|
Psychology Professor Receives $400,000 Grant
|
| “I have truly been fortunate, since joining the faculty at USF St. Petersburg, to have received both affirmation and administrative support for my scientific work” said McHale. “I have especially appreciated the university's clear commitment to support my research efforts, and those of my colleagues.” |
A USF St. Petersburg professor recently received a major research grant for $405,000 from the National Institute of Child Health and Development (NICHD), recognizing him as one of the country’s leading scientists in the field of psychology. The NICHD has only awarded six of these peer-reviewed grants to researchers working in the area of child and family development during the past 30 years, and this is the first for USF.
The Independent Scientist Award, formally known as a KO2 grant by its application and review process, was presented to James P. McHale, PhD, associate professor of psychology. The grant’s purpose is to support the work of newer independent scientists whose investigations have already made a unique mark in their field, so that they may devote more intensive effort to their research.
“This prestigious award recognizes Dr. McHale’s growing reputation in the field of psychology,” said Mark Durand, PhD, vice chancellor for Academic Affairs and psychology professor. “The grant will support his already outstanding research on children and non-traditional families, and will enable him to expand his potential for significant contributions to the field. In his short time with USF St. Petersburg, Dr. McHale has brought national visibility to the campus and the psychology program.”
McHale’s research introduced the concept of “co-parenting” to the field of child development. During the past decade, his work has established that even very young toddlers benefit when the adults responsible for their care support one another’s parenting efforts – and conversely, that children frequently exhibit social and behavioral adjustment difficulties when the co-parenting adults raising them undermine one another’s parenting efforts.
>> See: Full Article
New Site Offers Virtual Tour of Campus
Regardless of their location, prospective students and those interested in USF St. Petersburg can get a comprehensive look at the campus by accessing the newly-developed Virtual Campus Tour at www.stpt.usf.edu/vtour/.
The interactive visuals enable users to use their mouse or keyboard to zoom in or out of 10 campus images and pan 360 degrees through each location. Users can view prominent campus locations, including Bayboro and Davis Halls, the waterfront, the historic Williams and Snell houses, and the Nelson Poynter Memorial Library. 
As the campus prepares to open its first residence hall in Fall 2006, the tour is a powerful tool to attract new students from around the country. The campus community is encouraged to share this site with others.
"The tour site is a great way for out-of-state students to see what our campus has to offer," said John Husfield, campus webmaster. "I am confident that this site can further showcase our campus, offering more more effective nationwide outreach efforts."
According to the Wall Street Journal, 70 percent of all college-bound high school juniors began their search on the Web, and... virtual campus tours came in second only to actual campus visits in luring students.
As part of the campus' strategic plan to reach prospective students, Husfield is also completing a new Enrollment Services Web site. From this hub, students will be able to view the virtual tour, schedule a live tour on campus, apply for admission, and learn about financial aid. They can also sign up to become a campus Prospective VIP, which will connect them with campus counselors to discuss their college plans.
Hurricane Related Information
As Florida enters another active hurricane season, University Relations will include frequent articles in eNews to keep you prepared for emergency situations. Your safety is the campus' number one priority. Here is the first article in a series of important updates.
Accessing the Latest Campus Information
Sometimes media outlets distribute different announcements regarding USF closings, so how can you know whose information is correct? To alleviate confusion, the campus' Emergency Operations Committee has highlighted four reliable resources you can check for the latest information.
First, visit the USF St. Petersburg homepage, www.stpt.usf.edu or call the campus information hotline at 727-553-4USF. If the campus loses power, our generators only run the Web site and phone system for a few hours, so visit USF Tampa's homepage at www.usf.edu, which has the capability to run longer.
If power goes out in your area, you can hear the latest information by radio at WUSF 89.7 FM.
Because USF is a system, President Judy Genshaft makes the final decision on closings for all USF campuses. University Relations staff on all USF campuses are working together to coordinate communication efforts to more effectively serve our faculty, staff and students this year.
For more information about USF St. Petersburg Emergency Operations Plans, visit www.stpt.usf.edu/police/eop_archive.htm. This site also provides hurricane-related information and helpful weather links.
Campus Bookstore Celebrates Latest "Harry Potter"
The campus bookstore, Barnes & Noble College Booksellers, will bring a bit  of Hogwarts magic to campus when it hosts a release party for the newest book in the popular "Harry Potter" series, Saturday, July 16 from 9 am to 2 pm.
Customers can enjoy light refreshments and drinks as they pick up their copy of "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince," the long-awaited sixth entry in the series, which began in 1998.
Displays of the latest installment will greet patrons as they enter the store, which will also have previous Harry Potter entries in the series for sale.
For more information, contact Tiffany Cooley, assistant manager, at 553-3358.
Call to Faculty and Alumni Authors
As USF St. Petersburg gears up to celebrate its 40th Anniversary this fall, the campus is seeking alumni and faculty book authors for upcoming library exhibits, highlighting some of our campus' achievements during the last 40 years.
These displays begin this Fall and will be featured at the Festival of Reading, a major community literary event sponsored by the St. Petersburg Times to be held on campus Saturday, Oct. 29. The event will include nationally-recognized authors, discussion panels, children play areas, book vendors and much more.
USF St. Petersburg will officially kick-off its 40th Anniversary with an Academic Convocation on Sept. 7, 2005, a date signifying the start of classes in 1965. Throughout the year, the campus will host a myriad of guest speakers, programs, celebrations and events for the 40th Anniversary that will be open to the campus and community.
If you know a USF St. Petersburg alumni or member of our campus community who would be interested in including their publication in the exhibit, please contact Sudsy Tschiderer at 553-4842. For more information about USF St. Petersburg's 40th Anniversary, please contact University Relations at 727-553-4256.
Register for Campus Communicators meeting
If you produce publicity and marketing materials, update Web sites, write newsletters, or do anything in between for your department, put Tuesday, July 26 on your calendar for the first Campus Communicators Network meeting.
During the first meeting from 2 - 3 pm in CAC133, guests will learn about appropriate logo usage as specified in the university's Visual Identities Standards Manual and also see examples of good flier design.
The Campus Communicators Network is designed by University Relations to improve campus collaboration and coordination as well as address specific needs regarding publicity and communications for USF St. Petersburg.
If you would like to sign up for the Campus Communicators Network email list and register for the first meeting, please contact Alyson Seligman, University Relations coordinator, at alyson@spadmin.usf.edu or 553-4456.
For the latest information from HR, visit: USFSP HR Web site
A&P, USPS Staff: Position Description Questionnaires
Now is the time to fill out you Position Description Questionnaires (PDQ) for USF's Reclassification Project. USF St. Petersburg's Human Resources needs all campus PDQ's returned to their office, TER402 by Friday, July 22. Each USPS and A&P position, filled and vacant, must have a PDQ completed.
For classifications of filled positions to be completed by the employee and the immediate supervisor of the position.
For vacant positions to be completed by the immediate supervisor of the position only.
These forms are also located on the Human Resources Web site on the left side of the page under the Classification heading. For more information, please call Barbara Fleischer, Human Resources coordinator, at 553-4115.
|
