MILLIGAN, Tenn. (Aug. 26, 2025) — Milligan University welcomes counselors to attend the university’s third annual Create Conference on Tuesday, Sept. 2, in the Gregory Center from 3 to 6:45 p.m.
The Create Conference is a mental health counseling conference focused on research, employment, advocacy, training and education for counselors. The conference includes research presentations, a career fair and a keynote speaker.
Dr. Colleen Weems, assistant professor of education and counseling at Milligan, will provide the keynote lecture.
Her lecture, “Section 504: Legal and Collaborative Considerations for Mental Health and School Professionals,” will be held in the McGlothlin-Street Theatre in the Gregory Center at 5:15 p.m.
Weems has a professional background in both school counseling and clinical counseling, and her lecture will emphasize the need for collaboration between the two to advocate and support all students.
Schools create Section 504 plans to ensure that all students can access education on par with their peers and be their most successful in the school setting. These protections are afforded through the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights.
Weems acknowledges that her lecture topic stemmed from student requests at Milligan.
“The lecture focuses on counseling the holistic student, and it also reflects my professional journey and what I consider my calling here at Milligan,” shared Weems. “Having worked in community mental health, school-based counseling, school counseling, and alongside teachers, administrators, and school staff — this lecture aims to build bridges between clinical counselors and school counselors for the benefit of students.”
This lecture will focus on how Section 504 and IEPs are different and why counselors are so important in the 504 process, in addition to the need for collaboration between clinical and school counselors to best advocate for students.
At Milligan, Weems teaches courses at the undergraduate, graduate and doctoral level. Her areas of specialization include social-emotional learning, suicide prevention, chronic absenteeism, attendance and student leadership. She holds multiple professional licenses, including School Counselor PreK-12, ILL Administrator PreK-12, and LPC/MHSP(S).
Among her notable achievements, Weems coordinated the Lighthouse Team at Andrew Johnson Elementary, guiding the school toward recognition as a Lighthouse School of Distinction under the FranklinCovey Leader in Me program. She received her doctorate in educational leadership and policy analysis from East Tennessee State University.
For more information and to register for the conference, visit www.milligan.edu/create.