Dr. Jarilyn Gess
Dr. Gess received a B.S. from North Dakota State University with a double major in Children Development/Family Science and Sociology and a minor in Gerontology. She received a M.S. in Sociology and a M.ED. in Counseling Education both from NDSU. In the spring of 1999 she received her doctorate from the University of North Dakota in the area of Higher Education. Dr. Gess was a counselor at Moorhead’s New Directions, a regional agency serving displaced homemakers and was employed by the University of Minnesota School of Social Work as the onsite director at MSU for the Master of Social Work Distance Learning option. Her areas of interest include: marriage and the family; issues related to loss, death and dying; issues in crisis and abuse as well as interpersonal communication. Dr. Gess was awarded the YWCA Woman of the Year Award in Business in 1994, the Friend of the YWCA award in 1997 and continues to do workshops for the YWCA Jobs Plus Program at the YWCA Shelter focusing on self esteem issues. Dr. Gess also has done workshops for Hospice of the Red River Valley, has provided training for Hotline volunteers, and has been a past presenter for the Expanding Your Horizons program at NDSU. She has served on the Graduate Studies Committee at Moorhead State University, is a member of the YWCA Jobs Plus Advisory Committee, did workshops for HRRV and was a volunteer for HRRV. Dr. Gess received the Academic Affairs Award for Excellence in Teaching in 2001, was a CASE nominee for 2002-2003, and received an Outstanding Advisor Award in 2004. Dr. Gess was an interim Chair for Counseling Educational Leadership Foundations and Field Experience in 2002-2003, and the Associate Dean for the College of Education and Human Services in 2003-2004 and 2004-2005. Dr. Gess has graduate faculty status and has participated on several graduate committees. She is currently serving as the Director of the Corrick Center for General Education.
