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This Leadership Team Newsletter is published every two weeks by the Dean's Office in the College of Health at the University of Alaska Anchorage.

To submit content, email: slsmith@uaa.alaska.edu
The UAA College of Health advances the health and well being of people and communities
November 6,  2013
Announcements 
Strategic Directions 
The results of the COH facutly/staff ranking of recommendations from the 2012 strategic directions have been compiled.  The top five recommendations are:
  1. Promote a wide range of collaborative opportunities.
  2. Fully develop career pathways.
  3. Take a leadership role in health research.
  4. Innovate.
  5. Develop an interdisciplinary curriculum.

The full list of rankings can be accessed through Blackboard or by clicking here.  

Interprofessional RFA
Look in your email for an announcement regarding the  the second annual Interprofessional Request For Applications (RFA).  Much like last year's solicitation, we are looking for projects involving at least two disciplines.  A priority this year is the modification of existing courses to include interprofessional content and students from more than one of the COH disciplines.  Applications are due by December 6, 2013.  Click here for a copy of the RFA.  For further information contact Associate Dean Randy Magen at 786-6901 or magen@uaa.alaska.edu.
Faculty Development Event on Interprofessional Education
On December 4th from 9:30 to 11 am we will have a videoconference with faculty from the University of Alberta, Canada.  The topic will be the Interprofessional pathway at the University of Alberta and the "launch" which gets students started on interprofessional education.  This looks to be an interesting introduction to a novel approach for thinking about interprofessional education.  Details about this event and the location will be forthcoming.
 
College of Health Vests
The last vest road show was held last week.  The pre-order forms are being tallied and final numbers will be forwarded to Stellar Designs for a price quote.  Once the quote is received, a confirmation email will be sent to everyone who submitted a pre-order form.  That email will include the details of their order, the price and the respond by date for their approval of the order.  The actual order will be placed as soon as possible after the respond by date.
Ad Hoc Committee on COH Faculty Evaluation Guidelines
A small group of faculty has been working on revising the COH peer review committee operating procedures. As part of this revision, in response to feedback from the University-wide Faculty Evaluation Committee, this group is developing a set of college level faculty evaluation guidelines. The committee's approach is to examine each unit's proposed guidelines and find the commonalities.  A draft of these guidelines should be available for review by the College leadership in December.
Unit Updates
Center for Human Development (CHD)  
Karen Heath and Danielle Reed presented on BrainWorks, a customized self-employment model to assist individuals with brain injury in business ownership, and Building Virtual Bridges, a model to increase business competence and social capital of entrepreneurs with disabilities, at the Southwest Conference on Disability in Albuquerque. BrainWorks is funded through a Kessler Foundation grant and serves individuals in Anchorage, Fairbanks, and Juneau. BrainWorks staff and participants recently had an opportunity to participate in a short video on brain injury with the Alaska Brain Injury Network. The video will air at their annual gala on November 8th.
Justice Center 
  • Dr. Ron Everett
    moderated the discussion for "How Does the Media Shape Our Reality of the Justice System" on October 15 at the Loussac Library. The conversation focused on understanding the influence of the media, and how the media can give rise to misperceptions about crime, criminals, victims, and the operation of the criminal justice system.  This event  is part of the Conversation Salon Series: "Information Is Not Knowledge: How Media Influences Our Reality," co-hosted  by UAA/APU Books of the Year,  the Anchorage Public Library, and Let's Talk Anchorage.   
  • Prof. Kristin Knudsen, J.D., was a member of the faculty response panel for the  Center for Advancing Faculty Excellence & the UAA/APU Difficult Dialogues Initiative sponsored debate on: "Does the state have an obligation to act to prevent climate change?"
  •  Simona Gerdts and Kristen Speyerer, Justice majors, were the authors of an op-ed piece, "We the people: An apology to our founding fathers," in the October 15 issue of The Northern Light. The piece discussed the current impact of the two-party political system on the functioning of federal government, the increasing apathy of the electorate, and the need to revitalize citizen participation in our democracy.  The op-ed piece was an outgrowth of their work in Prof. Jason Brandeis' course on Development of Law.
  • Students interested in law school had the opportunity to attend a mock law school course on contracts at UAA on October 24.   Dean Curtis Bridgeman of Willamette University College of Law explained how law school courses are structured and taught, and then began discussion of a classic case in the law of contracts.  Students read a copy of the case prior to class. Following the class, Dean Bridgeman answered questions from students about the law school admission process, cost of a law school education, and career options. Prof. Deb Periman, J.D., coordinated the event.

  • Dr. Marny Rivera recently spoke to the criminology class at East High School taught by instructor Charlotte Hansen.  Dr. Rivera is an alum of East High and was delighted at being invited to talk to the juniors and seniors about topics in criminology and the programs at the Justice Center. Dr. Rivera discussed approaches to understanding criminal behavior, the juvenile justice system, types of juvenile offenders, and the need for research in these areas.

  • Dr. Sharon Chamard and students from Dr. Allan Barnes' JUST 320 Crime Prevention class participated in the UAA Safety Walk, held on October 17. The Safety Walk is done annually in October, ideally before there is snow on the ground, so that exterior lighting conditions can be assessed when the campus is at its darkest. Four teams fanned out across campus and to UAA buildings off-campus with the task of identifying particularly dark and fear-inducing areas, and testing UAA's many blue light emergency phones.
  • Dr. Troy Payne was a panelist at "Community Forum: Stand Your Ground Law in Alaska" sponsored by the Anchorage Community Police Relations Task Force and the Anchorage Equal Rights Commission (AERC).  The forum addressed the Stand Your Ground law and its implementation in Alaska.
  • Dr. Ron Everett, Justice faculty, was interviewed by the Fairbanks Daily Newsminer about proposals to reform the justice system and bipartisan Alaska Senate Bill 64.  Dr. Everett noted that alternatives to prison such as mental health and substance abuse treatment, reentry assistance for released offenders, and supervision can make an impact and lower costs.   
Calendar

Upcoming Events/Deadlines 

  • November 14 - Leadership Team at DPL 402 
  • November 15 - UNAC non-retention notices to 2nd year tenure-track faculty
  • November 28-29 -- Thanksgiving holiday
  • December 5 - UAFT P & T files due to Dean's office
  • December 25-January 3 - Christmas & New Year's holiday
  • January 6 - UNAC P & T files due to Provost
  • January 13 - Spring semester begins


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