When Keith Alford remembers Claire Rudolph, he remembers the professor emerita of social work as she tried to figure out Alford’s role as a new faculty member in the mid-1990s. Rudolph was skeptical of his tendency to wear suits.

“’I just wonder if someone who is wearing that suit is still going to be able to roll up his sleeves and get into the community,’” Alford, associate professor in the School of Social Work at Syracuse University, recalls Rudolph saying.

Rudolph frequently spoke her mind like that, Alford said, but always with the intention of ensuring things got done.

“At the same time, she had a heart of gold,” Alford, who worked directly with Rudolph, said, “because she understood that compassion as well as fortitude must be a part of any equation.”

Rudolph, who joined the SU faculty in 1965, died in her home on Jan. 5, SU announced last week. She served as chair of the School of Social Work in the David B. Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics for nearly 20 years before receiving emeriti status in 1996. During her time at SU, much of her work focused on programs for child welfare services.

Alford remembers Rudolph for her forceful nature and passion for her work in the School of Social Work. He said she was successful in her efforts because she was familiar with the community in and around Syracuse.

“In the School of Social Work we are very strong on working with the community,” Alford said. “Claire knew that it was important to have an idea of who those people were.”

To help better serve that community, Rudolph developed a number of programs aimed at training students to become “the best social workers,” Alford said.

Rudolph obtained training grants for the School of Social Work for more than a decade from the Maternal and Child Health Bureau and other grants from the Children’s Bureau that focused on training for child welfare workers.

Those grants, which Alford said were always child welfare and family-focused, awarded students remitted tuition in exchange for participating in programs that trained them for the social work field. Alford added that a number of different courses in the School of Social Work were developed as a direct result of the training programs.

These programs included evaluative components, which Alford said was indicative of Rudolph’s desire to fully prepare students for their future careers in social work.

“It was so that they could see results or look at ways that they could improve, instead of going through the motions every day, doing the same things over and over again and not actually including an evaluative component,” Alford said.

Rudolph also commanded respect and was a very forthright person in making sure the correct decisions were made, Alford said.

Carrie Smith, director of the School of Social Work, worked with Rudolph on different research projects and reiterated Alford’s sentiments.

Smith said she would especially miss Rudolph’s rare combination of generosity and “stalwart determination” to help the disadvantaged.

“Claire was a force and we are all saddened by her passing,” Smith said. “She will be sorely missed.”

Published on January 24, 2016 at 9:27 pm

Contact Michael: mdburk01@syr.edu