New BUSSW Fund to Support Field Education Established in Memory of Beloved Colleague Judith Perlstein
BU School of Social Work is pleased to announce the opening of the Judith Perlstein Field Education Fund, created in memory of our friend and former Field Education Associate Director, Judith Perlstein.
Initiated by The Welcome Project, an organization in Somerville, Mass. that offers civic engagement opportunities for immigrants, the fund will provide annual field education stipends to one student each year, with a preference for students assigned to The Welcome Project. In addition, it will function as a discretionary fund for general field placement support, allowing donors to provide direct support for field education at BUSSW. Judith served as a Board member for the Welcome Project for many years and was involved in supporting many of the organization’s programs and services.
Gifts can be made to the Judith Perlstein Field Education Fund through the Fund’s online giving form or through the School’s main online giving form.
Field Education at BUSSW
An integral part of BUSSW’s MSW degree, the field education internship is a required course that offers students hands-on social work experience with individuals, families, groups, communities, and organizations. Internships can take place in a wide variety of clinical and macro practice settings, and are completed by students in all program formats – Charles River, Off-Campus, Worcester Hybrid, and Online. BUSSW is affiliated with over 800 social work organizations and is continually developing more connections.
About Judith Perlstein
Judith Perlstein, a 1974 graduate of Smith College School for Social Work, served as the Associate Director of Field Education and as a faculty member and advisor at BUSSW from 1993-2018. During her time at the School, Judith was known for her compassion, exuberant spirit, and her dedication to social work education and social justice. Over the 25 years that she worked at BUSSW, Judith created a number of new field education programs including safety training for students, a new advising and integrative seminar model for foundation placement students, the Online Seminar for New Field Instructors, and many workshops for advisors and field instructors. Judith was an active member of NASW and the New England Consortium of Graduate Field Education Directors. She was an avid rower and bicyclist, rowing most spring and summer mornings on the Mystic River and bicycling to work almost every day from her home in Cambridge. Judith passed away from cancer in 2018.