"Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) recently doubled as a classroom for a group of WCU Environmental Health students. As part of their occupational safety class coursework, 17 juniors and seniors visited PHL’s warehouse to see how the lessons learned in school are applied to the workplace."

Dr. Lorenzo Cena (Health) took his students to a busy warehouse at Philadelphia International Airport to learn more about occupational safety, and practice a mock accident investigation.

Graduate Assistant and undergraduate Nutrition student volunteers provided a fueling program for WCU student-athletes all year. They also held several cooking demonstrations.

WCU hosted the Northeast Atlantic Sport Psychology (NASP) conference. Dr. Lindsey Keenan (Sports Medicine), Dr. Selen Razon (Kinesiology), and Dr. Margaret Ottley (Kinesiology) coordinated the event and welcomed over 50 professionals and students from across the northeast region to learn and to network in the sport psychology profession.

WCU Adapted Physical Activity Wednesday Night Program sponsored a "Spread the Word to End the Word" campaign in which our undergraduate students signed and took a pledge to Spread the Word Inclusion and Spread the Word to End the Word. The campaign focused its first 10 years on addressing a particularly powerful form of exclusion: the use of the word ‘retard(ed)’. In 2019, Spread the Word to End the Word became Spread the Word, with a focus not just on the elimination of a word, but on the creation of a new reality– inclusion for all people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

For the past two years, Dr. Kimberly Johnson (Nutrition) has been working on a campus-wide, plant-based health promotion with colleagues Dr. Jeanie Subach (Nutrition), Dr. Ashlie Delshad (Political Science), Dr. Bradley Flamm (Sustainability Office) and undergraduate students Lorraine Fischer (Sustainable Food Systems Management major), Alexis Acey (Geography), and graduate student Natalie Murphey (MSCN program). The Eat a Plant, Save the Planet project was funded by the Allen Foundation. Students created an interactive StoryMap page of local plant-based meals, created a map and flyer of information, hosted poster and recipe contests, created a digital recipe book of WCU participant recipes, created a plant-based educational video available to the public and participated in a plant-based eating workshop in-person in the fall, and a virtual one in April. The educational materials that promote health and sustainability will be hosted on the Office of Sustainability's webpage.

The 2022 WCU National Student Speech-Language-Hearing Association Conference, (NSSLHA) entitled "Telepractice during COVID-19: Student and Professional Perspectives," was held virtually in April. Discussion topics included telepractice, how it was implemented in the speech-language pathology and audiology clinics in the CSD Department at WCU, and effective strategies to overcome the challenges of transitioning clinical services to an online format. Attendees included WCU students (graduate and undergraduate), faculty, and speech-language professionals in the community. Moderators and presenters were WCU faculty and former students.

AS WCU celebrates the recent reclassification as an R2 institution, Dr. Liz Grillo's work is gaining national attention. The R2 designation, given by the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, means the school has "high research activity." To qualify, a school must have awarded at least 20 doctorates during an academic year and have accrued at least $5 million in research expenditures. WCU recorded $6.4 million in research in 2020, is one of only two universities in the State System of Higher Education to be classified as R2. Contributing to that success was Dr. Liz Grillo (CSD) who has been awarded two National of Institutes of Health (NIH) grants totaling $797,000 for her work with teachers, a population at highest risk for developing voice problems. Her work has been featured in newspapers in Detroit, Florida, New York and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

This study, the beginning of a multi-phase research program, combines the expertise of two Principal Investigators (clinical dietetics and food science) to address a chronic illness. It will also involve a multi-disciplinary team including Dr. Dwight Davidson (Health) and Dr. Jeff Harris (Nutrition) as well as an international visiting scholar and scientist (Dr. Hossein Vojoudi). Graduate and undergraduate students will assist with the data collection.

Left: Dr. Amir Golmohamadi, Dr. Patricia Davidson, and Dr. Hossein Vojoudi (international visiting scholar).

The CHS has developed a successful partnership with CVIM in our community. Dr. Patricia Davidson (Nutrition) and Dr. Neil Curtis, (Sports Medicine), along with their students, volunteer their time providing patient care to under or uninsured patients.

The Respiratory Therapy program was recently featured by the Coalition for Baccalaureate and Graduate Respiratory Therapy Education

The Ram Chefs Program doubled in participation and is now a community partner with care coordinator Carousel Connections. Two Ram Chefs achieved independent living, moving into their own apartment, and two more will be doing the same in September. They are able to meal plan, shop, cook, and clean independently.

Students from the Nursing and PA program participated in an interprofessional patient simulated case at the Immersive Learning Center. The case featured a patient who presented to the emergency department in respiratory distress secondary to an asthma exacerbation. PA and Nursing students had to work collaboratively to rapidly assess the patient through history and physical exam, verbalize a treatment plan and demonstrate effective communication skills with each other, the patient, and their family members. Other students participated in simultaneous active observation in the ILC conference room. A beneficial whole group debrief took place following the scenario.

The CHS wrapped up the second cohort year of the Diversity and Inclusion Faculty Learning Community (DIFLC) with a presention by Dr. Josepha Campinha-Bacote, "Addressing Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Social Justice in Learning Environments." The goal of the community is to increase faculty capacity to create more inclusive learning environments. Supported by the CHS Dean's Office, and the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, the community discusses topics such as implicit bias, how to promote dialogue, and how facilitate difficult discussions in the classroom.

Faculty and students from the WCU Environmental Health program participated in the 2022 Girls Exploring Tomorrow’s Technology (GETT) event. GETT began in Chester County in 2001 as a response to the under-representation of young women in the computer and information technology fields. Since that time, GETT has expanded to include students from all around Southeastern Pennsylvania and showcases the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM). GETT is an initiative of the Innovative Technology Action Group (ITAG), a program of the Chester County Economic Development Council.

As part of the 50th celebration, the department has also been hosting alumni from the past 50 years on campus for testimonial recordings and to present as a panel for all athletic training students, reflecting and celebrating 50+ years of athletic training education at WCU.

Left: Dr. Neil Curtis (faculty), John Davis ('79 WCU AT Alumnus), Dr. Lindsey Keenan (faculty), John Moyer ('78 WCU AT Alumnus), and Kevin Hyland ('94 WCU AT Alumnus).

Congratulations to Brynn Myers, Avery Krot, and Ava Sweeney (BS Public Health students) who were awarded a third place finish at the SOPHE 2022 Student Health Edu-thon competition. During SOPHE’s Annual Conference, Student Health Edu-Thon Teams present an evidence-based scenario response that demonstrates their health education specialist competencies, uses of technology, and emerging methodologies. Participant teams create an innovative digital health campaign that addresses a current health education challenge. Brynn, Avery, and Ava, who developed a digital intervention for youth mental health, were coached and mentored by

Congratulations to Sports Medicine students Erin Gilligan, Jessica Schmidt and Montgomerie Weitzel, all were selected for NATA Foundation scholarships!

For an impressive wrap up of the MPH Program year, view the Spring MPH Connections newsletter below.

Congratulations to Collin Oriente, undergraduate senior in the Enviornmental Health program who WON the 2022 AEHAP student research competition. AEHAP sponsors the competition to highlight important environmental health research being conducted by students. He will present his research, “Analysis of the Relationships Between Drinking Water Violation Rates, Income, Race, and Population Size in Pennsylvania Counties” at the AEHAP Student Symposium, and the National Environmental Health Association Annual Education Conference. The award includes $1,000 and up to $1,000 in travel expenses to present his research. This is the second year in a row that a WCU Environmental Health student has been selected for this honor!

Communication Sciences and Disorders student Kara Goodrich debuted with Opera Philadelphia in Verdi's Rigoletto at the Philadelphia Academy of Music! And if her schedule permits, she will also perform at the Slam Poetry & Sing-Off fundraiser organized by CSD student Brigit Corej. The fundraiser will support student scholarship for Estill Voice Courses.