Month: August 2024

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Student Academic Engagement & Success University Foundations

University Foundations launches in SAES

Effective August 1, the Department of University Foundations joined the Division of Student Academic Engagement and Student Success.  University Foundations provides enriching coursework focused on students’ personal, academic, and leadership development as they transition to the SMU community.  The department manages all courses with a UNIV or PRW prefix.  You can find more information about University Foundations on their website.

Five faculty members transitioned from the Simmons School of Education and Human Development into the Department of University Foundations:

  • Caitlin Anderson, Chair and Teaching Associate Professor – located in the Scholars’ Den
  • Brian Fennig, Teaching Associate Professor – located in PAB suite 301
  • Troy Forte, Teaching Assistant Professor – located in the Scholars’ Den
  • Haemin Kim-Breunig, Teaching Assistant Professor – located in PAB suite 301
  • Abby Pruitt, Teaching Professor – located in PAB suite 301

The department is thrilled to welcome three new faculty members to University Foundations:

  • Jessica Garrett, Teaching Assistant Professor – located in the Scholars’ Den: Dr. Garrett is from the windy city of Chicago. She completed her Ph.D. in the Cultural and Policy Studies Program at Loyola University in Chicago.  She is eager to help our students reach their full potential and live with purpose.
  • Hannah Park Lee, Teaching Assistant Professor and Faculty Coordinator of the Hilltop Scholars Program – located in the Scholars’ Den: Prior to her current position, Dr. Park Lee worked with Honors and Scholars programs here at SMU in addition to working with non-profit organizations in the DFW area. She completed her Ed.D. in Higher Education at Southern Methodist University.  Dr. Park Lee’s research interests include program and curriculum development as well as the impact diverse curriculum has on the student experience.
  • Jan Mallett, Teaching Assistant Professor – located in PAB suite 301: Dr. Mallett previously worked at SMU as a Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Teaching and Learning where she coordinated the M.Ed. with Montessori Specialization. She’s continued to teach in the Departments of Teaching and Learning and Applied Physiology and Sport Management. She received her Ph.D. in Educational Psychology from Texas A&M – Commerce.

Welcome to SAES, University Foundations!

Categories
SMU in Four

Join SMU in Four at the year-three progress presentation

Join the SMU in Four team as we share year-three progress on SMU’s Quality Enhancement Plan.

Updates will be provided on early-alert mechanisms, undergraduate academic advising, technology enhancements, and gateway & introductory courses. Plus, informal student retention and graduation numbers will be shared along with goals for year four of the five-year initiative.

Thursday | October 17, 2024
3 – 4:30 p.m.
Moody Hall Auditorium

Register

Walk-ins welcome, RSVPs encouraged

Categories
Student Success & Retention

Year-end review: Retention alert and advising note reporting system recap

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With the Academic year ending, the Office of Student Success and Retention would like to focus on the effectiveness of our Retention Alert and Advising Note reporting system. We would like to thank every individual advisor or faculty member who used these tools to report any retention risk. 

 This academic year, with the valuable assistance of advisors across campus, 231 advising notes were submitted during the fall and spring semesters, in addition to 94 retention alerts. These submissions from our campus community have played a crucial role in identifying students who are considering transferring or taking a leave of absence from SMU.  

The Office of Student Success and Retention has utilized the information from both reporting systems to effectively intervene with at-risk students, demonstrating our collective efforts. SSR would like to express gratitude to the faculty and staff members who submitted advising notes and retention alerts this academic year. Through your partnership, SSR has been able to reach out to and assist students while providing them with support and connections to campus resources.  

If you would like to learn more about this tool and how the Office of Student Success and Retention utilizes it to aid with retention and intervention, please contact Jay Guillory. 

Categories
Student Academic Engagement & Success

The A-LEC now has a trio of doctors!

For the first time, tutor hiring, training, and supervision will be done by staff holding doctorate degrees. Dr. Adreana Julander, director, Dr. Nancy Larkin, assistant director, and Dr. Grace Okoro have all met the requirements for their doctorate degrees. This is a first for the A-LEC! Please congratulate these ladies on their accomplishment!

Categories
Office of Engaged Learning Office of Engaged Learning – Research

A behind-the-scenes look at an SMU psychology lab

headshot of Morgan Schield
Morgan Schield, Undergraduate Research Assistant in Psychology

Written by Morgan Schield ’25

This summer I worked as an Undergraduate Research Assistant in the Health Behavior Lab in SMU’s Department of Psychology. In this lab, we explore various aspects of mental and physical health to see how they affect public health.

My job was to coordinate a study analyzing the effects of guided thinking tasks on physical activity. Dr. Austin Baldwin’s leadership helped me navigate the logistics of the study, and prepared me for future work in a clinical psychology setting. As an undergraduate studying psychology, neuroscience, cognitive science, and biomedical anthropology, as well as a competitive swimmer, I value the benefits of physical activity on brain health. I believe this study is significant to psychology research regarding brain health awareness.

My summer position was funded through the Office of Engaged Learning’s Summer Research Intensive. Through that program, I also attended weekly workshops and lectures. I learned how to generate a research question, conduct a literature review, create an elevator pitch, develop visual representations of data, and perfect resumes and CVs. I am going to be applying for graduate school for a Master’s in clinical psychology soon. These workshops helped me feel much more prepared for the application process. Moreover, hearing from experienced speakers who have undergone the research process, as well as engaging with students conducting research in various fields, enhanced my ability to communicate fascinating concepts in an academic setting.

As a research assistant, I help recruit individuals who will come to our office and do the following: walk on the treadmill for 30 minutes, listen to audio recordings intended to promote physical activity, and fill out questionnaires. The questionnaires assess how well futuristic and imagery tasks improve their motivation. For example, the audio recording asks them to visualize themselves at an event in the future. This hopefully motivates them to exercise now!

After analyzing participants’ data and feedback, we will identify better ways to foster active lifestyles. I am excited to be part of a study that advocates for the wellbeing of society.

My role as an undergraduate psychology research assistant has been inspiring because I have received hands-on experience in groundbreaking research. In a rapidly evolving world, the importance of brain health in relation to physical health is constantly increasing. SMU is dedicated to discovering methods to enhance scientific discovery in all realms. Dr. Baldwin’s research lab and the SRI program helped me be part of something bigger than myself and certainly prepared me for my future career.