TCNJ’s Mark Kiselica ranked a top scholar in counseling

Mark Kiselica, vice provost and professor of counseling at TCNJ, has been ranked one of the top scholars in the counseling profession based on a recent content analysis of the Journal of Counseling and Development (JCD), the premier publication of the American Counseling Association.

A team of researchers from Louisiana Tech University conducted the analysis of 627 articles that appeared in JCD for the period 1996 through 2006. In their findings, which were published in a recent issue of JCD, Kiselica was ranked as the fourth leading scholar based on his seven contributions to the journal during this 10-year period.

The articles focus on understanding and confronting societal challenges, including ethnocentrism and racism, anti-Semitism and self-mutilation, challenge biases within the counseling field, and support counseling as a means to increase social justice and quality of life. Kiselica, a dedicated mentor and proponent of student scholarship, co-authored four of these articles with TCNJ students.

“Working with Mark was empowering,” said Laurie (MacAniff) Zila MA ’98, a former student and co-author of one of the articles. “I was a novice in the field at the time we collaborated, yet Mark treated me with the utmost respect and collegiality…I learned not only how to effectively research and write in the field of counseling, but also how to trust my abilities.”

Kiselica is a licensed psychologist and a nationally certified counselor who has worked in a number of clinical and educational settings and provides consulting services to mental-health centers and schools throughout the United States. He has authored over 130 publications and 100 conference presentations, and has appeared as an expert on NBC National News, MSNBC, NPR, and numerous major network affiliates.

He is currently editor of the Routledge Book Series on Counseling and Psychotherapy with Boys and Men. Advocacy for teenage fathers and at-risk boys comprises another major theme in Kiselica’s scholarly work.

On top of his extensive work as a writer, researcher and scholar, Kiselica is deeply engaged in the TCNJ community, colleagues say.

“Mark Kiselica inspires and encourages both intellectual and emotional development in his students like no other faculty member that I have known,” said Mark S. Woodford, chair of the Department of Counselor Education. “His commitment to his students and to our community of teacher-scholars is extraordinary.”