Liberty University’s Social Work Department defies expectations with new status

Before coming to Liberty, Christine Fulmer felt God had placed a calling on her life.

“The Lord put it on my heart years ago that he wanted me to change the face of social work for him,” Fulmer said. 

When considering teaching at Liberty, her husband reminded her of the call and said, “Where else might you do that than at the world’s largest Christian university?”

Since becoming the chair of Liberty’s Social Work department, Fulmer witnessed the program grow from graduating eight students its second year to currently enrolling more than 1,600 students. 

This month, Fulmer and her staff celebrate another milestone, the Council on Social Work Education’s (CSWE) accreditation of the Bachelor of Science in Social Work through the year 2022.

“I am so proud of our team,” Fulmer said. “It is a blessing from the Lord; … a lot of prayer and tears … went into this process.”

“Our faculty and staff worked so well together,” Fulmer said. “We have a beautiful team of GSAs and student workers. … They all pulled together, and they wanted this.”

To receive accreditation, the social work program experienced rigorous evaluations called “benchmarks,” which included campus visits by scholars in the field. These site visitors were concerned about Liberty’s conservative beliefs and the impact they could have on social work education.  They wondered if these beliefs would prohibit students from developing into competent social workers capable of working in all areas of social work practice.  

Despite the evaluators’ admitted preconceived notions about a biblical approach to studying social work, Fulmer said it was the Christ-like attitude of the students and staff that won them over.

“The Lord was gracious, and we tried to glorify him every time we had a site visitor on campus,” Fulmer said. “And they loved our administration all three times … and our students. They were so impressed with our students.” 

After the final self-evaluation, the CSWE voted on Liberty this past February, and the program received accreditation March 11.

“This accreditation is just the beginning,” Kenyon Knapp, dean of the School of Behavioral Sciences, said. “The vision they have for this program is massive, both national and international. … It’s already happening, and it’s totally going to keep coming.”

Fulmer said the value of this accreditation comes from the confidence it gives student in the quality of their education and in their work.

“There is something about being able to reach people with confidence,” Fulmer said. “There are some people out there that don’t have accredited degrees … and even if the program was strong, they feel like their (degree is) less,” Fulmer said. “This legitimizes their degree.”

Through LU Send, the social work department has sent students to Spain, Greece, the Dominican Republic and Uganda to serve refugees and prevent human trafficking while gaining hands-on experience through study abroad programs. 

“Fulmer and her team don’t only work in the states, but they go around the world,” Knapp said. “There is a graciousness to the social work faculty, and the people at the (CSWE) picked up on that.”

Looking forward to the future, Fulmer hopes to see a master’s and doctoral program as well as continuing to defy expectations by being “the hands and feet of Jesus.”

“What makes me so proud of my faculty and staff is people have all these stereotypes of what Liberty might be, and we shatter them,” Fulmer said.