Human Development & Family Science News
Careers of impact: Human development and family science alumni thrive in wide-ranging careers
In the 1920s, the study of human development and family science at Syracuse University emerged from the intersection of home economics, early childhood education and care, and child psychology. Today, it is a dynamic, interdisciplinary field that studies the processes of human social, physical, and emotional growth and development throughout the lifespan and across cross-cultural contexts, utilizing research methods and techniques typical of other social sciences. Individuals and families are at the very foundation of society. From medicine to education, from policy to business, there is a great need for professionals who know and understand the science of human development.
At Syracuse University, in-class exploration of theory is paired with research and experiential learning in the community and around the world. Using an interdisciplinary approach, students gain well-rounded exposure, exploring topics such as immigrants and cross-cultural issues, mindfulness and self-regulation in children, and gerontology, the study of aging.
With a strong foundation in human development, alumni enter the professional
world as informed global citizens, well equipped to promote human health and social justice, and are competitive candidates for advanced degrees in fields such as medicine, education, research, and others.
Alumni records show that graduates of the Department of Human Development and Family Science are having a positive impact in many different fields. Here are just some of the recent job titles and academic pursuits held by human development alumni:
Healthcare
Alumni are well-prepared to pursue professional roles or advance degrees for careers as child life specialists, or in pediatrics, family practice, medical social work, and speech/occupational/physical/recreational therapy in hospitals, community care clinics, mental health services, intervention and prevention services, home health services, and hospices.
Professional
- Pediatrician, The Commonwealth Medical College
- Registered Nurse, Columbian Neonatal Intensive Care Unit
- Pediatric Nurse, Pediatric Intensive Care Unit at NewYork-Presbyterian Weill Cornell Hospital
- Research Assistant, Yale Child Study Center, Yale School of Medicine
- Planned Parenthood Specialist, Planned Parenthood National Headquarters
- Child Life Specialist
- Newark Beth Israel Medical Center
- Rochester General Hospital
- Children’s Hospital of New Jersey
- Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
- Bristol-Myers Squibb Children’s Hospital
- NewYork-Presbyterian Weill Cornell Children’s Hospital
Academic
- Nursing: Johns Hopkins University
- Occupational Therapy: Columbia University
- Speech Language Pathology: Columbia University, New York University
- Physician Assistant: Wake Forest University
- Mental Health Counseling: Rutgers University
- Prevention Science and Practice: Harvard Graduate School
- Child Psychology: Massachusetts School of Professional Psychology
Law, government, advocacy, social services
Alumni protect and promote the wellbeing of individuals and communities through law and public policy, as well as providing vital social services and advocacy. These alumni work in federal, state, and local government agencies, mental health agencies, the criminal justice system, and agencies that serve the needs of specific populations, such as women, children, older adults, and military families.
Professional
- Practicing Attorney and Partner, Primo & Hills Law Firm
- Child Advocate, McMahon/Ryan Child Advocacy Center
- Crisis Interventionist, Vera House
- Caseworker, Otsego County Department of Social Services
- Family Services Specialist, Clark County Department of Family Services
Academic
- Social Work: Columbia University, Ohio State University, New York University (NYU), Simmons College, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Tulane University, University of Maryland, Boston University
- Law School: Suffolk University, Syracuse University
Community services
Alumni serve in a wide variety of roles for community programs and centers, rehabilitation organizations, human resources, retirement homes, adoption agencies, and programs that serve children and adults with special needs.
Professional
- Intake Worker, Head Start/Early Head Start Program, PEACE, Inc.
- Playworks Team Leader, AmeriCorps
- Therapeutic Foster Care Program, Hillside Children’s Center
- Skill Builder, Hillside Children’s Center
- Youth Development Professional, Elmcrest Children’s Center
- Managerial Recruiting Family and Children, Peace, Inc. Summer School
- Social Services, Catholic Charities
- Planned Parenthood Specialist, Planned Parenthood National Headquarters
- Child Advocate, McMahon/Ryan Child Advocacy Center
- Senior Program Assistant, Dunbar Association
- Youth Specialist, YWCA
Academic
- Early Child Development: Korea University Graduate School
- Marriage and Family Therapy: Syracuse University
- Child Studies: Vanderbilt University
- Divinity: Southern Lutheran Seminary
Education, counseling, human services
Human development and family science alumni have an excellent foundation for roles in education, such as teaching, counseling, administration, inclusive special education, coaching, youth development, and curriculum development. Employers include public and private schools, preschools, childcare centers, youth programs, and adult education programs, as well as colleges and universities.
Professional
- Education Specialist, Seneca Nation
- Associate Teacher, Success Academy
- Pre-K Teaching Assistant, Syracuse Early Education Child Care Center
- Teacher, Reading/English Language Arts (ELA), City Year
- Summer Lead Teacher, Lenox Hill Neighborhood House
- Teacher, Liverpool City School District
- Head Start Teacher, PEACE, Inc.
- Middle School Special Education, Teach for America
- Associate Teacher, Success Academy
- Lacrosse Coach, Division One
- Assistant Teacher, Bernice M. Wright Child Development Laboratory School
Academic
- Counseling and Guidance K-12: New York University
- Elementary and Special Education: New York University
- Early Childhood/Elementary Education: Rutgers University
- Instructional Design, Development and Evaluation: Syracuse University
- Early Childhood Special Education: Syracuse University
- Counseling Psychology: University of Denver
Business
Alumni are prepared to work in human resources and corporate wellness initiatives, as well as business development and marketing for children and family-based products and services.
Professional
- Business Analyst, Dell EMC
- Human Resources, Dunbar Association
- Corporate Management Associate, Project Sunshine
- Advertising Professional, AIM Group
- Digital Marketing/Art Therapy, Salt Digital Recruitment
- Realtor, Gold Coast Realty, South Florida
- Cooperate Management Associate, Project Sunshine
Academic
- Master of Business Administration (MBA): Saint Joseph’s University
- Applied Behavior Analysis: George Washington University, Columbia University
Visit Falk College’s Department of Human Development and Family Science for more information.
Falk College welcomes new faculty and staff
Syracuse University’s Falk College is pleased to welcome four new staff members who have joined Falk College in the past academic year: Donna Fecteau, Administrative Assistant in the Department of Exercise Science; Julia Fuqua, Office Coordinator in the Department of Exercise Science; Heather Mauro, Internship Placement Coordinator in the School of Social Work, and; Melissa Tobin, Counselor, Academic Services in the Office of Student Services.
In addition, Falk College is pleased to announce the appointment of six new faculty members, Bernard Appiah, Maria Erdman, Kenneth Marfilius, Miriam Mutambudzi, Latha Ramalingam, and Maryam Yuhas, in addition to six faculty who join Falk College with the Department of Exercise Science, Tiago Barreira, Tom Brutsaert, Keith DeRuisseau, Kevin Heffernan, Joon Young Kim, and Kristen Konkol.
Bernard Appiah
Assistant Professor, Department of Public Health
Bernard Appiah joins the Department of Public Health in Falk College as Assistant Professor in Fall 2020.
Prior to joining Syracuse University, Appiah was Assistant Professor at Texas A&M University’s School of Public Health in the Departments of Environmental and Occupational Health and Public Health Studies. He was the Founding Director of the Research Program on Public and International Engagement for Health. Previously, Appiah served as a Drug Information Pharmacist/Publications Manager at the National Drug Information Resource Centre (NDIRC) for the Ministry of Health in Ghana. He has taught courses such as environmental and occupational health communication, social context of population health, and comparative global health systems.
Appiah’s research interests lie in socio-behavioral approaches for exploring public health issues, global health and environmental health with emphasis on socio-behavioral change communication, public/community engagement interventions, and dissemination of information/knowledge through culturally appropriate communication channels. He is published in several journals, including Psychiatry Research, BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies, Journal of Medical Internet Research (JMIR) mHealth and uHealth, and authored book chapters, technical reports, and many articles for mass media. He has presented at the International Workshop for Practitioners of Engagement Between Health Researchers and Schools in Kilifi, Kenya, the West African Society of Pharmacologists (WASOP) Conference in Ghana, and the Academy for Future International Leaders (AFIL) Open Session Seminar on Global Health Issues.
Appiah’s research has received support from the Wellcome Trust, UK, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Grand Challenges Canada, USAID Ghana, and Texas A&M University. Among the most recent supporters of his research is the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) of the National Institutes of Health. Appiah is the recipient of numerous teaching and research fellowships and other honors including being named as a Carnegie African Diaspora Fellow in 2018 and 2016. He currently serves as Head of Capacity Building and Research Programmes for the Pan-African Network for Popularization of Science and Technology and Science Communication (African Gong); member of the Healthcare Safety and Quality Expert Committee of the U.S. Pharmacopeia, and; reviewer for Public Understanding of Science.
Appiah earned his Dr.PH in Health Promotion and Community Health Sciences in 2013 and his M.S. in Science and Technology Journalism from Texas A&M University’s School of Public Health and College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences, respectively. He earned his master’s in Development Communication from the University of the Philippines Open University (UPOU) and his B.Pharm in Pharmacy from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) in Ghana.
Tiago Barreira
Assistant Professor, Department of Exercise Science
Tiago Barreira joins Falk College as Assistant Professor in the Department of Exercise Science in Fall 2020. He teaches courses such as systemic physiology and exercise, research methods in exercise and sports science, measurement and evaluation in exercise science, physical activity and public health, and obesity and body composition.
Prior to joining Falk College in 2020, the Department of Exercise Science was positioned within Syracuse University’s School of Education, where Barreira has served as Assistant Professor since 2014. Barreira is also the Director of the Kinesmetrics Laboratory at Syracuse University. Prior to joining Syracuse, he completed a Postdoctoral Fellowship at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center. Barreira’s research focuses on the measurement of physical activity: establishing validity and reliability evidence of physical activity measurement tools; determining how to use physical activity measurement tools to obtain reliable and accurate information on physical activity patterns; the use of physical activity measurement tools as a motivation to promote increased physical activity levels, and; investigating the relationship between physical activity and cardiovascular disease risk factors. His work is published in several journals, most recently in International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, the Journal of Aging and Physical Activity, Disability and Rehabilitation, Artery Research, and the Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness among others. He has given presentations for the International Biometric Conference, The American College of Sports Medicine, and the International Conference on Ambulatory Monitoring of Physical Activity and Movement, among others.
Past research has received support from the National Institutes of Health, American Heart Association, Institute for Educational Sciences SHAPE America, Fight for Hearts, among others. Barreira is a journal editor for the Physical Activity section of Measurement in Physical Education and Exercise and is a manuscript reviewer for several journals and publications. He currently serves as Co-Chair of the Measurement and Evaluation Special Interest Group from SHAPE America and a member of the American College of Sports Medicine Mid-Atlantic Chapter Research Committee.
Barreira earned his Ph.D. in Human Performance with a concentration in Kinesmetrics in 2010 from Middle Tennessee State University, where he also earned his M.S. in Exercise Science. He also earned a B.A. Physical Education and B.S. in Business Administration from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington.
Tom Brutsaert
Professor, Department of Exercise Science
Tom Brutsaert joins Falk College as Professor in the Department of Exercise Science in Fall 2020. In the department, he teaches courses such as energy metabolism and exercise, physiology of exercise, environmental physiology, high altitude physiology and biology, and human biological variation.
Prior to joining Falk College in 2020, the Department of Exercise Science was positioned within Syracuse University’s School of Education, where Brutsaert has served as Professor since 2016 and previously as Associate Professor since 2009. At Syracuse, Brutsaert is the Director of the Altitude Simulation Laboratory, holds a courtesy appointment in the Department of Anthropology, and helps to coordinate the Human Performance Laboratory. Before joining Syracuse University, he held several positions at SUNY Albany. There, he was a Fellow in the Center for Social and Demographic Analysis, and was Associate Professor in the Department of Anthropology from 2005 to 2009 after being promoted from Assistant Professor. He also served as Co-Director of the Human Biology Program from 2003 to 2004. He completed an NIH Postdoctoral Fellowship at the University of California at San Diego’s School of Medicine in the Division of Physiology.
Brutsaert has broad research interests in how gene and environment interact to produce variation in human athletic ability and health and disease. His work is published in several publications, most recently in Frontiers in Genetics, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, European Journal of Applied Physiology, the American Journal of Physical Anthropology, and International Journal of Molecular Sciences, among others. He has given presentations at the International Conference on Genomics, Leh High Altitude Symposium, World Congress on High Altitude Medicine and Physiology, for the Center for Physiological Genomics, and others.
Past research has received support from the National Science Foundation (NSF Division of Behavioral and Cognitive Sciences, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, the National Geographic Foundation, and a Fulbright Specialist Award. Brutsaert serves on the Advisory Editorial Board for Sports Sciences for Health and the Editorial Board for High Altitude Medicine and Biology, and previously served in editorial and reviewer roles for other journals, books, and grants.
Brutsaert earned his Ph.D. in Biological Anthropology in 1977 from Cornell University, where he also earned his M.S. in Human Nutrition and M.A. in Biological Anthropology. He earned his B.A. in Biology from Northeastern University.
Keith DeRuisseau
Associate Professor and Chair, Department of Exercise Science
Keith DeRuisseau joins Falk College as Associate Professor in the Department of Exercise Science in Fall 2020. He is currently the Chair of the department and teaches courses such as introduction to exercise science, physiology of exercise, and skeletal muscle physiology.
Prior to joining Falk College in 2020, the Department of Exercise Science was positioned within Syracuse University’s School of Education, where DeRuisseau has served as Associate Professor since 2012 and previously as Assistant Professor since 2006. Before joining Syracuse University, he was a Postdoctoral Associate in the Department of Applied Physiology and Kinesiology at the University of Florida.
DeRuisseau’s research investigates potential mediators of skeletal muscle dysfunction under conditions that include disuse, aging, and trisomy (a model of Down syndrome). An emphasis is placed on how iron, oxidants, and antioxidants contribute to skeletal muscle mass and functional responses. He is published in several journals, most recently in Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism, the Journal of Applied Physiology, International Journal of Molecular Sciences, European Journal of Sport Science, and Respiratory Physiology & Neurobiology. He has presented his work at Experimental Biology annual meetings and for the American College of Sports Medicine.
Past research has received support from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) and National Institute on Aging (NIA), the Diabetes Group of the Hill Collaboration on Environmental Medicine, the Syracuse University Gerontology Center, and others. DeRuisseau is a 2015-16 Fulbright U.S. Scholar Grant awardee for the Fulbright-Saastamoinen Foundation Grant in Health and Environmental Sciences. He is a member of the American Physiological Society and invited manuscript reviewer for publications such as Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, the International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism, and the Journal of Applied Physiology, among others.
DeRuisseau earned his Ph.D. in Movement Science from Florida State University in 2002. He earned his M.S. and B.S. in Exercise Science, both from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.
Maria Erdman
Associate Teaching Professor, Department of Nutrition and Food Studies
Maria Erdman joins the Department of Nutrition and Food Studies in Falk College as an Associate Teaching Professor in Fall 2020. At Syracuse, Erdman will teach in the nutrition program.
Prior to joining Syracuse University, Erdman was employed at Morrison Healthcare at Upstate University Hospital as a Clinical Outpatient Dietitian at the Upstate Cancer Center since 2014. Prior to that time, she was a Clinical Inpatient Dietitian. Previously, she was a Graduate Research and Teaching Assistant at Syracuse University, and also worked as a Laboratory Manager and Research Technician at UC Davis, Yale College, and Syracuse University.
Erdman’s research on nutrition on college campuses is published in Public Health Nutrition and Health Promotion. She has presented at the Food and Nutrition Conference and Exposition of the American Dietetic Association (2010) and NYSDA Annual Meeting (2009). She has given many nutrition lectures and educational sessions at Oasis/Healthlink Learning Center at Upstate Medical University, Upstate Cancer Center, Upstate Healthlink On Air Radio Program, and Upstate Medical University Physical Therapy, among others.
She is the recipient of several awards, including the Upstate Cancer Center Nutrition Services Fund, a grant from the Upstate Foundation to pay the nutrition counseling bills of cancer patients at Upstate Cancer Center, as well as the 2016 President’s Employee Recognition Award, Clinical Team of the Year. She also received the 2010 Outstanding Dietetics Student Dietetic Internship Award from the New York State Dietetic Association (NYSDA) and the Outstanding Graduate Student in Nutrition Science from Syracuse University. She has served in several volunteer positions for the CNYDA, including president, and has served in volunteer roles at the Crouse Hospital Clinical Dietetics Department, Syracuse City School District, and Community Supported Agriculture of Central New York, among others.
Erdman earned a M.S. in Nutrition Science at Syracuse University in 2009, where she also completed her Dietetic Internship, and a B.S. in Genetics at the University of California, Davis.
She earned certifications as a Board Certified Specialist in Oncology Nutrition (CSO) 2015-20 and a Board Certified Nutrition Support Clinician (CNSC) 2012-17.
Kevin Heffernan
Associate Professor, Department of Exercise Science
Kevin Heffernan joins Falk College as Associate Professor in the Department of Exercise Science in Fall 2020. In the department, he teaches courses such as exercise and aging, cardiac rehabilitation, and advanced cardiovascular exercise physiology.
Prior to joining Falk College in 2020, the Department of Exercise Science was positioned within Syracuse University’s School of Education, where Heffernan has served as Dean’s (Distinguished) Associate Professor since 2011. He currently serves as the Director of the Human Performance Laboratory at Syracuse University. Previously, he completed a Post-Doctoral Fellowship at the Tufts Medical Center, Molecular Cardiology Research Institute and the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging from 2008 to 2011.
Heffernan’s research examines the interaction of diet, nutritional supplementation and exercise, with an emphasis on resistance exercise, on vascular function in health, disease and disability throughout the human lifespan. His work is published in several journals, most recently the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, JAMA Cardiology, and the Journal of Applied Physiology. He has presented recent work on exercise and cardiovascular health at the American College of Sports Medicine and the North American Artery Society scientific conferences as well as work related to health disparities in cardiovascular disease risk to members of the Congressional Black Caucus. He is Past-President of the Mid-Atlantic Regional Chapter of the American College of Sports Medicine.
Past research has been funded by the American College of Sports Medicine and the American Heart Association. Current work is funded by the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities, part of the National Institutes of Health. Heffernan serves on the Syracuse University Institutional Review Board, Interdisciplinary Neuroscience Faculty, is an Aging Studies Institute Research Member and a Lerner Center for Public Health Promotion Faculty Fellow.
Heffernan earned his Ph.D. in Kinesiology/Exercise Physiology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2008. He holds a M.S. in Applied Physiology and Nutrition from Columbia University, and a B.S. in Exercise Science from the University of Scranton.
Joon Young Kim
Assistant Professor, Department of Exercise Science
Joon Young Kim joins Falk College as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Exercise Science in Fall 2020. In the department, he teaches courses such as pediatric obesity and systemic physiology and exercise.
Prior to joining Falk College in 2020, the Department of Exercise Science was positioned within Syracuse University’s School of Education, where Kim has served as Assistant Professor since 2019. He currently leads the Clinical Research Laboratory at Syracuse University. Previously, he was a National Institutes of Health-supported T32 Postdoctoral Scholar at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and Postdoctoral Associate at the UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh from 2015 to 2019.
Kim is a Ph.D.-scientist and a clinical researcher in exercise physiology with specific focus on childhood obesity, metabolism, and type 2 diabetes. His research focuses on pathophysiology of youth-onset prediabetes/type 2 diabetes, identification of novel phenotypic biomarkers and genetic targets of obesity and type 2 diabetes, and effects of lifestyle intervention on type 2 diabetes risk in obese youth. His work is published in several high-impact journals including Diabetes Care, Diabetes, and the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism. He has given presentations at the American Diabetes Association, American College of Sport Medicine, Endocrine Society, and others.
Past research has been funded by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases and the Arizona State University Research Support Program. He has received scholarships and awards from Yonsei University and Arizona State University, as well as the International Society for Pediatric and Adolescent Diabetes and the Endocrine Society. He currently serves as an Advising Member for the American Diabetes Association’s Exercise Physiology Interest Group Leadership Team, an Organizing/Scientific Committee Member for the World Obesity and Weight Management Congress, and an Editorial Board Member for the Journal of Obesity and Metabolic Syndrome.
Kim earned his Ph.D. in Kinesiology/Exercise Physiology from Arizona State University in 2015. He holds a B.S. in Physical Education from Yonsei University in South Korea.
Kristen Konkol
Assistant Teaching Professor, Department of Exercise Science
Kristin Konkol joins Falk College as an Assistant Teaching Professor in the Department of Exercise Science in Fall 2020. She has a dual appointment in the School of Education. In the department, she teaches courses such as structural kinesiology for performance enhancement and injury prevention, structural kinesiology, scientific principles of conditioning, and concepts of fitness. She also runs the internship and experience credits for the department.
Prior to joining Falk College in 2020, the Department of Exercise Science was positioned within Syracuse University’s School of Education, where Konkol has served as Assistant Professor since 2018, and formerly as part-time faculty. Previously, Konkol was an Assistant Professor in the Department of Human Performance, Exercise Science/Physiology at the Minnesota State University, Mankato, where she taught courses such as individualized exercise, aerobic conditioning, and concepts of fitness, among others. She also held an adjunct faculty position there, as well as coaching positions at the Gustavus Adolphus College. At the University of Kwa-Zulu Natal in South Africa, Konkol held several titles, including lecturer, lab instructor, manager in the Human Performance Laboratory, and performance specialist for professional athletes.
Konkol’s research interests include sport specific training; speed, agility, and quickness training; athletic performance testing; strength and conditioning; exercise immunology; and global perspectives in human performance. Konkol’s work is published in the Cardiovascular Journal of Africa, Sport Sciences for Health, Children, Sports and Exercise Medicine Open Journal, and International Journal of Exercise Science.
Konkol currently serves at Syracuse University as the I-Move Program Coordinator and Dance Minor Coordinator. From 2004 to 2006, she served as a United States Peace Corps Volunteer in Guyana and South America. Konlol is a Certified Performance Enhancement Specialist through the National Academy of Sports Medicine.
Konkol earned her Ph.D. in Sports Science from the University of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa in 2013. She earned an M.A. in Kinesiology with an Exercise Physiology emphasis and a graduate minor in Complementary and Alternative Therapy and Healing Practices from the University of Minnesota in 2001. She earned her B.S. in Exercise Science with a Cardiac Rehabilitation emphasis from the University of Toledo, where she was a Division I collegiate basketball athlete.
Kenneth Marfilius
Assistant Teaching Professor, School of Social Work
Ken Marfilius joins the School of Social Work in Falk College as an Assistant Teaching Professor in Fall 2020.
Prior to his new appointment at Syracuse University, Marfilius served as a Visiting Teaching Professor in Falk College’s School of Social Work since 2018, and as an Adjunct Faculty Member from 2016 to 2018. Marfilius will serve as the School of Social Work’s Undergraduate Director. He has taught courses on topics such as social work intervention, military culture and social work practice, psychopathology, and others. While active duty, Marfilius served in the U.S. Air Force Biomedical Science Corps in multiple roles: active duty clinical social worker, mental health therapist, family advocacy officer in charge, and as manager of the alcohol and drug prevention and treatment program. He was commissioned in 2013 and was discharged in 2016 having obtained the rank of captain. At the Barksdale Air Force Base, Marfilius served in a variety of mental health roles related to sexual assault prevention and response, suicide prevention, and traumatic stress. Marfilius has also worked for the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs at the Syracuse VA Medical Center in the Healthcare for Homeless Veterans Program, and as a Disruptive Behavior Committee Member.
Marfilius has given several presentations and trainings, topics ranging from veteran cultural competence to trauma-informed care, at the Association for Humanistic Counseling National Conference, the University of Pennsylvania School of Social Policy and Practice, and the United States Department of Veteran Affairs, among others.
Marfilius is honored with a National Defense Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, and Nuclear Deterrence Operations Service Medal. He is a recipient of the U.S. Air Force Health Professions Scholarship and the U.S. Air Force Outstanding Unit Award and has twice been awarded the Barksdale Air Force Base Medical Operations Squadron Company Grade Officer of the Quarter. Marfilius currently serves on several committees at Syracuse University, including his service as Chair of the Council on the Social Work Education Self-Study Steering Committee.
Marfilius earned a Doctorate in Clinical Social Work (D.S.W.) and Master of Social Work (M.S.W.) from the University of Pennsylvania School of Social Policy and Practice. He earned a B.A. in Psychology with a minor in Public Health from Syracuse University. He is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in the State of North Carolina and is certified in Prolonged Exposure Therapy.
Miriam Mutambudzi
Assistant Professor, Department of Public Health
Miriam Mutambudzi joins the Department of Public Health in Falk College as Assistant Professor in Fall 2020.
Prior to joining Syracuse University, Mutambudzi served as a Research Associate in the MRC/CSO Social and Public Health Sciences Unit at the University of Glasgow in Scotland, and a Guest Epidemiology Professor in the Department of Epidemiology and Social Medicine at the University of Antwerp in Belgium. Previously, she was an Assistant Professor in the Department of Preventive Medicine and Community Health at the University of Texas Medical Branch, and a Senior Research Program Coordinator at Johns Hopkins University’s School of Medicine.
Mutambudzi’s research focus is on chronic disease and occupational epidemiology. Much of her research has largely been directed towards the use of longitudinal data to assess disparities in morbidity, disability, and mortality, with particular interest in onset and progression of chronic diseases, work-related health outcomes, and social determinants of health in vulnerable populations and older adults in Europe and the U.S. She has published extensively in peer-reviewed journals including the European Journal of Ageing, Journal of Gerontology: Medical Science, and the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, among many others. She has presented at the International Union for the Scientific Study of Population (IUSSP), Epidemiology in Occupation Health Conference (EPICOH), and the Population Association of America (PAA).
Mutambudzi is the 2020 recipient of the Kammer Emmett Award from the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM) for the most outstanding article published in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine in 2019. Past research support includes funding from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). She is an Editorial Board Member of the Journal of Aging and Health and has served as an editorial peer reviewer for many other journals. She is a member of the European Association for Population Studies.
Mutambudzi earned her Ph.D. in Public Health from University of Connecticut in 2012. She also holds a Master of Public Health (MPH) and a B.A. in International Studies from the West Virginia University.
Latha Ramalingam
Assistant Professor, Department of Nutrition and Food Studies
Latha Ramalingam joins the Department of Nutrition and Food Studies in Falk College as Assistant Professor in Fall 2020. She works broadly in areas of metabolic disease, which include obesity and diabetes.
Prior to joining Syracuse University, Ramalingam was a Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Nutritional Sciences at Texas Tech University since 2014. Previously, she served at Indiana University’s School of Medicine as a Postdoctoral Fellow and a Research Assistant.
Ramalingam’s research interests include strategies, both in vitro and in vivo, to investigate the effects of Bioactives (omega-3 fatty acids, Vitamin D) in maternal obesity using animal models. She also has projects investigating the mechanism behind the role of Renin Angiotensin System (RAS) in beta cells. She has published in several journals, including Scientific Reports, Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry, Molecular Nutrition & Food Research, Nutrients, and Diabetes. She has presented her work at the American Society of Nutrition, American Heart Association and Obesity Society.
Ramalingam’s research has been supported by the American Heart Association, the USDA, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, the Obesity Society, and Texas Tech University. She is the recipient of several awards, including Early Career Travel Award for International Congress of Nutrition, Argentina 2017, and 2016 IJO Young Investigator Award, 13th International Congress of Obesity, Vancouver, Canada and the Early Career Grant Challenge from Obesity Society among other awards. Currently, she serves on the Editorial Board for the Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry, International Journal of Diabetes, and Obesity and Nutritional Disorders.
Ramalingam earned her Ph.D. at the Indiana University’s School of Medicine, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, in 2014. She also holds a M.Tech from Vellore Institute of Technology’s School of Biotechnology in Vellore, India and a B.Pharm from Sri Ramachandra Medical College’s School of Pharmacy in Chennai.
Maryam Yuhas
Assistant Professor, Department of Nutrition and Food Studies
Maryam Yuhas joins the Department of Nutrition and Food Studies as Assistant Professor in fall 2020. At Syracuse University, Yuhas will teach in the nutrition program.
Prior to joining Syracuse University, Yuhas served as a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the University of Virginia School of Medicine, Department of Public Health Sciences, since 2019. Previously, she has practiced as Registered Dietitian in two different clinical settings and has held roles as Graduate Research Assistant for the University of Virginia’s Department of Public Health Sciences, Virginia Tech’s Department of Human Nutrition, Foods, and Exercise, and for Oklahoma State University’s Department of Nutritional Sciences. She has also held other intern, extern, and teaching assistant roles. Yuhas’s research is rooted in the socioecological perspective and focuses on working with minority, low-income, and rural communities to implement and evaluate nutrition- and physical activity-based interventions. She is published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, Journal of Medical Internet Research (JMIR) mHealth and uHealth, Journal of Appalachian Health, Contemporary Clinical Trials, Preventive Nutrition and Food Science, and Nutrition and Metabolic Insights. She has given scientific presentations at The Obesity Society, Experimental Biology, and the Oklahoma Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, among others.
Current research projects for which Yuhas serves as Postdoctoral Research Associate are supported by the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and by the Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI). Yuhas is the recipient of several awards, including the 2013 Weber Gerontology Scholarship Award at Oklahoma State University and the 2016 Interdisciplinary Graduate Education Program Award at Virginia Tech, among others. She currently serves as a reviewer for several journals including the Journal of Medical Internet Research, the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, and the Journal of Adolescent Health. She is a member of the Society of Behavioral Medicine, the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and several community-based advisory boards and coalitions.
Yuhas earned her Ph.D. in Human Nutrition, Foods, and Exercise from Virginia Tech in 2019, specializing in Behavioral and Community Sciences. She earned her M.S. in Nutritional Sciences from Oklahoma State University and her B.S. in Nutrition and Dietetics from Benedictine University. She completed her Dietetic Internship at Oklahoma State University and earned her Registered Dietitian (RDN) credential from Commission on Dietetics Registration in 2014.
Alumna Elevates Black Authors and Illustrators One Little Library at a Time
After her online workday was over, Kamya often tried to spend time outside. “I would go on a lot of walks every day, and I passed a few Little Libraries in my neighborhood,” she says. The Little Free Libraries are part of a national network of outdoor, weatherproof, publicly accessible bookshelves that serve as a free book exchange in many communities. “I found that they were a great place to get or share books,” Kamya says. “When families go to one of these Little Libraries, parents often grab books for their children, but also maybe a book for themselves.”
As an undergraduate majoring in child and family studies (now known as human development and family science) at Falk College, Kamya had interned at a local middle school. Although she enjoyed her hands-on experience, it underscored the fact that people of color are still underrepresented in materials used to support the curriculum—an observation Kamya recalled from her own childhood as a booklover who rarely saw herself represented. “That was really helpful in opening my eyes to the work I wanted to continue after college,” she says.
For the past year, Kamya has been working at Manhattan’s Public School 191, the Riverside School for Makers and Artists, where she has seen how important an inclusive curriculum is to the students, who are predominately people of color. “I think my school does an incredible job of amplifying Black voices, and really using the curriculum as a great steppingstone to have these conversations,” Kamya says.
In the Little Free Libraries near her home office, Kamya saw an opportunity to enlighten her community. She began by placing books that offered full, relatable portrayals of Black characters. “It was a light bulb, and it just worked out with the timing of being home, the timing of the protests going on, and the systemic racism that’s gone on in our country for too long,” she says. “I knew that this project would be really simple. I think sharing a book is an easy way to share ideas. You can hold it, underline it, pass it along, or you can have it in your house for years. Why not take this opportunity to really spread awareness and open up people’s eyes to things that they hadn’t seen before?”
Kamya says these books can potentially enhance awareness, providing access to literature that is new to many families and giving all children an opportunity to read stories that feature Black excellence. She believes books have the power to create change. “That change may be within ourselves or spread to others.” She calls her project Little Free Diverse Libraries.
’Cuse Conversations Podcast
To finance books, she started with a request on social media. She asked her family and friends to make a donation and promised all proceeds would be spent at Black-owned bookstores. This idea resonated with people, and she raised $10,000. Then, New York City author Eva Chen amplified Kamya’s message to her own 1.4 million followers and suggested a way to streamline the donation process. “She said, ‘Why don’t you make an Amazon Wishlist? And then people will be able to choose the books that they want to send you.’” The wish list has allowed the project to expand even faster, Kamya says. “I’ve probably received over 500 books on Amazon, and I’ve sent out over 600 books now to other people in different states.” The first week the wish list was open, around 60 boxes of books arrived at Kamya’s home. “People are really supportive of this project and have been helping me expand this further than I ever imagined.”
To date, 28 different states have received or will be receiving books from Kamya’s collection. She filled 15 Little Libraries in her hometown of Arlington, and volunteers in Austin, Texas, filled five. Three Little Libraries in Los Angeles have received books like Undefeated, written by Kwame Alexander and illustrated by Kadir Nelson, and Hair Love, written by Matthew Cherry and illustrated by Vashti Harrison. Other examples include Angie Thomas’ The Hate U Give, Michelle Obama’s Becoming, and Beverly Daniel Tatum’s Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? “It keeps building. My friend, who lives in Kentucky, is filling about four libraries this weekend,” says Kamya.
During her summer vacation, Kamya is spending a lot of time in her dining room processing the piles of books. She’s enlisted friends and her parents, calling the project a team effort. “I had to make my mom relocate her at home office, but it’s okay,” she says. When donations arrive, Kamya spends at least an hour unboxing everything. Each book is outfitted with individual stickers that say: “Black stories matter. This book was chosen with love by anti-racist educators. Please treat it with care and return it to the Little Free Library so that others can enjoy it.”
Although her project is time consuming, the potential benefits for people of color inspire Kamya. “My hope is that these younger people and students will really feel motivated. Hopefully students of color can see themselves represented and go out there and make change and not be afraid to step up into leadership roles or take on really challenging things, because they’re capable.” Kamya’s goal is for these books to be accessible to all people and to inspire conversations. “I want the books to keep replenishing themselves. I want Black authors to keep writing books, and for characters that are minorities to be represented. Even if all the libraries were filled in the country, it doesn’t stop there.”
People interested in contributing to this project can do so at the Little Free Diverse Libraries Instagram profile.
~ Brandon Dyer
This story was published on July 16, 2020 as a Syracuse University Story.
Congratulations 2020 Falk Student Research Celebration Winners
The Falk Student Research Celebration is an annual event that takes place to highlight undergraduate and graduate student research projects Students submit posters for display and are judged by a committee of faculty, staff, and peers. Participants compete for educational funds to present their posters on a larger stage, to attend a conference to gain further insights into their respective fields, or for other educational endeavors. This year’s celebration took place virtually.
Undergraduate Winners
Sentiment Analysis and Video Assistance Referees (VAR) in Professional Soccer
Name: Dylan Blechner
Program/Major: Sport Analytics
Faculty Research Mentor: Rodney Paul
Insecticide Treated Nets and Insecticide Resistance on Malaria Prevention in sub-Saharan Africa
Name: Rachael Church and Dr. David Larsen
Program/Major: Biology Major with a Public Health Minor and Environment & Society Minor
Faculty Research Mentor: David Larsen
Examining Wealth Trends in Kombewa, Kenya
Name: Alizée McLorg, Dr. David Larsen, Dr. Andrea Shaw, Dr. Bhavneet Walia, Kennedy Omolo, and Peter Sifuna
Program/Major: Public Health
Faculty Research Mentor: David Larsen
Energy Availability in Female Collegiate Athletes: A Pilot Study
Name: Jessica Neidel and Dr. Jessica L. Garay
Program/Major: Nutrition Science
Faculty Research Mentor: Jessica L. Garay
Graduate Winners
The Role of Diet Quality and Micronutrient Content on Sleep Parameters in Children Aged 9-11
Name: Nicholas Marino and Dr. Margaret Voss
Program/Major: Nutrition Science
Faculty Research Mentor: Margaret Voss, Lynn Brann, and Brooks Gump
Father Involvement, Couple Relationship Quality, and Maternal Postpartum Depression: The Role of Ethnicity among Low-income Families
Name: Ying Zhang and Dr. Rachel Razza
Program/Major: Human Development and Family Science
Faculty Research Mentor: Rachel Razza
Congratulations Class of 2020
Congratulations and best wishes to the Class of 2020 from the students, faculty, staff, advisory boards, alumni and friends of Falk College! The courage and resiliency you have demonstrated in these challenging times prove you are prepared to respond to society’s greatest needs. Now more than ever, our world needs all you have to offer. We look forward to hearing about your achievements as our newest Falk alumni and eagerly await the future in-person celebration at Falk Convocation and Syracuse University Commencement.
The Dean’s video message to the Class of 2020 was recorded late last year when we were fully expecting our traditional campus celebrations to take place this spring. Since then, the global coronavirus pandemic has impacted all of us in many difficult ways. We recognize how hard this has been for all of our students, and particularly the Class of 2020. While we will celebrate with you at distance for now, we look forward to celebrating together in person when it is safe to do so.
Join the Syracuse University community for the Class of 2020 Virtual Degree Conferral.
HDFS Virtual Department Awards Ceremony and Honor Society Induction
On Wednesday, April 29, 2020, the Department of Human Development and Family Science gathered virtually to present awards to its undergraduate and graduate students, to induct new members into its academic honor society, and to celebrate all of the accomplishments of its students over the past academic year. This meeting was a modification to the usual in-person end of the year ceremony that was converted to a virtual ceremony this year in order to manage the circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic. More than 50 members of the HDFS and Syracuse community, along with their families, came together from across the country to attend the ceremony. The HDFS awardees and all of the HDFS students were celebrated for their wide range of impressive academic and community engagement accomplishments. A virtual ceremony was also performed to induct students into Kappa Omicron Nu, the departmental honor society. The event served to highlight the strong community of the HDFS department and was a lively celebration of our students’ many successes.
The HDFS Department congratulates its graduating students, those students who made the academic honor roll, all of the award recipients, and the new inductees into Kappa Omicron Nu. The department wishes our graduating seniors well and looks forward to reconnecting to our returning students in the fall.
Watch the Ceremony:
Working for Empowerment at Home and Abroad
A Syracuse University story by Sarah H. Griffin originally published on April 30, 2020
This experience inspired Nichols’ dedication to social justice and equity, and at Syracuse University she put this commitment into practice. While studying human development and family science in the Falk College, Nichols volunteered often with children and youth in the Syracuse community. One of the experiences that had an enduring impact in her life was her involvement with Juvenile Urban Multicultural Program (J.U.M.P Nation), a student-run organization that aims to raise college attendance in underserved communities. It achieves this goal by connecting eighth-graders and high school students to University students who provide encouragement, advice and insight to support their mentees’ paths toward higher education.
Beyond giving her opportunities to engage with the community and put her values into action, J.U.M.P Nation was meaningful to Nichols because of the bond she formed with other student mentors. “This is where I found my friends and my community,” she says. Nichols particularly values the friendships she made with other women. “I learned how valuable the unconditional support of a community of women can be,” she says. “It was very empowering.”
Resolve and Purpose Discovered Through Study in Africa
In her sophomore year, Nichols studied in Uganda through a Syracuse Abroad world partner program called the School for International Training (SIT). Nichols, whose parents are from the Netherlands and South Korea, was initially drawn to Uganda because she anticipated it would provide both the challenge and reward of real immersion in an unfamiliar culture. What she discovered instead was a sense of comfort and belonging. “People were so kind—it really felt like home right from the beginning,” she says.
Nichols lived in the capital, Kampala, and worked for Raising Up Hope Uganda (RUHU), an organization that serves homeless youth in an impoverished area of the city. While there, she saw a segment of the population who needed social services and resources but had very few options: women in their teens who lived and worked on the street. These young women—some of whom had children—rarely had familial support, and many were victims of abuse and violence. Seeing the acute needs of this population galvanized Nichols, and she vowed she’d find a way to work with and support these young women.
Making It Happen
After graduating in 2018, Nichols moved to New York City to work with Project Sunshine, an international nonprofit that supports hospital-bound children and their families. She also started raising money to develop programming and services for the population of homeless women she’d encountered in Kampala.
In fall 2019, Nichols was able to launch the nongovernmental organization Muwala Mulungi (which means beautiful girl in Luganda), and, working with her Ugandan colleagues from RUHU, secured a location for shelter and basic support services for young women in need.
Nichols’ vision for Muwala Mulungi is inspired by her Syracuse University experiences. “At its heart, Muwala Mulungi is about empowerment. That means helping the young women we serve achieve their individual goals. For some that might be job training, for others childcare, or maybe health services—but our goal will be to support each woman in what she chooses as her path forward,” she says. And she hopes, too, to foster the kind of caring community that was so instrumental to her Syracuse University experience. “When women support one another unconditionally—that is the most powerful kind of resource.”
Nichols was recently selected for the Alice Rowan Swanson Fellowship, a grant awarded by SIT Study Abroad allowing alumni of the program to return to the region where they’d studied and work on development projects there. She intended to use the grant to return to Kampala this spring. Although her travel has been postponed by the COVID-19 pandemic, Nichols is moving Muwala Mulungi’s mission forward in other ways. She continues to work with her Ugandan partners remotely and is applying for grants, taking courses in psychology, and researching options for further education in social work or public administration. She is grateful, too, for the professional experience she continues to gain in her role as coordinator of corporate programs at Project Sunshine—particularly for the insight into nonprofit management and team leadership, she says.
A guiding principle in Nichols’ work is the value of empathetic understanding, and she believes the pandemic will ultimately serve to forge cross-cultural connections. “Many injustices and many of the pressures marginalized communities deal with are essentially the same, regardless of country or culture,” she says. “Sometimes it takes an external environmental condition to reveal our common ground and bring us together.”
College Honors 2020 Faculty of the Year
On May 1, Falk College held its annual recognition of academic excellence with its Faculty of the Year Awards. These awards, selected by members of Falk Faculty Council based upon peer nominations and documentary evidence, recognize faculty excellence in the academic year. Faculty are nominated in one of three categories: Service, Teaching, and Research. This year, the Falk College Faculty Council also presented the Faculty Governance Champion Award to recognize a faculty member who has gone above and beyond expectations to ensure and enhance faculty governance in Falk College.
This year’s honorees:
Excellence in Service – Alejandro Garcia, Jocelyn Falk Endowed Professor of Social Work
Excellence in Teaching – Matthew Mulvaney, Associate Professor, Human Development and Family Science
Excellence in Research – Sara Vasilenko, Assistant Professor, Human Development and Family Science
Faculty Governance Champion – Karen E. Kirkhart, Professor, School of Social Work
Congratulations Professors Garcia, Kirkhart, Mulvaney, and Vasilenko!
2020 Faculty of the Year for Service: Alejandro Garcia
Dr. Alejandro Garcia concludes a career of service to the School of Social Work, Falk College, the University, and the profession with a strong record of service at the end of the 2019-20 academic year. Dr. Garcia is an accomplished photographer, and he continued to document our collective history as a College in 2019. He photographed major annual events in the School of Social Work such as the 2019 Dan and Mary Lou Rubenstein Social Justice Awards, Overcoming Adversity: Embracing Resilience and Social Change, and the 2019 James L. Stone Legislative Policy Symposium, A Matter of Social Justice: Addressing the Lead Poisoning of Children in New York State and Syracuse. He documented celebrations such as the 2019 Induction of members into the Zeta Gamma Chapter of the Phi Alpha Social Work Honor Society, the 2019 Convocation Awards ceremonies (BSSW and MSW), the Holiday Party, the retirement of esteemed colleague, Jennifer Wilkins, and the celebration of Kate Veley’s new position. He documented special events such as The Veterans’ Voice: A Panel Discussion on Military Culture, Resilience and the Familial Impact (March, 2019). He also honored students by photographing the Falk Senior Celebration.
Dr. Garcia has been a generous sponsor of scholarships and student assistance in the School of Social Work. In 2019, he continued to support the scholarship that he established for MSW Latino students, and the book fund for those MSW students who cannot afford their textbooks. He is a member of the 1870 Society for his generosity at the University level.
Dr. Garcia has a long history of participation in Promotion and Tenure reviews of Falk College, both in the School of Social Work and in other units when the participation of a senior faculty member was required. At the University level, he participated in the planning committee for the Hispanic Heritage Month celebrations, having previously been honored by Phi Iota Alpha and the Multicultural Center at Syracuse University for this work.
Dr. Garcia gives back to the local community. He serves on the Board of Directors of the Rescue Mission, and in 2019, he continued to work with SU, the Rescue Mission, and Interfaith Works to obtain computers and clothing for New Americans. He was honored by the Rescue Mission for his service. He is a member of the Advisory Board of RISE Community Center (formerly the Turkish Community Center).
Dr. Garcia also engaged in service to the profession in 2019. He serves as a reviewer for Psychology and Aging. He is an active member of the Academy of Certified Social Workers, The American Association of University Professors, the Council on Social Work education, the Gerontological Society of America, the National Association of Social Workers, and the Association of Latino and Latina Social Work Educators. Dr. Garcia is a former member of the Commission on Accreditation of the Council on Social Work Education, and he continues to carry out labor-intensive site visits to programs under review. In 2019, he completed visits to InterAmerican University in Arecibo and InterAmerican University, Metropolitan campus.
2020 Faculty of the Year for Teaching: Matthew Mulvaney
Dr. Matthew Mulvaney is a devoted teacher and mentor who is committed to making all classes-whether it’s a large Human Development service class, a small graduate seminar, or an online course-accessible yet challenging for all learners.
As a professor, he strives to include diversity in the classroom and challenge students to grow and understand the importance of research as the basis of knowing. As testament to his effectiveness, consider the words of students from his teaching evaluations: “Dr. Mulvaney was able to guide us through the required material while still stopping to focus on points where students were interested or struggling. This class was informative, engaging, and challenging.” Another student stated, “the seminar style course where students were challenged to push ourselves to truly explain our thinking was really helpful in beginning to think more deeply on subjects and ideas that we have taken for granted.” Finally, “I have learned more in this one class than I have in an entire semester of classes. He is a great teacher and makes class fun and engaging.”
Matt’s commitment to teaching goes beyond the classroom.
He has many external roles at national and international levels including presenting at conferences such as the Teaching Institute at Society for Research in Child Development (SRCD), and the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE). In 2019, Matt became the Chair of the SRCD National Teaching Committee and has been working to shape teaching policy at the national level. He is developing the national website on teaching and assisting in the organization of the Teaching Institute that will take place at the SRCD conference. At Syracuse University, he serves as a co-mentor for the undergraduate honor society Kappa Omicron Nu and has been very effective in reviving this student-focused club. Additionally, he is a faculty advisor for the Future Professoriate Program. In this role he assists graduate students in developing their teaching strategies, building their teaching portfolios, and preparing them for a career in academia.
As a mentor, Matt is most proud of his role in mentoring an undergraduate student, Noelle Rowe, who was a McNair Scholar and Honor’s student. Working closely with Matt, Noelle was selected as a Syracuse Scholar in the Spring of 2019 and was his coauthor on two national presentations.
Dr. Mulvaney’s dedication to teaching and mentoring are appreciated by his students and mentees, which make him an outstanding and impactful educator.
2020 Faculty of the Year for Research: Sara Vasilenko
Dr. Vasilenko was selected for this honor from a very strong pool of candidates. In calendar year 2019, Dr. Vasilenko published four refereed journal articles, and she was lead author on three of those. Impressively, the journals in which Dr. Vasilenko published have an average impact factor of 2.9. She also published two book chapters, had one conditional acceptance of a journal article, and she currently has four manuscripts under review.
Dr. Vasilenko’s published work in 2019 includes the following important topics: (a) multidimensional risk profiles and protective factors as moderators of the effects of a teen pregnancy prevention program; (b) patterns of sexual behaviors of young men who have sex with men in Mexico; (c) how multidimensional patterns of adolescent religiosity are associated with sexual and romantic relationship outcomes; and (d) sexual minority health disparities across the lifespan. In addition to her publications, Dr. Vasilenko received three external grants, two of which were from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. Although diverse in topic and scope, all of Dr. Vasilenko’s funded projects focus on understanding multidimensional risk and protective factors for health and well-being. Finally, Dr. Vasilenko’s research had a high impact on the fields of human development, sexuality, and health, as evidenced by 284 new citations in 2019 according to Google Scholar.
2020 Faculty Governance Champion: Karen E. Kirkhart
A member of the School of Social Work faculty and director of its undergraduate program Dr. Karen E. Kirkhart has served as chair of the Faculty Council for five years. This award recognizes her service and outstanding contributions to ensuring faculty participation in Falk College governance. This demanding and vital leadership role entailed bi-weekly Faculty Council meetings, monthly Cabinet meetings, and almost daily attention to all kinds of matters involving faculty. Dr. Kirkhart attended to details to ensure that elections and awards were on time and fair. She revised portions of the faculty manual, and then identified more critical updates to address. One of these efforts involved a labor-intensive process of re-documenting important work on mentoring that had been lost. Faculty Council members noted, “Karen’s biggest contribution is the extent to which she molded Faculty Council members into a collegial, supportive group each year. She prioritized individual check-ins and information sharing across departments. This work is unheralded, but those of us who have served on the Faculty Council with Karen can appreciate what this did to unify and strengthen the College.” Professor Kirkhart is retiring from Syracuse University at the conclusion of this academic year.
Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies minor offers multidisciplinary experiences for all students
Falk College is a natural fit to house the Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies minor, as the program’s courses complement the work of Falk students, many of whom plan to enter professions where they will be working directly with children and families. “Mindfulness-based practices are being increasingly incorporated into therapy, education, health promotion, medical settings, nutrition, and sports, which means that students can infuse them into their careers,” says Rachel Razza, Ph.D., associate professor and graduate director In the Department of Human Development and Family Science. In addition, Dr. Razza suggests students directly benefit from learning mindfulness and coping skills as a form of self-care and to help overcome challenges in their careers, such as stress or secondary trauma.
Tyler Smith ’20, a senior Human Development and Family Science major, decided to minor in Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies because of her future career working with children. Smith accepted a full-time teaching position at a public charter school in Colorado after graduation. “I am going to have to connect with children,” Smith says. “This minor shifted me towards this vision that it would be awesome if kids learned these coping skills early-on so they could be their own source of groundedness.”
As coordinator for the mindfulness minor, Dr. Razza oversees curriculum revisions and advising of students. She reported the minor was recently revised to intentionally be broader in terms of disciplines for the Fall 2020 semester and beyond. “I think that it is important to recognize that there are many different forms of mindfulness, not just mindfulness meditation where we are sitting still and silent,” Dr. Razza says. “I encourage students to explore mindfulness through different mediums, such as art and music, as these are inherently mindful areas.”
With guidance from Dr. Razza, students are able to find mindfulness in other courses, such as creative writing, holistic healing, and Buddhism courses. music, “She would ask us what we are interested in, she would take us to different departments. She made it seem very real and reasonable to have a mindfulness minor,” Smith says.
Many of the courses in the mindfulness minor include a contemplative practice component, which can be particularly helpful for managing the stressors associated with being a student. Dr. Razza explained, “Students may gain skills that will promote their wellbeing, such as increased self-regulation and self-compassion, and combat against anxiety and depression.”
Dr. Razza hopes that the mindfulness minor continues to draw students from Falk and across the University, as she believes the multidisciplinary experiences in these courses are critical to the education and wellbeing of SU students. She sees this minor also serving as a mechanism to promote student research in the area of mindfulness and their use of campus resources, such as the Barnes Wellness initiatives and the MindSpa.
Dr. Razza Recipient of the Excellence in Graduate Education Faculty Recognition Award
This year Rachel Razza, Associate professor and graduate director in the Department of Human Development and Family Studies in the Falk College has been named as a recipient of the award. Razza specializes in social and cognitive development in at-risk children and youth, the different facets of self-regulation, and mindfulness-based practices as a potential intervention strategy for at-risk individuals. Razza is also associate director of the Contemplative Collaborative, a campus-wide working group of faculty, staff, and students who envision practices, strategies, and scholarly research that foster interest in and understanding of complex issues.
The 2020 recipients are selected by an interdisciplinary committee of graduate students. They will be recognized at an awards celebration once the campus activities resume.
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