The University of Scranton’s nationally recognized Clinical Rehabilitation Counseling Program will benefit from nearly $1 million in federal funding delivered in the form of a five-year grant U.S. Rep. Rob Bresnahan announced this week.
The master’s-level program prepares students to become clinical rehabilitation counselors who help people with disabilities — be they physical, psychological, emotional, sensory or otherwise — overcome challenges “that might impede or create a barrier to full access in community living, including work, going to school, living independently (and) being able to care for oneself,” program Director Samantha Herrick, Ph.D., said.
Bresnahan, R-8, Dallas Twp., helped secure the funding awarded by the U.S. Department of Education’s Rehabilitation Services Administration. The five-year grant will provide tuition scholarships, expand online and hybrid learning options and help address regional workforce shortages of rehabilitation counselors, Bresnahan’s office noted in a press release.
“The University of Scranton plays an important role in preparing students for careers that meet real needs in our communities,” Bresnahan said in the release. “That’s why I’m proud to have helped secure this critical funding to expand access to training and help address workforce shortages in rehabilitation and counseling services. I will always fight to bring tax dollars back to Northeastern Pennsylvania to strengthen programs our communities rely on.”
Herrick said the federal funding will help get “more of those qualified folks out in the field,” describing the grants as highly competitive with many programs vying for the same money.
“This is a significant incentive to be able to recruit the best students and those who most align with the mission of the program — who really want specifically to help people with disabilities and others kind of get back to life,” she said.
Bresnahan’s release also includes a statement from the Rev. Joseph G. Marina, S.J., president of the university, who expressed gratitude for the congressman’s support.
“The clinical rehabilitation counseling field is a shining example of what it means to be ‘for and with others,’ a Jesuit ideal we hold dear at The University of Scranton,” Marina said. “Our students are trained to treat — but even more importantly, accompany — individuals as they face emotional, physical and psychological challenges.”
The last time the university’s program benefited from such a grant was about 30 years ago, Herrick said.
“I see it as a significant validation of the quality of the program,” she said. “We have been here 60 years. We’re one of the older programs in the country. We’ve done credible, quality work for a long time (and) had almost 1,000 graduates who have impacted over 1 million lives, and so this is really a significant endorsement of that.”