The National Association of Social Workers Foundation Honors King Davis with the 2008 Knee/Wittman Lifetime Achievement Award

Washington—The National Association of Social Workers (NASW) Foundation is pleased to announce that King Davis, LMSW-ACP, PhD, has been awarded the Knee/Wittman Lifetime Achievement Award for his pioneering accomplishments in social work through health and mental health practice.

Dr. Davis has led an exemplary career in social work over the past 37 years as a professor and mental health practitioner. Dr. Davis served for four years as the State Director of Community Mental Health in Richmond, VA., where he managed 36 state-operated mental health clinics and a workforce of 700 mental health professionals. He began his career as a professor in 1975 and has received many accolades as an educator in Virginia, teaching at Norfolk State University, Eastern Virginia Medical School and Virginia Commonwealth University.

Dr. Davis has had a wealth of experience as a social work leader in mental health practice. He served as the Commissioner of the Virginia Department of Mental Health, Mental Retardation and Substance Abuse Services from 1990 to1994, where he was the key liaison for the Governor, Secretary of Health and Human Resources and legislators on all matters pertaining to the mental health, mental retardation, and substance abuse status of Virginia residents.

Dr. Davis currently holds the Robert Lee Sutherland Chair in Mental Health and Social Policy at the University of Texas at Austin, which he has held for the past eight years. He was formerly the executive director of the Hogg Foundation for Mental Health, the most prestigious and significant mental health foundation in Texas, and has published numerous articles and reports on mental health.

It is with great honor that the NASW Foundation presents Dr. King Davis with the Knee/Wittman Lifetime Achievement Award.

For more information about the award, or to interview Dr. Davis, please contact the NASW Communications Department at (202) 336-8277 or media@naswdc.org.

About the Knee/Wittman Awards
The Knee/Wittman Awards  recognize individuals who are models of excellence and have made significant contributions in the field of health and mental health. The Knee/Wittman Award Program was established to recognize those who represent the values, ethics and approaches exemplified by two dedicated social work pioneers, Ruth Knee and Milton Wittman.  The Outstanding Achievement Award is presented to an individual who has had a significant impact on national health or mental health public policy, professional standards or program models.

About the National Association of Social Workers
NASW is the largest association of social workers in the world, with nearly 150,000 members in 56 chapters throughout the United States and abroad. It promotes, develops, and protects the practice of social work and social workers.  NASW also seeks to enhance the well-being of individuals, families, and communities through its advocacy.