Kelly Crace, a staff psychologist at CAPS, will become the program’s new director July 1, the University announced Wednesday.
Crace said he is excited to lead Counseling and Psychological Services, which will involve staff oversight, strategic planning, cross-campus partner development and serving students and faculty. Before coming to Duke, he was the director of the counseling center at the College of William and Mary from 2001 to 2009.
“My interest in this position came from a deep care for the staff at CAPS, the opportunity to serve them and the Duke community more expansively and the continued support and value that CAPS has among higher-level administration,” Crace wrote in an e-mail Wednesday.
Selected out of a nationwide search, it was Crace’s loyalty to Duke that set him apart from other candidates, Todd Adams, senior associate dean of students and head of the search committee, said in a Duke news release. In addition to his current position, Crace interned at CAPS from 1991 to 1992 while studying at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
“We were fortunate to be able to choose from a number of candidates who could have done the job well,” Adams said. “[The] empathy he feels toward Duke students tipped the scale in his favor.”
Crace’s connection to Duke and familiarity with students and faculty will be an asset, said Dean of Students Sue Wasiolek. She believes that he will play an important role in accomplishing the department’s upcoming goals, including improved interdepartmentalism.
“Those of us who work closely with CAPS, our hope is that there will be more integration between CAPS and Student Health, and I’m looking forward to working with Dr. Crace to make that happen,” Wasiolek said.
As director, Crace said he hopes to call on his background in college counseling to creatively address the campus culture and encourage students’ developmental growth.
“My past experiences have been devoted to finding effective ways to address these challenges and optimize responsiveness to community needs, while maintaining our identity as an agency that strives to promote the developmental growth of students,” he said.
Current CAPS Director Kathy Hollingsworth will retire June 30 after six years of leadership. During that time, she increased campus outreach and used data analysis to develop new programs.
Crace was an undergraduate at Vanderbilt University and received a master’s in sports and performance psychology and a doctorate in counseling psychology from UNC. Additionally, he has contributed to numerous publications and co-authored an online program for personal value development called Life Values Inventory Online.
“Entering this position at a time when there is such a core of talent, stability and trust allows us to be creative in optimally addressing the needs of our community and to possibly affect our culture toward greater authenticity, flourishing and well-being,” he said.
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