Susan Mcmahon 1

Susan Mcmahon 1

Susan McMahon 1

History of CEP

SCRA has long valued the role education in our field. In the late 1970s the Council of Graduate Program Directors in Community Research & Action (CPDCRA) was formed to encourage excellence in education in community research and action. The CPDCRA did excellent work to promote education and support programs over about 30 years. In the late 1990s, it folded due to challenges associated with collecting dues from institutional members and having no official channels of communication with the Executive Committee (EC) of SCRA.

In late 2005, the group was reactivated at the initiative of Cliff O’Donnell in his role as President of SCRA. Greg Meissen was appointed as chair, and the first annual summit was held in May, 2006, hosted by DePaul University in Chicago. The group renamed itself as the “SCRA Council of Education Programs” in order to emphasize our commitment to excellence in education at both undergraduate and graduate levels, and to ensure that the Council of Education Programs (CEP) is a part of SCRA. The CEP redeveloped its mission and administrative governance and developed a strategic plan for the next 5 years. The EC made a commitment to support the Council of Education Programs, and the Chair of the CEP became an ex-officio member of the EC to facilitate communication and coordination of agendas that help to move our field forward through education.

At the first annual meeting, the CEP developed three main initiatives to pursue over the next several years, together with a set of specific goals and activities that address each of the initiatives. Example activities and accomplishments follow each initiative.

1. To enhance innovation and educational effectiveness, and increase visibility among potential students, university colleagues and employers.

  • Listing graduate programs on the SCRA website
  • Developing an introductory community psychology brochure to be distributed widely
  • Listing community psychology oriented internships and post-docs
  • Describingintroductory psychology textbooks that incorporatecommunity psychology
  • Describing community psychology, education, and careers on other websites, such as Idealist.org to reach a broader audience
  • Writing articles for undergraduates, such as in the Eye on Psi Chi

2. To provide support, advocacy, and enhancement of education programs in community research and action, including graduate and undergraduate programs. This initiative is aimed at training as well as the practice of teaching community psychology

  • Conducting regular graduate program surveys and disseminating the results
  • Developing educational sessions at the Biennial on teaching and/or training issues
  • Interviewing program directors to assess their needs and how we can serve programs
  • Identifying core competencies and how educational programs address them
  • Publishing educational articles in TCP and other outlets

3. To recognize and celebrate the accomplishments and innovations of education programs in community research and action.

  • Creating and awarding the Outstanding Educator Award to be given to an educator who has influenced the field through innovative approaches to the teaching of community research and action
  • Created and awarding the Excellence in Education Programs award to highlight programs that have developed innovative and exemplary elements concerning community research and action in their undergraduate or graduate programs.

Previous Award Winners:

Outstanding Educator Award:

Patricia O’Connor (2007)

Marek Wosinski (2008)

Sylvie Taylor (2009)

Excellence in Education Programs

DePaul University (2007)

Annual Meetings bring the CEP members together to accomplish strategic planning, and monthly conference calls help to move specific goals and objectives forward.

Previous Annual meetings:

DePaul University, Chicago (2006), hosted by Susan McMahon

Wichita State University, Wichita (2007), hosted by Greg Meissen

Metropolitan State University, Minneapolis (2008), hosted by Kelly Hazel

Montclaire State University, Montclaire (2009), hosted by Susan McMahon

National Louis University, Chicago (2010), hosted by Judah Viola, Steve Davis, and Susan McMahon

Top View