Bruce Betz, the School’s communications director, will retire on Jan. 3, 2022. Bruce joined the School of Social Work in 2010 as our first schoolwide director of communications, after spending more than two decades managing his own communications consulting practice. During his tenure, Bruce created and updated all School communications, externally and internally, including the School’s primary website as well as sites devoted to the Alliance for Child Welfare Excellence and several research and innovation centers.
“It’s been a great honor to serve the School and support its social justice mission," said Bruce. "My goal, in all our communications, has always been to use the power of writing and design to create understanding within the University and the wider world about the enduring value of social work expertise, whether in research, service, education or systems transformation.”
Bruce led the School in establishing a biennial series of award-winning annual reports and e-newsletters, expanded social media channels, provided strategic outreach with UW News, and produced high-quality print and online communications that celebrate the people, mission and achievements of our social work community. Most recently, he created and managed our SSW COVID-19 site and provided support to our leadership team in writing op-eds for local media and other public statements about social change movements during the last two years.
Bruce also developed the widely used MySSW (the School’s intranet), an important platform for researchers, instructors and administrators, and created the SSW Faculty & Staff News page—our primary channel for recognizing outstanding faculty and staff.
In his free time, Bruce enjoys art and travel, and plans to continue this tradition of art and travel during his retirement. After Jan. 3 and until a new director is hired, the School’s communications work will be managed by an interim communications team, coordinated by Dean Eddie Uehara and assistant deans Vicki Anderson-Ellis and Julie Sun. Please join us in thanking Bruce for his incomparable service and wishing him the very best in the future!