Tennyson Wright, PhD

Dr. Wright retired from the University in 2015. He serves as a vocational expert with the Office of Hearing Operations, Social Security Administration. His role is to assist administrative law judges with the Office of Hearing Operations to analyze the past relevant work of individuals with physical and/or mental impairments who are applying for disability benefits. His testimony is advisory and is used to award or deny supplemental security income and/or supplemental security disability insurance benefits.

He served as chair of the Department of Rehabilitation and Mental Health Counseling and the School of Social Work, College of Behavioral and Community Sciences, and a former Vice Provost of the University of South Florida.

A Certified Rehabilitation Counselor, Dr. Wright has the distinction of being a delegate to the 1977 White House Conference on Handicapped Individuals, which was the first White House Conference on issues of persons with disabilities. At this conference, delegates were encouraged "to impact in new ways on State and local governments, the private sector and the Federal Government to bring greater independence, dignity and full participation into community life for all mentally and physically handicapped individuals." This request has been the guiding mission for Dr. Wright's research, education and training efforts, and administration of the Department of Rehabilitation and Mental Health Counseling and the School of Social Work.

Prior to coming to USF, Dr. Wright was director of Project Upward Bound and the Northeast Georgia Educational Opportunity Center at the University of Georgia Athens. Dr. Wright has been co-principal investigator on a number of large grants from the Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA), U.S. Department of Education, in Washington, DC. These grants are to implement the RSA long-term training initiative to prepare rehabilitation counselors to serve ethnic minorities with disabilities.

His early research focused on the professional preparation of rehabilitation counselors and differential employment specialist personnel across a variety of services programs and systems to better serve ethnic minorities with disabilities. He recently examined student satisfaction post-graduation with the RMHC Department as to course content and preparation for professional employment. This 40-year departmental survey built upon a previous survey conducted at the Department's 25th year marker.

Dr. Wright has been the recipient of a number of prestigious national awards attesting to his service, leadership, and commitment to rehabilitation education, professional practice, and multicultural issues. He received the Mary E. Switzer Distinguished Fellow from the National Rehabilitation Association, the Sylvia Walker Multicultural Award, and the Yvonne Johnson National Leadership Award. In addition, he has been recognized by the National Association of Multi-cultural Rehabilitation Concerns with the Virgie Winston-Smith Lifetime Achievement Award and the Commitment and Leadership Award and the President's Award for Leadership and Dedication. He has also received the Service Award from the American Rehabilitation Counseling Association, and an Outstanding Service Award from the National Council on Disability.

He is married to Gwen M. Wright, a former member of the faculty in the Department of Mental Health Law & Policy. His daughter is Gwendolyn K. Clayton, MD, MBA, a family medicine physician, USF Morsani Health Clinic.

Black History Month Did You Know Facts:

• Ella Josephine Baker (December 13, 1903 - December 13, 1986) was an African-American civil rights activist and human rights activist. She has been ranked as "one of the most important African- American leaders of the twentieth century and perhaps the most influential woman in the civil rights movement." She is known for her critiques not only of racism within American culture, but also of sexism within the civil rights movement. In 2009, Ella Baker was honored on a U.S. postage stamp.
• Joycelyn Elders (born Minnie Lee Jones, August 13, 1933) is the first African-American and second woman appointed as Surgeon General of the United States. She was the first person in the state of Arkansas to become board certified as a pediatric endocrinologist.

Congratulations to Dr. Michelle Bourgeois, Communication Sciences & Disorders, and Dean Julie Serovich on receiving their AAAS Fellow Awards at the National Meeting in Seattle, Washington earlier this month. Bourgeois and Serovich join seven others from USF as part of a class of nearly 450 faculty members nationwide selected as AAAS Fellows by their peers. This class brings the total number of USF AAAS Fellows to 73. "We are incredibly proud of the talented and highly-accomplished individuals from USF selected for the 2019 class of AAAS Fellows," said Dr. Paul Sanberg, the university's senior vice president for research, innovation & knowledge enterprise. "These individuals not only lead their respective fields on a national and global level, but are a guiding force here at USF as we continue to rise in the ranks of America's great research universities." Read more on all nine USF Fellows here.

The Department of Communication Sciences & Disorders is excited to announce two of our faculty members have been elected to the board of the Florida American Sign Language Teacher's Associations (FASLTA). Rachelle Settambrino (picture 2nd from left), full-time instructor for Interpreting and Deaf studies, will be spearheading the organization as President in the coming years. Ben Jarashow (3rd from left), full-time instructor for Deaf Studies, will be supporting Rachelle as Vice-President.

FASLTA's mission is to promote the use of American Sign Language as a second/foreign language, encourage respect for Deaf people, their community and their unique culture, organize and share information among teachers of American Sign Language, and encourage ASL teachers to pursue ASLTA certification.

Dr. Roger Peters from the Department of Mental Health Law and Policy recently hosted Drs. Graciela Barreto Castro and Cecilia Munoz Perez from Universidad Catolica in Asuncion, Paraguay as part of a USF UNI grant project entitled: "Examining Treatment Needs and Alternatives to Incarceration among Substance-Involved Women in the Justice System". The visit included a colloquium, a webinar, work to complete a UNI-supported investigation of women's substance abuse treatment needs in Paraguayan prisons, and site visits to a Florida women's prison, and treatment programs operated by ACTS, DACCO, Gracepoint, the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office, and Florida's Thirteenth Circuit Court in Tampa.

Congratulations to the outstanding CBCS students who participated in the We Love Research student poster session on Valentine's Day. The poster projects were judged by the CBCS Research Council members. Awards were given to the Best and Honorable Mention posters in the undergraduate and graduate research categories. Thanks to our faculty who are mentoring students interested in research in the behavioral and community sciences.

Outstanding Undergraduate Research Poster:
Personality and sleep health: Do lifestyle habits play a role?
Karley Deason, School of Aging Studies

Honorable Mention Undergraduate Research Poster:
Findings from the psychological assessment of risk of criminality project
Veronica Levinson, Criminology

Outstanding Graduate Research Poster:
Central gain modulation in the brainstem and cortex following short-term auditory deprivation
Peter Hutchison, Communication Sciences & Disorders

Honorable Mention Graduate Research Poster:
Keeping cool in Florida assisted living communities: Barriers to power rule implementation
Joseph June, School of Aging Studies

A two-part series aired on Telemundo TV 49 in Spanish helps to answer questions parents have about autism and share how the Center for Autism and Related Disabilities at USF is working with parents and schools to help children achieve success. To view the segments, click on the links below.

Primera Parte: Autismo sin obstaculos (Autism without barriers)

Segunda Parte: Autismo sin obstaculos (Autism without barriers)

Join the CARD en Espanol group on FB Live each Friday at 10am for La Hora de Cafecito! https://www.facebook.com/groups/2356238681161290/?source_id=157197644292750

1. Joshi, M., Rahill, G. J., & Rice, C. (2020). Psychometric properties of a Haitian Kreyòl version of the trauma symptom checklist. Journal of Affective Disorders, 260, 238-244. doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2019.09.004

 

2. Lee, S., Charles, S. T., & Almeida, D. M. (2020). Change is Good for the Brain: Activity Diversity and Cognitive Functioning Across Adulthood. The Journals of Gerontology: Series B. doi: 10.1093/geronb/gbaa020

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