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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
September 22, 2016
Announcements
COH Curriculum Committee Meets Wednesdays  

For the Fall 2016 semester, the COH Curriculum Committee will meet Wednesdays, 3-4:30 pm. Submissions need to be in the CIM system ready for committee review by 9 am Monday the week prior. Contact Harriet Paule, hrpaule@alaska.edu, with questions and to co-ordinate pre-review of submissions prior to starting CIM workflow processing.

A Look Back at the 2016 COH All-College Meeting   

The annual College of Health (COH) All-College Meeting is a great opportunity to get together with new and returning faculty and staff from all of the research and teaching units, share some lunch, and hear a "State of the College" report from Dean Bill Hogan. This year's program on August 25th included a session on "Mindfulness" by Tara Lampert, an instructor with UAA's Women's Studies, and a special faculty training on facilitating interprofessional groups. The training was presented by Mayumi Willgerodt, PhD, RN, University of Washington (UW) School of Nursing and Health Sciences, and Jennifer Danielson, PharmD, UW Center for Health Sciences Interprofessional Education, Research, and Practice.

Chancellor Tom Case also visited and thanked everyone in the College of Health for their outstanding teaching and research efforts, and praised the level of excellence in the college. Dean Hogan presented information on COH programs and budget, outlined some of the major accreditation efforts over the past and coming academic year, introduced new faculty and staff, and announced new COH units. The Dean recognized individuals who had been awarded promotion and tenure or had received longevity awards for service. He also acknowledged retiring faculty and staff, and announced he would be retiring in June 2017. The Dean half-seriously said the major reason for his retirement was the increasingly long commute time from Palmer. Download a list of promotions/tenures (pdf) and longevity awards (pdf).



Next on the agenda was a musical interlude, sung by all, cleverly titled "Bad Migration" (to the tune of Beach Boys' "Good Vibrations"). The lyrics were written by COH staff member Debbie Gleason and taped and produced by COH staff Danielle Morgan and Danielle Dixon. Everyone joined in and commiserated about the trials of migrating to a new email system.

In a more serious vein, Dean Hogan discussed the financial challenges facing the university system-wide and COH in particular, and expressed his appreciation for assistance from the units during this difficult time. Budget cuts are inevitable, but he stressed the important role of the college as the designated health campus for the entire UA system, and introduced two new units to the college: the Doctorate in Pharmacology partnership program with Idaho State University and headed by Dr. Tom Wadsworth, and the Health, Physical Education & Recreation led by T.J. Miller.
As part of the meeting, COH units had been invited to set up an exhibit table to display recent rese arch and programs. Among those that exhibited were the Justice Center, the Center for Human Development, WWAMI Biomedical Program, and the Department of Health, Physical Education & Recreation.

Many thanks to the volunteers on the 2016 planning committee for this event: Harriet Paule, Dean's Office; Brenda Levesque, School of Allied Health; Elaine Main, Justice Center; and Jeni Taylor, School of Allied Health.

(Article courtesy of Barbara Armstrong, Justice Center)


Junior Health Professions Academy Needs Volunteers!    

The College of Health is currently planning for its 2nd Annual Junior Health Professions Academy, a collaborative effort with Anchorage School District and Clark Middle School. The College of Health is a member of the UAA/Clark Middle School Distinguished Leadership Academies, along with the College of Business & Public Policy and the College of Education.
 
We are currently recruiting volunteer staff and faculty to assist with the academy. Volunteers will introduce the 7th and 8th grade participants to various health careers, providing a one-hour career overview followed by a one-hour activity that will complement the presentation. A volunteer will commit to a two-hour session on one Saturday during the fall and/or spring semesters. Volunteers from the inaugural year included AHEC's Introduction to Health Professions, dentistry, primary care physician, and occupational and physical therapy. 
 
The Distinguished Leadership Academies Kick-off event will be held October 1 in the UAA Student Union from 9:30 am - 11:00 am. The fall learning sessions will commence on October 15th and will continue through the 1st and 3rd Saturdays of each month, ending in December. To sign up, please contact Carey D. Brown in the COH Office of Student Advising and Advocacy at 907-786-4417.

 
Unit Updates
Center for Human Development - - - - - - - - - - -
   
Grant Received from National Institutes of Health 
 
Karen Heath, Director of Research and Evaluation, received a National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant--"A Multi-Level Community-Based Fitness Intervention for Adults with Intellectual Disabilities" under the Clinical Translational Research Infrastructure Network (CTR-IN) pilot grant program. Dr. Richard Fleming, UMass Boston, will serve as her NIH mentor. Special Olympics Alaska will be a major community partner, and CHD researchers LynnAnn Tew and Alexandra Olah will be assisting with the research. The intervention is multi-level in promoting lifestyle changes (e.g., nutrition and physical activity) to improve health outcomes (e.g., body composition, blood pressure, heart rate) of adults with intellectual disabilities. Thirty fitness partners with and without intellectual disabilities will participate in the 12-week intervention and 12-week post intervention. Fitness partner teams will engage in a customized wellness program to include physical activity and nutrition/wellness classes. Results will be presented at the 2017 CTR-IN annual June meeting in Las Vegas
 
Justice Center  - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Spring 2016 of the Alaska Justice Forum Released

 
Dr. Rosay Presented at National Native American Law Enforcement Association Conference
 
Dr. André Rosay, Justice Center Director, was a guest speaker at the 24th Annual National Native American Law Enforcement Association (NNALEA) National Collaborative Training Event in Las Vegas in August. For more information, visit: http://uaajusticecenter.blogspot.com/2016/09/dr-rosay-presents-at-national-native.html .
 
Professors Rivera and Knudsen Presented at COH Howl Days Freshman Orientation

Dr. Marny Rivera , Justice Undergraduate Program Coordinator, and Prof. Kristin Knudsen, JD, MJS, Legal Studies Undergraduate Program Coordinator, presented at the Fall 2016 Howl Days College of Health (COH) freshman orientation on Tuesday, August 23. For more information, visit: http://uaajusticecenter.blogspot.com/2016/09/professors-rivera-and-knudsen-present.html.
 
Dr. Barnes Participated in Annual North Hall Faculty Social Event for UAA Residential Students  
 
Dr. Allan Barnes , Justice faculty, joined several of his UAA colleagues for the North Hall First-Year Residential Experience (FYRE) Faculty Social on September 6. For more information, visit: http://uaajusticecenter.blogspot.com/2016/09/dr-barnes-participates-in-annual-north.html.

 
(l-r) Jennifer Edens, North Hall FYRE Coordinator; Stephen "Joey" Sweet, North Hall student; and Dr. Allan Barnes.
 
Dr. Rivera Presented at "Shatter the Myth" Town Hall on Underage Drinking  
 
Dr. Marny Rivera, Justice faculty, was a panelist at the "Shatter the Myth" Town Hall Underage Drinking Presentation at the Fairview Community Recreation Center on September 6. She discussed data on underage drinking in Anchorage. For more information, visit: http://uaajusticecenter.blogspot.com/2016/09/dr-rivera-presents-at-shatter-myth-town.html.

 
(l-r) Zara Smelcer, Volunteers of America Alaska; Beth Schuerman and Sylvia Craig, Alaska Injury Prevention Center (AIPC); and Dr. Marny Rivera, UAA Justice Center.
 
Justice and Paralegal Studies Alumni Update: Hunt and Foxglove

Joel Hunt, BA, Justice '05, successfully defended his PhD dissertation in the Department of Justice, Law & Criminology in the School of Public Affairs at American University. He is a Computer Scientist in the Research Division of the Office of Science and Technology at the National Institute of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, US Department of Justice. 

Josie Foxglove, Paralegal Studies Certificate '13, is a Deputy Clerk with the Coordinated Resources Project (Mental Health Court) in the Anchorage office of the Alaska Court System, a position she has held since spring 2015. Josie works as the project assistant and is responsible for much of the behind-the-scenes work, including preparing court documents, scheduling, and data entry.


Prof. Brandeis Presented on Marijuana Law Compliance at CannaCon Conference  

Prof. Jason Brandeis, JD, was a speaker at the CannaCon conference held September 10 in Anchorage. His presentation "Compliance with State and Federal Marijuana Laws: Navigating the Legal Landscape" provided attendees with an overview of the current federal and state marijuana laws (with a focus on Alaska) and information about potential future marijuana law and policy changes. For more information, visit: http://uaajusticecenter.blogspot.com/2016/09/prof-brandeis-presents-on-complying.html.
 
Calendar
Upcoming Events/Deadlines
  • September 30 - Copy & Print Center Focus Group,
    12 - 1:30 pm
  • November 4 - Deadline for faculty community-engaged mini-grant proposals, 4:59 pm
  • November 24-25 - Thanksgiving Holiday
  • December 18 - Fall commencement
  • December 26-27 - Winter holiday
  • December 24 - January 1 - Campus closed
  • January 2-3 - New Year's holiday