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Rehabilitation Counseling MS


Eighteen members of EPC were commended at the College of Education, Health, and Human Sciences Faculty and Staff Recognition Ceremony on April 27, 2017.

To see photos from the event, please go to the “EPC at the 2017 CEHHS Faculty & Staff Recognition Ceremony” album on our EPC Facebook page.


Awards

College Senate Departmental Staff Award
Recognizes a departmental-level non-exempt staff person who has provided exceptional contributions to his/her department (going above & beyond job expectations to accommodate students and faculty, contributing to a positive and supportive work culture and environment).

Apirl Phillips

 

April Phillips
Administrative Coordinator III

 


Helen B. Watson Faculty/Student Award for Outstanding Doctoral Dissertation
Awarded to a student and the faculty member who directed the outstanding doctoral dissertation within the departments of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies; Educational Psychology and Counseling; Kinesiology, Recreation, and Sport Studies; or Theory and Practice in Teacher Education.

Dareen BasmaDareen Basma
PhD in Counselor Education (’16)

Bob KronickRobert Kronick
Professor in Counselor Education

“Working with Dareen Basma was an incredible experience. Her dissertation is a work of art. Her position at Carnegie Mellon speaks to her personal and professional acumen. The award is an affirmation of her work.”



Helen B. Watson Outstanding Faculty Research Award
Awarded to a full-time faculty member or team within the departments of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies; Educational Psychology and Counseling; Kinesiology, Recreation, and Sport Studies; or Theory and Practice in Teacher Education.

Robert WilliamsRobert L. Williams
Professor in School Psychology

“I deeply appreciate the initiative of close colleagues in transmitting information regarding my work to the College Senate for consideration for the two awards I received.”


John H. Tunstall Outstanding Faculty Award
Awarded to an outstanding faculty member who is involved in the preparation of teachers, administrators, or others entering the field of education. The faculty member shall have a distinguished record in teaching, research, or community service or any combination of the three.

Lauren Moret

 

Lauren Moret
Assistant Professor in Evaluation, Statistics & Measurement

 


John H. Tunstall Outstanding Staff Award
Awarded annually to a staff member who has executed their duties in an exemplary manner in support of those programs which prepare “teacher, administrators, or others entering the field of education.”

Synthia ClarkSynthia Clark
Administrative Specialist I

“Being part of Let’s Talk QUAL with with Lauren and Duncan has been such a pleasurable and rewarding experience! This initiative has pushed my design, research, and presentation skills.


Louie M. and Betty M. Phillips Faculty Support in Education Award
Awarded to a faculty member in the College of Education, Health, and Human Sciences related to the preparation of teachers involved in K-12 education. This award serves to highlight outstanding research and teaching efforts.

Robert Williams

Robert L. Williams
Professor in School Psychology

“I deeply appreciate the initiative of close colleagues in transmitting information regarding my work to the College Senate for consideration for the two awards I received.”


Recognition

Casey A. Barrio Minton
Associate Professor in Counselor Education

– Recognized under Editors/Co-Editors of Peer Reviewed Publications for being Editor-in-Chief of Journal of Counselor Leadership & Advocacy
– Recognized under Presidents of National/International Professional Organizations for being President-Elect of Southern Association of Counselor Education & Supervision
– Recognized under Recipients of National/International Professional Awards for Arthur A. Hitchcock Distinguished Professional Service Award from American Counseling Association


Synthia Clark
Administrative Specialist I

– Recognized under Support Staff Awards and Certifications for UT Employee and Organizational Development Certificates in Customer Relations and Communications


Gail Cope
Center for Literacy, Education & Employment

– Recognized under 2016-17 Faculty & Staff Retirements (1977-2017)


Lisa Crawford
Associate Director of Center for Literacy, Education & Employment

– Recognized under Grants and Contracts Recipients for the Tennessee Department of Education Regional Educator Summits, SCORE, $281,672


Melinda M. Gibbons
Program Coordinator & Associate Professor in Counselor Education

– Recognized under Editors/Co-Editors of Peer Reviewed Publications for being Associate Editor of Professional School Counseling Journal


Aaron Kohring
Director of Center for Literacy, Education & Employment

– Recognized under UT Support Staff Service Awards for fifteen years of service


Robert Kronick
Professor in Counselor Education & Director of University-Assisted Community Schools

– Recognized under Chancellor’s Honors Awards for the Excellence in Academic Outreach


R. Steve McCallum
Professor for School Psychology

– Recognized under Editors/Co-Editors of Peer Reviewed Publications for being Co-Founder & Consulting Editor of Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment
– Recognized under Authors/Editors of Books and Assessments for Handbook of Nonverbal Intelligence (2nd ed). New York: Springer.
– Recognized under Recipients of National/International Professional Awards for Distinguished Alumni Award from University of Georgia


S. Wayne Mulkey
Clinical Professor & Co-Program Coordinator in Rehabilitation Counseling

– Recognized under Chancellor’s Honors Awards for the Extraordinary Service to the University


April Phillips
Administrative Coordinator III

– Recognized under 2016-17 Faculty & Staff Retirements (1983-2017)


Shawn L. Spurgeon
Program Coordinator & Associate Professor in Clinical Mental Health Counseling

– Recognized under Presidents of National/International Professional Organizations for being Board of Directors of National Board for Certified Counselors
– Recognized under Presidents of National/International Professional Organizations for being Past-President of Southern Association for Counselor Education and Supervision


Qi Sun
Program Coordinator & Associate Professor in Adult Learning

– Recognized under Editors/Co-Editors of Peer Reviewed Publications for being Co-Editor of Journal of Research and Theory


Barbara Thayer-Bacon
Program Coordinator & Professor in Learning Environments & Educational Studies/Cultural Studies of Educational Foundations

– Recognized under Editors/Co-Editors of Peer Reviewed Publications for being Editor-in-Chief of Studies in Philosophy and Education
– Recognized under Authors/Editors of Books and Assessments for Relational Ontologies. New York: Peter Lang Publishers.
– Recognized under Chancellor’s Honors Awards for the Excellence in Advising Award


Laura S. Wheat
Assistant Professor in Counselor Education & Coordinator of Grief Outreach Initiative

– Recognized under Chancellor’s Honors Awards for the Extraordinary Community Service Award


Connie White
Associate Director of School & Family Programs for Center for Literacy, Education & Employment

– Recognized under Grants and Contracts Recipients for the Tennessee State Personnel Development Grant, Tennessee Department of Education, $2,332,268
– Recognized under UT Support Staff Service Awards for twenty-five years of service


Four faculty members and two doctoral students from the Department of Educational Psychology and Counseling were recognized at the Chancellor’s Honors Banquet on April 19, 2017.

See below for a description of each individual’s award.


Excellence in Academic Outreach
Honors those who exemplify UT’s land-grant mission by using intellectual capital to benefit the citizens of Tennessee.

Bob KronickRobert Kronick
Professor & Director of University-Assisted Community Schools

“Engaged research says it all. It’s what I do. I am overwhelmed that the university recognized this work. This award acknowledges the efforts of a great deal of folks doing the work.”


Extraordinary Service to the University
Honors those who exemplify UT’s land-grant mission by using intellectual capital to benefit the citizens of Tennessee.

S. Wayne MulkeyS. Wayne Mulkey
Clinical Professor

“I appreciate the support and encouragement of my colleagues in the Department of Educational Psychology and Counseling over the past three years. It is clearly an honor to know that my peers respect the work I have done at the University of Tennessee. Fond memories shall follow with me throughout the duration of my next retirement.”


Extraordinary Professional Promise
Honors awarded to undergraduate and graduate students who demonstrate professional promise in teaching, research or other contributions.

Sarah Nadel, ESMSarah Nadel
PhD Student in Evaluation, Statistics & Measurement (ESM)

“I was deeply honored to not only be nominated for the award, but to also receive it. This award means a great deal to me, but I can’t accept it without thanking my ESM faculty and peers as we have partnered on so much together. Additionally, my advisor, Jennifer Ann Morrow, has been an instrumental part of my success in my ESM doctoral program. She is a driving force for me to succeed every day and without her guidance, as well as the guidance and knowledge from all ESM faculty, this award wouldn’t have been possible. I’m deeply honored and blessed.”


Excellence in Advising
Bestowed by the Office of the Chancellor and the Teaching Council of the Faculty Senate to honor outstanding work in advising.

Barbara Thayer-BaconBarbara Thayer-Bacon
Professor

“I am so proud of the students I’ve had the opportunity to work with while at UT! It was wonderful to hear their words of support and gratitude for my mentoring of them. They have made me feel so appreciated. A big thank you to my students! The number keeps growing!! -your Dr. Barb


Extraordinary Professional Promise
Honors awarded to undergraduate and graduate students who demonstrate professional promise in teaching, research or other contributions.

Victoria VanmaarenVictoria Gail VanMaaren
PhD Student in School Psychology

“The faculty and staff in our department have been nothing but supportive of all of my endeavors. I’m honored by this award, and mindful of the fact that it would not have been possible without the mentorship and encouragement of the entire department.”


Extraordinary Community Service
Rewards a faculty member who exhibits the volunteer spirit in the community.

Laura WheatLaura S. Wheat
Assistant Professor

“I am so very honored and humbled to receive this award, given the remarkable things faculty and staff across campus are doing! The Grief Outreach Initiative is dear to me and I’m thankful to be its shepherd. I hope to continue to nurture and grow it for years to come, so that more and more kids and teens will have safe places to honor their grief.”


To see photos of our recent award recipients, please go to the “EPC Award Winners” album on our EPC Facebook page.

*Award descriptions listed from Chancellor’s Honors Banquet program and website.


Alumni Spotlight: Joel Simmons

Rehabilitation Counseling

Joel earned an MS in Counseling with a concentration in the Rehabilitation Counseling program in 2016. He is originally from, and currently lives in, Knoxville, TN. We asked him to reflect on past experiences with EPC and discuss where he’s at now. Read his responses below.

Current Occupation

Counseling & Public Relations
East Tennessee Technology Access Center
Knoxville, TN

I meet with vocational rehabilitation (VR) clients who come here for technology assessments. Through these assessments we can figure out what technology will allow individuals to be successful in school or at work. I’m currently in the process of reaching out to other organizations that serve people with disabilities in East Tennessee. We need to be working in a more cohesive manner trying to serve our population in Knoxville and surrounding counties.

Awards and Accomplishments Earned as a Student

I was asked and joined Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society.

Accomplishments since Graduating

I received the Patricia Neal Outstanding Volunteer Award for 2016. I received this award for my peer mentoring with newly injured spinal cord patients.

I facilitated free Lasik surgery for quadriplegics in East Tennessee. There were many centers in the Southeast that offered these services, but none in Knoxville. Refractive surgeon, Daniel S. Durrie of Durie Vision started offering free Lasik to quadriplegics after seeing a Christopher Reeve special. I coordinated with his office, reached out to local surgeons, and I was Colby Stewart’s, ophthalmologist with Tennessee Lasik, first client.

Personal Interests

I like being outside. My family has a cabin on Lake Douglas and we spend many weekends at the cabin. Market Square is another one of my favorite haunts. With plenty of outdoor dining, wheelchair accessibility, and people watching as a bonus, Market Square is one of my first choices for lunch or dinner. I love music and I like concerts in small venues. Tennessee Theater, the Bijou Theater, and The Shed are three of my favorites.

Since my graduation in August, I’ve tried to involve myself with these many organizations as possible. I still continue to my volunteer work at Patricia Neal, I’m on the Board of Directors for the disAbility Resource Center, which is Knoxville’s Independent Living Center. Recently, I have gotten involved with the Knoxville Area Employment Consortium (KAEC). KAEC works to connect people with disabilities with local businesses for job placement.

Joel Simmons

What sold you on this program/department/university?

It wasn’t what, but whom, that sold me on the program. I was doing volunteer work at Patricia Neal and my VR counselor facilitated a meeting with clinical professor, Wayne Mulkey. It was Mulkey that sold me on the program. I received a lot of personal gratification if I could just get somebody to smile when I visited them at Patricia Neal. Mulkey opened up my eyes to an education that would allow me to help people far beyond just a smile. It never occurred to me to return to school and get a master’s degree in counseling at 53 years of age.

What do you think was the most rewarding/challenging about this program?

It’s hard to say what was the most rewarding and what was the most challenging about this program. Everything about this program challenged me. I was a flight attendant for 23 years and when I started this program I had never used Microsoft Office. I’m a quadriplegic and do not have use of my hands. Halfway through the second semester I began using Dragon Naturally Speaking and a large Trackball for a mouse. This made the actual use of the computer easy, but I still had a lot of difficulty putting papers in APA format and writing and researching at the graduate level. Many times I wanted to quit the program due to both frustration and health issues, but I could’ve never looked Mulkey in the eyes, and by now my other professors had taken a vested interest in teaching. Clinical instructor, Lisa Rimmell, and associate professor, Patrick Dunn, had to have found it challenging to maintain an even keel with the many questions I had during my two years at the University of Tennessee. When asked what was the most rewarding part of the program I would have to say the relationship that developed between teacher and student and my classmates as well.

Did you end up where you thought you would?

I was asked a few times what I planned on doing upon graduation. I wasn’t sure what I was going to do, but I didn’t want to work as a VR counselor because I didn’t want everything to revolve around the client returning to work. Do not get me wrong, I would help anybody that wanted to go to work get a job, but I really want to see people with disabilities engage in life. I thought about starting my own nonprofit and would have considered it a success if I just managed to get two or three people year coming to Market Square on a regular basis.

I did my practicum and internship at East Tennessee Technology Access Center (ETTAC). I was fortunate to be offered a job here after graduation. This job allows me to do everything I wanted to do and more. VR clients are sent here for technology assessments and I’m able to work firsthand with these individuals, but I’m also out in the community forging alliances with other organizations such as the Down Syndrome Awareness group, The Autism Society of East Tennessee, the Cerebral Palsy Center, and recently I made contact with Shangri-La Therapeutic Horses. Not sure how, but I knew when spoke with their executive director that this organization is going to tie-in with what we’re trying to do here at ETTAC. I mentioned earlier that my goal was to get people with disabilities more involved in life in East Tennessee Technology Access Center has the same goal. We hope to develop a community center with our 20,000 sq.ft. building and two acres of land.

“It is sad that this program no longer exists. There is an obvious demand for this degree and the University of Tennessee was the only accredited university offering this degree via computer correspondence. Most of my classmates were already VR counselors, but all of my classmates that were not, have already been hired as VR counselors in various counties and states. I watched the passion with which the doctors and professors taught these classes and it is sad to think that a degree that is so highly sought by employers is no longer taught at the University of Tennessee.”


The Department of Educational Psychology and Counseling wants to congratulate the graduates from ten of our programs who earned their degrees during the fall 2016 semester.

To see photos of our recent graduates, please go to the “EPC Graduates” album on our EPC Facebook page.

Alyssa Michelle Adorati
MS in Educational Psychology – Applied Educational Psychology

John Lyman Ayers
MS in Counseling – Rehabilitation Counseling

Rochelle Butler
PhD in Counselor Education

Lakita Renae Dawston
MS in Counseling – Rehabilitation Counseling

Amanda Christine DeDiego
PhD in Counselor Education

Melisa Renee Donahue
MS in Counseling – Rehabilitation Counseling

Brittany Harris Elkins
MS in Counseling – Clinical Mental Health Counseling

Raven Kirby Gibson
MS in Counseling – Clinical Mental Health Counseling

Emily Carter Gray
PhD in Educational Psychology and Research – Collaborative Learning

Melissa Ann Harness
PhD in Education – Learning Environments and Educational Studies

DeAnna Lynn Hawtin
MS in Counseling – Rehabilitation Counseling

Shannon Rae Huffman Frias
MS in Counseling – Rehabilitation Counseling

Lena Karin Logan
MS in Counseling – Rehabilitation Counseling

Courtney Myers McInturff
MS in Counseling – Clinical Mental Health Counseling

Stacy Lynn O’Connell
MS in Counseling – Rehabilitation Counseling

Cory Lemont Parker
MS in Counseling – Rehabilitation Counseling

Annalise Christine Romeiser
MS in Counseling – Rehabilitation Counseling

Roseanne Michele Sasso
PhD in Education – Instructional Technology

Emily Pendergrast Taylor
PhD in School Psychology

Jason Tyler
MS in Education – Instructional Technology

Christina Valiquette
MS in Educational Psychology – Adult Education

Dammika Lakmal Walpitage
PhD in Educational Psychology and Research – Evaluation, Statistics & Measurement

Kevin Wayne Webster
MS in Counseling – Clinical Mental Health Counseling

David Austin Willis
MS in Educational Psychology – Adult Education

*If you are one of the graduates listed above and would like to have your photo added to our EPC Graduates Facebook album, then please email your picture to Synthia Clark sclark41@utk.edu.

**If you were an Educational Psychology and Counseling student who graduated during this time frame, yet have unintentionally been omitted from this list, please send your name, degree, and major/concentration to Synthia Clark sclark41@utk.edu. We will add you to the list after receiving this information from you and confirming your graduation status.


The Department of Educational Psychology and Counseling wants to congratulate the graduates from nine of our programs who earned their degrees during the summer 2016 semester.

To see photos of our recent graduates, please go to the “EPC Graduates” album on our EPC Facebook page.

Frederick Lagmay Acosta
MS in Counseling – Rehabilitation Counseling

Valerie Karen Ambrose
PhD in Educational Psychology and Research – Adult Learning

Sheri K. Anderson
MS in Counseling – Rehabilitation Counseling

Karen Lea Baker
MS in Counseling – Rehabilitation Counseling

Breanna Paige Banks
PhD in Counselor Education

Dareen Basma
PhD in Counselor Education

Megan Amber Blonder
PhD in School Psychology

James Call
MS in Education – Instructional Technology

Anthony Lavern Capers Jr.
MS in Educational Psychology – Adult Education

Jamie Michelle Cyphers
MS in Education – Instructional Technology

Andrea McMahan Damewood
PhD in Educational Psychology and Research – Adult Learning

Sherrie Lynn Fairchild-Keyes
MS in Education – Cultural Studies of Educational Foundations

Lynda M. Forrester
MS in Educational Psychology – Applied Educational Psychology

Elizabeth Ann Hays
PhD in School Psychology

Taotao Long
PhD in Education – Instructional Technology

Ashley Rai Roberts
MS in Counseling – Rehabilitation Counseling

Joel Eddie Simmons Jr.
MS in Counseling – Rehabilitation Counseling

Adam Forrest Stephens
PhD in Counselor Education

Cheryl Ann Tays
MS in Education – Instructional Technology

Eleanore Claire Trant
PhD in School Psychology

Laurie Ann Wade
MS in Counseling – Rehabilitation Counseling

Tiffany Lynn Watson
PhD in School Psychology

Beth Ann White
PhD in Educational Psychology and Research – Adult Learning

Destiny Nichole White
MS in Counseling – Clinical Mental Health Counseling

*If you are one of the graduates listed above and would like to have your photo added to our EPC Graduates Facebook album, then please email your picture to Synthia Clark sclark41@utk.edu.

**If you were an Educational Psychology and Counseling student who graduated during this time frame, yet have unintentionally been omitted from this list, please send your name, degree, and major/concentration to Synthia Clark sclark41@utk.edu. We will add you to the list after receiving this information from you and confirming your graduation status.