Faculty/Staff Newsletter

A new study led by Raedeh Basiri in the Department of Nutrition and Food Studies used new methods to help individuals with prediabetes who had obesity and overweight lose weight without following a weight-loss diet. The study didn’t focus on a reduction in calories or an increase in physical activity. Instead, it focused on healthy eating and personal goal setting based on how the body responds to different types of foods. 

September 17, 2024 | 11:30 am - 12:30 pm | Multipurpose Room
Breakfast in the Dean's Conference Room | 10:00 am - 11:00 am
Optional lunch to follow

Title: "More than One Plus One: Syndemics in an Aging
and Unequal World"
Presenter: Denise Burnette, PhD

Burnette is the Samuel S. Wurtzel Professor of Social Work at VCU. Her research focuses on global topics, including health and psychosocial problems and related service needs of older populations in resource-constrained settings. 

Learn more about our speaker.

Please mark your calendars for the two CPH faculty meetings scheduled for the Fall, 2024 semester:

Tuesday, October 1, 2024 | 10:30 am - 12:00 pm | Virtual
Thursday, December 12, 2024 | 2:00 pm - 3:30 pm | Virtual

More details are to come from faculty council.

George Mason’s Faculty Success Workshops address key issues central to faculty development and success. This year-long series is a collaboration between Faculty Affairs and Research Development Service.

Each virtual workshop is mentored by experienced faculty and staff at George Mason. The goal is to have productive conversations and leave with concrete strategies and understandings of effective practices that can be tailored to the needs of George Mason’s faculty. Faculty from across disciplines and fields of study are welcome to attend. Please register!

In preparation for the second CPH Climate Survey, we will be sending out a brief Pulse Survey by the end of the September. In our ongoing commitment to fostering an inclusive and welcoming environment, we invite you to participate in a CPH Pulse Survey in September and a CPH Climate Survey in November. We will use the results to inform guidance and programs offered to faculty, staff and students. Please contact Cathy Tompkins, ctompkin@gmu.edu with any questions.

The Faculty Peer Support Sessions will start on Friday, September 20. Full-time faculty and adjunct faculty should have a calendar invite with the Zoom link. 

This is a time to bring any issue that is on your mind and to provide peer support to your colleagues. If you need additional information, please contact Cathy Tompkins, ctompkin@gmu.edu. Each faculty peer support session will begin at 8:00 am. 

The fall 2024 dates are as follows:

Wednesday, September 18, 2024 | 3:00 pm – 4:00 pm | HUB Ballroom

All faculty and staff are invited to join a Town Hall discussion with President Gregory Washington.

Did you know George Mason is an institutional member of NCFDD?

Just go to the website and use your Mason email address to create an account. There is a plethora of resources, webinars and trainings that you may find beneficial! I will try to pull information from NCFDD frequently. 

This week's highlight:

This week, I wanted to highlight the Fall 2024 14-Day Writing Challenge.  This is an opportunity for you to experiment with daily writing, online community, and supportive accountability.

The call for proposals for the 2025 ASPPH Annual Meeting for Academic Public Health (March 19-21 in Arlington, VA) is open. Submissions for innovative ideas, promising and emerging practices, practical solutions, and experiences in addressing challenges and opportunities in graduate and undergraduate academic public health are welcome. The call for proposals is open until Friday, October 11 at 11:59 pm PT. Visit the call for proposals page for more information and to begin a submission.

Do you have a research hero?
Help Wiley identify and recognize research heroes by nominating yours by October 15!

The CPH Office of Research supports research in a variety of ways, including providing research professional development support for faculty.

Departments will receive $2000 per research faculty member to support travel to research conferences and/or publication fees.  

Ask your department chair how you can access these funds. 

As part of our initiative to develop CPH’s research mentoring, we have invited Joya Misra to deliver training sessions to junior and senior faculty.

Misra is a professor at U-Mass who has participated in NIH- and NSF-supported mentor trainings and is an experienced mentor-trainer in the research space. She promises to deliver interactive, discussion-based sessions to junior and senior faculty in separate sessions.  

Post-tenure Faculty: October 7, 10:15 am - 11:30 am
Pre-tenure Faculty: October 7, 12:30 pm -1:30 pm

Please locate the calendar item in your mailbox, RSVP, and plan to attend!  

Are you going up for tenure or promotion? GMU is offering new trainings on measuring and describing research impact! 

Learn about traditional metrics and new approaches to assessing scholarly communication, such as altmetrics, open access, and public impact.  

Register to attend online on September 30, 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm or October 1, 10:00 am - 11:00 am.

Virginia Geriatric Training & Education (GTE) Initiative  
The Virginia GTE Initiative seeks to advance training for the development of a creative, well-informed workforce that will serve the special interests of older Virginians.  
Deadline: October 1, 2024

NLM Information Resource Grants to Reduce Health Disparities and Promote Health Equity  
Deadline: December 13, 2024

Honorlock will replace Respondus Lockdown Browser as the University’s remote test proctoring service. Honorlock combines live proctors with AI proctoring software to maintain academic standards. Additional features include detecting cell phone use, blocking AI extensions, and searching the internet for leaked test questions.

Honorlock is available in Blackboard; consider transitioning before you migrate to Canvas. Watch an overview of Honorlock and learn more about Honorlock for Instructors.

Members of staff council will be visiting as many staff and administrative faculty offices as possible in the week of September 23 with a goody bag and information about the process of ratifying our bylaws and the call for nominations to serve on staff council.

We will also have cookies – both regular and vegan/gluten free options!

Stay tuned for our fall event coming in November – we will include more information in a future CPH newsletter.

If you have any questions or want to learn more about staff council, contact Allie (Allison) McKay at amckay4@gmu.edu

September 19, 2024 | 9:30 am - 1:00 pm | Zoom
September 20, 2024 | 9:00 am - 3:00 pm | Johnson Center

The Stearns Center for Teaching and Learning at George Mason University invites you to join us for the 16th annual Innovations in Teaching & Learning (ITL) conference!

Registration closes Tuesday, September 17 at 11:59 pm EST, so we encourage you to register early. Whether you are new to George Mason or a past participant, this year’s ITL conference has a lot to offer! 

Note: RSVP link requires George Mason email login

Employees across all professional industries are stressed, even to the point of burnout. The Leading Thriving Organizations certificate program will teach you tools, frameworks, and strategies for building individual well-being and establishing a thriving organizational culture that prioritizes health and well-being.

The application deadline is Friday, September 20, 2024. 

The DC Public Health Case Challenge aims to promote interdisciplinary, problem-based learning around a public health issue that faces the local Washington, DC, community. Universities in the DC area that have a school or program of public health form teams consisting of 3-6 members from at least three disciplines.

2024 Board Topic: "Mental health and substance use disorders in Washington DC"

University team rosters are due Monday, September 23, 2024. 

Contact for more info:

Debora Goldberg (dgoldbe4@gmu.edu)
Evelyn P. Tomaszewski (etomasze@gmu.edu)
Eman Elashkar (eelashka@gmu.edu)

October 4*, 2024 | 12:00 pm | Virtual
November 1, 2024 | 12:00 pm | Virtual

CPH Virtual Lightning Talks are back for the fourth consecutive year!  

More information will be provided soon! If you have any questions, please contact Cathy Tompkins, ctompkin@gmu.edu.
 
To access the recordings from previous Lightning Talks, please go to:  https://publichealth.gmu.edu/lightning-talks

*New date!

October 8, 2024 | 12:30 pm - 3:15 pm | Zoom

Registration is now open for the free, virtual Healthcare Disparities Conference. This year’s theme is, “A Call for Commitment,” exploring the evidence and value of sustaining health equity efforts.

October 9, 2024 | 5:30 pm - 7:00 pm | Peterson Multipurpose Room

Exploring Policy Options to Support the Health, Safety, and Well-Being of Healthcare Workers

The panel discussion will delve into critical policy changes aimed at enhancing the health, safety, and well-being of health care workers. Before the panel discussion, we will host a reception at 4:30 pm EST, where you will have the opportunity to engage with our students, faculty, and fellow speakers.

The CPH Steps Challenge results for the first week of walking have been tallied! 

OSA is first out of the gate as leading unit and Lee Black logged the most steps as an individual walker.

We have been asked if adjuncts, GRAs, and wage, etc., employees can participate and the answer is: Yes! 

All CPH employees can join in. (Note: you will likely notice a variation in number totals in the next report chart as these added employees are newly factored into the calculations; however, all remains proportional.)

Participants may walk anywhere, anytime, within the weekly time frames, counting their steps, and then report their CPH unit affiliation along with the steps they’ve walked.

At the end of the semester, the unit with the most steps (proportionally) will be awarded a prize and take the trophy! Report your steps no later than 12:00 pm on the Monday after each Monday-through-Sunday challenge week. 

Report September 9 - 15 steps by 12:00 pm Today, September 16.
Bookmark this link to report your steps and get stepping!

Every Thursday | 12:00 pm - 12:30 pm | Peterson Lobby  

Walk with your CPH colleagues! Get updates or schedule an impromptu walk through our walking group on MS Teams.

Every Tuesday | 12:00 pm | Peterson 2800  

CPH yoga is returning on Tuesdays beginning tomorrow, September 17. You are welcome to stay for as much or as little of the class as you are able and we hope to see many of you there! If you have any questions, please contact Cathy Tompkins.

PUBLICHEALTH.GMU.EDU

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