Richard James Thomas Estes, MSW’67, a professor emeritus of social work and social policy in the School of Social Policy & Practice (SP2), died on July 17. He was 84.

Dr. Estes received an AB from La Salle University and graduate degrees from the University of Pennsylvania (Master of Social Work) and the University of California at Berkeley (Doctor of Social Welfare). He joined Penn’s faculty in 1973 as an associate professor; in 1985, he was granted full professorship. He spent over three decades at the University, shaping the School of Social Work’s (now the School of Social Policy & Practice) international programs and social development research. He eventually became chair of SP2’s graduate concentration in social and economic development and directed the school’s international programs. Outside of his SP2-related activities, Dr. Estes served on many committees at Penn, including the University Council Committee on International Programs, the Task Force on Global Engagement, the Provost’s Council on Research, and the Committee on Honorary Degrees. He also served as the director of International Programs at SP2. Dr. Estes retired in 2010. 

Dr. Estes’s research focused on the importance of social indicators and statistical modeling in understanding factors that advance or inhibit development. This work was highly regarded by his peers. He received two Fulbright-Hays Senior Research Awards and a Fulbright Scholar Award to Yonsei University in Seoul, Korea. 

In 1992, he was elected Social Worker of the Year by the Pennsylvania Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers (NASW), and five years later, he was recognized for his work on social welfare issues with the Award for Distinguished Research Contribution by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE). Also in 1997, he received the International Rhoda G. Sarnat Prize from NASW and the Best Article in Social Indicators Research Award from the International Society of Quality-of-Life Studies (ISQOLS) for his article “Social Development Trends in Asia: 1970-1994,” published in Social Indicators Research. 

In 2004, Dr. Estes was elected president of ISQOLS. That same year, Penn established the annual Richard J. Estes Global Citizenship Award in his honor. In 2014, Dr. Estes was inducted into the American Academy of Social Work and Social Welfare (AASWSW). Dr. Estes held visiting professorships in Iran, Norway, the People’s Republic of China, Morocco, South Korea, Hawaii, Japan, Mongolia, the Russian Federation, Belgium, Sweden, Mexico, and Hong Kong. 

Richard is survived by his siblings, William Estes and Margaret Thompson; three daughters, Lynn Calkins, Vicki E. Payne, and Jennifer O’Connor; his stepdaughter, Sarah Lynch; and his twelve grandchildren, Andrew, Chelsea, and Ryan Calkins; Isabella, Jack, Nick, and Jessie Payne; Julia and Brendan O’Connor; and Kieran, Lucas, and Nora Lynch. 

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial contributions be made to an organization or scholarship of your choosing.