Education professor honored for teaching

Uellendahl prepares school counselors for challenges

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Gail Uellendahl, a practicing licensed psychologist, joined the faculty in 1992 and now chairs the counseling and guidance department in CLU’s Graduate School of Education.

Photo: Brian Stethem

(THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. – June 17, 2013) An education professor known for addressing challenges in today’s schools is the recipient of the 2013 President’s Award for Teaching Excellence at California Lutheran University.

President Chris Kimball selected Gail Uellendahl of Los Angeles for the award, which was created in 1995 to recognize professors who are held in high esteem by their peers, the students and the rest of the university community. As the recipient, Uellendahl will deliver the keynote speech to welcome new students, including her son, at Opening Academic Convocation on Sept. 3.

Uellendahl, a practicing licensed psychologist, joined the faculty in 1992 and now chairs the counseling and guidance department in CLU’s Graduate School of Education. She has organized conferences at CLU on issues such as school shootings and high-risk students to help current school counselors face their toughest challenges. The first in her family to graduate from college, she has a longstanding interest in serving first-generation students and other underrepresented populations in higher education and has received grants and awards for advocacy on behalf of students with disabilities.

Students praise Uellendahl not only for her extensive knowledge but also her humor, warmth and engaging teaching style. She is a faculty leader who has served on and chaired many key committees.

Uellendahl has written journal articles and book chapters about counseling practice and education and spoken at conferences throughout the country on group counseling, critical incident stress management, designing counseling programs and other topics. Her current research focuses on supervising counseling interns, and she has worked to provide high-quality internships at colleges in the region for candidates.

She earned a bachelor’s degree in education from Queens College in New York and spent 16 years designing and implementing counseling programs at her alma mater before coming to CLU. She holds a master’s degree in special education from Hofstra University in New York and a doctorate in counseling psychology from New York University.

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