Higher Ground: A walk in faith with Dean Linda Burton

As Dean Linda Burton’s term concludes on June 30, she reflects on the past five years leading the School of Social Welfare and shares her hopes for the future of the School. 

Before coming to Berkeley, I was Dean of Social Sciences and Director of the Center for Child and Family Policy at Duke University, but most importantly, I was the primary caregiver for my mother, who had dementia. About two weeks before my mother passed away, she shared her last lucid message with me: 

“There is something you need to do. And you need to go do it.” 

A few days after she passed, I got a call from the search firm that was working with UC Berkeley to find its next Dean of the School of Social Welfare. The first time they called, I told them I wasn’t sure if the role was the right fit: I’m a sociologist, not a social worker. They called me back and said they were actively looking for someone from another discipline to provide that point of view. I decided to visit campus for an interview. And then, when I came to Berkeley for my interview and took my first step on campus, I heard my mother’s voice say, “Yes.”

I arrived on campus August 19, 2019, to begin my journey as the Dean of Berkeley Social Welfare. Veronica Alexander, our Assistant Dean of Development and External Relations, was the first person who reached out to me. After talking with her, I breathed a sigh of relief, because I knew I had a great Development partner in Veronica. Veronica had me on the road immediately—I was in Southern California for alumni meetings and Northern California for events. I knew that we had the energy and know-how to build a strong alumni and donor base, and I was particularly excited about that. 

As an experienced Dean, I thought the Berkeley role would be one in which I could hit the ground running. I had an entire vision in my head around what was going to happen, based on what I knew deans do. 

Then came the California wildfires, power outages, COVID, racial reckoning, student unrest, and financial retrenchment. All these external crises overlaid critical issues within the School: Climate issues, accreditation reviews, graduate student dissatisfaction and protests, re-defining faculty workloads, staff job-churning, the sunsetting of CalSWEC and employee layoffs, rebuilding the School’s administrative infrastructure, and shifts in the workplace—like moving to flexible work days and spaces. Susan Stone, our Associate Dean, and Dana Kowalski, our Assistant Dean of Administration and Finance, played a critical role in the School’s administrative ability to manage all of this. 

Overall, my time as dean was characterized by having to make tough decisions from day one, with no respite between challenging episodes. The world was changing at the same time it was clear that the School had to change and grow into a new period of relevance; there were turbulent times outside of Haviland’s doors but also within them. My experience as a dean surely helped to address our School’s needs during this unprecedented historical time. But, my faith and intergenerational anchoring in strength, humanity, tenacity, and wisdom proved to be my primary North Stars in guiding our School forward. Walking by faith, and with the acumen my fore-mothers and fathers gifted to me, I knew I could lead our School to higher ground, but that it would not be in the ways I initially imagined.

“Linda has provided the School of Social Welfare the tremendous gift of her vision and steadfastness at a time when the world nearly collapsed. She arrived just before the pandemic when none of us could have imagined the scale of how our lives would change. The fear, the isolation, the shift to working on Zoom and only seeing friends and colleagues in little boxes on a screen! She led us through profound professional and interpersonal uncertainty with a combination of grace and intellectual gravitas. On a personal level, she shared parts of her journey that deeply resonated with my own. In her example, I was buoyed; I was lifted through the haze of my son's serious illness with the knowledge that she and her son overcame something similar. She has provided an example of what it means to lead while drawing on the strength of one's ancestors; to excel with humility; and dare to be excellent. I am really grateful to know her and to have learned from her.” 

-Tina K. Sacks, Associate Professor

“I hope that I never have to live through a pandemic again, but if I do, I hope to lead like Linda led us through COVID. I think Linda is a phenomenal leader. You can tell the sacrifices someone is willing to make when they could have handed over difficult situations. Because she didn’t hand that over.” 

-Veronica Alexander, former Assistant Dean of Development and External Relations at the School of Social Welfare

What was your relationship with students like, especially as you led through turbulent times?

Within ten days of arriving on Berkeley’s campus, a group of students sent me a ten-page list of demands—particularly around the Black Lives Matter movement. I immediately wrote them back with an invitation to meet in the African American tradition of “call and response,” but I didn’t hear back for a few days, so I went to their classes, to let them know they could not leave me on the dance floor alone.

I quickly realized the students were leading with disruption, which can be a valuable strategy for initiating needed change when engaged thoughtfully and intentionally. I was the School of Social Welfare’s first African American Dean, and the first African American woman at that. The students had asked for that, but when I arrived, they weren’t engaging in a productive way. In fact, some students verbally questioned my authenticity as an African American. 

How could I support these students in effectively leveraging disruption and reckoning? I wanted to help channel that energy into social change. I invited Attallah Shabazz, Malcolm X’s eldest daughter, to engage with our students to help build their advocacy skills. I also reached out to Marco Davis, the President and CEO of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute, among many others. I wanted to create additional leadership opportunities in places like Washington, DC, so our students could complement their learning experiences with mentors who were national policy leaders, anchored in communities of color and LGBTQ+ communities. But we never got that far, because students, at that time, were not open to it. 

I also had to be sure I didn’t lose my gaze on the students who were struggling with personal loss and collective trauma, but engaging in different ways, especially during shelter-in-place. These students were moving through the world quietly. I wanted to make sure they felt supported and knew their Dean was thinking about them, and working for them, even though I couldn’t physically see them in Haviland as we followed COVID sheltering guidelines. These students sought answers from the School, and wanted to incorporate that knowledge and wisdom into their pursuit of social work.

Each student processed the uncertainty around loss, trauma, and grief in different ways, and that impacted students' interactions with the School’s administration. 

I had to take that all into account while moving forward: We had to keep building our resilience as we walked ahead. And throughout that walk, I had to constantly pivot and revise how I thought about, and practiced, effective leadership in a new world, while supporting the Haviland community as people moved through their past and current pain. In essence, I had to “revise and resubmit” my day-one vision of what I thought my role as dean would be. I realized that I was here to move the School forward in the context of turbulence and social change, while also addressing the need for some to heal from the School’s past and the present climate challenges. One of my most centering moments was realizing that, sometimes, we go into these leadership positions only to discover what’s in our heads may not be what the community needs at the time. I truly believe that I’ve been able to give the School what it needed at this point in its history.

“The anticipation of meeting Dean Burton at Haviland Commons was palpable. Her arrival, accompanied by the biggest smile, instantly melted away my nervousness. The small gathering of undergraduates didn't deter her enthusiasm for connecting and listening to our feedback. Learning about her vision and plans for the school, I was deeply moved by her compassion, optimism, and resolve to enhance our educational experience.

“Dean Burton's leadership, especially during challenging times like the COVID-19 pandemic, has exemplified resilience and dedication. Her efforts have not only transformed the school but also instilled a belief in her vision, motivating me to contribute to our community. Having encountered numerous great leaders in my 43 years of life, Dean Burton stands out as one of the most remarkable.”

-John H. Wu (BASW ‘21, MSW ‘23)

You often urged our students to pursue leadership opportunities. What is your hope for our students as they grow into leadership and advocacy roles?

First and foremost, do it! 

Before I came to Berkeley, I would see sociologists, psychologists, political scientists, anthropologists, and economists informing important social policy decisions—but I rarely saw social workers in these decision-making spaces. Each discipline asks questions in different ways, which may yield different answers. That diversity in perspectives is valuable, and when integrated well, can also create new, collaborative opportunities to work within the community to uncover these needs and develop policy solutions. The social work perspective should always be at the table in these discussions.

Social workers, sociologists, and other fields like public health and public policy must have strong, well-informed advocacy arms. Students should come to Berkeley to develop and fine-tune skills that make them effective advocates, which includes garnering research, scholarship, and leadership knowledge in addition to practice.

In particular, I encourage our students, while they’re here, to take advantage of leadership opportunities at Berkeley. When you have strong leadership skills, you strategize differently: You carefully think about your impact, you’re less reactive. There's a reason Berkeley’s the number one public university in the country. Don’t just take the Berkeley brand without taking advantage of all the opportunities that come with it—when you do that, you’ll have more of an impact than you ever could have imagined. 

“As [I’m] a first-generation college graduate student parent, Dean Linda Burton has been the grounding influence in my Social Work and social justice advocacy here at UC Berkeley. We met at a time of uncertainty and fragmentation during the UAW Strikes and organizing and we were able to have a collaborative relationship and open dialogue. Time and time again, she has helped me recognize what's important and to center my son in the ways I carry myself and engage with the communities I'm a part of and fight for.” 

-Kris Libunao, MSW Candidate

How did your background in sociology and ethnography prepare you for your role as Dean?

Given where the School was when I first got here, I firmly believe the School needed a sociologist/ethnographer who could read context, behaviors, and social change well and decipher their variable meanings among people within the Haviland community. Being a sociologist/ethnographer prepared me for this journey in so many different ways—my training and research with generational and cohort differences, social stratification, inequality, power, trust, relational ties, life course development, race, social movements, organizational studies, sociological theory—and that training anchored me 24/7, all five years of my service as Dean.

For example, as I thought about the process of moving our School forward in the context of disruption and social change, I considered the work of philosopher and economist Karl Marx. Drawing on the work of philosopher George Hegel, Marx outlined a dialectic process of social change, consisting of a thesis, antithesis, and synthesis: The thesis is the status quo of a society (or, in our case, our School). The antithesis involves new ideas or movements that challenge the thesis and lead to disruption. Ultimately, the disruption makes transformation of the context possible, via the synthesis of new ideas and approaches.  

At Berkeley, the “thesis” I encountered was a School that was a bit stuck in the history of climate, relational, financial, and administrative challenges, as well as the need to break down silos. Asking questions from a sociologist’s perspective often helped me get “unstuck” in pinpointing and addressing the needs of our School and understanding the patterns of disruption that were necessary to identify those needs. 

As an ethnographer, I have experience getting as close to families and individuals in the context and seasons in which their lives unfold, not for one day, but for years. Over my five years here, I’ve witnessed the seasons of social work. Some people take up social work for a season, others take it on for the long haul. I learned the most from our alumni, particularly those “long haulers” who have been in social work for decades. They are near and dear to my heart. We established our first-ever alumni board, with about twenty long hauler members who were diverse in thinking, in experiences, and in representing different communities. The love our alumni have for this School is inspiring. From the start of my time as Dean, they wanted to be on board to move our School forward to higher ground.

“Early on in her Deanship, we knew that Linda would bring vigor and enthusiasm to her role.  Shortly after her arrival, everyone in Haviland Hall received invitations to join her on the steps of the stadium for a cardio workout!  This early sign told us that she would approach her role with passion and energy that far surpassed our expectations.  Linda also brought warmth and kindness to the role, always seeking opportunities to create one-big-Haviland-community among students, staff and faculty, and alums. Her regular ‘My Dear Haviland’ messages offered calm and direction during the turbulent times of wildfires, electrical outages, and even a pandemic. The School is stronger due to her guidance, and it is well positioned to lead the field into the future.  We’ll be glad to keep Linda among the faculty, but she will be missed in her role as our Dean.”

-Jill Duerr Berrick, Distinguished Professor of Social Welfare, Zellerbach Family Professor  

Early in your term as Dean, you mentioned that, "there's always more that can be done in terms of making sure that we are true partners with folks in the community, and that we go at that not by inviting folks to our table, but by encouraging them to invite us to have a seat at their table so that we work from the place that's most important to them." What is unique about the SSW's community partnerships?

We have a lot of strong partnerships thanks to our faculty who are doing community-engaged research and the MSW practicum. Our professors and students have created a legacy of connection with communities and organizations beyond Berkeley, in San Francisco, Richmond, and Oakland.

Going forward, I hope the School can develop a signature partnership with communities that includes the involvement of faculty, staff, and students. The School needs to invest in, contribute to, and sustain the partnership, so the School, not only individuals within Haviland, holds that relationship across time.

When you started this role, you spoke about how you mentored others early in your career. How is mentorship a part of your legacy as Dean?

On a personal level, I’ve made myself available to students, faculty, and staff through one-on-one mentoring. Mentoring is what I enjoy most about being an academic who has successfully navigated an environment that has not always been welcoming to those from diverse backgrounds. For example, it is incredibly rewarding to see students I have mentored moving from undergraduate to masters’ programs, and now considering earning their PhDs. 

School-wide, with the upcoming curriculum changes, I think Social Welfare is on a good path to move the School to higher ground around mentoring. There will be more opportunities for faculty and alumni mentorship, not just for our PhD students, but MSW students—who are so busy and only here for two years—as well as our undergraduates. I hope the School will continue to expand options for mentoring students and elevate mentoring opportunities for faculty and staff.

“When I first arrived at Berkeley, Linda and I went for a walk; but it was no ordinary walk. We did loops around the campus and talked about work, life, and Berkeley. She took the time to listen and share insights, all while keeping an amazing pace with my relatively long legs—and unconscious fast pace of walking. Not once did she waver, complain, or take a water break. As I reflect on that first walk, it perfectly characterizes Linda as a Dean and person: she is focused on what’s important in the moment while also ensuring that others around her are successful. She’s been my strongest champion, and I’m a better Dean because of her friendship and mentoring.”

-David C. Wilson, Professor of Public Policy and Dean, UC Berkeley Goldman School of Public Policy

“I feel very lucky to be mentored by the best! When I got to UC Berkeley in August 2021, I was wearing an African dress and saw a parked car. I asked about the car and found out it belonged to ‘Dean Burton.’ So, I decided to wait around to see who the Dean was. When she walked out, I quickly went up to her and introduced myself. She kindly smiled at me and hugged me. I will always remember that smile and hug.

“[A few months later,] on our way back from my first ‘Dean’s walk’ in the hills, Dean Burton gave me a ride to my apartment. We had a nice chat during the drive, and she told me, ‘Molly, you can ask me for anything. Things may be tough, but don’t give up. My office is always open, and I will always be happy to chat with you.’ I love the fact that she is humble and open, and I can reach out to her anytime. Forever, I will be grateful for her support.” 

 -Natongo Molly (MSW ’23)

Did you ever second-guess your clear call to Berkeley? Or were you able to return to that sense of a call in challenging moments?

I would not have been human if I hadn’t second-guessed that calling in certain moments! Every time I questioned my call—and it happened more in the first couple of years here—I had to work harder to listen and to look at alternative paths to help our students, staff, and faculty reach their goals. My second-guesses never lasted long, though, because I don’t and won’t quit until the job is done.

Even though this journey has had its challenges, in reflecting on it, there is so much good that came out of it. I think our School is in really great shape for the next Dean to launch their efforts in a School poised for change. Together with faculty, staff, and students, the next Dean can move Social Welfare to the next level of excellence and innovation. The Stevie Wonder song “Higher Ground”—and how you get there—is so important to my thinking about this role. It wasn’t always easy, but I know I was called to help the School move forward to higher ground and to do so by walking in faith.

"Linda has been the heart and soul of the Council of Deans. She brought an extraordinary amount of empathy, kindness and administrative experience to the university and to her colleagues. Her voice of compassion and her depth of experience will be missed by me and all of us on the Council of Deans more than we can possibly say. She has shown me what being an empathetic, supportive colleague means and will continue to be a role model for everyone in university leadership on how to be there not only for our colleagues but also for ourselves."

-Geeta Anand, Professor and Dean, UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism

“I respect and adore Dean Linda Burton. Her leadership style was a marvel to witness, including her kindness, authenticity, and vulnerability. I loved how Linda would inspire us all by sharing stories from her academic and personal life to help us navigate challenging times in this school, of which there were many. My heart was happy every time Linda used music and song lyrics to inspire our collective optimism and perseverance.”

-Paul Sterzing, Associate Professor

How have you "walked by faith" in this role?

I consistently have asked two very important questions of our Haviland community since arriving: “Who are we?” and, “Why are we here?” We have spent quite a bit of time thinking about these questions over the last five years in the context of non-stop disruption. Holding the “ship” steady was a true walk of faith, as it is often hard to envision a future in the midst of a hurricane.

I now know my term as dean was the “something” my mother predicted I would do; having faith delivered on its promise. I see the Berkeley School of Social Welfare now vigorously attending to the questions of “who are we?” and “why are we here?”, but most importantly, wrestling with “what are we going to be, in the next iteration of us?” 

The “us” includes all faculty, emeriti faculty, the staff, the students, alums, our supporters, and our partners. What does “us” look like, with all the constituents that we have in this community? How do we inspire people to believe in, and want to be a part of, our community? How do we continuously connect with the reason why most people get involved in social work—to make a difference? Berkeley School of Social Welfare has lived the “dialect” in real time and is transforming itself to address these questions. And for me, faith has undergirded this journey. How cool is that? I say, very cool. Amen.

"Linda Burton has been an extraordinary leader of the School of Social Welfare. She combines gifts that are rarely seen together.  She is visionary, and she is strategic—understanding how to make progress toward her vision. She is courageous, willing to take on hard issues and to stick with them even when the going is rough. And she is so gracious and lovely; she exudes warmth and empathy." 

-Carol Christ, Chancellor, UC Berkeley