Dick Freer Award for Social Justice Scholarship

Dick Freer is a respected social worker and professor who retired from the Arkansas State University Department of Social Work after thirty years of service to the profession, the University and our community. Dr. Freer was widely recognized and appreciated by his students and colleagues for his deep commitment to social justice and advocacy for people in our community who are marginalized. Throughout his career Dr. Freer received many awards and honors including the Social Worker of the Year and the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Arkansas National Association of Social Workers largely for his commitment to social rights and justice. Dick Freer exemplifies commitment to civil rights, child well-being and broader social justice in society. His efforts to promote social justice included marching for civil rights in Selma; helping to establish the National coalition for Runaway and Homeless Youth; and promoting social justice through faith based leadership. He also fostered the development of a strong sense of responsibility to social justice in his students and in the social work profession. The Dick Freer Award for Social Justice is awarded to students who are exemplars in the promoting social justice ideals and who are dedicated to something beyond themselves.