Faculty/Staff Newsletter

A new study led by Michael S. Bloom, professor in the Department of Global and Community Health, has found that use of skin care products including lotions, hair oils, hair conditioners, ointments, and sunscreen is associated with higher levels of phthalates in children’s urine.

Across the globe, the number of older adults is rapidly increasing and health care systems are adapting. Students, led by Associate Professor in the Department of Social Work Megumi Inoue, participated in the study abroad program in Japan.

September is Suicide Prevention and Awareness month. Assistant Professor in the College’s Department of Social Work, Daphne King, shares her expertise to continue bringing awareness to suicide prevention and the importance of seeking help if you or someone you know are experiencing mental health challenges or mental illness. 

The call for proposals for the 2025 ASPPH Annual Meeting for Academic Public Health (March 19-21, 2025 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, 2024 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?  If so, nominate them for an award! Nominations are due by October 15, 2024.

Interested in the Fulbright Scholar Program? Click below to find out more information. Application deadline for 2025-2026 is September 16, 2024.

Did you know George Mason is an institutional member of the National Center for Faculty Development and Diversity (NCFDD)? Just go to the website and use your George 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, I wanted to highlight the Faculty Success Program and the Early Career Faculty Workbook. If you would like more information, please just let me know: ctompkin@gmu.edu.

The Faculty Success Program is a comprehensive 10-week intensive designed to empower faculty members with the skills and strategies needed to enhance their productivity, balance their workload, and achieve academic excellence. Participants will learn effective time management techniques, eliminate distractions, and prioritize tasks effectively. Participants will also discover strategies for managing procrastination and overcoming obstacles that hinder productivity.

Participants will be provided tools to set clear and achievable goals, develop a personalized action plan, and track their progress. The spring 2025 session runs from January 27 - April 6, 2025. Click below for more information or you can contact me with any questions: ctompkin@gmu.edu.

If you are an early-career faculty member, please check out the NCFDD Early Career Faculty Guidebook. The handbook contains a plethora of resources, webinars, and advice to guide you through your first years of faculty life! We will review some of these techniques and strategies during our new faculty monthly meetings.

Faculty Annual Performance Reviews for all full-time, tenure-line, and term instructional and clinical faculty are due to your chair/director on Monday, October 7 and will cover the period from August 1, 2023 - July 31, 2024. Please let me know if you have any questions.

Study leave applications for both term instructional faculty and tenured faculty for the 2025-2026 academic year will be due on Monday, October 28, 2024. Please stay tuned for updated information about these programs on the CPH website. 

Click here for more information about study leave for tenured faculty and here for study leave for term instructional faculty.

Faculty Peer Support Virtual Sessions will continue this fall beginning the week of September 9.

The first session will be held on Tuesday, September 10 and the second session will be held on Friday, September 20. All faculty (full-time and adjunct faculty) will receive calendar invites for the fall semester sessions.

These sessions are an opportunity to discuss topics that are top of mind and important to you such as:

Congratulations to CPH faculty for publishing 65 articles this summer! Have a look at the wide range of outstanding contributions that our faculty have made.

Open access articles are viewed three times more often than non-open access content!

GMU partners with Springer, PLOS, Wiley, and Cambridge University Press to help you publish your next manuscript with Open Access at reduced or no cost. These agreements include PLOS Digital Health and PLOS One, subscription journals under a hybrid model, the Cambridge Prism series, (e.g., Plastics and Global Mental Health). The Springer journal list is extensive.  

Read more about GMU Open Access agreements here.  

Blackboard and Canvas courses are organized differently.
Discover the adaptations you’ll make when working with Canvas course organization (2:30 minutes).

Training, Support and Events:

This combination course includes information on how to respond to an Active Threat situation and provide first aid to large-volume bleeding. Participants will gain hands-on experience with how to use a tourniquet and provide first aid to someone who is bleeding.

You will also learn the RUN-HIDE-FIGHT response to an Active Shooter situation. This class also offers participants the ability to ask what-if questions as they pertain to Active Threat situations. This class is open to Faculty, Staff and Students. To register, contact rsr@gmu.edu for more information.

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 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! 

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.

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. 

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)

September 27, 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

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

Confirmed Speakers:

Melissa Perry, Dean of the College of Public Health – Moderator

Tim Nanof, VP of Policy and Government Affairs, American Nurses Association

Corey Feist, CEO, Dr. Lorna Breen Foundation

Samantha Koehler, Senior Health Policy Advisor for U.S. Senator Tim Kaine

Danielle Smith, Social Worker, Executive Director, National Association of Social Workers - Ohio Chapter

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 is back again for a new semester of healthful, departmental competition. 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! Each week, the individual with the highest weekly number of steps will be acknowledged in the CPH newsletter along with a report of unit standings. 

Report your steps no later than 12:00 pm on the Monday after each Monday-through-Sunday challenge week. 

The first week of walking was last week, September 2 - 8.
Report your steps by 12:00 pm Today, September 9.
This week's steps report due by 12:00 pm on Monday, September 16.

Bookmark this link to report your Fall semester 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 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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