Exterior of the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences

Celebrating 100 years at the Mandel School

Case Western Reserve University has a long, rich history in social work. As the nation’s first university-affiliated professional graduate school of social work, the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences holds a special place in history.

That historical account is now outlined in a new centennial commemorative book called Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences: 100 Years of Inspiring Hope and Shaping the Future.

The 147-page book was co-authored by Elise Hagesfeld and Elizabeth Salem, both of Case Western Reserve’s Department of History with contributions by historian and historic preservationist Shelley Stokes-Hammond and John Grabowski, the Krieger-Mueller Joint Professor of Applied History.

The idea was to tell the story of the first 100 years of the School of Applied Social Sciences, said Dean Grover Gilmore. Work on the book began two years ago.

The school was founded in 1916 at what was then Western Reserve University at the request of representatives from 18 social and civic organizations in Cleveland.

“The school was created to empower and care for the great waves of immigrants escaping poverty and persecution,” Gilmore said. “Today, the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences works on behalf of all people, to champion for social justice and to fulfill its mission to build a more just world.”

Additional highlights from the book include:

  • Throughout the school’s history, it has continued to have a close relationship with Cleveland’s philanthropic and civic leadership, and has been on the cutting edge of social work education, research and practice.
  • In every decade, the school has helped address local, national and international crises, from supporting direct relief agencies in the Great Depression, to working with the administration of Cleveland Mayor Carl Stokes in the upheavals of the 1960s, to conducting pioneering research that advanced the practice of social work and social work education nationally. In addition, the school worked with the United Nations on the implementation of modern child welfare practices in former communist countries after the Cold War.
  • In recent years, the Mandel School’s faculty, students, and research centers have continued its innovative educational model while addressing pressing issues including poverty, violence, the housing crisis, and mental health and addiction.

The Mandel School will mark the centennial by releasing the new centennial book and completing a time-capsule installation inside the Mandel School, at 4 p.m. Tuesday, July 10. The time capsule is slated to be opened on Sept. 16, 2066.


For more information, contact Colin McEwen at colin.mcewen@case.edu