NASW Foundation National Programs

NASW Social Work Pioneers^®

Harris Chaiklin, PhD, MSW, LCSW-C

Dr. Harris Chaiklin has been a professional social worker for nearly 50 years.  During that time, he served on the faculties of three schools of social work and, throughout most of those years, also held a part-time job as practitioner in a social agency or as a private practitioner.

His combination of scholarship and hands-on experience enriched Dr. Chaiklin’s role as a teacher, his insight and relevance as a writer, and his effectiveness as a consultant.  Students have benefited from his ability to relate theory to practice, and the balanced perspective of his published articles has enabled Dr. Chaiklin to enlighten the profession with his critical analyses of social work, its focus, direction, practice, and role in a democratic society.

In consultation with agencies and programs, Dr. Chaiklin has brought to the field a unique special brand of scholarship and relevance.  He was a valued advisor to the Veterans Administration Social Work Service program during its transition from hospital- to community-based mental health care.  His strong affirmation that social work’s role in the community was equal in importance to its traditional one-on-one clinical relationships was helpful in providing the impetus for this change in the VA’s policy. 

Dr. Chaiklin has received a number of honors, including: the Maryland Association of Higher Education Award of Merit for the Dual Degree in Social Work and Dance Therapy; a listing in Who’s Who Among Human Service Professionals; the Harry Greenstein Award, Baltimore Associated Jewish Charities; election to Alpha Delta Mu, Morgan State University; Senior Fulbright Hays Lecturer, Haifa University; a listing in Who’s Who in the East; was recognized by Outstanding Educators of America; Social Worker of the Year, Maryland NASW; and he was a Commonwealth Fund Fellow, at Yale University.  Dr. Chaiklin has also written more than 50 articles, primarily published in professional journals.

Dr. Chaiklin earned both his bachelor of arts and master of arts in Sociology from University of Connecticut, and a master of science in social work from University of Wisconsin.  He earned his PhD in medical sociology from Yale University.