Belle Smith Spafford

Belle S. Spafford Endowed Chair in Social Work

Dedicated to improving the lives of women and their families.
Established 1982

 

 

Helen V. Graber, Ph.D., holds the permanent appointment to the Belle S. Spafford Chair. The Chair is named in honor of the former General Relief Society president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Spafford, who served for 29 years in this capacity, was known for her exemplary local, national and international achievements. She was committed to addressing the spiritual and secular needs of women around the world.

Dr. Graber was selected as the Chair, in part, because of her past and current dedication to improving the lives of women. During the past two decades, Graber served six years on the Women's Commission for the Council on Social Work Education, and another six as Commission Chair. Graber's writing has focused on self-help models of community building for the poor-especially women, sexual harassment, and women and leadership.

Graber is aware of the strong linkage to Belle Spafford, and her legacy to the School and the community. "She was a teacher, a writer and an excellent administrator," says Graber. "She was grounded in her faith, but respected others and was a dynamic leader in both her church and in the larger, secular community. People around here almost revere Belle Spafford, and I am honored to work under her name."

Dr. Graber's work at the College of Social Work is being aided by a group of community leaders formed as an advisory committee chaired by Irene Fisher, Special Assistant to the President for Campus/Community Programs and former Director of the University of Utah's Bennion Center.

For Graber, making this professorship a permanent appointment was crucial to moving from St. Louis. It is also clear that the goals of the Spafford Chair can be better met through long-lasting relationships with individuals and organizations.

"Because of the generosity of the community and the dynamic leadership of Florence Jacobsen in establishing the Chair, we now have the resources to work towards improving the lives of women and their families in Utah," states Dr. Graber. "We need to build on what is already going on here that is supportive and strengthening for women, while recognizing that problems and issues exist."

"I am a feminist," said Graber, "which means to be woman-centered and to have a world view which seeks to eliminate oppression of all people. Feminism does not mean being anti-male. Truly effective feminists advocate for personal and political changes which empower people to be the best they can be, to have choices, and to be respected."

Graber joins the College of Social Work from Missouri, where she served with the Missouri Association for Social Welfare, a statewide public information and advocacy organization focusing on human welfare issues. She was also an adjunct professor at Webster University and the University of Missouri, as well as Assistant Dean at Columbia University School of Social Work and the George Warren Brown School of Social Work at Washington University, in St. Louis.

She has been a member of the Board of Directors for the Council on Social Work Education, the accrediting body for all undergraduate and graduate schools of social work. Her early social work career was in public welfare and settlement houses

Graber received her B.A. degree from Lake Erie College in Ohio, a Master of Science degree in Social Administration from Case Western University in Cleveland, and a Ph.D. in Public Policy Analysis and Administration from St. Louis University.