This collection is located off-site. You will need to request this material at least three business days in advance to use the collection in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library reading room.
This collection has no restrictions.
The collection is comprised of professional papers related to Ginsberg's work with the Columbia University School of Social Work and as an advocate for families and children. The collection includes speeches and addresses, including Mitchell's testimony before legislatures on a number issues, and subject files relating to family welfare concerns.
This collection is arranged in 1 series.
You will need to make an appointment in advance to use this collection material in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library reading room. You can schedule an appointment once you've submitted your request through your Special Collections Research Account.
This collection is located off-site. You will need to request this material at least three business days in advance to use the collection in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library reading room.
This collection has no restrictions.
Single photocopies may be made for research purposes. The RBML maintains ownership of the physical material only. Copyright remains with the creator and his/her heirs. The responsibility to secure copyright permission rests with the patron.
Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Mitchell Ginsberg Papers; Box and Folder (if known); Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University Library.
Materials may have been added to the collection since this finding aid was prepared. Contact rbml@columbia.edu for more information.
Source of acquisition--Office of the Dean of the Columbia University School of Social Work. Method of acquisition--Gift; Date of acquisition--09/25/1998.
Columbia University Libraries, Rare Book and Manuscript Library
Papers processed Carrie Hintz 03/20/2012.
Finding aid written Carrie Hintz 03/20/2012.
2012-03-21 xml document instance created by Carrie Hintz
2019-05-20 EAD was imported spring 2019 as part of the ArchivesSpace Phase II migration.
Mitchell Ginsberg was a social worker, and an educator and scholar in the field of social work and social justice. He was a professor and Dean at the Columbia University School of Social Work and a past president of the National Conference on Social Welfare and the National Association of Social Workers.
Ginsberg was born in 1915 in Boston, Massachusetts and attended Tufts University where he received a B.S. in 1937 and an M.A. in education and psychology in 1938. He was awarded the M.S. in social work from Columbia University's School of Social Work in 1941.
After completing his education Ginsberg worked as a social worker for the U.S. Army and then as a case worker in Manchester, New Hampshire; Boston; and New York City before returning to Columbia in 1953 to join the faculty of the school of Social Work.
He took a leave of absence from teaching in 1966 to become Commissioner of the New York City Department of Social Services under Mayor John Lindsay. In 1968, he became Human Resources Administrator, a position responsible for all of New York's social welfare programs.
He returned to Columbia in 1971 as dean of the School of Social Work. He helped to found Columbia Community Services and served as the director for Columbia's Center for the Study of Human Rights. In addition to his academic leadership, he continued his civil service career, serving as the chairman of the city-wide Emergency Alliance for Homeless Families and Children.
Ginsberg was designated Professor and Dean Emeritus of the School of Social Work in 1986, and died of cardiopulmonary arrest in 1990.