Eells

Gregory T. Eells, director of Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) at Cornell University's Gannett Health Services since 2003, was selected in October for the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Association for University and College Counseling Center Directors (AUCCCD). Also the director of Cornell's Faculty and Staff Assistance Program (FSAP) since 2011, Eells had been a member of the governing board of AUCCCD, 2003-12, and president 2007-09. AUCCCD is an international organization that represents more than 700 counseling center directors worldwide.

Eells received the award for his contributions to the field of counseling services and centers, which includes various papers and presentations that addressed counseling service operations and his 2006 article, "The Implementation of Mental Health Clinical Triage Systems in University Health Services," co-written with Harry Rockland-Miller and published in The Journal of College Student Psychotherapy.

"We are deeply moved by this affirmation from Greg's peers, people who are uniquely positioned to recognize the qualities of an extraordinary leader in the specialty of college mental health," said Janet Corson-Rikert, M.D., associate vice president for campus health and executive director of Gannett Health Services.

"I am grateful to say that Greg is equally generous with these qualities here at Cornell, where he has overseen significant expansion of CAPS staff and programs to improve access to mental health services; partnered with academic and student services colleagues and Gannett's medical staff to strengthen the web of care for students; helped to revitalize services for faculty and staff through the FSAP; and played a critical role in the development of Cornell's comprehensive public health approach to suicide prevention and mental health promotion that is widely recognized as a national model."

He was also selected for the award because of his leadership of the AUCCCD. "Greg started what became first a presidential and then a boardwide call for increasing diverse representation on the board," said one of the organization's members. Award nominators cited Eells' sincerity, integrity, calmness, kindness, knowledge and "the transparency with which he operates."

Prior to his position at Cornell, Eells was director of the Counseling Center at the University of Southern Mississippi.