The Gourman Report ranks the School's bachelor's and master's programs in its Top 10, and U. S. News ranks the School in the Top 20 of more than 150 graduate programs.

Its alumni are helping to combat homelessness, hunger, mental health, poverty and a myriad of other social and human problems in all parts of the world.

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