Pacific University's Expanded Social Work Program Renamed for Claire Argow

Pacific University is pleased to announce the naming of its social work program in honor of noted former faculty member and activist Claire Angevin Argow.

Argow, who died in 1997, was a longtime criminologist, attorney and activist for improved correctional facilities and one-time executive director of the Oregon Prison Association. She taught at Pacific for 12 years.

The Claire Argow Social Work Program offers both a bachelor’s of social work and master’s of social work, both accredited by the Counsel of Social Work Education. The BSW, offered on Pacific’s Forest Grove Campus, provides students with the basis for a generalist social work practice with a focus on diversity, cultural competence, social justice, and meaningful field-work experiences.

The MSW prepares students for the next step in their social work practice, with a focus on promoting human and community well-being. The two-year MSW program launched in 2014 on Pacific’s Eugene Campus. A one-year advanced standing track for students with a recent BSW degree also is available in Eugene and will expand this fall to the Forest Grove Campus.

The new Forest Grove-based MSW program offers students with advanced standing a path to earn a master of social work degree in just nine months by enrolling in Friday-Saturday classes with Portland-area field placements. Advanced standing is defined as students who earned bachelor’s degrees in social work and have five years of professional experience.

Argow was noted for her longtime support for prison reform and opposition to the death penalty. Her views influenced former Oregon Gov. Tom McCall, who adopted her views about prison reform. Pacific created a scholarship fund in her name to reward outstanding junior students in social work.