Southwest Baptist University News Release
Contact: Sharina Smith, Office of Marketing & Communications
BOLIVAR, Mo. – Southwest Baptist University students interested in helping others will have a new degree opportunity beginning in the fall 2011 semester. SBU is developing a Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) degree program.
A BSW degree prepares students with the knowledge base, professional values, and skills to professionally intervene with individuals, families, groups, and communities in diverse practice settings. Social workers can be found in nonprofit and government agencies, schools, hospitals, hospices, universities, legislatures, private practices, corporations, and the military.
Graduates from BSW programs are prepared for entry-level positions in the social work field. In many states, including Missouri, social workers can get licensed at the bachelor’s level. The BSW degree is a prerequisite for such licensure.
“I believe social work is a natural extension of SBU’s mission, which includes ‘preparing students to be servant leaders in a global society’” said Christine Saladino, the BSW program director. “Professional social workers serve vulnerable populations across the globe.”
Saladino said the social work profession developed more than 100 years ago to address and mitigate social problems including poverty, chronic illness, addiction, abuse and discrimination. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor statistics, the profession is growing faster than average for all occupations, especially in the areas of aging and health care services. There are currently more than 640,000 professional social workers employed in the United States.
“The BSW program is something this department has talked about, even dreamt about, for some time” said Dr. Kevin Schriver, chair of the Department of Behavioral Sciences. “We are excited to see this program of study come to SBU. It will give the University an additional academic major to expand our Christian mission.”
The Bachelor of Social Work program is seeking accreditation by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE). The first accreditation visit by CSWE was conducted in January 2011.
Applications for admission are currently being accepted and will be considered on a space available basis. Inquires about the program should be directed to Christine Saladino, the BSW program director, at 417-328-1736 or visit http://www.sbuniv.edu/bsw .
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Southwest Baptist University is a leader among private universities in truly integrating Christ-centered academic pursuits with comprehensive professional programs at an affordable price. Since 1878, the faculty and staff have created a caring, academic community to prepare students to be servant leaders in a global society.
The University has been named one of America’s Best Christian Colleges® for 14 consecutive years, one of America’s 100 Best College Buys® for 15 consecutive years, and it has been named among institutions with America’s Best College Scholarships ® for the past four years by Institutional Research and Evaluation, Inc.
For more information, visit www.SBUniv.edu. SBU’s Office of Marketing & Communications is available to news media 24/7 at 417-399-7918.
