Fort Worth, TX January 2, 2013
By Carol Logan, communications intern
Arthur Berliner, retired professor of social work, passed away Jan. 10. Berliner left his mark on TCU in many ways. Linda Moore, professor of social work and a friend of Berliner’s said, “I consider him to be the father of the social work program [at TCU].”
Berliner’s career at TCU began when he collaborated with the University’s Institute for Behavioral Research and started teaching part time. Larry Adams, then-chair of the Department of Sociology, wrote the grant for the social work program and hired Berliner to head the program in 1975.
Moore first met Berliner in Phoenix when TCU was hiring faculty for the social work program. She said, “We just hit it off.” Moore was hired in 1977 as the second faculty member for the program.
The social work program Berliner developed was accredited the first time it went through the process and was ranked third in the country. Berliner’s reputation within the social work community from his time as a practitioner helped the program establish credibility. “The program was his baby. Berliner was a stickler for excellence, and I think that made the program strong,” Moore said.
Berliner, who was often referred to as “The Master” by students, was an advocate for the social work program in everything he did.
“When I came to TCU, he encouraged me to be a leader,” Moore said. “I think that when a younger colleague comes in, it is easy to squash them. He is a really important role model because I think that good leadership is making everyone in the group look good,” Moore said.
Berliner was very interested in the environment, civil rights and social justice. “His whole idea was that to be educated, you can’t just know social work, you have to know all kinds of stuff,” Moore said.
Students remember Berliner as the man with a love affair with Freud and the man who would begin class with quotes from Gilbert and Sullivan or Shakespeare.
“People thought he was old fashioned. He was always focused on the ethical standards and the importance of knowledge and helping students be the very best they could be,” Moore said.
Berliner is the namesake of the Dr. Arthur K. Berliner Scholarship. When Moore met with Berliner to tell him the news, he assumed the meeting was about the program. “It never occurred to him that [we would meet] about him; it was always about the program,” she said.
“Berliner was a gentleman,” Moore said. “He would always walk on the outside of the sidewalk when you were walking with him. He would hold the door open and help you through. He just did gentlemanly things; it is just how he was and how he was raised.”
In his personal life, Berliner was married to his wife, Miriam, for almost 67 years. Moore describes the pair as “true partners.” The couple had three daughters. “He was so loving and caring,” Moore said.
“I was devastated when I read his obituary. It was like being kicked in the gut. I thought he’d live forever. I feel so much joy and pride that I had the opportunity to work with him, to know him and be a part of what he built and even take what he did further. He was really the spark and impetus behind everything we’ve done since that time,” Moore said.