Chambers, Donald Everard

Abstract

Donald Everard Chambers (1929–2023) was an influential proponent of the systematic analysis of social policies and social programs. His personal life experiences and professional practice and education shaped his work. For example, he was born at the beginning of the Great Depression. Throughout childhood, he was mainly in the care of his mother, Ruth Swenson. Her work in human services led them to live in several Midwestern states in early childhood. She obtained a master’s in social work at New York University around 1938. Her subsequent work for United Service Organizations brought them to several other midwestern and western states, including California. During this period, Chambers gained experience living with people of various social classes impacted by economic hardship and World War II. He also learned to be flexible and adaptable to changing life circumstances and to challenge health and mental health inequities and injustices in social policies. Chambers obtained a BA degree at Stanford University in biology and psychology in 1950 and an MSW at the University of Nebraska in 1952. He was a social work practitioner for about 15 years in the fields of rural social work, mental health, and health in Nebraska, Idaho, and Iowa. Chambers attended Washington University’s Doctor of Social Work program, obtaining his degree in 1967. He was on the faculty of the University of Kansas from 1967 to 1996, where he taught graduate courses on social policy and program analysis. His research and service focused on issues of poverty, child welfare, and analysis of social programs and policies. In 1977–1978, he studied the British Workman’s Compensation system and social policy at the British Library in London. In 1990–1991, he studied child welfare and adoption in Central America as a Fulbright scholar. His most influential book was Social Policy and Social Programs: A Method for the Practical Public Policy Analyst.