Turning 30
The graduate school celebrates 30 years of preparing teachers and counselors for lives of service.
In 2014, the Graduate School of Education and Counseling celebrates 30 years of preparing teachers and counselors for lives of service.
Lewis & Clark has a long tradition of preparing students to serve the public good as educators and counselors. For nearly 150 years—beginning in the college’s earliest days as Albany Collegiate Institute—Lewis & Clark has prepared students for careers as public school teachers.
By 1947, education offerings had evolved to include preparation at the graduate level. In 1972, the college added graduate programs for mental health counselors and school counselors in response to growing demand.
But it was not until 1984 that the graduate school was born at Lewis & Clark, providing for the first time a dedicated home for graduate programs in the professions of education and counseling.
The Ripple Effect
Our best hires have come from Lewis & Clark. These graduates are making a big difference in the classroom and our community.Randy BrosiusAssociate Principal, Evergreen School District
Every graduate school alum goes on to impact the lives of dozens of students or clients each year— hundreds or thousands of individuals over the course of a career. The cumulative result of this impact transforms schools, families, and entire communities.
In/around Portland: In 2012–13, our graduate students spent 221,968 hours serving in more than 50 mental health agencies and over 100 schools in the Portland metro area.
In the state: After graduation, most graduate school alumni pursue lifelong careers in Oregon as educators and mental health professionals.
Total number of alumni who are living in Oregon: 4,602
In the nation: Graduate school alumni live in every state in the U.S. and all provinces of Canada, as well as in over a dozen countries including China, India, Qatar, Malaysia, and Finland.
Signal Achievements
ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE
- Since 1988, four graduate school faculty have been awarded the Burlington Northern Faculty Achievement Award for teaching: Jim Wallace, Zaher Wahab, Ruth Shagoury, and Vern Jones.
- In 2009, the school counseling program was recognized by the Education Trust as a “Pioneering Program” in the movement to transform the profession of school counseling into one defined by educational equity, data-based decision making, and academic achievement.
- In 2011, teacher education programs were recognized by the Wisniewski Award for Teacher Education from the Society of Professors of Education for “significant contributions to the theory and practice of teacher education.”
LEADERSHIP
- In Oregon and Washington, our alumni have been recognized as distinguished teachers or as Teachers of the Year 12 times, and as distinguished school leaders or as Principals/Superintendents of the Year 15 times.
- Nationally, 5 alumni have received Milken Family Foundation Educator Awards, and 2 alumni have received Fulbright Fellowships.
It’s a privilege to have people open up to you and tell you things they’ve never told anyone else. To have someone like a veteran say, “You saved my life”—that’s just incredible.Jeff Rogers MA ’04Counseling Psychology
EQUITY AND DIVERSITY
- Between 2000 and 2002, the graduate school received $1.3 million from the U.S. Department of Education to forge ways to meet the needs of nonnative English-speaking students.
- In 2003, the graduate school received $1.4 million to partner with the David Douglas School District on an after-school program that provides academic supports for disadvantaged students and $600,000 to work with the Umatilla-Morrow Educational Service District to recruit, train, and retain principals in rural eastern Oregon schools.
- In 2014, the graduate school received $360,000 from the Oregon Department of Education to work on two projects to address the long-standing concern that aspiring teachers and leaders enter the field with insufficient cultural competence and skill for culturally responsive pedagogies.
30 Years of Service to Others: A Digital History Exhibit
Created by Hanna Neuschwander, Graduate School of Education and Counseling; and Zachariah Selley, Special Collections and Archives.
