Announcements
CONGRATULATIONS ARE IN ORDER!
Dr. Leslie W. O'Ryan
Excellence in Education Community
Awareness Award Recipient
Western Illinois University held its 19th annual Excellence in Diversity Awards Reception, May 8, 2008 in the University Union Lamoine Room on the WIU-Macomb campus. One of our Counselor Education faculty members received an award at this reception: Excellence in Education Community Awareness Award: Leslie O'Ryan, associate professor of counselor education at WIU-QC, was honored for her work with the Martin Luther King Center in Rock Island (IL). O'Ryan created the partnership to provide her students, who led focus groups at the center, with a deeper understanding of career needs for diverse populations; to introduce a significant perspective of the nature of employment and ethnicity; and to generate strategies and expand career prospects for the participants. Congratulations to Dr. O'Ryan for this great achievement!
Upcoming Events:
FALL SEMESTER BEGINS MONDAY - AUGUST 25, 2008
Monday, September 1 - Labor Day - No Classes/University Closed.
From Dr. Frank Main, Counselor Education Department Chairperson: Welcome to the Counselor Education Program at Western Illinois University, Quad Cities (QC). You have chosen well, the Counselor Education Program at WIU was the first counseling program in Illinois to be nationally accredited by the Council for the Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (1987). Indeed, the counseling program at Western has led the way in innovative immersion experiences for clinical practicum and internship.
During this coming academic year, the Counselor Education program will be reviewed once again for CACREP accreditation and this review will mark Western Illinois’s 20-year commitment to national accreditation. Given the strong academic tradition at Western it was an easy decision for me to join the faculty as Program Chair.
I was honored to have been selected as Chair of this fine program and to follow in the footsteps of Drs. Don Waterstreet and Melanie Rawlins. I come to Western Illinois University from The University of South Dakota where I served as Professor of Counseling and Chair of the Division of Counseling and Psychology in Education. I have been heavily engaged as a practitioner and scholar in marriage and family therapy. I believe in teaching by “showing” or demonstrating skills and I have been fortunate to have worked and studied with highly respected leaders in our field.
I was drawn to Western through the vision of the proposed River Front campus and The University’s mission to expand the role and presence of the Counselor Education program in the Quad Cities. I believe that your interest in the counseling program at Western comes at a time when our program will be enriched and enlivened professionally. You can expect to receive cutting-edge skills and a highly reputable knowledge base through your contact with our respected faculty. Welcome to Western Illinois University and please feel free to drop by, write or call me; I welcome the opportunity to visit with you and share in your journey into the helping professions.
**Students, it is essential that you are on the CNED Listserv!** This is the main means of communication of important information and updates that directly affect the CNED student. Messages are sent daily which can impact your progress in the Department.
Use your ECOM account! (This is the email account that ends in wiu.edu). All WIU students have an ECOM email available to them – but it must be activated by the student. Please follow the instructions on the GUAVA website to activate your account. Your WIU email account is the only way Western Illinois University and the Counselor Education Department will contact you via email - no personal email accounts will be recognized! Thank you!