CHHS Fall 2023 Newsletter
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Message from the CHHS Dean |
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Dear Students, Faculty, Staff and Friends of the College of Health and Human Services,
As dean, I am honored to extend a warm welcome to new and returning members of the College of Health and Human Services (CHHS) community to another exciting academic year. With more than 600 faculty and staff, the CHHS is home to more than 9,000 students studying in more than 70+ academic programs that will prepare the future workforce in service to people and helping them to live happier, healthier and safer lives. Most students in CHHS pursue practical field and/or clinical hours in our surrounding communities. Together, they accumulate nearly 1 million hours annually in community settings, applying what they have learned to solve problems, serving people and advancing our communities. This is both an incredible opportunity and responsibility that transforms lives. Thus, as we embark upon this academic year, I am reminded of our incredible purpose. Thank you for what you have done and will continue to do to advance the innovation of our collective work. You are deeply appreciated.
If you were able to attend the CHHS Convocation, you are likely aware that this year we will continue our efforts to prioritize and frame the college’s work using our annual strategic planning efforts. Thus, once again we have structured our fall 2023 newsletter using our BEACH 2030 strategic priorities which, of course, are aligned with the university strategic priorities. Each strategic priority segment begins by listing our goals of which, are hyperlinked to the actions we have planned to support each goal. As well, we’ve highlighted just some of the college’s major achievements over the past year. We hope you will enjoy reading the newsletter and will look forward to your engagement in helping us to achieve the goals we’ve set for AY 23-24.
As you likely already know, we have so much to celebrate and even more to look forward to this year. Thank you for your commitment to serving our students, one another, and for exemplifying our core values - integrity, growth mindset, collaboration, and innovation! You make CHHS great! Wishing you a vibrant and fulfilling year!
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-Dr. Monica Lounsbery, Dean, College of Health and Human Services |
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CHHS Strategic Planning Retreat in Temecula: A focus on Measurable Goals |
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CHHS gathered representation from across the college infrastructure to participate in a two-day retreat held in Temecula. The purpose of the retreat was to develop goals and actions for AY 23-24. Those in attendance included:
• Deans Office including Advising and IT
• Academic Departments/Schools
• Faculty Council
• Academic Senate
• CHHS Committees
• CHHS Centers and Clinic Representatives
The culmination of the retreat meeting resulted in the restructuring of our strategic plan with more concise and measurable goals. See AY 23-24 Strategic Plan Here. As the dean indicated, our newsletter is organized in accordance with our strategic plan in order to frame our work. Read on to learn about some of the work we have accomplished and discover our goals for each of our strategic priorities this academic year (click each goal to review fall action items aligned to support the goal. Additionally, learn about college accomplishments under each strategic priority.)
Watch the Video: To inform our strategic planning process this year, we sought to interview area leaders affiliated with CHHS disciplines to gain insight from them about the shifts that are occuring and challenges they forsee, and opportunities we may have to partner. Please watch the video below to learn what they told us.
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Strategic Priority 1 - Define, Support and Assess Student, Faculty and Staff Success |
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Dr. Tiffanye Vargas, Associate Dean for Student Success and Academic Affairs |
During the Fall 2023 semester, CHHS continues to focus on Beach 2030 goals. Behavioral Health and Wellness remains a top priority and thanks to the efforts of Dr. Ayla Donlin and Jonathan Murrietta, we are excited to announce that CHHS has partnered with Headspace to launch a 60-day pilot program, September 18 through November 10, for all CHHS students, faculty and staff to have free access to the app’s health and wellness programming. The purpose of the pilot is to provide additional health and wellness support to CHHS Students, staff and faculty, and to explore engagement during the pilot as a way of guiding next steps for the partnership. To further assist the promotion of health and wellness for our students, all instructors should have received a QR code for optional use within their syllabi and canvas pages that provides a direct link to health and wellness resources on campus and this year we will have two Beach Buddies dedicated solely to CHHS students. We are also proud to support two new CHHS Champions: Dr. Cheryl Rock is the CHHS Champion for Student Engagement and Connection, and Dr. Jason Plummer is the CHHS Champion for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility. Please stay tuned for toolkits, resources, and events in these areas. As well, Fall 2023 will launch the CSULB’s brand new learning community program, Beach XP. CHHS will support six cohorts within this program and provide dedicated instructors, activities, and support services for participating first time, first year students. You can follow along with these projects, along with others, on Instagram @csulbchhs or on Linkedin.
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'Day at the Beach' a Big Success |
A big thank you to everyone who participated in the Day at the Beach event! The event was a big success with over 800 prospective students interested in the College of Health and Human Services. It was an exciting day meeting newly-admitted students and showcasing CHHS and all the amazing programs, facilities, and organizations we have to offer. We look forward to making next year's event bigger and better!
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Advising helping thousands of students 'SOAR' to graduation... |
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Chrissy Franks-Sayed, Advising Director |
The Advising Center had a busy summer assisting over 2,000 incoming CHHS students through SOAR (Student Orientation, Advising & Registration). In addition to new students, CHHS Advising served a high volume of continuing students (over 10,000), through drop-in advising and appointments over the past academic year and the team continues to innovate new practices in the center. In the spring, the Advising Team piloted small group First Time, First Year Mandatory Advising including a schedule building lab which led to improved student learning in degree requirements and degree navigation tools, as well as more facetime and connection with CHHS Advisors. The Advising Center continues to serve students through multiple means including online modules, group advising, one-on-one appointments and drop-in advising.
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CCJEM Launches Student Orientations |
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The School of Criminology, Criminal Justice and Emergency Management (CCJEM) hosted a plethora of new transfer students this past spring semester to show them around campus and the School, as well as planned a meet-and-greet for CCJEM faculty to get to know incoming students and to be a resource for students who came to ask questions and learn more about the program and the college. CCJEM also just hosted an undergraduate orientation the first week of school for fall semester. A good time was had by all! |
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Dr. Grace Reynolds-Fisher, Associate Dean of Faculty Affairs and Research |
Welcome to Fall 2023! We have some exciting news to share about a new faculty orientation and our shared space initiative. Read more below!
First Ever CHHS New Faculty Orientation (Strategic Priority #1)
The CHHS Faculty Development Committee held the first ever CHHS New Faculty Orientation in August. All ten of the new incoming tenure track faculty from across the college attended.
If you would like to receive the slide deck used at the orientation, please contact Belinda Williams or Virginia Gray.
Coming later this fall (November/December): Training for lecturers undergoing a lecturer evaluation in Spring 2024.
SSPA 007 Lab Open and Ready for Research Projects
The newly redesigned and remodeled Behavioral Sciences Lab, located in the SSPA building Room 007, is open for faculty research projects. (For more details about our new facilities model, read story below under Strategic Priority 4) This lab is outfitted with state-of-the art equipment for facilitating and recording both individual and group data collection activities, including focus groups. Trainings have now been set up so please sign up to learn all about the features of the lab and to become a lab member! Those interested in using this new facility can become a lab member by attending an orientation session and then filling out a membership application. The CHHS Facility Support Group (FSG) and CHHS IT will be hosting three orientation sessions that will go over the application process, reserving the lab, lab policies, and the audio/visual technology available. All three orientations will be Hybrid, both on Zoom and in SPA 007. All Attendees, In-Person and Remote must register for one of the orientations below.
Orientation #1: Friday Sep 1st, 10:00am
Orientation #2: Wednesday Sep 6th, 1:00pm
Orientation #3: Friday Sep 8th, 1:00pm
Have a great semester!
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Dr. Grace Reynolds-Fisher |
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Congratulations to our Newly Tenured and Promoted Faculty! |
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Tenured and Promoted to Associate Professor
Melissa Bittner, PETE, Kinesiology
Kevin Valenzuela, Kinesiology
Kellie Walters, Kinesiology
Anne Fitzgerald, Nursing
Debra Rannalli, Nursing
Jennifer Bagwell, Physical Therapy
Melissa Mathews, Public Policy & Administration
Belinda Daughrity Williams, Speech Language Pathology
Promoted to Full Professor
Christine Scott-Hayward, CCJEM
Michelle Alencar, Kinesiology
Michelle Barrack Gardener, Nutrition, FCS
Rudabeh Roy, Child Development Family Studies, FCS
Selena Nguyen-Rodriguez, Health Sciences
Mikiko Nakajima, Athletic Training, Kinesiology
Pamela Xandre, Nursing
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Congratulations to Lecturers Who Received Range Elevations! |
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Jamie Apostol, FCS
Brooke Dekofsy, FCS
Gina Guffy, FCS
Elena Ionescu, FCS
Lisa Langdale, FCS
Mary Jane Lyons, FCS
Jacqueline Morell, FCS
Arlene Nelson, FCS
Lori Trujillo-Cole, FCS
Lyzette Blanco, Health Science
Kimberly Fox, Kinesiology
Jeffrey Ingram, Kinesiology
Jade Rodgers, Kinesiology
Kristin DeMars, Physical Therapy
Patti LaPlace, RLS
Christian Maldonado, Social Work
Wakako Masuno, Social Work
Kathleen Porter, Social Work
Maria Luisa Quintanilla, Social Work
Samantha Zimmerman, Nursing
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Welcome to Our New Tenure Track Faculty! |
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Skyler Morgan, Assistant Professor, CCJEM
Rebecca Perley, Assistant Professor, HCA
Jeremy Ramirez, Assistant Professor, HCA
Brian Kwan, Assistant Professor, HSC
Heidi West, Assistant Professor, HSC
Sam Zeff, Assistant Professor, KIN
Cleddhy Arellano, Assistant Professor, NRSG
Christopher Burkett, Assistant Professor, SW
Carol Leung, Assistant Professor, SW
Jose Reyes, Assistant Professor, SW
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Congratulations to Externally Funded Faculty! |
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CHHS faculty led the university in new grant awards at $14.8M – 100% more than the next best college. We also improved F&A effective rate from 12.6% in 2022 to 14.3% in 2023 and increased F&A revenue from $1.1M in 2022 to $1.6M in 2023. As well, 91% of RSCA proposals submitted were awarded. Read More
P.I. Name
Kamiar Alaei
Joanna Barreras
Aili Malm
Susan Salas
Melawhy Garcia-Vega
Nicholas Perez
Amber Johnson
Laura D'Anna
Ron Mark
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Health Care Administration Professor Supporting Veterans and Service Animals Thanks to New $14.1 Million Grant |
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Dr. Jeremy Ramirez, brand new assistant professor in the Department of Health Care Administration, was notified this summer that he was awarded to manage a $14.1 million grant that will help train service animals and help service members and veterans. Dr. Ramirez, who himself is a veteran, took some time to talk with the College of Health and Human Services to discuss his prestigious appointment that coincides with his recent grant award notice. Dr. Ramirez, sitting alongside his friendly service dog -- a gregarious Labrador retriever named Bear – recalls his journey which led him from the Army, to being a student at CSULB, to working in the health care administration field, to now teaching at his alma mater -- while pursuing an exciting new project that is giving back to countless service members and veterans.
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Michael Clements, Administrative Services Manager |
Congratulations to University Employee of the Year for Student Success and College Outstanding Staff Award winner Anitha Johnson from the School of Nursing! Also, welcome new staff for Academic Year 23-24. We implemented new staff training and staff huddles in AY 22-23 and look forward to continuing that work each month during the new academic year.
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Congratulations to Staff Who Received Best of the Beach Recognitions in AY 2022-23 |
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- Steven Irby, Lab Coord/Chem Hygiene Officer, Kinesiology
- Merlyn Perez, Department Coordinator, CHHS Administration
- Michael Clements, Admin Services Manager, CHHS, CHHS Administration
- Grace Reynolds-Fisher, Assoc Dean, CHHS, CHHS Administration
- Priscilla Lee, Lead Teacher, Family & Consumer Science
- Noemi Carrillo, Lead Teacher, Family & Consumer Science
- Brooke Newman, Lead Teacher, Family & Consumer Science
- Taylor Dinius, Kinesiology Tech, Kinesiology
- Dana Osborne, Administrative Coordinator, Kinesiology
- Annie Radzicki, Social Work Program Specialist, Social Work
- Amy Kremer, Department Coordinator, Social Work
- Viridiana Prado, Academic Advisor, CHHS Administration
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Staff Recognition Spotlight - Congratulations to Anitha Johnson! |
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The 2023 Staff honoree is Anitha Johnson, Instructional Support Technician in the School of Nursing who won the staff recogntition at both the university and college levels this year.
In addition to overseeing the school’s computer-loan program and ensuring that its learning center, skills labs, and simulation rooms are all well-equipped and maintained, Anitha is the point person for Nursing faculty who encounter technology challenges.
Her expertise and can-do attitude were put to good use last summer when she worked with IT to equip classrooms with Hyflex technology and then to prepare faculty to use the new technology. Read More
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Jennifer Moore, Development Director |
With a focus on preparing the clinical-care, health and wellness, and civic leaders of tomorrow, the College of Health & Human Services, led by Dean Monica Lounsbery, is the academic unit that works most directly to fulfill CSULB’s ever-expanding public mission. The hallmark of a CHHS education is the integration of coursework with community-engaged learning and research, with classes and mentoring providing by a corps of highly dedicated, diversely talented faculty members who are established scholars and practitioners in their respective fields. When you give a gift to the Dean’s Fund for Excellence you help ensure the College has resources needed to meet the opportunities, challenges, and demands to advance the many goals of a renowned faculty and outstanding student body. Funds allow the College to direct resources to its highest and most urgent priorities. The Dean’s set of initiatives support a stronger research environment, increased opportunities to enhance student success, and provide increased collaboration between the College and community partners.
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Strategic Priority 2 - Develop and Implement Innovative Course and Program Delivery Methods |
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AY 23-24 Goals:
- Develop CHHS Instructional Champion(s) Lecturer Service Positions to ensure high quality instruction through faculty training Development & Support
- Develop a PD for a new Education Production Staff Position to Support Faculty Innovative Instruction
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Program Delivery Methods by the Numbers: |
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The table below reflects the shift and changes we've made over the last four academic years in the delivery of our instructional enterprise. As you can see in our AY 23-24 goals, our work in this space will continue with growth in platforms of delivery that create the greatest access for students as well as the integration of immersive technologies such as AR, VR, and AI. |
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New Programs in Nursing Support Goals around Program Delivery Diversification... |
BSN to DNP Program Paves the Way: The new BSN to DNP program is here! This program will allow students to pursue their doctorate after graduating with their Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) undergraduate degree. For the first time ever, CSULB is proud to now offer a BSN to DNP program. Congratulations to all who were involved in making this happen!
Online RN to BSN Program: The College of Health and Human Services’ exploration and pursuit of a fully online RN to BSN program for the School of Nursing has been realized. The first program is taking place this Fall. AJ Jadalla (pictured right), Professor in the School of Nursing, spearheaded the campaign to implement RN to BSN online to provide more flexibility for those Registered Nurses (RNs) with Associate Degree working in the field to complete their Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN).
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Strategic Priority 3 - Broaden Community Engagement and Advance Community Partnerships |
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This past academic year, the College of Health and Human Services once again put a high focus on broadening community engagement and will continue this spring fostering the advancement of its partnerships that facilitate the public good. Below are our AY 23-24 goals to see what actions are being taken in the fall.
AY 23-24 Goals:
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First Year Pilot of SYR a Success! Gearing up for Year 2... |
Strengthening Youth Resilience (SYR) is a partnership with Long Beach Unified School District (LBUSD), the Boys & Girls Clubs of Long Beach, Mental Health America Los Angeles, and the School of Social Work, that is supporting the advancement of the youth mental health infrastructure in the community. Read More
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Our CHHS Pro Bono Clinics Promote the Public Good |
WATCH THE VIDEO: The Speech-Language Clinic at CSULB helps treat people struggling with a variety of communication disorders, such as stuttering, lost communication abilities resulting from brain injury, and speech and language development delay in children. Thanks to a gift agreement with the Long Beach Scottish Rite Language Center, the Speech-Language Clinic at CSULB has doubled its client base for pediatric care, and now offers year-around services.
WATCH THE VIDEO: The highly impactful work of our Physical Therapy Students in our Pro Bono Neurologic Clinic – directed by Dr. Kristin DeMars -- provide physical therapy for individuals with neurologic disorders such as stroke, brain injury, multiple sclerosis and parkinson’s disease, who have exhausted their therapy benefits or do not have access to therapy services. Our students, during their second year of a 3 year doctoral program, spend two semesters seeing patients twice a week for a 12 week course of therapy.
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Successful Launch of Wine Education Program at The Japanese Garden - New Date for Fall Event announced! |
The inaugural Beach Culinary and Wine Excellence Series featured live jazz from CSULB students, a sparkling wine reception, and five Simi Winery wines with small plate and food pairings created by Zen Garden Events in collaboration with CSULB Hospitality Management students. The Fall Wine Education Event is slated for October 17. More information forthcoming. |
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Other Community Affiliations |
Did you know that CHHS has over 1,700 community partners and that Drs. Becky Nash and Aili Malm did a report for us on it? CHHS departments and faculty have extensive local and statewide networks with agencies and organizations. These networks facilitate opportunities for outreach, research and student engagement. Read their full report
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Strategic Priority 4 - Facilitate and Support Interdisciplinarity |
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Welcome to the Future of CHHS - New Facilities Model |
CHHS is dedicated to eliminating barriers to interdisciplinary research and to building community health partnerships. We believe that our university is better and stronger when we share resources and work together. The CHHS core laboratories are ready to support investigators and healthcare professionals by providing access to world class facilities, expert collaborators, and trained technical support staff.
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School of Population and Public Health Proposed as new Interdisciplinary Hub |
“In relation to public health, the point is how we can bring different sectors and disciplines to work together to facilitate innovative ideas and bring about new technology,” Dr. Kamiar Alaei, Chair of Health Science says.
Efforts such as the recent approval of the Center for Global Public Health Education and Research are part of the newly forming School of Population and Public Health and will serve as an organizing center or umbrella for college and campus disciplines to work together to solve health problems.
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Strategic Priority 5 - Designed Climate and Culture |
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One of the many goals within SP 5 is to help CHHS and its people connect and develop a sense of pride in their college. Read on to discover some initiatives being implemented to facilitate that sense of pride and belonging! GO CHHS and GO BEACH! |
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Don't forget to wear your CHHS gear every Friday! Represent your college and university with pride! Additionally, we are preparing to launch our CHHS Team store and need your input!
The CHHS Team store is an online store with CHHS gear for all college faculty and staff. It is a great opportunity for current and new staff to purchase CHHS gear to represent the college both on and off campus. And as valued members of the college we want to hear from you which items you are interested in (deadline to submit input Sept. 12). Gear Poll Here
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Diversity Equity and Inclusion... |
Read about some of the college wide initiatives such as Social Work's study abroad trip focusing on human rights, and Family and Consumer Sciences' DEI Day. These actions implemented our goal of increasing CHHS cultural competency and diversity to improve faculty, staff and student experience. Read More
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CHHS Promotes Age Friendliness |
Thanks to the support from our centers and innovative degree programs, the College of Health and Human Services (CHHS) helped the university continue to live up to its distinction of being an age-friendly campus.
In 2018, CSULB was the third university in the state of California to endorse the Age-Friendly University (AFU) principles and join the AFU Network to demonstrate its long-term and ongoing commitment to older persons and the overall quality of life in the community. Recently, the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) at CSULB was given the ‘Friend of the Elderly Award’ by the Retirement Housing Foundation, one of the nation’s largest non-profit providers of housing and services for older adults. Read More
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Health, Wellness and Safety |
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CHHS is dedicated to the overall health, wellness and safety of its students, faculty and staff. On our homepage, we have compiled a list of resources to support overall well being.
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CHHS Team up for Wellness |
In Spring 2023, CHHS Wellness Campaign – Team Up for Wellness had teams of students, staff and faculty participate to log minutes in movement, meditation and tracked their healthy eating for four weeks. Congratulations to the Top 5 Teams! We will continue our wellness programming this fall, so stay tuned for more information on how to participate, have fun, improve your health, and connect with the CHHS community!
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WATCH THE VIDEO: Mystery Mover asks students and faculty about their fitness habits |
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University Police Night Escort Program |
Did you know the CSULB Night Escort Program is a free safety service conducted by our campus Community Service Officers (CSOs)? Please be informed about this service and help us get the word out to students staff and faculy across campus.
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Emergency Preparedness Training |
Don't forget we have ongoing Emergency Preparedness Trainings available by request to any student or employee group, club, or department on campus. Trainings can be customized by time or content to fit the needs of the audience and can include any combination of the following:
- Personal Preparedness
- Earthquake Safety
- Fire Safety
- EVAC+Chair Training
- "Stop the Bleed" Tourniquet Training
*Trainings typically run between 30 - 90 minutes depending on the content
You can also request a department or building drill to test evacuation or shelter-in-place procedures.
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Mark Your Calendar - CHHS Holiday Party: Friday, Dec. 1, 2023!
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The CHHS Holiday Party will be held at The Grand and feature a performance by HigheREd (3 of the 5 band members are in CHHS)! You won't want to miss it!
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Have an accomplishment, update or news to share with the CHHS Communications Team? Click the button on the CHHS website homepage to tell us all about it! Your story or achievement just might make it on our Social Media channels, shared on our website and included in our next newsletter! Click image below to share your story! |
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In the College of Health and Human Services, We Take Our Turn! |
The Take Your Turn campaign continues to be a main focus for the College of Health and Human Services as we encourage and implement shared governance and more equitable distribution of assigned time. Thank you to all who are doing their due diligence to implement shared governance across your departments! |
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Dr. Cheryl Rock (middle) has served as Faculty Advisor for Family and Consumer Sciences' Food Science Program |
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I sincerely hope that you enjoyed reading the Fall CHHS 2023 Newsletter. Thank you for supporting the CHHS team and for all you do to advance our students’ success. Let's rock this semester!
Sincerely,
Dean Monica Lounsbery
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