Spring 2022 Newsletter

Dear friends and colleagues,

The Board of Directors of Adler Graduate School are writing to share that Dr. Jeffrey Allen has announced his retirement and will retire on Friday, May 13th, 2022. Dr. Solange Ribeiro has been gracious enough to accept the role of interim President of Adler Graduate School until the Board of Directors has appointed a permanent sitting President. Dr. Ribeiro will act as the interim President commencing May 16th, 2022. Throughout Dr. Allen’s tenure, he has provided Adler Graduate School with four years of outstanding leadership and accomplishment. At the onset of his Presidency in 2018, Dr. Allen acted as the key initiator and navigator of the college residential relocation from Richfield to the current Minnetonka site, creating an expansive space for exceptional educational practice and collaboration. After which, he coordinated a successful 50th anniversary celebration that launched the vision of Adler Graduate School as a premier destination for Mental Health Counseling professionals interested in investing in the principles of Adlerian Individual Psychology. As President, Dr. Allen executed college-wide strategic initiatives that buoyed the college during the COVID-19 pandemic and ensured financial stability, academic continuity, quality, and delivery. Dr. Allen sustained the educational veracity of the institution by shepherding several college and programmatic accreditations, namely, college-wide; the 10-year reaffirmation from the Higher Learning Commission (HLC), programmatic approvals: Art Therapy American Art Therapy Association (AATA), and soon to be Council for the Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP). Dr. Allen guided the restructure and implementation of a faculty model to create a foundation of academic professionals who met CACREP accreditation requirements and spearheaded the advancement of Adler Graduate School as a critical constituent in schools for mental health professionals. In addition, the advancement of Adler Graduate School with CACREP accreditation affords the college to become one that values the highest level of academic education, research practitionership, integrity as professional education providers, and, more importantly, accommodating future engagement for its student graduates. Dr. Allen’s ability as a thought leader has transformed Adler Graduate School to be the platform by which all college constituents may engage in open dialogue and develop a level of collaboration and inclusivity, that benefits the constant improvement towards excellence. Jeffrey Allen has involved staff, faculty, and administration in the future strategic planning of the college, acknowledging the need to accommodate the variant structures, processes, and departments residing in the functions of the college. Given these significant achievements, Dr. Allen has positioned the college to be a competitive leader in the higher education landscape. We, the Board of Directors, are indebted to Dr. Allen for cultivating the college’s capacity to achieve its strategic goals and objectives while adhering to the college’s mission and propelling its vision that Adler Graduate School will be a leader in empowering and developing mental health and human service professionals to transform society through a social interest in action. The Board of Directors will be forming a search committee to find Dr. Allen’s successor and has engaged The DEJ Group, LLC to lead the search. The following steps in the search process include; finalizing the position description and developing an application profile, including critical leadership, managerial, and operational competencies; and creating a recruitment plan. Please join us in wishing Dr. Allen well in his retirement—and thank you, on behalf of all of us, for all you do in service of students, the college, and our college community partners.

Sincerely,
Adler Graduate School Board of Directors:
Janica Austad, EdD
Collins B. Byrd, MBA
Suz Feely, JD, SPHR, PCC
Brandon Jones, MA
John F. Newbauer, PhD
John Rosenberg (Capt.)
John Sweeney, MBA