Professor wins Social Worker of the Year Award

Dave Valdez
The Signal
Providing advocacy for clients, demonstrating outstanding leadership, and contributing to a positive image for the social work profession are just a few requirements needed to win the Social Worker of the Year Award.

Every year the National Association of Social Workers honors its members with various social worker awards. This year, UHCL Professor Stephen “Arch” Erich has been selected as the Social Worker of the Year for 2013 and will represent the Houston-Galveston area at the state level.

Erich, professor of social work and bachelor of social work program director, began working at UHCL in 1988. He has devoted a large part of his academic career to the field of social work.

Erich started his interest in social work field early in his college career.

While attending Western Kentucky University, Erich chose social work as a minor to his psychology major after meeting “some fantastic professors.” Erich said of his experience that it was “a love affair at that time.”

This year, Erich’s peers recognized him for his social work efforts.   Kim Case, associate professor of psychology and women’s studies, composed a nomination letter where she described her thoughts on Erich and his influence in her career.

“I met Erich in 2005, and was instantly inspired by his dedication to the core values of social work in his work with students, colleagues and community members,” Case wrote in her letter to the committee. “He does so much work with the faculty and students, [and] he saved my sanity.”

Erich also received letters of recommendation outside the academic community. In one such letter, Peter Wuenschel, executive director of Communities in Schools Bay Area, stated “Arch has been a significant advocate for the disenfranchised in the Houston Area, especially as it related to the LGBT community. He has influenced policy and influenced the practice of other social workers through his writing, research and speaking. He maintains a professional as well as compassionate relationship with all those he encounters.”

“I think it is a great honor for him and a great honor for the [social work] program.  He’s pretty much given his heart to building this program,” Rick Short, Dean of the School of Human Sciences and Humanities, said of Erich.  “He is an exemplar of what a social worker and a social worker professor should be.”

In addition to colleagues, Erich received letters of recommendations from his students, including Jessica Narvaez, a social work major.

“His extensive wisdom and practice experience inspired me to pursue the social work profession wholeheartedly,” Narvaez said as she reflected on her experiences with Erich. “He genuinely reflects the social work values of integrity, dignity and worth, and a passion for social justice in his daily life.”

In an award ceremony to be conducted March 1 at the Rockwell Pavilion, M.D. Anderson Library, University of Houston, Erich will be presented with the Social Worker of the Year Award.  From there he will be automatically nominated as the representative from the Houston-Galveston area to the Texas State Social Worker of the Year balloting.

Case stressed that “it is a possibility he can make it to the national level, and he deserves that.”

This latest award adds to Erich’s various awards, including three research grant awards: University Faculty Fellowship Award (2010/2011), Faculty Research and Support Fund award (2004) for his research on  “Adolescent Adoption by Gay and Lesbian Parents,” and Faculty Research and Support Fund award (2005), for his research on “Social Worker’s Knowledge and Attitudes Toward the Transgender Community.”

“I spend a lot of time trying to think about how to appropriately prioritize my obligations professionally,” Erich said. “Spending time with students is very high up on my priority list. I really value working with students.  I really want to be inspiring to them. Today, here and now, that is the most important thing I can do.  To inspire and mentor students.”

“It takes a special set of skills to start a program like [the BSW Program],” Short said.  “Since that time he is the face of stability.  You can always count on Dr. Erich to keep moving forward.”

Erich, “Arch” as he prefers to be called, provided his thoughts on the nomination and award by saying, “I am excited, honored and humbled, and a little bit embarrassed.”  Erich said that he is “appreciative” to be honored for his contribution in social work.

Interview conducted by The Signal reporter Dave Valdez. Video shooting and editing by The Signal editor Ashley Honc.