The Fall semester was filled with a lot of activity within the College. We hosted the first College affinity night. This event brought together students, faculty and staff to enjoy food and camaraderie in a fun and competitive atmosphere. Congrats to Phi E K for winning the inaugural CHS cup! We also continue to highlight the exceptional work and engagement of our students and faculty at local, national, and international levels. Finally, I am thankful to continue to serve and lead the students, faculty, and staff in the permanent role as Dean of the College of Health Sciences. Together, we will continue to prepare and inspire health leaders and professionals through collaborative and innovative approaches to education, research and community service.
Enjoy the holiday season and have a prosperous new year!
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Scott Heinerichs, Dean, College of Health Sciences
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Welcome Dean Heinerichs!
Following a national search, Dr. Scott Heinerichs was named Dean of the College of Health Sciences.
Congratulations, Scott!
Read more about Scott's experience and background–
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The College of Health Sciences held the first annual
All College Event
in October. It was a great success and LOTS of fun with student groups competing for the coveted CHS Trophy!
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"I feel fortunate to be a part of the College of Health Sciences
because the college consists of many caring and kind people wanting
to see each other succeed."
–
Student Response
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Center for Contemplative Studies
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On October 13, the Center hosted Dr. Peggy Fuhs as part of the Center’s Saturday Seminar Series. Dr. Fuhs is the Director and co-founder of The Institute for Therapeutic Touch and Integrated Modalities in Paoli PA Her topic, “
Investing in Subtle Energy
”, incorporated interactive healing techniques. This “Hands-on” event was well received by the audience!
CCS also hosted a meditation under the stars event, “
Looking Up: Fall Stars Evoke Wonder
” at the Maher Planetarium on October 10. Dr. Karen Schwarz, planetarium director, and Dr. Chris Moriconi, CCS co-director, coordinated the event
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Communication Sciences & Disorders (
CSD)
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The WCU Chapter of the National Speech-Language-Hearing Association (NSSLHA) sponsored the annual “
Art with a Heart”
event on November 6. The event, which started as a capstone project for a former CSD student, has become an annual event for our NSSLHA Chapter and features an assortment of art created by local artists, local individuals with communication disorders, and NSSLHA students. Attendees participate in a silent auction for the art objects as they enjoy refreshments, musical entertainment, and a slide show and speaker from the featured charity. Attendees also had the opportunity to win raffle baskets with a number of themes, including the ever-popular basket of Speech Language Pathology clinical practice materials.
Proceeds from the 2018 event supported “Serving at the Crossroads,” a local charity that supports the Manos Amigas Clinic in Honduras.
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Dr. Aaron Roman presented his research as part of a panel discussion at the World Congress of Audiology in Cape Town, South Africa on October 30, 2018. Aaron spoke on a panel assessing how newborn hearing screenings are implemented across the world. His research, entitled
Assessing the Implementation of a Universal Newborn Hearing Screen: A Single-State Perspective
,
analyzed Pennsylvania’s adherence to national screening guidelines, as well as deficits in its implementation.
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Dr. Cheryl Gunter was the speaker for the Centennial Anniversary Celebration of Omega Chapter of Gamma Phi Beta at Iowa State University. She was the International Historian for Gamma Phi Beta for 17 years (1995-2012) and authored the official history book of the Sorority, “The Legacy of Gamma Phi Beta: Love-Labor-Learning-Loyalty.” Dr. Gunter also received the “Outstanding Sorority Alumna” award for both Central Iowa and the Greater Philadelphia Area. As a follow-up, she received an invitation to create comparable presentations for a Golden Anniversary Celebration of Gamma Phi Beta at the University of Northern Iowa.
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MPH Community Health Track student Linda Kusi and B.S. Public Health student Alissa Schroeder participated in the 2018 London Simulation of the World Health Organization at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine in London, UK. The topic of this year’s conference was “Improving the Health of Women, Children, and Adolescents”. The conference simulates the WHO Assembly with students and professionals writing a position paper and participating in debate and discussion as delegates representing either a country, non-profit agency, or the media. Linda and Alissa participated as delegates of Liberia and Zimbabwe respectively. All resolution documents were passed on to the WHO Headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland for commentary. Dr. Chiwoneso Tinago served as their faculty adviser at the conference
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Dr. Chiwoneso Tinago was awarded the 2018 National Role Model New Faculty Researcher Award by Minority Access Inc.at the annual Minority Access National Role Models Conference. The conference assembles high achieving innovators, recruiters, researchers, faculty, administrators, students, mentors and alumni, as well as institutions that have been exemplary in producing minority researchers. The aim of the
National Role Model awards
is to identify inspirational role models in various categories for others to emulate, and thereby increase the pool of scholars and professionals who will find cures for illnesses, solve technological problems or address social disparities in society.
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Dr. Sharon Bernecki DeJoy and her BS in Public Health student intern, Tatiyanna Minsk, along with a community-based organization, were awarded the
Innovative Teaching Award
sponsored by the Association of Teachers of Maternal Child Health. The team from WCU is partnering with Onkwehon:we Midwives Collective at the Mohawk Nation of Akwesasne to develop an educational training module:
Public Health & Maternal Child Health Competencies for Indigenous Community Health Workers
. The proposed project is designed to train Akwesasne community members to become aboriginal midwives. A critical foundation is the educational module on community and public health, which will be developed by the WCU team. The Mohawk Nation of Akwesasne is in the St. Lawrence Valley at the northern border of New York State with Canada.
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CONGRATULATIONS
Dr. Gopal Sankaran, shown here as he is presented the Distiguished Section Service Award by Dr. Laura Altobelli, Chair, American Public Health Association International Health Section, at the Annual Meeting in San Diego.
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Kinesiology faculty and students presented their work, and were recognized at the
Mid-Atlantic Chapter
American College of Sports Medicine
Conference in Harrisburg in November.
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CONGRATULATIONS!
Interim Associate Dean
Dr. Melissa Reed has been elected President of the Mid-Atlantic Regional Chapter for the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) for a three year term. Dr. Reed’s election was announced in November at the chapter meeting in Harrisburg.
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CONGRATULATIONS!
Dr. Melissa Whidden has been granted fellow status by the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) ACSM fellows are members who have achieved distinction through significant contributions to academic and professional practice knowledge. Whidden’s appointment was announced at the national meeting in 2018 in Minneapolis. Dr. Whidden also serves as secretary to the Mid-Atlantic Regional Chapter of ACSM.
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Student presenters James Hauser and Matthew Simcox
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Student presenters Peter Greenland and Elizabeth Schultz
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Dr. Ken Clark and his students Sabrina Mangeri, Tyler Whitacre, Lance Brooks, Sabrina Murphy, Joseph Sweeney
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Lance Brooks, a first-year Master's student in the MS in Exercise and Sport Science program, mentored by Dr. Ken Clark, won first prize in the university-wide Research Day Oral Presentation Contest last week.
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Nursing students administered flu shots to homeless residents during a food bank at the First United Church of Christ in Spring City. Students are juniors: Dana Ercolani, Sami Zarett, Bryce Yanni, Mary Cansfield, Jillian Weimer, Kaycee Pitt, Olivia Embleton.
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Students in the Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) program presented at the
Pennsylvania Coalition of Nurse Practitioner's Conference
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DNP students Shannon Romano, MSN, DRNP and Karen Detweiler, MSN, ANP-BC
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CONGRATULATIONS!
Dr. Cheryl Schlamb (center), the newly elected President of the PA Coalition of Nurse Practitioners
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Nursing students presenting poster and podium presentations at the
13th Annual Nursing Research Conference
at Ammon Center Christiana Hospital in November. Shown here are Emily Brady and Molly Hudson presenting on perinatal drug exposure and late outcome.
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Department of nutrition alumni, Logan Leshko, Jessica Dukes, and Alexa Fetter presented their research conducted under the supervision of Dr. Patricia Davidson (
on diabetes) and Dr. Gilboy (
on food insecurity) at the 2018 Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics,
Food and Nutrition Conference and Expo.
Pictured L-R: Dr. Marybeth Gilboy, Logan Leshko, Jessica Dukes, Alexa Fetter, and Dr. Patricia Davidson
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The Lifestyle Nutrition special interest group, along with faculty advisor, Dr. Alessandra Sarcona provided a nutrition workshop with ESL students in October. These are international students who come to WCU to improve their English language skills to be able to attend an American university. They live on campus and have to adjust to American food. Members of the Lifestyle Nutrition group discussed healthy snacks and provided an array of snacks like guacamole, peanut butter and hummus, which were new food items for most of the students and they seemed to enjoy these new flavors!
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In October, the Food Science class took a trip to visit Victory Brewing Company. Zach Miller, one of the quality control team of the company, explained the entire process of beer production. Students observed the behind-the-scene of this fermented food product and enjoyed the beer tasting at the end of the tour.
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Students and faculty from the Sports Medicine Department hosted a dedication ceremony to thank the
Coren family for their generous donation of a class IV laser modality to the WCU Athletic Training Facility. The family and representatives from the university (including President Fiorentino) had a chance to tour the facility and see students working clinically prior to the ribbon cutting ceremony on Homecoming Saturday.
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The Sports Medicine Department hosted 32 students from William Tennent High School and Technical College High School for an athletic training field trip. Students from the Athletic Training Club took the visiting students through a variety of professional and educational activities. Activities included cadaver anatomy observation in the cadaver lab, vital assessment on manikins in the simulation lab, exploring the domains of athletic training in our skills lab, and a tour of the primary athletic training facility where healthcare services to the athletes are provided.
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College of Health Sciences | West Chester University | 610-432-2825 | www.wcupa.edu/chs
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