Seminary of the Southwest recently announced that Dr. Casey Barrio Minton will be the recipient of the 2024 McDonald Teaching Award. Dr. Minton is currently a Professor of Counselor Education and the Interim Department Head of the Educational Psychology and Counseling department at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, where she has served since 2015. She will receive the award on February 26, 2024, at the midday Eucharist service and assembly in Christ Chapel on the campus of Seminary of the Southwest.
Established upon the retirement of Dean Emeritus the Very Rev. Durstan R McDonald in 2002, the McDonald Teaching Award is given each year by the Faculty of Seminary of the Southwest in recognition of exceptional teaching in the spirit of the award’s namesake. Dr. Minton was nominated for this year’s award by Dr. Maria Reyna and Dr. Marlon Johnson, both Assistant Professors of Counselor Education at Southwest.
“Dr. Barrio Minton is the embodiment of selfless, compassionate, generous, and strong leadership,” said Dr. Reyna. “She has mentored and taught hundreds, if not thousands, of students and counselor educators, and her quiet, persistent, courageous guidance has created a devoted following of helping professionals all over the world. I am grateful to call her friend and mentor and I am overjoyed to honor her with the McDonald Teaching Award.”
Dr. Barrio Minton holds a B.A. in Sociology and Communication from St. Norbert College and an M.S. in Counseling from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, a nationally ranked and recognized counselor preparation program. She received her Ph.D. in Counseling and Counselor Education and Certificate in Women’s and Gender Studies from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. She is the author and editor of many books and articles, and has served on several boards and associations, including being past-president of the Association for Counselor Education and Supervision, of the Southern Association for Counselor Education and Supervision, and the Association for Assessment and Research in Counseling. Her numerous awards and recognitions include the David K. Brooks, Jr. Distinguished Mentor Award (American Counseling Association, 2020) and the Arthur A. Hitchcock Distinguished Professional Service Award (American Counseling Association, 2017). She was named a Fellow by the American Counseling Association in 2019.
“Dr. Barrio Minton is a model of excellence for counselor education,” said Dr. Johnson. “Her scholarship around supervision and educational practice inspires us to engage in trauma-informed, culturally inclusive learning strategies. She encourages me to lead authentically, to support my students to bring their full selves to their professional identity formation, and to continue to find new ways to learn at every stage of becoming a scholar in our field.”
The midday service where Dr. Barrio Minton will be presented with the McDonald Award is open to the public, and will be livestreamed at the ssw.edu website and the Southwest Facebook page.
