Dean Emeritus, Indiana University School of Social Work
1928-2012
Passed by the IU Indianapolis Faculty Council at their meeting on October 2, 2012.
The Indiana University School of Social Work mourns the passing of Dean Emeritus Sheldon Siegel.
When Dr. Sheldon Siegel arrived at IU Indianapolis in 1985 to serve as dean of the Indiana University School of Social Work, he already had 25 years of teaching and serving as an administrator to draw upon as he set out to improve and expand the school’s outreach and academic performance.
He received his B.A. in Sociology from the University of Michigan in 1950, his Master of Social Work degree from Wayne State University in 1955, and his Ph.D. in Social Psychology and Social Work from the University of Michigan in 1974. His education background exemplifies Dean Siegel’s lifelong passion for social justice and his compassion for older people whom he worked tirelessly to help improve their lives.
He served as dean of the School of Social Work from 1985 to 1994 and returned again to serve as interim dean in 1999-2000.
Dean Siegel established an aggressive agenda to expand and enhance the school’s academic stature and its impact on the lives of struggling Hoosiers. His agenda included seeing the school’s long-held hopes for a doctoral program fulfilled; developing community-based projects; providing continued support for Council of International Programs (CIP); further development of statewide M.S.W. and B.S.W. program; to expand the research mission of the School; and to support the reactivation of the School’s Alumni Association.
He accomplished his agenda, seeing the Indiana Commission on Higher Education approve the school’s doctoral program. During his tenure as dean, the school worked with the Indianapolis Foundation to provide social services to residents of public housing. The school’s involvement with the then Department of Welfare provided the basis for a proposal to the federal Children’s Bureau to develop an action research project to evaluate failed foster care placements and identify the actions taken to increase the probability of success. When the Indiana General Assembly created a Commission on Abused and Neglected Children, Dean Siegel was named its chair.
The Council on International Programs (CIP), which brought hundreds of human service professionals to the IU Indianapolis campus, flourished during the years Dr. Siegel served as dean. He served as president of the CIP from 1991 to 1995. He continued to work to improve the lives of older Hoosiers, too, serving on the board of Central Indiana Coalition on Aging (CICOA) and was president from 2000-2002.
Despite his pressing duties as dean, he shared his talents for the betterment of the IU Indianapolis campus. He served as chair of the Minority Enhancement Committee from 1990-95; chair of the Affirmative Action Council from 1987-1992; chair of the Curriculum Sub-Committee and the Committee on Gerontology in 1986.
He is survived by his wife of 56 years, Natalie; his sons, Daniel, Eli (Mary Smith) and Matthew (Deborah Caul) and two grandchildren.
THUS, BE IT RESOLVED, that this memorial resolution be placed in the minutes of Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis Faculty Council with a moment of silence observed in his honor. A copy of this memorial resolution will be delivered to his wife.
This resolution is written on behalf of Sheldon Siegel’s former students and the staff and faculty of the School of Social Work. This resolution was prepared by Dean Michael Patchner of the School of Social Work.