SHSU
Update For Week Of July 15
Houston Fifth Ward Students
Visit SHSU
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| Thirteen Houston high school students
toured the SHSU campus and spoke with various department
representatives to get a view of college life on June
21 as part of a federal Public Housing Safety Initiative.
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SHSU welcomed 13 Houston high school students and their three
adult Houston Housing Authority sponsors to campus to visit
various departments and see what college life is all about
on June 21.
The visit, part of the federal Public Housing Safety Initiative,
exposed at-risk youth from three housing communities in Houston's
Fifth Ward to the prospect of making a better life for themselves
than their backgrounds might otherwise suggest, according
to associate professor of criminal justice Victoria Titterington,
who is involved with the PHSI program.
“By the end of the day, they were more curious than
ever about the prospect of going to college, and for a number
of them, SHSU seems particularly appealing,” she said.
As part of the trip the students were given free SHSU items
from the Visitor Center for each student and chaperone, viewed
the university’s new orientation video and were taken
on a campus tour that included stops at the George J. Beto
Criminal Justice Center.
“Watching actual SHSU students interacting and seeing
our beautiful campus and impressive facilities was exciting
for these students,” Titterington said.
In addition, they were taken to the Chemistry and Forensic
Science Building, where Sarah Kerrigan, Joan Bytheway and
Kelsey Simon offered forensic science demonstrations of drug
testing, fingerprinting and crime victim identification from
skeletal remains.
“This was arguably the highlight of their tour,”
Titterington said. “They would have happily remained
there to ask questions and learn more indefinitely.”
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Student Organization, Adviser
Recognized As ‘Super’
The SHSU chapter of the Council for Exceptional Children
was recently awarded as a “Super Chapter,” while
its adviser was recognized with the Kathleen Varner Service
Award, by the Texas Council for Exceptional Children during
its state conference in June.
The Super Chapter Award selection was based upon the chapter's
submission of a competitive application packet that required
three major criteria of activities, events and participation,
according to SCEC president James Williams.
“The chapter met seven of those nine criteria due to
its extremely active and participatory nature, which includes
its annual conference with continued attendance numbers of
300-400 professionals and students,” Williams said.
In addition, the chapter's faculty adviser, Cynthia Simpson,
who is an assistant professor in the language, literacy and
special populations department, was selected to receive “one
of the greatest honors TCEC can bestow,” the Kathleen
Varner Service Award.
“Dr. Simpson's selection was based on a competitive
application process in which a parent of a child with a disability,
the chapter president, and a fellow faculty member submitted
three letters of recommendation,” Williams said. “This
award takes on added significance in that I was told by the
selection committee that some years no award is given due
to a lack of a truly deserving candidate, and when given it’s
usually to a professional with even more years of experience
than Dr. Simpson.”
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Lesesne Wins ALAN Award
Teri Lesesne, professor of library science, was recently
selected as the winner of the 2007 ALAN Award.
The Assembly on Literature for Adolescents (ALAN), an independent
assembly of the National Council of Teachers of English, gives
out this award each year to an individual who has made significant
contributions to the field of young adult literature.
She will accept the award at the ALAN Breakfast, which will
take place during the NCTE conference in New York City on
Nov. 17.
Lesesne, author of “Making the Match” and “Naked
Reading,” is a renowned advocate of Young Adult literature,
who is an active leader in ALAN, NCTE and a host of other
professional organizations.
Past ALAN Award honorees includes Marc Aronson, Virginia Monseau,
Jerry Spinelli, Jacqueline Woodson, Patty Campbell and M.E.
Kerr.
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Students Seek Family
Volunteers For Program
Two SHSU clinical psychology doctoral students are seeking
families with children between the ages of 6 and 12 who are
separated, divorcing or divorced for a family transitions
program.
Family transitions is a six-week program designed to help
families with children navigate their way through the changes
brought on from a divorce.
The program is offered free of charge, and participants who
cooperate in research examining how well the program works
will be compensated by up to $50.
For more information, or to volunteer, call Katherine or Leah
at 936.294.3376 and leave a message with your name and telephone
number.
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Group To Host Professional
Conference
Sam Houston Association for the Education of Young Children
will provide a professional development opportunity for people
in the Brazos Valley area who work with young children during
a conference on July 28.
Check-in for the annual conference will be held at 7:30 a.m.,
with the conference itself being held from 8 a.m. to 3:30
p.m. at the St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church in College
Station.
The training opportunity for early childhood professionals
will include 12 breakout sessions, from three different tracts,
in which attendees can choose from, as well as musical keynote
speaker Sara Hickman.
Hickman, a motivational speaker from Austin, is a humanitarian
and musician who has created award-winning children’s
albums.
Conference participants will receive a certificate and six
hours of professional development credit.
The event is open to anyone who is interested in the care
and education of young children.
Cost for the event ranges for SHAEYC members and students
from free for the SHAEYC’s student members, $5 for SHAEYC
non-student members, $20 for college students with an ID,
and $25 for non-students and non-members. In addition, group
pricing is available from $100-$200 for groups of 10.
The registration deadline is July 23.
For more information, contact Maggie McGuire, assistant professor
in the language,
literacy and special populations department,
at mam013@shsu.edu.
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Tripp Lectures At ‘Cultural
Kaleidoscope’ Conference
Paula Tripp, assistant professor of family and consumer
sciences, recently presented on three research projects during
the American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences’
98th annual conference in Reno, Nev.
Tripp’s presentations included the “Importance
of FCS Distance Education Courses to Texas Certification Students,”
which was also researched by FCS chair Janis White and Texas
Woman’s University professor Joyce Armstrong; “Online
FCS Course Delivery: Meeting the Needs of University Students;”
and “Careers in FCS Higher Education.”
The “America’s Cultural Kaleidoscope: Challenges
and Opportunities” conference, held June 21-24, included
approximately 1,000 professionals and students in the FCS
and allied fields from across the country to present research,
devise strategies and create new opportunities related to
the dramatic changes in America’s demographics and many
other complex cultural challenges facing individuals, families
and communities today, according to Tripp.
Among the topics discussed were the challenges and opportunities
of multicultural education, services and programs to assist
older Americans and strategies to improve the health and wellness
of Americans.
Founded in 1909, the AAFCS has over 8,000 members from 52
affiliates across the United States and Puerto Rico.
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Ag Alumni To Gather For Dinner
July 31
The SHSU Agriculture Alumni will raise money for the coming
year’s activities during its annual dinner and gathering
on July 31.
The event, held in conjunction with the Agricultural Science
Professional Development Conference, will be held at 6 p.m.
at Traildust Steakhouse, at 2300 East Lamar Blvd. in Arlington.
Dinner will include sirloin, chicken fried steak or chicken,
along with drinks and adult beverages.
Tickets are $25 for adults, $10 for children ages 6 to 13
and free for children under 6 and may be purchased in advance
at the door. However, because an approximate headcount is
needed, attendees are encouraged to reserve tickets by July
26 by calling 936.294.1216 and then paying for them at the
door.
Live and silent auctions will also be held during the event.
Those who wish to donate items to support the ag alumni and
department may do so by calling Greg Shipp, ag alumni president,
at 936.435.8221 or 936.438.0974.
For more information, call the department
of agricultural and industrial sciences at 936.294.1216.
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Send Update Items Here
Please send information for the SHSU Update to the Office
of Public Relations at SHSU. For electronic access to SHSU
news see the public relations Web page Today@Sam.
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- END -
SHSU Media Contacts: Frank
Krystyniak, Julia May,
Jennifer Gauntt
July 13, 2007
Please send comments, corrections, news tips to Today@Sam.edu
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