Sages of the Profession: Celebration of our Heritage

The Indiana University School of Social Work recently celebrated its 100-year anniversary as the oldest school of social work continuously affiliated with a university. That seminal occasion served as a compelling reminder of the extraordinary history of our profession and its relentless efforts on behalf of the vulnerable, oppressed and disadvantaged members of society. For more than a decade, the School’s journal Advances in Social Work has been devoted to the dissemination of theory and research that supports these efforts of social work educators and practitioners. Thus it seemed only appropriate that we devote a special issue of Advances to a retrospective exploration of some of the critical events in the history of the profession that have contributed to and help shape our present understanding of social work practice and education.