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Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Jeffrey Waple, PhD, has named Courtney Boddie, LPC, NCC, as director of counseling services. Boddie is projected to assume his new responsibilities on Tuesday, Aug. 1.  

“Courtney brings extremely impressive credentials to SIUE,” Waple said. “He has the clinical training, education and professional experience to make a significant contribution to the University. His teaching has given him the unique perspective of the student-faculty relationship, while his research on contemporary topics such as multiculturalism and expertise in program development to promote the well-being of marginalized college students, will assist greatly in meeting the needs of our students.”

Boddie has an extensive history of serving the needs of diverse students, having worked in higher education for the past decade in instruction, disability affairs, tutoring and counseling. He arrives on the SIUE campus after serving as an assistant professor of clinical counseling, program site administrator, and clinical counseling center co-director at Central Methodist University (CMU) in Columbia, Mo. He was responsible for overseeing the partnership between CMU and Moberly Area Community College, providing operational oversight for student advisement, remediation, recruitment, training and evaluation of adjunct faculty, site scheduling, program promotion, and community partnerships.

“Interestingly, I had planned to come to SIUE to pursue my undergraduate degree in 2006,” Boddie said. “To be assuming this role a little over a decade later feels like a full-circle moment.

“This position is structurally-aligned with my interest in integrated healthcare, using a model that co-locates mental health services with others relevant to the needs of students. My mission over the next fiscal year will be to expand the existing footprint of counseling services to support whole campus health by increasing the visibility of mental health providers, strengthening outreach/training services and building coalition with academic affairs to synchronize clinical referral procedures.” 

While at CMU, Boddie has also served as a behavioral medicine provider at The Counseling Hub in Columbia, and as a therapist at Change, Inc., in St. Louis.

Prior to CMU, Boddie was a staff counselor at the St. Louis College of Pharmacy. In a variety of roles at the University of Missouri-St. Louis (UMSL) from 2012-16, he was a faculty steward/instructor and clinical supervisor in the Department of Counseling and Family Therapy, and a counselor in the Counseling and Social Advocacy Center (formerly the School and Family Counseling Center). He also served as an instructor/therapist with the SUCCEED program, a two-year, residential certificate program for learners with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Boddie earned a bachelor’s in organizational behavior/human resources, social entrepreneurship and psychology from the Olin School of Business at Washington University in St. Louis. He achieved a master’s in education, specializing in counseling and psychotherapy, from UMSL. He will soon defend his dissertation in completion of his doctorate of philosophy in counseling and counselor education from UMSL.  

Jessica Ulrich has served as the interim director of counseling services since February. “We extend our appreciation to Jessica for her leadership during the past six months,” Waple said. “During her time as interim director, we successfully hired the multicultural counselor position and entered into an agreement with Call for Help, to serve as the confidential advisor for SIUE.”

Photo:  Courtney Boddie, director of counseling services at SIUE.