Quam named 2021 Social Work Pioneer by NASW Foundation

Former CEHD Dean and SSW Director Dr. Jean Quam has been named a 2021 National Association of Social Workers (NASW) Foundation Pioneer. The Pioneer Program identifies and recognizes individuals whose unique dedication, commitment, and determination have improved social and human conditions. Nominated by peers in the field, the award honors those who have contributed to the evolution and enrichment of the social work profession. Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the 16th annual celebration has been postponed until next year with more information on the event to follow.

In 1980, Quam was recruited by the University of Minnesota School of Social Work where she continues to be a faculty member. In 1991, she became Director of the School and went on to raise funds for the School to move into its own building on the St. Paul campus. Under her leadership, the school established distance education programs around the state and built a strong legacy of endowed scholarship funds.

She created several projects that directly benefitted social work students and social work services. As an Assistant Professor, Quam and four faculty members responded to a need for housing and services for chronically mentally ill older adults in the community. They established an agency called Community Care Corporation that created two homes with field placement sites, provided support for students interested in mental health, and wrote about their social work model of serving this unique client group. The organization continues today with multiple sites.

In 1992, Quam and Professor Esther Wattenberg created SSW’s Center for Advanced Studies in Child Welfare that worked with the state of Minnesota to use Title IV-E funds to support hundreds of social work students who were interested in child welfare and provided outstanding professional development opportunities to social workers in the community. The Center has funded between 30 and 50 social work students per year and supported regional BSW programs to develop opportunities to educate undergraduates for work in the child welfare field.

In 2006, after 16 years as director of the School of Social Work, she was hired to serve as Senior Associate Dean in a new college—the College of Education and Human Development—that was the academic home for the School of Social Work. Two years later, she was appointed Dean; a position in which she served for over 11 years. She stepped down from her role as collegiate dean in 2020 and returned to a position on the social work faculty. During her tenure as Dean, she raised over $100 million for the college, secured funding from the Legislature to construct a new building for the Institute of Child Development, combined a developmental child care center with a laboratory school and secured funding for a renovated building, and worked with the Medical School to establish the Masonic Institute for the Developing Brain. She also built the most diverse faculty and student body at the university.

Quam has also served in leadership roles for several prominent social work organizations, including the National Association of Social Workers (NASW), the Society for Social Work and Research (SSWR), the Council of Social Work Education (CSWE), and the National Association of Deans and Directors of Schools of Social Work (NADD).

One of her nominating colleagues shared “her understanding and appreciation of the value of individuals is the embodiment of the best of what a professional social worker should be.”

We could not agree more – or be prouder of – NASW Pioneer Jean Quam!