Summer 2023 Newsletter

As I write this, we are one week away from the end of Spring semester and the 2022-23
academic year. And what a year this has been! It feels like yesterday we were having the
2022 commencement ceremony and the 2022-26 strategic planning retreat and yet here we
are, planning for the 2023 commencement. In the meantime, 75 students completed their
master’s degree and 13 completed certificates; one of our students, Brenisen Wheeler, was
awarded the prestigious National Board for Certified Counselors Minority Fellowship;
faculty and B-GREAT students attended the American Counseling Association Annual
Conference (ACA) in Toronto; faculty and students presented together at several
professional conferences; staff members attended professional conferences where they
learned the latest trends in their respective areas and networked with other professionals;
our alumnus Hallie Williams was elected president of the North American Society of
Adlerian Psychology (NASAP); thanks to the dedication of a task force led by the Director of
Alumni Relations, Ev Haas, and our legislature liaison, Lisa Venable, we secured a grant
from the Minnesota legislature to train mental health professionals on best practices for
working with law enforcement personnel; and the list goes on. You get my drift – what I see
is a vibrant community contributing to the counseling profession and working toward AGS’s
vision of being a leader in empowering and developing mental health and human service
professionals to transform society through social interest in action.

So, what next? We continue to pursue our mission of preparing mental health and human
service professionals with a strong Adlerian foundation to foster encouragement,
collaboration, and a sense of belonging with the individuals, families, and the culturally
diverse communities they serve! To this end, the next academic year will see us switching
our online learning platform from Moodle to Canvas, which will allow for more dynamic
instructional activities and improve the learning experience. We will also prepare and
submit our midterm report to the Higher Learning Commission and develop the plans for
an institutional improvement plan regarding belonging, equity, accessibility, and diversity,
aimed at moving us from allies to agents against systemic discrimination. Also contributing
to our mission and our values of Adlerian principles, diversity, and institutional
sustainability, in August we will welcome the students, staff, and faculty of Arete Academy,
a 6th to 12th grade school serving twice exceptional children, who will share our building
with us. I look forward to having them on our campus and the opportunities for
collaboration that will arise from this partnership, as well as to welcoming you all back for
another year of Gemeinschaftsgefuhl.

~Dr. Solange Ribeiro