Rate My Professor Gloria Lee

Gloria K. Lee, Ph.D., CRC, is a Professor of Rehabilitation Counseling in the Department of Counseling, Educational Psychology and Special Education within Michigan State University’s College of Education. She earned her Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Since joining Michigan State University in 2014 as an Associate Professor, she has advanced to full Professor and taken on leadership roles as Director of the doctoral program in Rehabilitation Counselor Education, the Rehabilitation Counseling master’s program, the Counselor Education and Supervision Ph.D. program (which includes a specialization in rehabilitation and disability), and the M.A. in Counseling and Counselor Education for Clinical Mental Health Counseling. These programs are accredited by CACREP, and under her direction, they have been reimagined to address workforce demands in mental health and rehabilitation counseling, including responses to societal needs post-pandemic.

Dr. Lee’s research centers on the psychosocial adjustment of individuals with disabilities and their caregivers, with emphases on family interventions, emotion regulation, positive psychology, vocational rehabilitation, and parent-child-school dynamics, particularly for those with high-functioning autism spectrum disorders. She leads the Lifting Individuals and Families through Empowerment (LIFE) Research Lab. Her highly cited publications include “Preparing transition-age students with high-functioning autism spectrum disorders for meaningful work” (2012, 323 citations), “Health-related quality of life of parents of children with high-functioning autism spectrum disorders” (2009, 291 citations), “Parents of children with high functioning autism: How well do they cope and adjust?” (2009, 262 citations), “Structural equation modeling in rehabilitation counseling research” (2007, 195 citations), “Training needs of certified rehabilitation counselors for contemporary practice” (2003, 147 citations), and “Vocational rehabilitation service patterns related to successful competitive employment outcomes of persons with spinal cord injury” (2008, 102 citations). As principal investigator, she has secured over $1 million in grants, such as funding for training rehabilitation counselors (2019) and building work-related skills for youth with autism (2017), significantly impacting counselor education, disability support, and vocational outcomes in the field.