Virginia Pollard Robinson

Virginia Pollard Robinson (September 6, 1883 – June 28, 1977) was an American suffragist, educator, and professor of social work. She served as Associate and Vice Dean of the School of social work at the University of Pennsylvania. Her writing on casework and supervisory practices in social work was influential in her field.

Biography

Robinson was born on September 6, 1883, in Louisville, Kentucky. Robinson and Taft would be lifelong companions.

Robinson went to work in New York to study "criminal psychology" at Bedford reformatory in 1912. In 1918, Robinson became a staff member of the University of Pennsylvania's School of Social Work. She was further recognized with an honorary doctorate of science and social work from Penn in 1959. She also served as Associate Dean and Vice Dean. The School of Social Work at the University of Pennsylvania awards the Virginia P. Robinson prize annually for outstanding student essays. The award was first established in 1946.

Work and writing Robinson and Jessie Taft promoted the ideas of Otto Rank. Robinson's work focused on social work theory where she advocated for centering the client's needs. She was also interested in child welfare. Her work here helped lay the ground for the functional school of social work. Robinson's textbook, Supervision in Social Casework: A Problem in Professional Education (1936), addressed supervision in social work contexts and led to a renewed treatment of the subject.