CANVAS

A semi-annual newsletter brought to you by the ACATE Council

VOL. 1, ISSUE 1

JULY 2021

The Accreditation Council for Art Therapy Education (ACATE) is pleased to provide its inaugural ACATE CANVAS Newsletter. With this semi-annual newsletter, the Council intends to inform its many stakeholders of the progress of art therapy program accreditation generally and the actions of the Council more specifically.

Adjustment to the Pandemic

Recent Accreditation Actions

Council Member Update

New Officers

Adjustment to the Pandemic

As the nation emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic, ACATE wishes to acknowledge and applaud the outstanding work of art therapy programs in rapidly adjusting to alternative educational formats and environments, and keeping students on track for graduation. ACATE similarly adjusted its programs reviews by shifting to virtual formats for site visits. Four programs participated in two-day virtual site visits with two site evaluators, followed by a one-day, in-person visit by one site evaluator when travel and meeting restrictions were lifted sufficiently.

Recent Accreditation Actions

In the past six months, ACATE completed reviews of three art therapy programs, leading to accreditation approval for eight years by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP). CAAHEP is the parent accrediting body for ACATE and dozens of other accrediting committees and commissions. The newly accredited programs include:

Herron School of Art and Design, IUPUI, Indiana
Marywood University, Pennsylvania
Ursuline College, Ohio

Congratulations to these programs. They join 14 previously accredited art therapy programs already listed on the ACATE/CAAHEP website. Over a half dozen additional programs are in various stages in their review of initial accreditation.

Council Member Update

In the past six months, three new councilors were elected to ACATE for three-year terms:

Leah Gibson, Illinois, educator

Deanna Barton, Georgia, practitioner

Sarah Miller, Kentucky, practitioner

ACATE thanks Serena Duckrow Fonda and Malissa Morrell for their years of service on the Council.

Hunt Ronald Portait PhotoACATEChair2021.jpg

ACATE Officers Elected

ACATE officers were elected by the Council for two-year terms. Officers start their term July 1, 2021:

Chair: Ron Hunt, Arizona, public member

Vice Chair: Dana Wyss, California, practitioner

ACATE sends a special thank you to Janet Kempf, Ohio, practitioner, for her extraordinary leadership as Council Chair over the past two years.

Officers continuing their two-year terms include:

Treasurer: Craig Siegel, Florida, practitioner

Secretary: Sheila Lorenzo de la Peña, Pennsylvania, educator

Thank you to our Sponsoring Organization