Union Announces Changes in Vermont

Montpelier, VT – On September 18, 2012, Union Institute & University (UI&U) President Roger H. Sublett, Ph.D. announced several changes to the university’s operation at the Montpelier Academic Center. The actions are a result of the changing landscape for higher education and the university’s long-range planning process to better position the university as it nears its 50th anniversary in 2014.

“As we approach our 50th anniversary, and as part of our strategic plan, we are looking very closely to identify programs that strengthen the university, and also scrutinize where we can make improvements, consolidate, and take other measures to increase and stabilize our enrollment, improve our offerings, and be more responsive to the market demand,” the President told staff and faculty at the Montpelier Center. “This is a time for creativity, innovation, and for bold moves across the entire university,” he said.

Responding to an increasing need by students for more flexibility and more affordable options, the university’s low residency B.A. Weekend program will be consolidated into the existing B.A. online option, a program that has seen steady improvement. The Montpelier location currently has about 30 students in the residency program and 80 online students. For students wanting a face-to-face low residency option, the B.A. Weekend program, located out of the university’s Brattleboro Academic Center, will continue to enroll students. Bachelor of Science programs with majors in Business Administration, Business Management, Maternal Child Health: Lactation Consulting, and Leadership will continue to be offered online.

With these moves, at the end of its lease with the Vermont College of Fine Arts in June 2013, UI&U will close its operation in Montpelier and consolidate its Vermont programs in Brattleboro, where it will administer the Doctor of Psychology, the Master of Arts with a concentration in Counseling Psychology, and the B.A. Weekend programs. Management of the B.A. program will move to Cincinnati, the university’s national headquarters, along with the administration of the online Master of Arts program. Faculty will not be affected as they will continue to teach online across the university and can participate in the Brattleboro weekend option. During the next several months and into next year, the university will transition a number of staff positions. It is estimated that approximately 15 staff positions will be impacted and most of these jobs will be moved to Brattleboro or Cincinnati. Three program adviser positions will not be filled.

Union Institute & University is a non-profit, accredited, private university specializing in adult and distance education since 1964. Union strives to engage, enlighten, and empower students in a lifetime of learning and service. The university’s transformational and socially relevant programs promote creative and critical thinking, and connect scholarship with real-world practice. Flexible online classes, brief residencies, classroom experiences, and hybrid models of instruction lead to undergraduate, masters, and doctoral degrees. Union graduates, including 14 college presidents, leaders in the public, private, and non-profit sectors, members of the United States Congress, and the first female prime minister of Jamaica, promote Union’s legacy of utilizing education to transform lives and communities.

Psy.D. Program Hosts Open House in Brattleboro Dec. 9

BRATTLEBORO, VT –Union Institute & University (UI&U) in Brattleboro will host an open house to introduce prospective students to its doctoral degree program in psychology with a concentration in clinical psychology (Psy.D.), from 5:30-7 p.m., Friday, December 9, in the program’s offices located at the Marlboro Graduate Center, 28 Vernon Street, Brattleboro.  Faculty, admissions staff and current students will be available to answer questions and to explain key aspects of the program.

Consistent with UI&U’s mission, the Psy.D. program integrates social justice into all of its courses and emphasizes multiculturalism in clinical practice. “We train people to become more aware of injustices, such as trauma, abuse, oppression and racism, and prepare them to be active agents of change, both with their clients and the larger social system,” said Dr. William Lax, dean of the program. Students are trained to be culturally competent clinicians, able to provide mental health services to individuals, families, groups and organizations.

The UI&U Psy.D. program integrates face-to-face and online courses to offer flexibility for working adults who need to balance career, family, and other social and civic responsibilities. In addition to the online courses, students attend two week-long fall and spring academic meetings, as well as weekend professional development seminars and courses in Brattleboro about once a month for the first three years of the program.

Applications are currently being accepted for the fall 2012 Brattleboro cohort.
The program welcomes applications from those with either earned master’s or bachelor’s degrees in psychology or related areas.

To learn more or to register, call: 802-257-9411 or email: Admissions.PsyD@myunion.edu. UI&U’s Brattleboro offices are located minutes from Interstate 91 at the juncture of the Vermont, New Hampshire and Massachusetts borders. It is easily accessible throughout the greater New England region.

UI&U Launches Center for Clinical Mindfulness

UNION INSTITUTE & UNIVERSITY LAUNCHES CENTER FOR CLINICAL MINDFULNESS AND MEDITATION

New center demonstrates UI&U’s commitment to cutting-edge research and practice


CINCINNATI - Union Institute & University (UI&U) today announced the launch of the Union Institute & University Center for Clinical Mindfulness and Meditation (CCMM), a resource for mental health professionals, researchers, and the general public. Maintained by the university’s doctoral program in clinical psychology (PsyD), the CCMM will serve the needs of clinicians, scholars, and other interested individuals, and demonstrates UI&U’s leadership and commitment to cutting-edge research and practice to both the professional community and to prospective learners. “This is a very exciting time in the field of psychology,” said Richard Sears, PsyD, MBA, ABPP, a psychologist and a core faculty member of the PsyD program, who will serve as director of the new center. “Although mindfulness and meditation are ancient practices, research on their clinical applications is a rapidly growing field within the scientific community. The new center will provide an excellent forum through which professionals and the public can share information, link resources, and provide networking opportunities.”

Sears is also forming an advisory board from within UI&U, other colleges and universities, and from the professional community.Mindfulness is a rapidly growing area of research and practice in the field of psychology and mental health. Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT), Mindfulness-Based Relapse Prevention (MBRP), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) are cutting-edge, evidence-based psychotherapeutic treatments using mindfulness.

Basically, mindfulness involves systematically training to pay attention and work wisely with thoughts and emotions. It has a wide variety of applications, from helping business professionals to be more effective and find a happier work-life balance, to dealing with severe chronic pain, stress, anxiety, and depression. The use of mindfulness has been popularized by Jon Kabat-Zinn and others through such books as Wherever You Go, There You Are, The Mindful Way through Depression, and Mindfulness at Work.

The center will post news, articles, resources, and links on its Web site. Future plans for the center may also include sponsoring workshops and meetings, creating a book and video library, and assisting in the creation of a peer-reviewed journal. In addition to his clinical work as a psychologist, Sears has been studying and practicing mindfulness and meditation for over 20 years. He has traveled in India and Nepal, and has studied with a variety of Eastern teachers, including the Dalai Lama. He has a fifth degree black belt, and continues to practice martial arts with To Shin Do founder Stephen K. Hayes, the first American to learn the art of ninjutsu. To learn more about Union Institute & University’s Center for Clinical Mindfulness and Meditation visit the website at www.myunion.edu/ccmm, or contact Dr. Richard Sears at richard.sears@myunion.edu.


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