Prof. Geoffrey Wilkinson Retires from BUSSW After Decades of Service
Clinical Assistant Professor Geoffrey W. Wilkinson will retire from Boston University School of Social Work (BUSSW) at the end of the 2023-2024 academic year.
A specialist in public health and the community health field, Prof. Wilkinson joined BUSSW’s faculty full-time in 2014 after two decades of service as a field instructor, advisor, and adjunct instructor at BUSSW and BU School of Public Health. His contributions to the School of Social Work reflect a longstanding commitment to health equity and community organizing, and extensive experience as a leader in health agencies and organizations.
He first joined the School in 1983 as an MSW student. Involved in racial justice organizing and Vietnam War protests as a teenager, Prof. Wilkinson says, “Social work—particularly community organizing—became the perfect vehicle for me to help ‘leave the world a better place.”
He specialized in community organizing, management, policy, and planning, a focus he maintained throughout his career.
After earning his MSW, he spent six years at the Committee for Boston Public Housing building skills that led him to a series of leadership roles at social justice and public health agencies. He served as executive director of the Massachusetts Senior Action Council and the Massachusetts Public Health Association, and as senior policy advisor to the commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. He helped create the nation’s first state-subsidized insurance program to help low-income seniors and people with disabilities pay for prescription drugs; helped draft and pass legislation to create the state’s certification board for community health workers; oversaw management of five regional health offices; and led a multi-million dollar health improvement project funded by the CDC.
After returning to BUSSW in 1994 as an adjunct faculty member, he brought his leadership and organizational experience back to the school while continuing his work as an agency leader. He co-founded the National Association of Community Health Workers, supported in part by grant funding facilitated through BUSSW, and played a crucial role in its strategic planning, fundraising, and non-profit incorporation. He also worked as a consultant for the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials, advising on federally funded projects that integrated community health workers into health care and public health systems.
His leadership experience led to a number of corresponding roles at BUSSW, including director of the Leadership Core at the School’s Center for Innovation in Social Work & Health (CISWH) and coordinator of the Leadership specialization. He also served as the coordinator of the BUSSW Communities and Organizations course, a core foundation course taken by all MSW students that serves as their introduction to macro practice.
Reflecting on Wilkinson’s career at BUSSW, Dean Barbara Jones said, “Throughout his distinguished career, Geoff has consistently demonstrated an unwavering dedication to improving public health outcomes and advancing social justice. He has inspired countless students to become effective agents of change in public health and social work practice. His teaching has enriched our students’ educational experience and prepared them to address complex social and health challenges.”
Prof. Wilkinson, who recently published a book of poetry, is leaving his retirement prospects open, but plans to remain as active as ever in social change work and spend more time with family, traveling, and engaging in creative pursuits like poetry and woodworking. He will continue to support the National Association of Community Health Workers as part of the Founders Circle advisory board and advocate for affordable housing with Affordable Inclusive Milton, an organization he helped found in 2022.
Prof. Wilkinson says, “It has been one of the greatest honors of my life to teach at BUSSW and to have had the opportunity to ‘pass it forward’ to students already committed to doing good in this world.”
BUSSW held a retirement celebration for Prof. Wilkinson on Thursday, May 2, at Boston University’s Wightman Mansion in Brookline, Mass. All who would like to wish him well in his retirement are invited to share a message on his Kudoboard here.