Dr. Kurt Michael, third from left, listens as Jennifer Wandler, Watauga High School social worker and ASC coordinator, discusses a student’s case in fall 2018. Photo by Marie Freeman
BOONE, N.C. — A $30,000 grant awarded to Appalachian State University by Watauga County Schools has ensured students in the school district’s Watauga High School will continue to have access to high-quality mental health services offered through Appalachian’s Assessment, Support, and Counseling (ASC) Center.
This is the 13th consecutive year of renewed funding for the Watauga ASC Center.
Dr. Kurt Michael, assistant chair of Appalachian’s Dr. Wiley F. Smith Department of Psychology and the Aeschleman Distinguished Professor of Psychology, is the grant recipient. The grant covers the center’s operation from July 2018 to June 2019.
His collaborators for the project include Dr. John Paul Jameson, associate professor in the Department of Psychology, and Dr. Jon Winek, professor in Appalachian’s Department of Human Development and Psychological Counseling and director of the department’s marriage and family therapy program.
“The ASC Center is a major training site for graduate students learning how to serve as school mental health clinicians in clinical psychology, social work, and marriage and family therapy,” Michael said.
The ASC Center in Watauga High School was formed in 2006 by then-principal Angela Quick, along with Dr. Lauren Renkert, associate professor in and chair of Appalachian’s Department of Social Work, Michael and Winek.
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A school-based intervention program developed by Appalachian’s Dr. Kurt Michael lowers rural teens’ suicide attempts and boosts their well-being
About the Dr. Wiley F. Smith Department of Psychology
Appalachian State University’s Dr. Wiley F. Smith Department of Psychology serves more than 1,400 undergraduate majors seeking the Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science degree in psychology, as well as 90 graduate students across four graduate programs: experimental psychology (MA), industrial-organizational psychology and human resource management (MA), school psychology (MA/SSP) and clinical psychology (PsyD). Learn more at https://psych.appstate.edu.
About the College of Arts and Sciences
The College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) at Appalachian State University is home to 17 academic departments, two centers and one residential college. These units span the humanities and the social, mathematical and natural sciences. CAS aims to develop a distinctive identity built upon our university's strengths, traditions and locations. The college’s values lie not only in service to the university and local community, but through inspiring, training, educating and sustaining the development of its students as global citizens. More than 6,800 student majors are enrolled in the college. As the college is also largely responsible for implementing App State’s general education curriculum, it is heavily involved in the education of all students at the university, including those pursuing majors in other colleges. Learn more at https://cas.appstate.edu.
About Appalachian State University
As a premier public institution, Appalachian State University prepares students to lead purposeful lives. App State is one of 17 campuses in the University of North Carolina System, with a national reputation for innovative teaching and opening access to a high-quality, affordable education for all. The university enrolls more than 21,000 students, has a low student-to-faculty ratio and offers more than 150 undergraduate and 80 graduate majors at its Boone and Hickory campuses and through App State Online. Learn more at https://www.appstate.edu.
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