Cate Solomon, Longtime Director of Student Services, Retires

More than thirty years after joining Boston University School of Social Work (BUSSW) as a field advisor for part-time students, Cate Solomon, director of student services and academic planning, is retiring from the School on July 1, 2022.

Solomon has served as a bridge between students and the resources they need to succeed for nearly two decades. As director of student services and academic planning, she has been the first point of contact for academic support for all on-campus students. She has led the production of the School’s orientation and commencement from 2003 to present and helped students navigate many of the challenges that came in-between.

She has overseen the Registration Department, the writing support tutor, and the Advanced Standing and part-time on-campus programs; served as disability service and access services coordinator, Title IX officer and diversity committee chair; and helped coordinate a study abroad program, to name just a few of her supplemental roles.

Solomon was drawn to social work as a child. She spent her early childhood on the South Side of Chicago where her grandfather had once stayed at Hull-House, whose founder, Jane Adams, is considered the first social worker in the United States.

After earning a master’s degree in social work from Smith College, Solomon started her career as a clinical social worker in mental health and child protective services. She also began teaching classes in social work degree programs, including an Ego Psychology course at BUSSW. Cate served as a faculty member at Smith, Wheelock College, Rhode Island College, and Lasell College before settling at Boston University.

Solomon began her career at BUSSW as a field advisor and instructor at the BU North Campus in 1991. She continued in those roles for ten years, during which time she earned a doctoral degree from Brandeis University; was named director of Human Services, Psychology and Sociology at Lasell College; and was appointed dean of first-year programs at Wheelock College. In 2003, she left Wheelock to begin her full-time role at BUSSW as director of student services and academic planning.

Solomon’s responsibilities as director have been numerous and wide-ranging. From facilitating clinical seminars to advising BUSSW’s student union and managing the Charles River Campus Student Services support team, she has touched the lives and education of countless MSW students who have passed through the School in the last three decades.

As she prepares for retirement, Cate says she is excited to return to her social work roots. She plans to get involved in part-time or volunteer work, especially with the immigrant community in Waltham where she now lives, and to continue to serve on the board of directors for Tunefoolery, a group of musicians who spread the message of recovery. She also looks forward to spending more time being active outdoors, socializing, and pursuing her many creative endeavors from watercolor painting to making jewelry and ceramic lamps. According to Cate, “Life, love and creativity lie ahead.”

The BUSSW community is deeply grateful to Cate for her years of hard work, humor and compassion.