Remembering BUSSW Professor Emerita and Alum Mildred “Millie” (Roblin) Flashman (‘45)
BU School of Social Work is sad to share the news that trailblazing alum and emerita professor Millie Flashman passed away recently at the age of 102.
Millie Flashman grew up in Boston and attended Girls Latin School ‘39, Boston University College of Practical Arts and Letters ‘43, and Boston University School of Social Work (BUSSW) ‘45. After earning her MSW, Millie worked with family agencies before she returned to BUSSW to organize and supervise a student unit in the psychiatric clinic at Mass Memorial Hospital (now part of Boston Medical Center). Professor Emerita Flashman spent much of her professional career, 36 years, at BUSSW teaching Casework and Human Behavior to MSW students. Her passion was working with couples and families, and she was a charter member of the American Family Therapy Academy, an organization of teachers and researchers in the field. She was the architect of a historically strong emphasis on family therapy at BUSSW. She created the Family Therapy Certificate program and helped attract donors such as the Hurwitz family who, for many years, funded the Annual BUSSW Family Therapy Symposium which brought together hundreds of practitioners every year and linked BUSSW to the larger family therapy community. Millie stayed at BUSSW until she retired in 1991.
As her obituary details, “Millie was a ‘modern woman,’ prioritizing her career as a professor and social worker at a time when doing so did not comport with societal norms. Before she married “Si,” she spent almost two decades establishing herself professionally, traveling, and fostering lifelong friendships. After marrying and having children at age 40, she returned to work. The path she chose allowed her to create a beautiful, rich life full of family, friendship, and intellectual and professional achievement.”
At age 100, she enrolled in BU’s New England Centenarian Study to help researchers better understand what factors lead a lucky few to live to 100 and beyond. In an article for BU’s The Brink, she discussed her long life, what the BU research process has been like, and why her aging experience is unlike the average person’s.
Clinical Professor Emerita Betty J. Ruth commented, “Millie taught the basics of social work practice, as well as advanced work, to thousands of social workers, including me. Her Intro to Casework course in fall of 1982 set me on a solid professional course. Though I came in with little clinical experience – many in the class did not – Millie started us off with ‘How do we greet a client? How do we even say hello? How can we convey authenticity and trustworthiness right away?’ She was, of course, able to teach authenticity and being ‘real,’ because more than anything else, she was a genuinely kind and authentic person who lived her values. Millie was comfortable in her own skin.”
“I remember a conversation we had ten years ago when we got to talking about loneliness. I asked her what she could share with me about that and aging into her early 90s and she said ‘There are always friends to be made at every age Betty. You must keep open to that, welcome it, and most of all be interested in others. I have made friends at every stage of my life. That is one of the surprising things I have learned about living a long life!’”
Dean Barbara Jones was so grateful to have met Millie this past summer at a Faculty Emeriti dinner. She stated, “Having Millie’s blessing on the direction of the school is such a gift to us as we carry on her incredible legacy.”
You can find her obituary here with a link to a recording of the memorial services held on October 6, 2024.
Remembrances may be made to Boston University School of Social Work, 264 Bay State Rd., Boston, MA 02215 or contact Assistant Dean of Development, Ray Joyce at rayjoyce@bu.edu.