Faculty/Staff Newsletter

This year at the college's annual National Public Health Week “Conversations and Connections” event, experts explore the health consequences of isolation—and our collective responsibility to address it.

Congratulations to Bethany Cieslowski, Lila Fleming, Daphne King, Kerri LaCharite, PJ Maddox, and MB (Marybeth) Mitcham on being recognized by George Mason University, the Office of the President, and the Stearns Center for Teaching and Learning.

Gilbert Gimm and Melissa Villodas highlight the need for state-level reforms, including Medicaid website accessibility and automatic Medicaid re-enrollment, to protect health care access for foster youth between ages 18 and 26.

Heads up! This week—April 21-27—is the last walking week of the spring challenge!

HAP continues to be in a strong lead with Nutrition & Food Studies in second place. This past week, Pierre Eklou had the most steps for an individual. 

Report April 14 - April 20 steps by midnight today, April 21.

Congratulations to Megumi Inoue on being named deputy editor of Innovation in Aging, a peer-reviewed journal published by The Gerontological Society of America.

Over the next several newsletters, we'll share details about the pilot research projects CPH is supporting.

Limei Chen, Social Work: Her project aims to pilot evidence-based training using virtual reality for nursing home staff, in order to equip them to care for individuals living with dementia. Participants in the pilot will complete pre- and post-training assessments measuring dementia knowledge, relationship-centered care skills, and empathy. The pilot also includes a qualitative component with focus group interviews.

Do you work on topics related to children and childhood? Here are some funders that might interest you:

May 28-29 | 8:30 am -4 pm both days | Register here.

This two-day event—co-sponsored by the Office of Faculty Affairs and Development and Writing Across the Curriculum—offers an active approach to uninterrupted writing time, a chance to learn from our panelists, and a supportive and collegial community of peers to boost your writing productivity. Participants work on a variety of research and creative projects at all stages of completion. View the full schedule.

National Undergraduate Research Week is April 21-25. OSCAR will be at a JC Atrium Kiosk several times during the week and will have several virtual seminars, including How to Get Started in Undergraduate Research, Research Ethics, Research Video Presentations, and a Faculty and Mentor Information session. Learn more and share with your students and colleagues.

The OSCAR Annual Spring Celebration of Student Scholarship and Impact will be held on May 6 in Dewberry Hall. Any undergraduate student who has worked on a project this year is invited to register to present a poster or display of their project. Learn more and encourage your students to present their projects.

Note: due to space limitations, not all events and reminders are listed every week. If you see an event you want to attend, please put it on your calendar.

April 23 | 12 - 12:30 pm | Room 5116

Join the Staff Council to learn more about Excel! 

April 29 | 12 - 1 pm | Zoom

The Department of Nutrition and Food Studies invites you to join it for "Food Allergies," a presentatiom by Dr. Kapllan Sulaj, Visiting Fulbright Scholar with the Dean’s Office, from the Agricultural University of Tirana, Albania.

The lecture will provide information on food sensitivity, focusing more on food allergy as one of the body's immune responses to allergens in food, including the most common food allergens and the incidence of food allergies. Learn about the difference between food allergy, food sensitivity, and metabolic disorders as response reactions in the human body; the classification of allergic hypersensitivity caused by foods; and understand various forms of the body's allergic response and symptoms. Diagnosis of allergies, treatment, and preventive measures will be outlined and cases of food allergies will discussed.

April 29 | 10 am - 2 pm | Population Health Center | Sign Up

Hosted by the Employee Health & Well-Being team within Risk, Safety, & Resilience, the Travel Well clinic provides travelers with a convenient opportunity to get up to date on routine vaccines and receive any recommended travel-specific immunizations. Whether you're heading abroad for work or leisure, staying protected against preventable diseases is essential.

The following vaccines will be available, and you may select from these when signing up for an appointment slot: Hepatitis A; Hepatitis B; Measles, Mumps, Rubella (MMR); and Meningitis. If your provider or a health official (like CDC or WHO) has suggested you receive another vaccine for your travel that is not listed here, please list that vaccine in the comments when registering and they will do their best to accommodate you at this clinic. Learn more.

April 22 | 11:30 am - 12:30 pm | Multipurpose Room

Featuring David Johnson, CEO and Founder, 4sight Health

The first 50 in-person attendees will receive a copy of his book, The Coming Healthcare Revolution: 10 Forces that Will Cure America’s Healthcare Crisis.

These events previously have been in the newsletter; to see full event descriptions, please consult previous newsletters.

April 30 | 10:30 am – 12 pm | Zoom (Meeting ID: 936 1629 6358
Passcode: 238727)

Instructional, research, and administrative staff are welcome and encouraged to attend to hear announcements and updates from the Faculty Council and the Dean. Faculty should have received a calendar invite with a Zoom link from our Faculty Council Chair, Phillip Zane. If you have any questions, contact Cathy Tompkins (ctompkin@gmu.edu).

April 25 | 12 - 3:30 pm | Peterson Hall 

Next session: April 29 
No yoga on April 22.

April 22 | 1:30 – 2:45 pm | Zoom

Hear term faculty committee updates from your term faculty colleagues on the identified priorities they have been working on. The committee will provide a status update on goal achievement and work-in-progress. They will also discuss future plans and leave time for Q&A. Learn more.

PUBLICHEALTH.GMU.EDU

Access the CPH brand toolkit, including new CPH and department logos here.

View the newsletter archives here.