2008 Woodie Awards
University seeks diverse staff
Courtney Houpt
Issue date: 11/29/07 Section: News
- Page 1 of 1
The UTC Counseling and Career Planning Center has hired Tara Mathis, the new associate dean of multi-cultural affairs, officials said.
Nancy Badger, director of the counseling and career planning center, said she hopes the hiring of the new counselor will reach people who might be hesitant to engage in counseling due to their cultural differences.
"There are many myths about counseling among underrepresented groups, and we hope to dispel those myths," Badger said.
The new counselor will be directly engaged in partnerships with offices, departments, students and student groups to help construct better models of educational and support programs to help students transition to life at UTC, Badger said.
John Delaney, vice chancellor of student development, said he sees the addition of a multi-cultural counselor as the addition of a new service for every student at UTC.
The Multicultural Affairs Office will be involved in projects with other offices in order to promote student wellness and bring awareness to different aspects of importance in a student's life.
"For example, if the new counselor partners with the health center and the multicultural affairs office to create and promote specific health awareness programs for the campus community this may lead to more students accessing and utilizing these
services and resources," Delaney said.
The need for this type of counselor has been growing on campus for some time, and the topic has been discussed at length.
"We have good conversations underway on how we want to identify and construct our multicultural affairs office and other support programming services under this operation as we look at our present structure," Delaney said.
Open meetings and interviewers with counselor candidates were scheduled so that every member of the UTC community would have an opportunity to take part in the process, a factor that Badger believes to be very important.
"I believe that an open process is essential for any counseling position," Badger said. "This position was made possible through student health fees, which makes it even more imperative that we use an open process for hiring these
positions," Badger said.
Nancy Badger, director of the counseling and career planning center, said she hopes the hiring of the new counselor will reach people who might be hesitant to engage in counseling due to their cultural differences.
"There are many myths about counseling among underrepresented groups, and we hope to dispel those myths," Badger said.
The new counselor will be directly engaged in partnerships with offices, departments, students and student groups to help construct better models of educational and support programs to help students transition to life at UTC, Badger said.
John Delaney, vice chancellor of student development, said he sees the addition of a multi-cultural counselor as the addition of a new service for every student at UTC.
The Multicultural Affairs Office will be involved in projects with other offices in order to promote student wellness and bring awareness to different aspects of importance in a student's life.
"For example, if the new counselor partners with the health center and the multicultural affairs office to create and promote specific health awareness programs for the campus community this may lead to more students accessing and utilizing these
services and resources," Delaney said.
The need for this type of counselor has been growing on campus for some time, and the topic has been discussed at length.
"We have good conversations underway on how we want to identify and construct our multicultural affairs office and other support programming services under this operation as we look at our present structure," Delaney said.
Open meetings and interviewers with counselor candidates were scheduled so that every member of the UTC community would have an opportunity to take part in the process, a factor that Badger believes to be very important.
"I believe that an open process is essential for any counseling position," Badger said. "This position was made possible through student health fees, which makes it even more imperative that we use an open process for hiring these
positions," Badger said.
