Dr. Barbara Williams
Barbara G. Williams, RN, PhD, board member, Conway Regional Medical Center and chairperson of the Department of Nursing at the University of Central Arkansas in Conway, has been elected as a Regional Trustee alternate delegate to the American Hospital Association Regional Policy Board 7 for a term effective Jan. 1, 2013 and expiring Dec. 31, 2015. Dr. Williams is president-elect of the Arkansas Association of Hospital Trustees and will join the Arkansas Hospital Association board of directors in November.
Dr. Mary Harlan
Dr. Mary Harlan, professor and chair of the Department of Family and Consumer Sciences, recently received the American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences (AAFCS) Leaders Award. This prestigious national award was presented to Mary at the 2012 AAFCS Pacesetter Dinner held in conjunction with the annual conference in Indianapolis, Indiana. The Leaders Award was established to identify and honor family and consumer sciences professionals who have made significant contributions to the field through their involvement with AAFCS. Dr. Harlan was nominated by the Arkansas Affiliate of AAFCS and received the state award in 2011.
Dr. Letha Mosley Completed Term as Chair of Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education
Dr. Letha Mosley from UCA has completed her three-year term as chairperson of the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education (ACOTE).
Dr. Letha Mosley
Mosley applied to be on the Roster of Accreditation Evaluators (RAE) in 1996, and before the end of her first full year she was invited to serve on the Council. She served for six years on the council and decided, after being away from accreditation for a few years, to run for a chair position. She was elected to the chair of ACOTE in 2008 and has served since.
Her duties as chairperson were to make sure that the accreditation processes were effective and efficient by preparing meeting agendas and presiding over the Council meetings, keeping accreditation trends up to date as related to occupational therapy and occupational therapy assistant education, approving budget, appointing new members to ACOTE and RAE, coordinating and/or delegating internal orientation and educational programs, representing ACOTE at national meetings, serving as Organizational Advisor to the AOTA Board and working in collaboration with staff report as required to the U.S. Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation.
Mosley said that she was pleased with what she helped get accomplished during her time as chairperson.
“During my tenure we made several enhancements in policies and procedures; strengthened the education and training that occurs for ACOTE, RAE and constituents; started the transition into e-Accreditation; increased the diversity of the Council and RAE; reviewed, modified and adopted a new set of standards; was awarded full recognition by the USDE; and enhanced communication between the agency and key stakeholders,” she said. “One of the most important aspects of my term was trying to facilitate a spirit of enhancement that ultimately improves the quality of the programs and the education that OT and OTA students receive.”
UCA Kinesiology Graduate Honored with Most Outstanding Teacher Award
Reginald Summerville, a 2009 Graduate of the PETE program, was selected Health Physical Education Lifetime Wellness (HPELW) Most Outstanding Teacher of the Year for the Memphis City School District.
Memphis City School has four different regions and in those regions are different elementary, middle schools and high schools. Principals from the four regions nominate their HPELW teachers to be recognized as the Physical Educator of the Year. Each individual that was nominated by their principal received an award but there was only one award given for the Most Outstanding Physical Educator of the year.
Reginald has been at the Knight Road Elementary school since the 2009-10 school year. During the past several years, he has implemented The FITT Club that is designed to increase the amount of physical education time for these children while focusing on the overall health and wellness/physical fitness of the students. Additionally, he has founded a football team (The Crosscheck Cardinals) that has been an awesome community building opportunity for the local community. This past year he started a running club as an after school activity. These programs have all facilitated a deeper sense of accountability within the students because if conduct and grades are not in line, participation is not permitted.
Dr. Yvette Williams, principal, has these words about Reginald: “He is one of a kind. He is genuine and authentic with his words and gestures. He is respected by his students, peers and the community. His enthusiasm and spirit contribute to an overall culture of striving for excellence and maintaining high expectations for the students he serves.”
Upon receiving the award, Mr. Summerville stated: “I would like to thank the PETE department for being instrumental in getting me to this point and for the rigorous standards set by the program. I could not have attained this without the support of the faculty and staff in the Kinesiology department at the University of Central Arkansas that made sure we were prepared physical educators upon leaving the program.”
He currently is seeking his master’s degree from the University of South Florida and will complete that in the spring of 2013. His future plans are to continue to be an advocate for physical education by steering youth away from sedentary lifestyles.
Athletic Trainers and Students make an impact at the National Athletic Trainers’ Association Clinical Symposia
Steve Tucker
Led by Steve Tucker, PhD, ATC, UCA athletic trainers were very evident at this year’s annual meeting held in St. Louis. Dr. Tucker, who is an assistant professor in the Department of Kinesiology and Physical Education, presented a mini-course entitled “Closing the Chain on Shoulder Rehabilitation and Injury Prevention.” He also presented a research study entitled “A Comparison of Scapular Upward Rotation between Overhead Athletes, Non-Overhead Athletes and Non-Athletes.” Co-authors were former undergraduate students Lyndsey Ingram, ATC and Yuka Shimozawa, ATC.
Lyndsey Ingram, ATC, also presented her research entitled “The Influence of Athletic Participation on the Degree of Change of Scapular Upward Rotation” Co-authors on the study were former undergraduate student, Yuka Shimozawa, ATC and Tucker.
Meghann Brewer, a 2012 graduate amd ATC, was a finalist for an undergraduate research award at the Clinical Symposia. Her research was entitled “Bilateral Comparison of Shoulder Kinematics in Collegiate Volleyball Players” and was co-authored by Tucker.
To round out a memorable week, current Head Athletic Trainer, David Strickland MS, LAT/ATC, was honored with an NATA Service Award at the Honors and Awards banquet. Past UCA ATEP Program Director Lorna Strong, MS, ATC, was honored with an NATA Most Distinguished Athletic Training Award.
These athletic trainers and students not only provide medical care to the athletes at UCA, but they are providing new research and making an impact in the profession of athletic training at the national level.
UCA Athletic Trainers’ Host Clinical Workshop
Steve Tucker, PhD, LAT, ATC from the College of Behavioral Sciences and the Department of Kinesiology, organized a clinical workshop entitled “Emergency Care for the Injured Athlete.” The workshop took place on July 23, 2012 on the campus of UCA and was open to athletic trainers, paramedics and emergency medical technicians (EMTs). The morning session featured two speakers. The first speaker was UCA alumnus Carl Leding, MD, FACC, a specialist in Cardiovascular Medicine and a partner at the Arkansas Heart Hospital Clinic in Little Rock. He shared his expertise on cardiac abnormalities in the athletic population and acute management of cardiac events.
The second speaker was Erik Swartz, PhD, ATC, FNATA, a nationally recognized researcher in the management of athletes with cervical spine injuries. He spoke about common mechanisms of spinal cord injuries in the athletic population and the recommended acute management. Both speakers shared valuable and current information to an audience of 21 athletic trainers and emergency medical personnel.
The afternoon session was a hands-on laboratory. Multiple scenarios were presented and discussed, and attendees practiced emergency procedures such as football face mask removal, helmet and shoulder pad removal, various spine boarding techniques, the application of automated external defibrillators and resuscitation techniques, and intermediate transportation. Metropolitan Emergency Medical Services (MEMS) provided two intermediate transport vehicles equipped with medical equipment that are utilized in transporting injured athletes from athletic fields to ambulances.
The laboratory session was instructed by the following professionals:
Maj. Ken Ekenseair – Metropolitan Emergency Medical Services (MEMS)
Harold D. Shray, BSE, NREMT-P – University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
David Strickland, MS, LAT, ATC – University of Central Arkansas
Erik Swartz, PhD, ATC, FNATA – University of New Hampshire
Steve Tucker, PhD, LAT, ATC – University of Central Arkansas
Kinesiology Instructors Conduct Workshop for Local Physical Education Teachers
Mary Ann Schlientz
Betty Sessum
Dr. Mitch Parker
Suzi Wilcox
The UCA Physical Education Teacher Education (PETE) faculty conducted an in-service workshop in early August for the Conway Public Schools. The program was a Professional Development for Physical Educators in K-12. Betty Sessum and Suzi Wilcox lead the elementary curriculum instruction with scooter games, dance and yoga. Mitch Parker, PhD and Mary Ann Schlientz conducted the secondary portion of the program by introducing lessons in basketball and volleyball from the Games for Understanding curriculum model.
“The PETE department from UCA did an outstanding job working with our Conway School District Physical Education teachers,” Janet Taylor, assistant athletic director at Conway High School, stated. “We had around 30 – 35 teachers that attended and all were engaged and enthused by the workshop presentations. We are looking forward to continuing to grow our great partnership with that department.”
Faculty, Students Publications
Elizandro, A., Bramlett, R.K. & Crow, R. (2012). The effects of musically adapted and traditionally read social stories on the prosocial and negative behaviors of hyperactive-impulsive children. Perspectives (Journal of the Early Childhood Music and Movement Association), 7, 9-15.
Bramlett, R. K., Hopper, J., Lester, M., & Hindman, J. (2012, February). School Psychologists’ Training in Prevention: A Survey of Program Directors. Paper presented at the National Association of School Psychologist, Philadelphia: PA.
Nail, P. (2012, April). Future trajectories in psychology and culture. In R. Wight (Ed.), Future trajectories in psychology: Perspectives from SWPA’s past presidents. Invited symposium, Southwestern Psychological Association, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
Joshi, K. J., Simon, J., Bihm, E. M., & Nail, P. R. (April, 2012). The relationship between self-esteem, defensive egotism, and various roles in bullying situations. Poster presented at the Southwestern Psychological Association, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
Mikeal, C., & Nail, P. R. (April, 2012). I have to wash my hair: Why reasons matter. Paper presented at the Southwestern Psychological Association, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
Van der Toorn, J., Nail, P. R., Liviatan, I., & Jost, J. (2012, March). My country, right or wrong: System threat eliminates the liberal-conservative gap in patriotism. Invited address, 5th Annual Conference on Experimental Political Science, New York University, New York.
Simon, J.B. (2012, March). Enhancing hospital-to-school transition success: How YOU can contribute. Arkansas Mental Health in Education Association, Little Rock, Arkansas.
Mitchell, C., & Simon, J. (2012, February). Seeking interventions: Development of the Website Investigation Model. Poster presented at the National Association of School Psychologists, Philadelphia, PA.