MA in counseling ethics award recipients (l. to r.): Zachary Taylor, Erin Constable, Thomas Smith and Tara Kreider. Photo by Amy Schmid

A team of 91短视频 students in the master of arts in counseling program received a first-place award in the annual national Graduate Student Ethics Competition sponsored by the American Counseling Association (ACA), Alexandria, Va.

Zachary Taylor, West Columbia, S.C.,; Erin Constable, Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada; Tara Kreider, Harrisonburg; and Thomas Smith, Hillsboro, Kan., were among teams nationwide who submitted essays in the masters level competition. Each essay was reviewed by members of the ACA ethics committee.

A case study

The case study involved a counseling intern in a college counseling center. The scenario related to the counselors identity as a white suburban male working with a Latina student discussing her experience with childhood abuse. She reported having taken a covert action that seemed to have contributed to her abuser’s early death. The study contained multicultural, boundaries of competence and mandated reporter issues.

The team prepared a 15-page paper identifying what they believed the dilemma to be, what they felt the most ethical actions should be, the justification for their proposed actions and a description of the decision-making model used in reaching that decision.

Applying ethics to professional situations

Linda Leitch-Alford, associate professor of counseling, teaches a course on professional applied ethics, which the students drew from in preparing their essay.

“To have received first place in this national contest is a statement of the quality of students in our program,” Dr. Leitch-Alford said. “The award is also a significant affirmation of their abilities to apply academic learning to professional situations with excellence. It gives us confidence that they will serve their future clients well,” she added.

Each first place team member will receive a $75 gift certificate to the ACA Bookstore, an ACA Ethics Competition winner’s certificate and a letter of recognition from ACA President Lynn Linde. These will be presented to the 91短视频 team – as well as the two other winning master’s level teams and the top three doctoral level winning teams – at the ACA Annual Conference & Exposition in Pittsburgh, Pa., during the ACA National Awards Ceremony Mar. 21.

Student names, institutions and winning responses of the winning master’s and doctoral teams will also be published in the (month) edition of “Counseling Today” magazine and posted on the ACA website at .

91短视频 the MA in Counseling program

91短视频 has 37 students currently enrolled in its MA in counseling program, which is accredited by The Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP). The program offers a 60-semester hour, CACREP-approved track that prepares students for clinical practice as a licensed professional counselor and a dual degree that enables a student to earn both a master of divinity and an MA in counseling degree in less time than if both were pursued separately.

Willis Jenkins, assistant professor of social ethics at Yale Divinity School

Willis Jenkins, assistant professor of social ethics at Yale Divinity School, New Haven, Conn., will speak on “Environmental Ethics and Christian Theology,” 4 p.m. Friday, Nov. 21 in the Suter Science Center auditorium.

Dr. Shelly L. Thomas, assistant professor of biology at 91短视频, and Dr. Kenton K. Brubaker, professor emeritus of biology at 91短视频, will respond to Jenkins’ presentation.

Jenkins received a BA degree from Wheaton (Ill.) College and MA and PhD degrees from the University of Virginia. His research focuses on environmental ethics, religion and sustainable development, and moral theologies. He has taught at UVa. and at a rural campus of Uganda Christian University.

Jenkins has significant international experience in community development initiatives, was co-founder of the Episcopal Young Adult Service Corps, and served on the Episcopal Church’s Standing Commission on World Mission, 2000 to 2006.

He has published articles in the Journal of Religion, Environmental Ethics, Anglican Theological Review, Worldviews: Environment, Culture, Religion and the Journal of Lutheran Ethics.

“Our speaker will describe several major problems in environmental ethics, some of the ways that theological traditions approach those problems and how traditions may be changing in this contemporary encounter of faith and sustainability,” said Roman J. Miller, Suter Endowed Professor of Biology at 91短视频.

The seminar, co-sponsored by the Shenandoah Anabaptist Scientific Society, is open to the public free of charge. Refreshments will be served 15 minutes prior to the presentation.

For more information, contact Dr. Miller, 540-432-4412 or email millerrj@emu.edu.

Dr. Francis Collins, best-selling author of The Language of God, will speak Saturday, Nov. 17, at 91短视频.

Collins’ free public lecture on the theme, "A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief," is scheduled for 10 a.m. in Martin Chapel of the seminary building at 91短视频. A brief question and answer period will follow his presentation.

Collins serves as director of the in Bethesda, Md. He coordinated the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium, better known as the Human Genome Project.

Under Collins’ leadership, the group successfully mapped and sequenced human DNA, releasing its final results both ahead of schedule and under budget in 2003.

Collin’s Contributions Many

Collins’ contributions to science include a gene-hunting approach called "positional cloning," which he used to successfully identify the gene responsible for cystic fibrosis in 1989. He later used the technique to isolate the genes tied to a number of other illnesses, including Huntington’s disease and a form of adult acute leukemia.

Collins received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Virginia and his doctoral degree in physical chemistry from Yale University. He later obtained his medical doctorate from the University of North Carolina.

Following a fellowship in human genetics at Yale, he joined the faculty at the University of Michigan, where he remained until 1993 when he began work at the National Institutes of Health.

His book, The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief, published in July 2006, has received strong reviews. He is a member of both the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies and the National Academy of Sciences.

Collin’s Visit a ‘Landmark Opportunity’

Christian E. Early, associate professor of philosophy and theology at 91短视频, called Collins’ visit "a landmark opportunity for the campus and public to learn from one of the great scientific minds of today.

"Francis Collins has changed the face of science and medicine for the better," Dr. Early said. "That he also believes in God ought to testify to the fact that religious faith and science are not mutually exclusive," he added.

Lamenting the polarized God-versus-Science debate, Collins has said, "Most people don’t live at those extremes. Most people live somewhere in the middle and are seeking a possible harmony between these world views. It seems rather sad that we hear so little about that possibility, especially when you look at young people being told they have to make a choice between science and faith. I think if you pick one or the other, you impoverish yourself."

A light brunch will be served at 9:30 a.m., with Collins’ presentation starting promptly at 10 a.m.

The program is being sponsored by the Shenandoah Anabaptist Science Society (SASS) at 91短视频. The focus of SASS is to create a space for dialog on issues at the intersection of science and religion.

For more information, contact Christian Early at 540-432-4456 or Cheryl Doss in the Suter Science Center at 540-432-4400.

John Paul Lederach

An essay by Kenneth E. Roth, associate professor of biology at 91短视频 and a member of the bioethics conference planning committee.

According to the Oxford Advanced Learner