BPD is the premier organization that focuses on advancing undergraduate social work education. Without a doubt, I am honored and excited about the opportunity to serve as President of such an elite organization. Over the past year, as president elect, I have witnessed the tremendous amount of effort and dedication that it takes to make BPD the excellent organization it is today. BPD exists not only because of all the dedicated volunteers but also because of the beliefs and passion of those who support undergraduate social work education. BPD has served as the voice for undergraduate education for over 25 years. There have been many challenges and many more will come. Because of these challenges, BPD cannot stay neutral in its pursuit of excellence. We must continue to forge relationships with our sister organizations and we must continue to carry the torch for undergraduate social work education like many before us have. If we are to achieve our goals, we must continue to be the voice for undergraduate education and that voice must come from our membership. One of the most important goals of an effective membership organization is that the privilege of membership be exercised by as many as possible. The voice of BPD is most effective when it is the voice of many. There are many leaders and potential leaders in undergraduate education and it is my goal to encourage and solicit input from as many members as possible. We have numerous opportunities for members to be actively involved in BPD this year.

As President of BPD, I will attempt to get as many people involved as possible through the appointment process. However, it takes individual members stepping up to run for elected positions. In 2008, we have several available elected positions on the board for officers and at large positions. Furthermore, there are opportunities to serve as committee members and committee chairs. As you can see, there are various ways to be involved and to show support for the organization that represents undergraduate social work education. We need the full participation of our membership to address the challenges and the opportunities we are facing in undergraduate social work education.

I believe most members are aware that considerable efforts have been directed toward issues related to Professional Unification and the new revision of EPAS. As you read this article, the next draft of EPAS has been written for distribution and comment, and another draft will be disseminated in time for the BPD conference. The BPD conference will provide the opportunity to discuss and offer input into the development of the next document. The conference planning committee and the BPD board have given much attention to creating opportunities to dialogue and offer suggestions for the next version of EPAS. 

It is critical that we explore unifying our voices so we can speak for the profession of social work. Increasingly over the years, we have seen a proliferation of organizations with singular agendas and we must consider how we can best speak with one voice with one agenda for the social work profession. This, being one voice, is one of our most vital challenges for undergraduate social work education since we face major issues regarding licensure, our status in the academy, our research agendas, declining student enrollment in some regions, and the encroachments on the social work labor market and the social work profession. There is much that we can do about it, but it will take all of us…together.  

Finally, one of our most important opportunities to meet and network will be the annual BPD conference. I would like to encourage all of you to attend. This year is very special since we will be celebrating our 25^th annual conference. The theme, Twenty-five Years of BPD Conferences: Honoring our Past, Celebrating our Present, Affirming our Future, is appropriate because it embraces our rich history, our significant contributions, and our pursuit of excellence in advancing undergraduate social work education. I ask all of you to join me as we continue to pursue excellence in the undergraduate social work education.