KU Social Welfare's new home at Green Hall builds community
A new home for the KU School of Social Welfare on the University of Kansas campus helps the school to think about its future differently.
“It helps create community, and that’s important because social work is a community-oriented profession,” said Michelle Carney, dean and professor in the School of Social Welfare.
The School of Social Welfare moved to a renovated floor of Green Hall on the KU campus in January 2025, leaving its longtime academic home in Twente Hall. The new space includes a lecture classroom, doctoral seminar classroom, study and lounge spaces, faculty and staff offices, and meeting rooms.
KU School of Social Welfare is invested in student success
Creating a home base for KU social work students at all stages in their education – from first-year undergraduate students to doctoral candidates – allows students to make connections and “see the breadth of things you can do in the social work profession,” Carney said.
On their way to classes in Green Hall, KU social work students pass offices for a professional writing consultant, academic advisors, faculty program directors, and a student support coordinator. Down the hall, they can find faculty mentors, research project directors, and an embedded clinician from KU Counseling and Psychological Services.
“We’re really invested in students graduating. One of the most important things in this new space was, ‘How do we situate the supports that we have for students so that they can access them easily?’” Carney said.
The need for trained social workers is growing
The social work profession is growing, and with it, the School of Social Welfare aims to train more future social workers. Social work job openings are expected to grow 6% across the U.S. between 2024 and 2034, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
In Kansas, the need for qualified social workers is especially high. Kansas ranks 37th among all states in mental health workforce availability, with one mental health provider for every 450 people, according to a 2024 report from Mental Health America.
Licensed clinical social workers at the LSCSW and LMSW levels make up a large portion of the mental health workforce in Kansas, but there aren’t enough of them. In rural Kansas, the ratio of Licensed Specialist Clinical Social Worker (LSCSW) providers to population is 5,861 to 1, according to a 2022 report from the Kansas Health Institute.
Give to support future KU social work students
As the School of Social Welfare grows into the future, alumni and friends can best support the School by providing scholarships for social work students. Donor support for scholarships allows students to graduate with lower debt and stay in the social work profession, Carney said.
Make a gift to support scholarships for future Jayhawk Social Workers.