Two faculty receive CEHD Emerging and Distinguished Scholar awards

Sept. 29, 2017

KALAMAZOO, Mich.—College of Education and Human Development (CEHD) is honoring Dr. Brett Geier, assistant professor in the Department of Educational Leadership, Research and Technology, and Dr. Carla Adkison-Johnson, professor in the Department of Counselor Education and Counseling Psychology, for their influential scholarship.

GEIER

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Dr. Brett Geier

Dr. Brett Geier, the 2017 CEHD Emerging Scholar Award recipient, came to WMU in 2014. Dr. Geier has published nine peer-reviewed articles in esteemed journals such as Journal of Education Finance, Professional School Counseling Journal, Mississippi College of Law Review, and Barry Law Review. He also published four book chapters, three non-referred articles, two webinars, and acted as a reporter for the Education Law Association, for which he provided briefs on 33 legal cases.

Dr. Geier’s research focuses on public education law, specifically religious and financial litigation. His sub-research focuses on Free Exercise and Establishment Clause challenges in the public schools, public educator retirement litigation, state school finance systems. Dr. Geier’s scholarship has been widely published in journals such as the Journal of Cases in Educational Studies, College of Mississippi Law Review, Barry Law Review, First Amendment Law Review, School Business Affairs, Journal of Education Finance, and School Planning and Management. He has composed multiple book chapters for various edited books and is the sole author of Quality Facilities for Enhanced Student Achievement. 

The Emerging Scholar Award recognizes one individual with outstanding scholarly accomplishments and the potential for continued excellence. The recipient must be a full-time, board-appointed faculty member in CEHD at WMU. At time of nomination, faculty member must not be tenured. 

ADKISON-JOHNSON

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Dr. Carla Adkison-Johnson

Dr. Carla Adkison-Johnson, the 2017 CEHD Distinguished Scholar Award recipient, has been employed at WMU for 14 years. She has authored one book, nine book chapters, 35 refereed journal articles and multiple national professional presentations.

Dr. Adkison-Johnson has multiple refereed journal articles and presentations at professional meetings pertaining to the challenges, barriers faced by African-American counseling faculty in general, and African-American counselor educators in particular. Her research also addresses the challenges faced by doctoral students as well as entry-level counseling students. A task force formed by the Association of Multicultural Counseling and Development to investigate why counselor educators of color are not obtaining tenure is currently using her work in this area. In 2016, she was part of a select group of distinguished counselor educators invited to facilitate sessions by the National White House and Reach Higher Convening on Cultural Competence Counseling and College and Career Readiness.

The Distinguished Scholar Award recognizes one individual with a body of outstanding scholarly accomplishments that has had an impact on the field. The recipient must be a full-time, board-appointed, tenured faculty member with a minimum of seven years of service in CEHD at Western Michigan University (WMU). 

In 2016 Dr. Gary Miron won the Distinguished Scholar Award, and Dr. Selena Protacio won the Emerging Scholar Award. 



For more information about the CEHD Distinguished and Emerging Scholar Awards, click here.