A Message from the Director

Welcome to The School of Social Work Web Site! Are you looking for a meaningful, satisfying, and diverse career working with people, to make a difference in our complex and changing society? You will find that the social work profession provides an abundance of career options and is one of the fastest growing occupations in the country. Employment in social work is projected to grow more than 36 percent over the next ten years (US Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor and Statistics, 2000).

Social work has a proud history of working with people for the purposes of enhancing human well-being, preventing and alleviating human suffering, and advancing social and economic justice. At the University of Maine, we provide the highest quality education for both beginning and advanced professional social work practice. We educate at the Baccalaureate and Master's level in an atmosphere of individualized learning, respect for individual rights, and a celebration of diversity. Visit our alumni
page to hear what recent graduates have to say about our school.

Our long tradition of professional social work education began in the 1950s and the Baccalaureate and Master's programs have been fully accredited by the Council on Social Work Education since 1979 and 1991, respectively. A newly established Center on Aging reflects our commitment to adapt to changing needs in our society. I'm very proud to head up a team of faculty whose combined range of professional practice experience and academic specializations allows us to provide a well rounded and very practical education grounded in our commitment to a generalist perspective. Please see our faculty biographies to learn about their expertise in a wide variety of areas and our special projects page for examples of some recent faculty projects. Our field practicum is a major emphasis in the programs and field placements are assessed for suitability to each individual in the program.

I invite you to continue to browse our Web site and learn more about our School and the opportunities available in a helping career! You may find our FAQs page particularly helpful. Please write, e-mail, phone, or visit if you have questions or would like more information.

Sincerely,
Gail Werrbach, Ph.D.,
Director