Dec. 14, 2021

MESSAGE FROM THE DEAN

I look forward to seeing many of you at the COE Celebration tomorrow afternoon and at Commencement on Saturday! It’s so important that we reconnect with each other, build relationships with new colleagues and show our support of students as we work to strengthen our College culture of inclusivity.

In case you missed my Dec. 3 memo, please note that the College of Education will move out of Farish Hall and into nearby McElhinney Hall and the former Science Building, likely over the next two or three years. The former Science Building has recently been renovated, and renovations to McElhinney will be underway (see map). To clarify any confusion, the College of Education is ultimately expected to be the sole occupant of both facilities. The leadership team and I will continue to provide regular updates.

I wish you and your families a wonderful winter break!

Onward with relaxation,
Bob

Banner: Campus provided a nice backdrop for Allison Master’s recent interview with “Good Morning America” about her study on STEM and gender stereotypes.

MARK YOUR CALENDAR

• COE Celebration — Wednesday, Dec. 15. 11:30 a.m. – 1 p.m. KIVA. Hosted by COE Staff Council. All faculty and staff welcome. Lunch provided to those who RSVP’d.
  • Donation drive for PEEPS Pantry — To be entered into a raffle, please bring at least three items to the KIVA during the celebration, or drop them off earlier in Farish 160 (Undergraduate Studies) or Farish 256 (Graduate Studies). See Dec. 14 email from Miranda Jasso for the list of items needed.
• COE Commencement — Saturday, Dec. 18. 6 p.m. Fertitta Center.
• Winter Break — Friday, Dec. 24 – Friday, Dec. 31
• Martin Luther King Jr. Day – Monday, Jan. 17
• First day of spring classes – Tuesday, Jan. 18

OFFICE OF UNDERGRADUATE AND GRADUATE STUDIES

• A message from Associate Deans Edgar and Arbona: We are very grateful to everyone who contributed to the TEA certification accreditation process for 2020-21, including Tina Ho, Cindy Perez (Certification); June Zhou, Mario Martinez (Institutional Effectiveness); and program leads Keith Butcher, Bradley Davis, Kristen Hassett (ELPS); Nancy Reis, Amber Thompson (CUIN); and Rachael Whitaker (PHLS).

DEPARTMENTS

Editor’s note: External grant awards are listed under Office of Research. For publications, additional authors are not included. Please email Ericka Mellon with any questions. 

Curriculum & Instruction

Publications

• Melissa Gallagher. “Authentic integration of physical education and mathematics: The geometry racket,” Strategies: A Journal for Sport and Physical Educators.
• Alberto Rodriguez. “Promoting Equity, Diversity and Social Justice Through Faculty-Led Transformative Projects,” Innovative Higher Education.

Book Chapters

• Alberto Rodriguez. “International Perspectives on Science Education Research in Multicultural and Multilingual Contexts,” Engaging with Contemporary Challenges through Science Education Research.

Awards/Honors/Notable

• Alberto Rodriguez has been selected as FEC chair-elect.
• The Ismaili Professionals Network published a spotlight on Neelofer Tajani.

Presentations

• Justin Burris presented “Community, Culture and Mathematics: Developing Lessons that Engage ALL Students” at the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics fall virtual conference.

Educational Leadership & Policy Studies

Publications

• April Peters-Hawkins. “Unapologetic Educational Research: Addressing Anti-Blackness, Racism and White Supremacy,” Cultural Studies ↔ Critical Methodologies.

Book Chapters

• April Peters-Hawkins. “Are charter schools the educational promised land for Black leaders? Examining Rational Choice Theory in a racialized context,” Handbook of Urban Educational Leadership (2nd edition).

Awards/Honors/Notable

• Kmt Shockley earned a Critics’ Choice Book Award from the American Educational Studies Association for “African-Centered Education: Theory and Practice,” the 2020 book he edited.
• As part of UH’s “50 in 5” initiative, Dave Louis and Lyle McKinney were recognized for earning Fulbright Awards, and Elsa Gonzalez was recognized for earning a National Science Foundation CAREER Award.
• Marina McCormick (adjunct) won the Division on Visual Impairment and Deafblindness’s 2022 Deborah D. Hatton Dissertation of the Year Award.

Presentations

• Kmt Shockley presented his paper “May We Forever Stand: Culture, Community and Maroonage” at the University Council for Educational Administration conference.

Psychological, Health, & Learning Sciences

Announcements

• The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board has approved changing our B.S. and B.A. degree name to Human Development and Family Sciences (instead of “Studies”). The change takes effect Sept. 1, 2022.

Publications

• Julie Dunsmore. “Co-rumination with parents and friends: Gender-specific links to adolescent internalizing symptoms,” Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology. “Validation of a Chinese Translation of the Parents’ Beliefs about Children’s Emotions Questionnaire and Measurement Invariance across Chinese and US Mothers,” Current Psychology.
• Weihua Fan, Consuelo Arbona, Norma Olvera. “Self-efficacy and achievement emotions as mediators between learning climate and learning persistence in college calculus: A sequential mediation analysis,” Learning and Individual Differences.
• Norma Olvera. “Perspectives of Black and Hispanic children living in under-sourced communities on meal preparation and grocery shopping behaviors: Implications for nutrition education,” International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.
• Lorraine Reitzel, Ann Chen, Isabel Martinez Leal, Virmarie Correa-Fernández, Kelli Drenner, Ezemenari Obasi, Maggie Britton. “Implementation and Outcomes of a Train-the-Trainer Program at Behavioral Health Treatment Centers as a Mechanism to Maintain Organizational Capacity to Address Tobacco Use Disorder,” International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.
• Nathan Grant Smith. “Experimentally testing the impact of status threat on heterosexual men’s use of anti-gay slurs: A precarious manhood and coalitional value perspective,” Current Psychology.

Awards/Honors/Notable

• Kayce Solari Williams was re-elected for a third term as president of the American School Health Association. She also recently served as a group leader for UH College of Medicine workshops focused on increasing vaccinations among young people in Houston.

Community Engagement

• Virmarie Correa-Fernández presented to three community organizations in the Rio Grande Valley area about evidence-based approaches to address tobacco dependence.
• BOUNCE, led by Norma Olvera, provided nutrition education focused on principles of healthy eating for Hispanic parents at Houston ISD’s Tijerina Elementary.

Presentations

• Jungeun Lee gave two presentations at the Texas Counseling Association Professional Growth Conference: “Five steps of CBT intervention to tackle the impostor phenomenon” and “International students’ stress and coping: A 5-state developmental theory.” Lee also presented at the UH Pre-Health Symposium on “Managing Mental Health as a Student.”
• Allison Master gave a remote talk for the University of Louisville, “Gender stereotypes about interests start early and cause gender disparities in computer science and engineering.”
• Sarah Mire presented remotely on “Special education for students with autism in the United States” to community providers and public educators at the Sirius University Autism Regions Scientific and Practical Conference in Russia.

COE In the News

• Check out the latest media clips, featuring Allison Master (PHLS), Leslie Frankel (PHLS), Norma Olvera (PHLS) and Cathy Horn (ELPS).

OFFICE OF RESEARCH

Awards

• Health Center for Addictions Research and Cancer Prevention. NIH. $581,145 (incl. 55% IDC). Chakema Carmack (PHLS), NOSI PI (submitted under PI Ezemenari Obasi’s U54 NIMHD-RCMI). (Editor’s note: Amount corrected from November DU)
• #StopAsianHate: AAPI counselors’ anxiety, stress, self-efficacy and resilience. American Counseling Association Foundation. $500. Jungeun Lee (PHLS), PI.

Submissions

• Examining Contributors to Pandemic Learning Loss in Writing: An Analysis of Statewide Data. University of Houston. $5,500. Milena Keller-Margulis (PHLS), PI.
• Understanding the Home Literacy Environment: A Cross-cultural Mixed Methods Study. Spencer Foundation. $49,991. Miao Li (CUIN), PI; Mimi Lee (CUIN) and Jorge Gonzalez (PHLS), co-PIs.
• Asian American/Ethnic Studies for Racial Solidarity and Social Justice: An Examination of College Students’ Perspectives and Experience. Spencer Foundation. $50,000. An Nguyen (ELPS), PI.

Questions about the Dean’s Update? Email coecomm@uh.edu and emellon@uh.edu.