CDS Endorsement and Certification

With ACDS reconstituted and curriculum development under way, it was time to turn to steps three and four—the issues of certification and accreditation of CDI—when the first snag was encountered. Ernest Whitelaw, Loretta Price of UCA, and Mark Peterson of the Missouri Cooperative Extension Service drew up the proposal for presentation to the CDS board requesting its endorsement of CDI. Whitelaw, Price and Gene Speichinger of Missouri Extension made the presentation to the board at its meeting in Las Vegas in March 1987. Endorsement was given, but with stipulations: 1) The CDS president would designate a CDS member to participate in curriculum development and ongoing review. (Mark Peterson and Don Littrell were the ones appointed). 2) Credentials of CDI faculty would have to be reviewed by CDS using a process specified by the CDS president. 3) CDS would designate a CDS member to serve as a CDI faculty member and to provide suggestions for ongoing program development at CDI’s expense. 4) CDI was also required to provide students with information concerning CDS.

As mentioned earlier, CDS had already been discussing certification since its annual meeting held—fittingly enough—in Hot Springs, Arkansas in 1977. Almost a decade later they were faced with a new group of Arkansans wanting the matter resolved in such a way that would include CDI. One could safely conclude that the CDS board would have preferred to come to their decisions in their own time and manner, but that was not to be. Certification and accreditation were very important to the long-term success of CDI and the Arkansas group was firm in its resolve to make things happen. It’s almost certain that many thought Ernest Whitelaw’s middle name was “Certification” and that Jay Robison was his first cousin, based upon their determination to have a certification program established and to position CDI as an important element of that process.