Edward R Canda
- Professor Emeritus
- Coordinator of KU Spiritual Diversity and Social Work Initiative
Contact Info
Biography —
Edward R. Canda is Professor Emeritus and Coordinator of the Spiritual Diversity Initiative in the School of Social Welfare at the University of Kansas (KU). He joined the KU faculty in 1989 and retired at the end of 2019. Before coming to KU, Dr. Canda was on the social work faculty of the University of Iowa for three years. He has an M.A. in Religious Studies (University of Denver, 1979) and MSW and Ph.D. degrees in social work (The Ohio State University, 1982 and 1986). In 2013, he received the Council on Social Work Education's Significant Lifetime Achievement Award for innovations on spirituality in social work.
Education —
College of Social Work Outstanding Ph.D. Award, The Ohio State University, 1985.
Research —
Dr. Canda's research, teaching, and service address connections between cultural diversity, spirituality, and transilience in relation to health, mental health, disabilities, and social services. Dr. Canda has taught courses on spiritual diversity in social work for more than 35 years. His most widely cited books are Spiritual Diversity in Social Work Practice (Canda and Furman 1999/2010/ and with H. Canda 2020, Oxford University Press) and Contemporary Human Behavior Theory Contemporary Human Behavior Theory (Robbins, Chatterjee, and Canda, 1998/2006/2012/ and with Leibowitz 2019, Pearson).
Dr. Canda founded the Society for Spirituality and Social Work (SSSW) in 1990 at KU. In 2013, Dr. Canda received the Council on Social Work Education's Significant Lifetime Achievement Award for innovations on spirituality through scholarship and education. In 2021, he received the SSSW’s Inaugural Edward Canda Award in appreciation for his leadership. He also received the Distinguished Career Award, The Ohio State University College of Social Work, Hall of Fame.
Professor Canda has been a Visiting Researcher or Professor in South Korea at Sungkyunkwan University and the Academy for Korean Studies and in Japan at Ritsumeikan, Doshisha, and Kansai Universities. He has more than 200 publications and has conducted about 250 presentations in the United States and in many other countries, especially in East Asia and Central Europe.
Research interests:
- social work, social welfare, religion, spirituality, cultural diversity, theory, health