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November 7, 2013

Obituary: Barbara K. Shore

shoreBarbara K. Shore, Distinguished Service Professor emerita from the School of Social Work, died Oct. 23, 2013, in Tucson, Ariz. She was 92.

Shore earned her bachelor’s degree in social work summa cum laude from Carnegie Institute of Technology (now Carnegie Mellon University) in 1942 and in 1945 earned her master’s in social work at Pitt.

In 1972 she joined the Pitt faculty after earning her Ph.D. in social work and a master’s degree in public health here. She spent her academic career at the University, retiring in 1992.

Shore directed the School of Social Work’s doctoral program (1975-78, 1984-92) and was a member of the school’s faculty executive committee.

Among many publications in her field, she co-authored books including “Building Support Networks for the Elderly” (1984), “Advanced Case Management: New Strategies for the Nineties” (1993) and “Social Work Intervention in an Economic Crisis: The River Communities Project” (1996).

Shore served as a member of the University Senate and was elected to a term as vice president (1975-76) and three terms as president (1985-86, 1986-87 and 1990-91). She was a member of the Senate’s nominating committee and chaired the tenure and academic freedom committee and the anti-discriminatory policies committee (ADPC).

In 2006, ADPC established an annual award to honor her contributions as well as those of the late Richard C. Tobias, an English department faculty member who also was a former Senate president. The Shore-Tobias Award for Action Against Discrimination was created to honor significant contributions in identifying and rectifying discriminatory policies or practices at Pitt.

Senate President Michael Spring remembered Shore as “one of the warmest and most generous people it’s been my pleasure to know at Pitt,” citing her dedication to issues of inclusion and faculty rights as well as her extensive history of community and professional service.

Shore was an advocate for many causes including women’s rights, children, the elderly, Jewish culture, crime victims, sexual minorities and people with special needs. She was active in professional organizations and served on many community boards. In 1972 she helped found what would become the Persad Center, serving the local gay and lesbian community. She also helped found what is now the Center for Victims of Violent Crime and the Children’s Lobby of Western Pennsylvania.

She was active in the National Association of Social Workers (NASW). Its southwestern Pennsylvania chapter in 1974 named her Social Worker of the Year. She was the Pennsylvania state chapter president, 1975-80, and NASW national program chair, 1978-83. She also served as president of the Group for the Advancement of Doctoral Education in Social Work.

She headed an Allegheny County task force that studied Children and Youth Services (now known as the Office of Children, Youth and Families) in 1987 and subsequently co-chaired the committee that oversaw implementation of its recommendations. She was vice chair of the CYS Advisory Board, co-chair of the prevention subcommittee and chaired an ad hoc committee to make recommendations on improving relationships between CYS and juvenile court. In 1994, she chaired a committee that examined CYS issues and made recommendations on its policy and practices. She also served on the Allegheny County Mental Health and Mental Retardation Board and co-chaired the Jewish Healthcare Foundation’s Healthy Jewish Community Study.

Colleague Edward Sites, professor emeritus of social work, eulogized Shore as a person who “loved extravagantly, unconditionally and expansively.

“Her ability to love took many forms from immediate and extended family to colleagues, friends, students, the neighbor and many others.

“Barbara’s understanding of neighbor extended to every human being, many of whom she never met personally. As a tireless and fearless advocate for those others refused to love, she lived her theology and her professional social work values as vital, guiding and driving forces. It would be impossible to enumerate the many groups of poor, disenfranchised, physically and mentally ill  victims of a variety of forms of social, economic, political or personal exploitation, discrimination and oppression who were her concern and for whom she toiled.

“Equally at home relating to the weakest, poorest, least educated and those most unable to speak for themselves as well as those at the opposite end of the spectrum in high-ranking positions of power and authority, she used her prodigious intellect, formidable skills and legendary, indefatigable capacity for work to bring people together, to illuminate differences in constructive ways, to foster understanding, and to achieve solutions.

“Barbara’s love seemed inexhaustible. For those of us fortunate enough to have been close to her and to have been beneficiaries, her generosity, infectious optimism, vast gifts and forgiveness could be a life-shaping experience.”

Shore is survived by four children and their spouses, Erika Shore and Barry Wofsy, Deborah Shore and Andy Henson, David Shore and Karen Catoe, and Benita and Joseph Dombrowski; her sister and brother-in-law, Joan and George Shames; brother-in-law Sherman Shore; sister-in-law Lorraine Shore; 11 grandchildren;five great-grandchildren, and many nieces and nephews.

Memorial donations can be made to the Barbara K. Shore Doctoral Fund, which supports the School of Social Work’s doctoral program, c/o Institutional Advancement, Attn: Liz Cooper, 128 N. Craig Street, Pittsburgh 15260, or the Shore-Whitehill Award Fund at the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh, 234 McKee Place, Pittsburgh 15213. The Shore-Whitehill Award honors individuals who display commitment to enabling people with disabilities to participate fully in the life of the community.

—Kimberly K. Barlow

Filed under: Feature,Volume 46 Issue 6

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