Horizons |
Previous | 1 of 12 | Next |
|
small (250x250 max)
medium (500x500 max)
Large
Extra Large
large ( > 500x500)
Full Resolution
|
This page
All
|
W I N T E R 2 0 0 9 - 2 0 1 0 Alumni Magazine of the UNCG School of Health and Human Performance NEW LAB OPENS for STUDY of HEART HEALTH Dance, Theatre and Music to Merge .................................... 3 Three to Form New School Alumni News ....................................................................... 7 New Lab Opens to Study Heart Health ............................... 10 Dr. Joseph Starnes Researchs Exercise and Statins Pilot Program Helps Rural Schools Deliver Services .......... 13 Faculty and Sta! News ....................................................... 14 WWW.UNCG.EDU/HHP elcome to the new year! As we begin the new calendar year, we are planning for an exciting future in HHP! UNCG and HHP have embarked on a new Strategic Plan – one with exciting plans and goals for all of us – spanning 2009-2014. UNCG is committed to continuing to develop itself as a leading university, and you can read about it at http://uncgtomorrow.uncg.edu/plan/ UNCGPlan.2009-2014.pdf. All of us in HHP will be challenged to contribute to these goals. Planning is an ongoing process at the School and departmental levels. You can see our specific goals at http:// www.uncg.edu/hhp/mission.html. The HHP department heads, associate deans and program directors met Jan. 14 for an all-day planning session. We focused on activities to help us meet our strategic plan – sort of an HHP New Year’s resolution! Several projects may interest you: We are reorganizing the HHP Office of Research, under the leadership of Dr. Bill Dudley, Associate Dean (http://www.uncg.edu/hhp/oor/). We are increasing the allotment of research grant funds (buyout funds) that this office and departments each receive to fund some exciting faculty research projects. Dr. Dudley will work with our HHP Faculty Assembly to form a faculty research advisory committee. This group will administer funds for faculty research, grant writing help and other scholarship that fosters the work of our faculty. We have an exciting distance education program that I have mentioned in previous Horizons. On Jan. 1, we organized our departmental distance work into a central HHP W PAGE 2 continued next page Dr. Celia R. Hooper PAGE 3 Office of Academic Outreach, headed by Dr. Jim Eddy, Head of Public Health Education. Dr. Eddy, also our new Director of Academic Outreach, is helping all departments with their distance education (online) projects, including degree completion programs, graduate certificate programs and professional continuing education programs. This office will have an open house soon and project descriptions will be on our website in February. One of our online guest scholars this semester has been Dr. Linda Brady, our chancellor! We are continuing to support faculty and graduate students in their teaching missions. Many will be attending the Lilly South teaching conference and additional teaching conferences and workshops in their own disciplines. The dean’s office is partnering with the UNCG Teaching and Learning Center (http://www.uncg. edu/tlc/) to fund faculty for these projects. Associate Dean Kathy Williams is working with our instructional technologists (we call them our teaching gurus!), Dr. Jane Harris and Ms. Frances Clerk, who help our faculty in best practices in teaching. (http://www.uncg.edu/hhp/oaa/) They, along with Mr. Bill Johnson, our Student Success Coordinator, help students with career counseling, life planning and study skills for success. (http://www.uncg.edu/hhp/ssc/) We continue our wonderful alumni and friends support. They help us to attract the best faculty and the best students. This year we were able to award approximately $80,000 to more than 50 students, in spite of the tough economic picture. This year, HHP partnered with the Department of Athletics to endow a new scholarship award. With the leadership of Dr. Kate Barrett, Professor Emerita, ESS, and Ms. Pat Hielscher ’66, ’70 MSPE, the Celebration of Women in Sport Award was endowed. This award will be given for the first time next year to a female athlete, with preference given to a woman majoring in a department in HHP! And, we are very excited that we have a new HHP Alumni Association, formed with the leadership of Dr. Jo Safrit, ’57. More than 150 people attended this group’s kickoff on New Year’s Eve at the Spartan Spot in the Greensboro Coliseum! Dr. Safrit will be working with the UNCG Alumni Association to form an executive committee, develop bylaws and plan events. All alumni are automatically members – no dues are required. Watch for our fun and educational activities. Any alumni who would like to help with this effort can call the dean’s office and let us know. We hope all of you have a good beginning of the year. In HHP we will be celebrating our staff with a We-Love-Our- Staff Valentine’s luncheon at my home in February. Our alumni association will be sponsoring events on campus, and our Office of Academic Outreach will announce its open house soon. We hope you can join us! Watch the HHP website for news: http://www.uncg.edu/hhp. Dr. Celia R. Hooper, Professor and Dean UNCG Class of 1974, MA The first Girls in Sport Symposium drew nearly 150 athletes, coaches, teachers and community leaders to UNCG in February 2009. Dr. Maureen Weiss, co-director of the Tucker Center for Research on Girls & Women in Sport at the University of Minnesota, was the keynote speaker. Jointly sponsored by the Center for Women’s Health and Wellness and the Department of Kinesiology, the symposium was designed to help promote the positive development of girls and young women through sport and physical activity. In addition to Weiss’ address, it included panel discussions with female athletes, coaches, teachers and community leaders. Teachers, Athletes Bene!t from Girls in Sport Symposium From the Dean continued WWW.UNCG.EDU/HHP Recreation, Tourism, and Hospitality Management has a new department head. Dr. Sevil Sonmez is a professor of tourism management. She has a PhD from Penn State University. Her current research interests include the role of leisure travel in disease prevention, the epidemiological facets of tourism, and the links between the health benefits of tourism and destination sustainability. Her work has been featured at conferences and appeared in tourism and health journals. Sonmez has lived and worked in diverse areas including the United States, Turkey, Cyprus and the United Arab Emirates. Before joining UNCG in 2009, she served on the faculties of Zayed University, the European University of Cyprus, Emory University School of Medicine, Arizona State University and Penn State University. SONMEZ TO LEAD RECREATION, TOURISM, AND HOSPITALITY MANAGEMENT Sonmez he Departments of Theatre and Dance will join with the School of Music to create a new unit that will enhance UNCG’s performing arts programs. The new organization – tentatively called the School of Music, Theatre and Dance – will create a “vibrant and thriving” performing arts unit at the university. Dr. John Deal, who is UNCG’s music dean, will remain dean of the reconfigured school. Oversight for Aycock Auditorium and the University Concert & Lecture Series will be transferred to the new school from the Division of Student Affairs. Chancellor Linda Brady and Provost Dean Perrin have appointed a committee to identify and address the organizational and administrative issues related to the transition. Members of this transition committee include Dance Department faculty members Jan Van Dyke and Jill Green. The initiative will rename UNCG’s School of Music, which was founded in 1921. The effective date for implementing the change is July 1, 2010. Based on fall 2008 figures, merging the three academic units will assemble a full-time faculty of 88, who will teach an enrollment of 1,042 — 800 undergraduates and 226 graduate students. The Department of Dance will bring 12 full-time faculty, 22 graduate students and 122 undergraduate majors to the reconfigured school. This change has been discussed for several years, most recently in 2007-08 by the Campus Arts Committee, which brought in two consultants. The committee and the consultants proposed strategies to raise the visibility of the university’s arts programs. Combining the performance resources of the School of Music and the Departments of Theatre and Dance is expected to encourage new and larger private gifts, essential for facility enhancements. The HHP community will miss our academic relationship with the wonderful students, faculty and staff in the Dance Department, but we are excited about our friends’ new venture. And until new facilities are made available, the Dance Department will physically remain in the Rosenthal wing of the HHP Building. Dance Department to Join New School of Music, Theatre & Dance T PAGE 4 PAGE 5 he Therapeutic Recreation and Inclusive Networks (TRAIN) program at UNCG has been named the best new therapeutic recreation program by the N.C. Recreation & Park Association. The award was announced at a recent meeting of the association’s Therapeutic Recreation Section in Salisbury. Led by Dr. Stuart Schleien, head of the Department of Recreation, Tourism, and Hospitality Management, and Kimberly Miller ’98, MS ’01, TRAIN prepares under-graduate and graduate students to become Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialists with expertise in ensuring the inclusion of participants with disabilities in community recreation programs and services. As inclusion facilitators, they will help recreation agencies welcome and accommodate individuals of varying abilities into all programs. They will serve an important role in increasing the access citizens with disabilities have to activities that promote health and wellness, social relationships, and quality of life. TRAIN is supported by a four-year, $761,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Education. Design work is under way on a planned renovation of the locker room area in the Health and Human Performance building. The $3.24 million project will include upgrades to the general use locker rooms as well as the dedicated locker rooms for team sports. Construction is expected to begin in 2010. The project, funded with facilities fee reserves, includes a new layout for locker rooms, toilet and shower facilities, and new mechanical, plumbing, electrical and HVAC systems. The locker room infrastructure from the 1950s remained after the 1989 renovation. Clark-Nexsen Architects & Engineering of Raleigh has been hired to design the project. TRAIN NAMED BEST NEW THERAPEUTIC RECREATION PROGRAM T LOCKER ROOM TO UNDERGO RENOVATIONS WWW.UNCG.EDU/HHP Spartan men’s basketball has a new home court: the Greensboro Coliseum. In addition to enhancing the student experience, the move is expected to help create a larger community fan base, increase alumni participation and !nancial support, stimulate Greensboro’s economy and lead to greater regional and national recognition for the team. To purchase tickets, call (336) 334-3250 or visit www.greensborocoliseum.com. A NEW VENUE PAGE 6 PAGE 7 Vicki Simmons ‘75, MS ‘84 was named the 2008 Adapted P.E. Teacher of the Year by the Physical Education Association (PEA) of North Carolina Alliance for Athletics, Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (NCAAHPERD). Simmons has been an adapted physical education teacher with Guilford County Schools for more than 10 years, spending the last four years at Gateway Education Center. As the school’s 2008-09 Teacher of the Year, she is an advocate for her students, many of whom have multiple disabilities. The award cited her creativity in finding ways to adapt physical activities and to encourage inclusive opportunities for students with special needs. Simmons often invites individuals and organizations from various levels to Gateway to help them better understand the population for which they develop regulations and policies. Kathy Tritschler ’85 EdD was recently featured in the Fall 2008 issue of the American Association for Physical Activity and Recreation newsletter, PAR for Life. Tritschler is a professor in the Department of Sport Studies at Guilford College in Greensboro. A former Membership and Evaluation Council Chairwoman for the AAPAR, she now serves on the Membership and Evaluation Advisory Committee. She has authored two textbooks and serves on the editorial board of the Measurement in Physical Education and Exercise Science journal, where she is the section editor for the Teachers’ Toolbox/Tutorials. Tritschler received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Wisconsin at Madison and her master’s degree from the University of Arizona. While earning her doctorate at UNCG, she studied with Rosemary McGee, Professor Emerita. Joan Hult ’58 has received the 2009 Anita Aldrich Distinguished Alumni Award from the Indiana University School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation. A scholar and activist who helped chart the course of equality for women in intercollegiate sports, Hult is widely recognized for her behind-the- scenes work in Washington to pass Title IX legislation that gave women equal opportunities in sports and academics at public institutions. As a faculty member at Concordia College in Morehead, Minn., Hult helped establish the Minn-Koda Women’s Intercollegiate Conference, one of the few such conferences in its day. She also is well known for her comprehensive understanding of the history of women’s basketball, and wrote, A Century of Women’s Basketball: From Frailty to Final Four. A professor emeriti at the University of Maryland and author of scores of articles and book chapters in her field, Hult received her bachelor’s of science from Indiana University, her master’s of education from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, and her doctorate from the University of Southern California, Los Angeles. She is in the process of publishing a second book about the history of women’s athletics, has served as a consultant to both HBO and ESPN, and is part owner of an athletic and sport consulting firm. Alumna Honored for Work to Achieve Equality for Women in Sports Photo: Indiana University WWW.UNCG.EDU/HHP Marge Burns ’46 died on June 3. Burns, who earned a bachelor’s degree in physical education from Woman’s College, lived in Greensboro. She received the Distinguished Alumnae Award from the School of Health and Human Performance in 1991. A golfer, Burns was an amateur competitor and teacher for more than 50 years. She holds an unprecedented record of 10 N.C. state amateur titles in the 1950s and ’60s and was named the Carolinas Outstanding Amateur Athlete !ve times. She quali!ed and played in 14 USGA Amateur Championships, six U.S. Opens and nine LPGA Tour events. She was ranked in the Top 10 Women’s Amateur Golfers by Golf Digest Magazine and was inducted into the Carolinas Golf Hall of Fame and the N.C. Sports Hall of Fame in 1984. In 1976, she was the LPGA’s National Teacher of the Year and, over the years, taught many of the area’s top female amateur golfers. Dr. Jacqueline Cimorelli, professor emerita in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, died on Jan. 20, 2009. Dr. Cimorelli joined the faculty in 1977 after receiving her PhD from Penn State University. She served as department head from 1992 to 2002, before retiring in 2005. She authored, Language Therapy: a Complete Cognitive Therapy Program, and was co-author of two signi!cant U.S. Department of Education grants among many other publications and accomplishments. Widely regarded as a master teacher and champion of both students and faculty, she in"uenced the discipline of speech language pathology on state and national levels. Memorial contributions may be directed to: The Dr. Jacqueline M. Cimorelli Scholarship in Communication Science and Disorders, Attn: Sharon Storm Brown, 430 HHP Bldg., P.O. Box 26170, Greensboro, N.C. 27402-6170. Dr. JoAnne Thorpe ’85 EdD died Jan. 15, 2009. She was 77. Thorpe had served as chairwoman of the physical education department at Southern Illinois University – Carbondale, where she coached volleyball and worked to support Title IX legislation. Born in Tampa, Thorpe graduated with honors from Florida State University, before earning a master’s degree at the University of North Carolina and a doctorate from Texas Woman’s University. Thorpe also was involved with pet therapy, taking her two dogs to hospitals and nursing homes twice a week. “She was very outgoing and could easily speak to people of any age,” said her friend Pam Dickens. “That was what always amazed me. She could talk to kids, she could talk to the elderly. There was nothing that she couldn’t break through.” In Memoriam PAGE 8 PAGE 9 Dr. Catherine Ennis ’77 MS, a professor of teacher education and curriculum in the department of Kinesiology, received the Distinguished Alumni Award. Before joining the faculty at UNCG, Ennis taught undergraduate and graduate teacher education courses at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the University of Maryland-College Park, with a focus on preK-12 curriculum theory and development. Recently, she completed a five-year, $1.5 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to design, evaluate and disseminate a science-based approach to elementary physical education. She received her PhD at the University of Georgia. ETHEL MARTUS LAWTHER ALUMNI AWARD In addition, five alumni were honored with the Ethel Martus Lawther Alumni Award. They are: James Worsley ’00, ’03 MS is the recipient from the Department of Recreation, Tourism, and Hospitality Management. James is general manager of the East Park District of Mecklenburg County Parks and Recreation. He has developed therapeutic recreation programs for the homeless and received the 2007 N.C. Recreation and Park Association Young Professional of the Year Award and the 2006 Community Service Award from A Child’s Place. He has also received awards from Big Brothers/Big Sisters of America, and the N.C. Recreation and Park Association and the National Association of County Park and Recreation Officials. Dr. Laura Tallant ’98 MA is the recipient from the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders. Tallant is an audiologist with The Ear Center of Greensboro and has been involved with the clinical education of area audiologists. Her work with adult implant patients has contributed to the Adult Aural Rehab Therapy Group at UNCG. Dr. Sherry Salyer ‘92 is the recipient from the Department of Kinesiology. She has served as president of the North Carolina Alliance for Athletics, Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance. She also has been co-investigator on several funded grant projects at UNC Chapel Hill. Dr. Ellen Essick ‘84, ‘86 MEd, ‘04 PhD is the recipient from the Department of Public Health Education. She is the national school employee wellness manager for Alliance for a Healthier Generation. The Alliance is a joint partnership between the American Heart Association and the William J. Clinton Foundation. She served as president of the Eastern Trial HIV Consortium in 2000-03. NCAAHE honored Dr. Essick in 2005 with the College/University Health Educator of the Year Award. She has held faculty positions at UNCG, Greensboro College, Guilford College and UNC Chapel Hill. In addition, she has served as director of prevention, adolescent outreach for the Triad Health Project and has been a master trainer for the N.C. School Health Training Center. Ava Lavonne Vinesett ‘98 MFA is the recipient from the Department of Dance. She has taught internationally, including a six-month residency in Rio de Janeiro and Salvador da Bahia, Brazil. She is a founding and lifetime member of the Chuck Davis African-American Dance Ensemble. Her other notable awards include the Duke Alumni Distinguished Teaching Award and awards from the Durham Arts Council. School of HHP Alumni Honored at Reception The School of Health and Human Performance honored six alumni at the annual Alumni Awards Reception in April. More than 120 faculty, alumni and friends of the school joined the UNCG Chancellor and Provost at the event. NEW LAB OPENS for STUDY of HEART HEALTH octors trying to help patients take care of their hearts often prescribe exercise and drugs known as statins to lower cholesterol. The combination is thought to be effective, but it’s not exactly clear why. PAGE 10 continued next page D PAGE 11 Dr. Joseph Starnes aims to find out – and help adults make more informed decisions about the health of their hearts. Starnes, who earned his PhD at the University of Massachusetts, arrived at UNCG in August 2008 as the head of the Department of Kinesiology. After 23 years as a professor at the University of Texas in Austin, Starnes and his wife wanted to get closer to family and friends in their native Atlanta. He was also looking for new challenges as a leader and a researcher. A little more than a year later, his new cardiac metabolism lab is up and running. He and a small team of student researchers are digging into questions of “heart metabolism and the adaptations that occur in the heart as the result of exercise and being on long-term drug therapy,” he says. Starnes is starting with an intriguing hypothesis: that exercise and statins help protect the heart in different ways, making both of them crucial to heart health under normal and stressful conditions. “Some people think they don’t need to exercise because they’re taking pills,” Starnes says. “Others think that they can skip the pills because they exercise a lot.” The truth might turn out to be more complicated. Starnes’ research so The Department of Exercise and Sport Science has a new name: the Department of Kinesiology. “Most departments comparable to ours are now called kinesiology,” said Dr. Joseph Starnes, a professor and head of the department. “We feel that now is the time to change our name to one that is more universally recognized. While our department is highly respected for its rigorous program, the name Exercise and Sport Science may have put us at a disadvantage in some academic and professional settings.” The word kinesiology is derived from the Greek words kineis and logos. Kineis means to move; and logos means to study. From its early years as a profession devoted almost exclusively to the preparation of physical education teachers and coaches, kinesiology has grown into a multi-faceted academic discipline centered on the study of physical activity. The American Kinesiology Association – www. americankinesiology.org – has taken a broad view of kinesiology as “the academic field that studies physical activity and its impact on health, human performance, society, and quality of life.” Kinesiology is the name now used for similar departments at Penn State University, the University of Texas, the University of Michigan and dozens of other institutions across the country. In 2006, the National Research Council included kinesiology in its classification of research-doctoral programs. “This new name reflects our focus on the study of human movement,” Starnes said. “Whether our scholars describe themselves as exercise physiologists, sociologists or pedagogiests, we are united in our efforts to enhance the quality of individuals’ experiences with movement, sport and exercise.” The department has had a series of names that reflect its evolution. In the decades that followed the institution’s founding in 1891, the department was known at different times as physical culture, physical training and physical education. In 1971, when UNCG created a new school, now known as the School of Health and Human Performance, physical education was one of its four original divisions. The Department of Physical Education was renamed the Department of Exercise and Sport Science in 1989. ESS CHANGES NAME TO KINESIOLOGY continued next page PAGE 9 far indicates that exercise creates valuable proteins in the heart that statins cannot mimic. Similarly, statins create favorable changes in the heart’s chemistry that exercise cannot induce. Ultimately, individuals could give their hearts added protection by taking advantage of both. Using rats as subjects, Starnes and his team hope to have written up some initial findings in early 2010, giving them enough preliminary data for a grant proposal that would expand the work. “We want to understand how exercise and these drugs interact and learn as much as we can about what they can do and can’t do when it comes to protecting your heart.” In the meantime, Starnes is also running another project, funded by the National Institute on Aging, that explores the impact statin drugs have on the lifespan of adults. Statin drugs are prescribed widely by doctors around the world. But they have only been used since the 1980s and are now known to have far-reaching effects apart from reducing cholesterol. Using lab mice at three sites associated with the National Institute on Aging, Starnes is looking into their impact on overall health and longevity. “There are so many things that need to be explored,” Starnes says of his passion for the connections between physiology and biochemistry. “It will take a long time to get through all of the projects on my list.” PAGE 12 fifth-grader listens intently as his speech-language pathologist reads from a nonfiction book the boy has chosen. The boy answers “why�� and “which” questions posed by the therapist and soon will have to summarize the story in detail. What is unique is that the boy and his therapist are hundreds of miles apart. The session is part of a TeleSpeech Therapy pilot program that allows speech-language pathologists at The University of North Carolina at Greensboro to help children in eastern North Carolina via videoconferencing. In some parts of North Carolina, particularly rural areas, school districts are struggling to hire qualified speech-language pathologists. TeleSpeech Therapy has shown promise as an effective way to deliver services in such places. “TeleSpeech has provided on-target services for our students,” a school administrator wrote in a program evaluation. “Through videoconferencing, rural school districts are able to service students with limited personnel resources.” Therapists at UNCG’s Speech and Hearing Program sit in front of a high definition camera with an array of materials and peripheral devices. The students face similar cameras and a 38-inch television monitor that allows them to see the speech-language pathologists. The pilot program is working with rural school districts in Perquimans and Northampton counties to deliver treatment that differs very little from face-to-face sessions. A paraprofessional escorts the children to and from therapy and helps manage the on-site materials, student behavior and equipment. TeleSpeech Therapy could help deal with a rising demand for services. The U.S. Department of Labor has predicted an 11 percent increase between 2006 and 2016 in the number of jobs for speech-language pathologists, who diagnose and treat communication disorders. Public schools were already having a hard time filling vacancies in 2006, according to a survey conducted by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. The association which has endorsed the use of TeleSpeech Therapy when distance, impaired mobility or a lack of specialists creates a barrier to services. The response to the pilot program, now in its second year, has been positive. Parents, teachers and school administrators indicated a high level of satisfaction in a survey administered last year. Students have been even more encouraging. A first-grader asked if she could watch “TeleSpeech Therapy” on her TV at home. Another student asked if his treatment sessions could be increased from twice per week to every day. A grant from the Department of Education paid for equipment for the TeleSpeech Therapy Program. Michael Campbell is the director of the Speech and Hearing Program at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and is an AP Associate Professor in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders. He serves on the American Speech- Language-Hearing Association Ad Hoc Committee for Telepractice and is a member of the American Telemedicine Association Telerehabilitation Standards and Ethics Committee. A Pilot Program Helps Rural Schools Deliver Services By Michael Campbell, MS, MBA A speech-language pathologist and student participate in the TeleSpeech Therapy pilot program. PAGE 13 Dr. Leandra A. Bedini, a professor in the Department of Recreation, Tourism, and Hospitality Management, has been elected into the Academy of Leisure Sciences. The selection recognizes her outstanding contributions to the intellectual understanding and advancement of the field. Dr. Catherine Ennis, a professor in the Department of Kinesiology, was named the 2010 Alliance Scholar by the 25,000-member American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance. She will deliver the Alliance Scholar Lecture and make additional presentations at the group’s March 2010 annual convention. She is the president-elect of the alliance’s Research Consortium. Her research focuses on curriculum theory and development in physical education with specific applications to urban schools. Dr. Diane Gill, a professor in the Department of Kinesiology, received the 2009 Distinguished Scholar Award from The National Association of Kinesiology and Physical Education in Higher Education. The award will be presented at the association’s 2009 National Conference. Bill Johnson, the Student Success Coordinator in the School of Health and Human Performance, was the opening speaker for the 2009 Golden Key International Honor Society’s Regional Conference in Richmond. His speech was titled, “Wake up! Start Living Your Dreams Today!” He also presented at the 2009 Lilly South Conference on College and University Teaching. Dr. Susan Phillips, an associate professor of audiology in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, has been accepted into the BRIDGES program. The professional development program helps women in higher education strengthen their academic leadership capabilities. Dr. Stuart Schleien, a professor and director of graduate study in Recreation, Tourism, and Hospitality Management, gave the keynote address at an international autism seminar in Madrid, Spain. His presentation, for therapists and teachers, was titled, “Therapeutic Recreation Programs for People with Autism: Practical Applications.” He also made a second presentation to 75 people who have children with autism. Two faculty members in the School of HHP have received Fall 2008 community-based research grants from The Office of Leadership and Service-Learning. Dr. Sharon Morrison, an associate professor and the director of the Undergraduate Program in Public Health Education, received a grant for her project, “Assessing HIV-Related Stigma in French-Speaking African Immigrant and Refugee Communities.” Joseph Brown, a chef and an assistant professor in the Department of Recreation, Tourism, and Hospitality Management, received a grant for his project, “Sanitation, Food Safety and Hazard Prevention for Community Food Initiatives.” PAGE 14 WWW.UNCG.EDU/HHP PAGE 15 he American Speech-Language- Hearing Association, has named Dr. Robert Mayo a Diversity Champion. Dr. Mayo is a professor and chairman of the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders. He was recognized during the association’s fall convention Nov. 19-21 in New Orleans. During the past two decades, Mayo has mentored more than 200 students of color in the fields of communication sciences and disorders, allied health, medicine, dentistry and the arts. “I have worked with Robert Mayo at two universities, for a total of almost 20 years, and I continue to learn from him and admire him in his mentoring of students,” said Dr. Celia Hooper, dean of the UNCG School of Health and Human Performance, who also worked with Mayo at UNC Chapel Hill. “He helps them learn the culture of the university and how to negotiate academic waters. He has a special passion for those who are underrepresented and helps them with dedication and humor. “Robert is in his sixth year at UNCG, and it is no accident that the student body in our Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders is among the most diverse in the country. Robert Mayo has helped make that possible, one student at a time.” In 2004, Mayo developed the Research Mentoring Program, an inter-institutional initiative between UNCG and two historically black colleges and universities with the goal of enhancing opportunities for students of color to gain admission to graduate and professional schools. Last academic year, he encouraged five undergraduates and six graduate students to submit papers for the 2009 National Black Association for Speech-Language and Hearing convention in Atlanta. All 11 students presented at the convention; two received awards for their scholarship. His recent research has focused on public perceptions of communication disorders and differences – specifically, stuttering, voice disorders and dialects. Additional research has focused on public awareness of stuttering across cultures and modifying attitudes toward persons who stutter. Mayo received his bachelor’s degree from George Washington University, his master’s from The Ohio State University and his doctorate from Memphis State University (now the University of Memphis). He completed a NIH postdoctoral fellowship in craniofacial anomalies at the University of North Carolina Craniofacial Center. T Mayo Honored for Diversity Work NORTH CAROLINA NEWSPAPER SPOTLIGHTS ALUMNA’S PASSION FOR YOGA Mary Lou Buck ’59 wanted a break from the stresses of motherhood when she took her first yoga class in the early 1970s. She ultimately found a lifelong passion – and a pioneering role in her community. The Charlotte Observer recently published a lengthy profile of Buck, a physical education major who studied and taught yoga for years before opening one of the city’s first private yoga studios in the 1990s. A mother of three and an avid swimmer and hiker, Buck told the Observer that her athletic pursuits earlier in her life readied her for fully grasping and sharing the art of yoga. “I was used to movement,” she said. “I had the body knowledge and I felt prepared and could keep my students safe.” With its focus on inner balance, yoga was not well understood or appreciated by most Americans when Buck first took it up. But its popularity, she said, has soared over the past 10 years, attracting millions of adherents in the United States. “A lot of people have come to yoga to deal with stress; they want to exercise but want something a little more spiritual,” she said in the Observer. ALUMNUS QUOTED IN NPR STORY ABOUT EDUCATION The leader of the Washington D.C. schools is looking increasingly to rookie teachers to help in her educational reform efforts. Brian Betts ’89, a principal in the Washington D.C. school system, recently hired a number of new teachers himself. He was interviewed about this in a national story for NPR in March. As principal of Shaw Middle School at Garnet- Patterson in Washington D.C., Betts selected the entire faculty when he took over the school in 2008. WWW.UNCG.EDU/HHP Dr. Linda Buettner, a professor in the Department of Recreation, Tourism, and Hospitality Management, has received a $7,500 grant from The Brookdale Foundation Group to help those with early stage memory loss. The grant supports the creation of the ARROW Club, an innovative program that provides therapeutic and educational activities at the North Campus of Gateway University Research Park in Browns Summit. The program is designed to serve those with mild memory loss, which could be caused by Parkinson’s, brain injury, early stage Alzheimer’s or mild cognitive impairment. Participants will learn techniques to help cope with memory loss and will practice mental and physical exercises that can help delay related symptoms and problems. Recreational therapy faculty and students in the School of Health and Human Performance, as well as local public and non-pro!t agencies, are helping start the program and will continue to play a central role. In other activities, Buettner recently gave a lecture about memory loss. The lecture, “It’s never too early, it’s never too late, to provide therapy for memory loss,” highlighted Buettner’s research on interventions to alleviate the symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. It was sponsored by Friends of the UNCG Libraries. Professor Receives Grant for Memory Loss Program PAGE 16 continued next page PAGE 17 He hired 28 rookie teachers out of 35. He told NPR he wants experienced teachers to serve as anchors and mentors for the younger teachers, and he also wants newer educators who are eager to be measured on their students’ success. PROFESSOR TALKS ABOUT PET THERAPY IN PARADE MAGAZINE When Parade magazine wrote a story about pet therapy, they turned to one of the national experts in the field – Dr. Linda Buettner at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Buettner, a professor in the Department of Recreation, Tourism, and Hospitality Management, was quoted Sept. 6 in the magazine’s story, “The Dog Who Changes Lives.” The story detailed how pet therapy can help nursing home residents, special needs students and even children learning to read. “Part of the magic is the unconditional bond between therapy dogs and the people they visit,” Buettner told Parade. “It doesn’t matter if you have disabilities, can’t read well, or are old and sick — the dog loves and comforts you anyway.” Buettner’s research has shown that working with therapy dogs can improve both the moods and engagement levels of apathetic nursing-home residents. “These people normally refused to do anything,” Buettner says. “But during the visit, they came to life.” Dr. Denise Tucker, a professor in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, has published her !rst mystery novel, Keeping House: A Madame President Mystery. The House Mysteries is a series of seven mysteries, each one taking place in a famous house, villa, or castle around the world. As the !rst book in the series, Keeping House features the White House and the rise of America’s !rst female president. The cover of the book was painted by Greensboro artist Richard Phillips, whose wife, Dr. Susan Phillips, is also a member of the Communication Sciences and Disorders faculty. The campus of UNCG is featured in the beginning chapters of the book, with a scene set outside Aycock Auditorium and the Weatherspoon Gallery. Keeping House is published by Bluewater Press in Florida and can be purchased at the Web site www.bluewaterpress.com or at Amazon.com. You can follow the series at the author’s blog at www.thehousemysteries.typepad.com. Doug Risner ’88, ’90 MFA, has written a book, Stigma and Perseverance in the Lives of Boys Who Dance. The book “investigates the competitive world of pre-professional Western concert dance training and education in the U.S. as experienced and lived by boys and young men, an under-represented population in the !eld,” according to a press release on the book. “Dance, its training and social meanings, has a rich history and long-time associations with gender and gender roles in world culture. While dance in some cultures is seen as an appropriate activity and valid vocation for males, the dominant Western paradigm positions concert dance as a predominantly ‘female’ activity and art form. Through theoretical and narrative approaches, this book illuminates the highly gendered professional dance world as evidenced through the minds and bodies of 75 male adolescents and young adults. The study’s substantial social implications about gender, homophobia, sexual orientation, gendered bodies, and child culture will appeal to multiple readers in dance, arts education, and gender studies.” Michael F. Scotto ’89, the Facilities and Communications Manager in the School of Health and Human Performance, has published an allegorical work, Devon Dibley & His Golden Key. The book has an ethical message and is aimed at young adults. The story follows the adventures of students at a private boarding school in England as they explore an underground world of tunnels and rooms created by an old professor. Young Devon Dibley has discovered this hidden world and has come across a key that will unlock the tunnel that may hold the answers to the others. Each new discovery has meaning beyond what meets the eye. The students are confronted with images from nature, mythology, astronomy and literature - but they must interpret the images they encounter as individuals and simultaneously learn to depend on each other. Weaved into the story are references and allusions to pop culture, history and the author’s life, including places in Greensboro and a name or two from UNCG’s history. The book is available through Amazon.com. THREE WITH HHP TIES PUBLISH BOOKS Media Mentions continued Honors Banquet Awards $82,000 Jessica Shamberger (left), 2008 recipient of the Marge Leonard Scholarship, poses with Gladys and Richard Redner during the banquet last year. She was also among those honored at this year’s banquet. The School of Health and Human Performance held its 2009-10 Honors Banquet on Oct. 29 in the Cone Ballroom. The School gave awards totaling $82,000, at the event. This newsletter and recent issues of Horizons can be viewed online at www.uncg.edu/hhp/horizons. LAWTHER LECTURE FEATURES MARTHA GRAHAM ARTISTIC DIRECTOR The 35th annual Ethel Martus Lawther Lecture, held on Oct. 20, featured Janet Eilber, the artistic director with the Martha Graham Dance Company. Founded in 1926, the company is the oldest, most celebrated modern dance company in the world. It now presents the classic Graham repertory and new choreography in its home city of New York and on tour, featuring an international roster of today’s most talented dance artists. The lecture series is named for the late Ethel Martus Lawther, who was dean of the School of Health and Human Performance for 43 years. PAGE 18
Object Description
Description
Title | Horizons |
Other Title | Horizons (Greensboro, N.C.); UNCG horizons, ; University of North Carolina at Greensboro horizons; |
Date | 2009; 2010 |
Description | winter 2009-2010 |
Digital Characteristics-A | 684 KB; 18 p. |
Digital Format | application/pdf |
Full Text | W I N T E R 2 0 0 9 - 2 0 1 0 Alumni Magazine of the UNCG School of Health and Human Performance NEW LAB OPENS for STUDY of HEART HEALTH Dance, Theatre and Music to Merge .................................... 3 Three to Form New School Alumni News ....................................................................... 7 New Lab Opens to Study Heart Health ............................... 10 Dr. Joseph Starnes Researchs Exercise and Statins Pilot Program Helps Rural Schools Deliver Services .......... 13 Faculty and Sta! News ....................................................... 14 WWW.UNCG.EDU/HHP elcome to the new year! As we begin the new calendar year, we are planning for an exciting future in HHP! UNCG and HHP have embarked on a new Strategic Plan – one with exciting plans and goals for all of us – spanning 2009-2014. UNCG is committed to continuing to develop itself as a leading university, and you can read about it at http://uncgtomorrow.uncg.edu/plan/ UNCGPlan.2009-2014.pdf. All of us in HHP will be challenged to contribute to these goals. Planning is an ongoing process at the School and departmental levels. You can see our specific goals at http:// www.uncg.edu/hhp/mission.html. The HHP department heads, associate deans and program directors met Jan. 14 for an all-day planning session. We focused on activities to help us meet our strategic plan – sort of an HHP New Year’s resolution! Several projects may interest you: We are reorganizing the HHP Office of Research, under the leadership of Dr. Bill Dudley, Associate Dean (http://www.uncg.edu/hhp/oor/). We are increasing the allotment of research grant funds (buyout funds) that this office and departments each receive to fund some exciting faculty research projects. Dr. Dudley will work with our HHP Faculty Assembly to form a faculty research advisory committee. This group will administer funds for faculty research, grant writing help and other scholarship that fosters the work of our faculty. We have an exciting distance education program that I have mentioned in previous Horizons. On Jan. 1, we organized our departmental distance work into a central HHP W PAGE 2 continued next page Dr. Celia R. Hooper PAGE 3 Office of Academic Outreach, headed by Dr. Jim Eddy, Head of Public Health Education. Dr. Eddy, also our new Director of Academic Outreach, is helping all departments with their distance education (online) projects, including degree completion programs, graduate certificate programs and professional continuing education programs. This office will have an open house soon and project descriptions will be on our website in February. One of our online guest scholars this semester has been Dr. Linda Brady, our chancellor! We are continuing to support faculty and graduate students in their teaching missions. Many will be attending the Lilly South teaching conference and additional teaching conferences and workshops in their own disciplines. The dean’s office is partnering with the UNCG Teaching and Learning Center (http://www.uncg. edu/tlc/) to fund faculty for these projects. Associate Dean Kathy Williams is working with our instructional technologists (we call them our teaching gurus!), Dr. Jane Harris and Ms. Frances Clerk, who help our faculty in best practices in teaching. (http://www.uncg.edu/hhp/oaa/) They, along with Mr. Bill Johnson, our Student Success Coordinator, help students with career counseling, life planning and study skills for success. (http://www.uncg.edu/hhp/ssc/) We continue our wonderful alumni and friends support. They help us to attract the best faculty and the best students. This year we were able to award approximately $80,000 to more than 50 students, in spite of the tough economic picture. This year, HHP partnered with the Department of Athletics to endow a new scholarship award. With the leadership of Dr. Kate Barrett, Professor Emerita, ESS, and Ms. Pat Hielscher ’66, ’70 MSPE, the Celebration of Women in Sport Award was endowed. This award will be given for the first time next year to a female athlete, with preference given to a woman majoring in a department in HHP! And, we are very excited that we have a new HHP Alumni Association, formed with the leadership of Dr. Jo Safrit, ’57. More than 150 people attended this group’s kickoff on New Year’s Eve at the Spartan Spot in the Greensboro Coliseum! Dr. Safrit will be working with the UNCG Alumni Association to form an executive committee, develop bylaws and plan events. All alumni are automatically members – no dues are required. Watch for our fun and educational activities. Any alumni who would like to help with this effort can call the dean’s office and let us know. We hope all of you have a good beginning of the year. In HHP we will be celebrating our staff with a We-Love-Our- Staff Valentine’s luncheon at my home in February. Our alumni association will be sponsoring events on campus, and our Office of Academic Outreach will announce its open house soon. We hope you can join us! Watch the HHP website for news: http://www.uncg.edu/hhp. Dr. Celia R. Hooper, Professor and Dean UNCG Class of 1974, MA The first Girls in Sport Symposium drew nearly 150 athletes, coaches, teachers and community leaders to UNCG in February 2009. Dr. Maureen Weiss, co-director of the Tucker Center for Research on Girls & Women in Sport at the University of Minnesota, was the keynote speaker. Jointly sponsored by the Center for Women’s Health and Wellness and the Department of Kinesiology, the symposium was designed to help promote the positive development of girls and young women through sport and physical activity. In addition to Weiss’ address, it included panel discussions with female athletes, coaches, teachers and community leaders. Teachers, Athletes Bene!t from Girls in Sport Symposium From the Dean continued WWW.UNCG.EDU/HHP Recreation, Tourism, and Hospitality Management has a new department head. Dr. Sevil Sonmez is a professor of tourism management. She has a PhD from Penn State University. Her current research interests include the role of leisure travel in disease prevention, the epidemiological facets of tourism, and the links between the health benefits of tourism and destination sustainability. Her work has been featured at conferences and appeared in tourism and health journals. Sonmez has lived and worked in diverse areas including the United States, Turkey, Cyprus and the United Arab Emirates. Before joining UNCG in 2009, she served on the faculties of Zayed University, the European University of Cyprus, Emory University School of Medicine, Arizona State University and Penn State University. SONMEZ TO LEAD RECREATION, TOURISM, AND HOSPITALITY MANAGEMENT Sonmez he Departments of Theatre and Dance will join with the School of Music to create a new unit that will enhance UNCG’s performing arts programs. The new organization – tentatively called the School of Music, Theatre and Dance – will create a “vibrant and thriving” performing arts unit at the university. Dr. John Deal, who is UNCG’s music dean, will remain dean of the reconfigured school. Oversight for Aycock Auditorium and the University Concert & Lecture Series will be transferred to the new school from the Division of Student Affairs. Chancellor Linda Brady and Provost Dean Perrin have appointed a committee to identify and address the organizational and administrative issues related to the transition. Members of this transition committee include Dance Department faculty members Jan Van Dyke and Jill Green. The initiative will rename UNCG’s School of Music, which was founded in 1921. The effective date for implementing the change is July 1, 2010. Based on fall 2008 figures, merging the three academic units will assemble a full-time faculty of 88, who will teach an enrollment of 1,042 — 800 undergraduates and 226 graduate students. The Department of Dance will bring 12 full-time faculty, 22 graduate students and 122 undergraduate majors to the reconfigured school. This change has been discussed for several years, most recently in 2007-08 by the Campus Arts Committee, which brought in two consultants. The committee and the consultants proposed strategies to raise the visibility of the university’s arts programs. Combining the performance resources of the School of Music and the Departments of Theatre and Dance is expected to encourage new and larger private gifts, essential for facility enhancements. The HHP community will miss our academic relationship with the wonderful students, faculty and staff in the Dance Department, but we are excited about our friends’ new venture. And until new facilities are made available, the Dance Department will physically remain in the Rosenthal wing of the HHP Building. Dance Department to Join New School of Music, Theatre & Dance T PAGE 4 PAGE 5 he Therapeutic Recreation and Inclusive Networks (TRAIN) program at UNCG has been named the best new therapeutic recreation program by the N.C. Recreation & Park Association. The award was announced at a recent meeting of the association’s Therapeutic Recreation Section in Salisbury. Led by Dr. Stuart Schleien, head of the Department of Recreation, Tourism, and Hospitality Management, and Kimberly Miller ’98, MS ’01, TRAIN prepares under-graduate and graduate students to become Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialists with expertise in ensuring the inclusion of participants with disabilities in community recreation programs and services. As inclusion facilitators, they will help recreation agencies welcome and accommodate individuals of varying abilities into all programs. They will serve an important role in increasing the access citizens with disabilities have to activities that promote health and wellness, social relationships, and quality of life. TRAIN is supported by a four-year, $761,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Education. Design work is under way on a planned renovation of the locker room area in the Health and Human Performance building. The $3.24 million project will include upgrades to the general use locker rooms as well as the dedicated locker rooms for team sports. Construction is expected to begin in 2010. The project, funded with facilities fee reserves, includes a new layout for locker rooms, toilet and shower facilities, and new mechanical, plumbing, electrical and HVAC systems. The locker room infrastructure from the 1950s remained after the 1989 renovation. Clark-Nexsen Architects & Engineering of Raleigh has been hired to design the project. TRAIN NAMED BEST NEW THERAPEUTIC RECREATION PROGRAM T LOCKER ROOM TO UNDERGO RENOVATIONS WWW.UNCG.EDU/HHP Spartan men’s basketball has a new home court: the Greensboro Coliseum. In addition to enhancing the student experience, the move is expected to help create a larger community fan base, increase alumni participation and !nancial support, stimulate Greensboro’s economy and lead to greater regional and national recognition for the team. To purchase tickets, call (336) 334-3250 or visit www.greensborocoliseum.com. A NEW VENUE PAGE 6 PAGE 7 Vicki Simmons ‘75, MS ‘84 was named the 2008 Adapted P.E. Teacher of the Year by the Physical Education Association (PEA) of North Carolina Alliance for Athletics, Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (NCAAHPERD). Simmons has been an adapted physical education teacher with Guilford County Schools for more than 10 years, spending the last four years at Gateway Education Center. As the school’s 2008-09 Teacher of the Year, she is an advocate for her students, many of whom have multiple disabilities. The award cited her creativity in finding ways to adapt physical activities and to encourage inclusive opportunities for students with special needs. Simmons often invites individuals and organizations from various levels to Gateway to help them better understand the population for which they develop regulations and policies. Kathy Tritschler ’85 EdD was recently featured in the Fall 2008 issue of the American Association for Physical Activity and Recreation newsletter, PAR for Life. Tritschler is a professor in the Department of Sport Studies at Guilford College in Greensboro. A former Membership and Evaluation Council Chairwoman for the AAPAR, she now serves on the Membership and Evaluation Advisory Committee. She has authored two textbooks and serves on the editorial board of the Measurement in Physical Education and Exercise Science journal, where she is the section editor for the Teachers’ Toolbox/Tutorials. Tritschler received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Wisconsin at Madison and her master’s degree from the University of Arizona. While earning her doctorate at UNCG, she studied with Rosemary McGee, Professor Emerita. Joan Hult ’58 has received the 2009 Anita Aldrich Distinguished Alumni Award from the Indiana University School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation. A scholar and activist who helped chart the course of equality for women in intercollegiate sports, Hult is widely recognized for her behind-the- scenes work in Washington to pass Title IX legislation that gave women equal opportunities in sports and academics at public institutions. As a faculty member at Concordia College in Morehead, Minn., Hult helped establish the Minn-Koda Women’s Intercollegiate Conference, one of the few such conferences in its day. She also is well known for her comprehensive understanding of the history of women’s basketball, and wrote, A Century of Women’s Basketball: From Frailty to Final Four. A professor emeriti at the University of Maryland and author of scores of articles and book chapters in her field, Hult received her bachelor’s of science from Indiana University, her master’s of education from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, and her doctorate from the University of Southern California, Los Angeles. She is in the process of publishing a second book about the history of women’s athletics, has served as a consultant to both HBO and ESPN, and is part owner of an athletic and sport consulting firm. Alumna Honored for Work to Achieve Equality for Women in Sports Photo: Indiana University WWW.UNCG.EDU/HHP Marge Burns ’46 died on June 3. Burns, who earned a bachelor’s degree in physical education from Woman’s College, lived in Greensboro. She received the Distinguished Alumnae Award from the School of Health and Human Performance in 1991. A golfer, Burns was an amateur competitor and teacher for more than 50 years. She holds an unprecedented record of 10 N.C. state amateur titles in the 1950s and ’60s and was named the Carolinas Outstanding Amateur Athlete !ve times. She quali!ed and played in 14 USGA Amateur Championships, six U.S. Opens and nine LPGA Tour events. She was ranked in the Top 10 Women’s Amateur Golfers by Golf Digest Magazine and was inducted into the Carolinas Golf Hall of Fame and the N.C. Sports Hall of Fame in 1984. In 1976, she was the LPGA’s National Teacher of the Year and, over the years, taught many of the area’s top female amateur golfers. Dr. Jacqueline Cimorelli, professor emerita in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, died on Jan. 20, 2009. Dr. Cimorelli joined the faculty in 1977 after receiving her PhD from Penn State University. She served as department head from 1992 to 2002, before retiring in 2005. She authored, Language Therapy: a Complete Cognitive Therapy Program, and was co-author of two signi!cant U.S. Department of Education grants among many other publications and accomplishments. Widely regarded as a master teacher and champion of both students and faculty, she in"uenced the discipline of speech language pathology on state and national levels. Memorial contributions may be directed to: The Dr. Jacqueline M. Cimorelli Scholarship in Communication Science and Disorders, Attn: Sharon Storm Brown, 430 HHP Bldg., P.O. Box 26170, Greensboro, N.C. 27402-6170. Dr. JoAnne Thorpe ’85 EdD died Jan. 15, 2009. She was 77. Thorpe had served as chairwoman of the physical education department at Southern Illinois University – Carbondale, where she coached volleyball and worked to support Title IX legislation. Born in Tampa, Thorpe graduated with honors from Florida State University, before earning a master’s degree at the University of North Carolina and a doctorate from Texas Woman’s University. Thorpe also was involved with pet therapy, taking her two dogs to hospitals and nursing homes twice a week. “She was very outgoing and could easily speak to people of any age,” said her friend Pam Dickens. “That was what always amazed me. She could talk to kids, she could talk to the elderly. There was nothing that she couldn’t break through.” In Memoriam PAGE 8 PAGE 9 Dr. Catherine Ennis ’77 MS, a professor of teacher education and curriculum in the department of Kinesiology, received the Distinguished Alumni Award. Before joining the faculty at UNCG, Ennis taught undergraduate and graduate teacher education courses at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the University of Maryland-College Park, with a focus on preK-12 curriculum theory and development. Recently, she completed a five-year, $1.5 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to design, evaluate and disseminate a science-based approach to elementary physical education. She received her PhD at the University of Georgia. ETHEL MARTUS LAWTHER ALUMNI AWARD In addition, five alumni were honored with the Ethel Martus Lawther Alumni Award. They are: James Worsley ’00, ’03 MS is the recipient from the Department of Recreation, Tourism, and Hospitality Management. James is general manager of the East Park District of Mecklenburg County Parks and Recreation. He has developed therapeutic recreation programs for the homeless and received the 2007 N.C. Recreation and Park Association Young Professional of the Year Award and the 2006 Community Service Award from A Child’s Place. He has also received awards from Big Brothers/Big Sisters of America, and the N.C. Recreation and Park Association and the National Association of County Park and Recreation Officials. Dr. Laura Tallant ’98 MA is the recipient from the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders. Tallant is an audiologist with The Ear Center of Greensboro and has been involved with the clinical education of area audiologists. Her work with adult implant patients has contributed to the Adult Aural Rehab Therapy Group at UNCG. Dr. Sherry Salyer ‘92 is the recipient from the Department of Kinesiology. She has served as president of the North Carolina Alliance for Athletics, Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance. She also has been co-investigator on several funded grant projects at UNC Chapel Hill. Dr. Ellen Essick ‘84, ‘86 MEd, ‘04 PhD is the recipient from the Department of Public Health Education. She is the national school employee wellness manager for Alliance for a Healthier Generation. The Alliance is a joint partnership between the American Heart Association and the William J. Clinton Foundation. She served as president of the Eastern Trial HIV Consortium in 2000-03. NCAAHE honored Dr. Essick in 2005 with the College/University Health Educator of the Year Award. She has held faculty positions at UNCG, Greensboro College, Guilford College and UNC Chapel Hill. In addition, she has served as director of prevention, adolescent outreach for the Triad Health Project and has been a master trainer for the N.C. School Health Training Center. Ava Lavonne Vinesett ‘98 MFA is the recipient from the Department of Dance. She has taught internationally, including a six-month residency in Rio de Janeiro and Salvador da Bahia, Brazil. She is a founding and lifetime member of the Chuck Davis African-American Dance Ensemble. Her other notable awards include the Duke Alumni Distinguished Teaching Award and awards from the Durham Arts Council. School of HHP Alumni Honored at Reception The School of Health and Human Performance honored six alumni at the annual Alumni Awards Reception in April. More than 120 faculty, alumni and friends of the school joined the UNCG Chancellor and Provost at the event. NEW LAB OPENS for STUDY of HEART HEALTH octors trying to help patients take care of their hearts often prescribe exercise and drugs known as statins to lower cholesterol. The combination is thought to be effective, but it’s not exactly clear why. PAGE 10 continued next page D PAGE 11 Dr. Joseph Starnes aims to find out – and help adults make more informed decisions about the health of their hearts. Starnes, who earned his PhD at the University of Massachusetts, arrived at UNCG in August 2008 as the head of the Department of Kinesiology. After 23 years as a professor at the University of Texas in Austin, Starnes and his wife wanted to get closer to family and friends in their native Atlanta. He was also looking for new challenges as a leader and a researcher. A little more than a year later, his new cardiac metabolism lab is up and running. He and a small team of student researchers are digging into questions of “heart metabolism and the adaptations that occur in the heart as the result of exercise and being on long-term drug therapy,” he says. Starnes is starting with an intriguing hypothesis: that exercise and statins help protect the heart in different ways, making both of them crucial to heart health under normal and stressful conditions. “Some people think they don’t need to exercise because they’re taking pills,” Starnes says. “Others think that they can skip the pills because they exercise a lot.” The truth might turn out to be more complicated. Starnes’ research so The Department of Exercise and Sport Science has a new name: the Department of Kinesiology. “Most departments comparable to ours are now called kinesiology,” said Dr. Joseph Starnes, a professor and head of the department. “We feel that now is the time to change our name to one that is more universally recognized. While our department is highly respected for its rigorous program, the name Exercise and Sport Science may have put us at a disadvantage in some academic and professional settings.” The word kinesiology is derived from the Greek words kineis and logos. Kineis means to move; and logos means to study. From its early years as a profession devoted almost exclusively to the preparation of physical education teachers and coaches, kinesiology has grown into a multi-faceted academic discipline centered on the study of physical activity. The American Kinesiology Association – www. americankinesiology.org – has taken a broad view of kinesiology as “the academic field that studies physical activity and its impact on health, human performance, society, and quality of life.” Kinesiology is the name now used for similar departments at Penn State University, the University of Texas, the University of Michigan and dozens of other institutions across the country. In 2006, the National Research Council included kinesiology in its classification of research-doctoral programs. “This new name reflects our focus on the study of human movement,” Starnes said. “Whether our scholars describe themselves as exercise physiologists, sociologists or pedagogiests, we are united in our efforts to enhance the quality of individuals’ experiences with movement, sport and exercise.” The department has had a series of names that reflect its evolution. In the decades that followed the institution’s founding in 1891, the department was known at different times as physical culture, physical training and physical education. In 1971, when UNCG created a new school, now known as the School of Health and Human Performance, physical education was one of its four original divisions. The Department of Physical Education was renamed the Department of Exercise and Sport Science in 1989. ESS CHANGES NAME TO KINESIOLOGY continued next page PAGE 9 far indicates that exercise creates valuable proteins in the heart that statins cannot mimic. Similarly, statins create favorable changes in the heart’s chemistry that exercise cannot induce. Ultimately, individuals could give their hearts added protection by taking advantage of both. Using rats as subjects, Starnes and his team hope to have written up some initial findings in early 2010, giving them enough preliminary data for a grant proposal that would expand the work. “We want to understand how exercise and these drugs interact and learn as much as we can about what they can do and can’t do when it comes to protecting your heart.” In the meantime, Starnes is also running another project, funded by the National Institute on Aging, that explores the impact statin drugs have on the lifespan of adults. Statin drugs are prescribed widely by doctors around the world. But they have only been used since the 1980s and are now known to have far-reaching effects apart from reducing cholesterol. Using lab mice at three sites associated with the National Institute on Aging, Starnes is looking into their impact on overall health and longevity. “There are so many things that need to be explored,” Starnes says of his passion for the connections between physiology and biochemistry. “It will take a long time to get through all of the projects on my list.” PAGE 12 fifth-grader listens intently as his speech-language pathologist reads from a nonfiction book the boy has chosen. The boy answers “why�� and “which” questions posed by the therapist and soon will have to summarize the story in detail. What is unique is that the boy and his therapist are hundreds of miles apart. The session is part of a TeleSpeech Therapy pilot program that allows speech-language pathologists at The University of North Carolina at Greensboro to help children in eastern North Carolina via videoconferencing. In some parts of North Carolina, particularly rural areas, school districts are struggling to hire qualified speech-language pathologists. TeleSpeech Therapy has shown promise as an effective way to deliver services in such places. “TeleSpeech has provided on-target services for our students,” a school administrator wrote in a program evaluation. “Through videoconferencing, rural school districts are able to service students with limited personnel resources.” Therapists at UNCG’s Speech and Hearing Program sit in front of a high definition camera with an array of materials and peripheral devices. The students face similar cameras and a 38-inch television monitor that allows them to see the speech-language pathologists. The pilot program is working with rural school districts in Perquimans and Northampton counties to deliver treatment that differs very little from face-to-face sessions. A paraprofessional escorts the children to and from therapy and helps manage the on-site materials, student behavior and equipment. TeleSpeech Therapy could help deal with a rising demand for services. The U.S. Department of Labor has predicted an 11 percent increase between 2006 and 2016 in the number of jobs for speech-language pathologists, who diagnose and treat communication disorders. Public schools were already having a hard time filling vacancies in 2006, according to a survey conducted by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. The association which has endorsed the use of TeleSpeech Therapy when distance, impaired mobility or a lack of specialists creates a barrier to services. The response to the pilot program, now in its second year, has been positive. Parents, teachers and school administrators indicated a high level of satisfaction in a survey administered last year. Students have been even more encouraging. A first-grader asked if she could watch “TeleSpeech Therapy” on her TV at home. Another student asked if his treatment sessions could be increased from twice per week to every day. A grant from the Department of Education paid for equipment for the TeleSpeech Therapy Program. Michael Campbell is the director of the Speech and Hearing Program at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and is an AP Associate Professor in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders. He serves on the American Speech- Language-Hearing Association Ad Hoc Committee for Telepractice and is a member of the American Telemedicine Association Telerehabilitation Standards and Ethics Committee. A Pilot Program Helps Rural Schools Deliver Services By Michael Campbell, MS, MBA A speech-language pathologist and student participate in the TeleSpeech Therapy pilot program. PAGE 13 Dr. Leandra A. Bedini, a professor in the Department of Recreation, Tourism, and Hospitality Management, has been elected into the Academy of Leisure Sciences. The selection recognizes her outstanding contributions to the intellectual understanding and advancement of the field. Dr. Catherine Ennis, a professor in the Department of Kinesiology, was named the 2010 Alliance Scholar by the 25,000-member American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance. She will deliver the Alliance Scholar Lecture and make additional presentations at the group’s March 2010 annual convention. She is the president-elect of the alliance’s Research Consortium. Her research focuses on curriculum theory and development in physical education with specific applications to urban schools. Dr. Diane Gill, a professor in the Department of Kinesiology, received the 2009 Distinguished Scholar Award from The National Association of Kinesiology and Physical Education in Higher Education. The award will be presented at the association’s 2009 National Conference. Bill Johnson, the Student Success Coordinator in the School of Health and Human Performance, was the opening speaker for the 2009 Golden Key International Honor Society’s Regional Conference in Richmond. His speech was titled, “Wake up! Start Living Your Dreams Today!” He also presented at the 2009 Lilly South Conference on College and University Teaching. Dr. Susan Phillips, an associate professor of audiology in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, has been accepted into the BRIDGES program. The professional development program helps women in higher education strengthen their academic leadership capabilities. Dr. Stuart Schleien, a professor and director of graduate study in Recreation, Tourism, and Hospitality Management, gave the keynote address at an international autism seminar in Madrid, Spain. His presentation, for therapists and teachers, was titled, “Therapeutic Recreation Programs for People with Autism: Practical Applications.” He also made a second presentation to 75 people who have children with autism. Two faculty members in the School of HHP have received Fall 2008 community-based research grants from The Office of Leadership and Service-Learning. Dr. Sharon Morrison, an associate professor and the director of the Undergraduate Program in Public Health Education, received a grant for her project, “Assessing HIV-Related Stigma in French-Speaking African Immigrant and Refugee Communities.” Joseph Brown, a chef and an assistant professor in the Department of Recreation, Tourism, and Hospitality Management, received a grant for his project, “Sanitation, Food Safety and Hazard Prevention for Community Food Initiatives.” PAGE 14 WWW.UNCG.EDU/HHP PAGE 15 he American Speech-Language- Hearing Association, has named Dr. Robert Mayo a Diversity Champion. Dr. Mayo is a professor and chairman of the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders. He was recognized during the association’s fall convention Nov. 19-21 in New Orleans. During the past two decades, Mayo has mentored more than 200 students of color in the fields of communication sciences and disorders, allied health, medicine, dentistry and the arts. “I have worked with Robert Mayo at two universities, for a total of almost 20 years, and I continue to learn from him and admire him in his mentoring of students,” said Dr. Celia Hooper, dean of the UNCG School of Health and Human Performance, who also worked with Mayo at UNC Chapel Hill. “He helps them learn the culture of the university and how to negotiate academic waters. He has a special passion for those who are underrepresented and helps them with dedication and humor. “Robert is in his sixth year at UNCG, and it is no accident that the student body in our Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders is among the most diverse in the country. Robert Mayo has helped make that possible, one student at a time.” In 2004, Mayo developed the Research Mentoring Program, an inter-institutional initiative between UNCG and two historically black colleges and universities with the goal of enhancing opportunities for students of color to gain admission to graduate and professional schools. Last academic year, he encouraged five undergraduates and six graduate students to submit papers for the 2009 National Black Association for Speech-Language and Hearing convention in Atlanta. All 11 students presented at the convention; two received awards for their scholarship. His recent research has focused on public perceptions of communication disorders and differences – specifically, stuttering, voice disorders and dialects. Additional research has focused on public awareness of stuttering across cultures and modifying attitudes toward persons who stutter. Mayo received his bachelor’s degree from George Washington University, his master’s from The Ohio State University and his doctorate from Memphis State University (now the University of Memphis). He completed a NIH postdoctoral fellowship in craniofacial anomalies at the University of North Carolina Craniofacial Center. T Mayo Honored for Diversity Work NORTH CAROLINA NEWSPAPER SPOTLIGHTS ALUMNA’S PASSION FOR YOGA Mary Lou Buck ’59 wanted a break from the stresses of motherhood when she took her first yoga class in the early 1970s. She ultimately found a lifelong passion – and a pioneering role in her community. The Charlotte Observer recently published a lengthy profile of Buck, a physical education major who studied and taught yoga for years before opening one of the city’s first private yoga studios in the 1990s. A mother of three and an avid swimmer and hiker, Buck told the Observer that her athletic pursuits earlier in her life readied her for fully grasping and sharing the art of yoga. “I was used to movement,” she said. “I had the body knowledge and I felt prepared and could keep my students safe.” With its focus on inner balance, yoga was not well understood or appreciated by most Americans when Buck first took it up. But its popularity, she said, has soared over the past 10 years, attracting millions of adherents in the United States. “A lot of people have come to yoga to deal with stress; they want to exercise but want something a little more spiritual,” she said in the Observer. ALUMNUS QUOTED IN NPR STORY ABOUT EDUCATION The leader of the Washington D.C. schools is looking increasingly to rookie teachers to help in her educational reform efforts. Brian Betts ’89, a principal in the Washington D.C. school system, recently hired a number of new teachers himself. He was interviewed about this in a national story for NPR in March. As principal of Shaw Middle School at Garnet- Patterson in Washington D.C., Betts selected the entire faculty when he took over the school in 2008. WWW.UNCG.EDU/HHP Dr. Linda Buettner, a professor in the Department of Recreation, Tourism, and Hospitality Management, has received a $7,500 grant from The Brookdale Foundation Group to help those with early stage memory loss. The grant supports the creation of the ARROW Club, an innovative program that provides therapeutic and educational activities at the North Campus of Gateway University Research Park in Browns Summit. The program is designed to serve those with mild memory loss, which could be caused by Parkinson’s, brain injury, early stage Alzheimer’s or mild cognitive impairment. Participants will learn techniques to help cope with memory loss and will practice mental and physical exercises that can help delay related symptoms and problems. Recreational therapy faculty and students in the School of Health and Human Performance, as well as local public and non-pro!t agencies, are helping start the program and will continue to play a central role. In other activities, Buettner recently gave a lecture about memory loss. The lecture, “It’s never too early, it’s never too late, to provide therapy for memory loss,” highlighted Buettner’s research on interventions to alleviate the symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. It was sponsored by Friends of the UNCG Libraries. Professor Receives Grant for Memory Loss Program PAGE 16 continued next page PAGE 17 He hired 28 rookie teachers out of 35. He told NPR he wants experienced teachers to serve as anchors and mentors for the younger teachers, and he also wants newer educators who are eager to be measured on their students’ success. PROFESSOR TALKS ABOUT PET THERAPY IN PARADE MAGAZINE When Parade magazine wrote a story about pet therapy, they turned to one of the national experts in the field – Dr. Linda Buettner at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Buettner, a professor in the Department of Recreation, Tourism, and Hospitality Management, was quoted Sept. 6 in the magazine’s story, “The Dog Who Changes Lives.” The story detailed how pet therapy can help nursing home residents, special needs students and even children learning to read. “Part of the magic is the unconditional bond between therapy dogs and the people they visit,” Buettner told Parade. “It doesn’t matter if you have disabilities, can’t read well, or are old and sick — the dog loves and comforts you anyway.” Buettner’s research has shown that working with therapy dogs can improve both the moods and engagement levels of apathetic nursing-home residents. “These people normally refused to do anything,” Buettner says. “But during the visit, they came to life.” Dr. Denise Tucker, a professor in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, has published her !rst mystery novel, Keeping House: A Madame President Mystery. The House Mysteries is a series of seven mysteries, each one taking place in a famous house, villa, or castle around the world. As the !rst book in the series, Keeping House features the White House and the rise of America’s !rst female president. The cover of the book was painted by Greensboro artist Richard Phillips, whose wife, Dr. Susan Phillips, is also a member of the Communication Sciences and Disorders faculty. The campus of UNCG is featured in the beginning chapters of the book, with a scene set outside Aycock Auditorium and the Weatherspoon Gallery. Keeping House is published by Bluewater Press in Florida and can be purchased at the Web site www.bluewaterpress.com or at Amazon.com. You can follow the series at the author’s blog at www.thehousemysteries.typepad.com. Doug Risner ’88, ’90 MFA, has written a book, Stigma and Perseverance in the Lives of Boys Who Dance. The book “investigates the competitive world of pre-professional Western concert dance training and education in the U.S. as experienced and lived by boys and young men, an under-represented population in the !eld,” according to a press release on the book. “Dance, its training and social meanings, has a rich history and long-time associations with gender and gender roles in world culture. While dance in some cultures is seen as an appropriate activity and valid vocation for males, the dominant Western paradigm positions concert dance as a predominantly ‘female’ activity and art form. Through theoretical and narrative approaches, this book illuminates the highly gendered professional dance world as evidenced through the minds and bodies of 75 male adolescents and young adults. The study’s substantial social implications about gender, homophobia, sexual orientation, gendered bodies, and child culture will appeal to multiple readers in dance, arts education, and gender studies.” Michael F. Scotto ’89, the Facilities and Communications Manager in the School of Health and Human Performance, has published an allegorical work, Devon Dibley & His Golden Key. The book has an ethical message and is aimed at young adults. The story follows the adventures of students at a private boarding school in England as they explore an underground world of tunnels and rooms created by an old professor. Young Devon Dibley has discovered this hidden world and has come across a key that will unlock the tunnel that may hold the answers to the others. Each new discovery has meaning beyond what meets the eye. The students are confronted with images from nature, mythology, astronomy and literature - but they must interpret the images they encounter as individuals and simultaneously learn to depend on each other. Weaved into the story are references and allusions to pop culture, history and the author’s life, including places in Greensboro and a name or two from UNCG’s history. The book is available through Amazon.com. THREE WITH HHP TIES PUBLISH BOOKS Media Mentions continued Honors Banquet Awards $82,000 Jessica Shamberger (left), 2008 recipient of the Marge Leonard Scholarship, poses with Gladys and Richard Redner during the banquet last year. She was also among those honored at this year’s banquet. The School of Health and Human Performance held its 2009-10 Honors Banquet on Oct. 29 in the Cone Ballroom. The School gave awards totaling $82,000, at the event. This newsletter and recent issues of Horizons can be viewed online at www.uncg.edu/hhp/horizons. LAWTHER LECTURE FEATURES MARTHA GRAHAM ARTISTIC DIRECTOR The 35th annual Ethel Martus Lawther Lecture, held on Oct. 20, featured Janet Eilber, the artistic director with the Martha Graham Dance Company. Founded in 1926, the company is the oldest, most celebrated modern dance company in the world. It now presents the classic Graham repertory and new choreography in its home city of New York and on tour, featuring an international roster of today’s most talented dance artists. The lecture series is named for the late Ethel Martus Lawther, who was dean of the School of Health and Human Performance for 43 years. PAGE 18 |
OCLC number | 23815823 |