The mission of the School of Social Work is grounded in that of the social work profession which is distinctive and demanding because it is dedicated both to personal development and to social change through enhancement of individual and group problem-solving capacities and the creation of a more nurturing, just and humane environment.

A fundamental component of the School of Social Work mission is to prepare competent, effective, skilled and ethical professional social work practitioners who will contribute to the amelioration of human suffering, the diminution of social and economic injustice and oppression, and the improvement of individual, group, community and organizational capacities to accomplish and sustain well-being. Our baccalaureate graduates are educated to be generalist practitioners who can draw upon a broad repertoire of knowledge and skills in their interventions with individuals, families, groups and communities guided by the ethical precepts of the social work profession. Our master's graduates are prepared to be advanced, direct practitioners who can bring to bear contemporary, sophisticated, highly differentiated knowledge and skills to their work with individuals, groups, couples and families as well as apply the generalist foundation perspective to their assessment, planning and interventions with clients and in their other professional activities. As they move through their careers, we expect that our graduates will remain engaged with learning in order to meet emerging social needs, to incorporate the most effective, new intervention technologies in their work, to expand their cultural competencies in concert with changes in the population, and to acquire the skills necessary for new roles and responsibilities.

The School is committed to the development of new knowledge that will inform the evolution of social policy, the organization and delivery of social services, and the profession's ability to intervene effectively with, and on behalf of, the vulnerable, disenfranchised and marginalized populations who depend upon our knowledge and skills. The scholarship, research and demonstration projects that the faculty and our graduates are engaged in respond to the exigencies of contemporary life and contribute to social work's capacity to improve people's well-being.

We are also committed to developing and providing leadership for the social services. The promotion of accessible, responsive systems of care that offer the full continuum of assistance that clients require is an increasingly challenging dimension of professional practice given the society's retreat from the principles of the welfare state and the resurgence of laissez-faire ideology and practice. The School, our Advisory Board and other leaders in the social service community are concerned not only about meeting the challenges of today but preparing leadership to meet the challenges of tomorrow as well.

The mission of the School, then, is broadly encompassing of the universal needs and requirements of the social work profession and its clients, while it is bounded by the university mission; characteristics and requirements of the region we serve; the interests and expertise of our faculty and the ambitions of our students. We seek to prepare competent, effective, skilled and ethical practitioners who will contribute to individual well-being and the promotion of social and economic justice. We are committed to the development of new knowledge that advances these possibilities and we are committed to developing and providing leadership for the social services which are the mechanisms needed to achieve these ends.