Golam Mathbor, Ph.D., professor in the School of Social Work, was appointed chair of the Commission on Global Social Work Education (CGSWE), one of six commissions affiliated with the national association, the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE).
He succeeds Rebecca L. Thomas, Ph.D., (University of Connecticut), beginning his two-year term on July 1, and will additionally serve as a representative on the CSWE board of directors.
“I am honored to serve as chair of the Commission on Global Social Work Education and a member of its board of directors. I bring to this position, a commitment to advancing social work education through collaborative leadership, shared governance, international partnerships, anti-racism, diversity, equity and inclusion, human rights, and social, economic, and environmental justice,” Mathbor said.
As chair, Mathbor is planning on increasing membership, leading the CSWE in local and global partnerships, and ensuring the accreditation and re-accreditation of programs that enhance the quality and credibility of the discipline and the profession.
He previously served as the co-chair of the CGSWE and four terms as commissioner assisted in establishing the CSWE’s Katherine A. Kendall Institute for International Social Work and the Partners in International Education Awards, as a reviewer and track chair, organizer, and presenter in the council’s partnership/connect sessions, and as chair of the Hokenstad International Lecture series from 2019-21.
Outside of the CSWE, Mathbor served as president of the American Institute of Bangladesh Studies, a member of the board of directors of the Council on American Overseas Research Centers, and as vice president and associate secretary-general for the International Consortium for Social Development, among other leadership and administrative roles at local, regional, national, and international levels.
The CSWE includes over 800 accredited bachelor’s and master’s programs, as well as individual social work educators, practitioners, and agencies dedicated to advancing quality social work education. The CGSWE focuses on working with other international organizations to promote international programs and projects and to develop the international dimension of social work curricula.