The President and Provost invite you to attend a Faculty Information Session regarding the launch of the Fall 2020 semester. This one-hour session will only address teaching and student success. It will not be focused on research, service, or the general opening of the university. Thus, for many of you the content may not be relevant. Faculty, adjunct instructors, and graduate teaching assistants are particularly encouraged to attend. A subsequent reminder, in the form of an invitation to join the session through MS teams, will follow shortly. We hope to address other issues of importance to you at a college Town Hall to be scheduled soon.

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

Associate Criminology Professor Bryanna Fox will play a pivotal role in the city of Tampa's new initiative to improve relations between its police department and the communities it serves.

Fox was selected to make recommendations based on feedback from members of the newly formed Mayor's Community Task Force on Policing. Mayor Jane Castor launched the 40-member task force following ongoing protests regarding police treatment of members of Black communities across Tampa. The group represents a variety of key stakeholders, including Black Lives Matter, the NAACP, business owners, neighborhood associations and churches.

Fox and 12 USF graduate students will attend three, 4-hour sessions with the task force to help better understand public perception of the Tampa Police Department. They'll ask questions that pertain to how much they trust the police, if they fear police and if they feel officers need more or fewer resources to effectively do their jobs. They're also getting feedback on policing tools, such as the use of body cameras, facial recognition software and other tactics used to monitor areas with high crime rates. Additionally, the team will hear thoughts from law enforcement officers on their interactions with the community, perceived tensions and get input on how they're individually impacted by department policies and resources. View entire article...

Congratulations to CBCS faculty Manisha Joshi, Guitele Rahill and Linda M. Callejas who are among six USF faculty awarded a Women's Health Collaborative (WHC) Grant from USF Health. They will work with Abraham A. Salinas-Miranda (Grant PI), Heather Agazzi and Cheryl Vamos to investigate strategies to mitigate peritraumatic distress (PD) and prevent losses in educational achievement/attainment for African American (AA) teen mothers in the study, COVID-19, Peritraumatic Distress, Mental Health and Educational Attainment in a sample of African American Teen Mothers in Hillsborough County's Alternative Education Programs.

Historically, AA adolescents have experienced racial and health disparities including adverse childhood experiences (ACE) and unplanned pregnancies. Parenting causes more school dropouts and poorer educational achievement/attainment for AA teen mothers relative to non-AA peers. COVID-19 adds layers of stress and trauma for teen mothers, potentially disrupting educational attainment and achievement. Little is known about how AA teen mothers experience COVID-19 biopsychosocially.

The team will use a mixed-method design to collect survey and focus group data. They plan to mentor graduate students who share sociodemographic characteristics of teens in the proposed study and who are members of the CBCS Interdisciplinary Lab for Prevention of Violence and Promotion of Mental Health. Findings will be used to develop and submit abstracts to conferences and publications.

Fawn Ngo, PhD (USF Sarasota-Manatee campus) was recently named Student Organization Advisor of the Year for her work with the Debate Club.

Congratulations to Dr. Guitele Rahill whose documentary, "Twoub Manta: Healing a Nation" has been awarded the "Best Documentary Award" for the 2020 Bergen County Film Festival.

Christina Mu, a first-year graduate student in the School of Aging Studies, recently received Honorable Mention for the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program (NSF GRFP). Currently, her research interests are on the relationships between pain, sleep, and cognition in older adults. She is also one of the lab managers of the Sleep, Stress, and Health Lab and works under the direction of Dr. Soomi Lee.

For more information on the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program recipients, please see https://www.research.gov/grfp/AwardeeList.do?method=loadAwardeeList

For more information on the other 11 NSF recipients from USF, please see here: https://spark.adobe.com/page/LohyO91HskVCu/

Howard Goldstein (DO)
Efficacy of Story Friends Vocabulary Curriculum Targeting Preschoolers At-Risk for Language and Literacy Disabilities
Sponsor: US Dept of Education
7/1/202020-6/30/2025
Amount: $3,300,000

Expanding preschoolers' repertoires of sophisticated academic vocabulary has the potential to contribute to the prevention of later reading problems. Over the next five years, this project will be conducted in 96 preschool classrooms in Hillsborough County Public Schools. A cluster randomized controlled trial will evaluate the efficacy of the Story Friends vocabulary curriculum on improving vocabulary and language outcomes for preschool children who are and are not at risk for language and reading disabilities. We also will examine effects on academic performance at the end of kindergarten and assess the cost-effectiveness of the intervention.

This Is My Brave is a national organization focused on reducing stigma about mental health in the United States. The goal is to use storytelling to save lives, aiding in the recognition that mental illness is a disease just like a physical illness, and that no one should feel ashamed about needing to seek help. Participants share their stories of recovery and hope using creative means.

Dr. Kyaien Conner will be co-producing a special series of This Is My Brave to focus on stories from the Black Community. Starting the Conversation about Mental health is tough, but it is so important. Especially now, in a time when the world is grappling with its long-standing history of systematic racism and protests against police brutality. Right now, important conversations regarding the mental health and wellness of African Americans are being brought to the surface and we need more voices to be part of this conversation.

Please share this information (flyer). We are currently seeking individuals who identify as Black or African American who are willing to share their mental health recovery story. We are accepting auditions for the next 6 weeks and then will be shooting the event in Tampa in the early fall and this event with be broadcast nationally.

If you have any questions, or want to be involved, please don't hesitate to reach out to Dr. Conner or Dr. Kristin Kosyluk.

The Center for Autism and Related Disabilities is proud to announce its inclusive VIRTUAL "ARTS IN THE PARK" and Art Competition. The event will be held via Zoom on JULY 31st from 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM. This event has garnered support from Arts4All Florida, The Florida Orchestra, Glazer Children's Museum, artists, and professionals in our community. Through this event CARD hopes to bring a fun and interactive activity for members of all abilities in our community and connect them to community partners, artists, and providers in our area. Be sure to share this information and follow our progress on CARD's social media platforms. #CARDcreativity #ALLin4Inclusion

Congratulations to Bonnie Brown on successfully defended her dissertation titled "Understanding Campus Support Programs: How Universities Are Assisting Foster Care Alumni in Achieving Success". This is an especially significant accomplishment, as she will be the first Doctor of Philosophy granted by the USF Behavioral & Community Sciences program. Thanks for leading the way, Dr. Brown

1. Chouhy, C., & Unnever, J. D. (2020). Is Collective Efficacy a Theory of Offending? Unraveling the Relationship between Individual-Level Perceptions of Collective Efficacy and Youth Offending. Justice Quarterly, 1-27. doi:10.1080/07418825.2020.1728363
2. Leiber, M. J., Fox, B., Escue, M., Krupa, J. M., & Cochran, J. K. (2020). Race/Ethnicity and the Effects of Prior Case Outcomes on Current Dispositions: Continuity and Change in the Dispositional Careers of Juvenile Offenders. Justice Quarterly, 1-28. doi:10.1080/07418825.2020.1781232
3. Ngo, F. T., Piquero, A. R., Laprade, J., & Duong, B. (2020). Victimization in Cyberspace: Is It How Long We Spend Online, What We Do Online, or What We Post Online? Criminal Justice Review, 073401682093417. doi:10.1177/0734016820934175
4. Sharp, A., Barnett, J. T., & Vroom, E. B. (2020). Community Perceptions of Harm Reduction and Its Implications for Syringe Exchange Policy. Journal of Drug Issues, 002204262093228. doi:10.1177/0022042620932289
5. Unnever, J. D., & Chouhy, C. (2020). Race, Racism, and the Cool Pose: Exploring Black and White Male Masculinity. Social Problems. doi:10.1093/socpro/spaa010
6. Wang, S. K., & Sun, I. Y. (2018). A Comparative Study of Rural and Urban Residents' Trust in Police in Taiwan. International Criminal Justice Review, 30(2), 197-218. doi:10.1177/1057567718763724
7. Wang, S. K., Sun, I. Y., Wu, Y., Craen, M. V., & Hsu, K. K. (2020). Does trust in supervisors translate to compliance and cooperation? A test of internal procedural justice among Taiwanese police officers. Australian & New Zealand Journal of Criminology, 000486582091799. doi:10.1177/0004865820917996
8. Welsh, W. N., Dembo, R., Lehman, W. E., Bartkowski, J. P., Hamilton, L., Leukefeld, C. G., & Wiley, T. (2020). Critical Factors Influencing Interorganizational Relationships Between Juvenile Probation and Behavioral Health Agencies. Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research. doi:10.1007/s10488-020-01066-7

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