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Brown School › Our History › Brown School Artifacts

Brown School Artifacts

St.Louis Provident Association Office Building 2221 Locust Street. The School of Social Economy occupied room in this building beginning in 1910.

A social economist, Riley had received a PhD from the University of Chicago in 1904. One of his articles was "A History of the Poor Law and Poor Relief in Missouri," published by the Carnegie Institution. He was an eager proponent of the young field of social work, though he recognized that it needed more definition. He particularly advocated a focus on prevention rather than on remedial help that did not solve the underlying problem. In a February 1910 article in the Washington University Record, Riley-who was then professor of sociology and director of the St. Louis School of Social Economy- used this analogy to illustrate his point: "There is an old story that runs in this wise. Once upon a time there were two cities connected by a long road that ran part of the way through a mountainous country. At a sharp turn in this road there was a great precipice, so abrupt that many travelers fell over it and were badly hurt on the rocks below. So many, indeed, came to grief there that a hospital was built at that place, to care for injured wayfarers. At length some one bethought himself to build a wall at the top of the precipice; and soon the hospital went to ruin through disuse. Modern social work builds the wall instead of keeping the hospital."

Announcement of the St. Louis School of Philanthropy, 1907

In 1909-10 the School of Social Economy occupied space in the Olivia Building located at 1023 N. Grand Avenue.

First African-American social works in St. Louis, 1917. Under the auspices of the Provident Association, these workers were trained at the St. Louis School of Social Economy.

St. Louis Museum of Fine Arts. This museum, located at the corner of 19th and Locust, was dedicated in 1881 and also housed the University's School of Fine Arts. Later, it served as the home of the St. Louis School of Social Economy.

"The Milk Problem in St. Louis" The St. Louis School of Social Economy had made an extensive study that shows poor mils to be a cause of sickness and morality.

"The Newsboy of Saint Louis" In 1910, Ina T. Tyler, a student and researcher in the St. Louis School of Social Economy, studied a third of the 1,800 local newsboys m, ore than half of them children of immigrants, to see what their lives were like - and how this work affected their education.

Introducing the School of Social Economy, in the 1914 Hatchet.

Frank J. Bruno (1874 - 1955) was highly respected head of the Washington University social work program from 1925 to 1945.

George B. Mangold (1876-1962). Mangold, a social economist, earned a master's degree from the University of Chicago and a PhD in 1906 from the University of Wisconsin before becoming associate director of the St. Louis School of Philanthropy. Later he was professor of sociology and social work at the University of Southern California. His book, Child Problems, became a standard child welfare text.

A rear house on Eighth Street, 1917. From The Challenge of St. Louis by George B. Mangold, director, Missouri School of Social Economy.

George Warren Brown (1853-1921). Son of a New York farmer, Brown moved to St. Louis in 1873 and became a salesman for a small wholesale shoe company. After trying unsuccessfully to convince his firm to expand into shoe manufacturing, he launched his own shoe factory-which grew into Brown Shoe Company, one of the largest in the United States and the first of many others in St. Louis.

Betty Hood Bofinger Brown (1861-1934). Adopted as a four year old by the Bofinger family, Betty Hood Bofinger grew up in St. Louis and married George Warren Brown in 1885. She was deeply interested in church and civic activities. She and her husband had one son who died as an infant. Later they adopted two children.

Jamieson and Spearl's architectural drawing of Brown Hall.

Front page of the dedication program, January 12-17, 1937

Brown Hall, c. 1940. Officially dedicated in 1937, Brown Hall is considered by some to be the first building built in the United States solely for the purpose of social work.

George Warred Brown Dedication

Benjamin E. Youngdahl (1897 - 1970) Firmly committed to social justice, he served as director of social service for the Minnesota State Emergency Relief Administration in 1933 and then director of public assistance in 1937. He came to Washington University two years later.

Demonstration of psycho-drama as therapeutic technique, 1951. Alumni meeting at the St. Louis State Hospital, where a psycho-drama group was conducted by caseworker Nancy Strickland, MSW '49.

Dean Youngsdahl with Students

Brown Lounge, 1947

Brown Lounge, 1952. A focal point of social life, Brown Hall Lounge was the location of regular lunches and coffees

Brown Lounge, 1955

"Challenge in Crisis." This booklet, published in 19.62, describes the role of social work in society. "In this anxious world, social work holds to the ancient belief that man can choose good over evil and that with proper opportunities and incentives there is no foreseeable limit to the progress which he can make .... To forward this effort social work dedicates its knowledge and skills."

Hubert H. Humphrey (1911-1978) In his WashingtonU niversity lecture in October 1965 - the first Benjamin E. Youngdahl lecture - Vice President Hubert H. Humphrey

Wayne Vasey (1910-1992) An Iowa native, he had a 1932 bachelor'sd egreef rom William Penn College and a 1936 MSW from the University of Denver.

Richard Parvis, Mohamud M. Jibril, Stan Smith. Parvis arranged a program for international students, taking them through GWB and local agencies. Two visitors were Stan Smith, secretary and chief executive officer of the Youth Council of Zambia and Mohaumud M. Jibril, of National Council of Somali Youth and Students.

Ralph Garber, Formerly assistant dean and professor at Rutgers University, Garber, who had a doctorate from the University of Pennsylvania School of Social Work, became dean at GWB in 1968.

Faculty-student conference on curriculum, 1969. Students, faculty, and staff participate in a three-day conference to address issues with the MSW curriculum.

Brown Lounge, 1966. Brown Lounge remained a regular gathering spot for informal discussions and special programs.

Goldfarb spires, 1998. Dedicated in 1998, Goldfarb Hall, along with Brown Hall, houses Washington University's growing social work program.

Shanti K. Khinduka, dean of GWB from 1974 to 2004 and the George Warren Brown Distinguished University Professor, received one master's degree in social work from Lucknow University in India and another from the University of Southern California, and then a doctorate from Brandeis University

50th anniversary celebration. GWB and its Alumni Association hosted a conference to discuss trends and issues in social work education to mark the 50th anniversary of the School.

50th anniversary celebration. GWB and its Alumni Association hosted a conference to discuss trends and issues in social work education to mark the 50th anniversary of the School.

Social work computing facility. In 1983, GWB opened a new computing facility. Chancellor William H. Danforth, along with students and staff, watched a demonstration of a new computer being used to access information about social work field placements.

Flooding response. When St. Louis and nearby Missouri communities were devastated by flooding in 1993 and 1994, GWB students stepped in to help, and the School formed a task force, called "Project Response," to join local agencies in relief efforts. Terry Dent and David Jolley, the new director of alumni relation and development programs, were co-chairs.

Center for Mental Health Services Research. In 1994, leaders from the National Institute of Mental Health Services Research (left to right) Shanti Kinduka, dean; Enola Proctor, professor and director of the center; Frederick A. Goodwin, director, NIMHA; rlene Stiffmann, associate professor and associate director of the center; Juan Ramos, associate director for prevention, NIMH; and Kenneth Lutterman, associate director of research and training, NIMH.

Native American Powwow. Each year the Kathryn M. Buder Center for American Indian Studies and American Indian Student Association host a Powwow to celebrate and share Native American heritage and traditions.

In 1995, GWB celebrated its 70th anniversary by awarding its 5,oooth MSW degree and noting that it had graduates in every state and 42 countries.

Alvin Goldfarb Hall. Dedicated in 1998, this new building more than doubled GWB's space and expanded and upgraded the School's computing facility and technology infrastructure.

Sketch of Alvin Goldfarb Hall (south elevation), a new four-story building, built parallel to Brown Hall.

Library renovation, 1999. Under the leadership of David Cronin, GWB undertook a major renovation of Brown Hall, including the library.

Plaque outside Brown Hall, 2007. On July 1, 1945, the George Warren Brown Department of Social Work becomes a School of Social Work.

Edward F. Lawlor, 2006 Lawlor had previously served as dean of the School of Social Service Administration at the University of Chicago, professor at the Irving B. Harris Graduate School of Public Policy Studies, senior scholar in the Center for Clinical Medical Ethics and core faculty member in the Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholars Program.

International exchanges, 2006. Students and faculty participated in a summer institute to explore issues of aging in China. This institute, held in Beijing, was the first collaboration between Brown, China's Peking University, and Hong· Kong Polytechnic University.

Brown School, Hillman Hall in foreground

Mary McKay

Dorian E. Traube

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Founded in 1925, the George Warren Brown School was named with a generous gift from Betty Bofinger Brown in memory of her late husband.

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