Buies Creek, N.C.—Dr. Constantine G. Kledaras, chair of the Campbell University Department of Social Work, has been elected treasurer of the North Carolina Council on Social Work Education (NCCSWE). The NCCSWE is a newly formed membership organization composed of graduate and undergraduate social work programs in North Carolina. The organization’s mission is to promote and advance social work education.
A key figure in the development of social work education programs in the state, Kledaras was a tenured professor at East Carolina University where he developed the Master of Social Work program prior to coming to Campbell in 1994. Kledarus also developed Campbell’s Bachelor of Social Work program which received initial accreditation in 1995.
In 1982, Kledaras received the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) North Carolina Chapter Social Worker of the Year award and was named Clinical Social Worker of the Year by the North Carolina Society for Clinical Social Work in 2001. In 2008, he was honored by the NASW as a “pioneer” in the field of social work and inducted intothe organization’s Hall of Fame.
Kledaras has held other leadership positions in the social work profession, including serving as a member of the Commission on Accreditation for the NCCSWE, a member of the North Carolina Society for Clinical Social Work, the Mental Health Association in North Carolina, the North Carolina Association of Social Workers in Mental Health, the Continuing Education Training and Advisory Committee for the Division of Public Health and the North Carolina Social Work Licensure and Certification Board(NCSWLCB). He was instrumental in gaining accreditation for Campbell University’s Social Work program and currently investigates ethics violations by social work professionals for the NCSWLCB.
Kledaras holds a Master of Social Work degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a doctorate in social work from Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.
“I am very pleased to be honored by this recognition,” Kledaras said. “I truly hope I have made a difference in the lives of others and have instilled in my students the dedication and commitment in serving and helping others, especially the vulnerable populations in our society.”
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Dr. Constantine Kledaras