History of the Program

In 1966 the Department of Counselor Education decided to offer a program in college student personnel. It recruited Dr. Theodore K. Miller from the State University of New York at Buffalo to develop the program. He arrived in Georgia in 1967 and began to construct the master’s program in Student Personnel in Higher Education (SPHE) and to develop a student affairs specialty within the existing Ph.D. and Ed.D. programs in counseling and student personnel services.

Dr. Miller (Ted as he was known to students and colleagues alike) received his doctorate from the University of Florida where he studied under Ted Landsmon and worked extensively with Dr. Harold Riker (one of the early pioneers in the housing and residential life area). Ted made many contributions to the student affairs field including serving as President of the American College Personnel Association (1975-1976) and as co-author of The Future of Student Affairs, which become one of the principal philosophical statements for the “student development movement.” He went on to serve as the first president of the Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education (CAS). Ted retired in 1997 but still serves as an Emeritus Professor in the Program.

In 1972 Ted was joined by Dr. Fred Newton who received his training under Dr. Richard Caple at the University of Missouri. Dr. Newton left the University of Georgia in 1978 to become Director of the Counseling Center at Duke University; he is now the Director of the Counseling Center at Kansas State University.

Dr. Roger Winston, who had completed his degree at the University of Georgia in 1973 and who was working at Georgia Southwestern State University as Associate Dean of Students, was selected to replace Dr. Newton on the faculty in 1978.

In 1988 serious re-evaluation of the program was undertaken to determine whether it was meeting the needs of student affairs practice at the doctoral level. A committee composed of department faculty members and student affairs staff studied the curriculum for over two years. Alumni and currently enrolled doctoral students also studied the curriculum and reviewed the literature. The faculty concluded thatthe counseling based program should be changed substantially to become an administration-based program.

In 1990 Roger Winston become the coordinator of the newly created student affairs administration specialty within the degree designation “Counseling and Student Personnel Services.” Dr. Winston retired in 2002.

Since inauguration of the SAA (now CSAA-D) Program, Dr. Diane Cooper (who studied under Dr. Albert [Al] Hood at the University of Iowa) joined the faculty in 1996. She came to the program by way of the University of North Carolina at Greensboro where she was an administrator and Appalachian State University where she taught in their preparation program.

Dr. Sue Saunders—a 1979 University of Georgia graduate–came aboard when Ted retired in 1997. She left the program in 2000 to become Dean of Students at Lycoming College. She currently serves on the faculty at the University of Connecticut.

Dr. Merrily Dunn joined the faculty in Fall 2001. She came to the University of Georgia from Mississippi State University where she headed their student affairs preparation program. She is a graduate of Ohio State University (Robert F. Rodgers was her major professor).

Dr. Jeanette Barker joined us in the fall of 2003 from Georgia State University where she directed the Student Affairs Division Assessment Efforts and left us in 2006 to return to administration and is now the Director of Research and Evaluation at North Carolina Central University.

Dr. Richard Mullendore joined us in the fall of 2004, having served as a Student Affairs Vice President, most recently at UGA. He received his Ph.D. from Michigan State University (Dr. Louis Stamatakos was his major professor.)

Dr. Laura Dean joined the faculty in the fall of 2006 having served as a Student Affairs Vice President and Dean, most recently at Peace College in North Carolina. She received her Ph. D. at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro under the direction of Dr. Nicholas Vacc.

Dr. Michelle M. Espino joined the faculty in the fall of 2008. She earned her Ph.D. from the University of Arizona and was the former Coordinator of Student Programs at Southern Methodist University (TX). Dr. Jenny J. Lee was her major professor.