Marilyn Flynn Named International Rhoda G. Sarnat Award Recipient

NASW Foundation Honors Marilyn Flynn for Over 35 Years of Service Advancing Social Work

WASHINGTON— The National Association of Social Workers (NASW) Foundation is pleased to announce that Marilyn Flynn, PhD, MSW, has been awarded the International Rhoda G. Sarnat Award for her distinguished career in social work.

The International Rhoda G. Sarnat Award recognizes an individual, group, or organization that has significantly advanced the public image of professional social work. This monetary prize is made possible from an endowment fund established by a generous contribution in 1996 from distinguished social worker Rhoda G. Sarnat, LCSW and Bernard Sarnat, MD.

Dr. Flynn has been at the forefront of innovation in social work for more than 35 years, expanding the reach of the profession to new constituencies, disciplines, applications, and domains of practice. She received her PhD and MSW from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and subsequently served on the faculties of the University of Illinois, the University of Michigan, and Michigan State University – where she was also Director of Social Work and Director of the Institute for Public Policy and Social Research. She became Dean and Professor of Social Work at the University of Southern California in 1997, and was recently reappointed for a fourth five-year term. 

She established the first nationally available MSW specialization in military social work, initially supported through the first direct Congressional appropriation to a school of social work for this purpose. This military social work program has garnered the praise of actor and activist Gary Sinise.

Dr. Flynn’s was the first school to offer an interactive web-based MSW degree, now accessible almost everywhere in the United States and Canada. With an enrollment of over 2,000 MSW students in both virtual and campus environments, Dr. Flynn has greatly expanded educational opportunities for all students interested in a social work career, including special populations such as military personnel, persons living in remote areas, persons with disabilities, and others requiring a flexible learning environment.

Dr. Flynn is widely regarded as a distinguished leader in graduate social work education, noted especially for her advancement of intervention research. She helped found the American Academy of Social Work and Social Welfare and was the first president of the St. Louis Group, representing most U.S. schools of social work in major research institutions. At USC, she greatly enlarged the Hamovitch Center for Science in the Human Services and established the nationally respected Flynn Prize for Social Work Research.

“Dr. Flynn has been a visionary leader in establishing social work as not only a profession of possibility, but also one of necessity,” says Elizabeth Garrett, Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs at the University of South California. “She is most deserving of the International Rhoda G. Sarnat Award.”

“Marilyn Flynn has been an outstanding and innovative educator in the social work profession,” says Robert Arnold, director of the NASW Foundation. “We are honored to recognize her lasting achievements in social work education.”

It is with great honor that the NASW Foundation presents Dr. Flynn with the Sarnat Award.

The National Association of Social Workers (NASW), in Washington, DC, is the largest membership organization of professional social workers with nearly 145,000 members. It promotes, develops, and protects the practice of social work and social workers. NASW also seeks to enhance the well-being of individuals, families, and communities through its advocacy.

The National Association of Social Workers Foundation (NASWF) is a charitable organization created to enhance the well-being of individuals, families, and communities through the advancement of social work practice.