THE TRUSTEES OF THE PER AND ASTRID HEIDENREICH FAMILY FOUNDATION UNDERSTOOD THE RESEARCH: when social workers were involved with at-risk children and their families, the children were more likely to succeed.
So, it was a natural progression for the foundation — which supports organizations serving young adults ages 14-24 in the areas of education and entrepreneurship — to further this success by partnering with a college that prepares social workers. Mental health providers in the New Haven area pointed them toward Southern, with its highly regarded social work program, the only one in the region to offer degrees at the bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral levels.
The result? A $250,000 gift from the Heidenreich Family Foundation to be distributed over three years to establish the “Building the Next Generation of Social Workers Program Fund.” The first installment was given in April 2024.
There was already a connection between Southern and the Heidenreich family. Per and Astrid Heidenreich’s son-in-law Michael Jedlicka — married to their daughter Cecilie, one of the foundation’s five trustees — graduated from the university in 1996 with a degree in business administration with a concentration in marketing.
But there was much more to the gift than family ties. “The social work program itself was ultimately the reason we chose Southern,” says Michael Chambers, director of the foundation.
With 328 students total, the program has a very high retention rate. Once students start the undergraduate program, they are almost certain to finish it, with graduation rates in the upper-90th percentile.
Additionally, the program and its graduates have been repeatedly cited for excellence. For example, the Connecticut chapter of the National Association of Social Workers honored faculty members and alumni with major awards at its most recent ceremony: Stephen Monroe Tomczak, ’89, professor of social work, was named Educator of the Year; Isabel Logan, associate professor of social work, was named Social Worker of the Year; and Stephen A. Wanczyk-Karp, ’77, received the Lifetime Achievement Award.
Now, with a continued commitment to excellence, the Department of Social Work has earmarked an area for improvement: recruiting and educating more male students. At the national level, males are underrepresented among social workers, comprising less than 20 percent of the social work population.
Southern’s student body reflects that reality. Only 17 percent of the 75 students admitted as incoming freshmen for the 2024-25 academic year are male.
Numerous barriers limit the number of men entering the social work field. These include lack of awareness of careers and earning potential in the social work profession, minimal exposure to men as social work professionals, the high cost of college, and the intensive internship requirements for Bachelor of Social Work students during their senior year of college.
To combat these factors, the Department of Social Work faculty will use the Heidenreich Family Foundation grant to recruit male students and provide support in the form of scholarships, individual mentoring from male social work professionals, and professional development.
“This funding will help us recruit men, bringing them together like a brotherhood to talk about the possibilities of entering the field, so they can see themselves in those positions,” says Loida Reyes, assistant professor and chairperson of the Department of Social Work at Southern. “Once they know they’re being supported, more will come.”
Social work is among the fastest growing occupations in the country, but agencies are closing because they can’t hire enough staff. One reason for the shortage is that women, who have traditionally filled that role, now have options in other fields and are pursuing careers elsewhere. Reyes believes men can help fill in the vacancies. “We need to enlist everyone to help with this critical crisis we’re experiencing in the mental health world,” she says.
Preparing more men as social workers addresses another issue as well: men being less likely to receive mental health support than women. “We [social workers] are the primary providers for mental health issues, but men in particular don’t apply for those services,” says Steven Hoffler, associate professor of social work. “Having more male social workers will help overcome the taboo and address the unmet mental health needs of men.”
The fund will cover four to five scholarships a year for male students majoring in social work at Southern, who are eligible for the Federal Pell Grant, awarded to those with exceptional need.
But Reyes emphasizes that the mentorships and professional development covered by the grant will be provided to all male undergraduates.
“We’re hoping to include all students in those activities, not only those who are getting scholarships,” Reyes says.
Interaction with men already in the field will better prepare students for careers as social workers. “Even for male students, there’s a stigma that social work is for women,” Hoffler says. “We will be able to talk about those issues and offer support on how to navigate a field traditionally dominated by women.”
This support underscores the motivation behind the Heidenreich Family Foundation’s gift. “We hope to see students take advantage of the program being offered,” says Cecilie Heidenreich Jedlicka, one of the foundation’s trustees. “Students sometimes connect better with someone who’s been through similar situations.”
The Per and Astrid Heidenreich Family Foundation was established in 2006 by Per Heidenreich, who had founded the shipping company Heidmar Inc. in 1984. It controlled approximately 100 oil tankers, including subsidiaries in the oil service industry. He sold the company to Morgan Stanley Capital Group for $200 million in 2006. Some of that money Heidenreich invested in real estate and technology, holdings now controlled by Heidenreich Enterprises Limited Partnership. That same year, he also set up the family foundation, which now has assets approaching $50 million.
The $250,000 gift that established the “Building the Next Generation of Social Workers Program Fund” could be followed by additional donations from the foundation, Chambers and Jedlicka say, based on the outcomes they observe.
In the meantime, they see the initial pledge benefitting not only Southern students on the New Haven campus but also the countless clients those graduates will eventually work with throughout Connecticut. “We’re excited to start this program and look forward to seeing graduates of the program be successful throughout the state,” Chambers says. ■
Read more from the summer 2024 issue of Southern Alumni Magazine
