by: Dr. George T. Williams, Coordinator
The Division of Counselor Education continues its vibrancy while exploring the possibility of revamping our existing 48 credit hour CACREP accredited School Counseling programs and adding a Student Affairs specialization. The impetus for changing the current curriculum is to address concerns expressed by current students, program graduates, site supervisors, and faculty. Adding new courses to the curriculum and a student affairs track addresses students' identified weaknesses in the existing curriculum. The Counselor Education Community Advisory Board convened most recently on Wednesday, April 23, 2008 and discussed the feasibility of implementing such changes and improvements.
Dr. Charlotte Murrow Taylor is now a member of the Counselor Education Community Advisory Board. Dr. Taylor served as past state president of the South Carolina Counseling Association (SCCA) from 1987-1988, past regional president of the Southern Association for Counselor Education and Supervision (SACES) 1992-1993, and is a former Citadel adjunct faculty member teaching counselor education courses for 13 years (1980-1993). She is a past recipient of the prestigious national Association for Counselor Education and Supervision (ACES) Counselor Educator of the Year Award. Her professional expertise as a Nationally Certified Counselor, Doctoral Addictions Counselor, and SC Licensed Professional Counselor Supervisor (LPC/S) makes her a welcomed addition to the Board!
The Graduate School Counseling Association (GSCA) took the initiative in fall 2007 to develop the first GSCA Alumni Directory. This directory is accessible on the Counselor Education website at this link. The GSCA Alumni Directory serves as a valuable resource for networking among currently enrolled school counseling students and our professional school counselor alumni. The Directory includes the names of graduates from our programs, their year of graduation, phone number(s), and e-mail address(s). The inaugural Directory includes 50 graduates from 1977 through 2007. As an ongoing project, the Directory will expand as more graduates are identified and as more biographical information is available. The Citadel GSCA is a faculty sponsored, student led organization for school counseling students founded in 1997. GSCA officers for 2007-2008 are: President, Donna Eby-Meeks (until Dec 2007 graduation); VP and then President, Maxine Brown (beginning December 2007 - present); Treasurer, Jocelyn Gauthier; Secretary, Tracey Heath; Membership Coordinator, Jessie Farley; Social Activities Coordinator, Robbie Woods; and Faculty Advisor Dr. Aaron Oberman.
School counseling graduate students Rachael Matthew, Lauren Kurtz, and Laura Wolfe co-presented with Dr. Williams "Legal and Ethical Dilemmas Confronting the Professional Group Counselor" at the 44th Annual SCCA Annual Convention in Myrtle Beach, SC on February 8th. Dr. Williams also chaired a panel presentation of NC and SC counselor educators entitled "Reflecting Upon Counselor Educators' Diverse Career Paths." Over the same weekend, Dr. Oberman and recent graduate Donna Eby-Meeks co-presented "Using Technology in Career Counseling" at the American College Counseling Association (ACCA) Convention in Savannah, GA. On Thursday, February 21st, counselor education faculty and Alice Hambright--the School of Education Technology Specialist--conducted the Fourth Annual Spring School Counselor Supervision Orientation Workshop for Citadel Site Supervisors at the Lowcountry Graduate Center.
The School Counseling Search Committee has been active reviewing applications and scheduling interviews for the tenure-track assistant professor in School Counseling position that is available for 2008-2009. The search process is moving forward and should be finalized soon. LiveText program and unit assessment reports for the Division of Counselor Education for fall 2007 have been analyzed and submitted to the Professional Education Unit. The process for modifying existing survey instruments and meaningful application of survey results continues.
