NASW Foundation National Programs

NASW Social Work Pioneers^®

C. Rollin Zane (1900-1992)

Rollin Zane was the descendent of pioneer Quakers who settled New Jersey. Zane was graduated from Syracuse University in 1922 and attended Harvard Law School before entering the magazine publishing business.

During the Depression, he switched careers commuting from Delaware to earn his master of social work degree from the University of Pennsylvania. He headed Delaware's State Board of Charities for four years.

Zane was a child welfare consultant for the Childrens Bureau (then in the Department of Labor), prior to moving to Connecticut to become director of the Connecticut Children's Aid Society, now known as Child and Family Services. He was executive director of the agency from 1943 to 1966. In 1991, the board of directors dedicated the agency's professional library in honor of Frances and C. Rollin Zane.

The board paid tribute to his commitment to professional development and continued learning. Zane was an advocate for professional training and said: "If caring and sensitivity and commitment helped children and adults solve problems, then surely adding professional training would make us even more effective."

Rollin Zane was a member of the board of directors of the Child Welfare League of America and the Connecticut Child Welfare Association. He helped organize the Urban League of Hartford and served as vice president of the Otto Rank Association.