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Hall of Fame

 

Ms. Mary Anne Meredith accepts the 2007 Lifetime Achievement Award for her husband, Harlan Meredith.
L to R: Barbara Hankins, President of the Social Work Society, Ms. Meredith, and Dean Adams.
Mrs. Aurelia Benton accepts the 2007 Hall of Fame Award on behalf of her aunt, Doris Bender.
L to R: Barbara Hankins, President of the Social Work Society, Mrs. Benton, and Dean Adams.

Note:  The 2007 Alabama Social Work Hall of Fame was held in conjunction with the School’s 40th Anniversary on May 18, 2007 at the North River Yacht Club in Tuscaloosa, AL.   For more information, please contact Vickie Whitfield, PR/Development Coordinator, at 205-348-3942.

The Hall of Fame Event honors social workers in the areas of education/research and practice/administration, retired or deceased, who are acclaimed by their peers and colleagues for their professional status and exemplary leadership, creativity, contribution to the knowledge base and practice of social work, and influence in the life of the community.

Criteria for Selection to the Hall of Fame

The nominee:

  • Must be retired from full-time Social Work employment or deceased.
  • Must have an academic degree in professional social work from an accredited school of social work and have practiced, engaged in research, or have been an educator for professional practice.
  • Must have resided in Alabama for at least some part of their lives.
  • Must be recognized as a highly influential leader in practice or education for social work, or in governmental bodies or institutions of the community.
  • Must have shown originality and creativity in making outstanding contributions either to clinical, policy/practice, to the legislative process in the interest of social welfare, to the professional literature, to social work research, or to administration, resource development, and/or community well-being.
Members of the Alabama Social Work Hall of Fame:

1994 - Lady Portis Cunningham – Lifetime Achievement Award – Ms. Cunningham is best remembered for her impact on young social workers and the social work profession.  A long time employee of the Alabama Department of Mental Health and Retardation, she was active in implementing the department’s compliance with the social services requirements of the Wyatt v. Stickney federal court order.  Ms. Cunningham also worked for the passage of social work licensure in Alabama.

1994 - Eulene Hawkins – Lifetime Achievement Award –Ms. Hawkins worked for nineteen years with the American Red Cross in Washington, DC.  She won an Alabama Supreme Court ruling that overturned the Governor’s prohibition on exemptions from the State’s mandatory retirement age, enabling her to continue working in the Department of Pensions and Security.  Following her mandatory retirement, Ms. Hawkins was the first Executive Director of the Alabama Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers for nearly seven years.

1995 - Louise Pittman - Lifetime Achievement Award – Ms. Pittman was said to have known she always wanted to be a social worker.  During her lengthy career with the Department of Human Resources, she served under 12 Governors and, with the exception of one, all the Commissioners of the Department of Human Resources.  She was nationally known for her 50-year career in Child Welfare and the high standards she set on behalf of children and families.

1996 - Ada Kate Morgan – Lifetime Achievement Award – Ms. Morgan was a leader in the social work profession and in civic and charitable activities in Alabama.  She was instrumental in lobbying the Alabama Legislature in 1965 for the passage of the law creating The University of Alabama School of Social Work, so social workers would not have to leave the State to receive professional education.  She served the state of Alabama for 31 years through the Department of Pensions and Security.

1997 - Howard B. Gundy – Lifetime Achievement Award – Dr. Gundy was the first dean of The University of Alabama School of Social Work.  He previously served as first director and first dean of the Syracuse University School of Social Work and later went to Sacramento State College (California) as the first Dean of the Social Work program.  Dr. Gundy also served The University of Alabama as Vice President for Academic Affairs and Acting President. 

1998 - Sara Bell Penrod “Penny” Allen – Ms. Allen was a social work educator, administrator and practitioner who contributed extensively to the social work profession throughout her adult life.  Ms. Allen was the first social worker at Bryce Hospital.  She was a founder of The University of Alabama School of Social Work and a member of the committee to select the School’s first dean.  Subsequently, she served on the faculty and was chair of the BSW Program.  She was a founder of the Alabama Mississippi Social Work Conference, now one of the oldest regional social work education conferences in the United States.  The University of Alabama’s Penny Allen Award, recognizing outstanding leadership, is named in her honor.

1998 - Mary Margaret Carr – Dr. Carr gave a lifetime of exemplary service to professional practice, education, administration, development of community resources, and to state and national organizations that enhance human welfare.  She worked for the Jefferson County Department of Pensions and Security and in administrative and consultative positions for the American Red Cross. Later, she served as Executive Director of the Family Counseling Center of Jefferson County and Executive Director of the Child Service and Family Counseling Center of Atlanta.  In all of her positions, Dr. Carr was an innovator and a catalyst for the formation of new social work programs and services.

1999 - George Martin Phyfer - Mr. Phyfer had a distinguished career in the field of youth corrections.  Because of Mr. Phyfer’s expertise in juvenile corrections, he was sought out by colleagues around the country for consultation.  He later became the Executive Director of the Alabama Department of Youth Services and served as a consultant to other states in this capacity.

1999 - Ben Avis Orcutt – Dr. Orcutt was the founding chair of the doctoral program at The University of Alabama School of Social Work and was an active member of the Group for the Advancement of Doctoral Education (GADE), an international association of social work doctoral programs.  She held academic appointments in the Schools of Social Work at Louisiana State University, Columbia University, and The University of Alabama.  She was recognized internationally for her consulting and teaching of research at two programs in London, England. 

2000 - Mary Avis Todd – Ms. Todd was one of the founding faculty members of The University of Alabama School of Social Work where she taught until her retirement in 1978.  She had a compassion for others and a creative manner in which she met challenges.  Her primary strength was an ability to relate to people from diverse backgrounds and to help others, especially her students, to respect all people.  When Mary Avis Todd began her career as a Special Field Representative for the American Red Cross, social work was a fledgling profession and she became an active participant in its growth.  Before her retirement, Ms. Todd developed an innovative international study course to study the impact of poverty in Guatemala.  

2000 - Dale Brantley – Throughout his career, Mr. Brantley demonstrated enthusiasm, pride, and commitment for his work and for the social work profession.  He received national recognition for his work at the Sparks Center for Development and Learning Disorders and publications in mental retardation, developmental disabilities, and special needs children and families.  His teaching, consulting, and student supervising careers included Samford University, The University of Alabama, the UAB School of Social and Behavioral Sciences and the UAB School of Medicine Department of Pediatrics. 

2001 - P. Frederick Delliquadri – Dr. Delliquadri served as Dean of The University of Alabama School of Social Work from 1972 to 1981. Prior to this appointment, Dr. Delliquadri had a solid career in child welfare and social work education.  He served as Director of the US Children’s Bureau and as Dean of the Schools of Social Work at Columbia University, the University of Hawaii and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. 

2001 - Tony D. Walker – A most loyal alumnus of The University of Alabama School of Social Work, Mr. Walker was an original member of the School’s Board of Friends and helped to raise significant funds in scholarship endowments.  Mr. Walker was a member of the faculty of the Social Work Program at Troy State University for 19 years before retiring. 

2002 - Barbara G. Bonfield – Ms. Bonfield championed many causes for the welfare of defenseless children and the elderly population.  She played an important role in the political process of electing people who represented the goals of the people of Alabama and the profession of social work.  Ms. Bonfield was the founder and Executive Director of Human and Natural Resources, Inc.  Ms. Bonfield served as Executive Director of Ms. Senior Alabama, Inc., Jefferson County Office of Senior Citizens and Elder Garden and Human Resources.  She was also a child welfare caseworker, with both Children's Aid Society and the Department of Pensions and Security. 

2002 - Phillip E. Crunk – Dr. Crunk served as the first Associate Dean of The University of Alabama School of Social Work from 1970 to 1976.  He designed and, for 16 years, directed a cooperative MSW program between The University of Alabama School of Social Work and Hong Kong Shue Yan College.  In 1986, he assumed leadership of the Washington, DC, Field Education Program, which he directed for the next 20 years. 

2002 - Norman E. Eggleston – Dr. Eggleston dedicated his life to service through social work.  He was Chair of the Department of Social Work at The University of Alabama in Birmingham from 1976 to his retirement in 1995.  Before his employment with The University of Alabama in Birmingham, Dr. Eggleston taught at the University of Georgia, Virginia Commonwealth University, and Catholic University.  

2003 - Betty C. Glasscock – Ms. Glasscock was a leader and advocate for the social work profession and played a vital role in achieving social work licensure in Alabama.  Her career has included serving as executive director of the National Association of Social Workers along with numerous academic and administrative positions with The University of Alabama, the University of Alabama at Birmingham, Easter Seals of Central Alabama and Gorman and Associates.  Ms. Glasscock also led the effort to position social workers in the school systems in Alabama.

.2003 - Martha Joyce Greathouse –With a strong commitment to Alabama’s children and their families, Ms. Greathouse worked behind the scenes promoting social work skills and ethics to enhance the quality of life for at risk populations.  A tireless advocate for Alabama’s children, she practiced for 39 years with the Children’s Aid Society of Birmingham.

2004 - Erin Wheeler – Ms. Wheeler was director of the Mobile County Department of Human Resources for 25 years.  She was instrumental in establishing a scholarship for county directors of the Department of Human Resources to pursue Master’s degrees in social work and instrumental in the development of programs for foster care.  Ms. Wheeler reformed the Child Welfare Program under the R.C. Consent Decree.  

2005 - Ethel Hall – Dr. Hall was a member of the first group of students to obtain a doctorate in Social Work from The University of Alabama.  After a career in the Birmingham public schools, she was a faculty member of The University of Alabama School of Social Work and served as director of field education.  After her retirement from the faculty, Dr. Hall was elected to the State Board of Education where she served for many years and was named vice president emerita.   

2006 - Charles R. Atherton – Dr. Atherton had a long and distinguished career as a social work educator at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign and The University of Alabama.  In 1974, Dr. Atherton came to The University of Alabama School of Social Work where he remained until his retirement in 1994.  Throughout the course of his career, Dr. Atherton proved to be a prodigious researcher and a sought after mentor to doctoral students and faculty colleagues, many of whom credit him with assisting them to become better researchers and more prolific publishers. 

2006 - Leslie J. Shellhase – Dr. Shellhase was known for his longstanding interest in ethical issues.  Early in his life, Dr. Shellhase served as a combat infantryman in World War II.  He represented the Department of Defense on the Presidential Manpower Commission, for which he received a commendation from President Lyndon B. Johnson.  In the 1970s, Dr. Shellhase volunteered to direct a project to revise the National Association of Social Worker’s Code of Ethics.  Prior to his involvement, the Code, which was adopted in 1960, had only been revised once. 

2006 - Robert “Bob” Quinnelly – In his long and distinguished career at the Veteran’s Administration Medical Center, Mr. Quinnelly made a significant difference in the lives of military veterans and their families.  He implemented an innovative community mental health program designed to provide mental health services to veterans which became the prototype for community-based VA services to the present date.

2007 – Doris Bender – Ms. Bender was appointed director of Mobile County’s Department of Pensions and Security where she served for 33 years. She developed a prototype for a statewide program, which is the cornerstone of Alabama’s efforts to combat abuse and neglect of elderly disabled adults.  Ms. Bender was the first woman outside the staff of the University of South Alabama to serve on the admissions committee of the School of Medicine and the first woman elected to the board of trustees of Spring Hill College.

2007 – Mr. Harlan Cross Meredith - Lifetime Achievement Award – Always dedicated to education, Mr. Meredith was one of the original community leaders who worked to establish The University of Alabama School of Social Work. He played a key role in the efforts to bring quality graduate education in social work to the State of Alabama, serving as an important liaison with the state legislature. Through his tireless, unselfish efforts, Mr. Meredith has touched the lives of literally thousands of people in the State and across the country.