Website History

Original BPD Website

Would you believe that this is the oldest website for social work education?  Marshall (Doc Smith) Smith crafted the original BPD website about 1995, along with founding the BPD listserv!  This was long before CSWE, GADE, or other organizations even considered having a web presence.  Marshall did not work alone.  The Technology Committee of BPD was right behind him! 

What you are now using is a second generation adaptation of Marshall's and the Committee's work.  This is a "dynamic" state of the art website.  You don't need to know anything about HTML, servers, or other technical stuff to maintain it!  It runs on a "platform" called "Plexcor", a proprietary software from Excel Communications in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.  This new website makes it possible to have many people easily access and update it instead of having arcane problems and bottlenecks.  The BPD Board of Directors has authorized the Indiana University School of Social Work to host this website.  Special thanks goes to Dr. Michael Patchner, Dean of the School, for generously subsidizing the purchase of the additional module needed to run this website!  In return, the school receives a small sum from BPD to cover registration, upgrades, incidental expenses, and stipends for students to run the website and listserv.  The Board's Publications and Communications Committee has policy oversight for the website.  

About forty-two people visit the website daily, 24-7-365.  Bob Vernon is the current webweaver (non-sexist term for "webmaster").