The ESM Seminar, led by associate professor Jennifer Ann Morrow, hosted a Grant Writing Tips workshop on April 4^th, 2016 that drew in more than twenty-five students and faculty members from six different departments at UT Knoxville and the UT Institute of Agriculture.

The Grant Writing Tips were presented by research assistant professor, Harold A. Richards, who works in the College of Engineering as a grants program coordinator. Morrow said, “We knew that Richards would provide excellent resources and his extensive experience in this area is why the students requested this workshop from him.”

“I had a great time interacting with the students and faculty, and I applaud Morrow for supporting her students’ curiosity. A successful research endeavor requires being familiar with how to fund the work and graduate school is an ideal time to begin learning about the process.” – Richards

On a usual night, the ESM Seminar consists of six students and three faculty members. But, they decided to open this specific class meeting to the department and beyond. Morrow explained, “We wanted to open it up to all of EPC, because there are many students and new faculty that have minimal experience with grant writing and we thought this would be beneficial to them.”

The workshop was highly attended and well received. Richards gave a power-point presentation styled as a Q&A. Richards said, “I was happy to share my own experiences and excited by the numerous and thoughtful questions.  It is my hope that the seminar provided context and scope so that students can expand their knowledge and awareness in ways that fit their own interests and needs.”

“I was impressed by the turnout and the questions asked by the audience were relevant and showed to me that this is an area that we really need additional education for our students.”

You can see more photos from the event in our Class Happenings 2016 photo album on the EPC Facebook page.

Sixteen members of EPC were commended at the College of Education, Health, and Human Sciences Recognition Ceremony on April 23, 2015.

To see photos from the event, please go to the “CEHHS Recognition Ceremony 4.23.15” album on our EPC Facebook page.

Ralph G. Brockett
Interim Department Head; Adult Learning/Adult Education
– Recognized under Authors/Editors of Books and Assessments for Teaching adults: A practical guide for new teachers. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass

 Jeff Cochran
Director of REACH Project; Clinical Mental Health Counseling
– Recognized under Authors/Editors of Books and Assessments for The heart of counseling: Counseling skills through therapeutic relationships (2^nd ed.). New York: Routledge
– Recognized under Presidents of National/International Professional Organizations for being President-Elect of Association for Humanistic Counseling
– Recognized under National/International Professional Awards Recipients for Bernard & Louise F. Guerney Award from the Association for Filial and Relationship Enhancement Methods

 Patrick L. Dunn
Program Co-Coordinator for Rehabilitation Counseling
– Recognized under Grants and Contracts Recipients for the Long-Term Training: Rehabilitation Counselors for the Deaf from the US Department of Education – Office of Special Education & Rehabilitative Services, $148,492

 Melinda Gibbons
Program Coordinator for Counselor Education/School Counseling
– Recognized under Editors/Co-Editors of Peer Reviewed Publications for being Associate Editor of Career Development Quarterly

Merilee McCurdy
Program Coordinator for School Psychology
– Recognized under Presidents of National/International Professional Organizations for being Chair-Elect of Council for Directors of School Psychology Programs

Jennifer Ann Morrow
Program Coordinator for Evaluation, Statistics & Measurement
– Recognized under UT Faculty/Staff Awards & Recognition for the Alumni Outstanding Teacher Award

Beth Ponder
Associate Director for Center for Literacy, Education & Employment
– Recognized under Grants and Contracts Recipients for the LINCS Regional Professional Development Centers Program from the US Department of Education, $368,130

Christopher H. Skinner
School Psychology
– Recognized under Authors/Editors of Books and Assessments for Interventions for reading problems: Designing and evaluating effective strategies (2^nd ed.). New York: The Guilford Press

Shawn L. Spurgeon
Program Coordinator for Clinical Mental Health Counseling
– Recognized under Presidents of National/International Professional Organizations for being President of Association for Assessment and Research in Counseling
– Recognized under Presidents of National/International Professional Organizations for being President-Elect of Southern Association for Counselor Education and Supervision
– Awarded a Dean’s Service Award

Jeannine Studer
Professor Emerita
– Recognized under Faculty & Staff Retirements for serving from 2003-2014

 Barbara Thayer-Bacon
Program Coordinator for 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

Michael Waugh
Instructional Technology/Learning Environments & Educational Studies
– Recognized under National/International Professional Awards Recipients for Best Paper Award from the Society for Information Technology and Teacher Education Conference

Connie White
Associate Director for Center for Literacy, Education & Employment
– Recognized under Grants and Contracts Recipients for the Tennessee Adult Education Professional Development and Technical Assistance from the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development, $543,739

Brian Wilhoit
Director of Korn Learning, Assessment & Social Skills (KLASS) Center
– Recognized under Grants and Contracts Recipients for the FUTURE Program from the US Department of Education, $315,260

Marianne Woodside
Counselor Education/School Counseling
– Recognized under Authors/Editors of Books and Assessments for Introduction to human services: Cases and applications (8^th ed.). Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks Cole/Cengage
– Recognized under Faculty & Staff Retirements serving from 1979-2015

Mary Ziegler
Program Coordinator for Adult Learning; Program Co-Coordinator for Adult Education/Applied Educational Psychology
– Recognized under Authors/Editors of Books and Assessments for Adult development and aging. San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education
– Recognized under Faculty & Staff Retirements serving from 1993-2015

Jennifer Ann Morrow, Niranji Pathirage, Brittany Pollard, and Alessandra Rhinehart were all recognized at the Chancellor’s Honors Banquet on April 8, 2015.

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

Jennifer Ann Morrow, ESM Program Coordinator, was one of four recipients of the Alumni Outstanding Teacher Award. This award is hosted by the University of Tennessee Alumni Association and is part of their continuing effort to support creative and resourceful instruction, as well as recognizing exceptional teaching. After nominations, a committee of nine narrowed things down to ten finalists who were required to provide a resume, recent student evaluations, curriculum vitae, an essay about their teaching philosophy, and their spring schedule for classroom observation. This award also came with a cash reward.

“I just wanted to say thank you to all of my students for inspiring me to always make my classes as applicable and useful as they can be. You all keep me on my toes. Thank you for allowing me to do what I love to do, which is be excited about methodology…and hopefully have you get excited about it too.”

Brittany Pollard, Counselor Education PhD Candidate, was one of four recipients of the Extraordinary Graduate Student Teaching Award. This is a university-wide award given to graduate students for extraordinary performance in teaching.

“I am so thrilled and honored to receive the Chancellor’s Award for Graduate Teaching. My work with the Grief Outreach Initiative has been an invaluable experience and I’m so grateful for the incredible mentorship I’ve received and the students who have made coordinating this project a dream come true!”

Niranji Pathirage, ESM PhD Candidate, and Alessandra Rhinehart, Counselor Education PhD Candidate, were each one of seven recipients of the Extraordinary Professional Promise Award. This is a college-wide award given to students for professional promise in areas such as teaching and research.

“I am happy to express my sincerest gratitude to the Counselor Education program faculty, department, college, university, and Chancellor for recognizing my extraordinary professional promise in research, teaching, and other contributions to the counseling profession. It is truly an honor, not only to accept this award, but also to embark upon my professional career with the knowledge, expertise, leadership skills, and grace afforded by my professors and mentors. I celebrate my training and ability to have a significant, positive impact on my students, the counseling profession, and the lives of those indirectly impacted by my service.”

Jennifer Ann Morrow, ESM Program Coordinator, and Brittany Daulton, ESM PhD Candidate, have teamed up to win one of only seven Outreach Incentive Grants at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

Outreach Incentive Grants are awarded annually from the Office of Community Engagement and Outreach through a competitive process. The Chancellor provides special funding to allocate to proposals selected on the basis of community projects or partnerships that promote the principles of engagement as applied to teaching/learning, research, or outreach. Grant recipients utilize funds to connect UT and local communities in a mutually beneficial relationship.

Morrow and Daulton’s grant will fund a project to partner the Evaluation, Statistics, and Measurement program with the Tennessee College of Applied Technology – Knoxville. This partnership has two overarching goals that align with the principles of engagement: 1) to collect needs assessment data addressing community members’ perceptions regarding Knoxville’s TCAT and 2) to enhance the evaluation and assessment training of ESM doctoral and certificate students. It will be a mutually beneficial collaboration, enabling ESM student to gain hands-on, real-world experience and providing TCAT with important data informing them of perceptions regarding their programs and gaps in their services.

Specifically, Morrow and Daulton plan to conduct a comprehensive community needs assessment addressing three main objectives: 1) what community members know about their local TCAT, 2) what their needs are for training and educational offerings at their local TCAT, and 3) what barriers impede them from attending and/or earning a certificate at TCAT.

Their completed project report titled “A Collaborative Partnership Between the Evaluation, Statistics, and Measurement Program and Knoxville’s Tennessee College of Applied Technology” will be posted on the Office of Community Engagement and Outreach website in the fall of 2015. Also on their site is a complete list of winners and additional information.