NASW Pioneers Biography Index

Willliam J. Reid was a social work scholar and Founding Editor of the NASW Press journal Social Work Research. Reid was a Professor in the University of Albany, State University of New Yorks School of Social Welfare, where he had chaired the Doctoral Program since 1985. He was well known for developing the task-centered practice model, which is widely used as a basis for delivering and managing social work services. The model brought about a shift in the approach to service delivery and stressed the value of short-term interventions and a focus on achievable tasks.

When Reid received the rank of Distinguished Professor from the State University of New York, University at Albany President Karen R. Hitchcock said Reid's "research and methodology have been at the forefront of the field of social welfare and his task-centered model has involved his students in an ideally symbiotic relationship between theoretical understanding and practical application."

Reid received his BSW and MSW from the University of Michigan in 1950 and 1952 and earned his Doctor of Social Welfare Degree from Columbia University in 1963. He served in the Army as a psychiatric social worker and then held academic posts at Columbia University, the University of Chicago and the University at Albany. He received many awards and much recognition throughout his career, including the NASW Presidential Award for Excellence in Research and the Distinguished Achievement Award from the Society for Social Work and Research. He authored or co-authored 14 books and more than 120 articles and chapters in books and journals.