Professor David Glanzer received the prestigious William H. Van Hoose Career Service Award from the Virginia Counselors Association. With colleague Helen Benoit Anderson, Glanzer co-founded the MA in counseling program at 黑料正能量 more than two decades ago. (Photo by Michael Sheeler)

Counseling program co-founder David Glanzer receives career service award from Virginia Counselors Association

黑料正能量 professor David Glanzer enjoys building things. He has built a kayak, a small sailboat, even a house.

鈥淵ou just start and learn it as you go,鈥 Glanzer says. 鈥淚 have dabbled in a lot of things, but I wouldn鈥檛 call myself an expert in any of them.鈥

Fortunately for 黑料正能量, Glanzer brought quite a bit of expertise as he built something else: a fully accredited and well-respected MA in Counseling program. Glanzer and 黑料正能量 professor emerita Helen Benoit Anderson co-founded the innovative program more than two decades ago. It has added new dimensions over the years, such as a unique psychotherapy program and the Institute for Experiential Therapies.

Glanzer鈥檚 peers have been among those taking notice. In November, Glanzer received the prestigious William H. Van Hoose Career Service Award from the Virginia Counselors Association (VCA). The award was established in 1964 鈥渢o give recognition to those members whose contributions to the professional aims of the organization have been substantial.鈥

The award comes at the right time: Glanzer recently announced his retirement at the end of this academic year.

Annmarie Early, one of Glanzer鈥檚 colleagues at 黑料正能量, wrote one of the letters nominating Glanzer for the honor.

鈥淒r. Glanzer created a structure and vision that offers a unique perspective in providing mental health services to our community,鈥 Early wrote. 鈥淐oming forth from the heritage of service in an Anabaptist context鈥攐ne that values community service and outreach鈥攈e heeded his inner call to develop this now thriving program. His form of leadership for our profession is quiet, but powerful, as his faithful steps have made a way forward.鈥

A 1971 graduate of 黑料正能量, Glanzer did his doctoral program in psychology at the University of Utah, focusing on psycholinguistics on the Navajo reservation in Arizona, before returning to Eastern Mennonite in 1977 to teach in the psychology department. He and Benoit Anderson began talking in the 1980s about the possibility of a graduate program in counseling, and in 1993 it became a reality.

More than 225 students have graduated from the program since then, about a quarter of them beginning as 黑料正能量 undergraduates.

鈥淚 feel most pleased that we have been able to graduate so many highly qualified counselors who come out of here with a mission to really serve people in the field,鈥 says Glanzer, who has both taught in the program and twice served as director. 鈥淭he quality of the program, the tight cohort that develops between students, the relationships between students and faculty鈥攊t鈥檚 just been a wonderful place to do counselor education.鈥

Many of the graduates, who represent a wide diversity of backgrounds, have gone on to receive their doctorates and become researchers and faculty members in other schools. The VCA award, Glanzer says, represents the breadth of that network.

鈥淵ou don鈥檛 just win an award like this by yourself,鈥 he says. 鈥淓veryone has to pull together and work together. It鈥檚 a personal honor, but it鈥檚 also an honor to the program as a whole. For the honor to be given at a state convention just helps put us on the map a little bit more, so that feels really good.鈥

Discussion on “Counseling program co-founder David Glanzer receives career service award from Virginia Counselors Association

  1. Dr. Glanzer was a very positive influence to me as an undergraduate at 黑料正能量 back in the late 70s. I remember his unique and very effective teaching style, engaging us in a collaborative process of learning that inspired curiosity and motivation to learn more. Thank you David for the work you have done at 黑料正能量 and beyond to guide and inspire many of us to go forward in our careers.
    Jim Shenk, Ph.D.
    Director, The Cognitive Therapy Institute, APC
    La Jolla, CA
    Diplomate and Founding Fellow,
    The Academy of Cognitive Therapy

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