Retired 太阳城网赌平台 School of Social Work faculty member 狄米特律斯Iatridis, who survived a war-scarred youth and became an advocate for cooperation and compassion to aid those in need, 6月25日去世. 享年93岁.

狄米特律斯Iatridis
狄米特律斯Iatridis speaking on a panel during a campus event celebrating his career in November 2012. 公元前(MTS)

Dr. Iatridis was widely acknowledged as an esteemed researcher and teacher in social policy and social welfare, and hailed as a pioneer in bringing an international context to social work—particularly for his study of former communist nations’ efforts to build social services systems in a market economy.

担任社区组织主席, 规划与政策管理方向, he founded BC School of Social Work’s “Boston Day” event at the Boston Redevelopment Authority, which gave students the opportunity to form ties with city authorities and neighborhood leaders—an important resource for prospective social workers, 他相信.

“He’s always been concerned with those people who are disadvantaged, 谁已经落后了,巴里·布鲁斯通说, 前不列颠哥伦比亚省教员, 当博士. Iatridis于2012年秋季退休.  “这是耶稣会最好的传统, Demetrius has kept his focus on helping those whom society tends to neglect, and he’s always reminded his students of the importance of doing that. 这就是为什么我们这么多人如此尊敬他.”

Dr. Iatridis的人生轨迹, 以及他的个人理想和职业理想, 是在第二次世界大战的严酷考验中形成的吗. He was only 16 when the Nazis invaded and occupied his native Greece. 独自一人, 他逃到了克里特岛, 但发现那里并不安全, and was forced to hide in the mountains until he was able to flee by boat to Egypt. Lying about his age, he joined the Greek air force and served as a tail-gunner. 战争期间,他失去了母亲和祖母.

为博士. 战争改变了一切. Where once he had aspired to go into aeronautical engineering—he had earned a scholarship to Stanford University—now he sought something else.

“I decided that the world would not be built by aircraft engineers but by mutual aid, 防止其他战争的合作项目,他在接受《太阳城网赌平台》采访时解释道 太阳城网赌平台纪事报 在他退休后. “Instead of seeing the powerful always defeating and dominating the powerless, 我想帮助无能为力的人变得强大. 这成了我的目标.”

战争结束后. Iatridis aided United Nations’ efforts to help children in his country affected by the conflict, 和美国.N. 把他送到了美国.S. 观察其社会福利制度. He went on to earn degrees from Washington and Jefferson College, the University of Pittsburgh School of Social Work and the Bryn Mawr School of Social Work, then returned to Greece for a while to help assist in establishing a graduate school of 规划.

He arrived at BC in 1966 as director of its new Institute of Human Sciences, 由当时的大学校长迈克尔·沃尔什创立, S.J., who envisioned a hub of teaching and research dedicated to social sciences as a potential strength for BC, much like engineering or architectural studies was for MIT. Dr. Iatridis was given a joint appointment in the School of Social Work. After six years, the institute was viewed as having achieved its goals and was disbanded, said Dr. Iatridis, and he became a full-time faculty member in the school.

While he acknowledged being “skeptical” about BC at first, and uncertain whether his beliefs aligned with those of Jesuits, Dr. Iatridis告诉记者 纪事报 他发现不列颠哥伦比亚省“非常合适”. I was able do things I might not have had an opportunity to do otherwise.”

He taught classes comparing social policy in capitalist and communist societies, led students on visits to Cuba so they could draw their own conclusions, 并邀请古巴社会服务专家在不列颠哥伦比亚省演讲. Some critics thought these practices amounted to an endorsement of communism, but Dr. Iatridis坚持不这么认为.

“My point was, ‘What can we learn from the way these countries practice social policy? 据我们所知,没有人在调查这件事. The students would decide for themselves what was effective and what wasn’t, and they would have to account for and justify their positions. 这与意识形态无关.”

在一次访问古巴期间. Iatridis会见了菲德尔·卡斯特罗, who asked if social work was an appropriate profession for the country.  “我说,‘这要看情况. If you want to increase participation of people in decision-making, it’s your best model. 它在独裁统治下并不管用. Iatridis. “A few years later, he established social work as a profession in Cuba.”

The dramatic end of communist rule in Europe and Russia at the end of the 20th century created a new area of exploration for Dr. Iatridis. He organized several major conferences to examine the challenges faced by former Soviet Bloc nations in building social service systems in a market economy, 并与人合作出版了一系列相关书籍.

“This was a tremendous opportunity to put social work in the forefront of a major world development,他说. “会议和书籍都很受欢迎. It was very good exposure for the School of Social Work and BC.”

Dr. Iatridis曾在几个大学委员会任职, and chaired the 教师 Compensation Committee for 15 of the 27 years he was a member. In 2000, he was presented with a Distinguished Service Award from the University.

恰当地说,就是博士. Iatridis’ career was celebrated in November of 2012 with a panel discussion—in which he was a participant—on the issues of policy, 规划, 贫穷也启发了他的教学和太阳城官网. Former Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis presented a keynote address at the event.

当他考虑退休时. Iatridis vowed to remain active by volunteering for programs and projects combatting poverty—a subject virtually absent from the 2012 election campaign, 他说.

“The poverty and inequality I saw after World War II was the reason I went into social work,他说, 我将继续帮助那些无能为力的人.”

 Dr. 亚特里迪斯和他的妻子玛丽, 谁在2015年去世, 都有他们的孩子,安娜, 坦尼娅, 达沃, 和真希, 还有13个孙子.

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