College of Education and Human Development

School of Education Counseling Program Receives Counselors for Social Justice Outstanding Counseling Program Award

The Counseling program in the School of Education at George Mason University has been named the recipient of the 2024 Outstanding Counseling Program Award by the Counselors for Social Justice (CSJ), a division of the American Counseling Association. The bestowment of this award recognizes the Counseling program’s core values of social justice, multiculturalism, internationalism, advocacy, and leadership as set forth in its mission statement emphasizing social justice and advocacy and as reflected in the commitment of its faculty in training counselors to become proactive change agents and advocates for social, economic, and political justice.

Counseling Program Faculty and Staff

Upon learning that the Counseling program had been selected for this award, Counseling Professor Erik Hines described how social justice and advocacy have always been central to the mission of the Counseling program as far back as 2000 when two luminaries in the counseling field—Dr. Rita Chi-Ying Chung, Professor Emerita of Education, and Dr. Fred Bemark, Professor Emeritus of Education—joined the Mason faculty. Together, they transformed the Counseling program into one that would be an exemplar to the field of counseling in terms of social justice.

Dr. Hines observed, “The legacy of Drs. Chung and Bemak, who recently retired, is that social justice and advocacy are evident throughout the entire curriculum of the program, the counselors that we produce, and the faculty we continue to hire. Dr. Chung and Dr. Bemak were also instrumental in helping to establish the foundation of Counselors for Social Justice, which has become the flagship division for social justice, advocacy, and leadership within the American Counseling Association. While working to revolutionize Mason’s counseling preparation program during their time at the university, both Drs. Chung and Bemak also served as presidents of Counselors for Social Justice.”

Dr. Hines highlighted three key features of the Counseling program that illustrate its strength. “First,” he stated, “we have dynamic faculty and staff who are committed to social justice work in the areas of teaching, research, service, and practice. All the faculty have experience in social justice activities and continually engage in advocacy, cultural competency, and training so that students, clients, and communities receive equitable and optimal outcomes.”

“Second,” Dr. Hines continued, “in a collective fashion, the Mason counseling faculty and staff regularly examine each course and determine how to best infuse the tenets of our mission, which fundamentally include social justice and advocacy.” He noted that one of the cornerstones of the Counseling program curriculum includes the “Counseling and Social Justice” course. “Students in this course,” Dr. Hines explained, “actively engage in projects that help them understand the ways in which counselors must attend to social justice issues and how they can be effective advocates, both within their personal and professional endeavors.”

Dr. Hines then discussed the third key element of the Counseling program, known as the Diversity Research in Action Consortium (DRAC). This Consortium, started by Dr. Fred Bemak and now led by Counseling Professor Sam Steen, generates research and coordinates diversity services nationally, internationally, in Northern Virginia, and beyond. “A key feature of the DRAC,” said Dr. Hines, “is the signature Distinguished lecture series where free webinars are given by both emerging and seasoned scholars to ensure that more voices are heard concerning some of our most difficult topics. These lectures offer insight on many topics including getting your conference presentation proposal accepted at national venues and developing a qualitative study using a critical lens. The DRAC signature Distinguished lecture series will continue to bring the foremost thought leaders on social justice, access, diversity, equity, and inclusive excellence.” The other purpose of the signature lecture series, according to Dr. Hines, is to make research and practice around social justice and advocacy accessible and open to the public.

In his concluding remarks, Dr. Hines shared his thoughts on the significance of the Counselors for Social Justice award and what it means for Mason’s Counseling program. He stated, “This award further solidifies that we are one of a few if not the only program that has a focus on social justice work. Because of this award, we are attracting applicants from across the country who want to become counselors with a social justice lens. Moreover, we believe our program will be highly sought after for consultation on how to not only infuse social justice in other counseling programs and agencies, but how to prepare counselors, and advocate for the most underserved communities across the country.”

Please join the College of Education and Human Development community in celebrating the Counseling program for its accomplishment in being selected for the 2024 Outstanding Counseling Program Award by the Counselors for Social Justice. To learn more about the Counseling program, please visit the program website.