Bradley Erford, Ph.D., a professor of school counseling in the education specialties department in Loyola University Maryland’s School of Education, has been named the 61st president of the American Counseling Association (ACA), a 45,000-member professional organization dedicated to the growth and enhancement of the counseling profession. He begins his term as president-elect on July 1, 2011, and assumes the role of president on July 1, 2012, for a term lasting one-year.
A member of the Loyola faculty since 1993, Erford is the fourth professor from Loyola to hold the ACA presidency. As a member of the ACA, Erford has served as a volunteer leader at the branch, region, division, and national levels. He currently serves on the ACA Governing Council as the representative for Assessment in Counseling and Education and is the ACA bylaws chair and chair of the ACA conference program selection committee. His service to Loyola is also extensive. In addition to teaching courses in lifespan development, testing and measurement, research and evaluation in counseling, stress management, and introduction to school counseling, Erford directed the University’s school counseling program from 2002-07. He has served on a wide range of University committees, including the Loyola Conference, Academic Senate, University Budget Committee, Compensation and Benefits Committee, and Board on Rank and Tenure, which he chaired from 2004-05. Earlier in his career, Erford maintained a private practice in child and family counseling in Richmond, Va., and served as a school psychologist and school counselor in the Chesterfield County public schools.
His research focuses on the development and technical analysis of psycho-educational tests and counseling outcomes research, and has resulted in the publication of more than 15 books, 40 refereed journal articles, numerous book chapters, and a number of published tests. For these accomplishments, he was selected as an ACA Fellow and recently awarded the ACA Extended Research Award–ACA's equivalent to a lifetime achievement award in research.
A graduate of Grove City College, Erford completed a master’s degree in school psychology at Bucknell University and earned his Ph.D. in Counselor Education at the University of Virginia.
For more information or questions regarding this story, contact Media Relations Manager Nick Alexopulos at nalexopulos@loyola.edu or 410-617-5025.