Memorial Awards and Lectures

Each year in advance of and during Annual Conference, CSWE celebrates the legacy of Carl Anderson Scott by awarding book scholarships in his honor and by announcing who will give the annual Carl A. Scott Memorial Lecture at Annual Conference. 

This is one of four key lectures and plenaries delivered at the Conference. Below, learn more about the Scott lecture and scholarship, as well as the Hokenstad Lecture Series, the Opening Plenary, and the Futures Plenary. 

The Carl A. Scott Memorial Fund was established by CSWE's Board of Directors in recognition of Carl A. Scott’s contributions to CSWE and the social work profession.

Carl Anderson Scott joined the staff of CSWE in 1968 as a senior consultant on minority groups; he retired in 1985 as the associate executive director. Before coming to CSWE he held practice and administrative positions in children and family service agencies and was director of admissions and assistant professor at the New York University School of Social Work. He received a BA in psychology and a master’s in social work from Howard University.

Scott was at the helm of CSWE’s early efforts to foster human diversity in social work education. He secured funding from governmental and private sources to recruit students and faculty members from minority groups to schools of social work. He guided five minority task forces in developing programs directed toward enhancing minority presence in curricula and other salient venues.

Of special note are the two minority fellowship programs he designed in 1974 and 1979, respectively: one to prepare mental health researchers, the other to prepare clinicians. These programs have provided doctoral fellowships to more than 600 recipients. Many of these fellowship recipients now serve as deans, directors, and faculty members in social work programs throughout the nation.

The Carl A. Scott Memorial Fund was developed to continue the legacy of equity and social justice in social work through building knowledge and furthering the well-being of individuals and their communities. These were the goals to which Scott devoted his life's work.

2026 BSW Student Award Winner: Rochelle Ballard: Rochelle Ballard, BSW Student Winner Rochelle Ballard is currently pursuing her master’s degree at the University of Toledo. She recently completed 850 internship hours at the Correctional Treatment Facility, where she gained experience in client engagement, documentation, group observation and support, case management support, referrals, and professional communication. Her social work interests include substance use recovery, mental health, criminal justice, and supporting individuals and families as they access needed resources. Rochelle’s career goal is to earn her MSW, become licensed, and provide compassionate, ethical services that help people heal, grow, and rebuild their lives.

2026 MSW Student Award:  Aaliyah Gates: Aaliyah Gates is a master’s degree student at the University of Alabama. She recently completed an internship with Dallas County Court Services in Selma, Alabama, where she assisted with juvenile and adult caseload management, conducted client assessments, supported court operations, and engaged youth and families using a strengths-based approach. Aaliyah’s social work interests include mental health, holistic wellness, and expanding access to quality care and resources for individuals in rural and underserved communities. She is passionate about helping individuals show up as their authentic selves while supporting their healing, growth, and overall well-being. Her career goals include earning her LMSW, becoming a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker, and eventually opening her own practice to provide individualized, client-centered care.

In recognition of Carl A. Scott's groundbreaking contributions to CSWE and the profession of social work, the Carl A. Scott Memorial Lecture was established to continue his legacy of equity and social justice in social work through building knowledge and furthering the well-being of individuals and their communities. Lecturers are individuals who are exemplars of inclusive excellence and bring an innovative perspective on diversity, equity, and inclusion in social work.

The 2026 Carl A. Scott Memorial Lecture will be delivered by Dr. Jerome H. Schiele. Learn more about Dr. Schiele here.

The Hokenstad International Lecture series was launched in 2007 through an endowment from M. C. “Terry” Hokenstad, a former president and long-time member of CSWE. Selected by CSWE's Commission on Global Social Work Education reviews all submissions, each year’s lecturer possesses a body of scholarly work and practice that enhances and complements the work of the Katherine A. Kendall Institute for International Social Work and the work of CSWE’s Commission on Global Social Work Education, using the following criteria:

» They promote standards of excellence for global work that are consistent with the values of social work education, research, and practice set forth by CSWE and IASSW.

» They have developed innovative global content in social work education or a related field and has published educational materials for globalizing the curriculum.

» They have demonstrated success with the implementation of programs and initiatives that facilitated collaboration in the global social work community.

» They have advanced theory and practice for global social work education.

This year's Hokenstad International Lecturer is Vjollca Krasniqi, Professor of Sociology and Gender at the Faculty of Philosophy at the University of Prishtina, Kosovo.

The Opening Plenary serves as the official kickoff to CSWE’s Annual Conference, preparing and engaging attendees ahead of the upcoming educational sessions. The choice of Opening Plenary speakers is made in consultation with the Council on Conferences and Faculty Development. 

This year's Opening Plenary speaker is Francisco Cantú. Cantú is a writer of essay, memoir, and literary criticism as well as a translator of Spanish to English prose. His first book, The Line Becomes a River, was the winner of the 2018 Los Angeles Times Book Prize and a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award in nonfiction.

The Futures of Social Work Plenary, sponsored by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and delivered on the conference’s final day, explores forward-looking perspectives on issues and challenges facing the social work profession in years to come.

Roberta “Bobbi” Cordano, president of Gallaudet University in Washington, DC, will deliver the conference’s 2026 Futures of Social Work Plenary. Cordano serves as the 11th president of Gallaudet University, the world’s only bilingual ASL-English university for deaf and hard-of-hearing students. She is the first deaf woman and openly LGBTQ person to serve in that role at Gallaudet.