The National Association of Social Workers (NASW) Foundation has selected UNC School of Social Work Professor Iris Carlton-LaNey as an NASW Social Work Pioneer.
Here is what it means to be a Pioneer, from NASW:
“NASW Pioneers are social workers who have explored new territories and built outposts for human services on many frontiers. Each has made an important contribution to the social work profession and to social policies through service, teaching, writing, research, program development, administration or legislation.
All of these social workers are honored in the NASW Pioneer Room in our national office in Washington, D.C. The pioneers have prepared the way for thousands of other social workers to make their contributions to the betterment of the human condition. They are all role models for future generations of social workers.”
Carlton-LaNey will be honored at NASW’s Annual Pioneer Program and Luncheon in October in Washington, D.C.
“This is a wonderful honor for Iris and also for our School,” said Dean Jack Richman. “Thank you, Iris, for all you do for the School, our community and the profession.”
About Dr. Carlton-LaNey
Iris Carlton-LaNey, Ph.D., has over 35 years of social work teaching experience. She has published over 70 articles and book chapters and has several books to her credit. One of her favorite books is African Americans Aging in the Rural South, published in 2005. This book captures the lives and stories of elders who lived and worked on farms in North Carolina and focuses on their commitment to family, community and faith. In 2001, her book African American Leadership: An Empowerment Tradition in Social Welfare History was published by NASW Press.
She has served on the Mecklenburg and Durham County Social Serves Boards and chaired the Durham County Board for several years. She has also worked with other human service groups in the area including the Durham County Nursing Home Community Advisory Committee. Earlier in her career, she worked as a public health social worker in Chicago. She has also been a social work consultant for long term care facilities in North Carolina.
Carlton-LaNey has received several awards for her work, including the Feminist Scholar Honoree recognition from the CSWE Council on the Role and Status of Women; the Sisters of the Academy (SOTA) Legacy Award; the Distinguished Achievement in Social Work Education Award, presented by the National Association of Black Social Workers; and UNC-Chapel Hill’s Distinguished Teaching Award for Post-Baccalaureate Instruction.
She is a graduate of North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University, the University of Chicago and the University of Maryland at Baltimore.
