In the words of Mark Twain, history may not repeat itself, but it often rhymes.
In the mid-1990s, after more than 25 years of being housed “temporarily” in a converted motel, the School of Social Work at The University of Texas at Austin needed a better space to do its impactful work. An opportunity presented itself for the School to move into its first-ever “permanent” home – the former University Junior High School building, originally built in 1933.
The School commenced their move into the facility at 1925 San Jacinto Boulevard in 1994 and threw a weeklong celebration to commemorate the completion of the move on September 8, 1995. To the students, faculty, and staff at the time, it was a welcome relief to be in a facility that finally met their needs.
Becca Hutchenson (BSW ’96), then the head of the student-led Social Work Council, told the Daily Texan at the time that students were relieved to finally be in a building that was “more technologically advanced” and more accessible for all populations. Dean Barbara White noted in School newsletters that it was time for social workers to have “adequate space” for growth and “a building that graduates can be proud to show others.”
Now, after three decades of excellence, growth and success, SHS once again finds itself in a similar scenario. As the School is preparing a new and ambitious chapter to accommodate its reputation as one of the best social work schools in the nation, it does so with appreciation of its home at 1925 San Jacinto Boulevard, and gratitude for the people who made the building a second home for many people and many years.
Rooted In Social Justice
University Junior High began with a groundbreaking partnership between the University of Texas and the Austin Independent School District, establishing a junior high school that would serve as a laboratory for innovative educational practices. Located in the heart of Austin, the school was among the earliest integrated schools in Austin, and it served as an immediate reliever facility to John T. Allan Junior High School, which burned down in 1956.
The school served as a beacon for laboratory teaching until May 31, 1967, when UT closed the school, took over the facility, and moved the students to a new location.
In the 1960s, the facility served as the home to the UT School of Music, then the College of Education and the Division for Continuing Education before renovations began in the early 1990s. In 1991, the University of Texas Child Development Center opened on the site, marking the first childcare center to be run by the State of Texas.
Yearbooks from UHJ show the wide-ranging population at UHJ following integration efforts
Soon after, the University announced that the site – one of the first education centers in Austin to focus on social impact – would be getting a fitting tenant: the School of Social Work.
“I think it was becoming that we ended up in this building, it had a sense of destiny about it,” said Dr. Cynthia Franklin, the Stiernberg/Spencer Family Professor in Mental Health at SHS, who arrived to the School in 1992. “Education is really about changing society. It’s about changing people.”
The Barbara White Effect
By 1995, the School of Social Work was fully moved in and the School was rapidly getting national attention for its excellence. Under the leadership of Dean Barbara White, the school’s academic profile increased while garnering praise for its evident sense of community and camaraderie.
“She would gather around the families, and she knew every child’s name,” Dr. Franklin said. Staff often stated a running joke that if someone needed to ask Dean White for something, their odds of getting a “yes” would exponentially increase if that person brought a baby into the office when they made the ask.
As the first-ever Black individual to hold a dean position at The University of Texas at Austin, Dean White’s tenure was marked by her unabated dedication to fostering a collaborative environment where faculty, staff, and students could thrive as a unified force. Equipped with a permanent building, Dean White was able to solidify the structure for a world-renowned clinical concentration for social work education, build out an in-depth macro concentration in social work policy, support research and students, and most importantly, develop a culture that became “the envy of schools across the nation,” as Dr. Franklin described it.
Dean White retired in 2011 and received the Presidential Citation in 2012, the highest university award at UT. Following her tenure, Dean Luis Zayas stepped up to lead the Steve Hicks School, continuing the school’s commitment to excellence and innovation.
A Decade Of Seeking Solutions
Under Dean Zayas and his leadership, the School expanded its research initiatives and expanded its faculty, ensuring that the voices and perspectives of all communities were represented in social work education and practice. Dean Zayas would also bring in significant fundraising, including a $25 million naming gift pledge from businessman Steve Hicks.
Dean Zayas also was tasked with a difficult question in the next evolution of the School: how does a growing, succeeding school of social work handle the issues that come with a space that could no longer accommodate its growth?
In 2015, SHS first began exploring the option of moving to a new building after finding that necessary renovations were not cost-effective. Under Dean Zayas, outside firms explored renovation options for the School, noting the lack of space, inadequate amenities, and accessibility issues in the building.
Early estimates in 2015 started with price tags exceeding $50 million to get the building up to modern needs, and still did not resolve issues such as expanded space, a necessary element which added an even higher price tag to potential construction.
Faced with this challenge, SHS leadership wrestled for the next decade on what would be the best resolution to find a building that reflected the caliber of its people. As the dean position shifted from Dean Zayas to current Dean Allan Cole, a new opportunity presented itself.
Looking Backward To Look Forward
In 2022, after collaborating with University leadership, a deal was struck by Dean Allan Cole to move SHS into a new permanent home on Speedway, at what is currently McCombs Business School, directly across from Gregory Gym. The new home for SHS will be opened in five years and finally house all of its research institutes, faculty, staff, and students in one location – a prime one, at that.
“We’ll be at the epicenter of campus and that presents all kinds of opportunities for social work, in particular at the University of Texas that we’ve never experienced,” said Dean Cole.
As part of the vacating of the 1925 San Jacinto facility, arrangements were made with UT Athletics as well, paving the way for one of the most significant financial gifts in the history of the School. Dean Cole said that unprecedented funding will allow for significant support of students, faculty, staff, programming and the school at large, allowing the School to increase its scholarship.
And as for where SHS will be as they wait those five years? The School will reside in Walter Webb Hall, a newly renovated building located on West Campus that will be the temporary home for SHS while the Speedway property is prepared. Found right in the heart of The Drag on Guadalupe Street, the facility is close to where students live, and is a stone’s throw from the UT Tower.
As the school peers into the potential of the future, it remains committed to the mission of providing national leadership to promote social and economic justice, alleviating critical social problems and enhancing human well-being. The growth of the school will only continue, and with a new space, the next generation of social workers in Texas and beyond will be able to thrive in a community of their own.
“We’ve needed better working spaces to do the important work of social work in the 21st century,” said Dean Cole. “The places where we locate ourselves and spend our time and the people with whom we are in relationship in particular places matter. We have the opportunity as a school to look backwards to understand who we are and where we’ve come from, and to build on that as we look forward into new opportunities to become a new version of ourselves.