One of this year’s 100 most influential people according to Time magazine came to the University on Friday to celebrate the 90th anniversary of the School of Social Work.

University alum Michael Sherraden, founder and current director of Washington University in St. Louis’s Center for Social Development, told the audience at the School of Social Work building about his innovative ideas on poverty issues and social work. Sherraden is known for his ground-breaking theories, which advocate assisting low-income families in establishing savings accounts so that they can build assets.

Laura Lein, dean of the School of Social Work, started the event by congratulating Sherraden on his many achievements, which include serving as an advisor to both Republican and Democratic White House administrations and to many federal departments.

“His theory and research … has influenced policies and programs in the United Kingdom, Korea, Canada, China, Australia, Peru, Uganda and other countries,” Lein said.

She highlighted how important it is for the University to be represented by someone like Sherraden, who holds a master’s degree and doctorate in social work from the University.

Speaking at the event, Sherraden began his address by praising the School of Social Work.

“It’s really a great honor to be able to give this talk at my alma mater,” Sherraden said, pointing out the continued success of both the master’s and doctorate programs in social work at the University, even going as far as to say the doctorate program was “by far” the best in the country.

Sherraden said he was very interested in young people and “where they fit in society and where they didn’t fit in society,” when he was studying at the University.

He continued by saying how underrated social workers and their responsibilities are in this country, adding that much of the world’s major issues and advancements are social.

“A lot of what has made civilization possible and made it possible for people to work together and generate economic productivity are social creations,” he said. “Organizations have to be built. People have to work together. There has to be a governed structure where people can cooperate and make decisions without killing each other.”

Sherraden added that at least 50 percent of the budgets in many countries are social expenditures.

“A lot of what makes the world function successfully is social, and it is not automatic,” he said. “It requires work. And we should embrace these terms much more than we do.”

Sherraden later shared his thoughts with the audience about the future of the field of social work and service work.

“It could easily become normal for people to think about a life that includes a year or two of serving in some kind of way that’s not military service,” he said, giving examples like helping to build schools, teach languages or other community-development projects.

Sherraden added that with Americans having “extended” life spans, more volunteer and work opportunities could become necessary.

“There are very few structured roles for older adults,” he said.

After the event, Social Work Prof. Trina Shanks praised Sherraden, thanking him for his “wonderful talk” and for the many years of mentorship he provided her and other former students.

“Your ideas have inspired me and many others over the last decades and have just become bigger and more national and more immediate,” Shanks said.