|
| Alumni and Friends,
This semester we have faced unique challenges together and I am proud of the resiliency of our faculty, staff, and students. Last month, in my welcome back message, I asked that we should all look to see what we can do during this semester and not just focus on barriers. I’m proud to say our students, staff, and faculty have risen to the challenge and continued to strive for excellence while showing kindness and patience in trying circumstances. In the latest issue of E-Viewpoints, I hope you take a moment to dive into the stories of how we are adapting in this climate to ensure we are improving and enhancing the human condition.
This semester, we were deeply saddened by the sudden loss of Family and Consumer Sciences Education (FCSE) faculty member Kristie Storms. Kristie had a passion for FCSE, and her colleagues remember her as a bright light who was always willing to help others. She was described as an inspiration to all who met her and one who will leave a lasting legacy with her students and the Family and Consumer Sciences profession.
As the newly appointed Dean, I look forward to a season of growth in the College of Human Sciences and am excited to build connections with our Human Sciences family and friends. As you dive into the stories in this issue, I encourage you to share your latest news and updates.
Go Tech!
Tim Dodd, Ph.D.
Dean
Associate Dean for Administration and Finance
James C. and Kailee M. Young Regents Professor
| |
|  | Dodd Named Dean of Texas Tech College of Human Sciences
After two years as acting and interim dean of Texas Tech University's College of Human Sciences, Tim Dodd is taking the reins in his own right. Dodd will begin his new position as dean of the College of Human Sciences on August 1, 2020.
Dodd also is the James C. and Kailee M. Young Regents Professor of Hospitality Management and director of the Texas Wine Marketing Research Institute at Texas Tech. A New Zealand native, he received his bachelor's degree in education in 1981 from the University of Waikato, then a master's degree in business and a doctorate in consumer economics from Texas Tech.
| |
| | |
|
|  | New Telehealth Equipment Enables State-of-the-Art Research and Services in Texas Tech Family Therapy Clinic
The Family Therapy Clinic, housed in the Community, Family, and Addiction Sciences (CFAS) department, recently received new technology equipment provided by funding from the university and College of Human Sciences to further its telehealth services to clients.
| |  | Gift From H-E-B to Provide Shade Structures to Child Development Research Center Playground
Located in one of the original and earliest areas on Texas Tech University's campus, the Christine DeVitt and Helen Devitt Jones Child Development Research Center (CDRC) playground has seen quite a few changes in its time. Thanks to a generous gift from the H-E-B Tournament of Champions Charitable Trust, children will soon be able to enjoy the playground under a newly shaded area.
| |
| | |
|  | Human Sciences Faculty Remember Late Colleague Kristie Storms
The College of Human Sciences was deeply saddened by the loss of Kristie Storms, an assistant professor of practice in Family and Consumer Sciences Education (FCSE).
Storms had a passion for FCSE, and her colleagues remember her as a bright light who was always willing to help others. She was described as an inspiration to all who met her and one who will leave a lasting legacy with her students and the Family and Consumer Sciences profession.
| |  | Interior Design Program Selected for Texas Tech Alumni Association Excellence Grant
The Interior Design program was selected to receive the 2020 TTAA Excellence Grant for the 2020-2021 academic year. The grant awarded the program $12,000 to use for the purchase of new virtual reality and technology equipment as well as researcher conference travel and registration.
| |
| | |
|  | Student Testimonial: Research Opportunities for Hospitality and Retail Management Students
Mawufemor Yayra Amuzu's passion for Hospitality and Retail Management continues to grow through her research. Since her days as a high school student, she has been passionate about the hospitality and retail management field. This passion led her to pursue a diploma in Hotel, Catering, and Institutional Management (2012), a bachelor's degree in Hospitality and Tourism Management (2015), and now both her master's and Ph.D. in Hospitality Administration.
| |
| | |
|  | Researchers Examining Roles of Obesity, Diabetes in COVID-19 Infection
As the coronavirus began to spread around the globe early this year and its death toll mounted, it became apparent patients with obesity and diabetes faced a disproportionately higher mortality rate.
A $160,000 grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) is supporting an internationally renowned obesity researcher in the Nutritional Sciences department and two colleagues in rapidly exploring why patients with obesity and diabetes are more likely to be affected and whether a simple change might improve their odds of survival.
| |  | Faculty Member, Alumnus Selected in 40 Under 40 for Financial Planning
The Department of Personal Financial Planning is widely recognized as one of the nation's leading financial-planning programs. As the latest evidence, InvestmentNews has selected not one, but two, Texas Tech alumni among its 2020 40 Under 40 honorees.
| |
| | |
 Pandemic Highlights Importance of Giving Children an Early Head Start
Some experts suggest students may have lost as much as a full year's worth of education since the coronavirus pandemic forced closures nationwide in March. Students from lower income families are typically among the hardest hit by the summer slide and, likewise, the transition to online learning throughout the spring was more difficult for families without the necessary technology for it.
Learn More >>
| |  | Pandemic Can Worsen Odds for People Recovering From Addiction
Drug use can increase the risks associated with COVID-19 infection, and at the same time, the social and psychological risks of the pandemic can intensify drug use. George Comiskey, an associate professor of practice and licensed chemical dependency counselor, explains that people often increase alcohol or drug use during times of stress.
| |
| | |
|  | Nutritional Sciences Faculty Awarded Texas Tech Assessment Innovation Grant (AIG)
Associate Chair for Nutritional Sciences Lydia Kloiber, MS, RDN, LD and Department Chair Nikhil Dhurandhar, Ph.D. were recently awarded the Assessment Innovation Grant (AIG) award by the Office of Planning and Assessment at Texas Tech. The award is available to faculty and staff who are actively engaged in assessment activities within their department or unit. The award encourages methodologies that actively improve programs or projects on campus.
| |
| | |
 | First-Year Student's Apparel Designs Chosen for New York Fashion Week
Like every fall, thousands of first-year students arrive at Texas Tech University with big dreams. One student is already making her dreams a reality. At just 18 years old, Jillian Lenae Hackett is an award-winning fashion designer whose work has been chosen for New York Fashion Week.
| |  | From Retail to Aerospace, 2014 Retail Management Alumna Thrives as Corporate Buyer
Bailey McPherson, a 2014 Retail Management alumna, found her passion in the Retail Management degree, leading to dream career. Not only was she intrigued by the course material, but her professor's passion for the curriculum facilitated a great learning environment.
| |
| | |
 Skyviews Restaurant to Host Fall Dinner Series, Lunch Service in Human Sciences
With renovations still underway, the Skyviews Restaurant team is getting creative with its hospitality and food service this semester. Students in the Restaurant, Hotel, and Institutional Management (RHIM) program are offering fresh lunch choices in the Sam's Express kiosk in the Human Sciences building for lunch service each weekday. The highly anticipated Dinner Series has moved to El Centro in the College of Human Sciences.
Learn More >>
| |  | What top financial advisers will tell you about creating a lasting legacy for the important people and causes in your life
Financial planners often urge clients to envision their passing — and its effect on their loved ones. Some clients will avoid the topic and wave off their adviser's repeated attempts to address it. Others will engage in what Russell James, a professor of personal financial planning at Texas Tech University, calls "symbolic immortality" — imagining they will never die.
| |
| | |
 | Early Childhood Education Alumna Melds Teaching and Law Career
2007 Early Childhood Education alumna Samantha Villanueva-Meyer’s degree prepared her for a successful career in teaching and law. Given her love of math and science, Villanueva-Meyer was originally drawn to Texas Tech for civil engineering. However, as she moved forward with her studies, her career path soon shifted to teaching. That's when she chose to switch the focus of her major.
| |  | Student Testimonial: Research Opportunities for Personal Financial Planning Students
Thomas Korankye’s research into student debt is paving the way for better understanding consumer and financial wellbeing. After earning two master's degrees in Finance and Personal Financial Planning, as well as gaining his Certified Financial Planner™ certification, Korankye began pursuing a Ph.D. in Personal Financial Planning at Texas Tech in 2016.
| |
| | |
 Postdoctoral Researcher Earns Coveted USDA Fellowship
Kembra Albracht-Schulte will study how high-intensity interval training, taking fish oil pills and eating fish may help with gut health and lower unhealthy triglycerides. Albracht-Schulte received a postdoctoral grant from the United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA). The highly competitive grant required Albracht-Schulte to put together multiple plans and spell out the impact her research will make on nutrition, physical activity and health.
Learn More >>
| |  | Filling the Gaps: Faculty Work to Increase LGBTQIA Education and Research
Human Development and Family Sciences faculty members are prioritizing conversations surrounding sexuality and gender to help identify gaps in literature. Human Development and Family Sciences faculty are finding ways to increase conversations about important LGBTQIA issues. Whether they are teaching a class or leading a research lab, they finding ways to increase conversations about important LGBTQIA issues.
| |
| | |
|
Improve and Enhance the Human Condition
Make a gift to the College of Human Sciences.
| |
| Do you have a story idea for our next issue? Send any suggestions to the Director of Marketing and Communication: elizabeth.davidson@ttu.edu.
| |
|
|
|
|
|
