Issue link: http://ncumarketing.uberflip.com/i/1111579
Good Day to Each of You! There are so many exciting things happening in the SSBS and DMFS that it is breathtaking (because it is amazing and because it is hard to keep up with it all)!! Thanks to each of you for your efforts to consistently provide support to students that encourages them and helps them prepare to be effective MFTs, even in the midst of all of these exciting changes and challenges. The work we get to do is so meaningful to students, the clients they will serve, and to each of us!! Here are some pertinent updates: 1. Including the current set of students, as well as those who transferred to NCU at the end of 2018, we will have brought approximately 105 Argosy students into our MFT programs (and there are still more coming). Their experience with Argosy closing was pretty traumatic, but we have heard nothing but praise about the transition and about YOU as their faculty. They feel welcomed and, for most of them, very connected to the program. 2. The clinical experience leadership team has changed since the last newsletter. We thank Shay Thomas and Branden Henline for their work in shaping the system and in supporting students in the difficult transition to clinical training. We welcome two new members of the clinical experience leadership team and thank the other for her steady presence and work and for her considerable expertise: a. Kathryn Klock-Powell, Director of MFT Clinical Training b. Cassandra Lettenberger-Klein, Associate Director of MFT Clinical Training c. Rachel Butterfras, Clinical Coordinator (formerly the Internship Coordinator for SSBS) We will see some changes in process and focus as the new team members transitions into their roles. We have also seen that even though there is a transition and changes are being made, students continue to be served, vetted, and prepared for clinical training. Thanks and KUDOS to Tracy Oliver and Kristi Harrison for their willingness to work in an interim assignment in the clinical training process. They have provided support to students while this transition has been happening. They will continue to provide that support through the end of May. 3. It is difficult to put into words the appreciation that we all (especially I) feel toward Mindi for her tireless efforts as OUR Faculty Coach. Her approach is at once very thorough and detail-oriented while at the same time collegial and supportive. She has made a significant difference in the lives of many faculty and, by extension, hundreds of students. Thanks, Mindi, for your remarkable service to all of us in DMFS! 4. Siva Perera has been promoted to the position of associate director of faculty support and development, focused primarily on the DMFS. Siva has demonstrated over many years her ability to work with difficult students and help them to succeed. She is creative and committed to going the extra mile to provide support to colleagues and to students. Her developed expertise in the NCU model will be very helpful in this new role. Her collaborative approach will benefit all of us as we learn with and from her! Welcome to your new role, Siva! Darren Adamson, PhD | Chair, Dept. of Marriage and Family Sciences