Coyle, Grace Longwell (1892–1962)

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Coyle, Grace Longwell (1892–1962)

American social worker and educator. Born Grace Longwell Coyle, Mar 22, 1892, in North Adams, Massachusetts; died Mar 9, 1962, in Cleveland. Ohio; dau. of John Patterson Coyle (minister of North Adams Congregational Church, died 1895) and Mary (Cushman) Coyle; Columbia University, PhD in sociology, 1931.

Began career at West Side Settlement, Kingston, PA (1915); joined Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) as field worker in Pittsburgh, PA (1917); was industrial secretary of YWCA National Board in NY (1918–26), then executive of Laboratory Division (1930); wrote Social Process in Organized Groups (1930), Studies in Group Behavior (1937) and Group Experience and Democratic Values (1948); joined Western Reserve University, Cleveland, as assistant professor of group work at School of Applied Social Sciences (1934), becoming associate professor (1936), then serving as professor (1939–62); served as president of National Conference of Social Work (1940), American Association of Social Workers (1942–44), and Council on Social Work Education (1958–60).