Caroletta Dalton Curtis is a social worker who rendered professional service in the Columbus community for 15 years prior to joining the faculty in the College of Social Work in 1968. She was first hired by the Juvenile Diagnostic Center in 1950; she was the first African American professional social worker to be hired by the state funded facility. She worked as a clinical social worker for the Veteran’s Administration and she was an administrator for the State of Ohio Social Services Administration Bureau. Professor Curtis joined the College of Social Work faculty in 1968 and retired in 1995. She is a former Director of the MSW Program and a former Director of Field Instruction in the College. She was instrumental in working with the Office of Minority Affairs (currently Office of Diversity and Inclusion) to begin the first structured recruitment program for graduate minority students to the College of Social Work. For 12 years—when every student’s admission file was actually read by each member of the Faculty Committee on Admissions—Professor Curtis worked to insure that African American students specifically and other minority students generally were given equitable consideration in the admissions process. Her trailblazing work within the University community resulted in receipt of the William Henry Watson Jr. Memorial Award for meritorious service to University College, to The Frank Hale Center and to the Office of Minority Affairs; she worked tirelessly to increase minority student admissions and enhance retention within the University. Professor Curtis was a founding member of the Critical Difference for Women Program/Coca Cola Awards Recognition Program for which she has been recognized by the University. She has served on numerous community Boards to include appointment as the first African American woman to the Alcohol, Drug and Mental Health Board; she was also among the first African American women to be asked to work with the Business and Professional Women’s Association which met at a facility in downtown Columbus that previously denied membership to African Americans. Professor Curtis has resided in Columbus, OH since 1950. She is a product of the Oklahoma City, OK, public schools. She matriculated from Lincoln University of Jefferson City, MO, with her bachelor’s degree; she completed graduate school training (MSW degree) from Atlanta University (now Clark-Atlanta University), Atlanta, GA, and (Post Graduate Training in Clinical Practice) from Smith College, Northampton, MA.
