Monthly Memo, Feb. 12

Monthly Memo from the Desk of
Interim Dean Beverly A. Sullivan

88th Edition
Feb. 12, 2009

A Message from Interim Dean Sullivan

Interim Dean Beverly A. Sullivan

The semester is really flying by! Students and faculty have settled into their classes and are hitting their stride. The college as an academic body is focused on the tasks at hand and is determined to do its best but still save time to participate in some of the great "extras" we have to offer. For example, on February 13th, the college hosted its 3rd Annual Interdisciplinary Seminar with keynote speaker Wendy Gozansky, M.D., M.P.H., a geriatrician from the University of Colorado Medical Center. This year's subject was "Sex and the Senior" and involved a full day of presentations and panel discussions attended by over 100 people from the UW campus and the Laramie community. On February 19th, the college and the Wyoming Institute for Disabilities hosted an afternoon with Anne Marie McCarthy, M.D., a developmental pediatrician who led a discussion on the clinical management of children with attention deficit, hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Another spring highlight will be the 15th Annual Research Day to be held on March 27th in the Family Room of the Wyoming Union. This year's invited speaker is Patricia Butterfield, Ph.D., Professor and Dean of the College of Nursing at Washington State University, who will present "Logistic, Spatial, and Cultural Implications Addressing Rural Research: Lessons Learned." I look forward to seeing many of you at these events that will provide depth and richness to our academic home. I'm sure you will walk away with new knowledge, insights, and pride in the achievements of our students and faculty.

Did You Know?

The President's Society is the premier leadership giving circle for alumni, parents, faculty, staff, and friends of UW giving $1,000 or more to UW on an annual basis. Members of the President's Society enjoy exclusive privileges, including special communications concerning major UW initiatives and invitations to private UW events. But more importantly, members of the President's Society commit annually to the College of Health Sciences. Show your passion for Wyoming, higher education, and the role Wyoming's university plays in shaping our world; join the President's Society today. To give online please visit www.uwyo.edu/giveonline or contact Virginia Cole (vcole@uwyo.edu) to receive a pledge form in the mail.

News from the Divisions
Spring Graduation/Grad Fair
A two-day Grad Fair is scheduled for Thursday, March 5th from 10:00 am until 5:00 pm and Friday, March 6th from 9:00 am until 1:00 pm in the Yellowstone Ballroom in the Wyoming Union. During the event that is sponsored by the University Bookstore, the Office of the President, and the Alumni Association, students will be given a commencement checklist and the opportunity to receive valuable information and/or purchase everything they will need for commencementat one time, in one place!

Kinesiology & Health (K&H)
Congratulations are in order for Jayne Jenkins, Associate Professor, who will be among 14 candidates to be inducted as Research Consortium Fellows at the American Alliance Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (AAHPERD) convention and exposition in Tampa, Florida, early in April. Attainment of fellow status is one of the most prestigious are selected based on evidence of scholarship, including research presentations and publications. According to Research Consortium President Gilmour Reeve, "Research Consortium Fellows demonstrate an ongoing commitment to research and a high level of achievement in their field." Jayne's research interests include teacher knowledge development in the context of peer coaching, contributors to physical activity preferences of university students, and sport education in the physical education setting. She also serves on committees and programs in K&H, UW, and the college.

K&H faculty continue their impressive participation in national conferences and symposiums. Tami Benham-Deal, Associate Professor, will present "The Role of 21st Century Schools in Promoting Health Literacy" at the meeting of the National Education Association being held in Washington, DC, and Matthew Bundle, Assistant Professor, will speak about "Mechanical Limits to Human Running Speed during the Contemporary Practice Symposium at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas. Derek Smith, Assistant Professor, will deliver two papers"Disseminating Evidence-based Physical Activity Programs: Lessons Learned from the Field" at the annual meeting of the American College of Sports Medicine in Seattle, Washington, and "WALK to Wellness on the Web: Effect of Internet-delivered Physical Activity Programs on Inflammation and Oxidative Stress"at the Sports, Cardiovascular, and Wellness Nutritionists' 25th Annual Symposium in Scottsdale, Arizona. During the annual conference of the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development in Orlando, Florida, Tena Hoyle, Assistant Professor, and Todd Bartee, Associate Professor, will speak about "Community Development to Support the Whole Child and Improve Schools." Tristan Wallhead, Assistant Professor, and Jayne Jenkins, Associate Professor, will present two posters"University Students' Perceptions of P.E. Effects on Physical Activity" and "Teacher Progress and 4th Grade Students' Learning in the Tactical Approach"during the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance Convention in Tampa, Florida.

UW now has an Adult Wellness Program for faculty and staff. The newly created program, developed by K&H in partnership with Campus Recreation, uses educational sessions to highlight all components of wellness, with an emphasis on physical activity. During the physical activity part of the program, student interns, coordinated and supervised by Gary Werhonig, Associate Lecturer, gain first-hand experience working with adults in a fitness setting. For more information, please contact Gary (307-766-53630 or Werhonig@uwyo.edu.)

Jeani Walker from Lyman, Wyoming, who will earn her bachelor's degree in May, has been admitted to the master's program and has received a graduate assistantship in athletic training in the College of Physical Activity and Sport Sciences at the University of West Virginia.

"Change in Parental Influence on Children's Physical Activity Over Time," by Brandon Alderman, Assistant Professor, and Associate Professors Tami Benham-Deal and Jayne Jenkins, will soon be published in the Journal of Physical Activity and Health. 

Communication Disorders

Teresa Ukrainetz, Professor and Division Head; Cathy Ross, Clinical Instructor; and Heide Harm, a former graduate student, look forward to the publication of their article"An Investigation of Treatment Scheduling for Phonemic Awareness with Kindergartners at Risk for Reading Difficulties"scheduled to appear in Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools.

The Scottish Rite Childhood Language Clinic (SRC) in Cheyenne has supported the division for a number of years with training opportunities for graduate students in speech-language pathology. Each fall under the supervision of clinic director Cindy Anderson, a UW graduate, two graduate students participate in a two-day community clinical providing speech-language services to children. This past fall, Jessie Boss and Brittany Messerlie were honored during the annual SRC Christmas party with stipends for their work. In addition to its training opportunities, last spring the SRC initiated three $1,000 graduate scholarships to be awarded on the basis of academic merit, service contributions, and personal investment in the betterment of Wyoming.
"Babbling, Chewing, and Sucking: Oromandibular Coordination at 9 Months," by Roger Steeve, Assistant Professor, was published in a recent issue of Speech, Language and Hearing Research.

Mary Hardin-Jones, Professor, and Teresa Garcia, Associate Lecturer, were appointed by Governor Dave Freudenthal to three-year terms on the state's Board of Speech Pathology and Audiology. The mission of the board is to safeguard the health, safety, and welfare of the citizens of Wyoming by ensuring that individuals licensed to provide speech, pathology, and audiology services in the state are truly qualified. 

Student Affairs
UW's chapter of Alpha Epsilon Delta (AED), in conjunction with the National Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Society, will initiate Laramie's first ever MS Walk on Saturday, March 28th. AED is the national honorary society for students interested in pursuing careers in professional health care, including medicine, dentistry, optometry, physical and occupational therapy, and physician assistant. MS is an auto-immune disease that affects one of every 400 people in Wyoming. There is no clinical explanation for MS and there is no cure, but current research is making progress in finding the cause and the cure. AED is looking for sponsors, donations, and/or teams for the walk. For more information, please contact Chase Stonecipher (cstoneci@uwyo.edu).

Social Work
With UW's winter term option offered by the Outreach School, social work students and faculty went to Guam in early January. Mona Schatz, Professor and Division Director, and Kelli Larsen, Assistant Professor, accompanied 11 undergraduate and graduate students on their study-abroad experience during which they learned about the impacts of colonialism on Guam and explored issues related to the island's status as a U.S. territory. They also became acquainted with Guam's social programs and visited with local social workers. Because of the success of the trip, the division will plan another winter abroad course for 2010.

School of Pharmacy
Daniel Hagermon, a P1 student from Powell, was the 2008 winner of the James Orr Willits Ethics Essay Competition, which is cosponsored by the colleges of Health Sciences and Arts and Sciences. Daniel received $1,500 for his essay "Conscientious Objection: Retention of Personal Values" written in response to this year's topic "Is It Morally Permissible for a Pharmacist to Refuse to Dispense a Prescription Based on His/Her Personal Values?"

Fay W. Whitney School of Nursing (FWWSON)
Eight nursing faculty and 60 students attended Legislative Days for Nursing in Cheyenne on January 26th and 27th. During the session, which was sponsored by the Wyoming Nurses Association and supported by the FWWSON, the group heard discussions of bills dealing with the state's health issues, visited with members of the Labor, Health, and Social Services Committee, and attended a legislative reception. All participants agreed that this was an exciting time to participate in the state's legislative arena and voice opinions about health concerns facing Wyoming.

Jones & Bartlett recently published the seventh edition of Chronic Illness: Impact and Intervention co-edited by Pamala Larsen, Professor and Associate Dean.

Pharmacy
UW's pharmacy graduates are some of the best in the nation. Forty-three of the 46 2008 graduates completed the national licensure examination, and all 43 passed the exam the first time they took it. Fourteen graduates (33%) were in the top 15% of the 9,011 national candidates, and one of our graduates was one of the 77 national candidates who scored 100%. Furthermore, the school's average on the exam was 11.48, compared to the national average of 112.08. The School of Pharmacy is justly proud of its students and the success of its teaching faculty.

Posted on Thursday, February 12, 2009