Alex Becnel Joining College of Education as Assistant Professor in Counselor Education 

Alex Becnel will join NC State’s College of Education as an assistant professor of counseling and counselor education, beginning Aug. 16, 2024. Currently, Becnel is an assistant professor at Kansas State University in the Department of Special Education, Counseling, and Student Affairs. 

“I’m delighted to join the Pack as a faculty member in the College of Education,” Becnel said. “The counseling and counselor education programs at NC State have a long history of excellence, and I’m looking forward to continuing that tradition.”

Becnel earned his Bachelor of Arts in Communication Studies at Louisiana State University, and both his Master of Arts in Counseling and his Ph.D. in Counselor Education & Supervision from the University of Holy Cross in New Orleans.

He has worked both as a school counselor and a clinical counselor, with an emphasis on

the treatment of adolescents at-risk for suicide. 

His research agenda focuses on preparing modern school counselors to work with suicidal youth, especially in rural communities. As youth suicide continues to be a major public health issue, he hopes to protect K-12 students by ensuring that school counselors are appropriately trained for suicide prevention, intervention and postvention in schools. During his appointment at Kansas State, Becnel also initiated a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) grant-funded program to decrease suicidality through a suicide gatekeeper training protocol in nine rural counties in southeastern Kansas. 

His research has been published in peer-reviewed journals such as The Professional Counselor, Counselor Education and Supervision, Teaching and Supervision in Counseling, and the Journal of Technology in Counselor Education and Supervision.

Becnel was named a 2021-2022 Emerging Leader by the North Central Association for Counselor Education & Supervision.