In Loving memory of Esther Wattenberg

Esther Wattenberg was born on August 13, 1919, in London, Ontario, where her family was part of the Jewish European diaspora. She received a BA from the University of Western Ontario and an MA from the University of Toronto. Wattenberg came to the United States in 1945 and received a second MA from the School of Social Service Administration at the University of Chicago in 1955. Esther and her husband moved to Minneapolis, where Wattenberg joined the faculty at the University of Minnesota in 1964. In 1972, she was jointly appointed as associate professor in the School of Social Work and researcher at the Center for Urban and Rural Affairs (CURA).

Wattenberg’s career reflects the diversity of scholarship within social work throughout the mid-to-late- twentieth century and anticipates the contemporary emphasis on the translation of research into practice. During her 53-year association with the School of Social Work, Wattenberg valued the use of research to make change and has provided opportunities for policymakers, practitioners, and scholars to work together. In addition, she was a staunch supporter of the Gamble-Skogmo Chair in Child Welfare and Youth Policy.

Early in her career, Esther recognized a need for child protection reform and set out to develop partnerships and conduct research to discover changes in the child welfare system necessary to improve the lives of vulnerable children and families. In 1992, Wattenberg founded the Center for Advanced Studies in Child Welfare (CASCW) and served as its director until 2001. The center, now more than a quarter-century old, continues Wattenberg’s mission of improving the well-being of children and families by educating human service professionals, fostering collaborations across systems and disciplines, informing policymakers and the public, and expanding the child welfare knowledge base.