The CHSS Strategic Planning Committee is excited to announce that the college’s strategic plan is moving forward according to schedule. The most recent draft was shared at two town hall meetings last week (March 20 & 21), where we received significant feedback from various stakeholders. The committee is now working to incorporate this feedback into a final draft.  We will once again provide faculty and staff with the opportunity to share their feedback on the final strategic plan via a Qualtrics survey at the end of April. We would like to thank everyone who participated in the focus groups and college-wide survey last fall, and the town halls this spring. Your participation is crucial.

Below is a timeline of the entire strategic plan project:   

     •Late September 2023 – Conduct faculty, staff, student, and alumni focus groups

     •October 2023 – Administer college-wide Qualtrics survey

     •January-February 2024 – Create initial strategic plan draft

     •March 2024 – Facilitate college-wide Town Hall meetings

     •April 2024 – Revise strategic plan draft; administer college-wide Qualtrics survey

     •May 1, 2024 – Submit final plan Academic Affairs

Again, thank you for your participation and feedback.

                                                                                 CHSS Strategic Planning Committee

CHSS psychology professor Dr. Adam Natoli's work on health equity is being recognized through a grant consortium funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Along with SHSU computer science professor Dr. ABM Islam, Dr. Natoli's work focuses on the development of an AI-powered, multi-lingual smartphone application designed to help reduce mental health disparities in immigrant and migrant communities experiencing language barriers to care. They aim to scale this research for widespread benefit through alliances with community organizations and those providing medical and mental health services. In addition, they are developing educational curricula to promote the responsible and ethical use of AI in scholarship and clinical practice. 

The project, funded through the Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning Consortium to Advance Health Equity and Researcher Diversity (AIM-AHEAD) Program for AI Readiness (PAI) Grant "will advance AI health equity research at SHSU and significantly enhance the standing of SHSU in the realm of groundbreaking AI healthcare research and application," according to Dr. Natoli. 

Read more about their research and the PAIR program here.

More accolades for Dr. Adam Natoli, Assistant Professor of Psychology, after being named the 2024 John E. Exner award winner. The award recognizes and supports the research of younger scholars involved in personality assessment. Natoli is the director of the Multimethod Assessment & Personality Lab (MAPL) where he focuses on how researchers use measurement methods to conduct measurement research, or simply put, he investigates all aspects of "how we measure what we measure." Natoli joins other psychology professors, Dr. Ryan Marek and Dr. Jaime Anderson, who won the award in 2021 and 2018, respectively. 

To what do you attribute your professional successes? 

The continued support I receive from SHSU, "and the support I receive from CHSS in particular, has allowed me to advance my program of research in important ways, and I don't think it's a coincidence that three SHSU [psychology] professors have won this award in the last six years."

Read more about the award and Dr. Natoli here.

Recent Communication Studies (COMS) graduate, Tiffany Venekamp, is the new Executive Director of Family Promise of Lake Houston (FPLH). A Fall 2023 graduate, Tiffany credits her time in the COMS program with helping her gain interpersonal skills and helping her understand how and why people work the way they do. She says her mentors were critical in supporting her and helping her grow her skills during her time at SHSU, skills she now takes into the workplace to do great things. 

If you could give one piece of advice to other non-traditional students, what would it be?

Don't give up but don't feel like you have to do a full-time load or full-time courses to keep moving forward. It's okay to just take 1 - 2 classes a semester. Every class you finish is one step closer to finishing.

Read the full interview here.

World Languages and Cultures (WOLC) study abroad student, Anthony Amaya, says his time in Costa Rica provided him with a whole new point of view. The opportunity to take core courses in another country represents a strong feature of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences' outreach. Students from a variety of majors can learn key competencies along with majors from other SHSU colleges, in ways not possible in a traditional classroom. Adding these core skills to his double major in Criminal Justice and Finance, through this study abroad experience, is a benefit that employers often recognize as a preferred skill in new hires. 

How was your experience with the culture?

It was definitely a bit different considering I come from a Mexican household, and there's some similarities and some differences between the Mexican and Costa Rican cultures. There are different food styles in how they cook things, but luckily our host was a bit of an older woman who was very sweet and reminded me a lot of my grandma. She and I grew kind of close and I communicated as best I could with her. 

Read the full interview here.

Are you a master communicator with a flair for marketing? Do you thrive in a fast-paced environment where creativity meets strategy? Look no further! Our exciting opportunity for a Marketing and Communications Coordinator is a perfect match for your skills and aspirations. Your Bachelor's degree in Marketing, Mass Communication or relevant field, coupled with two years professional experience will serve as the foundation for your success. 

As a Marketing Coordinator, you'll oversee marketing initiatives, craft compelling content for publication, and curate engaging social media posts. You will have the opportunity to highlight CHSS success stories while also serving as a liaison to CHSS departments and Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) for team projects. If someone you know has experiences in higher education related to humanities and social sciences and experience in project management, please encourage them to apply today!

CHSS Blood Drive with Gulf Coast Regional

1901 Ave J Donor Coach, 12:00 PM - 4:30 PM

The College of Humanities and Social Sciences in collaboration with Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center will host a mobile blood drive. Just one blood donor can help save up to three lives! Remember to eat, drink, and bring your ID. Appointments preferred, walk-ins welcome. Schedule your appointment here.

2024 Joan Coffey Memorial Lecture Guest Talk: "Making Race in the Early French Atlantic" with Dr. Mélanie Lamotte

Academic Building IV, Olson Auditorium, 12:00 PM

Dr. Mélanie Lamotte (University of Texas at Austin, Department of History and French) discusses the making of race in the early French Atlantic. Her research focuses on the French colonial world, with an emphasis on Guadeloupe in the Caribbean, French Louisiana, Senegal, and Isle Bourbon, in the South-West Indian Ocean.

College of Humanities & Social Sciences Classroom Experience Forum

Newton Gresham Library Room 106, 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM

Academic Affairs and the Dean of Students' Office invites you to the Classroom Experience Forum. As requested by faculty, this session will provide a space to share your classroom experience and classroom management concerns, and ultimately, to begin to develop solutions. 

Communication Studies Research Talk

CHSS Room 330, 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM

The Department of Communication Studies invites you to the first of its Research Talks discussing the faculty's current research projects. Scholars from all disciplines are encouraged to attend if they are interested in learning about research or collaboration.

Academic Affairs Distinguished Staff Awards Ceremony

Lowman Student Center, White Ballroom, 3:00 PM - 4:00 PM

Winners of the 2024 Academic Affairs Distinguished Staff Awards will be announced during the ceremony. Light refreshments will be served.

Guest Talk: “Black Eugenics and the Politics of Reproduction" with Dr. Ayah Nuriddin

Medical and Health Humanities Speaker Series

Attend via Zoom (registration required), 4:00 PM

Dr. Ayah Nuriddin (Princeton, Department of African American Studies) discusses the relationship between black eugenics and the politics of reproduction. Her research examines how African Americans navigated questions of racial science, eugenics, and hereditarianism in relation to struggles for racial justice in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

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