University of Richmond Quest Program Will Look at the Helping Professions

January 24, 2005

How do psychologists, ministers, career counselors and librarians know which questions to ask individuals seeking their advice and counsel?

That’s the question a panel of area practitioners and educators will try to answer at the University of Richmond Feb. 16. The program, which is part of the Richmond Quest, is free and open to the public. It will begin at 7 p.m. in Jepson Hall, room 118. A reception in the faculty lounge will follow.

Arthur Graesser, professor of psychology at the University of Memphis, will be the keynote speaker. At Memphis, Graesser also is an adjunct professor of mathematical sciences, co-director of the Institute for Intelligent Systems and director of the Center for Applied Psychological Research. He has a long-standing interest in studying question-asking behavior and processes.

Panelists reacting to Graesser’s remarks will include Bonnie Miller, co-founder of the BrownMiller Group, a company which offers counseling, courses, workshops and training for career and life management; and Mary Ellen Spencer, assistant professor and head of research and reference services at the James Branch Cabell Library at Virginia Commonwealth University.

Also serving on the panel will be Steven Walker Noles, a licensed clinical psychologist at Dominion Behavioral Healthcare, a private practice; and Daniel G. Bagby, Theodore F. Adams Professor of Pastoral Care at Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond.

Every two years, Richmond students are invited to submit a challenging question and rationale for in-depth exploration by the entire campus as part of the Richmond Quest. The student who submits the winning question receives a $25,000 cash prize. This year’s question is “How do we know which questions to ask?”