Alina Baltazar, who for the past 11 years has been a professor of social work at Andrews University, received the Arthur & Maude Spalding Medallion at the Adventist Conference on Family Research and Practice. The award presentation, which took place on July 20, recognized her exemplary research and practice in the field of family ministries.

This award is the highest recognition presented by the Seventh-day Adventist Church in family ministries and was named after Arthur and Maude Spalding, who served as the directors of the General Conference Home Commission after its creation in 1922. It was first awarded in 1975 at the General Conference Session in Vienna, Austria, to Delmer and Betty Holbrook, who directed Family Ministries for the church.

“Alina has been an invaluable part of our School of Social Work over the past 11 years,” Curtis VanderWaal, chair of the School of Social Work, says. “As Master of Social Work program director, she worked tirelessly to advocate for and support students as they applied for and moved through their MSW degree. She is largely responsible for developing our online MSW degree as well as initiating dual degree partnerships with the Master of Public Health and the Master of Business Administration degree programs.”

Reflecting on the award, Baltazar says, “I realized that if you just keep working at what you love to do, you may eventually get recognized for it.

Baltazar has been a licensed clinical social worker for more than 27 years and has practiced medical and psychiatric social work and psychotherapy. After completing her Bachelor of Arts in psychology at Andrews University, she went on to receive her Master of Social Work from the University of Michigan, with a focus on aging. She holds a PhD from Michigan State University in the area of human development and family studies.

As a researcher, Baltazar has published and presented extensively in the areas of domestic violence, pastoral family stress, parenting, mental health, parental influences and religiosity’s influence on youth health risk behavior. Baltazar also serves as a part-time psychotherapist at Life Coach Psychology in Berrien Springs, Michigan, through telehealth.

This summer, Baltazar is transitioning to a new position. She will be the MSW program director at Point Loma Nazarene University in San Diego, California.