Tag: Alumni

Kimberly Vardeman, M.A.

Kimberly Vardeman, M.A., graduate of the Master of Arts in Cross-disciplinary Studies (MACS) program in the Department of Conflict Resolution Studies (DCRS) in NSU’s College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences (CAHSS) is continuing to pursue her passion for environmental issues including environmental stewardship, humane education, animal protection, and human rights. Vardeman is a research assistant at the Florida Center for Environmental Studies (CES) at Florida Atlantic University. Among her responsibilities, she coordinates community engagement research and public outreach.

In addition to her MACS degree from NSU, Vardeman earned her bachelors’ degree from the University of Florida. While earning her MACS degree, Vardeman was able to co-create her degree plan to include courses from NSU’s Halmos College of Natural Sciences and Oceanography. She completed a thesis in MACS, focusing her research on environmental community education. For more information about MACS, please contact Claudette Brooks in DCRS at cbrooks@nova.edu.

This April, the journal of Physiology and Behavior published the article, “Manipulating Neck Temperature Alters Contagious Yawning in Humans”. The lead author is class of 2018 undergraduate biology major Valentina Ramirez. Her mentor was Halmos College faculty member Omar Eldakar, Ph.D.

The study investigated the thermoregulatory theory of yawning, which is essentially that yawns serve to cool the brain. Valentina and her collaborators tested this hypothesis by altering neck temperature above the carotid arteries with therapeutic packs which in turn influenced brain temperature and therefore the expression of yawning. The researchers found that yawning behavior followed predicted patterns with increased yawning when the brain was warmed, and decreased when the brain was cooled. Thermal imaging confirmed the application of therapeutic packs influenced the temperature of the superomedial orbital area, a region previously used as a noninvasive measure of brain temperature. These findings provide further support for a thermoregulatory function to yawning.

Valentina is now a first-year medical student with the U.S. Navy. Congratulations to Valentina for her impressive achievement, and to Omar Eldakar, Ph.D for his mentorship.

Michael Hare, Ph.D.

Michael Hare, Ph.D., doctoral graduate of Conflict Analysis and Resolution in NSU’s College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences (CAHSS), has published a book titled, When Church Conflict Happens: A Proven Process for Resolving Unhealthy Disagreements and Embracing Healthy Ones. The book provides a blueprint for understanding and addressing church conflict and telling the difference between healthy and unhealthy conflict.

Hare served as a pastor for over thirty years in New York, Vermont, Oklahoma, Colorado, and California. He has also served as a consultant to churches struggling with conflict. He is a consultant with Living Stones and is the chaplain for Compassion International working with domestic and international staff. In addition, Hare has been an adjunct instructor for several universities, teaching courses such as mediation.

Moody Publishers published the book, April 2019. For more information, please go to

https://www.moodypublishers.com/authors/h/michael-hare/.

Fonkem Achankeng I, Ph.D., graduate of the doctoral program in the Department of Conflict Resolution Studies (DCRS) in NSU’s College of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences (CHASS), has co-edited a book with Janet Hagen, Ph.D., entitled, Crime, Second Chances, and Human Services: Creating a Pathway to Ordinary Life for the Convicted. Rowman and Littlefield published the book. For more information, please go to: https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781498595889/Crime-Second-Chances-and-Human-Services-Creating-a-Pathway-to-Ordinary-Life-for-the-Convicted

In addition, Achankeng received the Thabo Mbeki Award for Public Service and Scholarship at the 19^th Annual Africa Conference, University of Texas, Austin, in March. “Among other things, the Awards Committee in choosing him for this award noted his community services, his membership in organizations and societies that promote peace, his promotion of African culture, and his ability to merge practice with theories.”

Achankeng, is an associate professor  in the Department of Human Services Leadership in the College of Education & Human Services at the University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh. He has authored numerous articles and was a Fulbright scholar in 1995-1996 at the Hubert H. Humphrey Institute for Public Affairs, University of Minnesota. Previously he was in the diplomatic service in the Foreign Ministry of Cameroon. His teaching and research interests include refugees, migration and human services; social issues and solutions; and conflict analysis and resolution. Achankeng is an Executive Council Member of The Wisconsin Institute for Peace and Conflict Studies.

Jenny Chang, Ph.D., graduate of the doctoral program in Conflict Analysis and Resolution, in the Department of Conflict Resolution Studies in NSU’s College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences, was promoted to associate professor in the Department of Social Work, School of History, Culture, and Tourism at Huaiyin Normal University in China. She teaches courses in counseling, conflict and crisis invention. Chang recently gave a talk entitled, “Cross-Cultural Interaction: Insight from the Experience of Studying Abroad,” as part of the campus-wide cultural series talks. Her proposal to present at the international conference held by the Asian Association for Social Psychology in Taipei in the summer has been accepted.

Virginia Fernandez Gonzalez, M.S., 2013 graduate of the master’s program in the Department of Family Therapy in NSU’s College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences (CAHSS), is a family therapist working in Spain to address the European refugee crisis. Upon graduation, she started working for Gulf Coast Community Services. Her heart was touched by the plight of the immigrants and refugee families she worked with and she decided she needed to do more. Subsequently she relocated to NYC and then to Spain.

She indicated that, “Regarding my work with the NGO, I am part of a multidisciplinary team which helps international protection seekers adapt and integrate to Spain. Although many applicants come alone to Spain, we have been receiving mainly families, not only because our facilities are family friendly, but also because as a team, we orient our work to prioritize and foster family attachment and relationships. I work collaboratively with a lawyer, social workers, and skills training team and job /educational advisor to guide families throughout their integration process. More specifically, I provide assessment, intervention (individual, group and family format), follow-up and referral to all the individuals and families we receive.”

“Our program runs for 18 months, split in two phases: a first 6-month phase during which we provide housing for families, and a second 12-month phase during which they live independently but still receive financial assistance until they find a job and can sustain themselves. The multidisciplinary team works with the beneficiaries transversally throughout the two phases. In terms of the issues I addressed, certainly grief and trauma work is part of my everyday work. Trauma that comes not only from the reason for their seeking international protection, but also past (sometimes chronic) trauma, that they carry with them and which are exacerbate in these stressful conditions.”

Katarina Lindley, D.O., FACOFP, a 2004 Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Osteopathic Medicine alumna, received the 2019 American College of Osteopathic Family Physicians (ACOFP) Excellence in Advocacy Award. The accolade recognizes physicians who have significantly contributed their time and talents to national health care policy issues at the local, state, and/or federal levels on behalf of their profession and patients. She received her award during the ACOFP 56th Annual Convention and Scientific Seminars held March 21–24 in Chicago, Illinois.

Scott M. Woods, Ph.D., graduate of the doctoral program in Conflict Analysis and Resolution in the Department of Conflict Resolution Studies in NSU’s College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences (CAHSS) is the Director of Programs at Colorado State University Online. Woods directs online programs in Business, Engineering, and Natural Sciences. He also teaches courses in the graduate certificate program in Conflict Resolution and Mediation, including Multi-Party Conflict Resolution, and Conflict Resolution in the Workplace. In addition to his doctoral degree, he earned his M.B.A. and his B.S. in Business from the University of the Redlands.

Woods said of his Conflict Analyses and Resolution degree from NSU, “Earning my Ph.D. from NSU has served me well in meeting the life goals I established in a time of transition and transformation in 2000.  I have utilized my mediation skills in the courts and in a land dispute in Honduras, as well as every day in the workplace. I continue to grow academically as a lifelong learner utilizing the fantastic research skills gained in the program.”

On February 23, Halmos College biology alumna Veronica Akle ’03 met with biology students and gave a presentation on her research and career path since leaving NSU. Currently an associate professor at Universidad de los Andes, Dr. Akle shared her research with zebrafish and investigating their circadian responses to light in the environment.