9/19/01
AUBURN EDUCATION PROFESSOR TO RECEIVE NATIONAL AWARD
AUBURN -- The U.S. Department of Education has named Randall McDaniel, a faculty member in Auburn University's College of Education, to receive the agency's Excellence in Education and Training Award for 2001.
McDaniel, a professor in the college's Department of Rehabilitation and Special Education, will receive the award at the annual Conference of the National Council on Rehabilitation Educators in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 14.
The award recognizes the department's efforts to establish a techologically based distance education master's degree program in rehabilitation counseling. McDaniel directed establishment of the program with a $1 million, five-year grant AU received in 1999 from the DOE's Rehabilitation Services Administration.
RSA Commissioner Joanne Wilson said the award recognizes innovative efforts of the AU College of Education and Auburn's dedication to the nation's public rehabilitation program.
Rehabilitation counselors assist persons who are learning to overcome disabilities or related problems and become more self-sufficient.
The AU master's program enables rehabilitation counselors to continue working with disabled individuals in their communities while pursuing a master's degree in that field at Auburn. Much of the course materials and interaction with professors is over World Wide Web and through other electronic media.
"The national award is the latest recognition of the importance of the Department of Rehabilitation and Special Education to our college, the university and the state of Alabama," said College of Education Interim Dean Frances Kochan.
She noted that the department's rehabilitationcounseling program tied for 27th place among graduate programs in that field nationwide in the latest survey by U.S. News & World Report. There are more than 90 graduate programs in the field across the U.S.
Philip Browning, head of the Department of Rehabilitation and Special Education, said McDaniel and his colleagues have been among the most active academic leaders in the nation in use of distance education to upgrade the knowledge and skills of teachers, counselors and other professionals in rehabilitation.
"It would be hard to overstate the impact that faculty such as Dr. McDaniel have on rehabilitation efforts of persons with disabilities in the state of Alabama," said Browning. "We are pleased that officials in Washington recognize these efforts, but the greatest reward comes from the awareness that our faculty are producing graduates who are changing their communities for the better."
CONTACT: Browning or McDaniel, 334/844-5943.