Russell Ward Ballard papers

Biographical note

Social worker and teacher, Russell Ward Ballard served as Head Resident of Hull-House between 1943 and 1962. Ballard began his career in East Chicago, Indiana where he worked for the school board as a principal of the James Whitcomb Riley School. In 1936, he was appointed Director of the Lake County Department of Public Welfare where he re-organized and integrated the department. In 1941, he assumed the directorship of the St. Charles School for Boys in St. Charles, Illinois. The School for delinquent boys had recently been the subject of controversy regarding the mistreatment of students. In this position, Ballard gained a national reputation as a social worker and made the acquaintance of several Hull-House residents. In 1943, Ballard was selected as Head Resident of Hull-House, breaking the tradition of appointing women to the position. In this position, he oversaw the removal of the Hull-House Association from its original site on Halsted Street to make way for the construction of the University of Illinois at Chicago Circle. He held that position until he retired in 1962.