In the Spotlight: Jan. 29, 2021

Kudos to these faculty, staff and programs

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  • The U.S. News & World Report released its 2021 Best Online Programs rankings. Northern Arizona University was ranked for three of its online undergraduate programs and five of its online graduate programs.
    • Best Online Bachelor’s – No. 67
    • Best Online Bachelor’s Programs for Veterans – No. 47
    • Best Online Bachelor’s Programs for Business – No. 46
    • Best Online Master’s Business (excluding MBA) – No. 88
    • Best Online Master’s Education – No. 98
    • Best Online Master’s Nursing – No. 75
    • Best Online Master’s Info Tech – No. 59-74
  • Frederick DeMicco, executive director of the School of Hotel and Restaurant Management, was named the Aramark Endowed Chair Emeritus of the University of Delaware and was the Howard B. Meek Award recipient. Presented by the Council on Hotel, Restaurant, and Institutional Education (CHRIE), the award recognizes an individual’s lifetime contributions and outstanding service to hospitality education and to the International CHRIE.
  • Principal lecturer of communication Paul Helford hosted award-winning Hollywood location manager Diane Friedman (“Insecure,” “Versace,” “90210,”) who hosted a panel discussion with two other location mangers to discuss production in Helford’s film production class. Friedman wrote about the experience in the winter issue of Compass Magazine.
  • Associate professor of history Eric Meeks published the article, “Labor in the Spanish and Early US-Mexican Borderlands (1540-1848)” in American History, part of the Oxford Research Encyclopedias. The article examines three centuries of labor history in colonial New Spain, Indigenous lands, northern Mexico and the southwestern United States.
  • Charn McAllister, assistant professor in the W. A. Franke College of Business, co-authored the article, “Getting Representative Sponsorship Right in Your Organization” published in MIT Sloan Management Review. The article provides practical guidance for managers on how they can ensure sponsorship opportunities are available to all high-potential employees.
  • Assistant professor of health sciences Olivia Lindly was appointed to serve on the Arizona Governor’s Interagency Coordinating Council for Infants and Toddlers. Lindly also co-authored the article, “Variability in Expenditures for Autism: A Canary in the Coal Mine for Disparities in Care?” published in Psychiatric Services. The article highlights that although overall expenditures for autism services have been increasing, disparities in spending have also become more pronounced for children.
  • Alumnae Marcella Gutierrez and Viola McCarty and principal lecturer of mathematics and statistics Jeff Rushall co-authored the article, “On the Complete Tree of Primitive Pythagorean Quadruples” published in Integers. The article shows their construction of an infinite tree whose vertex set consists of all nonnegative primitive Pythagorean quadruples and presents additional subtrees with curious properties.
  • Björn Krondorfer, director of the Martin-Springer Institute and professor of religious studies, published “Hunger: Testing Testimonial Limits in the Gray Zone” in Humanities. The article delves into the testimonial remnants of two men in the gray zone of complicity.
  • Lynda Ransdell, professor in the Department of Health Sciences and the Center for Health Equity Research (CHER); Taylor Lane, CHER graduate research assistant; Anna Schwartz, associate director for research and professor in the School of Nursing; Heidi Wayment, chair of psychological sciences; and Julie Baldwin, Regents’ professor of health sciences and director of CHER, published “Mentoring New and Early-Stage Investigators and Underrepresented Minority Faculty for Research Success in Health-Related Fields: An Integrative Literature Review (2010–2020)” in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. The study was conducted as an integrative literature review to examine the barriers and facilitators to mentoring in health-related research.
  • Assistant clinical professor Amy Armstrong-Heimsoth and assistant professor Heather Williamson, from the Department of Occupational Therapy and CHER, and health sciences librarian Catherine Lockmiller co-authored the article, “Towards Defining a Role for Occupational Therapy in Foster Care Transition Programming” in The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy. The study establishes a direction for the inclusion of occupational therapy for youth aging out of foster care using a Person Environment Occupation Performance model as a structure.
  • Assistant professor in the Department of Health Sciences and CHER Ricky Camplain, CHER graduate research assistant Travis Pinn, Williamson and Baldwin co-authored the article, Adaptation of the System for Observing Play and Recreation in Communities (SOPARC) for the Measurement of Physical Activity in Jail Settings” published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. The study adapted an evidence-based physical activity measurement tool, the System for Observing Play and Recreation in Communities, to assess physical activity within a jail facility.
  • Associate professor of social work Michael McCarthy, associate professor of educational psychology Yolanda Garcia, Williamson, Baldwin and graduate research assistant Morgan Lee-Regalado Hustead co-authored the article, “Systematic Review of Interventions for Latinx and American Indian Family Dyads Coping with Chronic Illness” in Innovation in Aging. The study was a systematic review that worked to synthesize published studies about psychosocial interventions developed or adapted for Latinx and American Indian care dyads to determine the benefits of interventions, distinguishing features or adaptations and recommendations for future intervention development.
  • Associate professor of anthropology Jaime Awe published several articles about his ongoing research project, which can be accessed through the Belize Valley Archaeological Reconnaissance Project website. The articles focus on archaeological research and heritage management. Two of the most recent articles are “Ally, Client, or Outpost? Evaluating the Relationship Between Xunantunich and Naranjo in the Late Classic Period” published in Ancient Mesoamerica and “Early Monumentality in the Belize River Valley: Excavations of a Preclassic E-Group at Cahal Pech, Belize” published in Latin American Antiquity and features graduate student James McGee as a co-author.
  • Ted Schuur, professor in biological sciences and the Center for Ecosystem Science and Society, contributed to a global report titled, “10 New Insights in Climate Science 2020” published by Future Earth. Fifty-seven leading researchers contributed to the report, which explores major highlights and breakthroughs in climate change research. Additional information can be found on Future Earth’s interactive website.