Social Work at Columbia History
Columbia was founded in 1754 by Royal Charter as King’s College, and was renamed Columbia College by the New York Legislature in 1784. The School of Social Work opened its doors in 1898. Faculty members, like John Dewey and Franz Boas, revolutionized the social sciences with their philosophy that theories about human experience could only be valid when based on close observation of our personal and political interactions. Since then, we’ve played a key role in almost every major development in the social work profession. Our faculty and graduates have made major achievements in the field including:
• Establishing the landmark Bureau of Children’s Guidance • Writing and implementing the Social Security Act • Extending the social work role into the military
• Pioneering psychiatric social work • Conducting a study of foster children that had a major impact on national policy • Forming coalitions that led to such influential national organizations as the UrbanLeague and the Peace Corps
• Originating the environmental/ecological approach to social work
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