In his 2007 article on the challenges that social work education faces, Shanti Khinduka, dean of the George Warren Brown School of Social Work for 30 years, from 1974 to 2004, highlighted “two age-old themes of rigor and relevance” [Khinduka, S.K. (2007). Toward rigor and relevance in US social work education. Australian Social Work, 60(1), 18-28]. In brief, applied social research should be both high quality and integral to social work practice. 
Dean Khinduka built the modern research-oriented George Warren Brown School of Social Work. He is also a dedicated leader committed to furthering the social work profession. Honoring his legacy and his leadership in the Center for Social Development’s founding in 1994, the center has established the CSD Shanti Khinduka Social Work Research Fellowship for Social Innovation. This annual $10,000 fellowship aims to support a Brown School faculty member conducting applied research on a policy or practice innovation.
The inaugural 2016 Fellowship is awarded to David A. Patterson, Silver Wolf (Adelv unegv Waya), for his experiment testing an intervention to increase student retention at Forest Park Community College in St. Louis. This experiment builds on his previous pilot research that has promising outcomes on retention and grade point average.
To apply for the 2017 Shanti Khinduka fellowship, please submit a proposal (10-page limit) that includes: background, theory, research question, method, implementation timeframe, plan for knowledge application to policy and/or practice, and budget. Proposals are due November 30, 2016. Awards will be made by January 30, 2017. Please submit proposals to: Lissa Johnson, ejohnson@wustl.edu.
We encourage applicants to review the national Grand Challenges for Social Work and consider relevance to their area of research. We also encourage cross-disciplinary approaches.