Memorial for Dr. Jean Daniels, Founder of CSUN Social Work Department

On Saturday, January 17th the world lost a legend; Dr. Jean E. Daniels, founder of the CSUN Department of Social Work and long-time Sociology professor passed away. Dr. Daniels was a trailblazer, a role model, a mentor and an inspiration to so many of us in the field of social work. She earned her BA from the University of Kansas in 1964, her MSW from Howard University in 1966, Her MPH from UCLA in 1973 and her PhD from UCLA in 1976. Dr. Daniels began her tenure with CSUN in the fall of 1976 as a part-time lecturer and remained with us until her retirement in 2013. Throughout her time at CSUN, Dr. Daniels continued to give back to the social work community by serving in various roles in the San Fernando Valley local chapter of the National Association of Social Workers and as a board member of organizations such as the American Lung Association, American Heart Association and the Northeast Valley Multipurpose Senior Center. After her retirement, Dr. Daniels was inducted into the Social Work Hall of Fame at the California Social Welfare Archives 2014 Awards Reception and we are proud to call her a Professor Emeritus of the CSUN Social Work Department.

Her legacy will live on in the Jean E. Daniels Award for Leadership and Academic Excellence that is presented during our MSW hooding ceremony every May. The CSUN community will celebrate her life on Monday, March 2nd at 10:30am in the Thousand Oaks Room of the University Student Union (USU) during our campus Memorial Service in her honor. In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to the Jean E. Daniels Scholarship Fund.