Maurice Daniels, dean of the School of Social Work, will deliver the ninth annual Mary Frances Early Lecture April 15 at 4 p.m. in the Chapel.
Entitled “Unfinished Business: 21st Century Civil Rights Movement,” Daniels’ lecture will cover highlights of the 20th-century struggle for freedom, civil rights and social justice in the U.S. It also will focus on the individual and collective efforts that are vital in achieving social change in the 21st century, according to Daniels, who has extensively researched civil rights in Georgia.
His book Horace T. Ward: Desegregation of the University of Georgia, Civil Rights Advocacy and Jurisprudence and his documentary on the same subject have received national acclaim. He is senior researcher and executive producer of two other award-winning public television documentary films about key figures in civil rights.
Daniels, who joined the UGA faculty in 1979, has served in several positions including assistant to the dean of the Graduate School, director of the master’s of social work program and associate dean. He was named the school’s dean in 2005.
As a longtime member of the UGA faculty, Daniels has watched the evolution and expansion of diversity on campus.
“While the struggle for social justice continues, the university has made important strides in diversifying its student body on the undergraduate and graduate levels,” Daniels said. “UGA also has made progress as it relates to the recruitment of a diverse faculty and staff.”
Daniels served more than 10 years as adviser for the Graduate and Professional Scholars, which was founded in 1984 to support under-represented graduate and professional students. He also helped establish the Black Faculty and Staff Organization and played a key role in the development of the university’s Institute for African American Studies and the Office of Institutional Diversity. Daniels is the co-founder of the Athens Area Habitat for Humanity and is active in civil rights and social reform organizations such as the NAACP.
Sponsored by GAPS, the lecture series honors Mary Frances Early, UGA’s first African-American graduate. Early, who earned a master of music education degree in 1962, plans to attend this year’s lecture.
