Category: FEATURED NEWS
Locomotor Performance Lab Hosts “Science in the City”
Professor Peter Weyand and his research team opened their Locomotor Performance Lab in Simmons for a public demonstration on how human speed is measured.
The event was part of Science in the City, a Dallas Morning News engagement program with its subscribers. SMU was the site for part two of the event that included collaboration with walkSTEM for a campus tour. Read more.
Bing to Deliver Commencement Address at Wheelock College
Er
ic G. Bing, Simmons professor of global health in the Department of Applied Physiology and Wellness, will give the 2018 commencement address at Wheelock College in Boston, MA, May 18. Bing also is the founding director of the Institute for Leadership Impact and the Center for Global Health Impact at SMU.
The address is part of the 130th commencement at the college, which be the final graduation ceremony. Wheelock is merging with Boston University and becomes the new Wheelock College of Education and Human Development academic unit, June 1.
In addition, Bing will receive an honorary degree along with three other education leaders:
- Evelyn B. Hausslein, Founding Director of SUPPORTbrokers and co-founder of Wheelock’s Child Life program
- Toby Congleton Milner ’70, Founder of the Lillydale Literacy Project in South Africa
- Dr. Pedro A. Noguera, Distinguished Professor of Education at the Graduate School of Education and Information Studies at the University of California, Los Angeles.
Four Applied Physiology Undergraduates Sweep Honors
Madeline Wainman, Sydney Lyng, and Kelly Lenz, students in Applied Physiology and Health Management, were recognized for their research abstract poster presentations at the Texas Chapter of the American College of Sports Medicine Annual Conference in Austin this spring. Wainman, Lyng, and Lenz won first, second, and third places respectively for their work. Their mentors in Simmons are Sushmita Purkayastha, Ph.D. and Scott Davis, Ph.D.
Other recognitions were given by the department during SMU’s Honor Convocation to Amanda Woodruff, who received the APHM Departmental Distinction Award, and to Wainman and Lenz, who were awarded with APHM Departmental Honors.
All of them presented their research posters at SMU Research Day.
Doris Baker and Candace Walkington Earn Tenure
Congratulations to Doris Luft Baker, Ph.D., and Candace Walkington, Ph.D. upon receiving tenure. Both teach and conduct research in the Department of Teaching and Learning, and contribute to the Simmons School in strong ways.
Baker directs the Master of Bilingual Education program. She is engaged in developing and evaluating instructional tools and assessments in English and Spanish designed to improve and monitor the academic performance of English learners.
Walkington specializes in mathematics education. Her research examines how abstract mathematical ideas can become connected to students’ concrete, everyday experiences such that they become more understandable.
Please join the Simmons School in celebrating these newly tenured professors.
Simmons Hosts Paving the Way to Equity Conference at Bush Center
In our continued commitment to educational equity, the Simmons School of Education and Human Development at SMU invites you to our second annual conference on race and equity: Paving the Way to Inclusion: Visualizing Equity in Education.
This year’s keynote speaker is Dr. William Tate, Dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, Vice Provost for Graduate Education at Washington University in St. Louis. See agenda.
Simmons Celebrates 2018 Luminary Award Honorees
Three organizations dedicated to positive change and enlightened education were honored in March with Luminary Awards from SMU’s Annette Caldwell Simmons School of Education and Human Development. Organizations include North Texas honoree, the Crystal Charity Ball; regional honoree, the Resource Center, and national honoree, the National Geographic Society and National Geographic Kids.
“The Simmons School is proud to honor the contributions of three organizations working tirelessly to advance education and human development for children and families,” says Stephanie Knight, dean of the Simmons School. “These organizations use the power of learning and leadership to change lives.”
Since 1952 the Crystal Charity Ball has provided $145 million to more than 150 Dallas County nonprofit agencies that serve children. Members raise funds for the beneficiaries selected each year to help underserved children in the areas of health, education, social services and the arts. The organization consists of 100 women volunteers who raise funds, research potential beneficiaries and serve as advocates for children.
Regional Luminary honoree, the Resource Center, has provided support to North Texas lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer/questioning communities since 1983. Located in Dallas, the agency provides critical assistance to low-income people living with HIV, including a food pantry, dental, health and social services. In partnership with the Simmons Center for Family Counseling at SMU, the Resource Center also provides affordable, LGBTQ-specialized mental health counseling for youth and adults. Its staff of 59, supported by 1,200 volunteers, serves more than 60,000 people each year.
The National Luminary honoree, the National Geographic Society and National Geographic Kids, brings geography, social studies and science to life through exploration, education and storytelling. Founded in 1888, the National Geographic Society is a nonprofit organization dedicated to exploring and protecting Earth. It funds research and conservation projects around the world as well as educational initiatives. The National Geographic Kids team creates materials for K-12 educators as well as magazines, books, games, films, websites and events that engage children in exploration and discovery.
The Luminary Award was created in 2009 by the Simmons School to honor individuals and organizations that have shown an extraordinary commitment to improving people’s lives through education. The award is given annually to a local, regional and national recipient. Special thanks to IStation and other 2018 sponsors.
Prestigious Hyer Society Inducts Two Simmons Students
Amanda Woodruff, an Applied Physiology and Health Management major, and Alexandra Rutherford, a Psychology major with an Educational Studies minor, have been inducted into SMU’s Hyer Society. The society recognizes intellectually gifted undergraduates who distinguish themselves with high achievement.
Woodruff is a senior interning with Assistant Professor Sushmita Purkayastha’s Cerebrovascular Research Lab and plans to attend graduate school to become a physician assistant.
Rutherford also is a senior and the Hyer Society recognized her with the University Achievement Award. She is completing a research project with the SMU Family Research Center and plans to pursue a career in educational psychology.
Simmons congratulates both of them for their distinctions.
Feuerbacher Offers Insight into Safety at Psychiatric Hospitals
The Dallas Morning News recently published an investigative report on area psychiatric hospitals and their safety records. Sarah Feuerbacher, director of the Center for Family Counseling at SMU Simmons, was quoted on how patients and families may assess these hospitals.
An earlier Morning News investigation ultimately led to the voluntary closing of Timberlawn Hospital in Dallas.
Kelyn Rola Receives HOPE Award
For the fourth year, SMU students honor Wellness Instructor Kelyn Rola with a HOPE Award. The HOPE Award–Honoring Our Professors of Excellence– is a student led nomination process, sponsored by SMU’s Department of Residence Life and Student Housing.
Rola is one of 35 outstanding professors honored this year. Congratulations to her!