SUNO’s School of Social Work is reaccredited for an additional eight years

The Council on Social Work Education’s (CSWE) Commis­sion on Accreditation, at its February 2012 meeting, officially reaffirmed accreditation for the Bachelors of Social Work and Masters of Social Work degree programs offered by the School of Social Work at Southern University at New Or­leans (SUNO) for an additional eight years (through 2020). A celebration took place Thursday, Mar­ch 1, at SUNO’s University Cafe­teria.

“Many persons and organizations have been very supportive of our BSW and MSW programs. Graduates of our programs are very involved in the social work community with a commitment on advocacy, empowerment and transformation. The importance of having received the reaffirmation of the accreditation again denotes to the general public and the academic community that our programs are equal to all CSWE accredited programs nationwide,” said Dr. Beverly Favre, dean of the School of Social Work. “Our invitation to the community is our way of saying ‘We appreciate you and thank you.’”

The reaffirmation of accreditation process took three years, which included the preparation and completion of the self-study and an onsite visit by CSWE accreditation team members. SUNO’s group effort included faculty, staff, students and the former dean, Dr. Millie M. Charles. SUNO’s social work programs have been accredited since their inception, with the BSW program earning the distinction in 1974, followed by the MSW program garnering accreditation in 1985.

“When the field of social work is mentioned locally or nationally, we are proud that the high –quality of social work programs at SUNO rises to the top of these mentions or discussions. All universities strive to have as many educational offerings about which to tout as possible, and we are fortunate that our social work programs remain beacons for this institution. I congratulate Dr. Favre and all of the students, professors and staff on a continued job well done,” said Victor Ukpolo, Ph.D., SUNO’s chancellor.

This article was originally published in the March 12, 2012 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper