CAREER REFLECTIONS OF SOCIAL WORK EDUCATORS

Spencer J. Zeiger, Dalton State College

From the Foreword by Marshall L. Smith:

“There is so much more to becoming a social work educator than just being prepared to walk into class. Career Reflections of Social Work Educators takes a giant step toward preparing the fledgling practitioner-turned-social-work-educator for the career adventure ahead.  I certainly wish I had known about academic politics, grant writing, the process of achieving tenure, strategies and requirements for promotion, and the need to spend time in the community recruiting new students. I also wish I had known about limited resources, dealing with mercurial administrators, and…the incredibly complicated process of accreditation and reaffirmation…. Perhaps the greatest value of Career Reflections of Social Work Educators is that it will help novice academicians enter the academy with eyes wide open and avoid, or at least face, the inevitable bumps in the road with their sense of humor firmly intact. It is the closest we have to a global positioning system (GPS) for navigating the career of the social work educator.”

Contents

Foreword
Acknowledgments
Introduction

1  Paths to Social Work Education

2  The Defining Moment

3  In for the Long Haul: Why They Stay

4  Unexpected Pluses

5  Bumps in the Road

6  I Wish I Had Known . . .

7  In Search of Greener Pastures

8  The Dream Offer

9  What Have You Done for Me Lately?: The Quest for Professional
    Resources

10  The Job Seeker’s Primer

11  Faculty Search Committee 101

12  Keeping the Grass Green

13  The Pros and Cons of Longevity

References
Index

About the Author

Spencer Zeiger (MSW, PhD, University of Washington) is dean and professor in the School of Social Work at Dalton State College. He has taught in Minnesota, Alaska, Massachusetts, and Georgia. His practice experience includes working with adolescents in residential treatment, older adults in day treatment, and teenage fathers. Zeiger has served as treasurer (1998–2000) and president (2001–2003) of the Association of Baccalaureate Program Directors.