Andrews University professor Alina Baltazar received The Arthur and Maude Spalding Medallion at the Adventist Conference on Family Research and Practice on July 20, 2024, in recognition of her 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.

“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 at Andrews University in Berrien Springs, Michigan, United States, said. “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.” 

General Conference family ministries associate director Elaine Oliver (center) greets Andrews University professor Alina Baltazar during the award ceremony.

[Photo: Manuel Monchon, Andrews University]

“I realized that if you just keep working at what you love to do you may eventually get recognized for it,” Baltazar said.

[Photo: Manuel Monchon, Andrews University]

The Arthur and Maude Spalding Medallion recipient Alina Baltazar (second from left) poses for a group photo with church leaders and members of her family.

[Photo: Manuel Monchon, Andrews University]

Reflecting on the award, Baltazar said, “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, and 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 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.

The original article was published on the Andrews University website.