ODU's Darden College Receives Top Counselor Education Award in U.S.
September 01, 2016
Tim Grothaus
The Department of Counseling and Human Services in Old Dominion University's Darden College of Education has been named the top program in the United States by the country's leading counselor education and supervision organization.
This month, the Association for Counselor Education and Supervision (ACES) awarded Old Dominion's department the 2016 Robert Frank Outstanding Counselor Education Program Award.
The award recognizes the tradition of outstanding counselor education programs offered by the University, as well as an international reputation for scholarly research. It will be presented at the ACES regional conference luncheon in September in Syracuse, New York.
Jane Bray, dean of the Darden College, highlighted the achievement during her State of the College address Aug. 26.
"To say we are proud of this program is truly an understatement," Bray said. "We are bursting with pride about this award. To be recognized again by a national level organization of this stature is simply a remarkable accomplishment for our faculty and a testament for the recognized strength of the program we offer at Old Dominion University."
Tim Grothaus, associate professor and chair of the Department of Counseling and Human Services, said this is the second time the association has given the award to the University. Old Dominion also was recognized as "exemplary" with the National Board for Certified Counselors' Professional Identity Award in 2010.
"This new award affirms the exceptional work done by our faculty and students and confirms the status of ODU's counseling program as one of the premier counselor educational programs in the U.S.," Grothaus said.
The ACES, whose members are counselors, supervisors, graduate students and faculty members, seeks to advance counselor education and supervision to improve counseling services in all settings.