Melinda Gibbons, PhD, NCC

Professor, Unit Coordinator for Counseling Education, Primary Investigator for PiPES

Biography

Melinda Gibbons serves as the Coordinator of the doctoral program in Counselor Education. Her research interests focus on career and educational development for underserved populations, included prospective first-generation college students, students from rural Appalachia, students with intellectual disability, and other students who lack equity and access. She currently coordinates two large, federally funded research grants focused on these topics.

As the mother of two boys, the majority of my free time is spent with them. We enjoy hanging out together as a family, doing anything from watching movies to walking our dogs. I also try to exercise regularly and spend time with my husband.

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Research

• Career Development Across the Lifespan
• Prospective First-Generation College Students
• FUTURE: Postsecondary Education for Students with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities; Co-Primary Investigator & Supervisor
• Imagining Possibilities and PIPES: Possibilities in Postsecondary Education & Science for Rural Appalachian Youth; Co-Primary Investigator, Science Education Partnership Award from National Institutes of Health (https://ip-pipes.utk.edu)
• ASPIRE: Appalachian Students Promoting the Integration of Research in Education; Co-Primary Investigator, S-STEM Award from National Science Foundation (https://aspire.utk.edu)

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Education

• PhD, Counseling and Counselor Education, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, 2005
• MS, EdS, School Counseling, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, 1996
• BA, Psychology, Boston University, Boston, MA. 1992
• Download CV

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Publications

Recent Publications (Selected):

Hardin, E. E., Gibbons, M. M., Cook, K., Sexton, K., & Bagwell, L. (Online First). Development and Validation of a Short Form of the College-Going Self-Efficacy Scale. Journal of Career Assessment. https://doi.org/10.1177/1069072720968241

Barrio Minton, C., Gibbons, M. M., & Hightower, J. (Accepted). Community-engaged research and evaluation in counseling: Building partnerships and applying program evaluation. Journal of Counseling & Development.

Basma, D., Gibbons, M. M., & Kronick. R. (2020). Examining perceived multicultural competence and Negative Attitudes toward the Arab American population. Journal ofMulticultural Counseling, 48(1), 2-14. https://doi.org/10.1002/jmcd.12160

Thacker, N. E., & Gibbons, M. M. (2019). Complicated grief in rural Appalachia: Using feminist therapy to reconcile grief. Journal of Mental Health Counseling, 41, 297-282. https://doi.org/10.17744/mehc.41.4.02

Adams, C., & Gibbons, M. M. (2019) Counseling adolescents diagnosed with conduct disorder: Application of Emotion-Focused Therapy for individuals Journal of Mental Health Counseling, 41, 283-296. https://doi.org/10.17744/mehc.41.4.01

Gibbons, M. M., Taylor, A. L., Brown, E., Daniels, S. K., Hardin, E. E., & Manring, S. (2020). Assessing Postsecondary Barriers for Rural Appalachian High School Students. Journal of Career Assessment, 28(1), 165-181. https://doi.org/10.1177/1069072719845329

Rosecrance, P., Graham, D., Manring, S., Cook, K. D., Hardin, E. E., & Gibbons, M. M. (2019). Rural Appalachian High School Students’ College-Going and STEMM Perceptions. Career Development Quarterly, 67(4), 327-342. https://doi.org/10.1002/cdq.12202

Gibbons, M. M., Taylor, A. L., Wheat, L. S., & Szepe, A. (2018). Transformative learning for peer mentors connected to a postsecondary education program for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities. International Journal of Research on Service-Learning and Community Engagement, 6, Article 10.

Gibbons, M. M., Brown, E., Daniels, S., Rosecrance, P., Hardin, E., & Farrell, I. (2019). Building on strengths while addressing barriers: Career interventions in rural Appalachian communities. Journal of Career Development, 46(6), 637-650. https://doi.org/10.1177/0894845319827652

Gibbons, M. M., Hardin, E., Brown, E., Taylor, A. L., & Graham, D. (2019).Evaluation of an SCCT-based intervention to increase postsecondary awareness in rural Appalachian youth.  Journal of Career Development, 47(4), 424-439. https://doi.org/10.1177/0894845319832972

Gibbons, M. M., Rhinehart, A., & Hardin, E. (2019). How first-generation college students adjust to college. Journal of College Student Retention, 20, 488-510 https://doi.org/10.1177/1521025116682035   

Burgin, E., DeDiego, A., Gibbons, M. M., & Cihak, D. (2017) “Smiling and ready to learn”: A qualitative exploration of university audit instructors’ experience with students with intellectual disabilities. Journal of Postsecondary Education and Disability, 30, 359-372.

Hughes, A. N., & Gibbons, M. M. (2018). Understanding the career development of underprepared college students. Journal of College Student Retention: Research, Theory, & Practice, 19, 452-469. https://doi.org/10.1177/1521025116644262

Gibbons, M. M., Hyfantis, J. A., Cihak, D., Wright, R., & Mynatt, B. (2016). A social-cognitive exploration of the career and college understanding of young adults with intellectual disabilities. Professional School Counseling, 19, 80-91.

Banks, B., & Gibbons, M. M. (2016). Dialectical Behavior Therapy Techniques for Counseling Incarcerated Female Youth: A Case Illustration. Journal of Addictions and Offender Counseling, 37, 49-62.

Burgin, E., & Gibbons, M. M. (2016). More life, not less: Using narrative therapy with older adults with bipolar disorder. AdultSpan, 15, 49-61. https://doi.org/10.1002/adsp.12019

Gibbons, M. M., & Hughes, A. (2015). Chapter 5: The high school. In J. Daigle (Ed.), Classroom guidance for prevention, accountability, and outcomes. Thousand Oaks, CA:Sage.

Gibbons, M. M., Hughes, A., & Woodside, M. (2015). Exploring the Impact of Culture on Career through the Career-in-Culture Interview. AdultSpan, 14, 77-89.

Gibbons, M. M., Cihak, D. F., Mynatt, B., Wilhoit, B. (2015). Faculty and student attitudes toward postsecondary education for students with intellectual disability and autism. Journal of Postsecondary Education and Disability, 28, 149-162.

Gibbons, M. M., & Woodside, M. (2014). Addressing the needs of first-generation college students: Lessons learned from adults from low-education families. Journal of College Counseling. 17, 21-36.

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Presentations

Recent Presentations (Selected):

Diambra, J., Spurgeon, S., Gibbons, M., & Wheat, L. (2019, October). Assessment in counselor education: Using program dispositions as a gatekeeping tool. Presented at the national conference of the Association for Counselor Education and Supervision, Seattle, WA.

Szepe, A., & Gibbons, M. M. (2019, June). Addressing career needs of high school and college students with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Presented at the national conference of the National Career Development Association, Houston, TX.

Gibbons, M. M., Cook, K., & Leeper, K. (2019, June). Career Development for RuralAppalachian Youth. Presented at the national conference of the National Career Development Association, Houston, TX.

Gibbons, M. M., Brown, E., Johnson, M., & Bagwell, L. (2019, March). A strengths-based approach to career development in rural Appalachia. Presented at the national conference of the American Counseling Association. New Orleans, LA.

Gibbons, M. M., & Marshall, R. (2017, October). Service learning in career counseling courses. Presented at the national conference of the Association for Counselor Education and Supervision. Chicago, IL.

Gibbons, M. M., Brown, E., Taylor, A. L., Farrell, I. (2017, October). Grant-funded programming in counselor education: Student and faculty perspectives. Presented at the national conference of the Association for Counselor Education and Supervision. Chicago, IL.

Gibbons, M. M. (2018, October). Career and educational equity and access for rural Appalachian youth. Presented at the Southern Association of Counselor Education and Supervision, Myrtle Beach, SC

Gibbons, M. M., & Szepe, A. (2018, October). Teaching career counseling: Strategies to engage students and promote career access. Presented at the Southern Association of    Counselor Education and Supervision, Myrtle Beach, SC

Gibbons, M. M., Goodman, J., Savickas, M., & Pope, M. (2016, June). Teaching career counseling at the master’s and doctoral level. To be presented at the national conference of the National Career Development Association, Chicago, IL.

Dedmond, R., Marco-Scanlon, C., Evans, K., Gibbons, M. M., Siwiec, A. K., Friday, A. (2016, June). NCDA Counselor Educator Academy panel: Making meaning of career counseling education. To be presented at the national conference of the National Career Development Association, Chicago, IL.

Rhinehart, A. J., Painter, E. W., & Gibbons, M. M. (2015, October). Helping introverted graduate students become successful leaders. Presented at the national conference of the Association for Counselor Education and Supervision, Philadelphia, PA.

Gibbons, M. M., Kronick R., Basma, D., Wheat, L., Brooks, T., & DeDiego, A. (2015, October). Service learning and outreach to connect students with culturally diverse populations. Presented at the national conference of the Association for Counselor Education and Supervision, Philadelphia, PA.

Gibbons, M. M. (2015, June). Creating a systemic K-12 career and college readiness program. Presented at the national conference of the National Career Development Association, Denver, CO.

Gibbons, M. M., Evans, K., Hayden, S., Burns, S., & Clark, A. (2015, June). Teaching students about the connections between social class and career development. Presented at the national conference of the National Career Development Association, Denver, CO.

Brooks, T., & Gibbons, M. M. (2015, May). Spice up your work with clients by introducing expressive arts activities. Presented at the state conference of the Tennessee Career Development Association, Nashville, TN.

Gibbons, M. M., Bussey, L., DeDiego, A., & Gamble, R. (2015, March). Career-related counseling for clients with intellectual disabilities and autism. Presented at the national conference of the American Counseling Association, Orlando, FL.

Gibbons, M. M., Marco-Scanlon, T., Glavin, K., Burns, S., & Hayden, S. (2015, March). Re-imagining your career course for the 21st century. Presented at the national conference of the American Counseling Association, Orlando, FL.

Shurts, W. M., Williams, D. J., & Gibbons, M. M. (2015, March). A practitioner’s guide for providing effective practicum/internship site supervision. Presented at the national conference of the American Counseling Association, Orlando, FL.