With great pride, the Vanguard Alumni Association announces its selection of Dr. Mary Morrison, Class of 1992, as its outstanding representative for 2011. She was unable to attend Founders’ Weekend, when her selection was made public, but Mary will receive her award when she steps to the podium as Vanguard’s commencement speaker Friday, May 27, at Jones Auditorium on the campus of Baylor University.

Mary O. Morrison, Ph.D., LPC-S, NCC, RPT-S is an Assistant Professor in the Professional Counseling Program at Texas State University- San Marcos. Mary graduated from Vanguard in 1992, she earned a B.S. in Education from Texas Christian University, an M.Ed. in Counseling and a Ph.D. in Counselor Education with a specialty in Play Therapy from the University of North Texas in Denton, TX.

She currently serves as the President of the Texas Association for Play Therapy. Mary has presented on play therapy across the United States, in England, Ireland and Russia. She provides play therapy and serves as the mental health consultant for children at an orphanage in Port Au Prince, Haiti. Mary has published on the play therapy process, trauma, Child Teacher Relationship Therapy and play therapy supervision in professional journals and books. She has been recognized for her professional contributions and is a recipient of the Dissertation Award by the Association for Play Therapy for her research on Child Teacher Relationship Therapy and the Service Award by The Texas Association for Play Therapy.

Her research interests include trauma, play therapy process, filial therapy and working with parents and teachers. In her spare time Mary enjoys bike riding, cooking and playing as much as possible.