Athens, Ga. – University of Georgia counseling professor Deryl Bailey has received the 2009 Don Dinkmeyer Social Interest Award from the American Counseling Association.
Bailey, an associate professor in the College of Education’s department of counseling and human development services, is widely known for his group of mentoring programs called the Empowered Youth Project, aimed at developing and nurturing academic and social skills, especially in young African-American males.
Bailey began the EYP in 2002 as an expansion of his original Gentlemen on the Move program, which provided K-12 students in Athens area schools with tutoring, guidance and social skills training while offering a supportive structure for their parents. The program features UGA faculty and graduate students working with participating elementary, middle and high school students in Saturday academies held on the UGA campus. The group also holds semester exam lock-ins, summer academies and closely monitors students’ progress in school.
Today, the EYP includes two more groups: Parents of Empowered Youth and Young Women Scholars. These programs also include Saturday academies and workshops.
Bailey has received numerous awards for his work including: The African American Male Initiative Best Practices Leadership Award (2007) from the University System of Georgia, the Community Service Award (2007) from the Georgia chapter of the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives (NOBLE) and the Mary Smith-Arnold Anti-Oppression Award (2007) from the Counselors for Social Justice, a division of the American Counseling Association.
Bailey joined the UGA faculty in 1999. He earned his Ph.D. in counselor education from the University of Virginia. He developed the original Gentlemen on the Move program in 1989 when he was a counselor in a North Carolina high school.
The Don Dinkmeyer Social Interest Award is given annually to a counseling professional who has made a significant contribution to the development of counseling or educational materials for families.
Bailey will be recognized at the ACA annual conference in Charlotte, N.C., on March 22.