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MIZZOUEducational, School,& Counseling PsychologyE-NewsletterFall, 2007

InsideGreetings From the Department ChairOn behalf of our faculty, staff and students, I warmly welcome you to this issue of

the Educational, School & Counseling Psychology E-Newsletter. As an ESCP alum in Educational Psychology (’96), I have been very proud of the people, the programs and the professional preparation that make up this outstanding department. I am very pleased to have the opportunity to personally recognize and commend Dr. Richard H. Cox for his tenure as department chair and for the exceptional and work and service he has provided to this department and the College of Education.

Dr. Cox has served as chair of ESCP for the past three years, stepping down from this position at the end of August this past summer. Having worked on the administrative side of higher education for the past eight years, I am convinced that serving as chair of a department is one of the most difficult and demanding positions that one can hold in service to a university. The dedication, attention to detail, commitment to the work of each individual faculty member, support for every student, and the additional energy and wisdom needed to work with so many individuals outside the department requires tremendous amounts of time and personal sacrifice. Thank you Rich, from all of us, for your years of guidance and support as chair of this department. We are grateful for your loyalty and dedication and are pleased to feature you in this issue.

The incredible array of talent and the knowledge and skills demonstrated by this faculty, staff and student body is remarkable. The magnitude of the collective work, and the people who are involved in making this world a better place is a story worth telling. From the work of Dr. James Koller, retired but still actively involved in his extraordinary work in the advancement of mental health practices in schools to the stories of our new students and their extraordinary promise in advancing their respective fields, you will find this issue heartwarming.

All of this would not be possible without a dedicated editor, one who shares the enthusiasm for the work of ESCP. Dr. Barbara Williamson, continues to provide an excellent array of articles and information that will keep you up-to-date and informed about the department. Her passion and commitment to an excellent publication is clearly evident and deserves our recognition and appreciation. We are indebted to Barbara, and thank her for her fine work in this regard.

We are also interested in you, our alumni and friends, and hope that you will let us know where you are and what you are doing. I hope the information, news and stories provide you with a stronger connection to the department and a sense of pride in the distinguished accomplishments of those who are featured in this issue.

Sincerely,

Deb Carr, Ph.D.Associate Dean & Interim Chair

From the Editor

Faculty Directory

Educational Psychology

School Psychology

Counseling Psychology

Health Educa-tion/Promotion

MU Alumni Association

Welcome to the Fall 2007 issue of the Educational, School and Counseling Psychology (ESCP) E-News-letter, where we highlight the many accomplishments of our faculty, students and alumni. In this issue, each of the four program areas is well represented with highly informative articles, and you will want to read each and every page.

Beginning with the Educational Psychology program area, Dr. Stephen Whitney, an assistant professor, recounts his experiences in Budapest, Hungary where he presented a paper at the 12th Biennial Conference of the European Association for Research on Learning and Instruction (EARLI). You will also want to read about a distinguished award that Dr. Whitney received. The Alumni Focus features Dr. Kent Noel, a 1997 graduate who recalls numerous experiences and challenges during his doctoral program; in addition, he addresses his “career duality.” Finally, the Students’ Corner section features doctoral student, Ze Wang, and her internship at Harcourt Assessment. In addition, Hsiao Wen Liao writes about her experience as one of the first two students in a new National Taiwan Normal University (NTNU)/MU Dual-Degree program.

School Psychology welcomes new faculty member, Dr. Wendy Reinke, an assistant professor and former Prevention Science Postdoctoral Fellow at Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore, MD. The Faculty Focus for this issue is Dr. James Koller, a long-tenured ESCP faculty member who recently retired, but who remains in a part-time capacity. In the Students’ Corner section, new student Katie Heaton is featured as well as a recent Ph.D. graduate, Connie Brooks. In addition, the Students’ Corner includes students’ presentations, publications and awards.

Counseling Psychology introduces Dr. Keith Herman, an associate professor, as its newest faculty member. Dr. Herman was formerly at Johns Hopkins University, School of Medicine, where he worked in the Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. The Faculty Focus is Dr. Richard Cox who recently stepped down after provid-ing three years of extraordinary leadership to the ESCP Department. The Program Focus is the American Sign Language (ASL) Program, and the article details the significant role Stephanie Logan has played in its formation and ongoing development. In the Alumni Focus section, Drs. Erika Patterson and Jeff Tarrant, a husband and wife team in private practice, are featured. Doctoral students, Taleb Khairallah and Lizette Ojeda are acknowl-edged in the Students’ Corner section as are their recent distinguished recognitions. The “In Tribute” section provides information about two recently deceased counseling psychology alumni, Drs. Wayne Dixon and Dick Weigel, as well as a former faculty member, Dr. Robert Burton, who was also a former Assistant and Associate Dean of the College of Education.

Finally, in Health Education/Promotion, Dr. Alex Waigandt, Program Director, acknowledges recent gradu-ates as well as students who are new to the program area. Also in this section, Dr. Heather Eastman-Mueller is featured in the Alumni Focus, and the “Three Amigos” are featured in Students’ Corner.

As always, we ask that you continue to stay in touch with us and provide updates regarding your career and life transitions. In addition, we welcome your feedback about the ESCP E-Newsletter as well as your submission of articles. Until Spring 2008…

Very best wishes!Barbara Williamson, Ph.D.Editor

From the Editor

Department Chair (Interim)

Deb [email protected] of EducationAssociate Dean forUndergraduate Studies

Educational Psychology

David Bergin ***[email protected] Professor

Steven J. [email protected]

Roberta Scholes [email protected] Associate*

Peeter Tammeveski [email protected] Visiting Professor

Stephen D. Whitney [email protected] Professor

School Psychology

Craig L. Frisby ***[email protected] Professor

Andy [email protected] Assistant Professor

James R. [email protected]

Micah [email protected] Professor *

Cheryl Rau [email protected] Professor

Wendy Reinke **[email protected] Professor

Counseling Psychology

Kathleen [email protected] Professor *

Richard H. [email protected]

Lisa Y. [email protected] Professor

Glenn E. [email protected]

Norman C. [email protected]

Mary J. Heppner ***[email protected]

P. Paul [email protected]

Joseph A. [email protected]

Kwong-Liem Karl Kwan [email protected] Professor

Rick [email protected] Professor

Laurie [email protected] Professor

Michael [email protected] Professor

Barbara [email protected] Professor *

Roger L. [email protected] Professor

Deborah [email protected] Clinical Associate Professor

Keith Herman **[email protected] Professor

Health Education/ Promotion

Alex Waigandt ***[email protected] Associate Professor

* Of Professional Practice** New Faculty*** Program Area Director

Faculty Directory

MIZZOU Educational PsychologyE-Newsletter

Fall 2007

Greetings From the Program Director InsideWelcome to the Fall 2007 issue of the Educational Psy-

chology section of the ESCP E-Newsletter. We begin our section by highlighting Dr. Stephen Whitney, an assistant professor, who traveled to Budapest to present research at the European Association for Research on Learning and Instruction (EARLI) Conference. In addition, Dr. Whit-ney is congratulated for receiving an Isabelle Lyda Pro-fessorship from the College of Education. In the Alumni Focus section we feature, Dr. Kent Noel, who graduated in 1997 and is doing interesting work outside of the academic track. Finally, in the Students’ Corner Section, Ze Wang, a doctoral student is featured and recounts her internship at Harcourt Assessment in San Antonio, TX. We also intro-duce a new exchange program with National Taiwan Nor-mal University. Our first two participants are Hsiao Wen Liao and Yung-Tim (Yvonne) Chang. You can read about Hsiao Wen’s experiences in this issue.

David A. Bergin, Ph.D.Professor and Program Director

Faculty Highlights

Alumni Focus

Students’ Corner

Dr. Whitney attended the 12th Biennial

Conference of the European Association for Research on Learning and Instruction (EAR-LI) in Budapest, Hungary in August, where he presented a paper titled “Risk profile in multi-racial adolescents and impacts on educational outcomes”. The conference was attended by well over 1700 researchers from around the globe. Dr. Whitney notes that the conference was interesting in that many European re-searchers have a different perspective on the challenges facing instruction and learning as well as fascinating insights into the best way to support students today. The conference pre-sentations he attended concentrated on the in-tegration of social and emotional supports as well as discussion on how governments must increase support for all areas of students life, which is a more holistic approach than here in America. While not all findings from Euro-pean researchers translate into the structure of American education, Dr. Whitney found their focus on theory, and the methods they incor-porate, a great complement to his work on at-risk students in schools.

In addition to a provocative conference, Dr. Whitney left with memories of Budapest as a wonderful and beautiful city with lots of great sights and friendly people.

Isabelle Lyda Professorship

Most recently, Dr. Stephen D. Whitney, was awarded the Isabelle Lyda Professorship, a biennially recognized award given to a dis-tinguished non-tenured, tenure-track law and education professor at MU to enhance his or her professional development. Specifically, this faculty enhancement award is to promote the recipient’s research plan including acqui-sition of research-related skills and materials. The award’s namesake, Isabelle Wade Lyda, earned a bachelor’s degree in education in 1921 and a master’s degree in 1935. Congratu-lations to Dr. Whitney.

Dr. Stephen D WhitneyFaculty Highlights

Dr. Stephen D. Whitney

Dr. Whitney at the entrance of EARLI Conference

While many in psychological pro-fessions are “pure breeds”, Dr. Noel considers him-self somewhat of a “mutt” in that his masters and special-ist degrees are in counseling, and his doctorate is in edu-cational psychology.

If ever pressed to decide between the two areas, he would have great difficulty as he indicates, “I

enjoy both specialties equally well.” Interest-ingly, his doctoral inside area is in higher and adult education, and his outside area is in per-sonality theories, which further reflects this du-ality.

Discovering His TalentsFor seven years including all three of

his graduate programs (1989-1997), Dr. Noel worked at the MU Testing Services. For five months, he served as the interim coordinator, but declined the offer to accept the position on a permanent basis so as to devote time and ef-fort toward completing his Ph.D.

AlumniFocus

In the Private Sector

Managing Career Duality

Dr. Kent Noel

Dr. Kent Noel

Steve Osterlind – and 1,999 others – participated in Cycle Oregon, a 7-day, 540 ride across the Oregon cascades, that included three mountain passes. Said Osterlind, “It was a lot tougher than I expected, but worth every minute. I’d like to do it again next year.”

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Dr. Steven J. OsterlindFaculty Highlights

Dr. Steven J. Osterlind in Cycle Oregon

As graduation neared in late 1997, it became increasingly apparent that his talents were in coun-seling and administration, and not in academia. He states, “My dissertation struggles really drove this home.” However, he saw few opportunities on the applied side of psychology without a license, and consequently approached the MU Counsel-ing Center about completing a post-doc to earn the 1500 hours needed for a licensed professional counselor designation, and he states, “They gra-ciously took me in for a year.” For Dr. Noel, this period in 1997 was also a time of great personal challenges in that his father, with whom he had been very close, died at the age of 58. He states, “I very much became the emotional head of my family at a relatively young age of 31; and some days I handled this much better than others.” He acknowledges that during this period, his wife, Karen, his mother and brother were a tremendous source of strength and support, as were his MU “family” at both ESCP and Parker Hall, including Drs. Mike Patton, Wiley Miller, Bob Dolliver, and Carl Willis, whom he states “were mentors in the truest sense of the word.”

Persistence PaidDuring the post-doc year Dr. Noel conducted

Biofeedback and EEG Neurofeedback with groups and individuals in the stress management clinic, as well as career planning and personal counseling. He thoroughly enjoyed this work, and earned extra cash by administering the GED exam at local pris-

ons and teaching learning courses as an adjunct at MU…again, the duality! A month before the completion of his post-doc, Dr. Noel’s wife, Kar-en, landed the career opportunity of a lifetime with Sprint in Kansas City. And although he envisioned securing a great job as well once they moved to the area, he quickly found that KC was not the “land of milk and honey” for psychology. Moreover, man-aged care had really reduced opportunities across the board for therapists. He recalls, “My supervi-sor at MU flat out told me, ‘no one is hiring’.” So after two futile months of searching, he decided to work 24 hours a week for Boone Hospital Center in Columbia. Boone Hospital was in the process of starting a biofeedback services program for the treatment of anxiety, depression, and pain manage-ment, and Dr. Noel began doing extensive group work in their psychiatric unit. He recalls, “I would drive to Boone Hospital on Monday mornings, stay with my Mom in Moberly for two nights, and drive back home to Lee’s Summit following work on Wednesday. This arrangement was not good for a marriage,” he reflects. He repeated this routine for nine months, while continuing to job hunt on Thursdays and Fridays. Finally, after more than 250 cold calls, he landed an interview with Carr & Associates.

Alumni Focus - continued

Kent, Karen, and Kent’s brother, Lance, at the Crazy Horse Monument in South Dakota

Kent in front of the Tower Bridge in London

Academic Fusion in the Private SectorCarr & Associates is an industrial psychology

firm that performs employment selection assess-ments using personality, problem solving, mental ability, and other instruments to identify best-fit hires for manufacturing companies, insurance companies, city governments, non-profits, banks, etc. The firm, which formed in 1966 and does sev-eral thousand assessments a year, also conducts applied research for its clients, as needed. Dr. Noel recalls that during the interview, “The presi-dent and I instantly clicked and he offered me a job. I started the first week in January 2000 and have been at Carr & Associates ever since.”

During the past eight years, Dr. Noel has

been promoted from Consultant to Senior Con-sultant to Director of Assessment. His current duties include employment selection assessment, career planning, executive coaching, publications and presentations on specialized topics (i.e. situ-ational leadership, test interpretation, brain map-ping, and identifying entrepreneurs), consulting, and supervision of professional and support staff. He states, “While my training in counseling has been directly applicable to my career planning and coaching duties, my coursework in education-al psychology has been vital across all aspects of my work. There is considerable overlap between educational and industrial psychology (which the literature strongly supports), and my background was an easy sell to my employer.”

Lessons LearnedBeyond credentials, Dr. Noel’s educational

psychology training at MU has greatly informed his present work in three key ways. First, his training has made him quite vigilant to the dif-ferences between “testing” and “assessment.” According to Dr. Noel, “Testing is a ‘cookie cut-ter’ and often has a pass/fail quality to it. As-sessment, by contrast, is comprehensive, looks at findings across multiple data points, and takes into account special circumstances and other idiographic factors specific to the individual.” And when he evaluates potential hires, he is ever mindful of this distinction. He feels that under-standing this distinction has made him a good “watchdog” for his corporate clients, by protect-ing them from using test results inappropriately.

Second, the constructivist and team empha-sis at MU helped him become a good problem solver and collaborator. His corporate clients of-ten present problems that require innovative and customized solutions, where there is rarely one “right answer.” Similarly, decisions are rarely made in a vacuum; rather, there is considerable gathering of opinions and brainstorming. “The educational psychology program at MU was very much a microcosm for such collaboration,” he states.


Kent in front of the Freud Museum

Kent & Karen in AZ

Finally, Dr. Noel states that his courses in learning and motivation have aided him in be-coming an adept presenter, trainer, and supervi-sor. “I really try to see people as individuals and tailor my interactions accordingly,” he states. “One size fits all” managers and mentors just don’t work in most corporate cultures today and it is my responsibility as both a supervisor and an executive coach to help promote greater balance stylistically,” he continues.

Career SatisfactionDr. Noel is very satisfied with his career as

well as the fit in his current role, and acknowl-edges that, “I owe a lot to my training at MU”. He advises present doctoral students to take an objective look at where they fit in the research-

teaching-practice-administration continuum, and tailor their learning experiences accordingly, wherever possible. Moreover, Dr. Noel states that “while there are excellent opportunities in academia, the private sector has much to offer as well. Be cognizant of the wide applicability of your training across a spectrum of settings.”

Kent Noel, Ph.D. (Educational Psychology 1997) is the Director of Assessment at Carr & As-sociates, an Industrial Psychology firm in Overland Park, KS. He is also an Adjunct Instructor for the University of Central Missouri and a Trustee for the Kansas City Chapter of the American Counsel-ing Association. He can be reached for questions or comments at [email protected]


Doctoral student, Ze Wang, worked as a summer intern in the Edward J. Slawski, Jr. Summer Fellowship Program in Psychometrics

at Harcourt Assessment in San Antonio, Texas.Within the Department of Psychometric and Re-search Services, Ze had direct interaction with psychometricians and statisticians responsible for research and development of large-scale testing programs. In addition, she participated in staff training and development sessions on Winsteps, SAS, and various measurement top-ics such as calibration, scaling and equating, as well as standard setting, norming and sampling procedures. Ze worked especially closely with a team, comprised of two psychometricians and a statistician, on three research proposals, and provided training to team members on hi-erarchical linear modeling. Further, she helped prepare the technical report of the Spring 2007 administration of Alabama Reading and Math-ematics Test (ARMT) for grades 3 to 8.

Students’Corner New Experiences

Ze Wang

mailto:// [email protected]

ffffffffffffffffffffffffLayout and Design: Min Huang (‘04), Marc Kayson (‘05)

Chia-Lin Tsai (‘06-’07), Xinting Zhao (present)

NTNU Dual Degree Students

Under the leadership of Drs. Puncky Heppner and Barbara Williamson, the ESCP Department has instituted an exchange program with Na-tional Taiwan Normal University. Our first two participants are educational psychology students Hsiao Wen Liao and Yung-Tim (Yvonne) Chang. Hsiao Wen gives a report of her experience for this newsletter. She comes from National Tai-wan Normal University (NTNU), and this is her second year in graduate school. The exchange program provides her an opportunity to study at MU for a year. After finishing the year, she will return to NTNU to complete her thesis, and she will have earned masters degrees from NTNU and MU. Hsiao Wen says that the most important thing about the exchange is that a year of learn-ing experiences here in the U.S. can give her a better sense of western culture: “We read lots of research articles in NTNU and most of them are from western academic society, especially from the United States. I thought it would be a great help for me to study psychology if I could per-sonally experience the learning process here.”

Hsiao Wen had not been to the United States before, and she did not realize that the cultures here would be so diverse. From class discus-

sions she learned that different regions in the country could have totally diverse cultures, such as the East and West Coast cultures versus the Mid-Western culture. She was surprised to learn that even in the same U.S. city, students could have different courses in different schools. Hsiao Wen’s study partner reported that she went to middle school and had lots of reading and writ-ing training, but knew other students who did not have such training before going to the college. Hsiao Wen reports, “I can hardly imagine that there would be different courses in public school in Taiwan. It is still a hot debate about whether to use common textbooks or not in Taiwan.”

Hsiao Wen finds attending classes quite in-teresting. Students here are more active than in Taiwan; they answer questions freely. Even in Taiwan, she says that she hesitates before say-ing anything in class. She is interested that indi-vidualistic behaviors are welcomed here, which helps explain why many American psychological perspectives and theories are rooted in individual agency.

Hsiao Wen sums it up saying, “So far, I have very positive experiences here, and especially people who I encountered are truly sincere. Al-though a year is not enough to learn thoroughly about this country, I think these learning experi-ences will inspire me for further exploration here in the future.”

Students’ Corner - continued

Hsiao Wen Liao and Yung-Tim (Yvonne) Chang

MIZZOU School PsychologyE-Newsletter

Fall 2007

Greetings From the Program Director InsideThe Gershwin’s popular tune “Summertime” opens with the phrase “sum-

mertime . . . . and the “livin’ is easy”. This may have been true for some folks, but for others summertime means anything but a time to relax. For school psy-chology graduate students and professors, summertime meant preparing for presentations at the APA convention held in San Francisco. For others, sum-mertime meant cramming into an already packed academic schedule all re-maining required classes before beginning a Fall internship. For our brand new school psychology faculty member, summertime meant packing up a husband and newborn baby and moving to the Show Me state to begin a brand new job.

Regardless of how summertime was spent, we are all eager to begin a new academic year that brings many new initiatives, challenges, and life transitions. Dr. Wendy Reinke, our new faculty member, is adjusting well in her role as instructor for the School Psychology Professional Issues II course and in her appointment with the Center for the Advancement of Mental Health Practices in Schools (CAMHPS). Although we are proud to have APA accreditation for our doctoral program, we have always wanted for some time to supplement this honor with National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) approval of both our doctoral and education specialist programs. With three full time fac-ulty members, we now have the resources to aggressively pursue this goal.

We are also pleased to welcome five new students to the school psychol-ogy program this year. Collectively, they have most recently attended colleges in Missouri, Illinois, and New York. Each of these students brings with them unique perspectives on serving children and families both in and out of school contexts. We look forward to their valuable contributions to the program.

The most profound transition to affect our program is the retirement of Dr. Jim Koller. Jim started the school psychology program at MU in 1974, before many of our current students were born. For many years, Dr. Koller was the only school psychology faculty member in the program. Although faculty have come and gone over the years, Jim has proven to be a steady and reliable influence. He has served as a close mentor to many distinguished alumni of the program, and has built CAMHPS into a nationally recognized force in mental health practices in schools. Although we are happy that Jim and his family will finally enjoy a well deserved retirement, we will miss him dearly.

We are indeed grateful for these new developments and transitions, and are pleased to share these with you in this issue

Craig Frisby, Ph.D.Professor and Program Director

New Faculty

Faculty Focus

Students’ Corner

School Psychology is happy to introduce Dr. Wendy Reinke as the newest addition to the faculty. Dr. Reinke who recently completed a postdoctoral fellowship in public health at Johns Hopkins University, received her PhD in School

Psychology in 2005 from the University of Oregon. Her research interest is in the prevention and treat-ment of childhood emotional and behavior disor-ders. Currently, Dr. Reinke and her husband, Dr. Keith Herman, are starting a Missouri Prevention Project, which will focus on preventing disruptive behaviors and internalizing problems. More spe-cifically, the Prevention Project will be family cen-tered and implemented in the schools via evidence based treatment.

Wendy and husband, Keith, are adjusting well to Columbia, and to being new parents. Their daughter, Kennedy, was born April 28th, and she is described as “a very easy baby”. For fun, Wendy and Keith like to “hang out at Wal-Mart” as well as hike on the local trails. Her favorite store is Trader Joe’s and they recently drove to Chesterfield, MO to shop there. Wendy has lived in several states in the U.S. (Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Maryland) and we welcome her to Columbia.

Dr. Wendy Reinke - New Faculty

Dr. Wendy Reinke

On Growing Up in Nebraska

Dr. James Koller grew up in a farming community in a small town in Western Nebraska and remembers his neighbors as good people and hard working farmers who were totally de-

pendent on the weather. Dr. Koller states, “I’ve seen million dollar crops destroyed in five minutes due to

storms--especially hail. As a kid, it was hard to see strong adult farmers break down and cry uncon-trollably. The area was so problematical with hail and so dependent on farming that the U.S. Weather Bureau established an experimental station to just study weather patterns related to hail. You could always hear it coming--a rumble.”

His family and his faith have always been a

strong influence in his life, followed by an abiding respect for education. “Both Karen and I came from parents who never went to college [‘my Dad went to college for one semester on a football scholar-ship until he was knocked out during a game and

FacultyFocus

Mental Health Advocate

Thinking Outside the Box

Dr. James R. Koller

Dr. Jim Koller

had to come home to help on the farm’]; and Kar-en’s father only went to the 4th grade, and yet was probably the most intelligent person I ever met. Her parent’s lives were dominated by farming and mak-ing ends meet, and he feels these challenges helped “both Karen and me to appreciate hard work.” He continues, “I still get up ‘before the chickens each morning’, and I’ve been told a million times I work too hard--always a full plate. No different with Karen or our kids. They all work too hard.”

Sports were a big part of his life growing up, especially baseball. In fact, he had a tryout with the Cleveland Indians, although he indicated that it didn’t last long—“couldn’t hit the major league curve ball.” In addition to sports, music is also a big part of his life. He plays the piano; he has performed on stage accompanying singers, he has acted in operettas; he has sang with barbershop quartets; and he has tap danced, and recalls, “Fred Astaire was my theatrical idol.”

A Visionary: Thinking Outside the BoxDr. James Koller is a recently retired professor

in School Psychology, and founder and co-director of the Center for Advancement of Mental Health Practices in Schools (CAMHPS). In addition, he is founder of the Assessment and Consultation Clinic (ACC). Prior to MU, he was Director of the Psy-chology Department at a large developmental dis-ability hospital/school in Iowa where he finished his second post doc. However, in 1974, Dr. Koller arrived at MU at the behest of CoE Dean Robert Woods to develop a graduate School Psychology

Program. In addition, Dr. Koller developed clinics in the MU Medical School (Pediatrics, Psychia-try and Neurology) to expose School Psychology students to developmental problems of youth with medical concerns. The amount generated from fee-for-service was nearly $3 million, and was shared by the medical departments and used to support students coming to MU.

During his tenure with School Psychology, Dr. Koller has written or co-authored many grants and contracts, which has helped drive all of the School Psychology programs as well as CAM-HPS. Currently, CAMHPS has a suicide grant in addition to a grant in Moberly schools. In fact, Dr. Koller has accumulated over $7,000,000 in grants during his tenure at MU. In reflection, he states, “I’m particularly grateful for the opportunity and encouragement to “think outside the box” that the department chairs and deans, etc., have encour-aged, and to be around supportive colleagues.”

A Family ManJim and wife, Karen, have been married for

43 years, and share a very close bond. A man of faith, he states, “My wife and I pray daily togeth-er…haven’t missed a day, I don’t think, in five years. I go to noon Mass on Monday, Wednesday and Friday at St. Thomas More Newman Center on campus…Gone about 40 minutes….” Karen is a former long-tenured elementary school teacher who still has former first grade students dropping

Faculty Focus - continued

Karen and Jim in Mizzou garb

Karen and Jim with grandkids: in the back L to R are Jack Koller and Jay Koller. In the front are Erin Koller, Owen Stephens and Allie Koller

http://mhrs.missouri.edu

http://muacc.missouri.edu

by to reminiscence and to thank her for her positive influence in their lives.

The Kollers have four children, all with grad-uate degrees and all involved in health/education efforts. Jim Jr., the eldest, is a physician (Internal Medicine) at MU; Kristen is a Speech and Lan-guage Pathologist in the Columbia Schools; as is their daughter, Kim (although she is at home with a toddler); and Katie is a Physical Therapist in St. Louis. Jim and Karen’s daughter, Kristen, has the unique distinction of being the second girl born into the Koller family in 109 years! Another interesting point of distinction for this family is that Jim, Jr. and his wife, Julie, have quadruplets! While daughter, Kim, and her husband, Jamie, are parents to two-year-old Owen, affectionately called “Big O”.

Dr. Koller loves all sports, especially golf (he plays in the faculty league) and Big 12 as well as gardening, fishing, and traveling. In addition, he and Karen have belonged to the Gustatory Gourmet group for 20 years. The group gets together to try different foods from around the world. He indicat-ed that, “some experiments have been great; others were not. Once, I made an Egyptian vegetable-type hummus. It was horrendous! No one ate it. I gave it

to my dog and he was sick for two days.” However, he indicated that he still enjoys experimenting with food, and likes to read about nutritional and the bio-chemical makeup of foods. “Actually”, he states, “I’m interested in most things, including programs on the History and Discovery Channels on TV; and I especially like scientific things.” In addition, he reads three daily newspapers, and educational types of information on health related topics.

Research Interests and Related BoardsDr. Koller’s research interests include men-

tal health and systems change; teacher stress and burnout; bullying and school violence; teacher pre-service and in-service training in mental health; and legislative decision making surrounding men-tal health issues. And since 1974 when he arrived at MU, he has made significant contributions to the research and advocacy in each of these areas. In addition, he has served actively on many commu-nity, state and national boards, and those in which he is most proud (because of their direct influence on youth), include: Woodhaven Learning Center – Columbia, MO, and Missouri School for the Deaf in Fulton, MO. At the national level, they include: National School Mental Health Center for Policy and Action - University of Maryland; National As-sembly for School Based Health Care - Washing-ton, D.C (a subsidiary of the CDC); and American Council on Education, General Educational Devel-opment Testing Service -Washington, DC.

Awards and Acknowledgment of His Good WorksDr. Koller’s good works have not gone unno-

ticed as he has received numerous acknowledge-ments and awards throughout his academic career. He indicated that the ones of which he is particularly proud include: (1) Fellow, International Academy for Research in Learning Disabilities; (2) Acknowl-edgement by APA for the MU School Psychology training model in the medical schools; (3) Recogni-tion by Syracuse University for MU School Psy-chology’s work with rural schools; (4) Recipient of the National Juanita Evans Memorial Award from the National Center at the University of Maryland (for the promotion and development of school based


Jim likes to garden; Big O picks one of grandpa’s tomatoes

mental health in the U.S.; (5) Recipient of Admiral status in the mythical Nebraska Navy (Awarded by the Governor of Nebraska and the Nebraska State Legislature, this award is given to “Native Sons and Daughters” who have contributed to the “welfare of the state and country”. Dr. Koller’s award cited his work with youth with disabilities; (6) Distinguished Visiting Professor Award at Lackland Air Force Base by the Armed Services Commission; and (7) COE High Flyer status in the Scholarship of Teach-ing for eight years here at MU.

Letting GoOne of the most difficult tasks that Dr. James

R. Koller’s campus-wide colleagues have had to come to grips with is the fact that he recently re-tired. However, to ease the transition for so many who rely on his leadership and know-how, he will remain on a part time basis for the academic year of 2007-2008. On the other hand, several students have observed that retirement might be a difficult transition for him. In fact, Amanda Paul, a second year doctoral student working in CAMHPS, had this to say of Dr. Koller: “He is supportive, helpful, encouraging, kind, and brilliant, but he’s not very good at being retired.” According to Ashley Roberts, another School Psychology student, “Amanda’s as-sessment is correct”; she further states, “although he has recently retired, he is just as busy now as he has been in the past, but he likes it that way.”

As evidenced by the following statements from colleagues and students, Dr. Koller is re-spected highly and his high degree of profession-alism has had a tremendous effect on so many.

Dr. Karen Weston:“I have a tremendous amount of respect for Jim as a colleague. Not only is he an excellent lead-er and mentor, but he’s just one of the kindest souls around. And through all of the frustration that comes with building a nationally-recognized center, Jim makes sure that there’s always time for a laugh. I have enjoyed my work with him immensely, and I am certain that I would not be where I am today in my career if not for his guid-ance and encouragement.”

Dr. Edwin Morris:“We have known each other for many years and in a variety of ways. Jim began as my advisor and now we are colleagues, but regardless of the formal relationship between us he has always been a men-tor and friend. He’s one of those guys that has been a tremendous example for me. As my dad used to say about men he admired, “he’s a real scholar and a true gentleman”. As far as Jim and retirement, I am going to try to give him some advice.”

Danielle Starkey:“In addition to his role as a professor and leader in the field of school mental health, Dr. Koller shows a true interest in the personal and professional de-velopment of his students, a quality that motivates us to go beyond our class curriculum and seek out additional opportunities to better prepare ourselves for the challenges that lie ahead.”

Christopher Buchanan:“Dr. Koller’s compassion has always stood out to me. It emanates from him and influences those lucky enough to know him.”

Jason Parkin:“Dr. Koller has been an important mentor through out graduate school. I’m thankful for all his support.”


Jim, granddaugher Allie, and son Jim Jr. are Mizzou fans

Congratulations

Constance Brooks graduated with her Ph.D in August 2007. In addition, she presented a post-er at the 2007 American Psychological Associa-tion conference in San Francisco, CA, entitled: “Risk factors and sexual behaviors: Attitudes as a mediating factor?”

Natalie Modzelewski is a Gus T. Ridgel Fel-lowship Recipient.

Student and Faculty Joint Publi-cations and Presentations

Craig L. Frisby and Jason Parkin published an article in Journal of School Psychology, Vol. 45(4) entitled: “Identifying similarities in cogni-tive subtest functional requirements: An empiri-cal approach.”

Cheryl Offutt, Christie Crouch, Dorothy Landon, Joni Splett, and Stephanie Coleman presented a mini-skills workshop at the Annual Meeting of the National Association of School Psychologists, New York on the topic: “Class-rooms as Motivational Contexts: It’s Not Simply a Kid Problem.”

Caren Moore, Karen J. Weston, and Steph-an Whitney will present in October in Orlando, Florida on the topic: “The Resiliency Wheel: Fact or Fiction?”

Cheryl Offutt, Christie Crouch, Joni Splett., Stephanie Coleman, and Dorothy Landon pre-sented a poster at the Annual Meeting of the Na-tional Association of School Psychologists, New

York entitled: “School Psychologists’ Perspectives on Student Motivation.”

Upcoming Presentations

Christina Pate and Andrew Selders will pres-ent in October in Orlando, Florida on the topic: “Evaluating the knowledge, attitudes, and efficacy of graduates of an Online Mental Health Degree Program for School-Based Personnel.”

Jason Parkin, Christina Pate, and Andrew Selders will present in October in Orlando, Flori-da on the topic: “School Administrators` Attitudes About School-Based Suicide Prevention Pro-grams.”

Danielle Starkey, Christopher Buchanan, and Jason Parkin will present in October in Orlando, Florida on the topic: “Developing a Comprehen-sive School Mental Health Program: Pouring the Foundation.”

Amanda Paul, Andrea James, and Caren Moore will present in October in Orlando, Florida on the topic: “School- Based Mental Health Ser-vices and Providers: Capacity Building.”

Students’Corner Accomplishments

School Psychology picnic

Katie Heaton

Written by: Megan Strawsine

Katie Heaton is one of five new students in the school psychology program this year. Born in Kansas, Katie says she moved to Kansas City, Missouri at age 11 where she “spent the impor-tant years.” Currently, Katie is commuting from Kansas City until she is able to move to Colum-bia.

Recently, Katie brought an exciting new ad-dition to the school psychology family. Her son, Tyler Wayne Heaton, was born on the afternoon of September 12th. Katie is looking forward to moving into an apartment in Columbia with her new son soon. She hopes to be able to settle into the program more after her return from Tyler’s birth.

Katie earned her undergraduate degree at William Jewell College in Liberty, Missouri with a major in psychology and minor in nonprofit business. Although she was accepted to other Universities, Katie decided to attend MU for its reputation, student assistance, and proximity to family. She decided to enter the field of school psychology in order to help children like those she went to school with. While many of her fel-low classmates chose to escape their environment through things such as drugs, gangs, and suicide; Katie was able to use school as her escape. She says that while she tried to help her friends, she did not know how. By studying to become a school psychologist Katie feels she can help oth-ers in a way she was unable to for her friends.

Students’ Corner - continued

Katie & Tyler



MIZZOU Counseling PsychologyE-Newsletter

Fall 2007

Greetings From the Program Director InsideGreetings to you all from all of as at the Counseling Psychology

Program at Mizzou! It is always an exciting time of year as we welcome new students into our program! This year we have nine highly talented and diverse students from all over the United States and Mainland China joining our doctoral program. As you know if you read the last newslet-ter, Brent Mallinckrodt, our previous Training Director, has become the training Director at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville. I am stepping into the role of Training Director which is really an honor for me. Hav-ing now been at Missouri since 1979, I have seen a lot of changes in our program over those years and continue to feel very good about the quality of our training and the many ways our students are contributing out in the world. We so appreciate you staying in touch with your e-mails and letting us know what is happening in your lives. We hope the newsletter continues to provide you with information about our program, faculty, current students and alums.

In this issue you will see a highlight on Dr. Cox and the Sport Psy-chology Program here at Missouri, which has brought so many talented students to us and has, in turn, graduated students who are now working in many Sport Psychology venues nationwide. In addition, we are now involved in an extensive American Sign Language (ASL) program under the direction of one of our doctoral students, Stephanie Logan. An article and pictures describe the important work being done in this area. As you will also see, our students and faculty continue to win important awards on the campus and nationally as well as obtaining internships and jobs in a host of settings. Alums Erica Patterson and Jeff Tarrant have opened an independent practice that we highlight in this newsletter. We are also sad to include three obituaries of former alums and faculty in our In Tribute segment.

Mary J. Heppner, Ph. D.Professor and Program Director

New Faculty

Faculty Highlights

Faculty Focus

Program Focus

Alumni Focus

Students’ Corner

In Tribute

Counseling Psychology welcomes Dr. Keith Herman, an Associate Professor whose primary re-search focuses on developmental psychopathology, particularly, psychosocial factors that contribute to children’s risk for depression. More generally, he is interested in family- and school-based interventions for children with emotional and behavior problems. Prior to MU, Dr. Herman helped develop a postdoc-toral training program in child clinical and counsel-ing psychology at Johns Hopkins University, School

of Medicine, in the Division of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry. Also, as part of his clinical responsibil-ities, he conducted developmental evaluations of children on their inpatient and outpatient treatment programs, screened infant and child candidates for cochlear implants, and provided parent counsel-ing and training. Presently, in addition to teaching Parent Counseling and Consultation in the School Counseling specialty area, Dr. Herman is devel-oping an early intervention for child depression based on his foundational research concerning the etiology of depression; and conducting research which focuses on culturally sensitive healthcare and education.

On a personal note, Dr. Herman and his wife, Dr. Wendy Reinke, a faculty member in the Depart-ment’s School Psychology program area, recently welcomed their daughter, Kennedy, into the world. Having spent many years in the Pacific Northwest, Dr. Herman especially enjoys outdoor activities including hiking and jogging, and hopes to take advantage of Missouri’s easy access to nature.

Dr. Keith Herman - New Faculty

Dr. Keith Herman

Faculty HighlightsDr. Norm Gysbers

The University of Missouri-Columbia

nominates Professor Norman Gysbers, Pro-

fessor of Education, School & Counseling

Psychology, for a Curators’ Professorship,

effective January 1, 2008.

fffffffDr. Norm Gysbers

Faculty HighlightsDr. Glenn Good

Glenn Good has been promoted

to “Professor” effective September 1,

2007.” Congratulations Glenn!!!

fffffff

Dr. Glenn Good

Faculty HighlightsDr. Puncky Heppner

Dr. Puncky Heppner, Professor in Counsel-ing Psychology, was recently recognized for his tireless efforts in promoting international edu-cation and in mentoring students. Puncky was awarded the 2006 Provost’s Award for Lead-ership in International Education. This award is given to one MU faculty member who has demonstrated exemplary leadership in strength-ening MU’s international initiatives. Puncky has been involved in promoting international education for years and has transformed our nationally-ranked counseling psychology train-ing program into an internationally respected training program. International students com-prise 20% of our graduate students, and Puncky has been actively involved in recruiting and Dr. Puncky Happner

mentoring several of these students. Recent initia-tives that have been spearheaded by Puncky in-clude the Bidirectional Cross-Cultural Program, Dual Degree Masters Program, and International Students Career Services. The former involves a two-week exchange program of faculty and stu-dents between National Taiwan Normal Univer-sity and MU’s counseling psychology program, where participants learn about professional issues in the respective countries, immerse themselves in a new culture, and develop cross-cultural skills.

The dual degree masters program is an innova-tive program where masters students in Educa-tional and Counseling Psychology at NTNU and MU can spend their second year of training at the partner university, and receive a dual degree from both institutions. The latter program provides spe-cialized career development services for interna-tional students at MU. This program has been a huge success, with about 1/3 of the international students at MU participating in their program-ming. In addition to these programs, Puncky has a long record of cross-cultural publications and is often sought out to provide keynote presentations and invited presentations and workshops at inter-national conferences and institutions.

Several of Puncky’s current and former ad-visees and students were present to see Puncky awarded the Division 17’s Lifetime Achievement in Mentoring at the 2007 American Psychological Association annual conference in San Francisco, California. In the inaugural year of this award, Puncky was honored for making a significant impact on the career development of several gen-erations of counseling psychologists through his mentoring across his career. Puncky has provid-ed valuable mentoring to over 30 doctoral advi-sees, countless numbers of graduate students, and scores of faculty in the department and profession. Puncky has provided direct mentoring across all professional activities related to the roles of coun-seling psychologists, and has been instrumental in developing structures within the department and profession to support the professional develop-ment of students, new professionals, and interna-tional colleagues.

Puncky’s efforts in mentoring and interna-tional education are extensive and significant, and reflect his core values as a person and profes-sional. We are so fortunate to have such an excep-tional colleague in our program who consistently provides leadership in these critical areas of our training program. Congratulations on these hard earned and well-deserved awards, Puncky!

Puncky presenting to the NTNU faculty and students during the bidirectional cross-cultural immersion program

Faculty Highlights - continued

The Sheik of Education and Puncky giving a keynote address at the Counseling Arabia Conference

Academic Beginnings

Dr. Richard H. Cox received his Ph.D. from the Uni-versity of Oregon in 1973 in Physical Education with an emphasis in Exer-cise and Sport Psy-chology. His first teaching position after graduation was as an assistant

professor of Physical Education at Kansas State University in Manhattan, Kansas. As a full profes-sor, Dr. Cox left Kansas State University in 1987 to become the Chair of the Department of Physi-cal Education at Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana. While at Ball State University, he made connections with faculty in Counseling Psycholo-gy which led to the development of a strong mas-ter’s degree program in Sports Psychology. Also, while at Ball State University, Dr. Cox traveled with other faculty and students to Beijing, China to present his research in Sport Psychology at the Pre-Asian Games Scientific Congress. The 1990 Asian Games would become the model for the planned 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.

Dismantling: Stressful TimesIn September of 1991, Dr. Cox accepted an

offer by the University of Missouri-Columbia to become the Chair of the Department of Health and Exercise Sciences (HES). Upon his arrival, Dr. Cox began immediately to develop a graduate program in sport psychology assisted by Dr. Rick

McGuire. In fact, four of Dr. Cox’s doctoral stu-dents in sport psychology would graduate with their Ph.D. from this program. However, it was during the Fall Semester of 1991 that he was confronted with the most stressful experience of his professional career. As Dr. Cox puts it, “Be-fore I had my bags completely unpacked, the In-terim Chancellor made the decision to eliminate all undergraduate programs in my Department. These were stressful times for my faculty and for my family.” Weakened by the first cuts, Dr. Cox states that during the 1995-96 academic year the entire Department of Health and Exer-cise Sciences was eliminated by the Provost and College of Education Dean; and as Department Chair, he was asked by the College Dean to as-sist in moving tenured faculty into other Depart-ments on the MU campus and to help untenured faculty find positions on campus or on other campuses throughout the country.

FacultyFocus

Sport Psychologist

Administrator and Scholar

Dr. Richard H. Cox

Dr. Richard H. Cox

Linda and Richard are on Vancouver Island at the 2005 Sport Psychology convention

An Academic Marriage: Counseling and Sport Psychology

After undergoing the stressful times of a dis-mantled Department of Health and Exercise Sci-ences, Dr. Cox was asked by the College Dean to join the faculty in the Department of Educational and Counseling Psychology (ESCP), and to de-velop a strong graduate program in Counseling Sport Psychology. While it was traumatic for Dr. Cox to see the elimination of a distinguished aca-demic department, it was equally invigorating to be aligned with the Counseling Psychology facul-ty within the current Department of Educational, School and Counseling Psychology. With the as-sistance of Dr. Rick McGuire (MU Track Coach), Dr. Niels Beck (Psychiatry), and a stellar Counsel-ing Psychology faculty, Dr. Cox developed what has come to be considered the strongest applied Counseling Sport Psychology in the USA, and has graduated six doctoral students from this program to date with many more currently in the program. As Dr. Cox puts it, “the marriage between sport psychology and counseling psychology is a good one, because the student can both be licensed as a psychologist as well as work with coaches and

athletes.” Indeed, the MU Counseling Sport Psy-chology program is currently only one of a few University programs in the USA where a student can become a licensed psychologist and an AASP Certified Consultant in a seamless integrated pro-gram. This highly desirable combination is very difficult to find. Moreover, with a Ph.D. in Coun-seling Sport Psychology from MU, graduates are prepared to become licensed psychologists and equipped to work both with athlete performance issues as well as clinical/counseling issues. As such, Dr. Cox receives 10-12 applications every year from prospective students who want to study Counseling Sport Psychology at MU.

The Academic AdvisorEvidence of the strength of a program is of-

ten associated with awards received by students in a program, and recent graduates, Steve Porten-ga and Mark Aoyagi, are two examples. While in the Counseling Sport Psychology program at MU, both students were nationally recognized as recipients of the National Outstanding Student Practitioner Award for their applied work with MU student-athletes. This prestigious student practi-tioner award is given annually by the Association for Applied Sport Psychology. Currently, Dr. Cox has four doctoral advisees (Renee Mapes, Kelli


Richard with four current doctoral students in Sport Psychology at the Sport Psychology convention in Miami

Left: Dr. Rick McGuire (MU Track Coach)Right: and Dr. Niels Beck (Psychiatry)

Moran-Miller, Sheriece Sadberry, and Jennifer Shannon), and each of these outstanding students is currently working on their dissertation topics, while actively working with student-athletes at MU or another local college.

During his16-year tenure at MU, Dr. Cox has graduated 10 doctoral students as well as numer-ous masters’ students in Sport Psychology, and many have been placed in top academic/applied counseling sport psychology positions throughout the USA. Former students who graduated with their Ph.D. from the Exercise Science program include: Bill Russell (1996), Joe Davis (2002), Christian Reed (2002), and Marshall Robb (2005). Former students who graduated with their Ph.D. from the Counseling Sport Psychology program include: Nicki Webber-Moore (2002), Matt Mar-tens (2002), Steve Portenga (2004), Scott Sandst-edt (2004), Gant Ward (2004), and Mark Aoyagi (2006). According to Dr. Cox, “All of these for-mer students are very proud of the degree they received at MU and are all very successful in the early stages of their careers. We will, undoubtedly, hear much more about their successes in the years to come.”

Teacher and Scholar Since joining the ESCP faculty in 1996, Dr.

Cox has served invaluably as the Director of the Counseling Sport Psychology program as well as the Director of Graduate Studies from 1996-2004; and most recently, as Chair of the ESCP Department from 2004-2007.

While sport psychology is Dr. Cox’s main academic passion, he also has a great interest in applied statistics and has taught graduate cours-es in statistics in the College of Education since 1996. In his own words, “I just love to see the light come on in the minds of these graduate stu-dents when they first grasp an applied statisti-cal/research concept that had previously alluded them.” Professionally, Dr. Cox is a life member of the American Association for Health, Physical Education, and Recreation (AAHPER), a Fellow in the Research Consortium of AAHPER, a mem-ber of the Association for Applied Sport Psychol-ogy (AASP), and a Certified Consultant of AASP. He has authored over 100 articles in refereed pro-fessional journals, written a volleyball teaching book, and written six editions of his McGraw-Hill text book in sport psychology titled “Sport Psychology: Concepts and Applications.” His text


Richard’s two sons (Clayton and Ryan) with their two sons in Alaska

Big family: 1st row: Jordyn, Kaci, Eli, and Grandpa2nd row: Jessica, Ryan, and Linda

book on sport psychology is used as a graduate and undergraduate text in universities throughout the English speaking world and has been translat-ed into three additional languages.

A Man of Family and FaithDr. Cox has a passion for teaching, research

and advising his graduate students, but all of this pales in comparison to his passion for his family and for his devotion to his faith (Church of Je-sus Christ of Latter-day Saints). He still counts the two years he spent as a young Mormon mis-sionary (1962-64) to be some of the best years of his life and to have provided a foundation for his career in education. Dr. Cox met his wife, Linda, when both were students at Brigham Young Uni-versity in 1968. Rich and Linda have four children,

Candice is a nurse and lives with her family in Muncie, Indiana. Clayton is an Officer in the Air Force and lives with his family in San Antonio, Texas. David is a civil engineer and lives with his family in Salt Lake City, Utah. Ryan is a gov-ernment employee and lives with his family near Anchorage, Alaska. Rich and Linda enjoy visit-ing each of their children and 10 grandchildren as often as they can. Each summer for the past five years, Rich and Linda have enjoyed fishing and hiking in Alaska with their Alaska family. Ironically, Rich and Linda had planned to retire in Prescott, Arizona for the past seven years, but have recently decided that they will retire in Salt Lake City to be closer to family. When pressed about his retirement plans, Dr. Cox will only say that it will occur sometime in the future. How-ever, his colleagues are hoping this decision will be in the distant future.


Son Ryan’s king salmon

Jordyn and grandpa Richard in Alaska

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Program

American Sign Language (ASL)Focus

American Sign Language at MU:

A Success Story

American Sign Language (ASL) is unique in that the entire structure of the language is based upon visual communication through the use of gestures, facial affect, and body movement. ASL is not written or spoken and yet it is a complex language with its own grammatical structure and syntax. In the Fall of 2003, the Department of Educational, School, and Counseling Psychology (ESCP) began teaching ASL courses for several reasons. First, ASL is consistent with the mission of the Department as well as the Center for Multicultural Research, Training and Consultation (CMRTC). Secondly, ASL trains MU undergraduate and graduate students to provide an array of psychosocial services, within a cultural context, to diverse populations.

Who Would have Predicted?The course enrollment in the ASL classes

has increased sharply over time. For example, in the Fall 2003 when the first ASL course was taught at MU, there were nine students enrolled in the course. During the Winter 2005 semester,

American Sign Language 1 had two sections with a total of 59 students enrolled (54 undergraduates and 5 graduate students). Presently, this semester (Fall 2007), there are two sections of ASL 1, and one section of ASL 2 and 3 with a combined enrollment of 121 students. One of the reasons for this tremendous increase of enrollment is a result of the American Sign Language Bill being signed in August 2005. This bill allows secondary and post-secondary students in Missouri to receive foreign language credit for taking ASL courses.

The Dedication of One: Stephanie LoganDuring the last five years, the ASL courses

have been taught successfully through a collaborative effort of the College of Education (COE), ESCP, CMRTC, and the Reflector. The instructor for the courses, Stephanie Logan, is a deaf doctoral student in Counseling Psychology. Five years ago, Stephanie approached her advisor, Dr. Brent Mallinckrodt, about teaching ASL and Deaf culture so that she could earn a teaching minor. Immediately following, Dr. Mallinckrodt along with Stephanie approached Dr. Punky Heppner who was ESCP Chair at that time, to discuss the potential class. Although everyone was

ASL training at MU

ASL with Truman

excited about the potential for the class, no one could have predicted the enormous success that would follow. According to Stephanie, a key to the success and growth has been an environment that supports and promotes Deaf Studies and deafness not as a disorder, but as an important component of diversity issues in general. Further, rather than marginalizing or isolating the deaf and hard of hearing community, the ASL program is placed in a highly utilized and visible location in the Reflector. Another significant credit to Stephanie is that she was instrumental in working to get the American Sign Language bill passed by speaking before the House and Senate.

Steady GrowthThere is a tremendous amount of growth

potential within the ASL program. Every semester that ASL courses have been offered, they have been filled; and this Fall 2007 semester found 40+ students on the waiting list. Through data collected each semester, over 85% of the students enrolled in the courses have indicated they would be interested in pursuing a minor in ASL, if it were to be offered. Educating students in ASL and Deaf culture provides the University of Missouri - Columbia an opportunity to graduate professionals who will have the training and knowledge-base essential for providing culturally and linguistically appropriate services to deaf and hard of hearing individuals.

Two students who have benefited from the ASL Program have this to say:

Nancy Goodale:“When I returned to MU after a slight 24 year break to raise a family, I was not thrilled to learn that graduation requirements for my Psychology undergraduate degree now required 12 credit hours of Foreign Language. Be groaning the requirement, I lamented to my advisor that I wished that American Sign Language was an option because in my future plans of being an autism specialist, I could see ASL being a very useful tool. When she smiled and indicated that the ASL program, indeed, satisfied the foreign language, the requirement suddenly seemed an opportunity instead of a barrier. To me, ASL for anyone in the helping professions is an invaluable tool to obtain.”

Alicia Firman:“The ASL program at MU has been the most beneficial program I have ever been involved with in my college career. Being apart of a program like this has taught me so much about the Deaf culture and also opened my eyes to a world that I was so unfamiliar with. This is one class that I can with out a doubt say that I never wanted to miss. I use my ASL skills almost everyday and teach others around me some of what I know.”

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Program Focus - continued

ASL on Tiger Fun Night

ASL program in MU

by Miranda Atkinson and Hannah Bush

While sipping hot tea at the Cherry Street Ar-tisan on a Friday morning, Erika Patterson looks to the rest of her day, which will include build-ing maintenance—painting the outside doors of Spring Grove Counseling and Wellness Center, the group private practice she is part of with her partner and spouse, Jeff Tarrant, in Jefferson City, Missouri. Activities such as this, as well as pro-gram development, marketing, and direct mental health service, fill her day. “If we don’t do it, it doesn’t get done,” Erica says when explaining that responsibility accompanies the flexibility associat-ed with private practice. Spring Grove is a private practice group that offers a wide range of mental health services, such as counseling and therapy, mind-body healing, and testing and assessment, to individuals from diverse backgrounds. As stated on their website, www.springgrovecounseling.com, Spring Grove practitioners have an inclusive, multicultural focus and are “dedicated to serving persons of all backgrounds, including those of age, race and ethnicity, gender/gender identity, sexual

orientation, social class, religion and spirituality, and physical and mental abilities.”

No Typical DayWhen asked about their typical day, the two

smile and reply, “There is no typical day.” Eri-ka spends two days seeing 6-8 clients, and three shorter days seeing 3-5 clients. Between clients, she works on case management, consultation, programming, and billing. Jeff’s schedule var-ies widely as well, allowing the couple to share child-care responsibilities. His days may include neurofeedback work, psychological and educa-tional evaluations, supervision, teaching Qi Gong at Show Me Yoga Center, and managing the mul-tiple everyday tasks that accompany owning a group private practice.

When they first opened the practice, they explained feeling as though they were “scroung-ing for work” and worrying about referrals and financial stability. Yet, as with all private prac-tices, self-initiative combined with entrepreneur-ial skill catalyzed their success. The practice’s “reputation needs to speak for itself,” but success requires balance between solid clinical work and marketing and business management.

In 1998, Jeff Tarrant began conducting psy-chological and educational evaluations for a pub-lic school district. Jeff was joined by his business partner, Dr. Rob Hill, also a UMC alum, who provided individual and family therapy as part of an independent practice. After recognizing a need for more referral options in Jefferson City, part of a nationally designated underserved area for mental health services, they created Spring Grove. With the school system work acting as a

AlumniFocus

Responsibility and Flexibility

A Successful Team

Dr. Li-fei WangDrs. Erika Patterson & Jeff Tarrant

Drs. Erika Patterson and Jeff Tarrant

base, the practice grew rapidly, and now has an interdisciplinary team of eleven practitioners and two administrative staff.

Jeff: Certified NeurotherapistJeff, an advisee of Dr. Glenn Good, complet-

ed his doctorate in the Psychology Department in 1997, completing his dissertation on the effec-tiveness of rape education programs for men. His training and clinical experiences have included work in substance abuse treatment, hospital set-tings, and university counseling centers. In 2002, Jeff developed an interest in biofeedback, energy psychology, Educational Kinesiology, and Biofield Treatments such as Qi Gong, and is now certified in Neurofeedback. Currently, Jeff researches the effect of therapist intention on client psychophysi-ological measures. He is also preparing to ex-amine changes in brain function before and after therapy, with a comparison of traditional and en-ergy psychology interventions. His graduate work did not focus on these areas. “I didn’t know about neurotherapy and was uninterested in testing and assessment,” Jeff said, “but now I am doing both. There are so many options.”

Erica: Serving the UnderservedErika, an advisee of Dr. Laurie Mintz, gradu-

ated from the ESCP department in 2003. Her dis-sertation focused on the development of the Atti-tudes Towards Social Class Scale, and she consid-ers MU to be her “professional home” where she “felt nurtured and well-trained.” She continues to pursue her passion for social class and women’s is-sues by providing therapeutic services in an under-served area where many of her clients live below the poverty level. Most recently, she has trained and will soon become certified in Eye Move-ment Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), and incorporates mind-body interventions, such as biofeedback and yoga therapy into her clini-cal work. She has also stretched her professional limits by creating the Spring Grove website. Erika maintains community involvement by serving as

a board member for PRISM--Gay Straight Youth Alliance, as a volunteer for the Center Project, and as a board member for PACE—Performing Arts in Children’s Education, an all youth com-munity theater program. When asked if she will remain in private practice, Erika stated that she sought a doctoral degree to increase her options—she can provide therapy, teach, conduct research, supervise, train, and consult.

“Things just keep getting better”Erika and Jeff’s non-professional lives are

equally fullfiling. They have taken ballroom dance lessons for the past year and spend three mornings per week practicing the fox trot, waltz, tango, rumba, cha-cha, salsa, and swing. “It helps us keep working as a couple,” say Erika and Jeff. Erika also takes a modern dance class and Jeff takes Kung Fu lessons with their son, Jacob, who is 13. Morgan, their 19 year-old daughter attends the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, and Ja-cob. Ultimately, the two feel fortunate to have professional flexibility, and time to enjoy life. As Erika explained, “Things just keep getting bet-ter.”

Drs. Erika Patterson and Jeff Tarrant


Lizette Ojeda

Please join us in congratulat-ing Lizette Ojeda, who received the Dist inguished Student Service Award from Di-vision 45 of APA for her work with

Latinos and Latino immigrants in Missouri. Lizette received the award at the APA Confer-ence in San Francisco.

Taleb Khairallah

Taleb Khairallah received the DISTIN-GUISHED PROFESSIONAL SERVICE AWARD at the American Psychological As-sociation’s (APA) 2007 Annual Convention. The award was presented by APA Division 51, the Society for the Psychological Study of Men and Masculinity. The award honors outstanding service at the local, state, or na-tional level that reflects a significant contri-bution to the Society for the Psychological Study of Men and Masculinity (SPSMM) or promotes positive policy changes that en-hance the well-being of men.

Students’Corner Congratulations!



In Tribute

We in Counseling Psychology mourn the pass-ing of two of our alumni, Drs. Wayne Dixon and Dick Weigel, as well as a former faculty member, Dr. Robert Burton. Below, you will find links that provide further information and each person and the lives they touched.

Dr. Robert Burton ClickDr. Dick Weigel ClickDr. Wayne Dixon Click

Lizette Ojeda

http://www.showmenews.com/2007/Sep/20070914Obit001.asp

http://www.nationalmssociety.org/site/TR?px=2992664&fr_id=2030&pg=personal

http://www.sosu.edu/thesoutheastern/documents/the-southeastern-04-05-2007.pdf

MIZZOUHealth Education/PromotionE-Newsletter Fall 2007

Greetings From the Program Director InsideProgram faculty are preparing for the 2007 Annual Meeting of the

American Public Health Association in Washington, D.C. According to the APHA website, the APHA Annual Meeting & Exposition is the oldest and largest gathering of public health professionals in the world, attract-ing more than 13,000 national and international physicians, administra-tors, nurses, educators, researchers, epidemiologists, and related health specialists. APHA’s meeting program addresses current and emerging health science, policy, and practice issues in an effort to prevent disease and promote health.

2006 was a banner year for Health Education and Promotion. It looks like 2007 will be also. In terms of good-bys and hellos, I am pleased to note the following people: 2006 and 2007 Ph.D. graduates: Heather Mueller, Susan Stockton, David Baker, Randy Kennedy, Brian Maggard, Joe Scogin, and Conrad Woolsey.

2006 and 2007 Masters graduates: Drug Belli, Katie Rogers, Lara Sansing, Ross Schwisow, Mike Scott, Sara Vassmer, Devin Lammy, Mol-ly Vetter-Smith, Fiona Asigbee, Feng Chen, Muadianvita Kasadi (Kaz), Shayne McKenzie, Holly Scherder, Nguyen Vu, John Warden, Keith Bel-more, Catherine Peterson, Rachael Pointer, and Elizabeth Young.

New doctoral Students in 2007: Fiona Asigbee, Nguyen Vu, and John Warden. New Masters Students in 2007: Ben Askren, Chih-Chun Chuang, Erin Fawl, Daniel Hopkins, Matthew Long, Brooke Miller, Jar-od Newland, Rebecca Patton, Andrew Paul, Amanda Pezzulo, Timothy Rulo, and Adam Ybarra.

I also want to mention a few faculty members. Drs. Nels Beck, Rich Cox, Greg Holliday, Rick McGuire, and Rex Sharp. Thanks for sharing your time and expertise in helping to make Health Education and Promo-tion a viable program. It is phenomenal people like all these listed above that keep the Health Education and Promotion Program strong and my job enjoyable.

Alex Waigandt, Ph.D.Professor and Program Director

Alumni Focus

Students’ Corner

BeginningsDr. Eastman-

Mueller was born and raised in Roch-ester, MN, “home of the Mayo Clin-ic” where the sum-mers are nice and the winters are long. Following in her father’s foot-steps, she attended

the University of Kansas in Lawrence, graduating with a B.S. in Athletic Training Science. After working as a Certified Athletic Trainer, she felt a desire to seek more education and subsequently graduated from Indiana University in Blooming-ton, where she studied the multiple facets of HIV positive athletes and their participation within col-legiate sports. Her Athletic Training career served her well by offering a variety of learning oppor-tunities including working at a Baptist college, performing outreach medical services to junior high and high school students, rehabilitating acute care patients in a clinical setting, working with the men’s and women’s Wrestling Olympic teams in Colorado, and working in the Athletic Training Department at the University of Missouri-Colum-bia (MU).

While attending MU, Dr. Eastman-Muel-ler taught her first undergraduate class, loved it, and decided to obtain a college teaching minor in conjunction with her Ph.D. in Health Promotion and Wellness. As she continued to teach, she be-came interested in test development, assessment,

and evaluation. Combining her interests in sexual health and assessmesnt, she constructed and vali-dated a sexual health knowledge, attitudes, and behavior scale. The purpose of this scale was to provide evidence for the Sexual Health Advocate Peer Education program.

Current EndeavorsCurrently, Dr. Eastman-Mueller is employed

as a Certified Health Educator at the Univer-sity of Missouri-Columbia, Student Health Cen-ter and serves as the Curriculum Coordinator for the Sexual Health Advocate Peer Education (SHAPE) program. She states, “I believe I found my ‘niche’ and ‘calling’ as my current position al-lows me to teach, conduct and facilitate a variety of research studies, and work with aspiring un-dergraduate students addressing issues of sexual health.” The mission of the SHAPE program is

AlumniFocus

Certified Health Educator

SHAPE Curriculum Coordinator

Dr. Heather Eastman-Mueller

Dr. Heather Eastman-Mueller

Heather (3rd from L) and Student Health Center colleagues attending the American College Health Association Annual Conference in New York NY.

to supply the University of Missouri-Columbia with highly-trained peer educators to present var-ious health topics and promote active educational activities. As a component of the peer educator’s training, Dr. Eastman-Mueller has created a Sex-ual Health Education course (“Interdisciplinary Studies 2960”) designed to offer all MU students the opportunity to explore their values surround-ing sexuality as well as to gain basic sexual and reproductive health knowledge. The curriculum challenges students to investigate the impact of social justice issues and the influence of society related to sexuality in a safe, open environment.

In addition to teaching, she serves as the pri-

mary researcher for the Student Health Center. During the past two years, Dr. Eastman-Mueller has conducted research on a variety of health topics including: sexual health, body image, dis-ordered eating, sexual violence, mindfulness-based stress reduction, yoga nidra, and tobacco cessation. Since the majority of the research she

conducts is for programmatic purposes as well as to contribute to the body of research, she is able to immediately see the impact of her research en-deavors. In addition, she has presented multiple poster presentations and given lectures at various American College Health Association (ACHA) Annual conferences. Furthermore, other universi-ties and colleges have requested her Sexual Health Survey to assess the sexual health at their insti-tutions. Dr. Eastman-Mueller states, “My current position is exciting, rewarding, and presents mul-tiple daily challenges that stimulate my mind and provide many growth opportunities and collabo-ration with professionals in the community and across campus.”

An Imminent ArrivalRecently, Dr. Eastman-Meuller and her hus-

band were presented with wonderful news… they are expecting their first baby in March 2008. Con-gratulations Dr. Eastman-Mueller!

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Heather vacationing in Taos, New Mexico this past summer

The Three Amigos Graduate!

Randy Kennedy, Ph.D.

Randy has been associated with the Univer-sity of Missouri’s Total Person Program for several years. In December, 2006 he was named the Direc-tor of Student-Athlete Academic Services at East-ern Kentucky University. Eastern Kentucky has an enrollment of 16,000 students and over 300 stu-dent-athletes in 15 different sports. Dr. Kennedy’s research looked into the historical development of student-athlete academic support programs; and, specifically, the program at the University of Mis-souri. According to Randy, his research has been very valuable in helping him create a vision for the growth and development of such programs.

Bryan Maggard, Ph.D.

Prior to arriving at Mizzou in 1995, Bryan spent 2 years at Florida State University as the Assistant Director of Student-Athlete Academic Support Services and spent the 4 previous years at Kansas State University as the Academic Counsel-or for the Wildcat football program. Dr. Maggard

currently serves as the Associate Athletic Director for Student Services with the University of Mis-souri Athletic Department. His areas of oversight include Academic Services, Life Skills program-ming, Sports Medicine, Strength & Conditioning, and Equipment Operations. He also serves as an in-structor for a Learning Strategies course offered to incoming student-athletes as well as a co-facilitator for a Sport Management Freshman Interest Group (FIG) seminar class. He is a member of the National Association of Athletic Academic Advisors (N4A) and currently serves on the N4A/NFL Advisory Board assisting athletes in the National Football League to complete their college degrees. Bryan was recently the recipient of the 2007 Barbara S. Uehling Award for Administrative Excellence.

Joe Scogin,Ph.D.

Joe Scogin is entering his second year as the Director of Academic Services for Student Athletes at the University of Missouri and has been with the Department of Athletics since 2001. Dr. Scogin oversees all academic support programming forstu-dent-athletes at Mizzou. In addition to his Director role, he also has direct academic oversight of the football and volleyball programs. Dr. Scogin serves on several campus committees and is involved in Mizzou’s FIG’s (Freshman Interest Group) pro-gram as a co-facilitator.

Students’CornerCongratulations!!!

The Three Amigos



Drs. Randy Kennedy, Alex Waigandt, Bryan Maggard, and Joe Scogin

MIZZOU MU Alumni Association Fall 2007



Thank you for supporting the University of Missouri through your membership in the MU Alumni Association. I am writing you today as a local alumni volunteer from the College of Education Alumni Board. The MU Alumni Association is committed to maintaining high standards at the University of Missouri, and I ask that you renew your association membership today if you have not already done so.

Your membership provides support to numerous association and University-wide programs. MUAA membership dues enabled the association to sponsor 1,029 activities during the past year for nearly 70,000 Mizzou alumni and friends. You also helped the MUAA award more than $200,000 in scholarships. Since 1989, 80 professors have received Dr. Richard Wallace Faculty Incentive Grants, allowing them to complete important research. These accomplishments build our university for the future and are made possible through the support of more than 37,550 Association members.

As a benefit of membership you will receive a 2008 four-color wall calendar featuring scenes of MU taken by association members. In addition, your association dues support MIZZOU magazine, your MU School/College alumni organization and your local alumni chapter. Your membership card will

allow you to take advantage of more than 100 discounts with regional and national businesses listed at www.mizzou.com.

If you have not already done so, please take a moment to stay connected with your alma mater by renewing your membership online. ClickHere and go to the membership renewal site and complete the form along with your choice of credit card payment. Be sure to indicate that you are a graduate of the College of Education by using the referral code of UED. If you have questions about MU Alumni Association membership, please call David Roloff, Director of Membership & Marketing, at (800) 372-MUAA or (573) 882-6205.

We look forward to keeping your name on our membership roster!

John DeArmanPresident College of Education Alumni Board

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