Staff
The staff at the University Counseling Center believe in the dignity and individual self worth of each person. To that end we respect, nurture and honor diversity in all those we work with and serve.
Marc Showalter, Ph.D., LPC, LMFT is the Director of the Center. Marc has worked with college students for more than twenty years, and still thinks it’s a great job.
After beginning his career in special education, Marc became interested in working with students as a counselor. Prior to coming to the University of Mississippi, he worked as a counselor at the University of Arkansas at Monticello and then came to Ole Miss to work on a Ph.D. What began as a short stay for graduate school has become a wonderful opportunity to serve the Ole Miss community.
The director is responsible for all aspects of the work of the Center, but primarily he tries to stay out of the way of the talented staff here so that they can do their jobs. Whether counseling students, teaching a class, speaking to a group, working with Orientation, visiting with parents or just strolling across campus, he thinks being a part of this community is quite an honor.
He is a big sports fan, especially of the Lady Rebels, and enjoys playing golf and the guitar.
Shelia Goolsby received her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Mississippi, with a major in Psychology and minor in English. At the Counseling Center she assists the director with the day-to-day operations of running the Center, and provides interface with the employees, students, and parents who are seeking psychological assistance. Shelia is also responsible for the development and implementation of the summer program for the children of the Water Valley Housing Authority.
Before coming to the Counseling Center, Shelia was a sales director with Mary Kay Cosmetics, a property manager, and the volunteer coordinator for a local crisis center. Shelia has lived in the Oxford and Ole Miss community for 48 years. She has been happily married to Paul for more than 28 years. She and Paul are the proud parents of two adult children, Chase and Tyler; and grandparents, to three granddaughters, Lani, Madelyn, and Augusta Kate.
Shelia enjoys working with children, the elderly, gardening, antiquing, and remodeling in her spare time. She also enjoys attending baseball games with her family.
Joshua Magruder, Ph.D., LPC, NCC, completed his Master’s and his Ph.D. in Counseling at Ole Miss. Josh is interested in working with students, staff, groups and couples. Josh coordinates the Let’s Talk Program, works with the On-Call Program, and enjoys the crisis team.
In his spare time, Josh enjoys gardening and golf. He is married to Merrill Magruder.
Vicki Mahan, M.Ed., LPC, LMFT is the Assistant Director of the Counseling Center and the Employee Assistance Program (EAP) Coordinator. Vicki completed her Bachelor’s degree in Special Education and Master’s degree in Educational Psychology at Ole Miss. Vicki was a special educator in both elementary and secondary levels in public schools for many years. Vicki has been the EAP Coordinator since 1997. She is licensed in Marriage and Family Therapy and is certified in clinical hypnotherapy.
Since 2001 Vicki has also been the coordinator of the U of M ALLIES Program, which is a network of informed faculty and staff who are visibly supportive of all students regardless of their sexual orientation or identity. ALLIES foster a campus community in which all members may feel safe, supported, respected and valued.
Josie Nicholson, Ph.D., is Licensed Counseling and Sport Psychologist. A native of Oxford, Mississippi, she joined the University Counseling Center staff in 2011 as a staff counselor. She received a B.A. in Psychology and Visual Arts from Loyola University New Orleans where she played soccer and rugby. She received her M.S. and Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology from the University of Southern Mississippi and has worked in a variety of settings including community mental health, substance abuse treatment, diagnostic and assessment, and different university counseling centers. She completed her APA internship at Colorado State University where she specialized in working with athletes through the Sport and Performance Program. She completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Counseling and Wellness Center at the University of Florida with an emphasis in Sport Psychology and working with student-athletes. She is trained in the specialty areas of EMDR, hypnosis, group therapy, and sport performance.
Josie is married to Steven Nicholson, is an avid Rebel fan, enjoys running and attempting to play something close to golf, and is devoted to her two German Shepherds, Shiloh and Nanuk.
Loretta Spence is a native of Water Valley, Mississippi. She joined the staff as Secretary in July 2012. Before joining the University she worked in property management and accounts payable and receivable.
Loretta is married to Stephen; they have two children, Justin and Jessica. She also has a miniature Schnauzer named “Harley” that is part of the family as well. Loretta enjoys watching television and spending time with family and friends.
Dean Worsham is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, Licensed Professional Counselor, and National Certified Counselor. He currently sits on the Mississippi Board of Social Workers and Marriage and Family Therapist.
Dean also leads the “Just One Breath” meditation group held at UM Counseling Center.
Graduate Students and Part-time Staff
Born and bred in Malaysia, Eu Gene Chin is an international graduate student who completed his Master’s in Clinical Psychology at Ole Miss and his bachelor’s degree from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Currently, he is pursuing a doctorate in Clinical Psychology. He is interested in working with people who struggle with substance abuse issues at the Counseling Center. He also enjoys serving the University’s international community.
Eu Gene considers himself very fortunate to have been able to serve, and to provide services, in a variety of settings, such as: the University’s Psychological Services Center, the Baddour Residential Center for Adults with Intellectual Disabilities, and Timber Hills Region IV Community Mental Health Center. His research interests revolve around anxiety, depression, and related issues that frequently overlap with these problems. Specifically, he is fascinated by how people study and conceptualize these disorders across cultures.
Jared Grigg is a graduate student in the Clinical Psychology Ph.D. program at the University of Mississippi, focusing in adult therapy. He received his bachelor’s degrees from Baylor University in Psychology and Spanish.
In his first year at the University Counseling Center, Jared is excited about the opportunities to help student’s address difficulties that arise in their daily lives
Umieca N. Hankton is a native of New Orleans, Louisiana. She graduated from Dillard University (New Orleans) with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology. She earned a Master’s degree in Clinical Psychology from the University of Mississippi, and is currently a clinical psychology doctoral candidate.
Umieca has experience working with ethnically and culturally diverse populations, with a wide range of psychological difficulties. She is ALLIES trained and helps facilitate LAMBDA, a support group for individuals that identify as GLBT. She is a member of the American Psychological Association and Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Incorporated.
In her spare time, Umieca enjoys reading and writing poetry.
Holly Henning is a native of Batesville, Mississippi. She graduated from the University of Mississippi in 2010, with degrees in English and psychology. Upon graduation, she worked for a national trade magazine in Oxford, but returned to Ole Miss to pursue her M.A. in Higher Education and Student Personnel. Holly currently works as a graduate assistant in the University Counseling Center and is the 2012 Coordinator for the Jean Jones Walk/Run.
One of Holly’s life passions is music. She is a member of the University Wind Ensemble, and a proud alumna of Ole Miss’s Pride of the South Marching Band, where she served as drum major for two years. Whenever she can, Holly enjoys traveling (to as many places as possible), trying new foods, reading and spending football Saturdays in the Grove with her family and friends.
Carol Langendoen, LMSW, is a graduate of the University of Mississippi Clinical Social Work Master’s Degree program. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Social Work with a minor in Psychology from the University of Mississippi in 1997. Carol’s primary experience includes employment at Family Crisis Services of Northwest Mississippi, Inc. working with adult and child survivors of sexual abuse/assault. She has worked in the capacity of a case manager, a child forensic interviewer, and as a coordinator of multidisciplinary child abuse review teams. She developed a children’s court preparation program, a forensic interviewing program, and assisted in the development of the Children’s Advocacy Center at Family Crisis Services.
Carol has both coordinated and presented at numerous conferences and trainings around the state and nationally, and has served as an expert witness in child abuse and forensic interviewing. She currently serves as a part-time counselor at the University Counseling
Nadia Lucas is a native of Greenville, Mississippi. She graduated with her B.A. in Psychology in 2005 from Rice University. She is currently pursuing her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology at the University of Mississippi. Nadia is a member of the American Psychological Association, the Association for Contextual Behavioral Science, and the Association for Behavior Analysis International.
She lives here in Oxford with her husband, Carl, and their daughter Aidan. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her family, attempting to be the world’s best aunt to her nieces and nephews, reading, and cracking jokes.
Kelly Marcy received her undergraduate degree in Psychology from the University of Mississippi in 2007. From 2007-2010, she worked at Youth Villages in Tupelo with children who had behavior problems. Kelly worked from 2010-2011 at Communicare in Oxford before returning to school to pursue her Masters in Social Work in 2011.
She has a passion for meditation practices and plans to lead meditation-based groups during her time at the Counseling Center.
In her spare time, Kelly enjoys writing, playing board games, bowling, and riding her bicycle on hot summer days.
Amber McDowell is a graduate assistant at the University Counseling Center. She is from Westfield, IN but after moving around the country she feels like a southern girl at heart. Amber graduated from Purdue University in 2012, with a Bachelor’s in Elementary Education. She is continuing her studies as a Master’s candidate in Higher Education and Student Personnel at Ole Miss.
Amber is a devoted dancer and hopes to dance for a professional team in the future. She was a member of Purdue’s Golduster Dance Team, where she had the pleasure to dance with Purdue’s All-American Marching Band and proudly represent her campus. Outside of dancing, Amber enjoys eating and trying to cook new foods, reading, and spending time with old and new friends.
Paul Meacham, Jr. earned a B.A. from Southern Christian University and a M.Ed. in counseling here at Ole Miss. He has worked since 1998 as a missionary and preacher and since 2008 as a counselor here at the UCC. He is currently working on a Ph.D. in Counselor Education.
He is the husband of April (31 years and happily counting), the father of three, the grandfather of eight (yes, they really are perfect, all eight of them). Paul loves to sing well and play golf poorly.
Sarah Rall is a native of Canton, Mississippi. She is an exercise science major and plans to work in cardiovascular rehab upon graduation.
Sarah lives in Oxford with her husband, Blake and their dog, Zeus and cat, Brinkley. She loves Ole Miss and spending Saturdays in the Grove, during football season. In her spare time Sarah also enjoys time spent with family and friends, shopping, painting and outdoor activities.
Zhiyan Sheng is from China. She received her Bachelor’s degree in Mass Media from Beijing, China, and received her first master’s degree at Ole Miss where she majored in teaching English as a Second Language. Zhiyan completed her second master’s degree in Counseling in 2011.
She works as a part-time Counselor at the University Counseling Center, where she co-leads the Making Peace with Food Group and the Cook Eat Share Group. Zhiyan speaks both Mandarin and English.
In her spare time, Zhiyan likes to practice yoga, travel, loves cooking Chinese foods, reading, and spending time with her friends.
Shilpa Shirur is from Mumbai, India. She recently completed her her master’s degree in Counseling at Ole Miss. She received her Bachelor’s degree in Sociology from the Mumbai University. She has been in Oxford for the past 5 years. She loves Oxford and the people in the area.
Shilpa is involved with International student activities on campus and is leading the International Learning Exchange workshops for Adjustment and Socialization on Campus. She is doing her internship at the University Counseling Center, The Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning, Child Advocacy and Play Therapy Institute and at the Office of International Programs. She is also leading the Cook Eat Share group, which advocates cultural learning internally among group members and externally to the local community.
In her spare time, Shilpa loves watching Bollywood movies, cooking, learning new culture and cuisine, shopping and hanging out with her husband and friends.
Brian Simmons, LSW, recently completed his Master’s degree in Clinical Social Work. He earned his Bachelor’s degree in social work from the University of Mississippi in 2005. Brian is a 20 year veteran of the United States Marine Corps, and his social work experience includes serving the elderly, Hospice Care, Mental Health, and the Intellectually and Developmentally Disabled.
Brian enjoys exercise and is an avid runner. He is originally from Kalamazoo, Michigan, and his wife of 27 years, Anne, is a native of Scotland. Oxford has been their home for the last 17 years…and they ani’t leavin y’all!!!
Ian Turnage-Butterbaugh comes to the University Counseling Center from Columbus, Ohio. He received his Bachelor of Science degree in Experimental Psychology from the University of South Carolina – Upstate, and his Master of Science degree in General Psychology from Avila University. He is currently working on his Ph.D. in Community Counseling.
Ian is a member of the American Mental Health Counselor’s Association and the Mississippi Counseling Association. His counseling interests include marriage and family, couples counseling, as well as self-compassion.
In his spare time, Ian enjoys cycling, racquetball, photography, and clumsily playing the guitar. He and his wife, Caroline, have lived in Oxford, MS for the past two and a half years.