Donald G. Blackburn, 1932
B.A., Denison University
M.S.S., Case Western Reserve University
Citation awarded May, 1992
In 1990, the National Association of Juvenile Corrections Agencies named its annual award and the most prestigious in juvenile correction in Donald G. Blackburn’s honor.
Don began his career as a field social worker in 1935 at the Ohio Sailors and Soldiers Orphans Home in Xenia, Ohio, and then became supervisor of placement at the Boys’ Industrial School in Lancaster, Ohio. After his service in the Navy, Western Reserve University awarded him the Master of Science in social work in 1946, and he became the dean of boys at the Industrial School in Lancaster, Ohio. In 1954, Don was a special consultant for the National Probation and Parole Association. This led to his appointment as chief consultant at the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare’s division of Juvenile Delinquency Services at the Children’s Bureau in Washington, D.C. Four years later he became executive director of the Delaware Youth Services Commission.
In 1968 Don joined the staff of the Illinois Youth Commission, serving as superintendent of the Chicago program Center as a special projects coordinator in the DOC’s Juvenile Division, and as clinical services director at the Illinois Youth Center at Hanna City.
Don has served his community and his church in several cities throughout his distinguished career, and has served Denison for many years as the reunion manager of the class of 1932 and has also participated in alumni clubs, fundraising, and student recruitment activities.
