College of Education
The College of Education was awarded an Educator Preparation Planning Grant from The Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) to explore innovative pathways to teacher certification for those who have completed four-year degrees and want to become teachers. Specifically, the college will be exploring the creation of a new, accessible and well-supported pathway into early childhood-sixth grade teaching for these postbaccalaureate potential educators.
Department of Kinesiology and Health Education
Alexandra Loukas, Professor and Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Studies
Principal Investigators Dr. Loukas and Anna Wilkinson from UT Health School of Public Health along with Co-Investigators Seth Schwartz and Dhiraj Murthy of the Moody College of Communication were awarded a new 5-year R01 grant from the National Institute of Minority Health and Health Disparities to examine the link between social media and electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) use among Hispanic young adults. Their research will examine the associations between ENDS-related social media exposure and engagement on subsequent ENDS use among the largest subgroup of Hispanics, Mexican Americans, and will recruit young adults from three south Texas colleges.
Seth Schwartz, Professor
Principal Investigators Dr. Schwartz, Mildred Maldonado-Molina from the University of Florida College of Health and Human Performance, and Christopher Salas-Wright from Boston College School of Social Work recently received a R01 grant from the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities to conduct a longitudinal cohort study of Venezuelan immigrant adults and parent-youth dyads in the United States and in Colombia. The study will examine exposure to pre-migration stressors, post-migration culturally related stress, and their effects on family relationships, mental health and alcohol use.
Dr. Schwartz also received a Faculty Development Award (beginning September 1) from the Population Research Center to study the role of political affiliation in attitudes toward immigration and health policy. Schwartz and Ph.D. student, Maria Duque, will conduct focus groups to identify the different types of political affiliation and to develop scales to assess these affiliations. They will then conduct a panel survey to ascertain the associations of these political affiliations with attitudes toward immigration and toward health policy, mental health outcomes and personality correlates.
Department of Educational Leadership and Policy
Sarah Woulfin, Associate Professor
Dr. Woulfin was awarded the Certificate of Excellent Service to Division L by American Educational Research Association (AERA). AERA’s Division L (Educational Policy and Politics) Awards honor key members who produce excellent scholarship, engage deeply with policy and practice and help shape the public’s understanding of education policy and politics. Each of AERA’s twelve divisions contributes to the overall mission of advancing knowledge about education, encouraging scholarly inquiry related to education and promoting the use of research to improve education and serve the overall public.
