Jack Arnett Kirkland is an Associate Professor in the George Warren Brown School of Social Work at Washington University in St. Louis. Born on October 28, 1931 in Blythedale, Pennsylvania, Kirkland attended Syracuse University where he received his B.A degree in international relations in 1959 and his MSW degree in social services. Kirkland was the first Black graduate of the Syracuse University School of Social Work and after graduation was inducted into the Phi Delta Kappa Education Honorary Society.

In 1964, Kirkland became chair of the Social Group Work Program at St. Louis University. In 1970, Kirkland became an associate professor at Washington University where he co-founded the Black Studies Program (now Department of African and African-American Studies) in 1974 and served as department chair. In 1980, he was the first chair and founder of the Social and Economic Development Concentration at Washington University, serving for ten years.

Kirkland is perhaps best known at Washington University for his field-based summer course, “Poverty – The Impact of Institutionalized Racism,” which immerses students in the community of East St. Louis and teaches them to strategize on policies that can combat the effects of urban blight and poverty. In 1975, Kirkland was voted Most Outstanding Teacher of the Year for Washington University. He also received a Most Outstanding Teacher Award for the Brown School of Social Work in 1988 and 1995. He received the Distinguished Faculty Alumni Award in 2010. His work was acknowledged with the creation of the endowed Jack. A. Kirkland Scholarship for Social and Economic Development, in recognition of his impact and legacy at the Brown School. The scholarship will support students with significant financial need who are committed to working in Black communities.

Kirkland’s academic career was influenced by his vast array of work outside the classroom. He served as Director of Community Development for Peace Corps for Latin America from 1964 to 1967. In 1976, Missouri Governor Joseph Teasdale appointed him as the state’s Director of Transportation. His two years in the cabinet position helped to transform his thinking about social work, and the economic impact of policy on the lives of communities.

Kirkland also served as the Jeff-Vander-Lou Development Corporation’s director of economic development and program director and executive director of Settlement Houses in the East and Midwest. In addition, he provided consultation for five years with the Department of Indian Affairs in Washington, D.C., for American Indian Nations in the Southwest.

Kirkland became the first Black elected to the University City Board of Education, and was a consultant in the school desegregation decree for St. Louis and St. Louis County. In 2010, Kirkland was appointed the executive board of the St. Louis County Economic Council and to the Land Clearance for Redevelopment Authority for St. Louis County. Currently, he serves as the social economic developer of The Helping Village in East St. Louis. Kirkland has also designed and led workshops in African-American culture for public school teachers across the country, focused on improving multicultural classroom environments.