Originally published: . Volume 14, No. 5. Source pages: 12.
Louisiana State University News service reported that the LSU College of Human Sciences & Education has named Dr. Laura Choate, currently the interim director of the LSU Lutrill & Pearl Payne School of Education, as the next director of the school as of April first.
“Please join me in welcoming Laura Choate as the next director of the Lutrill & Pearl Payne School of Education. An outstanding scholar and adept leader, I know Dr. Choate will usher in an era of growth for our school,” said Dean Roland Mitchell. “One of the many challenges that faces all schools of education is the teacher pipeline crisis. I am excited to partner with Dr. Choate as we work to retain teachers and recruit more to the profession.”
Dr. Choate served as the interim director for the school since March 2022, said the announcement. The director oversees all academic programs – undergraduate, graduate and online – in the school. The LSU Lutrill & Pearl Payne School of Education focuses on preparing highly qualified Birth-Grade 12 teachers, educational leaders, curriculum studies scholars, educational technology experts, applied researchers, higher education professionals, school counselors, and clinical mental health counselors. The school offers scholarly expertise regarding pressing educational and wellness issues across the entire lifespan, noted the announcement.
“I am honored and excited at the opportunity to step into this leadership role. With dedicated faculty, strong support from the dean’s office, and highly qualified undergraduate and graduate students, the school is uniquely poised to make a lasting impact as we prepare the next generation of teachers, leaders, researchers, and counseling professionals,” said Choate.
Choate, the Jo Ellen Levy Yates Endowed Professor, has been with the counselor education program at LSU since 1999. Her research interests include girls’ and women’s mental health, including depression and eating disorders.
She is the author of five books: Depression in Girls and Women Across the Lifespan: A Guide for Mental Health Professionals (Routledge, 2020); Swimming Upstream: Parenting Girls for Resilience in a Toxic Culture (Oxford University Press, 2015), Girls’ and Women’s Wellness: Contemporary Counseling Issues and Interventions (2008), Eating Disorders and Obesity: A Counselor’s Guide to Prevention and Treatment (edited), both published by the American Counseling Association, and Adolescent Girls in Distress: A Guide to Mental Health Treatment and Prevention (Springer Publications, 2013).
She was awarded the 2016 LSU Distinguished Faculty Award, 2014 College of Human Sciences & Education Distinguished Research Award and the 2012 ACA Best Practices Award for her work in the area of eating disorders treatment and prevention, said the announcement.
She served for 10 years on the board of the Louisiana Licensed Professional Counselors Board of Examiners, serving two years as Board Chair and eight years as Discipline Committee Chair.
Dr. Laura Choate (LSU courtesy photo)
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