The American Counseling Association (ACA) rewarded the efforts of Mark Kiselica, graduate counseling education professor, to end discrimination, racism and hate crimes with the Gilbert and Kathleen Wren Award for a Humanitarian and Caring Person in the spring.
Kiselica was also named the recipient of the Outstanding Advocate for Boys Award by the American Psychological Association (APA) in August and elected to Fellow status of the organization for the second time in March.
In order for an individual to be elected a Fellow in APA, he or she must make "outstanding and unusual contributions to the science and profession of counseling psychology.
Fellow status requires that a person's work has had a national impact on the field of psychology beyond a local, state or regional level," according to apa.org.
Every year since 1976, ACA has given the Wren Award for a Humanitarian and Caring Person to an individual "who gives to others without fanfare or expectation of reward other than the personal satisfaction of seeing other people made happier," according to ACA's Web site, counseling.org.
"A major objective of my work is to help people to develop a complex understanding about boys, men and masculinity," Kiselica said.
Kiselica's efforts range from publishing numerous works on multiculturalism to participation in organizations such as the Steering Committee of the Newtown Township No Place for Hate Campaign, which was identified as a model program by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL).
ADL, founded in 1913, aims to end discrimination, most specifically anti-Semitism. The No Place for Hate Campaign works in collaboration with ADL, helping sponsor events and forums to stop hate crimes and violence.
Many of Kiselica's publications including the widely-recognized volume, "Handbook of Counseling Boys and Adolescent Males," provide insight to the study of troubled boys, especially teenage fathers.
Kiselica is also former chair of the department of counselor education at the College, and a former president of the Society for the Psychological Study of Men and Masculinity, a national organization of psychologists.
Kiselica's second election to Fellow status makes him part of 1.4 percent of the members to achieve the status in two or more divisions of APA.
He was already a Fellow of Division 51, the Society for the Psychological Study of Men and Masculinity and this year was elected in Division 17, the Society of Counseling Psychology.
The College takes pride in having a nationally recognized individual as part of its faculty. "We have great students, and this helps to confirm that we have great faculty as well," William J. Behre, dean of the school of Education, said. "It is excellent to have someone who is nationally recognized. It truly enhances the reputation of the College."
APA is a scientific and professional organization of over 150,000 psychologists - the largest psychological organization in the world. With its base in Washington D.C., APA represents the United States in the world of psychology. It is made up of 53 divisions, with each division representing a different topic in psychology.
