Noteworthy

Associate Professor of social work Marina Barnett has been awarded the Legion of Honor Award from the Chapel of Four Chaplains for her commitment to, and continued work with, the Chester community during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The Legion of Honor Award is one of the highest honors given by the Chapel of Four Chaplains. It is awarded in recognition of exceptional selfless service on the part of an individual which contributes to the well-being of his or her community, and to a spirit of interfaith cooperation. 

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Sachin Patil, professor of chemical engineering, attended and presented findings at the Heart Development and Disease: From Genes to Cures conference hosted by Keystone Symposia in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The conference gathered researchers from around the world to advance knowledge and understanding of heart formation and homeostatic function and how derangement in these processes lead to diseases and organ dysfunction.

In his presentation, “Small-molecule stabilizers (and inhibitors) of immune checkpoint PD1-PDL1 for heart disease and beyond,” Patil highlighted his novel findings on the role of immunotherapy in the heart disease treatment. Patil’s research is supported by a funding grant from the W. W. Smith Charitable Trust.  

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Teresa Lamarra, director of the Center for Simulation, has been chosen to participate in the 2023 National League for Nursing (NLN) Leadership Institute. The highly competitive program offers dual professional leadership development tracks for nurses in education and practice. Lamarra will participate in the Leadership Development Program for Simulation Educators, which is designed for the experienced simulation nurse educator who aspires to a leadership role in simulation. Sim Leadership track participants focus on maximizing their leadership potential to advance simulation initiatives in nursing education and practice. As part of the yearlong program, Lamarra will attend the Intensive Leadership Retreat this summer in Washington, D.C. as well as the 2023 NLN Education Summit, Extraordinary Nurse Educators: Leading Extraordinary Times, in the fall. 

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Professor James May from Delaware Law School and Commonwealth Professor of Environmental Law and Sustainability John C. Dernbach from the Commonwealth Law School have been recognized by the 2023 Lawdragon Green 500: Leaders in Environmental Law for their environmental advocacy efforts. Lawdragon Green 500 features attorneys who are fighting to protect the environment and help clients participate in more sustainable business practices. Those practices range from helping businesses develop properties that are facing environmental challenges to finding insurance coverage for environmental liabilities.  
 
May is the founder of the Global Environmental Rights Institute, and co-Founder of the Dignity Rights Project and the Environmental Rights Institute at Delaware Law. He has previously directed the school’s Environmental and Natural Resources Law Clinic. Dernbach directs the Environmental Law and Sustainability Center at Widener Law Commonwealth. He has written over 50 peer reviewed articles and journals and has co-authored and authored over 20 chapters on law and environmental law.
 

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-- Compiled by Zora DeSeignora '23

Biology Professor David Coughlin has been awarded the Cynthia H. Sarnoski Faculty Fellowship award to support his research focused on climate change and wild brook trout. This is the second time Coughlin has been the recipient of this award, which will run from July 2023 through June 2025.

“The future of biological systems, upon which humans depend, is imperiled by climate change. My laboratory uses multiple experimental approaches to examine how changes in the environment affect the physiological performance of a given organism,” Coughlin explained.

Coughlin works together with Widener students to examine the impact of rising temperatures due to climate change on muscle function in brook trout. Working in the lab, the team has found a strong physiological response to a warming environment in a controlled setting. In the past year, Coughlin has begun analyzing wild, native brook trout populations across the state of Pennsylvania. 

“This study aims to bring data together from throughout the year to determine how wild trout are responding to changing environmental temperatures,” says Coughlin. “We hope to gain insights that will contribute to management of threatened brook trout populations.”

The Sarnoski Fellowship supports science faculty through a generous gift made by Cynthia H. Sarnoski, who serves as vice chair of Widener’s Board of Trustees. Sarnoski graduated from Widener in 1974 with a bachelor's degree in chemistry. She is a retired senior vice president for Global Compliance and Quality Systems for Pfizer Pharmaceuticals. 

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Associate Professor of Biology Janice Krumm is the recipient of over $143,000 from the National Science Foundation to continue a multi-year project aimed at making undergraduate research more accessible for students. This is the fourth grant that this project has received, bringing the total funding to nearly $2 million of which nearly half has been awarded directly to Widener. 

Krumm served as primary investigator for the first three awards and is now collaborating with additional researchers from George Washington University, Texas Tech University, Westfield State University, and Anoka-Ramsey Community College. The project has been focused on creating Course Based Undergraduate Research (CURE) classes which utilize a newly created online database of natural history resources that are free and available for use by students across the country. 

This new funding will:

• Support recruitment and training of more faculty nationwide to implement accessible CURE strategies into their classrooms
• Allow researchers, like Dr. Krumm, to assess the effectiveness of these new practices using newly designed research instruments
• Provide funding to support students participating in these CURE courses to attend national conferences to present their research. Dr. Krumm estimates that nearly 100 students will be able to attend and present their work over the next 3 years. 

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Erika Evans-Weaver, Widener alum and adjunct faculty in the Center for Human Sexuality Studies, has been named Vice Chair for the State Board of Social Workers, Professional Counselors and Marriage and Family Therapists for Pennsylvania. 

Additionally, she has been elected as a board member for the Marriage and Family Therapists Regulatory Board, which creates and manages the licensure exam for Marriage and Family Therapists (MFTs) across the United States and assists in MFT-related legislation.

Share link: https://www.widener.edu/news/noteworthy/human-sexuality-faculty-named-state-and-national-leadership-boards

Janelle West, interim dean for Graduate and Continuing Studies, is featured in the Rutgers University visiting scholars report for her ongoing contributions to the program. To qualify, a visiting scholar must be interested in minority serving institutions (MSI)- related and/or higher education leadership and equity focused research. 

West is investigating “college choice and enrollment patterns at historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs), contemporary approaches to address challenges facing HBCU enrollment, and the experiences of Black women in higher education through critical qualitative inquiry. Most recently, Janelle served as Co-PI on a national study that focused on the experiences of Black students at HBCUs during the Black Lives Matter Movement.”

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Rhonda Hazell, clinical associate professor in the Institute for Physician Assistant Education and coordinator of clinical anatomy, recently completed an international service trip to provide medical care and support to residents in Haiti. Hazell led a group of medical and non-medical professionals, as part of her affiliation with the non-profit group Lifting Hope, to a community in the Tabarre suburb of Port-Au-Prince, Haiti. This trip was latest of a number of mission trips to Haiti led by Hazell. 

The 10-day onsite visit in December enabled Hazell and her team to give medical care to students and their families in the Saint John Baptist De La Salle School, a pre-K through ninth-grade primary school that was established by the Brothers of the Christian Schools following the devastating earthquake in 2010. In addition to patient care, Hazell’s trip also included delivering donated medical supplies to the school’s health clinic, evaluating academic scholarship opportunities for residents, and visiting the area’s orphanage. 

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Widener’s men’s basketball team achieved a thrilling come-from-behind win Saturday, Feb. 25 over Alvernia 74-69 on the road in Reading to secure the MAC Commonwealth Championship title. Student Dominic Dunn was named the MAC Commonwealth Championship MVP and the team – coached by Chris Carideo ’96 –automatically qualified for the 2023 NCAA Division III tournament at Keene State College in New Hampshire. Carideo was named conference coach of the year.

In addition, the women’s indoor track and field team was also crowned MAC Commonwealth champions at a meet in Reading on Feb. 25. The Pride took first place for only the second time in program history, after 29 years. The team won 25 percent of the competition medals and Head Coach Logan Stroman was named coach of the year, Assistant Coach Chuck Butz was named assistant coach of the year and student athlete Jayla Gore was named rookie of the year. The team moved on to the All-Atlantic Region Track and Field Conference (AARTFC) Championships in New York City.

Finally, Widener’s men’s ice hockey club team won the American Division Championship over Bucknell 4-2 on Feb. 26 at Ice Works Skating Complex in Aston, which is considered Widener’s home rink. This is the first championship in school history for the club, which Michael Kennedy Jr. began coaching this year. The team clinched a spot in the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) College Hockey National Championship Tournament, being held for the first time this year. 
 

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Associate Professor and Assistant Dean of Nursing Kathleen Sheikh published a paper in the Journal of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners titled, “Rapid-cycle deliberate practice telehealth as an integrative learning strategy in nurse practitioner education.” The paper shares a cognitive technique called rapid-cycle deliberate practice that teaches learners skills through purposeful repetition and accumulation. Students were able to combine skills and previous knowledge from in-person simulation sessions and translate those experiences toward telehealth services. 

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The Institute for Physical Therapy’s  Ellen Erdman, clinical associate professor and director of clinical education, and Jill Black, associate dean in the College of Health & Human Services and associate professor, published findings from a case series in the Journal of Physical Therapy Education.

Titled, “Case Series Comparing Physical Therapy International Clinical Education Experiences in a Developed and Developing Country and Measuring Against Professional Standards and Guidelines,” Erdman and Black investigated physical therapy international clinical education experiences in both the developed and developing countries in comparison to the experiences to professional standards and guidelines. They examined nine students that were placed between Italy and Belize, and found that both experiences met the Commission on the Accreditation of Physical Therapy Education (CAPTE) and other professional standards and that the placements proved to be a broadening experience for the participants.

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Professor of Political Science Wes Leckrone has co-edited a newly released book, “Teaching Federalism: Multidimensional Approaches” which “presents innovative ideas for teaching a wide variety of key concepts of federalism and federal-country cases.”

The book is open access and free to read, download, and share. 

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Karol M. Wasylyshyn, former vice chair of the board of trustees who served as an adjunct faculty member in the Institute for Graduate Clinical Psychology, was named the winner of the 2022 Elliott Jaques Memorial Publication Award presented by the Consulting Psychology Journal editorial review board. The award recognizes published articles that put an emphasis on applying the discipline of psychology to solve significant issues faced by contemporary organizations. Wasylyshyn was recognized for her publication "The "Art" of Executive Coaching at the Top: Using Clients' Self-Imagery as a Tool for High Impact."

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A collaborative paper featuring Professor of Biology David Coughlin and student Emma Wilcock has been published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science. The paper features authors from across the globe, including Coughlin and Wilcock. 

The paper, “Metabolic reprogramming underlies cavefish muscular endurance despite loss of muscle mass and contractility,” discusses research done to analyze the skeletal muscle physiology of the Mexican cavefish. 

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Affiliate librarian and assistant archivist Kayla Van Osten has published an article with the Pennsylvania Library Association’s College & Research Division. The article, “Librarian-Student Connections,” discusses student interactions in the library setting. Particularly, interactions between students and librarians during information literacy sessions and other library-hosted classes. She shares how reframing her thinking around a particular interaction with a student can improve the quality of future interactions for both students and library staff. 

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Robin Dole, dean of the College of Health & Human Services and professor of physical therapy, was presented with the 2022 Stanford Award by the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) Academy of Education. The award was created by Katherine Shepard, PT, PhD, FAPTA, in honor of her former faculty colleagues at Stanford University, to recognize the author(s) of a manuscript containing the most influential educational ideas published in the Journal of Physical Therapy Education for the calendar year. Dean Dole, who also serves as the chief delegate for APTA PA, is recognized for her contributions as an author on the paper "Competency-Based Education in Physical Therapy: Developing a Framework for Education." 

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Widener University has been recognized by Colleges of Distinction, a resource widely used by students and families when making their college decisions. Widener has been recognized nationally as a 2022-2023 College of Distinction, as well as at the state level as a Pennsylvania College of Distinction. 

In addition, Widener has also received specialized endorsements and recognition in the following areas:
•    Undergraduate business programs
•    Undergraduate engineering programs
•    Undergraduate education programs
•    Undergraduate nursing programs
•    Exceptional student support initiatives in career development
•    Institutional commitment to equity and inclusion
•    Exceptional initiatives directed toward active-duty and veteran students

The Colleges of Distinction selection process is comprised of in-depth research and detailed interviews. Schools that demonstrate excellence in the areas of student engagement, teaching, proving successful outcomes, and having a vibrant community are given the title of College of Distinction.

“We are proud to have received this honor and the accolades that accompany it,” said Andy Workman, provost of Widener University. “We are committed to giving our students the best experience possible to prepare them for the future. Having achieved this recognition is further proof of our commitment to past, present, and future generations of Widener students.”

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Professor Yvonne Antonucci recently attended the Hawai’i International Conference on System Sciences to present research that she has conducted in collaboration with Salisbury University. 

Antonucci represented her collaborators at the conference, presenting their work entitled “Engaging Business Students with ‘Low-Code’ Model Driven Development: Self-Efficacy Beliefs in an Introductory MID Course.”

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By: Riya Sembhi '25 secondary education, English

Chemical engineering student Brian Hoffman ‘23 recently presented his research at the Middle States Commission on Higher Education 2022 Annual Conference in Philadelphia where higher education faculty, administrators, and educators observed a wide array of student research projects.

Conducting this research as part of Widener’s Summer Undergraduate Research & Creative Activities (SURCA) program, his work entitled, “Porous Carbon from Non-Recyclable Plastic Wastes,” aims to reduce Styrofoam waste through burning and converting Styrofoam into carbon-based materials that can then be repurposed for water and air filters, catalysts, and more. Brian appreciated the chance to share his research with a receptive audience that had a diverse range of occupational backgrounds. 

Having been engaged in this research since Junior year, Brian aims to continue this work as his Senior project. Now in the 4+1 Program at Widener, he hopes to maintain the research with similar projects. He thanks Dr. Dipendu Saha for his guidance and mentorship, for the opportunity to be involved with the research, and his continuous support today. 

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