by Matthew Smith
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Social Work’s Kimberly Strom, the Smith P. Theimann Jr. Distinguished Professor of Ethics and Professional Practice, recently added a new title to her extensive list of accolades — social work pioneer.
The School of Social Work’s former interim dean and former director of the UNC Office of Ethics and Policy was selected for the honor in July by the National Association of Social Workers. The NASW Social Work Pioneers program recognizes members who contribute to the “evolution and enrichment” of the profession.
“Social work is a remarkable profession,” Strom said. “I stand on the shoulders of giants who have given me opportunities to learn and grow. The NASW has been central to my love of ethics, so it is especially meaningful to be recognized in this way. It is a privilege to pass that knowledge and passion along to students and practitioners here and abroad.”
Strom, who earned her doctorate from the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences at Case Western Reserve University, joined the School as an associate professor in 1999. Since then, she has served in various roles including associate dean (1999-01) and interim dean (2000-01).
She has been a social work educator for more than 30 years, teaching micro and macro practice, education and leadership. Strom served as the director of the UNC Office of Ethics and Policy from 2016-23, directed Carolina’s Institute for the Arts and Humanities Tyson Academic Leadership Program from 2008-16, and was the principal investigator for the School of Social Work’s behavioral health care contract from 2012-21.
Research contributions
Strom’s work has focused on moral courage across professions. That means having the ability to put ethics into action and standing up in defense of principle, even when others are standing aside, Strom said.
She has written more than 80 articles, studies and book chapters on ethics and practice, including 11 books that cover generalist, clinical and administrative practices.
Alice A. Lieberman, Chancellor’s Club professor of Teaching Emerita at the University of Kansas School of Social Welfare, said in her nomination of Strom that she has been one of the best at examining the role of moral courage in the practice of social work. Howard University and UNC School of Social Work alum Cudore Snell was her primary nominator.
“Her work over decades in this very important but understudied area … (has) elevated her from an excellent social work academic to a public intellectual with worldwide reach,” Lieberman said. “While the social work profession is her principal concern, she has reached beyond our professional boarders for exemplars of moral courage in politics, law, science, education and journalism.”
Strom is a former recipient of the NASW Excellence in Ethics award and was named the state of Maine’s 1990 Social Worker of the Year by the NASW Maine Chapter.
“We congratulate Dr. Strom for this accomplishment and the service she’s provided to the field of social work over her more than 40-year career,” Dean Ramona Denby-Brinson said. “Her tireless work in professional ethics has made her one of the most respected leaders in her area of practice and we could not be prouder that she’s being recognized at the national level by the NASW.”
Since the program’s launch in 1994, nearly 900 individuals have been named pioneers. The association said that pioneers are considered for making “important contributions to the social work profession and to social policies through service, teaching, writing, research, program development, administration, or legislation.”
The Social Work Pioneers program is led by the NASW Foundation. The organization was founded to support the association’s charitable, educational and research initiatives.
Recent School of Social Work inductees to the NASW Social Work Pioneer program include Maeda Galinsky, who was induced posthumously in 2022, and Iris Carlton-LaNey and Hortense King McClinton in 2015.
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