On October 28^th, several IPA members attended a reunion at Iowa State University to honor the Counseling Psychology Program on its 50th anniversary of APA Accreditation. This event was the first reunion hosted by the department in over 20 years and was spearheaded by ISU Professor of Psychology and Associate Chair, Dr. Nathaniel Wade. The day’s events began with an open house in Lagomarcino Hall. Attendees toured the building, connected with former students and faculty members, and socialized at Della Viti Wine Bar in Ames.

Afternoon meet-up at Della Viti Wine Bar (IPA Members: Dr. Kaitlyn Burke, Dr. Dakota Kaiser, Dr. Summer Brunscheen, Dr. Ashley
Freeman, Dr. Sarah Fetter, Dr. Kate Junk, Dr. LeAnn Waterhouse, Dr. Scott Young, Dr. Paul Ascheman)

In the evening, we attended a banquet at the Memorial Union where current and former ISU faculty members and a former student shared historical facts about the department and memories of their time at ISU. Dr. Jonathan Kelly, current Chair of the Psychology Department, provided an overview of the Counseling Department. Dr. Norm Scott, ISU faculty from 1971-2017, summarized the intense and multi-year APA accreditation process that concluded in 1973 by designating ISU as the 15th Counseling Psychology Program to be accredited in the United States. The first programs to be accredited were University of Minnesota and Teachers College – Columbia University, both awarded in 1952. Currently, 80 Counseling Psychology programs have APA-accreditation in the United States.

Dr. Doug Epperson, Professor Emeritus (ISU faculty from 1979-2009), outlined the growth of the Counseling Program beginning in 1998 with the hire of Dr. Lisa Larson (1998-2021) followed by the addition of long-time faculty members Dr. David Vogel (2000 - present), Dr. Meifen Wei (2000-2023), Dr. Nathaniel Wade (2003 - present), Dr. Patrick Armstrong (2005 - present), and Dr. Loreto Prieto (2007 - present). Dr. Prieto shared how the Counseling Psychology Department is currently thriving and attributed much of its success to the dedicated work of earlier faculty members. Several speakers, including Dr. Rick Tirrell (Class of ’78) and Dr. Norm Scott (1971-2017), shared entertaining memories of working in Old Botany Hall in the 1970’s before the department moved to Lagomarcino.

In addition to honoring the 50^th anniversary of APA Accreditation, the evening also honored Dr. Norm Scott, who retired in 2017. Dr. Scott was an ISU Counseling Psychology faculty member for 45 years. Along with his many contributions to the field and to the department, Dr. Scott was appointed by Governor Robert Ray to the State Board of Psychology Licensure Examiners in 1979. He held the appointment until 1983 and chaired the Board from 1981-1983. Additionally, he was the IPA Membership Chair from 1987-1989. Dr. Scott is known for his positive and supportive interactions with colleagues and students. One of the speakers at the banquet, Dr. Rick Tirrell (‘78), was Dr. Scott’s first doctoral student.

A member of IPA since the 1970’s, Dr. Scott mentored 46 doctoral students in his role as ISU faculty including the following IPA members: Dr. Scott Young, Dr. Paul Ascheman, Dr. Dave Beeman, Dr. Mindy Green, Dr. Brenda Crawford, and Dr. Summer Brunscheen. In Dr. Scott’s honor, Dr. Wade announced the creation of the Norm Scott Scholarship Fund which will be used to fund graduate student summer assistantships.

The reunion was attended by current students, former students, current faculty, and emeritus faculty. ISU alumni/IPA members in attendance included Dr. Dave Beeman, Dr. Sarah Fetter, Dr. Kate Junk, Dr. Paul Ascheman, Dr. Ashley Freeman, Dr. Summer Brunscheen, Dr. Norm Scott, Dr. LeAnn Waterhouse, Dr. Scott Young, Dr. Kelsey Engel, Dr. Kaitlyn Burke, Dr. Dakota Kaiser and student member Haley Williamson. Also present were IPA members and ISU teaching faculty, Dr. Warren Phillips (1997- present) and Dr. Nicole Taylor-Irwin (2022 - present).

Dr. Norm Scott and Dr. Doug Epperson

The reunion provided a wonderful opportunity to connect with ISU alumni and faculty as well as learn about the rich and storied history of the department. A big thank you to Dr. Nathaniel Wade for planning a great event!

This article was written by Ashley Freeman, Ph.D., in collaboration with the ISU Counseling Psychology Department. See below for additional photos.

IPA Members pictured: Dr. Ashley Freeman, Dr. Sarah Fetter, Dr. Scott Young (Class of 2011)

IPA Members pictured: Dr. Kate Junk, Dr. Ashley Freeman, Dr. Sarah Fetter, Dr. Kaitlyn Burke

IPA Member: Dr. Dakota Kaiser