Long-time kinesiology Professor Jane Clark will serve as the new dean of the University of Maryland School of Public Health for a two-year term beginning July 1.

Clark will succeed founding Dean Robert Gold, and will be charged with leading the school into a new collaboration with the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore and in building on the school's programs focused on professional workforce development, health equity, health promotion and disease prevention.

The University of Maryland School of Public Health's Stephen B. Thomas, professor of Health Services Administration and director of the Maryland Center for Health Equity (M-CHE), and Wesley Queen, coordinator for the Legacy Leadership Institute, were invited to speak at the Alpha Kappa Alpha (AKA) sorority's Kappa Theta Omega Chapter meeting held on April 26, 2012 at the Easton Senior Center in Easton, MD. Thomas and Queen spoke to the AKA sorority members about the new Maryland Health Improvement and Disparity Reduction Act of 2012 (SB 234), and the community outreach and health improvement initiatives of the M-CHE and its MD Community Research Advisory Board.

Thomas and Queen's presentation sets the beginning stages of a new community relationship designed to help improve the health of Marylanders. The AKA sorority is an international, service-based organization that was founded by African American women on the campus of Howard University in 1908. One of AKA's program initiatives is focused on health, with an aim towards reducing health disparities. Thomas and Queen are excited to develop this partnership, and will work with the sorority members to further establish the relationship and define the areas in which the University of Maryland can work with AKA to improve the health of Marylanders, and the health of racial and ethnic minorities in particular, and to reduce and eliminate health disparities in the state. With an international membership of 260,000, AKA will be a valuable partner to help further the University of Maryland School of Public Health's mission to promote the health and well-being of citizens in Maryland, the US, and the world.

The University of Maryland School of Public Health, in collaboration with the University of Maryland Extension, hosted this year's USDA Priester National Extension Health Conference, held in Washington, DC, April 10-12. This partnership was a first for the university and USDA and the theme of the conference was, "Leveraging Partnerships to Improve the Health of the Nation."

Dr. Bonnie Braun, professor of family science and faculty scholar in the Horowitz Center for Health Literacy, chaired the conference, which was attended by more than 100 Cooperative Extension Service health education and public health professionals working throughout the United States to influence positive health outcomes in local communities. Dean Robert S. Gold gave the keynote address focused on the role of technology and social media in health promotion and health literacy. Dr. Alice Horowitz, research professor in health literacy, spoke about the success of creating the Maryland State Oral Cancer Prevention and Early Detection coalition, of which she was a primary architect. Many faculty members and graduate students from the School of Public Health and throughout the University of Maryland presented the results of community-based participatory research and programs designed to influence health literacy, school nutrition, awareness of environmental health, and family health, among other issues, through panel and poster presentations.

University of Maryland faculty and students received five out of ten of the "Priester People's Choice Awards," created by conference organizers to recognize the effective use of health literacy practices in oral and poster presentations in a variety of categories. Of those, School of Public Health faculty and students received two.

Stephanie Grutzmacher, faculty research associate in family science, and graduate students Katherine E. Speirs and Jessica DiBari, won in the category "Social Media Mojo" for their presentation on Using Focus Groups to Develop a Text Message-Based Nutrition Education Program. Elisabeth F. Maring, faculty research associate in family science, Amy R. Sapkota, assistant professor in the Maryland Institute for Applied Environmental Health, Rachel Rosenberg Goldstein, doctoral student in environmental health, and Karen Aspinwall and Daphne Pee from the UMD Extension won in the category "Engaged Me" for their presentation on the Well Water Education Program: A Collaborative Project Between Extension Educators and University of Maryland Public Health Researchers.

Photo: Partners for Oral Health

pictured from l to r: Mr. Matt Jacob, Pew Center on the States; Dr. Alice Horowitz, UMD SPH; John Welby, Maryland Oral Health Literacy Campaign, Office of Oral Health; Dr. Bonnie Braun, UMD SPH; and Mr. Gary W. Price, Dental Trade Alliance

Congratulations to Matt Miller, NACS PhD student, for successfully defending his dissertation! Title: A programmatic research approach to understanding the impact of team environment on cerebral cortical dynamics and attention Advisor: Dr. Brad Hatfield Committee members: Drs. Rodolphe Gentili, Seppo Iso-Ahola, Tracy Riggins, Craig McDonald Dean's Representative: Dr. William Idsardi. Great job, Matt!

Thirteen Department of Family Science (FMSC) undergraduate students were inducted into the Gamma Lamdba Chapter of Phi Upsilon Omicron National Honor Society on Sunday, May 1. University of Maryland inductees included: Sam Allen, Claire Bernstein, Jan Catindig, Samantha Haber, Christie Martin, Amber Travis, Lauren Whaley, Lindsey Zemeir, Melissa Zissman.

The following officers were elected for the upcoming 2012-13 academic year: President Sam Allen, Vice President Melissa Zissman, Secretary Claire Bernstein, Treasurer & Publicity Chair Katie Hippen, and Historian Lauren Whaley.

Phi Upsilon Omicron, UMCP's International Honor Society in Family and Consumer Science, is a nationally recognized honor society focused toward observing academic excellence, enhancing qualities of leadership by providing opportunities for service, and encouraging lifelong learning and commitment in order to advance family and consumer sciences and related areas. Members participate in monthly community service activities on campus and in the surrounding Metropolitan DC area.

Congratulations to all of the inductees and officers!

The University of Maryland community will honor School of Public Health Dean Robert S. Gold for his leadership contributions over the past ten years at a reception on Monday, May 14, 2012.

Dr. Robert S. Gold became dean of the College of Health and Human Performance in 2002 and led the transformation of that college into the School of Public Health in 2007. As the school's founding dean, Dr. Gold inspired and facilitated the creation of major research initiatives in health equity, health literacy and disease prevention and led the school through the process of receiving its initial accreditation from the Council on Education for Public Health in 2010.

The College Life Study at SPH's Center on Young Adult Health and Development is looking for a paid research assistant to help with the operations of a large-scale, NIH-funded research study. We are looking for a motivated, responsible student who is able to commit to working with us for at least the summer term and upcoming fall semester.

Primary Responsibilities: Data entry and verification, communication with study participants, document scanning, filing, literature management, and other tasks as assigned. There is the potential for collaboration with the study's PI, Dr. Amelia Arria, on peer-reviewed academic publications.

Hours per Week: 20-30

How to Apply: Submit your resume and a brief letter of interest by Friday, May 18th to Emily Winick, Recruitment Coordinator, at ewinich@umd.edu.

For more details about the study and the Center, visit our websites at www.cls.umd.edu and www.cyahd.umd.edu.

Family Science doctoral candidate Jocelyn Smith and Maternal and Child Health doctoral student Jessica DiBari have been awarded University of Maryland awards to further their doctoral research.

Jocelyn Smith is the recipient of the University's Dr. Mabel S. Spencer Award for Excellence in Graduate Achievement for the 2012-13 academic year. This award carries with it a stipend of $18,000 and tuition remission. The award was established to support an outstanding graduate student who has demonstrated both academic excellence and the potential to make a contribution in his/her field of study. Jocelyn's dissertation research focuses on understanding how experiences of traumatic loss resulting from the health disparity of homicide shape the mental, behavioral, and relational health of young, Black men an their transitions to adulthood.

Jessica DiBari was awarded a Graduate School Summer Fellowship to complete pre-candidacy research during the 2012 summer session. This award carries with it a stipend of $5,000. The award was established to support outstanding doctoral students at "mid-career". This fellowship enables Jessica to lay preliminary groundwork for her dissertation and early career objectives surrounding her interest in maternal behaviors and their impact on the developing fetus and early infant feeding practices.

The Department congratulates Jocelyn and Jessica on these great honors.

Dean Robert S. Gold will deliver the commencement address at SUNY Brockport's 62nd Graduate Commencement Ceremony on Saturday, May 12, 2012.

Dean Gold, PhD, DrPH, who is a member of The College at Brockport Class of 1969, will also be presented with an honorary Doctor of Science degree from the State University of New York during the ceremony.

Students in Mr. Vacante's KNES 333 class volunteered to help with Prince George's County Special Olympics Spring Games on May 3rd. The day was held at the Sports & Learning Complex in Landover, MD. They did a fantastic job and it was a great learning experience. They ran two venues, softball throw and tennis ball throw, for athletes who have orthopedic impairments. What a great crew!