Convergence of Processes in the Academic Institutionalization of Social Work: Universidad del Valle

Abstract

Introduction

The academic institutionalization of social work in Cali—which began in 1953 with the creation of the Faculty of Social Service of Cali and was characterized by a strong relationship with the Universidad del Valle during the 1960s—underwent a distinct phase in the early 1970s. This phase culminated in the faculty’s incorporation into the Universidad del Valle as an academic unit within the Division of Humanities.

Objective

Guided by Andrew Abbott’s processual sociology— which allows for viewing academic institutionalization within university ecologies as the outcome of diverse event flows—this article aims to understand how the Cali School of Social Work was integrated as both a curriculum and an academic department within the Division of Humanities at the Universidad del Valle in 1975.

Methodology

The study adopts a qualitative approach and is based on the analysis of primary documents held in the Historical Archive of the Universidad del Valle, including minutes, reports, projects, and other institutional records.

Results

The article highlights the intellectual dynamics of the era—driven by intellectual currents such as the “reconceptualization” in social work and by distinguished professors from the Division of Humanities, such as Germán Colmenares and Jesús Martín-Barbero—which collectively played a role in the observed process of annexation.

Conclusions

The article argues that the creation and full integration of the new campus into the academic ecosystem of the Universidad del Valle—achieved in 1975—resulted from the convergence of administrative, academic, and intellectual processes.