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Matter of Fact
CEHS Holds Celebration of Scholars
On April 4, 2017, CEHS held its Celebration of Scholars at the Erickson Alumni Center. The celebration included a student research poster fair, Faculty ED Talks and a keynote speaker.
The event featured a keynote speech from Dr. Sara Goldrick-Rab, a professor of higher education policy and sociology at Temple University and the founder of the Wisconsin HOPE Lab. Goldrick-Rab discussed points from her book, “Paying the Price: College Costs, Financial Aid and the Betrayal of the American Dream.” The book addresses the shortfalls of the financial aid system, and in her speech, Goldrick-Rab offered her insights and potential solutions for those shortfalls. Goldrick-Rab’s presentation was sponsored by the Ron V. Iannone and Family Keynote Speaker Endowment.
Those who gave Faculty ED Talks, brief research presentations focused on relevant issues in education and human services, were Dr. Sara Anderson, Dr. Carla Brigandi, Dr. Stephanie Lorenze, Dr. Nathan M. Sorber and Dr. Jessica Troilo.
The student poster fair included undergraduate and graduate students who conducted research projects, capstone projects, master's theses or dissertation research. Monetary prizes were awarded to students with outstanding presentations.
Supporting Student Diversity
Dr. Karen Rambo-Hernandez, an assistant professor in the Department of Learning Sciences and Human Development, has been awarded a five-year, $2 million grant from the National Science Foundation to improve the classroom experiences for all students in engineering and computer science. The project, in collaboration with scholars from Colorado State University, aims to continue an initiative that fosters inclusion among engineers and computer scientists.
Unlike other similar programs for first-year engineering students that focus only on keeping diverse students in engineering, Rambo-Hernandez’s program seeks to educate all students about the importance of diversity. In this way, Rambo-Hernandez and her team hope to encourage students from different backgrounds to stay in the field while also preparing all students to be productive team members in their future careers.
Of the $2 million received, WVU will be allotted $750,000 to implement the program in its engineering and computer science courses.
Jasper N. Deahl Awards 2017
The five recipients of the 2017 Jasper N. Deahl Awards were recognized at the CEHS Alumni Dinner on May 5, 2017. The awardees were Eleanor Green, Eric Kincaid, Eric Murphy, Candace Rotruck and Richard Walls.
Green earned her bachelor’s in social work and master’s in counseling from WVU. She earned her substitute teacher’s certification and was later hired as a reading interventionist, a position she has held ever since.
Kincaid is a biology teacher at Morgantown High School. He earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in science education from WVU and his EdD from Walden University.
Murphy is a health educator and psychotherapist. He attended WVU for his master’s degrees in community health promotion and community counseling.
Rotruck earned her associate’s degree from Potomac State College and her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in physical education and special education from WVU.
Walls earned his bachelor of science in math and biology education, and his master of arts in guidance and counseling from WVU. He received his doctorate in educational psychology from Pennsylvania State University.
Camp Gizmo
From July 8 through July 12, 2017, graduate students in speech-language pathology volunteered with Camp Gizmo, a hands-on camp where professionals, parents and students use assistive technology to help young children with significant and multiple developmental needs.
The camp, housed on the campus of the West Virginia Schools for the Deaf and Blind, in Romney, W.Va., assigns teams of trained professionals to young children and their families to identify and apply new strategies for solving the children’s multiple assistive technology needs. The goal is to find new ways for the children, many of whom are non-speaking, to communicate.
CEHS has been involved for nearly two decades through the efforts of Clinical Assistant Professor Karen Haines, who incorporates the Camp Gizmo experience into her curriculum. All CEHS participants are involved in daily labs to discuss and implement strategies for the children.
CEHS Welcomes New Faculty
CEHS welcomed four new faculty members at the start of the fall semester (left to right).
Frankie Tack, MS, AADC, CCS, NCC will serve as the addictions minor coordinator and clinical assistant professor in the Department of Counseling, Rehabilitation Counseling and Counseling Psychology. She has worked and taught in the addictions field for over 20 years and is a West Virginia Certified Advanced Alcohol and Drug Counselor and Certified Clinical Supervisor.
Elaine Schwing will serve as a master teacher and clinical instructor for WVUteach. She holds both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from WVU.
Natasha Murray-Everett, PhD, advanced from the role of visiting professor to the role of assistant professor in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction/Literacy Studies. She holds her doctorate from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Derek Headley, PhD, CCC-SLP, will serve as an assistant professor of speech-language pathology, splitting his time between teaching dysphagia and voice at Allen Hall and supervising master’s level clinicians in clinical practice at J.W. Ruby Memorial Hospital. Headley earned his doctorate from Florida State University in 2013, where he specialized in adult swallowing disorders.
Clinical Rehabilitation and Mental Health Counseling Program Earns Accreditation
The Clinical Rehabilitation and Mental Health Counseling program earned dual accreditation in clinical rehabilitation counseling and clinical mental health counseling from the Council for Accreditation of Counseling & Related Educational Programs (CACREP). The program will be fully accredited for the next six years, through October 2023.
Only 24 programs in higher education across the United States successfully completed this joint review process. As a result of the process, the program’s graduates will be eligible for hire in key federal programs that require graduation from a CACREP-accredited program for employment in numerous mental health clinics and substance abuse programs.