The George Warren Brown School of Social Work honored six distinguished individuals for outstanding school service during its annual Alumni Awards Dinner April 17 at the Coronado Ballroom.
The Distinguished Alumni Award recipients are Alice K. Johnson Butterfield, Ph.D., William A. McAllister and Amy Rome. Luis Zayas, Ph.D., the Shanti K. Khinduka Distinguished Professor of Social Work and associate dean of faculty, received the Distinguished Faculty Award. The Dean’s Medal recipients are David L. Cronin, Ph.D., and Harriet K. Switzer, Ph.D., secretary to the Board of Trustees.
Johnson Butterfield, professor of social work at Jane Addams College of Social Work, has made significant contributions to knowledge in the area of service delivery to disadvantaged populations. She has authored numerous papers, book chapters, reviews and monographs focused on university-community partnerships, community practice, community development, homeless families and low-income housing. She is a member of the Council on Social Work Education’s Commission on Global Social Work Education. She also serves on the organizing committee for the International Consortium for Social Development’s annual symposium, which will be held this year in Hangzhou, China.
McAllister has focused his life work in advancing the mission of the YMCA, one of the largest not-for-profit community service organizations in America. His career with the Y has taken him around the country and resulted in numerous leadership roles within the organization. He has served on the World Council YMCA and as director of personnel and training for the YMCA of America. He also was elected vice president and chief operating officer of the YMCA Retirement Fund. Although he officially retired in 1989, he remains involved with the YMCA.
Rome has dedicated her career to improving the effectiveness of not-for-profit organizations. As founder and principal of the Rome Group, she has more than two decades of experience in planning, development and fundraising, and management with public and private nonprofit and philanthropic organizations. From education to health and human services, she has helped a variety of institutions locally and nationally achieve their goals. Prior to forming the Rome Group, she was president of the St. Louis Metropolitan Association for Philanthropy, a membership organization of philanthropic corporations and foundations that provides educational programming and information on community needs.
Since joining the faculty in 2002, Zayas has made significant contributions to the social work school, the University and the profession. His research on at-risk Latina youth has received national and international recognition, and under his leadership, the Brown School established the Center for Latino Family Research. Zayas has made substantial contributions to building diversity at the University and at the Brown School, provided important administrative leadership and been a dedicated teacher and mentor to doctoral students and postdoctoral students.
Cronin served the social work school for 25 years, most recently as associate dean for administration. He directed the construction of Goldfarb Hall and the renovation of Brown Hall, chaired the Brown School’s anniversary celebrations and played a major role in the reaccreditation process of the school. He and his wife, Harriet K. Switzer, were instrumental in establishing the Kathryn M. Buder Center for American Indian Studies. Cronin served on the Brown School’s curriculum committee and on the assessment and Commencement committees for the University.
Switzer, former president of Maryville College (now Maryville University) has spent the past 25 years serving Washington University. She is secretary to the Board of Trustees and its 13 standing committees. Switzer also served as University coordinator of the Women’s Society of Washington University. She has brought the Women’s Society to a new level of leadership, helping to establish the Elizabeth Gray Danforth Scholarship.