Dr. Suzanne Dugger is a lifelong counselor and counselor educator whose career – to
date – has spanned the past 33 years. For 31 of these years, she has worked as a counselor
educator dedicated to preparing students at the master’s, specialist, and doctoral
level with the knowledge, skills, and dispositions they need to thrive as counselors
and – at the doctoral level – counselor educators. Her clinical experience includes
5 years an elementary school counselor, 3 years as a college counselor, and 7 years
in private practice. These varied experiences have informed her work as a counselor
educator, allowing her to tailor assignments and examples to students in different
specialization tracks.
In addition to serving her clients and students, Dr. Dugger’s career has been marked
by service to the profession of counseling. She is currently serving a 5-year term
on the CACREP board of directors, a role which precludes other professional leadership
roles. Prior to this, her service contributions have focused on the American Counseling
Association – which she considers her professional home – and have included leadership
roles at the state, regional, and national level.
At the state level, Dr. Dugger served the Michigan Counseling Association as journal
editor; as president of the Michigan Association for Counselor Education and Supervision;
as human rights chair and then post-secondary vice president for the Michigan School
Counselor Association; and as president-elect, president, and past president for the
Michigan Counseling Association. Under her leadership, the Michigan Counseling Association
received numerous national awards from the American Counseling Association, including
Best Leadership Development Program, Best Member Service, Best Membership Recruitment
Campaign, and Best Journal. Also at the state level, Dr. Dugger served for 4 years
on the Michigan licensure board for professional counselors.
At the regional level, Dr. Dugger served for 4 years on the executive board of the
ACA Midwest Region. A pinnacle experience in her career, Dr. Dugger represented the
ACA Midwest Region as a delegate on the ACA 2020 Task Force, a group of national leaders
charged with the responsibility of developing a vision for the future of the counseling
profession. Also at the national level, Dr. Dugger has served on the ACA Branch Development
Task Force and as chair of the ACA Human Rights Committee. At the national level,
she maintains active membership in American Counseling Association (ACA), the Association
for Counselor Education & Supervision (ACES), and the National Career Development
Association (NCDA).
As she looks toward the final decade of her career, Dr. Dugger intends to continue
serving the profession of counseling at the national level while also serving Florida
Gulf Coast University and local southwest Florida community. As professor and chair
of the FGCU Department of Counseling, Dr. Dugger continues to teach while also managing
the department, supporting the faculty, collaborating with community partners, and
leading curriculum and program development.
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Education
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- Ed.D. in Counseling Psychology, Western Michigan University
- M.A. in Counseling, Central Michigan University
- A.B. in Psychology, Harvard University
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Specialties
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- Career Counseling
- School Counseling
- Counseling Children
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Courses Offered
Toggle Courses OfferedOver the past 30 years, Dr. Dugger has taught a wide array of courses at the master's
and doctoral levels:
- COUN 621: Assessment in Counseling
- COUN 680: Career Counseling
- COUN 686: Counseling Children and Adolescents
- COUN 750: Research and Publication
- COUN 753: Supervision of Counseling Services
- COUN 787: Advanced Professional Identity and Ethics in Counselor Education
- COUN 793: Doctoral Practicum
- COUN 795: Doctoral Internship
- COUN 796: Dissertation Seminar
- COUN 798: Transitioning to the Professoriate in Counselor Education
- COUN 6640: Comprehensive Assessment in Counseling
- COUN 6720: Career Development Theories and Practice
- COUN 6630: Professional Orientation and Ethics in Counseling
- COUN 100: Career Exploration and Decision Making
- COUN 505: Counselor Development: Basic Skills
- COUN 508: Counseling Theories
- COUN 520: Assessment in Counseling
- COUN 530: Career Development and Information Services
- COUN 570: Diagnosis and Treatment with Depressed Clients
- COUN 580: Counselor Development: Counseling Process
- COUN 590: Professional Perspectives in Counseling
- COUN 591: LGBT Issues in Counseling
- COUN 612: The School Counselor
- COUN 622: Diagnosis and Treatment Planning in Counseling
- COUN 651: Counseling with Children
- COUN 670: Postsecondary Planning for School Counselors
- COUN 686: Practicum
- COUN 690: Field Based Experience in School Counseling
- COUN 696: Ethical, Legal & Professional Issues in School Counseling
- COUN 785-9: Internship in School Counseling
- CED 504: School Counseling
- CED 517: Development of Human Potential
- CED 630: Counseling Ethics and Professional Issues
- CED 640: Standardized Tests
- CED 651: Counseling with Children
- CED 660: Counseling Techniques
- CED 690: Practicum
- CED 765: Professional Counseling and Consultation
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Publications
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- Dr. Dugger's most impactful scholarship is her textbook on career counseling: Foundations of Career Counseling: A Case-Based Approach (2016). This book, published by Pearson, is used nationwide by master's degree programs
in counseling. In addition to career counseling, Dr. Dugger's scholarly agenda has
focused on counseling children and adolescents, school counseling, diversity issues,
and counselor education.
- Scholarship related to counseling children and adolescents includes articles such
as Test Anxiety: Rain or Shine (1996), Finding the Beat and Embracing the Culture: How counselors can use Music to Reach
Adolescent Clients (1997), and Reconceptualizing Self-Esteem: Implications of Kegan's Constructive-Developmental
Model for School Counselors (2004); chapters such as The Flight of the Lego Plane (2002), Toy Guns in Play Therapy: An Examination of Play Therapists' Beliefs (2017), and Whitney and Rook: Finding Connection in Play Therapy (2017); and her first book, Critical Incidents in Counseling Children (2007).
- Scholarship related to school counseling includes articles such as Depressive Disorders in Children and Adolescents: What Every School Counselor Needs to Know (2016) and STEM Magnet High Schools and Student Intent to Declare a STEM Major (2020), and chapters such as Educational Planning: Helping Students Build Lives by Choice, Not by Chance (2004) and Secondary and Post-Secondary Educational Planning (2016).
- Scholarship related to diversity issues includes articles such as Multicultural Counseling: An Ethical Issue for School Counselors (1996) and School Safety for All: Using the Coordinated School Health Program to Increase Safety for LGBTQ Students (2003), Exploring the Relationship among Mental Health Concerns, Social Support, and Relationship
Satisfaction In Female Same-Sex Couples (2018), and chapters such as Sexual Minority Youth: The case of "Donald Wilson" (2012), The College Search: Campus Climate Checklist (2020), and Sexual Identity Management in the Job Search Process with Lesbian and Gay Clients (2020).
- Scholarship related to counselor education includes articles such as Understanding
Student Evaluations: What All Faculty Should Know (2001), Pedagogical Strategies in Multicultural Counseling: Developing Coherent Assignments
to Promote Competency (2002), Surviving a Lawsuit against a Counseling Program: Lessons Learned from Ward v. Wilbanks (2014), and The Impact of Teaching Preparation Practice on Self-Efficacy toward Teaching (2020).
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Conference Presentations
Toggle Conference PresentationsDr. Dugger has delivered 50+ presentations at conferences of organizations such as:
- The American Counseling Association
- The Association for Counselor Education and Supervision
- The National Career Development Association
- The Southern Association for Counselor Education and Supervision
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Grants & Awards
Toggle Grants & AwardsThrough her professional service, Dr. Dugger has made tangible contributions which
resulted in several awards to her, including:
- Human Rights Award (Michigan Counseling Association)
- Outstanding Professional Service Award (Michigan Counseling Association)
- Legislative Service Award (Michigan Counseling Association)
- Emerging Leader Award (American Counseling Association)
- Emerging Leader Award (Michigan Counseling Association)
She has also receive a number of university-based awards:
- Innovative Teaching Award (Eastern Michigan University)
- Outstanding Scholarship Award (Eastern Michigan University)
- Advising Award (Eastern Michigan University)
- William D. Martinson Outstanding Alumni Award (Western Michigan University)
- Kenneth B. Engle Outstanding Doctoral Student Award (Western Michigan University)
Grant awards:
- Two grants for the establishment of a play therapy room at Eastern Michigan University
(Ransom Fidelity Company; Matilda R. Wilson Foundation)
- A grant supporting Project Outreach: An Eastern Michigan University Initiative for
LGBT Youth (Gill Foundation)
- A grant to support an Augusta University literacy initiative (Community Foundation
for the CSRA).
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