Category: Health Care

Professor Teaches Asset Mapping in Rural Alabama

Moya L. Alfonso, Ph.D., MSPH, gave participatory asset mapping training to the Blackbelt Community Foundation in Camden, Ala., as a part of a community-based participatory research project funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

The training was part of the foundation’s Interdisciplinary Research Leaders Program. Alfonso is the program director of the Ph.D. and DHSc doctoral programs in health science and an associate professor of health science in the Dr. Pallavi Patel College of Health Care Sciences. Her expertise includes community-engaged research, program evaluation, addiction and recovery, and adolescent health.

Alfonso was invited to teach coalition members to use asset mapping, which is the mapping of resources in local communities with the intent of building on the assets to create change. Her workshop was a part of a series to educate coalition members on a variety of topics, including racism, decolonizing nutrition, accessing resources and advocacy. Asset mapping is being used to reframe the narrative around childhood obesity – focusing more on health than body size and weight – and identify the structural causes of health problems. Coalition members learned how to use asset mapping with community members to identify local resources that could contribute to addressing obesity and racism in rural Alabama.

You can read more about the project here: https://irleaders.org/team/centering-the-lived-experience-of-head-start-families-to-investigate-intersections-of-structural-racism-rurality-and-childhood-obesity/.

Posted 02/04/24

WCC Faculty Coordinators Featured on Podcast

From left, Kelly Concannon, Ph.D., and Janine Morris, Ph.D.

Janine Morris, Ph.D., and Kelly Concannon, Ph.D., talked about their collaboration on “Emotions and Affect in Writing Centers” on WLN: A Writing Center Journal’s Slow Agency podcast. Their penchant for collaboration also has been discussed on NSU’s Writer’s Edge podcast.

“Emotions and Affect in Writing Centers” contains 15 chapters that explore how emotions affect function in writing centers from the perspectives of writing center tutors and administrators. The collection has interest for anyone working with students in supportive roles, including administrators and staff in tutoring centers, writing centers and academic support services. The collection was nominated for a 2023 Conference on College Composition and Communication Outstanding Book Award.

Morris and Concannon co-edited “Emotions and Affect in Writing Centers,” published by Parlor Press. Morris is an associate professor and Concannon is a professor in the Department of Communication, Media, and the Arts in the Halmos College of Arts and Sciences. The two also are faculty coordinators at the NSU Writing and Communication Center (WCC).

“The editorial process was incredibly collaborative,” Morris said. “It was exciting to see the collection grow from the work we do here in the WCC.”

‘Emotions and Affect in Writing Centers’ is available via Parlor Press at https://parlorpress.com/products/emotions-and-affect-in-writing-centers

To learn more about the WCC, visit https://www.nova.edu/wcc/

Posted 02/04/24

University School Recognized for News Story Submission

Congratulations to University School Network students Benjamin Chitoff (’24), Ethan Scharf (’26), Jonathan Benaim (’26) and Max Fletcher (’26). They received an honorable mention in the news story category for their submission about inflation in South Florida’s real estate market in the Student Television Network Challenge Contest. Olivia Peters (’24) earned an honorable mention for her “Helping Horses” public service announcement.

Learn more about NSU University School’s college preparatory program for students in preschool through 12th grade at www.uschool.nova.edu.

Posted 02/04/24

University School Lauds Silver Knight Nominees

Congratulations to the University School nominees for the 2023-24 Miami Herald Silver Knight Awards, one of the nation’s most highly regarded student awards programs that recognizes outstanding students for their community service and academic achievements.

Learn more about NSU University School’s college preparatory program for students in preschool through 12th grade at www.uschool.nova.edu.

Posted 02/04/24

Fischler Grad is First Black Woman to Serve in School’s Faculty Senate

Latonya Peterson, Ed.D.

Latonya Peterson, Ed.D., a Fischler College of Education and School of Criminal Justice graduate, is the first black woman to serve in the faculty senate at Baker University.

She was recently elected for a second term to the two-year position. Peterson learned she made history shortly after she had been elected for her first term.

She said she received an email that said, “Thanks for making history” and when she inquired about it, she learned she was the first black woman in that role.

“It means a lot because it means I’m breaking barriers,” Peterson said.

The overall senate is made up of nine members, but Peterson is the only minority. There also only two other women serving as well.

Members of the faculty senate have a host of duties, including making recommendations regarding admissions criteria, degree requirements, new majors and more, serving as the policy body for programs and courses through the School of Professional and Graduate Studies and much more.

Peterson said her last term went well and the senate was able to accomplish a lot. One area they looked at was recruitment and making it easier for students to transfer to the school.

“We did vote on making it easier to transfer, you know, making sure we accept certain transfer credits, because the students have done the work and it shouldn’t be that hard for them to transfer,” she said.

Peterson said she hopes to build upon her previous success during this next term.

Peterson graduated from NSU with her M.S. in Criminal Justice, and her Ed.D. in Organizational Leadership. In addition to serving on the Faculty Senate at Baker University, she also teaches there as an adjunct professor with the Criminal Justice Program and the Master of Business Administration Program. Peterson is also a full-time Criminal Justice professor at American InterContinental University.

Congratulations Latonya Peterson! Fins up to you for making history!

Posted 01/14/24

Endodontics Department Gets Domestic Access to Care Grant

Dr. Yehuda Benjamin

NSU’s College of Dental Medicine’s Department of Endodontics has been honored as a 2023 Domestic Access to Care Grant awardee.

This grant, facilitated by the Foundation for Endodontics and U.S. Endo Partners, enables the university to provide critical endodontic care to Ukrainian refugees in South Florida, many of whom face barriers such as unemployment, language challenges, and ineligibility for Medicaid.

This project was led by Dr. Yehuda Benjamin, interim chair and director of post-graduate endodontics that exemplifies our commitment to serving those in dire need of dental care. We are proud to be a part of this humanitarian effort, making a real difference in the lives of those we serve.

The Foundation for Endodontics’ and U.S. Endo Partners’ Domestic Access to Care Program aids endodontic specialists in providing access to free endodontic care to underserved patients within the United States. The Foundation believes every endodontist has the capacity to make a significant difference and is proud to empower specialists to serve patients and spread goodwill.

For more information, see this link.

Posted 01/14/24

USchool Students Make Holiday Cards for Local Heroes

First grade partnered with Upper School students to make holiday cards with messages of gratitude for our local heroes. The cards were delivered to firefighters, police officers, health care workers, and Publix employees.

Learn more about NSU University School’s college preparatory program for students in Preschool – Grade 12 at www.uschool.nova.edu.

Posted 01/14/24

Several Fischler Professors Named Dooley Trust Recipients

The Robert E. Dooley Trust NSU Center for Autism Endowment Fund was set up to help fund and support NSU programs that benefit individuals with autism, and several professors at the Fischler College of Education and School of Criminal Justice have been named as recipients of the award.

Among the recipients of the award are Maribel Del Rio-Roberts and Timothy Scala, along with a project involving Dana Scott Mills.

Mills will serve as the methodologist/statistics person on a project titled “Measuring rehabilitation health services access and use among emerging adults on the autism spectrum: A pilot study.”

The study aims to “develop and test a questionnaire for the measurement of rehabilitation access and utilization among emerging adults with autism spectrum disorder.”

Overall, the goal is to understand the challenges young people with autism spectrum disorder face, and how rehabilitation services can help improve their health and quality of life.

Scala and Del Rio-Roberts also received funding for a project titled, “A Training Program to Support Faculty & Staff Working with Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in Higher Education.

Both Del Rio-Roberts and Scala are serving as PIs for the project. The aim of this program is to provide comprehensive training to “selected NSU staff who may encounter a student with ASD, so they can more effectively provide support.”

The program also aims to provide training to faculty and public safety officers as well. The training will be provided through psychoeducation and Mursion simulation activities.

Del Rio-Roberts also received the award for a project supporting Access Plus. The effort, titled “Supporting a Comprehensive College Support Program for Young Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder.”

Access Plus is a program at NSU that offers various supporting services to students with autism spectrum disorder throughout their college career. Funds from the Dooley Trust are now being used to support and cover the fees associated with the program.

Congratulations to all!

Posted 01/10/24

Halmos Students Compete in Annual Mathematical Contest

From left, Triet Do, Diana Dancea, Cristina Perez and Heidi Hellenbrand

Students in the College of Arts and Sciences and the Guy Harvey Oceanographic Research Center (HCAS) participated in the 84th Annual William Lowell Putnam Mathematical Competition.

This is the second year we have competed in this event, the preeminent mathematics competition for undergraduate college students in the United States and Canada.  As it does each year, the competition consists of two 3-hour sessions, one in the morning and one in the afternoon.

During each session, participants work individually on 6 challenging mathematical problems.  The exam is colloquially known as the world’s most challenging math exam. While the exam has a maximum score of 120 points, in many years the median score among the more than 3000 competitors (all of whom excel in advanced mathematics) is between 0 and 3.  The exam is done individually, but a university’s highest three scores get combined to make up a team score. Awards are handed out to both individuals and teams.  The exam is underwritten and overseen by the Mathematical Association of America.

Our Putnam Exam team practiced hard for the past year under the mentorship of Associate Professor of Mathematics and Statistics, Radleigh Santos, Ph.D. Santos taught MATH 3990 Competitive Mathematics Seminar, a one credit course students could take to prepare for the exam.

Posted 12/10/23

Halmos Dept. of Humanities and Politics Wins Cupcake Challenge

Congratulations to the Department of Humanities and Politics (DHP) in the Halmos College of Arts and Sciences and the Guy Harvey Oceanographic Research Center (HCAS) for their second consecutive win of the Cupcake Challenge!

With 78% participation, they helped HCAS become the leader in the NSU Give Back Tuesday. The Dean’s Office came in second place and the Department of Communication, Media, and the Arts came in third. Honorable Mentions went to the Department of Marine and Environmental Science and the Department of Mathematics.

Posted 12/10/23

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