The Anna M. Bowman Social Work Scholarship Fund

Professor Anna Bowman was born on April 4, 1930 in Wilmot Township, near Kitchener, Ontario.  She spent her early life on the family farm and at the age of 21, began a voluntary service assignment with Mennonite Central Committee at Wiltwyck School for Boys in Esopus, New York.  That school for juvenile offenders, ages 7-15, first opened its doors to African American boys in 1936, and provided an experience which Ms. Bowman describes as life-changing.  That experience also introduced her to social workers and stimulated her interest in social work as a profession.  Thus, after serving two years as a house parent at Rockway Mennonite High School in Kitchener, she enrolled at Goshen College to further her education.

At Goshen College, Ms. Bowman majored in Sociology and credits her major professor J. Howard Kauffman with stimulating her interest in research and further education, and as a senior, she made the decision to pursue professional social work education at the graduate level (at that time, undergraduate programs were not accredited).  She applied for admission to Smith College School for Social Work in Northampton, Massachusetts, and to the University of Toronto.  She was accepted to both programs, and in the end chose Smith, where she completed her Master of Social Work degree in 1961.

Following her graduation from Smith, Ms. Bowman worked from 1961 to 1968 for the Family Service Agency of York and York County, as clinician and community action worker.  From 1968 to 1978, she was employed by the Children’s Aid Society of Metropolitan Toronto, initially as Director of Warden Woods Community Service, and later as Director of Personnel Training.

Ms. Bowman joined the faculty at Goshen College in 1978, and in addition to her teaching responsibilities, served as Director of Social Work Education from 1980 to 1986, and again as interim director from 1987 to 1988.  As teacher and administrator, Ms. Bowman contributed to the college and community in many and significant ways.  She enhanced the excellence and credibility of the Social Work Education Program (which was first accredited in 1978), and was instrumental in developing and advocating for the Women Studies Program at Goshen College.  She served as director of that program from 1983 until her retirement in 1998, and that program continues to flourish today.

During her tenure at Goshen College, Ms. Bowman also chaired the Department of Sociology, Social Work, and Anthropology and the Division of Social Sciences, and played key roles in academic program review, curriculum and instruction matters, and the review and revision of college personnel policies and procedures.  As a faculty member, she engaged in ongoing professional practice and contributed to the community through her service on governing boards of local agencies, and by providing consultation to a variety of community organizations

Professor Bowman retired in the spring of 1998, having served Goshen College and the community in numerous ways, and her contribution is greatly appreciated to this day by colleagues and former students alike.  Her excellence as a teacher and practitioner, and her forthrightness, honesty, and integrity in her dealings with people will be long remembered.  This scholarship, established in her name, is a fitting way for her legacy to continue to benefit future students.