The Silberman School of Social Work at Hunter College, mourns the loss of our friend and colleague, Dr. Carmen Ortiz Hendricks who passed away on Sunday, February 21, 2016.
Since 1974, Dr. Carmen Ortiz Hendricks made significant contributions to the practice of social work in the roles of educator, administrator, and multi-cultural scholar. Dr. Ortiz Hendricks received her MSW from Adelphi University School of Social Work and her doctorate in Social Welfare from Wurzweiler.
Carmen Ortiz Hendricks spent 25 years at the Hunter College School of Social Work, where she served with distinction as the Director of Field Instruction and a beloved Professor for thousands of our students who came to know her as a great role model.
In 2005, Dr. Ortiz Hendricks went to Wurzweiler School of Social Work as a professor of social work and associate dean. She then served as interim dean of Wurzweiler working to advance the school in critical directions: increasing enrollment, fundraising for scholarships and special projects, working with the Jewish Community, partnering with the Washington Heights community, and collaborating with other departments throughout the University. In 2007, Yeshiva University announced the appointment of Professor Carmen Ortiz Hendricks as the Dorothy and David I. Schachne Dean of the Wurzweiler School of Social Work.
Dr. Ortiz Hendricks was a leader in our profession; she served as commissioner on the Commission on Accreditation for the Council on Social Work Education, having also served on the Board of CSWE. She was president of the New York City Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers (1996-98) and is a founding member of the Latino Social Work Task Force. In 2008, Hendricks was awarded a three-week Fulbright Specialist Scholarship to Israel where she taught classes at Hebrew University, Ben Gurion University and Yeshiva University in Jerusalem. The following year, she was inducted as a fellow of the New York Academy of Medicine and as a Social Work Pioneer by NASW. In 2010, Hendricks was appointed by the Governor to New York City’s Citizens Review Panel that reviews child welfare policies and services
Dr. Ortiz Hendricks was also great contributor to the knowledge base in the profession. She was the lead author with Jeanne Bertrand Finch and Cheryl L. Franks of Learning to Teach—Teaching to Learn: A Guide to Social Work Field Education by the CSWE Press (2005, 2013). In addition to this work, Dr. Ortiz Hendricks authored and co-authored articles, monographs, books, and manuals that address culturally competent practice.
Dr. Carmen Ortiz Hendricks has been a role model for future generations of social workers; she was a wonderful colleague to us here at Hunter and a great colleague and leader for her faculty, staff and students at Wurzweiler. Her untimely passing leaves us with a sense of great sadness, but we were all privileged to know her. We will miss Carmen very much, and think of her often with great fondness.