In memoriam: Carl McDaniels, professor emeritus in the School of Education

October 21, 2019

Carl McDaniels stands in his office, showing an example of a resource for career seekers. Photo courtesy of Diane McDaniels.

Carl Oscar McDaniels, a longtime professor of counselor education and former director of graduate studies and research, died Oct. 6, 2019, in Bridgewater, Virginia.

McDaniels joined the faculty at Virginia Tech in 1969 to help found the College of Education, now the School of Education in the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences.

In 1979, he created and directed Virginia Career Vital Information for Education and Work, a career information delivery system for the commonwealth known as Virginia VIEW.

In its original form, Virginia VIEW was a comprehensive news magazine about career development and planning, accompanied by an information hotline. This resource served high-school students and adults. In its current form, Virginia VIEW provides career information for students in kindergarten through eighth grade, parents, and professionals working with this age group through a website, workshops, and statewide outreach events. Its toll-free information line continues.

While serving at Virginia Tech, McDaniels developed a formula for career success, known as career equals work plus leisure (C=W+L). “A Career Success Formula: Career Equals Work Plus Leisure,” a book he wrote with Deborah Hedrick and Gale Watts, focused on a decade of research with the Virginia Tech Employee Career Development Program. The book presents a theoretical and practical approach to career planning based on the experiences of employees at all levels of the university, including service staff, administrative support staff, faculty, and administrators who used it to achieve career success.

During his 30 years of service to the university, he published multiple books and journal articles before retiring in 1996. With the Jossey Bass Social and Behavioral Science Series, he published two books: “The Changing Workplace: Career Counseling Strategies for the 1990s and Beyond,” and, with Norman Gysbers, “Counseling for Career Development: Theories, Resources, and Practice.” With coauthor Mary Anne Knobloch, he published “Developing a Professional Vita or Resume.”

Before joining the Virginia Tech community, McDaniels served as director of professional services at the American Personnel and Guidance Association and was a professor of education at George Washington University. He began his career in Bedford County, Virginia, as a counselor and coach. Then he became a counselor at his high school alma mater, Washington-Lee High School in Montrose, Virginia. The school is now known as Washington-Liberty High School.

McDaniels also served in the U.S. Navy between receiving his undergraduate degree at Bridgewater College and his M.Ed. and Ph.D. in counselor education from the University of Virginia.

His wife, Ann, preceded him in death. He is survived by three daughters — Lynn Beatty of Upper Tract, West Virginia; Lisa McDaniels of Huntingdon, Pennsylvania; and Diane McDaniels of Winchester, Virginia; three granddaughters; and two great-granddaughters.

Johnson’s Funeral Service website offers a detailed obituary for McDaniels.

— Written by Leslie King