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by Dr. King Davis

2008 Knee/Wittman Achievement Awards Ceremony and Reception
October 8, 2008

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Professional careers are reflections of a blend of relationships, opportunities, risk taking, and to some extent – chance.  My forty year career as a social worker in mental health care and teaching reflects my deep appreciation for the support and guidance of key leaders such as Ruth Knee and Milt Wittman. I am indebted to the NASW Foundation, the Texas NASW, The School of Social Work at The University of Texas at Austin, Virginia Commonwealth University, and to hundreds of individuals for their support and guidance over many years.

My initial interest in mental health stems from two of my childhood neighbors whose families shared the travail of caregiving for a member with severe mental illness. One of these families was African American and their daughter spent many years in Taft State Hospital in Oklahoma while the other was Native American and his illness played out on the streets, in the neighborhood, and in mental institutions. These families shared their angst, their unwavering support, and their ability to manage severe mental illness with me in ways that I have never forgotten.  I honor them and offer thanks for their willingness to share how they made critical decisions about caring for a person with severe mental illness. Their experiences changed my life and the path of my nascent career. My primitive interest in mental health was nourished by Tom Brigham, Wally Rich, and Pat Pickford at Fresno State University in California. Fresno State gave me the opportunity to put my limited personal experiences in mental health into a clinical and research context, providing a more defined understanding and path for interventions. What I missed during these early years at Fresno was the ability to speak and understand Spanish and Cantonese to provide services to populations found in significant numbers in my caseload. Interestingly, my first caseload in field consisted of all Spanish speaking persons with catatonia and long periods in state hospitals. The theoretical language of social work at that time did not provide a significant depth of understanding of the role of cultures of African Americans, Native Americans, Hispanics, or the Asian population.  We made assumptions about the generalization of our theory, interventions, and knowledge to these diverse Americans. Few scholars or clinicians raised epistemological or epidemiological questions about culture, race, ethnicity, language, and mental illness. And, we rarely raised questions about cultural adaptations of our methods and our science. However, much in our field has improved over these past 50 years.

Within the United States Army social work corps Colonels Seth Spelman, Paul D’Oronzio, and Joe Bevilacqua became important mentors on the effects of organizations, bureaucracies, and the stress of war on the mental health of individuals, families, and nations. Dr. Spelman’s teachings about the Vietnam war and the role of social work changed my career and pushed my interest towards doctoral education and public policy practice. However, it was Joe Bevilacqua whose personal guidance and mentoring assisted me in selecting the doctoral program at Brandeis University. It was at Brandeis that my prior focus on clinical social work shifted to the study of policy, planning, administration, and economics. David Gil, David Austin, John Scott, Charlie Schottland, Mel King, Wyatt Jones, Walter Bremond, and Herbert Posen helped guide me towards a macro perspective on policy practice.  I owe each of them thanks for helping me to understand how change occurs in large systems and bureaucracies and the role that public policy plays. Bevilacqua soon became the most important mentor in my career when he offered me two critical roles in the Virginia mental health system. His experience, maturity, risk taking, intellect, and vision affected my decision to split my career into two related segments – university teaching and administration of large public mental health systems. For the past 40 years, I have enjoyed the luxury of moving every five years back and forth between the university and the public mental health sector. I owe many debts for that opportunity.

Ethlyn R. Strong, Claire Lanham, Bernie Pendleton, and Lyman Brooks helped me make the transition to the academic side for close to ten years. The support of Norfolk State University administration was key in developing a more rigorous academic and research aspect to my life and career. My ten years at NSU were among the most satisfying. Deans Elaine Rothenberg,  Grace Harris, and Frank Baskind at Virginia Commonwealth University continued the support that allowed my movement back and forth between academia and public administration. Each of them offered opportunities for me build on this fascination with how policy changes the way that public mental health systems operate for the good of persons and families. Dean Barbara White and former President Larry Faulkner at the University of Texas at Austin have added another dimension to my career opportunities through an endowed chair and leadership of the Hogg Foundation. Barbara White epitomizes the quality of support that changes careers, guides life decisions, and nourishes one’s interest in scholarship.

The most influential period in my career came with the opportunity to guide the Virginia Department of Mental Health, Mental Retardation, and Substance Abuse Services. Former governor L. Douglas Wilder made it possible for me to participate at the highest level of state government. That this opportunity came at the worst economic time for the country was buttressed by the skill of the Wilder administration and its ability to combine its knowledge of finance, governance, policy, and a commitment to services. It was here that I learned the hard lessons of politics, budget reductions, decision making, and the importance of social work values.

My brief career has been an exciting and circuitous journey from Quachita Arkansas to Washington DC.  I do not expect for any one here today to know where Quachita Arkansas is on the map, but it is part of my historical consciousness that has kept me grounded in my commitments to my wife Victoria, our four children, and the numerous families, friends, mentors, colleagues,  and individuals whose contributions have shaped our lives and given added meaning to our struggles.

Thank you.