Equity Case Studies Report - School of Social Work - University of ...

UBC school of social work equity and diversity strategic plan: A compilation of case studies 6
PART ONE: INDIVIDUAL CASE STUDIES
DALHOUSIE UNIVERSITY
Background Information on Educational Equity at the School of Social Work
The School of Social Work at Dalhousie University, originally called Maritime School of
Social Work, was established in 1941. The School offers Bachelor of Social Work and Master of
Social Work programs. Since 2000 they have offered these programs through Distance
Education. The School currently has three professors, four associate professors, five assistant
professors, twelve adjunct professors, and eleven staff members (Dalhousie University, Faculty
of Health Professions, School of Social Work, 2011). (See Appendix A for faculty members’
areas of research.)
Dalhousie University’s School of Social Work began to address equity and diversity
since the early 1970’s 1 . At this time, there were a few faculty members, including the Director
of the School (Dorothy Moore), who were concerned that the School was made up of only
Caucasian faculty, staff, and students, which did not represent all racial and ethnic diversity
present in the province. They posed the question, “Who’s not represented, and why?” and were
dedicated to seeking change in the School of Social Work. The equity-seeking groups 2 targeted
at this time included persons identifying as Mi’kmaq, African Nova Scotian, or Acadian. These
equity-seeking groups were chosen based on provincial demographics and the identification of
racially minoritized and marginalized groups. The initial focus was on student admissions,
1 In addition to other printed and online references, this case study was compiled with information from an interview
2 “Equity-seeking groups” will be used throughout this case study to represent “minority”, “minoritized”, or
“marginalized” groups, as to stay consistent with the language used by the interviewee.