May 31, 2005

SIUC doctoral students win ethics competition

by Pete Rosenbery

CARBONDALE, Ill. -- Four Southern Illinois University Carbondale doctoral students finished first in the 2005 American Counseling Association Ethics Competition.

The team of Cindy L. Anderton of Chubbuck, Idaho; Cathy R. Brock of Cape Girardeau, Mo.; Barbara S. Gambino of Waterford, Mich.; and Debra A. Pender of Johnston City, finished first in the ACA's doctoral level competition. Teams from Georgia State University and the University of Iowa finished second and third, respectively.

Anderton, Brock, Gambino and Pender are doctoral students in educational psychology from the Department of Educational Psychology and Special Education in SIUC's College of Education and Human Services.

According to the American Counseling Association, the competition represents a "decisive initiative by the ACA Ethics Committee to engage aspiring counseling professionals in graduate schools across the nation in the process of becoming aware of, studying and engaging in ethical reflection and decision-making."

Twelve doctoral-level graduate programs and 34 master's level programs from across the country participated in the competition.

Offering progressive graduate education is among the goals of Southern at 150: Building Excellence Through Commitment, the blueprint for the development of the University by the time it celebrates its 150th anniversary in 2019.

Capella University's counselor education program, an online accredited university headquartered in Minneapolis, Minn., was the master's level ethics competition winner. Teams from South Dakota State University and The College of William and Mary finished second, and third, respectively.