CBCS Launches One Minute for Mental Health Videos

CBCS faculty have a broad range of expertise in many areas of behavioral science, focusing on individuals, families, communities, and schools, and examining the problems and challenges people encounter, as well as their need for clinical and supportive services.

During these times of social isolation and increased stress brought on due to COVID-19, we are pleased to present these One Minute for Mental Health videos.
 

We invite you to share your COVID-19 stories in Communique. Let us know how you are coping with working remotely. Submit your photos and captions to cbcsmarketing@usf.edu

As always, you should refer to the official USF coronavirus webpage for the most up to date information. 

Stay safe

Each year, the University of South Florida recognizes employees who exemplify "above and beyond" performance excellence through their daily commitment to the University. We are pleased to announce that the following individuals were named 2019 Outstanding Staff. The 2019 award ceremony, originally scheduled for April 10th, 2020, has been postponed until further notice.

Dr. Jenna Silver Luque, Instructor II in Communication Sciences & Disorders, has been selected as the recipient for the 2019-2020 National NSSLHA Advisor Honors-Making Waves Award! She will be featured on the National Student Speech Language Hearing Association website. Dr. Luque serves as Faculty Advisor for the USF-SM NSSLHA Chapter and her leadership has been instrumental in propelling the UFS-SM NSSLHA chapter into new territory. The student organization was awarded Gold Chapter Honors in May 2019, a goal they obtained for the first time in USF-SM history. The national Making Waves Award is incredibly well-deserved and speaks to the countless hours of effort and support Dr. Luque has provided to the USF-SM NSSLHA chapter and our students. Congratulations on your national recognition, Dr. Luque!

Student Assistant of the Year, Reneta Simeon: Some of the ways Reneta is described are with words such as responsible, courteous, outstanding, and task oriented with a strong completion ethic. She is the student face of our advising team. Reneta continually demonstrates a high level of initiative as she is a self-starter with an amazing work ethic. Her supervisor quickly became aware of her capabilities, intelligence, and analytical ability as she emerged as a superior employee. She works closely with her supervisor on special projects and initiatives that I pilot throughout the year. One of the most recent examples of her initiative was when we were suddenly tasked with creating a fully online orientation experience with an extremely short deadline of ten days, and she did not disappoint. She is a quick learner and she always asks questions to ensure she knows the entire scope of what is being asked of her.

Graduate Assistant of the year, Enya Vroom: Enya is described by her leader as a reliable "top of the class/committed" person, constantly coming to us with new and innovative ideas, and who very much deserves this recognition. Recently, during this time of crisis, she was offered to work from home but, knowing we had cancelled our conference and we were going to have our Scholars do their presentations online, she traveled from Pinellas just to ensure that all of the logistics and use of the technology were all set up for the students. As a result, we had 8 online presentations with no glitches, and we were able to log in up to 45 participants nationwide at once. Enya represents our program and department well not only in her daily work and while presenting in professional forums, but she also has coordinated panels of conference speakers and has lead panel presentations and discussions. In a recent conference where she attended, she had the opportunity to make contacts with key players in the area of implementation science (key component of our program) ITRE, and connect our program with national experts. Because of her professionalism and initiative, when we contacted some of such experts to serve as ITRE's national board members, they had already heard great things about us.

Annette Christy, PhD (Co-PI), Randy Otto, PhD (Co-PI), Paul Stiles, PhD (Co-I), and Ryan Wagoner, MD from USF Psychiatry (Co-I), received a USF COVID-19 Rapid Response Research Grant for their project "Alternative Processing of Civil and Criminal Justice System Matters for People with Behavioral Health Disorders". The project was one of 14 projects to receive initial funding for research on potential treatments, technologies and social mitigation strategies in the wake of the global pandemic.

Social distancing requirements to stem the spread of COVID-19 has had an impact on the legal system, particularly in proceedings which involve persons with mental and substance use disorder who undergo clinical assessments and hearings for involuntary hospitalization under Florida's Baker Act. Dr. Christy and her colleagues will conduct a six-month study on the use of technology to carry out clinical assessment and justice system hearings in both civil and criminal justice system cases involving people with mental and substance abuse issues.

The College of Behavioral and Community Sciences is pleased to announce that Jennifer Jones Lister, PhD, CCC-A, Professor in Communication Sciences and Disorders has been appointed Associate Dean of Academic Affairs. Dr. Lister received her PhD in Communication Sciences and Disorders from the University of South Alabama. She joined the CBCS Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders in 1999. Dr. Lister returns to CBCS from the USF Office of Undergraduate Studies. For the past three years, she has served as Associate Dean of Undergraduate Studies. Her primary responsibilities have been curriculum management, catalog production, the Global Citizens Project, and the Office of Undergraduate Research. She also serves as a resource for the Undergraduate Council. Dr. Lister maintains an active research program in the areas of aging, hearing, and cognition. Dr. Lister will begin her appointment on May 18, 2020.

On behalf of Dr. Julie Serovich, Dean of the College of Behavioral & Community Sciences, we are pleased to announce the addition of Kristyn Kuzianik to our USF Development team. As the new Development Specialist for CBCS, Kristyn started her new role on Friday, April 17, and will be reporting to Holly Behrend, Assistant Director of Development. Her office will be located in the CBCS Dean's office. Kristyn graduated from the University of South Florida, Magna Cum Laude, in Fall 2019. As an undergraduate, she studied Psychology, participated in undergraduate research through Moffitt Cancer Center, served as an active member of the Judy Genshaft Honors College as a Peer Mentor, and studied abroad in London. She is grateful for all of the opportunities USF offered her as a student and is overjoyed to continue with USF as a proud alum.

In the case that you were unable to attend the Virtual Assembly on Friday, April 17, 2020, the entire presentation is available on YouTube at https://youtu.be/mfUIZNokrCA.

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