Today's Featured Biography

 
Leola Dyrud Furman

After graduation from Lincoln High School, I attended and graduated from Augsburg College in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1961. My major was Sociology with a minor in Social Work and Religion. I worked as Social Worker for Lutheran Social Services of Minneaplis for a year.

I then attended the University of Chicago and received my Masters in Social Work in 1965. I married Philip Furman, MD. He was originally from Middletown, Pennsylvania. We moved to Rochester, Minnesota where he trained as an Ear, Nose and Throat physician and I worked as psychiatric social worker at the Rochester State Hospital and a School Social Worker in the Rochester Public School System.

Our two sons Erik Ose Furman and Jon Dyrud Furman were both born in Rochester, Minnesota. At the present time both sons are married: Erik and his wife and two children live in Fort Worth, Texas where he is a Family Practice Physician. Jon and his wife both work in Banking and Finance in London, England.

After Philip completed his residency we moved to Grand Forks, North Dakota where he was employed at the Grand Forks Clinic and I began teaching in the Social Work Department at the University of North Dakota. In 1986, I received my Ph.D. in Human Development with an emphasis in Teaching the Adult Learner from the Fielding Graduate University in Santa Barbara, California. I continued to teach at the University of North Dakota until June of 2000.

In 1989, my husband died from Multiple Myeloma Cancer. It certainly caused me and our children a great deal of grief and sorrow, but it was a turning point in my life. During and after that experience I realized what a source of strength my religious faith had been for me not only through the years but particularly during the time of my husband's death and dying and subsequently the bereavement process. Consequently, I began to conduct research about the importance of integrating religion and spirituality in social work practice.

Free Press from Simon Schuster invited me to co-author with Professor Edward Canda from the University of Kansas, a textbook; Spiritual Diversity and Social Work Practice: The Heart of Helping. It is a textbook that has been used nation wide and overseas as well. The social workers in Korea translated it into the Korean language for their students.

In June of 2000, I moved to a condo in downtown, Minneapolis, Minnesota. I have over 130 relatives in the twin city area. Since I no longer work full time, I have been able to concentrate on my survey research about the integration of religion and spirituality in social work practice on the international level. Social Work professors replicated our survey in the United Kingdom, Norway, New Zealand and Australia. Our research has been published in journals in Norway, United Kingdom and of course in the United States. I have also presented papers on our research findings in Norway and in the United Kingdom as well as in the US.

At the present time, I teach one or two courses a year as an adjunct social work faculty at Augsburg College and at the University of St. thomas. I learn a great deal from my students.

Some of the other activities I have been involved in through the years are: serving on Church Councils, serving on the boards of the Mental Health Center and the City Mission in Grand Forks, North Dakota. I also served on the School Board for the Grand Forks Public School System. I was appointed by President Clifford from the University of North Dakota to be a University Fellow in the Washington D.C. Office of Senator Kent Conrad. When I retired from the University of North Dakota, I was awarded the title of Associate Professor Emeritus.

As I think back over the years, two things come to mind. First, a woman can have it all, only not all at the same time. Secondly and the most improtant aspect of my life has been my Christian faith. I am very appreciative of my parents and extended family for bringing me up in the Christian faith and instilling Christian values in my life. When I was journeying through life, the road ahead seemed rather uncertain and full of zigs and zags but when I look back on my life I can see the hand of God leading and directing me and for that I am eternally grateful!

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