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 The Lea R. Powell Institute for
Children and Families
The Lea R. Powell Institute for Children and Families is an organizing entity for the research, training, and service missions of the Division. The institute is headquartered in a newly constructed facility which houses research faculty, CRSP, the CFSC, and the Rural Justice Institute.
The Lea R. Powell Institute was established with a grant provided by Mrs. Lea Rood Powell. Mrs. Powell and her husband, Arthur L. Powell, Chairman of the Alfred University Board of Trustees (1989-1995), have been dedicated and generous supporters of multiple Alfred University campus projects. With the establishment of the Lea R. Powell Institute, Mrs. Powell has demonstrated that her commitment to enhancing the lives of others goes well beyond the campus boundaries.
The mission of the Lea R. Powell Institute is to support and expand the Alfred University Division of School Psychology's programs and activities that affect positive change in the lives of children and families. As a means to this end, the Institute serves as an umbrella organization for the integration of the service, training, and research activities of the Alfred University Division of School Psychology. The Child and Family Services Center provides psychological and educational service to the community, the Center for Rural School Psychology provides advanced training to rural school professionals, and the Powell Development Program of the Institute coordinates research and funding initiatives for the Division of School Psychology.
The Powell Institute is housed in a recently constructed facility that is connected to the Child and Family Services Center. This facility includes research space for the endowed Powell Chair in Psychology and Schooling, the institute director, and graduate assistants, and a resource library for school psychology faculty, students, and area professionals.
In addition to its support for CRSP and CFSC, the Powell Institute supports the research mission of the program through administering a system of small "startup" grants for faculty, students and practitioners as well as engaging in a continuing search for funding sources to support both research and training activities of the program.
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The Center for Rural School Psychology (CRSP)
The Center for Rural School Psychology (CRSP) provides professional development opportunities for area school and mental health professionals through skill oriented training workshops presented by regionally and nationally recognized experts in the psychology, counseling and education fields. CRSP operates in the recently constructed Powell Institute facility.
Training for rural school professionals is provided by the Center for Rural School Psychology (CRSP). Through CRSP, the Lea R. Powell Institute supports summer training at the graduate level for practicing school and mental health professionals. CRSP course content is aimed at enhancing the professional skills and functioning of those practitioners working with children and families in school settings. Course offerings in the past have included workshops on family and play therapy approaches, social/emotional assessment, organizational change in schools, and group activities for children. Past CRSP offerings have included workshops by such nationally known experts as Joel Meyers, George DuPaul, Cloe Madanes, and Louise Guerney. CRSP courses may be taken as workshops for continuing professional development or for Alfred University graduate course credit.
CRSP is housed in the newly constructed Powell Institute facility that is connected to the Child and Family Services Center. This facility includes seminar and conference rooms designed to be used for workshops and summer institutes.
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 The Child and Family Services Center (CFSC)
The Child and Family Services Center (CFSC) operates as a community clinic located on the Alfred University campus. As a training clinic for current graduate students, the CFSC provides much-needed assessment and intervention alternatives to the families and schools in the under-served rural communities surrounding Alfred. This recently renovated facility, with state-of-the-art audiovisual communication/observation capabilities, serves as the second year practicum site for all school psychology students.
Approximately one-third of school psychology programs nationally operate clinic facilities as integral components of training. Less than half of those programs operate clinics that offer more than assessment services (Cerio, Taggart, & Costa, 1997). Alfred University is among this small group that operates multi-service clinic facilities.
The Child and Family Services Center is located in a neighborhood adjacent to the university campus in a historic building that was formerly a sorority house. The clinic building houses 11 consultation rooms in which advanced master's and doctoral students offer family therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, play therapy, consultation and assessment services to area children and families. All consultation rooms are wired with state-of-the-art audiovisual equipment designed for real time supervision of students while services are being provided to clients. All specialist and doctoral students are required to complete a full year practicum at the CFSC during their second year of study. This allows students to apply a wide range of clinical skills with real children and families who are experiencing real problems. This serves as a unique integrative learning experience that has proven to be invaluable to our students and the surrounding community.
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Powell Development Program
The Powell Development Program coordinates research and external funding initiatives for the Division of School Psychology. Federal, state, and private grant funded programs and activities are administered and managed through the Development Program. In addition, assistance with the production and publication of scholarly and public relations material is available to Division of School Psychology faculty through this Institute component.
The Institute also provides research grants to individuals conducting research related to the problems of children and families through the Development program. Grants are awarded to Alfred University doctoral students engaged in applied research and practicing school and mental health professionals interested in conducting field research. Information pertaining to grant application procedures can be obtained through the director of the Institute.
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