Noteworthy

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.

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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. 

Share link: https://www.widener.edu/news/noteworthy/physician-assistant-professor-leads-service-trip-haiti

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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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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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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The Chester Community Clinic received $115,000 in congressionally directed federal funds to support its delivery of pro bono services for uninsured and underinsured residents. The student-run clinic is a critical community resource and a unique place for our graduate health science students in the College of Health & Human Services to lead, learn, collaborate, and grow through hands-on service experiences. Secured by U.S. Senator Bob Casey as part of the FY23 federal spending bill, the funding will support upgrades for equipment to advance the clinic, which has provided more than 14,000 client visits since 2009 and has saved community members more than $1 million in healthcare costs. 

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Students and faculty from the Center for Social Work Education participated in the 2022 Walk Against Hate on October 23, 2022 hosted by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) as the WU Widener Team. In addition to the walk, students also engaged in advocacy, educational, and fundraising activities including staffing a table which provided bracelet making, coloring pages, positive affirmation activities, and more for community attendees. 

The Walk Against Hate is an annual event to bring communities together in solidarity against antisemitism, bigotry, and all forms of hate. 

Student participants Oli Zimmerman '26, Abigail Bustraan '26, Shaneka Atkins '24, Sarah Coupland '24, Madison McElwee '24, Jessica Mereshensky '24, Mykirah Russel- Hopson '24, Nicole Scharfetter '24, and Younger Zinnah '24 were led by Director for the Center of Social Work Jennifer Cullen associate professor Robin Goldberg-Glenn. 

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Robert Torres ’93, Secretary at the Pennsylvania Department of Aging, and Special Assistant to the Secretary, Stephanie Cole, visited students in the social work program who are about to embark on a semester-long service-learning project working with older adults.

Secretary Torres, a Widener Commonwealth Law School graduate, and Cole spoke to students about the work the department does to help older adults in Pennsylvania through various programs focusing on financial assistance, health and wellness initiatives, and programs specifically for older adults from underserved populations. They also spoke to students about the many career opportunities available working with older adults.

Students in this course participate in a semester-long service-learning project where they are paired with an older adult in the area who has been identified as “at risk for social isolation” to have regular communications and build a connection.

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Amanda Baker, a graduate of the Center for Human Sexuality Studies, published an article that investigated the association between sexting and satisfaction within a relationship. The research, which published in the Journal of Sexual Medicine, explored the positive impact sexting can have on important relationship constructs and provides clinicians and educators with reliable data that can assist them with informing adult clients on ways they can utilize sexting in a meaningful and positive way.

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Monique Chabot, associate professor of occupational therapy, competed in the American Occupational Therapy Association’s Inventors Showcase, an event is designed to host inventors from across the nation to showcase their ingenuity as they share their products and services. Chabot's submission featured an assistive device known as a telescoping electronic reacher which she invented as part of her doctoral studies. The device was chosen for the Audience Choice award.

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Members of the Widener community participated in this year's Next Step: From Freedom to Equity Walk-A-Thon and Health Fair hosted by the Black Doctors Consortium and the Dr. Ala Stanford Center for Health Equity. The event drew supporters to the two-mile march up Broad Street in North Philadelphia to bring awareness to local racial health disparities. Rhonda Hazell, associate professor and coordinator of clinical anatomy, organized the Widener team and was joined by Katie Hershede, vice president for strategic initiatives and chief of staff, Anali Falcon '23, Lori Felker, director of the Institute for Physician Assistant Education, Ijjae Hill '25, Jill Black, associate dean of College of Health & Human Services and director of Institute for Physical Therapy, and Colleen Chancler, assistant professor. 

(Photo left to right: Katie Hershede, Anali Falcon, Rhonda Hazell, Lori Felker, Ijjae Hill, Jill Black, and Colleen Chancler.)

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Widener University’s undergraduate elementary education program as received an A+ rating in elementary mathematics from the National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ). The report analyzed over 1,100 teaching programs and recognized 79 as A+ programs.

The data examined the performance of teacher preparation programs across the country in preparing future teachers to teach elementary mathematics. The analysis evaluates programs for their coverage of both the key mathematics content that elementary teachers need, as well as how to teach those concepts.

Widener met 100 percent of recommended instructional hours across all the mathematics content topics and pedagogy that were part of the analysis to achieve the A+ rating.

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Colleen Chancler, assistant professor in the Institute for Physical Therapy Education, is the recipient of the Lucy Blair Service Award from the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA), a professional organization representing physical therapists, physical therapist assistants, and students of physical therapy. This award honors Chancler for her exceptional contributions to APTA.

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Robert Wellmon, distinguished university professor in the Institute for Physical Therapy Education, is a co-author on this mix-methods study published in the Journal of Physical Therapy Education. The purposes of this study were to examine whether novice and experienced clinical instructors' assessment practice differ and explore the reasons for these differences. Findings showed a low number of statistically significant differences between novice and experienced clinical instructors awarding Clinical Performance Instrument ratings which suggests that there were few true quantitative disparities between the assessors.

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Robin Dole, dean of the College of Health & Human Services, is a co-author on this paper published in Physical Therapy & Rehabilitation Journal discussing competency-based education (CBE). In this perspective article, Dole and the co-authors demonstrate support for utilizing the CBE philosophy and highlight four themes: the need for a shared language, an overview of CBE and the impetus for the change, how to shift toward CBE in physical therapy, and why the profession should adopt a mindset requiring purposeful practice across one’s career in order to safely and most efficiently practice in a given area.

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Pamela Lannutti, professor and director of the Center for Human Sexuality Studies, is first author on a the article “Relationships in the time of COVID-19: Examining the effects of the global pandemic on personal relationships” which published in the Journal of Social and Personal Relationships. This article, which includes 29 research articles with authors and samples from 28 countries across all continents except Anatricia, looks at the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on personal relationships including romantic relationships, family relationships, friendships, and relationships with strangers.

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Assistant Professor Tracie Q. Gilbert has published her first book, Black & Sexy: A Framework of Racialized Sexuality through Taylor & Francis Publishing, a subsidiary of Routledge. The book is an in-depth look at the role race plays in the sexual ideation and imagination of African-American people. 

It is based on dissertation research from which Gilbert created a theoretical model of sexual engagement, entitled Black Sexual Epistemology. The book begins with an overview of how race has impacted sexuality for African Americans over time. It ends with practical insight on how sexuality practitioners can more effectively address race and racial injustice in the work they do with students and clients. 
 
The book is available for purchase online.

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Susan P. Schaming, associate professor and director of graduate counselor education program, presented at the annual conference of the PA School Counselor Association on December 9 in Hershey, Pennsylvania.  Her presentation: Hope for the future begins today: Using constructive conversations in PK-12 schools offered techniques for school counselors to respond to the imperative of supporting PK—12 students’ awareness, reflection, response, and reaction to personal biases. Schaming purports that left unaddressed, the discrimination of marginalized individuals and groups will subsist in our schools and communities. Kim’s Constructive Conversations model was emphasized as a tool to help students to manage conflict, promote healing, and find their voice. 

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Kripa Dholakia, an assistant professor in the Institute for Physical Therapy Education, co-authored a research report in the Journal of Physical Therapy Education on ethical dilemmas in International Service-Learning (ISL). Titled “Uncovering Ethical Dilemmas in International Service-Learning: A Grounded Theory,” the study used a constructive theory ground approach to understand the experiences, perceptions, and insights of faculty, students, and alumni who attended an ISL experience as well as to analyze the participants’ ethical nature. Ten students, six faculty members and five alumni from varying doctor of physical therapy programs across the country travelled to Central America to take part in an ISL program to identify potential ethical misconduct. The groups’ experience indicated that further research is needed to identify best practices for future ISL experiences to prevent future ethical dilemmas from arising.

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