Who We Are

Program evaluation research is a great way for counseling and counselor education programs to have a meaningful impact on their community. As funding streams for vital educational and therapeutic programs become contingent upon "proving" that they are worthwhile the need for meaningful evaluation by qualified professionals has continued to increase. PERC provides team members an opportunity to support these groups through involvement with underrepresented institutions that positively affects the local economic, educational, or social systems.

PERC is dedicated to providing the systematic evaluation of community-based programming to individuals and agencies that help underserved or marginalized populations in the Mid-South and beyond. Of specific interest are establishing cooperative partnerships with educational programs (K-12 and post-secondary) and community counseling service providers facing funding shortages in the absence of evidence-supported practices.

Goal and Objectives

The overarching goal of PERC is to provide free services to the individuals, groups, agencies, and organizations that have positive social implications and promote practical changes for the citizens of our community. We recognize that achieving this goal will require partnership, team work, training, mentoring, and support. This noted, we present the following set of objectives that we believe will foster meaningful social change and engagement in worthwhile scholarly activities:

1. Identify community needs
2. Establish community-based partnerships with relevant individuals, groups, agencies, and organizations
3. Develop research questions with meaningful social implications
4. Implement varied research methods including single-case research designs, between groups designs, and qualitative inquiries
5. Disseminate findings to community stakeholders through oral presentations and formal reports
6. Disseminate findings to the professional counseling and counselor education community through conference presentation, conducting symposia, and peer-reviewed publications.
7. Develop student aptitude for research, mentoring, and professional service.

Contact

If you are interested in learning more about PERC or becoming involved as an affiliate or team member please contact Dr.s Lenz and Lancaster using the information provided below.

Chloe Lancaster, Ph.D., CSC, 361-563-5035

Stephen Lenz, Ph.D., LPC, 901-678-1413