As founder of the graduate program in school psychology, among other MU programs, Jim Koller’s COE legacy is lengthy and admirable. He’s worked on projects in a variety of areas at University of Missouri­­–Columbia, including the Medical School’s Department of Pediatrics and Neurology and Education’s Department of Educational, School, and Counseling Psychology where he now serves as co-director of the Center for the Advancement of Mental Health Practices in Schools, an MU program that has received national recognition for its proactive methodology.

A passion for helping others and a restless sense of curiosity drive Jim Koller’s career as a faculty member in MU’s Department of Educational, School, and Counseling Psychology. 

“I am driven by a variety of interests,” Koller says. “A university setting is an ideal forum to pursue those interests. In fact, if someone were on the street demonstrating a new way of making donuts, I’d be outside watching. I just love learning new things.”

He’s pursued that love since his undergraduate career at Creighton University in Omaha, Neb., where Koller earned a Bachelor of Art in psychology. He went on to grab a master’s and Ed.S.in school and counseling psychology from the University of Nebraska. Koller joined the COE staff in 1974, when Bob Woods, then the college’s dean, called and asked if he would head a start-up graduate program in Educational, School, and Counseling Psychology.

“A lot of blood, sweat and tears went into developing the school psychology graduate program,” Koller says. “But it has worked out well as our doctoral program is nationally accredited by the American Psychological Association. Also, keeping in motion drives me. While I always have a zillion things going on, they all weave together somehow to help me do my job.”

For Koller, doing his job means helping people. The professor stays active whether he’s starting up a brand-new university program, working on the board of advisors for the national Center of School Mental Health at the University of Maryland or chairing the American Council on Education’s national disability council in Washington, DC.

“Everything I do revolves around trying to help people, especially those with special needs,” Koller says. “My wife and I are blessed. My work allows me to give back whatever I can.”

Giving back has proved rewarding for Koller. He’s delivered numerous conferences and served on more than 20 national committees, including a spot on a presidential task force in 2000 discussing the employment of adults with disabilities.

“My career in school psychology is like a snowball,” Koller says. “It keeps building as I learn how to get involved and better serve others. In this field, we have to think about how we can create better learning environments. What we do is not just about academics. We have to focus on improving the whole person.”

One of Koller’s newest moves to serve the whole person involves the Center for the Advancement of Mental Health Practices in Schools that he founded in 1999.

Traditionally, psychologists have responded to mental illness by focusing on deficits in order to establish eligibility for services, including treatment.

Comparatively, the Center focuses on strengths-based prevention to not only help all learners, but also those who serve them in schools. 

“Having a good healthy self-image doesn’t happen by osmosis,” Koller says. “It has to be taught, modeled and shaped. This Center is a total paradigm shift from pathology to mental health. We’re looking at what’s right and what will create the best environment for students to learn and be productive.”

The best environment for students, Koller says, is a school that encourages positive learning and behavior.

“The importance of good mental health cannot be overstated.  With the increase in mental illness continuing unabated in our society today, there’s no better place to start than with our nation’s youth, in school, where they spend most of their day.

“Waiting until youth fail to get involved doesn’t work. I’m a firm believer that by creating a positive learning environment, students’ academics will advance while their mental health flourishes.”