Professor Named "Counselor Educator of the Year"

Dr. William Evans, associate professor of education at Westminster College, was named "Counselor Educator of the Year" by the Pennsylvania School Counselors Association (PSCA).

 "Dr. Evans has made a difference in the schools, colleges, and within the counseling profession," said Sharon Longo, 2006 PSCA Conference chairperson.  "Desiring to make a difference in the profession and in the lives of their students, award recipients demonstrate a passion to learn and courage to take risks.  They have set the bar for the next generation of counselors and we applaud them for their actions."

 "He is a gifted educator, an innovative counseling practitioner and supervisor who has consistently pursued opportunities to grow as a professional counselor and counselor educator," said Dr. Linda Domanski, chair and assistant professor of education at Westminster College.

 While at the conference, Evans also made a scholarly presentation, "Dream a Little Dream: Making Sense of Dreams."  This presentation focused on dreams, dreaming, and dream interpretation in counseling.

 PSCA, which has approximately 2,200 members, has a competitive award selection process.  Each year one award is given to a post-secondary level counselor, one to elementary, one to a junior high/middle school counselor, one to a high school educator, and one to a multi-level educator. 

 Evans, who has been with Westminster since 2001, earned his undergraduate degree from the Pennsylvania State University, his master's from Youngstown State University, and his Ph.D. from Kent State University.  He also has board certification as a Nationally Certified Counselor and was granted the professional counselor license by the state of Pennsylvania.  Evans has been published in several refereed journals.

 The Counselor Education program at Westminster College is a comprehensive sequence of courses and field experiences that is designed to prepare school counselors to provide professional counseling services in the school setting. Through the master's degree program and a post-master's course of study, students acquire a practical knowledge of school counseling theory and develop effective skills in the practice of counseling. The master's degree program is 30 semester hours of coursework. Students desiring certification in Pennsylvania as a School Counselor complete a six-semester hour post-master's internship. This 300-hour internship is conducted in the school under the supervision by an experienced, certified school counselor. Students wanting the School Counselor license in Ohio complete an eighteen-semester hour post-master's course of study. This consists of coursework and an additional six semester hours of internship. More information about the program and curriculum may be found at the graduate program website.

 Contact Evans at (724) 946-7184 or e-mail evanswj@westminster.edu for more information

Dr. William Evans