School of Social Work announces Social Innovation Challenge winners

July 7, 2020

The School of Social Work recently announced the winners of its Social Innovation Challenge. Winning proposals were in two categories: The Community Partnership Award for service innovation in a community organization, and the School of Social Work Award for innovation within the School of Social Work.

Community Partnership Award

Winner: Caitlin Bordeaux, (MEd Youth Development Leadership) in partnership with Youth Leadership Institute (YLI) at Amherst H. Wilder Foundation.

The YLI supports ethnically diverse St. Paul high school youth to become leaders and contributors in their community. Bordeaux will create processes and partnerships to increase the involvement of Native Youth in the YLI program.

School of Social Work Award

Winners: Malaika Hankins, Marci Exsted, and Julia Wilber, (MSW) in partnership with SSW adjunct faculty and doctoral student Cary Waubanascum.

UMN Master of Social Work students designed a toolkit for their peers to operationalize vital conversations on race with an intentional trajectory toward collective liberation and justice. With the Social Innovation Challenge, they will facilitate a series of “train-the-trainer” seminars on the toolkit and organize check-in/follow-up sessions for fellow students in the School of Social Work.

Student awardees will present their projects to the School of Social Work during the 2020-21 academic year.

James Toole, Compass Institute CEO and School of Social Work Fellow, generously sponsored the Social Innovation Challenge and offered applicants a design workshop to improve and expand on their initial proposals. The judges who helped review an exceptional pool of proposal entries include Professor Mark Umbreit, Assistant Professor Cindy Vang, CASCW Outreach Coordinator Denise Cooper, and Academic Support Services Professional Peggy Pond.

Michael Rodriguez named interim CEHD dean

July 7, 2020

We are pleased to announce that Dr. Michael Rodriguez will serve as interim CEHD dean effective August 17, 2020, for a term of one year. During this time, we will relaunch and complete a paused national search for the next permanent dean of the college.

A tenured faculty member in the Department of Educational Psychology, Michael has served as associate dean of Undergraduate Education, Diversity, and International Initiatives since last summer. He is director and cofounder of the Educational Equity Resource Center and since 2013 has held the Campbell Leadership Chair in Education and Human Development, supporting University work to reduce achievement gaps and expand collaborations to improve educational access and success. His teaching and research focus on educational equity, educational testing and assessment, and social-emotional learning and youth development.

Michael will work productively with Dean Jean Quam to ensure a smooth transition for the college. Please join us in thanking Michael for his willingness to serve as interim dean and in thanking Jean for her outstanding leadership over the last decade as dean of the college. Since becoming dean, Jean has addressed her fair share of challenges while implementing an ambitious plan to guide the college throughout her tenure. She put the college on a firm financial footing and ushered in tremendous strides in three foundational pillars: excellence in research, diversity and internationalization, and technology and innovation. Jean’s leadership over the past 10 years has positioned the college exceptionally well for the future. We are happy that Jean will stay with us as she transitions back to the faculty of the School of Social Work in the college. We are indeed lucky to have had Jean, and now Michael, at the helm of CEHD.

CEHD New Teacher Network hosts new remote instruction workshops

June 30, 2020

On June 25, CEHD’s Office of Teacher Education’s (OTE) New Teacher Network held the first of a series of professional development workshops supporting new teacher candidates. Led by OTE’s Administrative Fellow Sarah Barksdale with the support of School Partner Network Coordinator Kelly Meyer and technology integration specialists from across Minnesota, the synchronous Zoom workshop provided an overview of the foundations of online learning, community building, virtual activities, family roles, and support systems.

Participants then had the opportunity to collaborate in breakout sessions with four technology integrationist educators who experienced the impacts on teachers and students firsthand during the pandemic. Participants were able to more deeply explore a topic (community building, assessments/activities, navigating learning management systems, and online classroom culture) in conversation with experts and peers. Future workshops in the series include an asynchronous version of this introductory workshop, building and fostering relationships in an online environment, and tools for classroom management.

Fifty-seven new teacher candidates from across nine teacher education programs were in attendance. General comments about the workshop were:

“[L]ots of resources, and tangible ways to engage over ‘distance’”.

“I think this was probably especially helpful for those teachers who haven’t done distance learning yet.”

“Good speakers. I was in the [Online Classroom Culture] breakout group and found it very valuable and easy to access the concepts in the short time period. Thanks.”

“…you gave us one of the top 3 best Video conferencing calls! Top 3, hands down, no sarcasm, since the Corona pandemic hit.”

Two CEHD graduates get student debt erased through Black Men Teach program

May 26, 2020

Two Multiple Pathway to Teaching graduates are among six chosen to have their college debt lifted as they work to spark a love of learning in the students they teach each day. This strategic effort is part of the mission of Black Men Teach and its Student Loan Repayment Program.

Edward Davis, who teaches at Lucy Laney Elementary School, and Mikaele Tesema, who teaches at Evergreen Park World Cultures Community School, are graduates of the Minneapolis Residency Program, a CEHD initiative in partnership with Minneapolis Public Schools. Over the next five years, their existing college loans will be repaid through Black Men Teach. The repayment program is made possible by the generous support of former Cargill CEO Greg Page and his wife, former Chief Justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court Kathleen Blatz, who recognize that Minnesota’s children deserve to have racially diverse teachers who experience classroom success and strong retention.

Davis received his undergraduate degree in therapeutic recreation, but it was his time as a paraprofessional that sparked his interest in teaching as a career. “After graduating from college, I had the chance to work with elementary students in the Minneapolis Public School System,” said Davis. “I fell in love with seeing the light bulb go on for these kids when they would begin to grasp a new concept, so I went back to school and got my master’s degree in teaching.”

The loan repayment program is in its first year as Black Men Teach works to develop, place, support and retain Black male elementary educators. To learn more about the program, visit blackmenteachtc.org.

CEHD Class of 2020 honored at virtual commencement

May 18, 2020

Dan-neya Yancey is this year’s undergraduate commencement speaker.

CEHD graduates were honored at a unique virtual commencement celebration on Saturday, May 16. The COVID-19 pandemic may have kept the Class of 2020 from gathering together in one physical space, but it did nothing to dampen the spirit of the occasion or the great academic achievements that the commemoration represents.

In lieu of speakers at a podium, the virtual commencement featured pre-recorded videos. In them, undergraduate student speaker Dan-neya Yancey; Department of Organizational Leadership, Policy, and Development Associate Professor Rashné Jehangir; and Dean Jean Quam offered their congratulations and some words of wisdom to the Class of 2020.

Yancey, a family social science graduate, said her generation has borne witness to many of society’s flashpoint events, from 9/11 to the Great Recession to the COVID-19 pandemic. “With each event, we experienced shifts in how we interacted with each other,” she said. “We rallied together to show up for one another. We adapted, and today we still remain resilient in the face of adversity.”

She went on to say that what connects all CEHD graduates regardless of their degree or the career path they have chosen is that inner child that they all seek to make proud, but most importantly stay connected to.

“Remember what creativity brought you as a child—innovative ideas and a worldview with an unlimted scope,” she said. “Continue to dream because a mind with great ideas will help change the world.”

Jehangir said that, because there might not be a big party or family celebration that typically follows a commencement ceremony, she recommends a month of mini-graduation celebrations. Wear those new shoes you were planning to wear at commencement, bake that cake you had planned, celebrate in your kitchen or backyard with those you are sheltered with. And as you celebrate, remember how you got here, especially if you are first generation. “Some of you are first in your family to attend college,” Jehangir said. “You are trailblazers, openers of doors, creators of new paths. Remember this and those who helped carry you to this place. Honor them as you honor yourself.”

In her message, Dean Quam reflected on how commencements in the past were usually followed by a dinner or a party where graduates would inevitably hear how amazing they were. “This year-in 2020-it’s more true than ever before. Because we all found new ways to learn and to teach and to be together with our best selves,” she said. “So congratulations to you. You made it. No one can ever take away the education you earned. Now go out and use it to the best of your ability and make a difference.”

At commencement, undergraduate CEHD students receive bachelor of science degrees. Graduate students earned master of education, master of arts, master of science, master of social work, doctor of education, and doctor of philosophy degrees. Students who completed licensure and certificate programs are also honored at commencement.

For more on commencement, including FlipGrid greetings to graduates posted by faculty and staff, visit cehd.umn.edu/commencement.

CEHD announces 2020-21 graduate student scholarships/fellowships

May 12, 2020

CEHD is proud to announce the recipients of the 2020-21 graduate student scholarships and fellowships.

CASE Workshop Award

Madeline Giordana—Department of Educational Psychology

CEHD Bruininks-Hagstrum Endowed Fellowship

Mollie Weeks—Department of Educational Psychology

CEHD Hauge Fellowship

Rozlyn Anderson—School of Social Work
Tyler Dregney—School of Kinesiology
Amanda Folk—School of Kinesiology
Stephanie Grace—School of Kinesiology
Amy Gunty—Department of Family Social Science
Laura Jacobson—School of Kinesiology
Lisa Kaler—Department of Organizational Leadership, Policy, and Development
Jasmine Kim—Department of Educational Psychology
Arash Mahnan—School of Kinesiology
Ryan Oto—Department of Curriculum and Instruction
Brooke Wagner—School of Kinesiology

CEHD Jeanette Paul Scholarship

Molly Driessen—School of Social Work
Ayanna Rakhu—School of Kinesiology
Fatima Tufail—Department of Organizational Leadership, Policy, and Development

CEHD Robert Beck Scholarship

Qui Alexander—Department of Curriculum and Instruction
Michael Dosedel—Department of Educational Psychology
Pearl Han Li—Institute of Child Development
Anton Hesse—School of Kinesiology
Annie Jenkin—Department of Organizational Leadership, Policy, and Development
Lixin Zhang—Department of Organizational Leadership, Policy, and Development

CEHD Robertson Fellowship

Anna Li—Department of Educational Psychology
Ashraf Mohammad—Department of Curriculum and Instruction

CEHD Ruth Eckert Scholarship

Rebecca Mellstrom—School of Social Work
Julie Vaisarova—Institute of Child Development

CEHD Seashore Graduate Fellowship

Sloan Okrey Anderson—Department of Family Social Science
Rosa Villarreal—Department of Organizational Leadership, Policy, and Development

Creating Inclusive Cohorts – Fellowship

Maya Bowen—Institute of Child Development
Bria Gresham—Department of Curriculum and Instruction
Tori Simenec—Institute of Child Development

Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship

Molly Driessen—School of Social Work
Younkyung Hong—Department of Curriculum and Instruction
Lisa Kaler—Department of Organizational Leadership, Policy, and Development
Arash Mahnan—School of Kinesiology
Corinne Mathieu—Department of Curriculum and Instruction
Daniel McDonough—School of Kinesiology
Alyssa Merbler—Department of Educational Psychology
Ryan Oto—Department of Curriculum and Instruction
Andrei Semenov—Institute of Child Development
Leah Shepard-Carey—Department of Curriculum and Instruction
Robin Sifre—Institute of Child Development
Nicolaas VanMeerten—Department of Educational Psychology
Jingchen Zhang—Department of Family Social Science

DOVE Fellowship

Camille Cyprian—Department of Organizational Leadership, Policy, and Development
Leah Dolezal—Department of Educational Psychology
Kendrick Spencer—Department of Curriculum and Instruction
Johara Suleiman—School of Social Work
Aracely Thomas—Department of Curriculum and Instruction

GAGE Funds – Fellowship

Efrat Abadi—School of Kinesiology
Jennifer Norman—Department of Curriculum and Instruction
Miguel Quinones—Department of Family Social Science
Suryeon Ryu—School of Kinesiology

Interdisciplinary Doctoral Fellowship

Kiera Leneman—Institute of Child Development
Alyssa Palmer—Institute of Child Development
Faith VanMeter—Institute of Child Development

National Science Foundation – Fellowship

Melody Altschuler—Institute of Child Development
Trevor Day—Institute of Child Development
Emily Padrutt—Institute of Child Development

Provost Enhancement Funds- Fellowship

Zamzam Dini—Department of Family Social Science
Laura Garlock—School of Social Work
Kaitlyn Swinney—School of Kinesiology

Provost’s Professional Education Diversity Fellowship

Crystal Audi—School of Social Work

ICD alumna elected to American Academy of Arts and Sciences

April 28, 2020

University of Rochester photo / J. Adam Fenster

Sarah Mangelsdorf, currently the president of the University of Rochester, in Rochester, New York, has been elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. She received her PhD from the Institute of Child Development (ICD) in 1988. Her advisors were Megan Gunnar and Alan Sroufe. This spring she was awarded an Outstanding Achievement Award from the University of Minnesota.

The American Academy of Arts and Sciences is both an honorary society that recognizes and celebrates the excellence of its members and an independent research center convening leaders from across disciplines, professions, and perspectives to address significant challenges.

CDC teachers staying engaged with children…remotely

April 22, 2020

CDC teachers are creating weekly journals showing what children are doing at home.

Although CEHD’s Child Development Center (CDC) is currently closed to all but health care and emergency worker children, its teachers are still providing families with a sense of community, albeit remotely. “They are offering continued learning based on the experiences the children are learning at home,” said CDC Associate Director Sarah McKee.

The teachers are creating weekly journals showing what children are doing at home as well as planning curricula for parents each week. And parents have been pleased with the results. “Trying to balance remote work, house chores, and our son’s education has been incredibly challenging for us as a family,” said parent Gabriela Bustamante. “We miss all that the Child Development Center means and provides, but during these tough times, we have never felt left alone.”

Teachers are also creating videos of songs, stories, and sensory play experiences. “They are also holding large and small group Zoom meetings,” McKee said. “These meetings are focused around the curriculum and things children are doing at home.” Zoom meetings also allow children to see their teachers and their friends while apart.

“Our daughter really looks forward to seeing her friends and teachers in the weekly group time sessions and loves to look through the daily journal each week to see what her friends have been up to,” said parent Emily Ehlinger. “On days where we don’t have group time, we watch the story videos and engage in the other activities that her teachers include in the curriculum.”

McKee said that although everyone misses being together at the center and it can be difficult to work at home with small children, this distance learning is keeping everyone safe right now. “We will reopen the center as soon as possible, following the direction of the governor’s office and U President Gabel,” she said.

Many parents have said that the experience has been inspirational. “In many ways I even feel closer to the teachers now going through this time together and after all they’ve done to support our family,” said Kristina Reigstad. “This experience with the CDC and our teachers encourages us that no doubt we will all get through this and be better from what we’ve learned and experienced.”

CASCW launches new podcast channel

April 21, 2020

The Center for Advanced Studies in Child Welfare (CASCW) has launched a new podcast channel. CASCW is committed to connecting child welfare professionals to relevant and accessible training resources. The CASCW podcast channel will cover a wide range of topics and will feature interviews with researchers, policy makers, frontline child welfare workers, community members, and many others.

Download and listen to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, GooglePlay, Spotify, and SoundCloud. Subscribe to the channel on your preferred podcast platform in order to automatically receive new episodes as they are released.

The very first episode features an interview with CEHD Dean Jean Quam, a co-founder of CASCW. Listen now!

Three projects created by CEHD students and alumni win 2020 Acara Challenge

April 10, 2020

Three projects created by CEHD students and alumni won prizes at the 2020 Acara Challenge competition. The annual competition, which challenges individuals to develop solutions to pressing social and environmental problems, took place virtually on March 26. More than 200 students, alumni, faculty, and community members heard pitches from 12 finalists and voted on their favorites. The three winning projects with CEHD ties were Furaharakati, the Loring Collective, and LibroMío.

Furaharakati
Furaharakati, created by School of Kinesiology graduate Anna Solfest, won the silver prize in the undergraduate division. The project is an exercise program for Ugandan adults. “Our team was interested in older adult health and we were connected with Faith Nawagi, an RN and researcher in Kampala, Uganda,” she said. Nawagi has done extensive research on the health of older adults in Uganda. Solfest and her team worked with Nawagi to develop an idea to address some of the most well-documented challenges that that population faces and created a community-based exercise program. For winning the silver prize, Solfest and her teammates, Allison Berry of the College of Biological Sciences and Allie Trask of the School of Nursing, will receive $3,000. “This funding will go toward implementing and evaluating a pilot program of this plan, and this pilot program we plan to transition into a long-term permanent program that will promote physical activity, social engagement, and improve the quality of life of older adults in Uganda,” Solfest said.

Loring Collective
The Loring Collective, created by human resource development and business and marketing education student Melissa Riepe, won the bronze prize in the undergraduate division. Team members include Tony Burton and Enzo Mazumdar Stanger of CLA, Izzy Voigt of CFANS, and community partner Brady Bunkelman. The Loring Collective is a non-profit with the goal to empower queer creatives through celebration, showcasing, and networking of the Twin Cities’ queer talent. “Queer creatives experience of variety of discrimination depending on identity and experience, but overall they are underappreciated in the local scene,” Riepe said. The Loring Collective is addressing this challenge by giving the recognition these creatives deserve through creating an online fan-voted awards program, developing the careers of creatives through open mic nights, and fostering collaboration between local artists. For taking bronze, Riepe and team won $2,000 to pay for expenses related to developing a pilot project. “We hope that through our events and programs that we will foster a community throughout the Twin Cities of queer creatives across mediums,” Riepe said. “We want the community to thrive together.”

LibroMío
LibroMío, created by a PhD student in second language education, was selected crowd favorite for the graduate division. LibroMío provides affordable access to books in all formats in Spanish and anchors reading enjoyment and sharing of reading experiences with enjoyable, cross-generational community practices. In a pilot period of six months, every member of a participating Latinx family can choose a Spanish book in any format each month. The books are theirs to keep. When LibroMío delivers the book bundles personally to the families each month, the delivery is combined with enjoyable community practices, specifically a family conversation over food about reading experiences, life challenges, sense of life satisfaction, community connections, and empowerment. These conversations and community moments allow for ongoing evaluation of the pilot and inform how to scale and implement LibroMio in the years to come. As crowd favorite winner, LibroMío receives $500 for project development.

C&I Professor Emerita Dianne Monson passes away at 85

March 24, 2020

Dianne Monson, professor emerita of the Department of Curriculum and Instruction (C&I), passed away on Wednesday, March 18. She was 85 years old. Monson earned a BA, MA, and PhD in education from the University of Minnesota. After graduating in 1966, she became a professor at the University of Washington, where she achieved full professorship in 1974. She came back to the U of M to C&I in 1982 and retired in 1997. She received the Arbuthnot Award in 1993 and was inducted into the International Reading Association Hall of Fame in 1997.

In addition to many scholarly articles, her publications include contributions to Experiencing Children’s Literature and co-authorship of the sixth edition of Children and Books. She also served on several professional organizations, including the Caldecott and Newbery Award Committees, committees of the National Council of Teachers of English, and the U.S. Board on Books for Young People.

CEHD shows gains in U.S. News & World Report’s best graduate schools

March 17, 2020

CEHD continues its rise on the U.S. News & World Report’s Best Graduate Schools rankings.

The Department of Educational Psychology has three programs among the top 10 in the nation on the 2021 list. Special education, which has held a top-10 spot for several years, continued its tradition by placing ninth this year. Educational psychology jumped a spot to also sit at ninth. Counseling and student personnel psychology leaped four spots to land at 10th place.

Curriculum and instruction is ranked among the nation’s top 20 programs at 18th. Educational administration also made U.S. News & World Report’s list this year, placing 28th. Specialty program rankings are based on nominations by education school deans nationwide.

These programs join CEHD’s developmental psychology program, ranked #1 in the nation. The program was last ranked along with other psychology programs as part of the 2018 U.S. News & World Report’s rankings of the Best Social Sciences and Humanities Schools.

CEHD as a whole was rated the 12th best public education graduate school in the nation. In U.S. News & World Report’s entire list of 255 schools, CEHD placed 22nd overall. Rankings are based on student selectivity, faculty resources, and research activity, as well as from assessments by peers and educational professionals.

Former dean William Gardner passes away at 91

March 10, 2020

William Earl “Bill” Gardner, a former dean of the College of Education, passed away on February 16, 2020, at the age of 91. He earned three degrees from the University of Minnesota: BS and MA degrees in education/social sciences and a PhD in education/American history. Gardner taught in several Minnesota schools, including the University of Minnesota High School, before joining the University of Minnesota’s College of Education faculty in 1961. In addition to serving as dean from 1977 to 1991, he served as a department chair (he taught social studies education in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction) and assistant and associate dean. Under his leadership, the college adopted the fifth-year program for teacher licensure, initiated a comprehensive development program, and formed a consortium with historically black colleges and universities. Memorial gifts can be made to the William E. Gardner Scholarship to support teacher education students.

Leveling the playing field

March 10, 2020

Last July, millions of television viewers saw the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team win the World Cup title. These strong ratings validated what Professor Mary Jo Kane has studied for decades: people want to watch and attend women’s sports if players are characterized as skilled athletes versus sex objects.

Kane is director emerita of the Tucker Center for Research on Girls & Women in Sport, which she founded in 1993. A self-described “classic pre-Title IX tomboy,” she united her interests in social patterns and gender equity to build a career researching, teaching, and advocating for how sport impacts the lives of girls and women.

The Tucker Center developed out of Kane’s vision to take seriously the empirical analysis of females’ involvement in physical activity. Thanks to her efforts, the Center – the first of its kind – has become the preeminent resource for those who support and care about girls’ and women’s ability to have safe and fair access to sports, including school districts, university athletic departments, coaches, and families.

While the field is no longer as marginalized as it was, inequities persist. Media portrayals of women, which is Kane’s expertise, have moved toward treating female athletes with the same respect granted to men, but the extent and tone of coverage still differs. Issues such as equal pay, women’s representation in leadership positions, and sexual abuse continue to be essential areas of study.

To help ensure the future work of the Tucker Center, Kane committed an estate gift to provide flexible funding for the directorship. The David and Janie Kane Endowed Tucker Center Director Fund both honors her legacy and pays tribute to her late siblings David and Janie. Every member of the Kane family loved sports, respected success, and believed in giving back. “David and Janie are ever present in my life,” says Mary Jo. “They were incredibly proud of my accomplishments and the Tucker Center reflects their passions. This gift is a way to carry forward our family name.”

Kane has inspired others to give, too. In honor of Kane’s upcoming retirement, Bonnie Parkhouse, ’74 PhD, has created her own estate gift to benefit the new fund.

“Mary Jo is the epitome of those who have dedicated their lives to equality for girls and women in sport, in both the media and on the playing fields and arenas of America,” Parkhouse says.

CEHD Partner Network focuses on inspiring educators

February 24, 2020

The CEHD Partner Network hosted a special event at the Wellstone Center in St. Paul on February 7. The annual gathering brought together school partners and University faculty and staff to improve teacher preparation and P-12 student learning.

Justice Alan Page (pictured) served as special guest and inspired educators through his stories and commitment to providing a quality education for all Minnesota students. CEHD’s J.B. Mayo, Jr. and Annie Mason led presentations on supporting queer students in Minnesota and on supporting preservice teachers’ understanding of white supremacy, racism, and their functions in education. School partners and CEHD faculty/staff engaged in discussions on supporting preservice teachers to inform continuous improvement in areas such as supporting students with mental health needs, using classroom management techniques, and using digital and interactive technologies to support learning. The afternoon ended with sessions on trauma-informed schools and teacher resiliency, both presented by school partners in Minneapolis and St. Paul.

In attendance were 38 school-based educators (teachers, principals, coaches) and 37 University faculty and staff.

The event was organized and presented by the Office of Teacher Education in conjunction with the School Partner Network Advisory Board. This advisory board includes principals, teachers, and HR representatives from partner districts along with faculty and staff from CEHD.

Couple and Family Therapy Program Director candidate presentations scheduled

February 4, 2020

The CEHD community is invited to attend the upcoming Couple and Family Therapy Program Director candidate presentations.

Darren Moore, an associate professor and program director in the marriage and family therapy program at Touro University will present Thursday, February 6, from 1:15 to 2:15 p.m. and Friday, February 7, from 10 to 11 a.m.

Andrea Wittenborn, an associate professor and program director at Michigan State University, will present Tuesday, February 25, from 1:15 to 2:15 p.m. and Wednesday, February 26, from 10 to 11 a.m.

Armeda Wojciak, an associate professor and program director at the University of Iowa, will present Thursday, February 27, from 1:15 to 2:15 p.m. and Friday, February 28, from 10 to 11 a.m.

All presentations will take place in 274 McNeal Hall.

Announcing the CEHD Research Acceleration Program Winners

January 30, 2020

The winners of this year’s CEHD Research Acceleration seed grant program have been announced. Open to all CEHD faculty and P&A researchers, the program gives out awards in two project classes: Developmental and Jump Start.

The Developmental Project award of $200,000 over two years was presented to Gail Ferguson (Institute of Child Development), Saida Abdi (School of Social Work (SSW)), Lisa Harnack (School of Public Health), Roli Dwivedi (Community-University Health Care Center), Michelle Nelson (University of Illinois), and Regina Ahn (University of Miami). Their project is “The Roles of Acculturation and Media in the Nutrition of Immigrant and Refugee Families.”

The Developmental Project program is designed to grow existing interdisciplinary partnerships and support novel studies that break new ground or extend previous work in new directions.

Two Jump Start project proposals of $25,000 each were awarded this year. One went to Renáta Tichá, (Institute on Community Integration (ICI)), Wei Song (ICI), Vianne Nguyen-Feng (psychology, U of M Duluth), and Brian Abery (ICI) for “Ecological Momentary Assessment of Leisure Activity Participation among Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorders.”

The second Jump Start project award was given to Timothy Piehler (Department of Family Social Science/Institute for Translational Research in Children’s Mental Health (ITR)), Mimi Choy-Brown (SSW/ITR), Ann Becher-Ingwalson (Natalis Counseling and Psychology Solutions), Julie Rohovit (SSW/Center for Practice Transformation), Ken Winters (Oregon Research Institute), and Nicole Morrell (ITR) for “The Development of a New Intervention for Adolescents with Co-occurring Substance Use Disorders and Mental Illness.”

ICD building included in governor’s higher education bonding proposal

January 14, 2020

Gov. Tim Walz and Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan meet with U of M President Joan T. A. Gabel and student representatives from the Institute of Child Development.

A new Institute of Child Development (ICD) building is one of the projects included in Gov. Tim Walz’s $447 million higher education bonding proposal, which he unveiled at a press conference on January 13 at Anoka-Ramsey Community College. “We’ve got a proud tradition of being home to the greatest institutions in the world across the spectrum, from our great land grant universities to our state colleges to our community colleges,” he said. “But the insufficient space that we’re seeing, the dated classrooms, put that leadership at risk. These are simply things that can no longer be neglected.”

Of Walz’s $447 million proposal, $224.2 million is slated to go to the University of Minnesota (U of M) system. Out of that, $29.2 million would be allocated to construct a new ICD building. The entire ICD building project is estimated to cost $43.8 million, with the remaining funding coming from private gifts. ICD’s current building was constructed more than a century ago and was last renovated in the 1960s.

Ten representatives from ICD—both students and staff members—attended the press conference to show their support for the proposal. U of M President Joan T.A. Gabel also spoke at the event, noting the disconnect between ICD’s top ranking and its deteriorating facilities. “[W]e hold this top ranking despite the current condition of the facilities and lack of adequate classroom space,” she said. “We’ve learned to do a lot with what we have and we’re very committed to make the most of the resources made available to us. But it’s not sustainable and it will get harder to maintain quality under existing conditions.”

In October, Walz and other administration representatives toured the state to get a first-hand view of projects needing government support. The tour’s first stop was the ICD building. This was deliberate, Walz said, because of the obvious need of its renovation. “This is the premier program dealing with child development and psychology in the world,” he said. “And they are in what would look like your grandparents’ high school. I don’t think that’s an over-exaggeration. It’s just time.”

Walz’s proposal will be put before the legislature in February.

Content sought for Research Ethics Day Conference

January 14, 2020

Content is being sought from U of M researchers for a session to explore the ethics issues specific to their units for the Research Ethics Day Conference, taking place March 4. The conference is part of Research Ethics Week, which runs March 2 to 6. Options for the session conference include a wide range of topics, from professional development to best practices for promoting, modeling, and maintaining exemplary standards of research ethics and integrity. Topics could also align with the subject of the conference, “The Power and Perils of Research Data: Generating, Storing, and Sharing Data Responsibly.”

Additional assistance in preparation has been volunteered by the libraries. If a department has a topic in mind and believes the libraries can assist, it can contact its liaison librarian directly. Ideally, they would need departments to be in touch at least four weeks in advance to work out the details, reserve a date and time that works for all, and develop any needed content.

To add a session to the Research Ethics Week web page and schedule, please complete these steps by January 31, 2020:

Decide on a topic
Choose a date the week of March 2-6, 2020
Find a location
Select a time
Determine if this event is open to outside attendees (if not, interested attendees will be referred to your event coordinator for information)
Appoint an event coordinator
Share the above information with Sarah Waldemar (s-wolg@umn.edu, 612-624-8349)

Perhaps most importantly, please schedule the time to attend the Research Ethics Day Conference and your unit’s session, and encourage your faculty, staff, and students to do the same.

Nominations open for CEHD Global Signature Grants

January 7, 2020

Nominations are now being accepted for CEHD Global Signature Grants. The grant is awarded to a faculty or P&A staff member, department, or center that proposes program initiatives that demonstrate the college’s commitment to global engagement. Individual or group projects are considered, with priority given to projects that are interdisciplinary.

CEHD Global Signature Grant projects are exemplars of institutionalized internationalization and global commitments in CEHD. They demonstrate the college’s strength through globally focused, mission-driven activities.

The purpose of this grant program is to support the creation of an institutional culture of global engagement in CEHD. By supporting projects in this process, CEHD seeks to institutionalize its global focus, creating opportunities to integrate chosen activities into their core functions and support projects that need extra funding to begin, continue, or complete their activities. Projects that are interdisciplinary and integrate individuals from multiple centers or departments may have higher potential for sustainability than those that depend on individuals, therefore these would be given priority. CEHD considers interdisciplinary to be both within the college or with partners outside the college. For the purpose of this grant attending an international conference is not considered an eligible project.

Application Process: Interested individuals, departments, or centers should submit a 1,000-word proposal by February 3, including:

Overview of the program
Implementation timeline with aims to launch in the year awarded
Contribution of program to broader global efforts in CEHD
Budget
Letter of support from Department Chair or Center Director. For group applications one department chair letter is sufficient, with evidence of other department chair approval
CVs from key implementers

Proposal Deadline: February 3

Review Process: CEHD Global Signature Grants are reviewed by a selected committee of 5-7 individuals, including past award recipients. Announcements of awards will be made by the end of February 2020.

Additional information and application details.

CEHD News Kevin Moe

CEHD News Kevin Moe