Dr. Mindy Tait was awarded the Christian R. and Mary F. Lindback Distinguished Teaching award at the 2023 Commencement.
Dr. Candace Robertson-James was recognized for her outstanding contributions to service with the Distinguished Faculty Service Award.
Dr. Meredith Kneavel was presented with the Distinguished Faculty Scholarship Award at the Celebration of Faculty Achievements this spring.
Communication Sciences and Disorders
Evelyn R. Klein, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, BCS-CL, James M. Mancinelli, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, and Ryan S. Husak, Ph.D., CCC-SLP published the 4th edition of their textbook: Acquired Language Disorders: A Case-Based Approach, Plural Publishing.
Dana Bitetti, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, Amanda Santarlas, M.S., CCC-SLP, and Maureen Costello, Ph.D. CCC-SLP published an article in the Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups entitled Clinical Supervision Postpandemic: Providing a Continuity of Care and Supervision Using Zoom in the University Clinic Setting.
Dana Bitetti, Ph.D., CCC-SLP published an article in the Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups entitled Accuracy of Undergraduate Students’ Language Sample Analysis in Online and Face-to-Face Courses.
Ryan S. Husak, Ph.D., CCC-SLP and colleagues published Joint Decision-Making Communication in Spouses Affected by Aphasia in the journal Topics in Language Disorders.
Ryan S. Husak, Ph.D., CCC-SLP and colleagues published an article in Aphasiology entitled: A Systematic Review of Aphasia Therapy Provided in the Early Period of Post-Stroke Aphasia.
Evelyn R. Klein, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, BCS-CL, Cesar Ruiz, SLP.D., CCC-SLP, BRS-S, and colleagues presented a talk at the PSHA Convention entitled: Strategies that Work for Teens with Selective Mutism.
James M. Mancinelli, Ph.D., CCC-SLP & Meagan Muhlig presented the PSHA Convention on the topic of LGBTQ+ People Who Stutter: Managing Multiple Stigmas and Social Identities.
Ryan S. Husak, Ph.D. CCC-SLP, Gabriella Magazzeni, `23, M.S.`24, and colleagues presented a talk at the PSHA Convention entitled: Using Montessori-Based Interventions for Decreasing Response Behaviors in Individuals with Dementia.
Emily Beals, `24, and Sophia Bosacco, `24, presented a poster at the PSHA Convention entitled: ‘I Have Something to Say’: How People with Aphasia Initiate Topics.
Arianne Martin, `24, presented a poster at the PSHA Convention entitled: Should SLPs Address Communication Difficulties Related to Sexuality and Intimacy.
Kaitlyn Young, `24, received a meritorious award from PSHA and an invitation to participate in the ASHA PROGENY program for her research on nursing students’ knowledge, skills, and attitudes for caring for patients with aphasia.
Nursing
In April, Sheldon D. Fields, Ph.D., RN, CRNP, FNP-BC, AACRN, FAANP, FNAP, FAAN, visited campus for a talk titled “How to Be Antiracist in Nursing.” Dr. Fields discussed the history of African-American nurses in the field and how changes have been made.
In November, students, faculty, and community members joined together to engage in a Poverty Simulation in which students learned from the perspective of being in a family what it is like to be in an impoverished situation, receive services from various agencies, and live a month in poverty. The simulated “community” took place in atrium of Benilde with services surrounding the ‘homes’ of the families/ students including a bank, school, grocery, employment office, and more.
Mary Wilby was recently inducted into the Centennial School District Academic Hall of Fame, an honor reserved for those alumna have gone on to significant success in life and have made outstanding contributions in academia, athletics, or in the arts.
In the fall, Fran Kinder, Ph.D., presented her work on Advanced Practice Nurse Faculty Role Perception in collaboration with Daisy Sherry, Ph.D., from Lewis University at the Advanced Practice RN Midwestern Conference. Improving performance on NCLEX is always at the top of our faculty’s minds.
Laurie Chapman, a MSN student who is studying to become a PMH Nurse Practitioner, was recently awarded the Delaware Coalition of Nurse Practitioners’ Education Scholarship award for her work in the community and her proposed DNP project on Trauma Informed Spiritual Care which she has used to train leaders in faith communities to identify and respond to those traumatized in their care using Trauma Informed Care Principles. Her proposal focuses on increasing implementation of Trauma Informed Care in clinical and community settings while improving outcomes for agencies and facilities.
Chantel Branco, ’23, Post MSN to DNP graduate, was awarded the Circle of Excellence Award 2022 from Lehigh Valley Medical Center.
Sharon Mingo, ’23, Post-MSN to DNP graduate, published Understanding pre-entry baccalaureate nursing students’ academic failure: Applying Kübler-Ross’s stages of grief in Teaching and Learning in Nursing.and Learning in Nursing.
The first Post-BSN to DNP LaSalle/FJT Nurse Anesthesia Class of 19 students graduated in January 2023.
Nutrition
The Nutrition program began a 5-year BS/MS Coordinated Program in Dietetics. The creation of the program and admittance of students is ahead of the Jan. 1, 2024 requirement from the Commission on Dietetic Registration of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics that a graduate degree and addition coursework and supervised practice will be required to earn the RDN credential.
Robin Danowski presented two talks, Step Up Your Game: How To Get The Job You Always Wanted and Using Innovative Thinking to Achieve Your Career Goals and Advance the Profession at the Pennsylvania Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Annual Meeting and Expo.
CP and DPD students were recognized at an end of the year awards ceremony highlighting their achievements. The Outstanding DPD Student was awarded to Theresa Richardson. The Shining Star award was presented to Kyra Baldassarra. The Undergraduate Academic Award was presented to Brenna Lane Tucker.
Master’s Coordinated Program students presented on topics of fiber and whole grains, healthy snacking on the go, get the fats straight, and the power of portion sizes to students at Bala Cynwyd Elementary School.
Students provided mini nutrition lessons on heart health, healthy eating on a budget, journey to joint health, and hydration to seniors through lessons which included games, videos, and handouts during the Senior Center Health Fair at Journey’s Way.
Public Health
The Public Health program received a 7-year re-accreditation from the Council on Education for Public Health after an extensive report submitted by the department and a site visit in November. The program has continued it’s passport program with participation from students in all areas of engagement including professional development, campus activities, education and scholarship, outreach, research, and civic engagement.
Candace Robertson-James, Ph.D., read and shared her book, Reflections of Me, to third grade students at Kliptown Youth Program in South Africa.
Dan Rodriguez, Ph.D., published a new paper, Area under the Curve as an Alternative to Latent Growth Curve Modeling When Assessing the Effects of Predictor Variables on Repeated Measures of a Continuous Dependent Variable in the journal Stats.
John Taylor, Ph.D., presented at the Association of American Colleges and Universities on the topic of “Do you see us? Black Males Navigating Higher Education: Strategies To Help Educators Connect Better and Improve Retention Rates with Black Males.” He was also a keynote speaker for the Momentum Conference Black Men and Boys Series in Prince George County, Department of Family Services, Domestic Violence and Human Trafficking Division.
Meredith Kneavel, Ph.D., published a chapter on Stretching Those Statistics Muscles: Teaching Tips in a Compendium in Teaching and an article on Headgear safety attitudes among women’s lacrosse stakeholder’s in the Journal of American College Health. She also published an app and online manual for teaching cognitive psychology (#Cognitive Game Day App).
BSPH and MPH students were recognized at an end of the year awards ceremony highlighting their achievements.
The MPH Student Leadership Award was presented to Mary Gutierrez-Marte. The Outstanding Capstone Award was presented to Katie Dunleavy for her Capstone project titled Abortion Misinformation and Stigmatization: An Examination Following the Reversal of Roe vs. Wade. The Outstanding Practicum Award was awarded to Maya Nelson. The Graduate Academic Award was presented to Christopher Packard. The leadership award was presented to Madison Lewis and the outstanding service award was presented to Grace Neeld. The Best Overall Student Award was received by Abou Diabira and the Shining Star Award was awarded to Ryan Keen. The Undergraduate Academic Award was presented to the student with the highest GPA, Deja Basley.