U-M School of Social Work Centennial Oral Histories

Brett Seabury talks about the climate of the school in the late 70's his role in developing a faculty review protocol.

Connie Ackert shares her journey to social work and attending school while being a student and a parent in the 1980s.

Nicole Hayes shares her story about gaining support from her fellow students and teachers at the SSW after the death of her Grandmother.

William "Bill" Cabin talked about why he came to Michigan SSW. He talked about the role of the student services office, how it felt to be a non-traditional student, the joy of academic enrichment.

Terry Axelrod talks about the '67 riots in Detroit and her decision to become a social worker.

Stacey Saunders talks about her path to social work and the unique feature of the SSW - its geriatric fellowship.

Charles Tommasulo talks about his professional career, his time in school, his time in New York, the Vietnam war and his reason for choosing the University of Michigan.

John Tropman, Henry J. Meyer Collegiate Professor Emeritus of Social Work, talks about his journey to U-M and captures the climate of the School in the tumultuous 1960s.

Rosalva Osorio MSW ‘06, developed a keen lens for the value of learning at the School. “I have had a lot of different teachers, but they all have told me that learning is key to social justice and that our social work knowledge base is going to help us move society forward. Also, I have been able to build different connections in my time at U-M. I make sure I use the resources that have been given to me that continually help me expand my practice.”

Carol Goss, MSW ‘72, recounted how she was born with a passion to help others. However, her time at the U-M School of Social Work helped her understand the complexity of individual empowerment and institutional change. She learned to name skills and use them at U-M.

Social Workers: Seers and Purveyors of LuckA Reflection by David BullockDavid Bullock, MSW ‘20, coordinated the School of Social Work oral history project.  Inspired by the School's Centennial, the project produced an archive of personal reflections and stories, which together demonstrate the broad reach and impact of the School.   Stories create connection and build community.  They have the power to shape, inspire and stay with us. As the coordinator, Bullock interviewed nearly all the participants, and in doing so, helped each of them tell their story.  His interview with Zev Harel was particularly memorable, and Bullock wrote this essay to reflect the impact Harel's story had on him.On November 23, 2021, I had the honor of interviewing Dr. Zev Harel. He is a survivor of Auschwitz. He is a 1967 MSW graduate of the University of Michigan School of Social Work. He is an evangelist of luck. As news of the atrocities perpetrated by the Nazis began to settle into the popular imagination of a world tired of war, social scientists, psychologists and philosophers all sought to use science and reason to explain how the degree of inhumanity and hate encoded in the German will to power was possible. Surely, humans shaped by the enlightenment and forged in the foundry of modernity could not be that warped. There must be an explanation for inhumanity this deliberate, intentional and destructive. Some mused about the banality of evil, while others linked this gratuitous cruelty to a mythology of purity and Divine puppeteering. Others, in strength, peered past the evil and the hate and saw the miracle of luck. Dr. Zev Harel, a social worker, is one of these seers of luck.At 92 years old, Dr. Zev Harel describes himself as lucky. Many have sought luck in casinos. Frank Sinatra sang a song attempting to convince luck to be one of his many lovers. But, this is not the kind of luck Dr. Zev has experienced. In our interview, I was a bit timid, but mustered the courage to ask nonetheless, “Why do you keep calling yourself lucky, what do you mean by luck”? He responded, “I am lucky. I have experienced random moments in which I was the recipient of a righteous act.” I immediately resonated with his answer and was floored by an inner joy!At 14 years old, Zev was sent to Auschwitz. He was told by a Russian guard to tell the authorities he was 11. This would buy him time before he was scheduled for execution. Luck. Somehow, as he performed his assigned duty to clean the stables, a German woman would sneak bread and food to him. It very well may have been this added nutrition that kept him physically able to perform his duties and ultimately kept him alive. Luck. After the camp was liberated, Zev lay in a ditch stricken with typhoid fever. An unnamed African American Allied soldier who served in a segregated regimen pulled him from a ditch and took him to a nurse for care. Luck. Zev would later receive a fellowship to attend the University of Michigan and pursue his MSW. Luck. He met his wife of over 50 years in Ann Arbor. She is accomplished in her own right; however, she pushed him to learn to desire more and he eventually pursued and was awarded his doctorate at the University of Michigan. Luck. As Zev talked it became clear. He survived because of luck. He experienced random righteous acts from human beings along the journey of life. He did not have to pay. They did not act because of merit, these people simply were momentarily randomly righteous — he indeed is a lucky man.Zev is a seer. He has seen luck, but he is not merely lucky. He is also a purveyor of luck. While on the faculty at the school of social work at Cleveland State University, Zev encountered an African American student who was having trouble in his courses. Dr. Zev didn't fail him. He gave him an incomplete. This student would go on to finish his master's degree. He later asked Zev for a recommendation to the University of Michigan School of Social Work in order to pursue his doctorate. The student obtained his doctorate and became the dean of a school of social work in the south. He lives this truth - knock on people's thinking caps! Awaken them to the reality of luck. If they see it, they can appreciate it and participate in it. The Holocaust was horrible. Inhumanity perpetrated by humans upon humans is evil and still we survive because of luck. As we face a world in the grips of a global pandemic, as we wrestle with forces that conspire to build levees against the floodwaters of diversity and seek to stamp out the fires of human empathy, Zev reminds us to see and live luck. He is not a hero, he is more than courageous, he is a social worker who sees and purveys luck.

Gary Anderson, MSW ‘76, came to Michigan from a small college and remembers how excited he was from his first day about the diversity of people and ideas. He recalls faculty who were using cutting edge techniques and emerging technology — which in 1974, included videotape — and how open they were to supporting him in his own thinking.

Fatima Salman, MSW ‘15, shares her experiences as a member of the historic group of four women who organized a massive rally at Detroit Metro Airport within 24 hours of the announcement of a new Muslim travel ban.

Charlie Cavell, MSW ‘13, talks about ”aha” moments in classes and how much he learned by having deep, challenging discussions with his classmates. Those moments and conversations helped him grow into the person he is today.

Lloyd Shelton, MSW ‘15, never thought he would attend U-M. He tells the story about how his mother's belief in him, combined with his own perseverance led him to find a home he found within the School. Shelton describes how his involvement with the student disability group and student government groups helped bolster his sense of belonging, and how much he continues to value this community as an alum.

Brittney Williams, MSW ‘17, discusses why she joined the Central Student Government (CSG) as a representative of Michigan Social Work. She impacted the entire campus by working on a CSG team to have University Health Services accept Medicaid.

Nyshourn Price, MSW ‘01, chose to attend Michigan specifically because of the program's macro-focus. A native Californian, Price had witnessed the push to dismantle affirmative action in her home state. When those efforts spread to Michigan, Price and two classmates organized a protest, and how their efforts raised consciousness in both the classroom and the community.

Former olympic swimmer Emily Klueh, MSW ‘16, talks about how she felt supported within Michigan Social Work, the freedom that her program allowed her to pursue her dreams and aspirations, and how she created a field placement in sports and has seen the sports/social work connection grow.

Justin Woods, MSW ‘21, describes his passions for social work and the lessons he learned regarding the ethical responsibility to challenge social injustice. Woods organized an effort with students, Dean Videka and School administration advocating the Council of Social Work Education to revise core competencies to better address anti-racism and racial justice.

Duane Breijak, MSW ‘12 talks about his passions that led him to the field of social work, his orientation experience as an MSW student, and how a pink shirt confirmed he was in the right place.

Charles Williams II, PhD student and MSW ‘20, reflects on why he chose Michigan for his social work education. “Everyone who was doing something that was spectacular came from the School of Social Work,” he says. He describes how the opportunity to learn from so many experts across different fields gave him knowledge and skills as well as the ability to understand how he fits in the grand space of social work.

Judson (Jud), MSW '71, and Lynne, MSW ‘69 and PhD ‘76, recall their lives as graduate students: balancing finances, landing a job as a research assistant, and attending a year-long dance series in Ann Arbor featuring performances they would never forget: Alvin Ailey, Ballet Folklórico de México, and a troupe of Russian Cossack dancers.

Professor Emerita Letha Chadiha talks about the lessons she learned from Professor Rosemary Sarri, especially as a teacher and a mentor. Chadiha describes the crucial role Sarri was as a mentor to her, how she, in turn, loved mentoring MSW and PhD students. She is especially grateful for how those long-lasting relationships kept her connected through the pandemic.

Dean Emerita Paula Allen-Meares discusses what led her to establish the school's art collection — the debate of social work as an art and science, and the correlation between art and social justice.

Dr. Yaffe talks about innovation in research. She tells a story about her experience in class during her first year in the doctoral program and emphasizes the rigor and power of the Michigan Social Work experience.

Dr. Ingersoll Dayton talks about her experience as a graduate student and professor. She emphasizes the kind of support and resources at the SSW.

Tonya reflects on legacy, Michigan Social Work's influence in her approach to non-profit administration, the Rodney King verdict and the racial divide, the need to embrace empathy and vulnerability in order to engage in hard conversations.

"I didn't get an MBA, I didn't go to Ross, I got an MSW." Eileen reflects on her mother, her social work degree and her life's work.

Dr. Thyer shares a story about his first day at Michigan Social Work and his scholarship

Dr. Fein talks about her experience at Michigan Social Work. Reflecting on the family-like nature of the school, she speaks about moments of support, self-awareness, and intellectual growth.

Andrew talks about being bi-racial and the need to listen, talk, and practice compassion.

Vance Jackson talks about the impact of his MSW training when it is combined with his banking background.

Sharrell shares a story about a trip to Ionia and the need for cultural competence reflecting on her own story of going to college meeting social workers and then becoming one.

Jennifer touches on 9/11, the MSW Program, Adoption, and the Michigan Social Work experience.

What would the walls that connected their offices say if they could talk? "We are in this together"

Thomas reflects on Cards, Horse Racing, Lyndon B. Johnson, Fidelle Fauri, being nervous and smoking cigars.

Dr. Gant talks about his experience as a student at the UM SSW 30 years ago and links it to his work in the SSW 30 years later.