Springfield College School of Social Work Professor Serves as Fulbright Specialist in Pakistan

At left, Joseph Wronka with Dr. Ronald Pervaiz, President of Human Rights Voices for Minorities, Pakistan at the Pakistani Monument

Springfield College School of Social Work Professor Joseph Wronka recently served as a consultant to the Akhtar Hameed Khan Resource Center in Pakistan for 21 days as a Fulbright Specialist in the discipline of social work with specialties in social justice, poverty, human rights, and phenomenology. 

As part of the visit, Wronka organized workshops at the United States Educational Foundation of Pakistan with a focus on "Creating a Human Rights Culture: Towards a Creative Dialogue Between the U.S.A and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan."  In brief, the workshops compared and contrasted the constitutions of the United States and Pakistan with the U.N. Universal Declaration of Human Rights.  The talks also discussed United Nations human rights reports, particularly in regards to each country’s treatment of minorities, ultimately calling for The Spirit of Crazy Horse, often referred to as peace, humility, and everlasting love.

The Fulbright Specialist Program is funded by the U.S. Department of State Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and is designed to award grants to United States higher education faculty members and professionals, who are approved to join a specialist roster in select disciplines. The selected individuals are in turn engaged in short-term collaborative projects at eligible institutions in more than 140 countries worldwide.

“It was an honor and a privilege to have been chosen as a Fulbright Specialist and take part in this trip,” said Wronka.  “It was a very unique experience and the Fulbright program was very well done. I stayed at the Fulbright House in Islamabad, and the U.S. Educational Foundation of Pakistan provided transportation to the organized workshops. Overall, it’s important that countries collaborate in a spirit of humility, when looking at the human right situation in their own and other countries.”

Wronka brings more than two decades of experience in social policy, human rights, social justice, qualitative research, and international social work to Springfield College. Along with being a Fulbright Specialist, Wronka serves as representative to the United Nations in Geneva for the International Association of Schools of Social Work.

Wronka also is known widely for his published works.  He has written four books, his most recent being Human Rights and Social Justice: Social Action and Service for the Helping and Health Professions (Sage). Replete with an instructor’s manual, it was recently designated as one of one hundred great books for the social worker’s library at MswOnlinePrograms.org. He has also published in the Encyclopedia of Social Work, the International Encyclopedia of Social Work, the Handbook of International Social Work, the International Handbook of Social Justice, the Harvard International Review, the Journal of Moral Education, and the Humanistic Psychologist. Wronka has presented his work in roughly 15 countries.

Founded in 1885, Springfield College is known worldwide for the guiding principles of its Humanics philosophy—educating students in spirit, mind and body for leadership in service to others. With its foundation of academic excellence and rich athletic heritage, Springfield College prepares students with real-world leadership skills for careers that transform lives and communities. The college offers a range of undergraduate and graduate degree programs in the fields of health sciences, human and social services, sport management and movement studies, education, business, and the arts and sciences. It also offers doctoral programs in physical education, physical therapy, and counseling psychology. The college is ranked in the 2015 edition of “Best Colleges” in the top tier of “Best Regional Universities – North Region” by U.S.News Media Group, and is designated as a premier Leadership Development Center by the YMCA of the USA. More than 5,000 traditional, nontraditional and international students study at its main campus in Springfield, Mass., and at its School of Human Services campuses across the country.