First embarking on her studies at Hunter College, Urania Ernest Glassman earned a Bachelor of Arts in philosophy in 1960 before joining the Teacher’s College, Columbia University, where she was drawn to pursue a degree in student personnel administration inspired by her years of being involved in student government. Graduating with a Master of Arts in 1962, she began her career at the Teacher’s College before receiving a grant offer from the City College of New York to serve as the assistant director of the House Plan Association the following year. In 1969, Dr. Glassman rose to become director of the House Plan Association and also spent time as a lecturer in the department of student personnel services until she left the college in 1976.
Joining the School of Social Work at Adelphi University, Dr. Glassman continued her studies and earned a Master of Social Work in 1979. From 1979 to 1981, she was active as a staff supervisor and field instructor for the East Bronx Council on Aging before returning to Adelphi as a field instructor and case manager for the refugee assistance program and the coordinator and field faculty adviser for the Field Instruction Center from 1981 to 1982. In 1984, she opened her private psychotherapy practice, where she continues to see groups, individuals, families and couples. Continuing her work with Adelphi, she served as a field instructor for the Social Services Center, the assistant director and director of field instruction, and an assistant professor between 1984 to 1993.
Dr. Glassman became the director of field instruction at the Wurzweiler School of Social Work at Yeshiva University in 1993, a position she held until 2021. During this time, she concluded her formal studies with a clinical track Doctor of Social Work from the School of Social Work at Adelphi University in 2000. She also had the opportunity to serve as the principal investigator of two grants from the United States Department of Health and Human Services between 2014 and 2021, one for $1.4 million and the other for $1.9 million, which she cites as the highlight of her career. The grants were used to provide scholarship stipends to train Master of Social Work students to do clinical work with high-risk adolescents in New York City, and over the seven years the program was active they trained more than 240 students.
Holding considerable expertise in group work, clinical practice, clinical social work, education and clinical supervision, Dr. Glassman became a clinical professor at Yeshiva University in 2018. Furthermore, she was appointed the interim dean for the Wurzweiler School of Social Work in 2021, a role that sees her responsible for the school’s roughly 1,000 students. Over the course of her career in education, she has taught a wide range of courses and served on numerous committees. She has also written extensively on the social work education process and presented her work at academic conferences. In order to keep abreast of developments in her field, Dr. Glassman maintains professional affiliation with the Council on Social Work Education, the International Association for Social Work with Groups, the North American Network for Field Educators and Directors and the National Association of Social Workers.
Attributing much of her success to her belief that there is no problem that cannot be solved, Dr. Glassman considers the most important lessons she learned over the years to be how to develop good interpersonal relationships, seize opportunities as they arrive, the importance of being honest and to take responsibility for your mistakes. Born to Greek immigrant parents, she hails from a tradition of democracy and hopes to leave a legacy as a humanist who always strove to do the right thing and believed in the spirit of democracy. She is the proud mother of two son, Alexander, an Orthodox rabbi, and Daniel, who works in finance. In her free time, Dr. Glassman enjoys baseball, traveling, spending time with her family, and going to the theater.