Commit Your Plans to the Lord

The School of Social Work

Commit Your Plans to the Lord

by Debra Rood

What does a bag of pita bread have to do with Walla Walla College’s largest department? Wilma Hepker, dean of the School of Social Work and Sociology, can tell you. It is a major character in the story of a little department that could.

The School of Social Work and Sociology has grown due to the master’s in social work (MSW) program. Hepker has watched social work studies mushroom from a bachelor’s program founded in 1973 to a master’s of social work program with 186 students enrolled in classes this fall.

Today, more students are enrolled in social work studies than in any other academic program at WWC. “But it was not an easy task launching this program,” she readily admits.

In the mid-to late 1980s, the School of Social Work received calls from people throughout Oregon, Idaho, Montana, and Washington, who were looking for a graduate program in social work. The callers wanted their MSW degrees, but couldn’t uproot their families or leave their employment. Even though there were MSW programs in three of these states, none were offered at a private college. Also, none were offered at any other Seventh-day Adventist college or university.

The calls prompted social work faculty to explore the possibility. Surveys, conducted by both the departments, indicated a clear need for a graduate program.

“The survey also told us that we should offer a clinical emphasis,” says Hepker. “What was needed in the field were MSW students who could make assessments and do successful interventions.”

Clinical social workers are the largest group of professionally trained mental health providers in the United States. They supply more than half of all counseling and therapy services, according to the National Association of Social Workers (NASW). The clinical social worker’s objective is to help clients help themselves. All clinical social workers must have a master’s of social work degree and be licensed and certified in the state in which they practice.

But, before the program was launched, Hepker says, there were two hurdles. First, finding a person with a master’s of social work degree, a doctoral degree, and graduate teaching experience to direct an MSW program; and second, approval from the WWC faculty.

As the hard work began at WWC, another development was taking place in Denver, Colorado. Standley Gellineau was having family worship one evening with his wife Norma and their children.

Gellineau recalls,“I prayed, ŒLord, I am so thankful that you got me out of Harlem head first instead of feet first. Maybe one day, if the opportunity presents itself, I could work at one of our Seventh-day Adventist institutions.’”

In the summer of 1987, Hepker provided that opportunity. She called Gellineau, who had taught at the University of Denver for more than seven years, and asked if he would consider becoming the director of the new graduate program. He was the only Seventh-day Adventist that Hepker knew of with an MSW degree, a doctoral degree, and graduate teaching experience.

“When Wilma called to see if I was interested,” recalls Gellineau, now associate dean of the School of Social Work and director of the graduate program, “my first impulse was to say no. I was used to living in a metropolitan area with cultural diversity. And saying yes meant leaving my wife and daughters for a few years and coming to Walla Walla alone. That was a hard choice to make. After praying about it, I heard that little voice in my head say, ŒWhat did you pray just a few months ago?’ I felt the impression of the Lord speaking to me.”

Gellineau accepted the call and joined the faculty in the fall of 1987. But the other major hurdle still loomed ahead: approval by WWC faculty. There was a strong resistance to starting the program, partially because WWC had been primarily a liberal arts institution for many years.

“All we could do was to work hard and pray that the program would happen if it was the Lord’s will,” Hepker says.

Hepker and her husband Dale traveled to Portland the weekend before the vote was cast. On the way home, they stopped at a Middle Eastern restaurant for lunch. Afterwards, she bought a bag of pita bread.

“About halfway home, I glanced down at some printed words on the plastic bag and exclaimed to my husband, ŒDale, look at what this says: Proverbs 16:3. “Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed,”’” recalls Hepker. “These were words I needed to hear. Of all places in the world to get some words of encouragement, there they were on a bag of pita bread!”

A few days later, the vote was taken, and the MSW program was approved by an overwhelming majority. “If it weren’t for our belief that this was the Lord’s program,” says Gellineau, “it would not have become a reality.”

The program gained momentum and started accepting more and more students each year. In 1992, the MSW program was accredited‹retroactive to the first year.

Gellineau confesses that he had intended to help start the MSW program, help get it accredited, and eventually move on. “Thirteen years later I’m still here” he says. “It’s because I am proud to be part of a quality program.”

One of the main features of the master’s program is that it is a two-day program, designed so students can take classes on Monday and Tuesday. “This makes it appealing to those who need to do their practicum, work part-time, and also keep up with household responsibilities,” says Gellineau.

The program eventually drew several students from Montana who commuted for an entire year. “Students were driving eight hours one-way even during the winter months,” says Gellineau. “They kept asking us to offer a program in Montana, saying that there was a lot of interest there.”

In Montana, no colleges or universities offered an MSW degree. After laying the groundwork, the Montana social work program became a reality in the Fall of 1997.

This year, 79 students and four full-time faculty are on the Missoula, Mont., campus. One of those faculty members, Elizabeth Dane, formerly the executive director for the state chapter of NASW, is a policy instructor. Additionally, several faculty commute to Missoula and teach classes there on Thursdays and Fridays. Commuting faculty include Gellineau, Lana Martin, associate professor of social work; Heather Vonderfecht, associate professor of social work; and Randi Hankins, associate professor of social work.

The School of Social Work has 22 permanent faculty members. Sixteen adjunct instructors make additional contributions by teaching courses in their areas of expertise. Plus, more than half of the teaching faculty continue direct clinical practice and hold active professional credentials.

The faculty are also active volunteers in agencies such as Adventist Adoption and Family Services, American Red Cross, Department of Human Services, Grief Busters, United Way, hospice, and Christian Counseling Agency.

“One of the things that gives our school an outstanding reputation is that when our faculty teach, they are teaching from current experience,” says Gellineau. “Students recognize and appreciate the difference.”

The proof is in the enrollment. Since it first began in the 1987-88 school year, there have been 803 MSW graduates, of whom 106 were in the bachelor’s of social work program.

Student enrollment may be affected by another private school providing WWC competition for MSW students in the region. Northwest Nazarene College, based in Idaho, began offering an MSW program in the fall.

Hepker says, “We will continue to maintain the quality and offer outstanding course electives that address the needs of the field.” She continues to work diligently to keep the class sizes down by offering several sections of classes to lower the student/teacher ratio.

Faculty and administrative offices are located in four houses at the corner of Whitman and College Avenues. Increased enrollment has created the burden of overcrowding in the School’s current location.

Classes are taught in different campus locations because there is no building with classrooms solely dedicated to the School of Social Work, which creates logistical problems for both faculty and students. Hepker hopes this problem will one day be resolved with a new building that houses all of the School under one roof.

Hepker gave little thought to the challenges she would later face the day she read the words on the bag of pita bread. Luckily, the bag was not tossed in the trash. Instead, Lois Turpel, Hepker’s secretary at the time, had the empty bag framed.

“It hangs here on the wall of my office today to remind me of where we came from and still gives me encouragement,” Hepker says emphatically. “I know, without a doubt, that this is the Lord’s program. There have been too many answers to prayer.”

Writer Debra Rood lives in Walla Walla.

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