From 1969 to 1971, social work faculty from the southern states met four times a
year as part of a faculty development project of the Southern Regional Education
Board. When the project ended, faculty from Alabama and Mississippi schools
decided to form a conference so they could further the bonds they had
developed. Objectives of the conference were: to promote transfer of information among
schoo
ls providing social welfare education courses in the states of Alabama and
Mississippi; to provide a forum for issues and problems of regional importance for
the two states; and to enable individual schools and faculty members to be sensitive
and responsive to the changing demands of social work education. The first
three conferences were hosted by the University of Alabama, and starting in 1975
the conference was rotated among social work programs in the two states. Today, representatives from all 33-CSWE accredited social work programs in Alabama
and Mississippi, as well as programs from surrounding states participate in
the annual conference. Many of these programs bring their students who participate
in programming and seek out employment and further education opportunities.