The National Association of Social Workers Foundation (NASWF) has named George Appleby, SCSU professor emeritus of social work and former interim dean of the College of Health and Human Services, posthumously as one of the influential leaders in the profession as a 2025 NASW Social Work Pioneer®.
Appleby retired from the university in 2007 and passed away in March 2024. He is remembered as a social work educator, policy practitioner, and community-engaged researcher who led the social work response to HIV/AIDS. A full bio of Appleby is here
According to the NASW website, The NASW Social Work Pioneers® program “honors members of the social work profession who have contributed to the evolution and enrichment of the profession…The NASW Pioneers have paved the way for thousands of other social workers to contribute to the betterment of the human condition; and they are role models for future generations of social workers.”
Professor of Social Work Lorrie G. Gardella, one of Appleby’s former SCSU colleagues who nominated him, said, “George Appleby is remembered as a social work educator, policy practitioner, and community-engaged researcher who led the social work response to HIV/AIDS. I nominated George as a social work pioneer because he serves as a courageous example of standing up to hatred, organizing for social justice, and never backing down.”
Another former Social Work Department colleague, Professor Stephen Monroe Tomczak, also nominated Appleby. Tomczak said that “in many ways, [Appleby] laid the foundation for social work education at Southern that others of us who came later have, each in our own ways, added to. In this sense, all of us who teach today at the SCSU School of Social Work, owe him a great debt.” Tomczak said that Appleby “was prominent in the field and statewide due to his leadership in social work organizations” and added, “I have an abiding reverence for him as a leader in our profession, as an educator and as a human being.”
Interim President Sandra Bulmer, a former colleague of Appleby’s in the College of Health and Human Services, said, “George was a dedicated and accomplished social worker, dean, professor, researcher and advocate. His service to his community was legendary and impactful. He will be remembered for establishing community-based services during the HIV/AIDS pandemic and expanding social work education to address the needs of lesbian and gay families and communities.”
Appleby joined the full-time social work faculty at Southern Connecticut State in 1977. He rose through the academic ranks to become full professor in 1985 and professor emeritus in 2009. He served in administration as department chair, associate dean, and two deanship positions. Notably, Appleby was among the first social work educators to integrate content on gay, lesbian, and bisexual issues in the social work curriculum and to introduce a course on AIDS: A Social Work Response. His teaching was inseparable from his community activism.
Initially, he was hired largely to lead the development of a master’s program in social work in the early 1980s and was the author of “A Proposal for a Staffing Grant to Plan and Implement a Graduate Program in Social Work,” which essentially began this development process. While serving as acting dean of the then-School of Social Work in the early 1980s, Appleby led the faculty in the development of the MSW program through the accreditation process. Southern’s first MSW class graduated in 1984.
Beyond the university, he managed more than $12 million in Ryan White AIDS funds for New Haven and Fairfield counties; was involved extensively in community-based programs related to education, AIDS, mental health, child welfare, and mental retardation; and held state and national office in professional organizations. He was honored last year by APNH, A Place to Nourish your Health (formerly AIDS Project New Haven), the community agency that he founded.
Appleby was also an active scholar and published numerous books, articles, book chapters, and professional reports and research projects.
In a congratulatory letter to Gardella, NASW CEO Dr. Anthony Estreet wrote of Appleby, “Being selected by his colleagues for this honor is one of the profession’s highest recognitions. He is one of a select few chosen to join the ranks of social workers who have explored new territories and built outposts for human services across the country. His contributions to the profession are significant, and we commend him for his service. Dr. Appleby and his fellow Pioneers have paved the way for thousands of other social workers to improve the health and well-being of individuals and families in both urban and rural communities.”
The honorees will be formally inducted during the NASW Annual Social Work Conference in Washington, D.C., in June 2026. During the event, the NASW Foundation will induct the new class into its Pioneers program.
