Remembering Elba Cleland

Boston University School of Social Work faculty advisor and alumna Elba Cleland passed away on Wednesday, August 12, at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, succumbing to metastatic uterine cancer. She was 56 years of age and taught at Simmons College.

A proud graduate of the Boston University School of Social Work, with a dual degree (MSW & MA) in social work and Afro-American Studies, Elba served as BUSSW faculty advisor for a number of years, providing “critical support to both students and to the agencies at which they were placed,” says BUSSW Assistant Dean for Field Education Trudy Zimmerman. “Students and supervisors alike found her to be a warm, compassionate and professional advisor, mentor and resource…she will be missed by all of us in the Field Education Department.”

She was also an active member of the SSW Alumni Association. BUSSW Associate Dean Ken Schulman remembers her “as integral to the School’s recruitment of students of color and instrumental, along with Gary Bailey and several others, in establishing The Josephine Lambert Scholarship Fund.” He describes her as “a dedicated social work professional, a respected community activist, and a caring and thoughtful individual with a wonderful joie de vivre.”

Prior to coming to Simmons College, Elba was for many years the Director of Managed Care at the South End Community Health Center and was actively involved in the development of the Center’s new state of the art South End facility. She had many years of practice experience as a community health center administrator, and a consultant and trainer. Her main area of interest and expertise was multicultural practice. She was extremely active in the Boston Costa Rican community, and each September, would assist in organizing the raising of the Costa Rican flag in a ceremony at Boston’s City Hall in honor of Costa Rican Independence Day.

At Simmons, Elba was a member of the Dynamics of Racism and Oppression faculty, as well as the coordinator of the school’s Bridge to Graduate Education Program. Along with being an active member of BUSSW’s Alumni Association, Elba was a past Treasurer and member of the Massachusetts Chapter Finance Committee of the National Association of Social Workers (NASW). She was also a founding member of NASW’s Committee of Ethnic and Racial Affairs, where she enjoyed working closely with her BUSSW friend, the late Frances (Fran) Gelber. She also taught at both Bridgewater State College and Regis College.

“She was an amazing, powerful, immigrant woman who was a proud social work professional whom many loved and respected…most of all she was a good friend, a mentor and ‘sister’ to so many of us,” says Gary Bailey, BUSSW alumni and Associate Professor at Simmons School of Social Work, as well as , a close friend of Elba’s who knew her for over 30 years.

At the hospital, Elba had said, “Each relationship and experience has been a gift that I’ve treasured and remembered…the memories give me great comfort now. I have had an amazing life.” During her time there, Elba always took the time to speak with the women who cleaned her room and brought her meals – laughing and sharing anecdotes with them about working in health care with nurses, doctors, and physician assistants. One of the aides said, as she paid her respects at her bedside after her death, that Elba had gone out of her way to thank her for her care and let her know how good she was at moving her. The woman commented that no one had ever taken the time to thank her for her work. Adds Bailey, “Elba requested a private room because she was getting too involved in helping the other patients…she couldn’t stop being a social worker!”

Elba is survived by her mother Oresta McBeze, a sister Patricia Brown, a nephew Carlton Brown, and world of devoted students, colleagues, and friends. She is preceded in death by her brother Norman.

A site has been set up by Caring Bridge to post condolences, reflections, and memories of Elba at http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/elbacleland. In lieu of flowers the family requests that donations in honor of Elba be made to Caring Bridge.

Submitted by Farha Sandhu