UB Social Work Dean to Receive Award from Mental Health Association of Erie County

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Lawrence Shulman, dean of the School of Social Work at the University at Buffalo, will receive the 2002 Hyman L. Levin Professional Award for Outstanding Professional Service from the Mental Health Association of Erie County, Inc.

The award will be presented at the association's 41st Mental Health Association annual meeting to be held from 9 a.m. to 1:45 p.m. on May 22 in the Buffalo Convention Center. Tickets are $25 per person and may be obtained by calling 886-1242.

The award is presented in recognition of individual dedication to the furtherance of mental health in the community, and an exceptionally high degree of humanitarian devotion and use of professional skills to help those with mental illness as individuals and members of the community.

Shulman was nominated for "his vision, energy and commitment (that) has inspired students, faculty and administration to achieve 'all that they are capable of being.'

"Within his academic circle, Dean Shulman is known as a prolific author and lecturer, a tireless worker and a superb teacher. His broadening of the mission of the (UB) School of Social Work while making it even more open and accessible to persons of color and disadvantaged groups has been a hallmark of his tenure. The increase in students, external grants, research and writing by faculty, and community involvement has made a positive contribution to the university and the Buffalo area," according to his nomination.

Shulman, who has an international reputation for his scholarship in interactional

social-work practice, has published 16 books and monographs and more than 20 articles and book chapters. Co-editor of the Journal of Clinical Supervision, he co-developed a series of videotapes on teaching social-work practice and diversity that involved extensive work with minorities.

He has received research funding for a variety of projects, among them work on the impact of unemployment on family stress and development of a model for predicting the effectiveness of services to families with children at risk and children in care.

Shulman joined UB as dean of social work in 1998. He holds a bachelor's degree from City College of New York, a master's in social work from Columbia University and a doctorate in educational psychology from Temple University.

He lives in Amherst.