Professor Alfred Kadushin, who taught at the School for more than 40 years, was one of the nation’s leading scholars in child welfare services, social work and social work education. He joined the faculty in the School of Social Work in 1950 and taught until 1991.
Kadushin was born in New York in 1916 and worked as a mail carrier to help fund his education all the way up through his Ph.D. from New York University. To Kadushin, social work was an attractive opportunity to address social problems, but during his time as a student, he was dismayed at the level of scholarship and instruction specific to social work as a field. Because of this, he devoted himself to the professionalization of social work to find more effective ways of helping people, a cause he found admirable and very significant.
Kadushin became a central figure in defining the methods and content of social work as a field. In particular, he created a theoretical framework that firmly established the field of child welfare. His work on child abuse, child social services, and adoption and foster care helped shape national legislation devoted to child welfare. During his expansive career he saw the founding of organizations such as the National Association of Social Workers and the Council on Social Work Education, and he became an influential participant in these organizations.
His classic works, including Child Welfare Services, The Social Work Interview, Supervision in Social Work, and Consultation in Social Work, continue as the standard for social work education throughout the world. Overall he authored 66 journal articles and six books. He received the Council on Social Work Education’s Lifetime Achievement Award, was named a pioneer in social work by the National Association of Social Workers, and was named the first Julie C. Lathrop Distinguished Professor of Social Work in 1979. An influential teacher at all levels of instruction, Professor Kadushin is remembered for bringing two large briefcases of scholarly articles and books to class to cite in discussion.
This fund was established by the Kadushin family, his friends, colleagues and former students, who wished to honor Professor Kadushin’s memory and legacy. Professor Kadushin passed away in February 2014. He will always be remembered for his intellect, compassion, sense of humor and commitment to the welfare of children and families.