The Department of Psychology in the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences at West Virginia University recently received the American Psychological Association (APA) 2005 Board of Educational Affairs (BEA) Award for Innovative Practices in Graduate Education in Psychology.

The initiative was sponsored by the BEA in collaboration with the Council of Graduate Departments of Psychology (COGDOP).

The award was based on the department’s development of a Junior Colleague Model for mentoring graduate students in their development as independent scholars, teachers and/or practitioners. The model is designed to facilitate the development of professional knowledge and experience across four years of graduate education in teaching, research and service.

The Department is very honored to receive this reward,said Dr. Katherine Karraker, associate chair of the department and director of graduate training.Our junior colleague model of training has been developed and elaborated over the years through the collaborative efforts of many of our faculty members and graduate students. This award from APA provides confirmation that we have developed a unique and effective approach to graduate training.

As a part of the award, the department also received $5,000. Formal recognition of the honor will be made at the 2006 Annual Meeting of COGDOP Feb.10-12 in Sarasota , Fla. The department will also receive an announcement in the APA Monitor and on the APA website.

The application for the award was developed and submitted by the Graduate Training Committee, consisting of Dr. Karraker, four graduate training coordinatorsDr. Kevin Larkin (Clinical), Dr. Andy Lattal (Behavior Analysis), Dr. Tracy Morris (Clinical Child), and Dr. JoNell Strough (Developmental), and a graduate student representative.

For more information, contact Dr. Karraker at Katherine.Karraker@mail.wvu.edu , or visit the APA website athttp://www.apa.org.