By Lynn Lipinski
Social work pioneer Suzanne Dworak-Peck ’65, MSW ’67 has donated a historic $60 million to endow and name the USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work, cementing its standing as one of the world’s most innovative institutions within the discipline and strengthening its renowned educational and research programs. The gift is one of the largest contributions from an individual to a school of its kind.
The gift not only provides a capstone to the school’s tremendous growth in the past two decades, but also a means for investing in its future — and the future of the social work profession locally, nationally and internationally.
By driving discovery of new knowledge and furthering the education of tomorrow’s leaders in social work, the gift will enable the school to continue its powerful influence on social work policy, research and education globally. The largest school of social work in the world and a pioneer in the area of military social work, the USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work educates one of every 20 master’s-level social workers in the United States and has an alumni network of 15,000. The school has informed, impacted and led national policy discussions on issues such as homelessness, aging, veterans’ mental health issues and crisis response.
Dworak-Peck, a longtime social work practitioner and leader whose investments have enabled her to make this generous gift, hopes it will ensure the school’s future and leave a lasting legacy for its students, their clients, the social work profession and society.