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New Dean of MACP, Dr. Peter Hall, Well-versed in the Student Experience

The educational journey Yorkville University students are on is something Dr. Peter Hall said he knows well because, as a lifelong learner, he has walked a similar path.

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“Like many of our students, I returned to graduate school as an adult learner to pursue the goal of a second career, and completed most of my higher education after having already been in the workforce for some time,” stated Dr. Hall. “After completing an undergraduate degree, many Yorkvile students went directly into the workforce, had careers and families, and then made conscious decisions to return to school as adult learners, often to make a change to a new career, or with the goal of advancing in their current field of employment.”

Dr. Hall is Yorkville’s new Dean of the Faculty of Behavioural Sciences and said his assumption of that role has brought him full circle, back to higher education administration, but now with a breadth of experience that will only serve to benefit Yorkville students.

“I was in management and administration in Student Services in the 90s and early 2000s when I made the decision to go back to school,” Hall said. Starting with a Post-Baccalaureate Diploma in Education (Guidance Studies), he went on to obtain a Master of Education in Educational Studies, followed by a Master of Arts and a Doctor of Philosophy in General Psychology.

Dr. Hall completed some of his education online and said he understands how well it can work for some learners and their lifestyles and schedules.

“I loved learning online and I feel that this is the educational model of the future,” Dr. Hall said. “As we see an increasingly globalized world, where more and more things are happening online, that is going to include education.”

It’s a space where Yorkville University is already firmly established and there is only room to grow at this point.

“Yorkville is a leader in the field of online education, and has been groundbreaking for online education in Canada, particularly in the field of counselling,” Hall said. “There is no other program like this at any other Canadian institution.”

Dr. Hall is a Registered Psychotherapist (RP) with the College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario (CRPO) and holds a number of certifications, including Canadian Certified Counsellor – Supervisor (CCC-S) and Canadian Certified Counsellor (CCC) from the Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association (CCPA), and Approved Clinical Supervisor from the Center for Credentialing Education.

Dr. Hall did front line work in the counselling and psychotherapy field for over 10 years and in 2012 he took a position as an instructor in Yorkville’s online Master of Arts in Counselling Psychology program.

In the past few years, Dr. Hall has covered a wide range of responsibilities including teaching, curriculum development, course coordination, Core Faculty, and Acting Director of Field Training.

Dr. Hall assumed the position of Yorkville University’s Dean, Behavioural Sciences in June 2016.

But, Dr. Hall’s personal pursuit of education isn’t over. In September he will begin his Doctorate of Education in Educational Leadership in Higher Education.

“I’m a lifelong learner; I think that is incredibly important, which I don’t think is uncommon in the counselling field,” Dr. Hall said. “And it will also support me in my role at Yorkville University.”

Apart from his passion for learning and his work with Yorkville, Dr. Hall is also committed to mentoring other counsellors and psychotherapists, particularly at the early, entry-to-practice stage of their careers. After completing their graduate program, where they had lots of supports and structured supervision, according to Dr. Hall, many new counselling professionals, particularly those who go into private practice, report that they miss the structured support of grad school at such a pivotal point in their new careers.

“I am very fortunate to have had amazing mentors throughout my life, and am passionate about paying that forward by mentoring, supervising, and consulting with new counselling professionals,” he said.

As the Dean of the Faculty of Behavioural Science, Dr. Hall said he is looking forward to being involved in the proposed launch of the Doctor of Psychology (Psy.D.) program, which he said would be another groundbreaking program in Canada.

“It will be an exciting time, and I see some very good things coming out of a Psy.D. program in Canada,” Dr. Hall said. “This will essentially be the only PsyD program of its kind in Canada.”

Krushnaji Gavas

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