CHDS professor receives 2015 Ted K. Miller Award for Excellence from SACSA
Laura Dean, an associate professor in the Department of Counseling and Human Development Services, recently received the Ted K. Miller Award for Excellence from the Southern Association for College Student Affairs (SACSA) for her outstanding accomplishments in advancing standards of practice and quality assurance in educational programs and services in higher education.
Given in collaboration with the Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education (CAS), the Ted K. Miller Award for Excellence was established in honor of Ted Miller, professor emeritus of the University of Georgia and CAS's first president and editor.
Miller was also the founder of the College of Education's College Student Affairs Administration program, which Dean currently teaches in.
"My own work with CAS was one of the primary reasons I received this recognition, and my work is a direct result of his legacy," said Dean, who described the win as a very humbling experience. "I'm honored by the recognition and moved to receive an award named after one of my mentors and student affairs heroes."
Founded in 1979, CAS is a consortium of 41 professional associations in higher education that develops and disseminates standards of practice to foster student learning and success. Dean was an active member of CAS for nearly 20 years and served as its president and publications editor, as well as on the council's Board of Directors and Executive Committee.
"I believe strongly in the work of CAS," she said. "Professional standards are a defining element of any field, and CAS has been the primary source for profession-wide standards of practice in student affairs and related areas for nearly 30 years."
Dean has been recognized often in her career. She was the recipient of NASPA Region III's 2015 Outstanding Contribution to Student Affairs through Teaching Award; the Georgia College Personnel Association's 2014 Paul K. Jahr Award of Excellence; the ACPA's 2013 Diamond Honoree Award; the ACPA's 2007 Annuit Coeptis Senior Professional Award; the University of North Carolina at Greensboro's 2007 Distinguished Alumni Outstanding Achievement Award; and the American College Counseling Association's 1997 Professional Leadership Award.
Her research interests include the use of professional standards, small college issues and assessment practices. Dean previously served as the senior student affairs officer at Pfeiffer University and at Peace College in North Carolina.