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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Tom Uribes

May 22, 2003

(559) 278-5366 or 250-8459

Fresno State’s Acclaimed Rehabilitation Counseling Program Gets $1 Million in Grants for Scholarships 

Success has come in threes for the Rehabilitation Counseling Program at California State University, Fresno with the announcement today by Congressman Devin Nunes (R-Visalia) of $1 million in grant funding for 16 student scholarships a year for five years.

The program will receive two five-year, $500,000 Long Term Training grants funded by the Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA) that will help recruit high quality candidates and increase recruitment of minority candidates who can serve minority populations that are currently underserved by the state and federal system.

"This is exactly the leverage we need to build on the present progress of the program and realize our vision of changing the face of human service in this area," said Dr. Charles Arokiasamy, the program coordinator and Fresno State education professor.

Winning two grant awards is a rare feat, said, Dr. Paul Shaker, dean of Fresno State’s Kremen School of Education which houses the Rehabilitation Counseling Program.

"It is quite uncommon for a program to write for two grants within the same competition and be funded for both," Shaker said, adding that the grant validates two other distinctions recently accorded the program.

Four weeks ago, the U.S. News and World Report ranked the program among the top 20 Rehabilitation Counseling graduate programs in the nation.

Three weeks ago, Arokiasamy was awarded the Provost's Award for Teaching Excellence, the highest faculty award at Fresno State.

"Not only did the U.S. News and World Report rank this program highly, but the federal government has seen it fit to invest in the work of the program,” Shaker said.

“The program has a reputation for quality and integrity and the ability to turn a small investment into huge gains in terms of human service. Now the program has topped it all by being awarded these two grants for scholars.”

Students receiving the grants will be known as Rehabilitation Services Administration  scholars who will be required to work one year for every semester of funding they receive.

They will “pay back” the scholarship by working in the California State Department of Rehabilitation or other non-profit rehabilitation agencies.  

Candidates will be selected by a selection committee comprising of California State Department of Rehabilitation personnel and Fresno State faculty on the basis of their potential to be excellent rehabilitation counselors. High GPA and performance on an interview figure prominently in the selection criteria with an additional emphasis on attracting people with bilingual skills. The grant goes into effect July 1 and will start enrolling students during the Fall 2003 semester.

The Rehabilitation Counseling Program at Fresno State has been billed as a national leader in hands-on, real-world, rehabilitation counseling, Arokiasamy said, and it is now one of the largest rehabilitation counseling programs in the country with 90 students enrolled.

Fresno State offers a master’s of science in rehabilitation counseling, a 60-unit program that prepares students for professions in agencies or private settings assisting individuals with physical, mental or emotional disabilities to adjust personally, occupationally and socially. 

The program attracts students from all over the world, Arokiasamy said. 

Graduates are prepared to work in a variety of settings such as the California Department Of Rehabilitation, Worker's Compensation offices, California Regional Centers and the Veteran's Administration as well as universities and colleges, group homes, job placement agencies, hospitals, school systems and evaluation centers. 

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