The CBCS Administrative and Staff Recognition Award Program (RAP) is designed to recognize individuals for extraordinary achievements in the workplace. The two staff employees who were recognized for their outstanding performance and contributions to the college at the Faculty Assembly on April 8, 2016 were:

Yvonne Wallace, Social Work - Yvonne Wallace was nominated for recognition by her supervisor, Teri Simpson. Yvonne is an Academic Program Specialist and has been with the school of Social Work since 2007. She is known for being a team player in every sense of the word. She has served on the Special Events Committee and is enthusiastic, professional, and committed to the success of the school and college. Ms. Wallace recently organized events for the School's student employees during the National Student Employee Appreciation Week. She engaged the personnel of the department and the students in activities each day during this week, and her efforts are a model for other departments to follow. No task is to great or too small for Yvonne to tackle. She consistently goes above and beyond in her work. She is someone the students and faculty depend on and she always goes the extra mile in everything she does!

Kathy Wasson, Communication Sciences & Disorders - Kathy Wasson was nominated by Maria Brea. She is an Academic Program Specialist in the department of Communication Sciences & Disorders. Kathy has been employed with the department for over 10 years. She plays a myriad of fundamental roles in the Speech-Language Pathology program and is instrumental in tracking graduate students' progress through the requirements of each program, ensuring that all graduate students meet the academic and clinical requirements for graduation, coordinating the admissions process for the SLP graduate programs, and consulting with undergraduates regarding the application to the graduate programs. She manages a very heavy workload with grace and competence. Some areas would probably need more than one individual to handle such a large number of student matters, but Kathy is someone who is organized and able to coordinate a high number of issues and actions successfully. She is also known for her kindness, patience, and respect for others in all situations.

Carla Stover, PhD, Mental Health Law & Policy - Dr. Stover will present a workshop entitled Fathers for change: A new approach to working with fathers with co-occurring substance abuse and IPV at the World Association of Infant Mental Health 15th World Conference in Prague, Czech Republic in May 2016.

Daniel Meng, MPH, PhD, School of Aging Studies - Dr. Meng will be presenting the Cost-Effectiveness of Psychological Treatments for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: A Decision Analytic Approach and establishing a research collaboration with the Toronto Rehabilitation Institute in Toronto, Canada in July/August 2016.

On April 6, 2016, four College of Behavioral and Community Sciences students were awarded the Mom's Project Scholarship, an award exclusive to CBCS students. The luncheon, held in the Marshall Student Center, was held the same day the recipients presented their projects at the USF Undergraduate Research Symposium.

The Moms Project Scholarship Fund was established by three College of Behavioral and Community Sciences faculty members - Drs. Roger Boothroyd, Mary Armstrong, and Catherine Batsche - to honor their mothers who, for various reasons, were unable to pursue higher education. The fund supports undergraduate students pursuing research within the college.

We are proud to announce the 2016 recipients are Cecelia Ferguson, Crystal Johnson, Stephanie Raymond and Katie Colin.

Cecelia Ferguson is an undergraduate student pursuing a degree in Nursing with a minor in gerontology. She is receiving the Mom's Project Scholarship Award in the field of positive aging.

Crystal Johnson is an undergraduate student pursuing a degree in Behavioral Healthcare with a concentration in Adult Community Services. She is receiving the Mom's Project Scholarship Award in the area of substance abuse and its impact on families.

Stephanie Raymond is an undergraduate student who is pursuing a degree in Communication Sciences & Disorders: Speech, Language, and Hearing and is a recipient of this year's The Mom's Project Scholarship Award in the area of positive aging.

Katie Colin is an undergraduate student pursuing a degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders. Ms. Colin is receiving the Mom's Project Scholarship Award in the area of positive aging.

Mary Lindsey, PhD, Director of the Florida HIPPY Training and Technical Assistance Center (T&TA), was honored with the Avima D. Lombard Award at the HIPPY National Leadership Conference in Orlando on April 3,2016. The award is presented to a HIPPY staff person at a local, state, or national program office in the United States whose professional services have made a significant contribution to HIPPY and to improving the lives of young children and their families. Individual selected for the award embody the late Avima's dedication to the equalization of educational opportunities for young children and her active, risk taking and determined approach to work. Read more...

Members of the USF Foundation Board of Directors were invited to go "Back to School" and enjoy a half-day experience in CBCS. The day began with a welcome and overview of the college by Dean Serovich. The Directors toured the CSD Speech-Language and Hearing Clinics, attended a Pecha Kucha highlighting the research findings of 7 CBCS undergraduate and graduate students representative of the entire college, and visited the Criminology class "Crime and Justice in America" featuring guest speaker, Judge Ashley Moody of the 13th Judicial Circuit Court of Florida. It was a successful day of showcasing the wonderful programs and initiatives ongoing in our college. Each of the Directors expressed how impressed they were with our internal collaborations, our community outreach, our research, our academics, our faculty and staff and our students.

Dr. Mario Hernandez has been invited to participate on a National Project Advisory Committee (NPAC) for the Office of Minority Health (OMH) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The committee will advise and provide input for the development and implementation of a new e-learning program targeting behavioral health providers and stakeholders. Read more...

With great sadness, the Rehabilitation and Mental Health Counseling Program at USF announces the passing of retired professor, Dr. Gary DuDell on April 13, 2016. Dr. DuDell was a full time faculty member at USF from 1987 - 2015. He served as the coordinator of the Graduate Certificate in Integrative Mental Health Care, which provides the clinical perspectives and tools necessary for the emerging and exciting field of collaborative health care. Along with his teaching responsibilities, he also coordinated field placement activities for practicum and intern students. Read more...

Louis Bherer, PhD, will present "Cognitive plasticity in older adults: effects of cognitive training and physical exercise" on Friday, April 22, 2016 at 10:30 am in the College of Public Health Auditorium 1023-B. Dr. Bherer is a full professor of Psychology and Scientific Director of the PERFORM Centre at Concordia University in Montreal, Canada. He is also a researcher and laboratory director at the research center of the Institute universitaire de gériatrie de Montréal. Before joining Concordia University he held the CIHR Canada Research Chair on Aging and the Prevention of Cognitive Decline at the University of Quebec in Montreal (UQAM). Bherer completed a Master's degree in Cognitive Psychology (Université Laval 1996), a PhD in Neuropsychology (Université de Montréal, 2002) and a post-doc in Aging and Neurosciences at the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA). Bherer's research program is currently supported by the Canadian Institute of Health Research, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada and the Canadian Foundation for Innovation.

Save the Date! Tuesday, April 26 from 2:00 - 5:00pm. The USF Applied Behavior Analysis Practicum follows the experience guidelines of the Behavior Analysis Certification Board, which requires 1,000 total hours of practicum experience. Join the students on April 26 as they share some of their research experience while working at their practicum site. Invitation...