CSWE's Council on the Role and Status of Women in Social Work Education annually honors a scholar who advances feminist knowledge, including Womanist and Xicanism perspectives. Advancement of knowledge may be through social work theory, research, practice, policy, and education.

All applications for the Feminist Scholar Award must be submitted online through the Submittable platform. A complete online submission for this award includes the following attachments:

  • A letter describing the applicant’s achievements related to the award
  • Additional documentation to support achievements
  • A curriculum vita, resume, or current link to a professional portal or webpage

CSWE membership is an eligibility requirement for all commission and council awards. To check your membership status, or link your membership your social work program visit https://www.cswe.org/membership and click Link to Program/Join CSWE.

The award will be presented at the Feminist Networking Breakfast during the Annual Program Meeting (APM) held by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE). The award winner is expected to attend.

All applications must be submitted through the online Submittable form by Thursday, April 4, 2024, at 11:59 PM (ET). Emailed or incomplete nominations will not be accepted.

 

2023 Feminist Scholar Award Recipient

Dr. Leslie E. Tower is Director of the WVU Women’s Resource Center and Professor and Assessment Coordinator in the WVU School of Social Work. Her recent scholarship focuses on gender equity in institutions of higher education. Her research has been funded by NSF, FDA, and USDA as well as private foundations. She currently is the external evaluator for a US DHHS-NIH-National Institute on Aging grant. 

Tower was co-principal investigator on the original WVU NSF ADVANCE grant. She led the policy development component of it, resulting in numerous work/life integration policies. One of her publications from the project, was highlighted in Science (hyperlink: Diversity through ADVANCEment). She is a former Chair/Co-Chair of the CSWE Council on the Role and Status of Women in Social Work Education, Track Chair of the CSWE APM Feminist Scholarship Track, and Editorial Board Member for the Journal of Women & Social Work (AFFILIA).