Dr. Catherine Riegel-Crumb is the co-author of a new study, entitled “Sex and Gender Essentialism in Textbooks,” which was featured in the latest issue of the journal Science. The study, which Dr. Riegel-Crumb co-authored with Andrei Cimpian of New York University and Brian Donovan of the BSCS Science Learning, explores how sex and gender are taught in high school biology textbooks, and the disparity between what’s included in textbooks compared to scientific findings. The study is the first piece of content analysis that explores essentialist views in biology textbooks related to sex and gender and was funded with grants from the National Science Foundation.
After serving as interim president since October 2023, Dr. Richard Rhodes (Ph.D. ‘96) has been named president of Texas A&M University-Central Texas following a formal vote of the Texas A&M University Board of Regents. Dr. Rhodes, who also serves as a professor of practice in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy, retired last year as the longest-serving chancellor of the Austin Community College District.
Dr. Michael A. Goodman recently co-authored three new studies on sorority and fraternity life (SFL) that examine the impact of membership on leadership development and attitudes toward social justice. The study published in the Journal of Women and Gender in Higher Education examines how conforming to gendered norms often associated with historically white masculinities informed relational leadership attitudes for fraternity members. The study appearing in Innovative Higher Education found that supportive sisterhood at both the individual and group level deeply affect undergraduate sorority members’ relational leadership development. Dr. Goodman and his co-authors broke new ground in the Journal of Diversity in Higher Education by researching how being in SFL organizations informs members’ orientation toward social justice.
Dr. Tina Jackson (Ph.D. ‘14) recently received the 2024 Founders Leadership Award from the Texas Association of Black Personnel in Texas Education. Dr. Jackson, who graduated from the Educational Leadership and Policy program, currently serves as the assistant commissioner of the Division for Workforce Education for the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board.
Dr. Matt Bowers recently co-authored an article in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. The article explores the possible nationwide impacts of Healthy People 2030, a new federal initiative from the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion that aims to increase health nationwide by identifying public health priorities.
Dr. Lisa Griffin recently won a Texas Proof of Concept (POC) Award, enabling her to create a prototype for the commercialization of vibrating shoe insoles that will alleviate diabetic peripheral neuropathy. Discovery to Impact, which connects campus innovators and industry, will provide institutional funds to support this work.
Additionally, Dr. Griffin was recently named the Editor-in-Chief of the Translational Journal of the American College of Sports Medicine (TJACSM). The TJACSM is a peer-reviewed journal that serves as the official journal of the American College of Sports Medicine.
Dr. Lara Latimer was invited to join the 2024 Cohort of the Provost’s Teaching Fellows (PTF) program. The PTF was established to foster creativity, collaboration and innovation in teaching and learning methods through individual initiatives and campus-wide events. Dr. Latimer, whose research focuses on a holistic approach to physical and mental health and explores the efficacy of stress management techniques, will be inducted into the PTF later this month.
The Center for Health Interprofessional Practice and Education (CHIPE) announced earlier this month that Kelvin Phan will be inducted into the 2024 cohort of the Health Interprofessional Practice and Education (IPE) Fellows. Health IPE Fellows represent the highest level of ambassadorship by promoting interprofessional education and practice among health professions learners in all stages of their careers. CHIPE is dedicated to transforming the culture of healthcare delivery by developing innovative interprofessional education, practice and scholarship that advances collaborative person-centered care and population health. Phan and the other members of his cohort will be inducted in a private ceremony on March 24 at the School of Nursing.
Dr. Laura Hampton and Dr. Natasha Strassfeld have launched Project EARLY, a new doctoral program to train future early intervention/early childhood special education (EI/ECSE) teachers. Project EARLY was funded by a grant from the Office of Special Education Programs and is a collaborative effort with the University of Kansas and the City of New York University’s Hunter College. The program aims to develop doctoral-level EI/ECSE teachers through intensive coursework, mentorship and increased policy knowledge.
Dr. Edmund Farrell, a former faculty member who taught English Education, passed away this January at the age of 96. A lifelong educator who taught in both public school and higher education environments, Dr. Farrell came to the college as an English Education instructor in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction from 1978 to 1992, when he retired as a professor emeritus. He remained active in the field long after retirement, publishing more than 100 monographs and articles and co-editing more than 20 books. He also served as the president of the Texas Center of Teachers of English Language Arts (TCETLA), which now grants an annual Distinguished Service and Achievement award in Dr. Farrell’s name, recognizing teachers who, like Farrell, made a profound impact on the teaching field. The College of Education offers our condolences to the family of Dr. Farrell and our gratitude for his legacy of impactful service to Texas education.
