Thursday, May 18, 2017

Bill Etnyre, social worker and clinical associate professor, is retiring from the School of Social Work. For more than 10 years, Bill served as a popular lecturer, teaching both foundation and advanced methods courses in direct practice in the MSW Extended Degree and Day programs. He also served as a field instructor. 

Bill’s professional interests include crisis counseling, mental health assessment and clinical supervision and consultation. He is an avid runner who loves the outdoors and is an accomplished bridge player.

Bill received his MSW from the University of Washington in 1975 and a PhD in 2005 from Smith College School of Social Work in Northampton, Mass. In March of this year, he was named the Social Work Educator of the Year by the Washington chapter of the National Association of Social Workers.

With a long-standing interest in supporting young people who want to enter the social work profession, Bill established the Emerson-Hoopes Scholarship, named to honor his maternal grandmother and her sister, and administered by the Pride Foundation. “Their love of learning was a strong influence in my life,” he said. ”I am blessed that I can share this love of learning with young people who have a desire to improve the lives of others by pursuing education in social work.” The scholarship is available for UW students seeking a BSW or MSW. Bill and his husband recently established the Etnyre-Lonesome scholarship at the University of Washington to fund additional student scholarships. 

Bill has a long history of volunteer and community service. Since 2008, he has been as a volunteer clinical supervisor at the Downtown Emergency Service Center. He is also co-director (on a volunteer basis) of the Alliance Community Psychotherapy Clinic, a low-fee clinic that makes psychoanalytic psychotherapy available to individuals who otherwise could not afford it.

Please join us at a reception to acknowledge Bill’s many contributions to the School and our community—and to wish him well. The retirement event will be Tues., May 23 from 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. in room 305A.