Maya Miyairi, MS., will be serving as a Graduate Assistant for Dr. Julia Summerhays, the Research Administrator of the College of Health. Maya will assist the faculty in the College with grant preparation and submission. Maya is a new doctoral student in Health Promotion and Education. She earned her Bachelor's and Master's from Exercise and Sport Science here at the University of Utah. She is one of the founding student members of SPEAK (Students Promoting Eating Disorder Awareness and Knowledge) and has served as the Treasurer and Research Director. Maya loves to ski, especially at Snowbird. Welcome, Maya!
Communication Sciences and Disorders
The Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders was recently ranked the sixth best speech and hearing science program in the United States by Academic Analytics. The rankings were assessed according to scholarly productivity of faculty using their book and journal publications, journal article citations, federally-funded research grants, and other awards. Congratulations!
The CSD Department is pleased to announce three promotions among their faculty: Dr. Kathy Chapman to Professor, Dr. Susan Naidu to Associate Professor (Clinical), and Janet Goldstein, MS., to Assistant Professor (Clinical).
A study hall for the use of the CSD undergraduate and graduate students is being created.
Exercise and Sport Science
Dr. Keith Henschen, Professor, will be retiring in January 2010 after 38 years in the Department of Exercise and Sport Science at the University of Utah. Thank you, Dr. Henschen, for the incredible impact of years of world class teaching and mentoring in Sports Psychology, as well as your unmatched expertise and assistance to athletes both amateur and professional on the University, local, state, national, and world stages.
Kudos to PEAK Academy Director Traci Thompson, MS., Instructor (Clinical), and to PEAK's stellar staff and clinicians who recently completed biometric testing for over 10,000 University employees in connection with the Well U Program.
Dr. Melinda Houston, Assistant Professor (Lecturer), competed in the ITU Triathlon World Championship in Gold Coast, Australia in September 2009. The race involved 6,000 competitors from 42 countries. Dr. Houston placed 13th in her age group and 2nd out of all U.S. participants. Congratulations, Dr. Houston!
The Department is pleased to announce a merger between the Nutrition Clinic of the Division of Nutrition and PEAK Academy of ESS. The merger represents an exciting opportunity to combine two disciplines that should go together - exercise and nutrition. The new Nutrition Clinic is under construction in the HPER West building and should be completed in October 2009.
Kinesiology in the Department of Exercise and Sport Science has been ranked 26th in the nation by the American Academy of Kinesiology and Physical Education.
The Department is pleased to welcome Cheryl Bradley as the new Administrative Assistant.
Health Promotion and Education
The Department of Health Promotion and Education would like to welcome several new faculty and staff members to their ranks: Dr. Shaunna Burbidge, Assistant Professor (Lecturer); Leone Hammond, Research Associate; Dr. Nick Galli, Assistant Professor (Lecturer) and Undergraduate Advisor; Lindsey Malheiro, Administrative Assistant; and David Jenkins, Accounting Specialist.
The Magna Project. The Department of Health Promotion and Education has signed a contract with the Utah Partnership for Health Weight to implement a community-wide positive approach to health and life enrichment. The Magna Project will begin with an effort to prevent and combat excessive weight gain and obesity in the Magna Township with a primary focus on children and adolescents. The project is funded in order to implement "The Utah Blueprint to Promote Healthy Weight for Children, Youth, and Adults" that was authored by the Utah Department of Health in 2006. The Health Promotion and Education Department will co-create with influential local organizations a powerful social and cultural health movement to help Magna residents to live healthy lives. The focus will be on a marketing campaign, educational programming, and policy and environmental improvements.
Nutrition
The Division of Nutrition has 15 new graduate students enrolled for Fall Semester 2009.
The Division of Nutrition graduated 83 undergraduate students with minors in Nutrition in May 2009, and currently has 200 students enrolled in the minor program.
The Division is pleased to announce a merger between the Nutrition Clinic and PEAK Academy of the Department of Exercise and Sport Science. The merger represents an exciting opportunity to combine two disciplines that should go together - exercise and nutrition. The new Nutrition Clinic is under construction in the HPER West building and should be completed in October 2009.
The Division is developing a faculty and student interchange in Pediatric Nutrition between the University of Utah and Francisco Marroquin University of Guatemala. The interchange will build a relationship to foster the exchange of students and faculty members, as well as to develop joint academic activities and research activities.
The Division of Nutrition recently passed a five-year accreditation review by the American Dietary Association.
Occupational Therapy
The Division of Occupational Therapy, now celebrating its tenth year, has just been approved by the Graduate Council to offer a Clinical Doctorate program.
The University of Utah Academic Senate in October 2009 approved a new doctorate in the Division of Occupational Therapy. This professional doctorate is for currently-licensed occupational therapists who have earned either a bachelor's or master's degree who may want to advance their education. The intent is to produce leaders in the profession who will contribute to the body of evidence within the profession, who will disseminate knowledge, develop programs, and perhaps enter educational positions.
The OT Division welcomes Kasey Mitchell, MS., Assistant Professor (Clinical), as the Division's Clinic Coordinator. Kasey will be formalizing the Division of Occupational Therapy Faculty Practice including procuring space appropriate for the practice.
Five OT students recently accompanied Dr. Donna Costa, Professor (Clinical), for two weeks of service in Chernivtsi, Ukraine. They provided direct OT services to a variety of citizens.
Dr. Tina McNulty, Assistant Professor, has been invited to present an abstract at the World Federation of Occupational Therapy to be held in Santiago, Chile in May 2010. Her presentation is entitled: "Fulfilling Occupational Therapy's Full Promise of Occupation to Persons with Parkinson's Disease: Integrating Time Geography Strategies into Traditional Home-based Occupational Therapy Services".
Yda Smith, Assistant Professor (Clinical), has been invited to make an oral presentation at the World Federation of Occupational Therapy to be held in Santiago, Chile in May 2010. Her presentation is entitled: "Restoration of the Occupation of Weaving for Karen Refugee Women in the United States".
Dr. Louise Dunn, Assistant Professor, is starting an interdisciplinary, community-based program called SNAPPY to promote healthy eating and active play for low-income preschoolers and their parents. Dr. Dunn and the SNAPPY team, which come from several departments in the College of Health, are working in collaboration with the James R. Russell Head Start Program. The SNAPPY team will begin recruiting members for the program in September 2009. The participants in the program will meet twice a week for five weeks at Head Start.
The Division has entered into a Partnership with Neuroworx to provide technology and community practice with people who have sustained a spinal cord injury. This partnership is in collaboration with University of Utah Health Sciences Center Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation Occupational Therapists and Physiatrists.
Parks, Recreation and Tourism
Dr. Karen Paisley, Associate Professor and Director of Undergraduate Studies, will be installed in October as the new President of the National Society for Parks and Recreation Educators. Congratulations, Dr. Paisley!
The Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism has been ranked 12th among similar programs at American universities by the Journal of Leisure Sciences.
Physical Therapy
The Department of Physical Therapy at the University of Utah, now celebrating its 40th anniversary, is pleased to announce that they have been ranked 19th out 212 Physical Therapy programs in the United States by US News and World Report.
Dr. Scott Ward, Professor and Department Chair, was reelected to a second term of office as President of the National American Physical Therapy Association at the Annual Conference of the APTA in Baltimore, Maryland in June 2009. Congratulations, Dr. Ward!
Dr. Julie Fritz, Associate Professor, was awarded the Jules M. Rothstein Golden Pen Award for Scientific Writing from the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) at the 2009 Annual Conference in Baltimore, Maryland in June. The Golden Pen was established to recognize individuals who have made significant contributions to the advancement of Physical Therapy, the official journal of the American Physical Therapy Association. The award recognizes an individual who has demonstrated superior writing skills in one of more articles published in the journal, and who has collaborated with or encouraged others to make similar contributions.
The Davis Phinney Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to improving the lives of people with Parkinson's Disease, recently presented the Physical Therapy Department at the University of Utah with grant support to conduct a landmark study in evaluating the long-term physical and emotional effects of Parkinson's Disease. Dr. Lee Dibble, Assistant Professor, has been named as the Lead Study Investigator.
Dr. Scott Ward, Professor and Department Chair, has recently been selected as the recipient of the 2009 Utah Physical Therapy Association (UPTA) Lifetime Achievement Award. This is a prestigious award that recognizes the outstanding contributions made by the recipient to the profession of physical therapy. Dr. Ward also recently received the Curtis P. Artz Distinguished Service Award from the American Burn Association.
