In Commemoration of the Life and Work of
Dennis Saleebey
Power in the People: Strengths and Hope
Dennis Saleebey died recently. He was the primary force behind the development of the
Strengths Perspective in Social Work. His brilliance, humor and reassuring demeanor reflected
his deep caring for others. When you met Dennis you always felt a warm connection and
acceptance. There was always a sense of Dennis’ attunement and warm embrace of whoever he
met or talked to no matter who they were. Compassion, love, brilliance and humor were his gifts
to everyone who ever met him. He will be missed but his spirit will remain with all of us who
have had the privilege of knowing him.
Dennis Saleebey, MSW, DSW was Professor Emeritus at the School of Social Welfare, University of
Kansas, and Director of the Strengths Institute. He earned his BA degree at the University of California,
Santa Barbara, his MSW at UCLA, and his DSW at Cal Berkeley.
He taught at and directed the undergraduate social welfare program at the University of Maine from 19671970, was associate professor at the School of Social Work at UT Arlington, and was chair of the Human
Behavior sequence there from 1970-1976;
He was professor and chair of Human BehaviorBSE from 1977-1987; from 1987-1997 he was Professor
and Chair of the Ph.D. program at the School of Social Welfare, University of Kansas. From 1997 to
2006 he was Professor at the University of Kansas. Since 2007, he was director of the Strengths Institute
at the University of Kansas.