The grant will fund the UNT Summer Bridge Program, which provides housing, resources and early coursework to students who’ve been touched by the foster care system.
DENTON (UNT), Texas – The University of North Texas received an $85,000 grant for its Persevere UNTil Success Happens program. PUSH helps young adults who age out of foster care achieve educational success at UNT by focusing on each student’s academic, financial and career success, as well as social well-being.
The Santander Consumer USA, Inc. Foundation grant will be used to further fund the Summer Bridge Program, an initiative that provides housing, programming, early coursework and college transition services to incoming freshmen and transfer students who have been touched by the foster care system.
“Approximately 18 percent of foster care alumni attend college and of those, only 3 percent graduate,” said...
DENTON (UNT), Texas – Josh Caldwell, a third year audiology and speech-language pathology student in the University of North Texas College of Health and Public Service received the Continued Achievement Scholarship from the American Academy of Audiology Foundation. The scholarship was awarded based on Caldwell’s academic record, recommendations and clearly articulated professional aspirations.
The scholarship awarded $2,000 to Caldwell, a financial relief that will help him focus on the two degrees he’s pursuing.
“Last fall I began taking classes for the Ph.D. in Health Services Research program, so my course load, as well as my expenses, significantly increased,” Caldwell said. “This scholarship will help provide financial relief from pursuing two doctoral level degrees and allow me to focus on my coursework and research.”
Caldwell hopes to have a positive impact on others through his career.
“I...
Shae Ebrahimi is one of only 18 in Texas to receive this scholarship.
DENTON (UNT), Texas – Shae Ebrahimi, an Advanced Joint Master’s student in Social Work in the University of North Texas College of Health and Public Service was awarded the 2019 Ima Hogg Scholarship. The scholarship is awarded to graduate social work students who were nominated by the heads of their programs.
The scholarship awards $5,000 to each recipient, and for Ebrahimi this means her family is supported while she goes to school.
“Because of the scholarship I will be able to focus on my studies and not worry so much about how to help support my family after we adjusted down to a single income,” Ebrahimi said. “Student loans help but it's barely enough, so this scholarship helps us out tremendously.”
Ebrahimi was nominated by the chair of the ...
Parents say Dr. Theresa Kouri, with the help of Scottish Rite, is giving their children a second chance at success.
DENTON (UNT), Texas – Andrew McCann struggled in every school subject. “He was truly a high-risk student who could have easily fallen through the cracks,” his mother Donna McCann said. Jordan Yancey’s grades suddenly plummeted and he wasn’t reading at his level. His self-esteem was suffering and he was being bullied. “He was at a second-grade level at 13-and-a-half,” his mother Stacy Rollins said. His sister Kinslee Warren was also struggling. Rollins, a mother of five children with a variety of challenges, began homeschooling both children who were diagnosed with severe ADHD.
Madelynn Michaels was facing reading challenges of her own. The...
T
he grant from the Texas Health and Human Services Commission will be used to expand their Healthy Community Collaborative program to less densely populated areas of Texas.
DENTON (UNT), Texas – The University of North Texas College of Health and Public Service (HPS) has received $400,000 in funding from the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (THHSC) to expand its Healthy Community Collaborative (HCC) program, which promotes collaboration between public and private sectors to help increase access to...
In 2016-17, approximately 55 percent of children in Denton county schools met grade level expectations for reading on the STAAR test. UNT Speech and Hearing Center hopes to ultimately improve that percentage with a new preschool literacy program.
DENTON (UNT), Texas – The University of North Texas College of Health and Public Service (HPS) Department of Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology is offering a language-literacy preschool at the UNT Speech and Hearing Center to ready children for entry into kindergarten and first grade. Dr. Theresa Kouri, principal lecturer and clinical director for speech-language pathology, is...
A new report shows that six of the eight jobs with the most job growth are in the healthcare industry.
DENTON (UNT), Texas – According to a new CareerCast report, health professions have the highest rate of job growth in the U.S. and the University of North Texas College of Health and Public Service (HPS) is ready to prepare students for those careers with a new Bachelor of Science in Public Health. The degree program, which is housed in the Department of Rehabilitation and Health Services, prepares professionals to promote health and identify, prevent and solve health problems at the community, local national and global levels.
Dr. Neale Chumbler, dean of the college who has a background in public health, says he’s excited to offer a degree program that will prepare students for...
Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice: An Interdisciplinary Journal (YVJJ) received an impact factor of 2.981 and is currently ranked 10 out of 65 in the nation in the “Criminology and Penology” category.
DENTON (UNT), Texas – Dr. Chad Trulson, professor in the University of North Texas College of Health and Public Service Department of Criminal Justice, serves as editor of the prestigious publication that “provides academics and practitioners in juvenile justice and related fields with a resource for publishing current empirical research on programs policies, and practices in the areas of youth violence and juvenile justice.” The impact factor is a measure of the average number of times per year an article has been cited from that specific journal. It is used to measure the importance or rank of a journal based on the number of times its articles...
The product is expected to make big changes in preventing credit card fraud.
DENTON (UNT), Texas – The University of North Texas UNT Cyber Forensics Technology Lab, headed by Dr. Scott Belshaw, associate professor in the College of Health and Public Service Department of Criminal Justice, has recently filed for a patent with the United States Patent and Trademark Office for a credit card skimmer detection wand. The product, developed by Dr. Belshaw and Michael Saylor, president of Cyber Defense Labs, is expected to have a major impact on preventing credit card fraud.
Credit card fraud has been occurring more frequently at gas stations and ATMs, with criminals inserting skimmer devices into machines that read a card’s expiration date, security code and 16-digit card number once it is swiped. The information is then sent via Bluetooth to the nearby criminal who will sell the victim’s information on the dark web.
...
The conference focused mainly on the issues facing an increasingly globalized society.
DENTON (UNT), Texas – Dr. Sarah Moore Oliphant and Dr. Hadidja Nyiransekuye, who are both currently assistant professors in the University of North Texas College of Health and Public...
The students find the scholarships to be a reflection of their hard work.
DENTON (UNT), Texas – Victoria Williams, Shekinah Colson and Martina Martinez, all current students enrolled in University of North Texas College of Health and Public Service’s Department of Criminal Justice degree programs, were awarded scholarships.
Victoria Williams, set to be a senior in fall 2019, is a recipient of the J. Edgar Hoover Scholarship. For her, the scholarship is an honor that proves hard work reaps success.
“I have worked hard throughout my college life by maintaining above a 3.5 GPA and being involved on campus to be able to be considered for prestigious awards and scholarships,” Williams said. “Being awarded this scholarship proved to me that hard work and late nights of studying pays off.”
Williams has always wanted to serve the community and was involved with the Tyler Police...
This is the second consecutive year that Theresa Abah earned a P.E.O. Peace International Scholarship.
DENTON (UNT), Texas – Theresa Abah, a second year doctoral student studying Rehabilitation and Health Services with a concentration in Gerontology in the University of North Texas College of Health and Public Service (HPS), has been awarded the P.E.O., or Philanthropic Educational Organization, Peace International Scholarship. The P.E.O. International Peace Scholarship Fund was established in 1949 to provide scholarships to women from other countries for graduate studies in the U.S. or Canada.
The scholarship awards up to $12,500 per year, providing not only help paying for her basic needs, but also enabling her to concentrate more on her studies.
“The funds helped to pay for most of my personal needs from house rent, to groceries, books, professional association...
The program is tied for number 24 in the nation.
DENTON (UNT), Texas – U.S. News and World Report has named the University of North Texas College of Health and Public Service (HPS) Department of Criminal Justice online graduate degree program number three in Texas and No. 24 in the nation on its 2019 list of Best Online Programs.
It noted the following as reasons for the high rankings:
- All of the online graduate-level criminal justice classes are recorded and archived so that students can access lecture material at their convenience.
- The admissions deadline for programs is rolling.
- All courses are taught by Ph.D. level faculty who also teach campus-based courses.
- Course offerings and flexible schedule are designed to suit the needs of both working professionals and full-time students.
“The continued...
The two graduated from UNT on May 11.
DENTON (UNT), Texas – Stephanie Ray and Graham Huether, both recent graduates of the University of North Texas College of Health and Public Service Department of Emergency Management and Disaster Science (EMDS), earned third place at UNT Scholars Day for tornado research. They were both 2018-19 UNT Undergraduate Research Fellows.
Stephanie Ray’s research focused on the role of commemoration in the long-term recovery following the Joplin, Missouri, 2011 EF-5 tornado. She interviewed participants in the annual Joplin Memorial Run.
“I asked them about their motivation for participating in the race and learned that commemoration following disasters plays a large part in the overall recovery,” Ray said.
Ray’s mentor was Dr. Elyse Zavar, assistant professor in EMDS.
“...
The University of North Texas is home to one of only two clinics in the nation – and one of only three in the world – that will offer auditory testing services specifically for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder.
DENTON (UNT), Texas – The majority of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) experience some form of auditory processing issue, yet there are currently no set standard testing procedures for them. With the help of a $111,843 grant from Sonova USA, Inc., researchers in the University of North Texas College of Health and Public Service’s Department of Audiology and Speech Language Pathology hope to change that.
“Children with ASD can experience a variety of auditory processing problems that vary greatly from what occur in children without ASD, and they are a highly underserved demographic in audiology,” said Dr. Erin Schafer, professor and director of...
UNT researchers say the method shows promise.
DENTON (UNT), Texas – Tinnitus, which most people describe as ringing in the ears, is the sensation of hearing sounds in the ear without an actual external sound being present. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that nearly 15 percent of the general public — more than 50 million Americans — experience some form of tinnitus, often to a debilitating degree. While there is currently no scientifically-validated cure for most types of tinnitus, researchers in the University of North Texas College of Health and Public Service (HPS) are hoping that by retraining the brain, they can lessen the severity of tinnitus.
Dr. Amrita Pal, postdoctoral researcher, and doctoral student Joshua Caldwell, under the supervision of Dr. Daniele Ortu, research assistant professor in the Department of Behavior Analysis, and Dr. Kamakshi...
Participants will learn skills in computer science, computer engineering, electronics and more.
DENTON (UNT), Texas – The Texas Workforce Commission has awarded the University of North Texas’ Workplace Inclusion and Sustainable Employment (UNT WISE), in conjunction with the UNT College of Engineering, $88,667 to offer the Explore STEM! Summer Program, a variety of summer camps for students ages 14-22 with disabilities.
“Our goal is to provide students with disabilities exposure to STEM fields through interactive, hands-on programming. We hope this piques interest in various STEM careers, which are in-demand and offer great opportunities,” said Lucy Gafford, director of UNT WISE, which is housed in the UNT College of Health and Public Service ...
Dr. Bland will spend the summer teaching and mentoring faculty and students at Renmin University in Beijing.
DENTON (UNT), Texas – Dr. Bob Bland, Endowed Professor of Local Government and interim chair of the University of North Texas College of Health and Public Service (HPS) Department of Criminal Justice has been selected to teach at Renmin University of China as part of their Recruitment Program of Top-Level Foreign Experts. The program is initiated as part of their State Administration of Foreign Experts Affairs. Dr. Bland will teach and work with faculty and students in the School of Public Administration and Policy from May 28 to July 2.
“I was very fortunate to be selected and look forward to teaching a course at Renmin for their MPA and Ph.D. students,” Dr. Bland said of the honor....
Their recently published research shows expectations are high for law enforcement to respond to and investigate cyberattacks.
DENTON (UNT), Texas – Researchers in the University of North Texas College of Health and Public Service (HPS) Department of Criminal Justice recommend that cybersecurity courses be integrated into criminal justice programs to bridge the gap between traditional law enforcement expectations and responding to new cyber threats. Dr. Scott Belshaw, associate professor; Dr. Brooke Nodeland, assistant professor and online master of science in criminal justice degree coordinator; and Dr. Mark Saber, lecturer, made the determination in “Teaching Cybersecurity to Criminal Justice Majors,” which was published in the distinguished Journal of Criminal Justice...
The data looks at education, race and gender in relation to opinion of capital punishment.
DENTON (UNT), Texas – Researchers in the University of North Texas College of Health and Public Service (HPS) Department of Criminal Justice have completed the first intersectional research on public opinion on capital punishment that incorporates measures of race, class and gender. The research was conducted by Andrekus Dixon, lecturer and director of undergraduate programs; Dr. Brooke Nodeland, assistant professor and online master of science in criminal justice degree coordinator; and Dr. Adam Trahan, associate professor and director of graduate programs.
“Public Opinion of Capital Punishment: An Intersectional Analysis of Race, Gender and Class Effects” was published in...
The group is meant to help reduce feelings of uncertainty and isolation for parents of preschoolers who stutter.
DENTON (UNT), Texas – The UNT Speech and Hearing Center, located at 907 W. Sycamore St. in Denton, is offering a Support for Parents of Preschoolers who Stutter (S-POPS) group at 3 p.m. on May 5 for parents of preschoolers who stutter or show signs of stuttering. The group, which provides educational resources about stuttering and serves as a place of support, was developed by five speech-language pathologists who specialize in stuttering.
“If your preschool aged child is stuttering, this can be a very stressful time for parents,” said Robyn Martin, clinical supervisor of speech-language pathology in the University of North Texas College of Health and Public Service (HPS) Department of Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology. “This group will help parents feel empowered and we hope to reduce the...
The Clarence E. Ridley Scholarship is awarded to only two Texas graduate students per year.
DENTON (UNT), Texas – Christopher Byrd and Sylvia Ordeman, both first-year master of public administration students in the University of North Texas College of Health and Public Service, have earned the coveted Clarence E. Ridley Scholarship from the Texas City Management Association (TCMA). They each received $3,500 to use for tuition. In addition, UNT will receive $3,000 in credit toward Texas City Management Association and Texas Municipal League (TML) education events.
“I am ecstatic to have received this scholarship and greatly appreciative of the Texas City Management Association for this honor,” Byrd said. “I am also eagerly looking forward to attending...
Melinda Sapaugh worked under the mentorship of Dr. Norman Dolch, adjunct professor in the UNT College of Health and Public Service Department of Public Administration.
DENTON (UNT), Texas – Melinda Sapaugh, a senior at the University of North Texas who is minoring in Nonprofit Leadership Studies in the College of Health and Public Service (HPS) Department of Public Administration, presented research she completed as a UNT Undergraduate Research Fellow at UNT Scholars Day on April 2.
“I am so thankful to have had the opportunity to work alongside Dr. Dolch during my senior year at UNT,” Sapaugh said. “My research extends the original three-year longitudinal study by Dr. Dolch and his associates to nine years and will examine which strategies...
The event is part of Better Hearing and Speech Month.
DENTON (UNT), Texas – The UNT Speech and Hearing Center, located at 907 W. Sycamore St. in Denton, is offering free speech and hearing screenings on May 1 as part of Better Hearing and Speech Month.
Hearing screenings will be offered from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.
“Hearing tests will determine the presence or absence of hearing loss and the need for amplification,” said Dr. Cassie Thomas, senior lecturer in the University of North Texas College of Health and Public Service (HPS) Department of Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology and clinical director of audiology. “If needed, hearing amplification can help people improve relationships with friends and family and can lead to overall better health and quality of life.”
Speech and language screening will be available from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
“About one out of every six Americans suffer from some form of speech, language or hearing problem,” said Dr. Theresa Kouri, senior lecturer and clinical director of speech-language...
A winner is selected from each of the 13 colleges and schools in the University of North Texas.
DENTON (UNT), Texas – Shanielle Henslee, speech-language pathology graduate student clinician in the University of North Texas College of Health and Public Service (HPS) Department of Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology, has been selected as HPS’s 2019 winner of the Ricco Ethics Scholarship Competition. The competition was created in the Frank W. and Sue Mayborn School of Journalism and funded by Nick and Anna Ricco, long-time UNT donors, to promote intellectual debate and discussion and boost ethical understanding in students. Students write an essay based on a specific case study topic provided and winners receive $1,000.
“When I found out that I was selected to receive the Ricco scholarship, my jaw dropped,” Henslee said. “This scholarship was something that I...