Category: Education
School of Social Work Dean, Post-Doctoral Fellow Publish “The Hoarding Handbook”
Contact: Kira Jastive, 617-358-1240 | kjastive@bu.edu
Contact: Jason London, 617-358-5149 | london14@bu.edu
Hoarding can be a debilitating, life-threatening problem and affects roughly five percent of the U.S. population. Currently categorized as a sub-type of obsessive compulsive disorder, hoarding is a distinct mental illness made up of three connected problems: collecting too many items; difficulty getting rid of items; and problems with organization.
Because very little research existed on hoarding prior to the 1990s, many human service professionals struggle with treating hoarding and those affected by it. Treatment requires multiple components, and professionals responding to hoarding situations must find the best way to combine them.
School of Social Work Dean Gail Steketee, post-doctoral fellow Christiana Bratiotis, and psychotherapist Cristina Sorrentino Schmalisch are working to rectify this problem. Their recent publication, The Hoarding Handbook: A Guide for Human Service Professionals, is a resource for those responding to hoarding situations. This guide includes case studies, tips and strategies and suggestions for appropriate interventions.
Organized around the ways hoarding captures the attention of service providers, the handbook provides tools to help professionals assess the problem, coordinate and delegate tasks, and work directly with reluctant hoarders and others affected by the hoarding.
“There is some misunderstanding regarding hoarding, and often professionals don’t know enough about what the other professionals do when intervening with hoarding,” Bratiotis, who is also an adjunct faculty member at the School, said. “Our goal was to write a book that is used by the many diverse disciplines that assist people with the problem.”
Multi-disciplinary task forces that address hoarding-specific problems have been formed in nearly 75 communities in the United States and Canada. These task forces include members from a range of disciplines, including public health, housing, medical, mental health and animal control. The Hoarding Handbook is an outgrowth of Bratiotis’ dissertation and on-going research is this area, and it is the only current research in the U.S. that systematically examines hoarding task force efforts.
The Handbook’s third chapter, Working with Service Delivery Systems, covers how hoarding task forces are formed and includes a model for establishing a hoarding task force intervention. Concentrating on intervention with non-voluntary cases of hoarding, the chapter focuses on using task forces as a coordinated community response mechanism that can facilitate practice and policy changes at organizational and community levels.
Steketee and Bratiotis are the principle investigator and director, respectively, of The School’s Hoarding Research Team, which also includes School of Social Work Assistant Professor Jordana Muroff and Boston University graduate and undergraduate students. The team’s research activities include studying the nature of the problem of hoarding; individual, group and webcam cognitive behavioral treatment interventions and community task force responses to the problem. In addition to these research activities, the team provides resource and referrals, professional training and family consultation.
Boston University Announces Online Master of Social Work Degree
Contact: Jason London, 617-358-5149 | london14@bu.edu
The Boston University School of Social Work is pleased to announce a new online Master of Social Work (MSW) program in Clinical Social Work Practice. Taught by the School’s nationally recognized faculty, the online program will initially enroll human service professionals with a minimum of two years of supervised experience.
This part-time program can be completed in eight consecutive semesters and consists of taking courses online, participating in a single, extended field internship within the student’s geographic area, and attending a one-time, four-day residency component on the Boston University campus.
“This program is an excellent addition to the fine programs we offer at the School of Social Work,” Boston University School of Social Work Dean Gail Steketee said. “It continues the School’s commitment to educate outstanding social work practitioners in the community and for the community.”
The program focuses on clinical practice with individuals, families, and groups, with an integrated curriculum that emphasizes ethical practice, and social and economic justice. Courses are delivered with both asynchronous and synchronous (real-time) components, which with each course lasting seven weeks. The 65-credit program allows individuals to earn an MSW degree while continuing to live and work in their own communities.
Tracing its beginnings back to 1937, the School of Social Work is accredited by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) and is ranked among the top 15 percent of graduate social works schools by U.S. News & World Report. Part of Boston University, the School is committed to producing social workers who possess excellent skills and the ability to practice within a variety of contexts, from clinical counseling to community-based settings.
Since 2001, Boston University has pioneered a trusted model of distance learning unparalleled in American higher education. Designed by the University’s Distance Education office in close partnership with distinguished University faculty, BU’s online programs bring the University’s groundbreaking research, academic innovation, and internationally renowned faculty to students situated around the globe.
Currently, more than 3,000 BU students tap into their full learning potential from a distance, using the latest interactive technology and online learning tools. A recipient of the Sloan Consortium’s Award for Excellence in Institution-Wide Online Education, Boston University’s online programs include 26 graduate-level degrees and certificates, three doctoral degrees, and a bachelor’s degree completion program. A number of non-credit certificates are also available.
For more information on the School of Social Work’s online Master of Social Work, visit onlinemsw.bu.edu or speak to an admissions advisor at 877-308-9945.
Founded in 1839, Boston University is an internationally recognized private research university with more than 30,000 students participating in undergraduate, graduate, and professional programs. BU consists of 17 colleges and schools along with a number of multi-disciplinary centers and institutes which are central to the school’s research and teaching mission.
School of Social Work Faculty Study Examines the Relationship between Home and School Environments and Childhood Obesity
Contact: Kira Jastive, 617-358-1240 | kjastive@bu.edu
Contact: Jason London, 617-358-5149 | london14@bu.edu
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the percentage of children who are obese has tripled in less than three decades. Recent national data shows that in 2007 – 2008, 14.8 percent of children aged 2-19 were overweight, and 16.9 percent were obese. Child obesity is one of the major public health issues of the 21st century, and its physical and psychosocial consequences can stretch well into adulthood.
A recent article by Boston University School of Social Work Assistant Professor Daniel Miller published in Social Science & Medicine, “Associations between the home and school environments and child body mass index,” investigates the role school and home environments play in the childhood obesity epidemic.
Using growth curve modeling, Miller’s examined the role of the home and school environments on child body mass index (BMI). Using a sample of approximately 11,400 children from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study Kindergarten cohort, the study assessed whether characteristics of homes and schools were related to children’s BMI in kindergarten and the rate of growth of BMI until fifth grade.
“Environmental factors are the root of the obesity epidemic,” Miller wrote. “The identification of the full set of environmental factors related to increases in BMI is an important task for current research.”
Miller’s research concluded that after controlling for a large number of socio-demographic variables, children’s overall activity levels, characteristics of schools, and the influence of early health, a number of different home and school factors were found to be significantly associated with child BMI in kindergarten and the rate of change in BMI over time.
Children who watched more television, who had mothers who worked more often outside of the home, who ate more breakfasts and lunches at school, and who attended schools with gymnasiums rated as adequate by administrators had BMIs that grew at a significantly faster rate, suggesting increased risk for obesity. Children who got more hours of sleep per night, who ate more lunches at school, and who attended schools with cafeterias and gymnasiums rated as “adequate” by school administrators had significantly lower levels of BMI in kindergarten. Children who ate breakfasts more often with their families and spent more minutes in recess had BMIs that grew more slowly over time.
Miller’s study also adds to the existing childhood BMI literature on environmental influences by illustrating the utility and necessity of examining multiple influences within a single analytic framework.
“Further research and policy efforts should continue to acknowledge the multi-etiological manner by which the environment can affect rates of child obesity,” Miller said. “It is important [that we] pay attention to the multiple ways that children’s environments can promote or protect against obesity. It may not worthwhile just to focus only on one risk or protective factor.”
Founded in 1839, Boston University is an internationally recognized private research university with more than 30,000 students participating in undergraduate, graduate, and professional programs. BU consists of 17 colleges and schools along with a number of multi-disciplinary centers and institutes which are central to the school’s research and teaching mission.
“Race to Nowhere” Screening at Boston University
Contact: Lauren Davalla, 617-358-1688 | davalla@bu.edu
(Boston) – The Boston University School of Education, College of Communication and on-campus high school, Boston University Academy, are hosting a screening of the critically acclaimed documentary “Race to Nowhere: The Dark Side of America’s Achievement Culture.” The film examines the high stakes, high pressure environment of the current education system by interviewing parents, students and teachers about their experiences with standardized testing, college admissions and expectations of high achievement. The screening is free and open to the public.
Event Details
Event: “Race to Nowhere” Screening
Hosts: Boston University School of Education, College of Communication and Academy
Date: Thursday, February 10, 2011
Time: 7:30 PM
Location: Tsai Center (685 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston)
Admission: Free and open to the public; tickets are first come, first served at the door
Contact: Kelly Proulx (617-353-3177, proulxk@bu.edu)
Lauren Glaser (617-353-5015, leglaser@bu.edu)
Founded in 1839, Boston University is an internationally recognized private research university with more than 30,000 students participating in undergraduate, graduate, and professional programs. BU consists of 17 colleges and schools along with a number of multi-disciplinary centers and institutes which are central to the school’s research and teaching mission.
Boston University School of Medicine Professor Receives 2010 RSNA Outstanding Educator Award
Contact: Nathan Bliss, 617-638-8490 | nbliss87@bu.edu
(Boston) – Kitt Shaffer, MD, PhD, professor of radiology and vice chairman for Education in Radiology at Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM), received this year’s Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) Outstanding Educator Award during the society’s 96th Scientific Assembly and Annual Meeting in Chicago Nov. 28-Dec. 3, 2010.
This award recognizes distinguished academics that have devoted 15 years or more to radiologic education while demonstrating original and significant contributions to the field. Shaffer has been teaching in radiology for nearly 30 years while contributing to research and working as a staff radiologist at numerous schools and hospitals. In 2008 she became the vice-chair for education of BUSM’s Department of Radiology and continued as a lecturer at Harvard Medical School and educational consultant at Brigham and Women’s hospital.
Shaffer’s current work at BUSM and Boston Medical Center (BMC) focuses on integrating imaging education including Anatomy, DRx and IP-2 lessons, into first- and second-year medical school courses. She has also developed a Resident as Teacher curriculum for the radiology department in order to train the next generation of educators in the field.
Shaffer graduated from Kansas State University with a BA in Biology before she received her MD from Tufts Medical School and a PhD in Anatomy at the University of Kansas. She has served as an instructor, assistant professor and visiting professor at almost 20 universities and hospitals around the world. She is a member of 12 radiological societies, serves on the editorial boards of four journals and has been the recipient of more than 15 awards for excellence in radiological education and research in the past decade.
RSNA is a nonprofit medical organization with more than 44,000 members in 124 countries that works to promote the highest standards of radiology and related sciences through education and research. The world’s premiere annual medical meeting, more than 59,000 people attended its 2008 Annual Assembly.
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Boston University School of Medicine began as the New England Women’s Medical College in 1848 and was incorporated as Boston University School of Medicine in 1873. A leading academic and research institution, with an enrollment of more than 600 medical-degree students, and 300 graduate students receiving master’s and doctorate degrees, the school has 1,000 full-time and 114 part-time faculty members and 1,250 volunteers. It is one of the major biomedical research institutions in the United States and is renowned for its programs in cardiovascular disease, cancer, pulmonary diseases, human genetics, dermatology, arthritis, pediatrics and geriatrics, among others. In the vanguard of research activities, Boston University School of Medicine received $134.7 million last year in research grants and provides clinical leadership for the Framingham Heart Study, the largest epidemiological study in the world. Hospital affiliates of Boston University School of Medicine include Boston Medical Center, Brockton Hospital, Roger Williams Medical Center and the Veterans Administration Hospital in Boston.
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Boston University to Host Academy Award Winner Geena Davis
Contact: Lauren Davalla, 617-358-1688 | davalla@bu.edu
(Boston) – The Friends of the Libraries at Boston University will host Academy Award-winning actor Geena Davis for a reception and lecture on Tuesday, November 30 at 6:00 PM in Metcalf Hall. Davis will reflect on her career and discuss the work of the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media. The evening will be dedicated to the memory of Charles Edward “Ted” Murphy, Project Manager of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Archival Collaboration and respected film critic.
Event Details
Event: The Friends Speaker Series featuring Academy Award Winner Geena Davis
Date: Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Time: 6:00 PM
Location: Metcalf Hall, George Sherman Union (775 Commonwealth Ave, Second Floor)
Admission: Free to Friends of the Libraries and BU Students; $25 per person for public
Contact: Call 617-353-3696 or visit http://www.bu.edu/archives
Academy Award winner Geena Davis is one of Hollywood’s most respected actors, appearing in several roles that became cultural landmarks. Earning the 2006 Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series – Drama, Davis broke ground in her portrayal of the first female President of the United States in ABC’s hit show “Commander in Chief.”
In 1989, Davis received the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role as the offbeat dog trainer Muriel Pritchett in Lawrence Kasdan’s “The Accidental Tourist.” She was again nominated for an Academy Award and Golden Globe for her performance as Thelma in Ridley Scott’s “Thelma and Louise,” in which she co-starred with Susan Sarandon.
Davis went on to receive a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress for her portrayal of baseball phenomenon Dottie Hinson in “A League of Their Own.”
A long-time advocate for women, Davis is recognized for her tireless efforts on behalf of girls and women nearly as much as for her acting accomplishments. She is the founder of the non-profit The Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media and its programming arm See Jane, which engages film and television creators to dramatically increase the percentages of female characters — and reduce gender stereotyping — in media made for children 11 and under.
Davis was appointed to the California Commission on the Status of Women and is a partner with UNIFEM in the effort to change the way media represents women and girls globally, to encourage media to present and investigate issues of grave importance to women and to use a “gender” lens when reporting.
Boston University Study Examines Effects of Deployment on Military Families
Contact: Jason London, 617-358-5149 | london14@bu.edu
Boston, MA – On October 7, 2001 the United States entered a war in Afghanistan. Nine years later, the U.S. military is deployed in two oversea wars. Mental health professionals are turning their attention to service members, who are deploying more frequently and for longer periods of time. However, most research has focused on the mental health needs of soldiers deployed at war, and not the needs of their families. For this reason, a Boston University School of Social Work research team, headed by Associate Professor Ellen R. DeVoe and Assistant Professor Ruth Paris, set out to examine the effects of deployment on military families. They focused specifically on families with children under the age of five, as young children can be especially vulnerable to the effects of parental deployment. The article, “When a Parent Goes to War: Effects of Parental Deployment on Very Young Children and Implications for Intervention,” appears in the October edition of the American Journal of Orthopsychiatry.
According to the article, “The emerging but robust body of research documenting the mental health needs of returning service members, the impact of those conditions on the family, and the unique developmental vulnerabilities of young children in this context, build a strong case for making appropriate services available to families with young children. In addition to facilitating family reintegration by strengthening the parent-child relationship, support during the post-deployment period may serve to mitigate the legacy of combat stress in service-member parents and provide a powerful foundation for regaining a healthy developmental trajectory for young children.”
Previous studies have shown that children who are not able to develop secure relationships with their parents at a young age may experience long-term consequences. Babies and toddlers especially are not able to process sudden separations and reappearances of deployed parents. Furthermore, young children are disproportionately represented in military families with a young parent. In 2008, the Department of Defense reported that almost half a million children in the United States under the age of five have at least one parent on active duty.
The goal of the article was first to review existing literature on how parental combat stress and deployment impacts young children, parents, and parent-child relationships. Past research indicates that multiple deployments can severely limit service members’ involvement with their children and create significant stress for service members and their families. Service members returning home with injuries, disabilities and war-related mental-health symptoms (such as post-traumatic stress, irritability, anxiety and hypersensitivity) face additional challenges. Recent data on veterans of the Afghanistan and Iraqi Wars estimate that 40% of those seeking service post-deployment due so because of mental health concerns.
Secondly, the article aimed to examine existing programs for infants, toddlers and preschoolers to determine intervention principles that might easily translate to a program for military families during the reintegration period. After looking at a number of different models, the authors suggest home-based interventions are the most promising form of treatment for service members and their families.
Based on their findings, DeVoe and Paris proposed a program called “Strong Families Strong Forces (SFSF)” to help service members reintegrate into home life.” In 2008, the Department of Defense issued principal investigators DeVoe and Paris a four-year grant to create a program for service families with children under the age of five. In cooperation with the Massachusetts and Rhode Island National Guard and Reserves, the program specifically addresses families with a parent at the reintegration phase of the deployment cycle.
The SFSF program concentrates on addressing parenting stress and parent’s mental health, and easing the returning service member’s reintegration into the family. DeVoe and Paris’ team members refer to themselves as “family specialists” who visit each family for eight sessions within a year of the service member coming home. The program has been well-received among military families so far and is already showing signs of success. According to the researchers, parents in the program seem highly satisfied and say that communication and parent-child relationships in their family have improved.
The research team began conducting individual interviews with service members and their spouses in November of 2008 to assess the need for such a family-based program. A year later they introduced a pilot version of Strong Families Strong Forces to a small group of military parents and children. Currently, the team has entered the randomized control trial period, and hopes to enroll roughly 130 families over the next year.
“The goal of our program is to help military parents in re-connecting with their young children when they return from war.” said DeVoe. “Critical components of the work focus on enhancing parental understanding of the impact of deployment separation on the child and addressing the effects of war-related experiences on the service member’s parenting.”
DeVoe and Paris’ program is generating a great deal of national interest. They have attended a number of conferences, and last July they were invited by the Department of Defense to attend a meeting with five other principal investigators participating in Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs.
Founded in 1839, Boston University is an internationally recognized private research university with more than 30,000 students participating in undergraduate, graduate, and professional programs. BU consists of 17 colleges and schools along with a number of multi-disciplinary centers and institutes which are central to the school’s research and teaching mission.
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Boston University Welcomes New Faculty to School of Education
Contact: Lauren Davalla, 617-358-1688 | davalla@bu.edu
(Boston) – Boston University School of Education (SED) welcomes three new tenure-track faculty and four new clinical faculty beginning in the Fall semester. Coming from far reaching regions of the United States, the three tenure-track faculty members were hired as Assistant Professors of Education.
“We are pleased to welcome the new faculty members to Boston University,” SED Dean Hardin Coleman said. “SED received many competitive applications and we are thrilled to have hired such a diverse group of educators for the 2010-2011 school year.”
Included on the new tenure-track faculty roster are Dr. Alejandra Salinas, Dr. Jennifer Greif Green and Dr. Julie Dwyer. Salinas will be teaching Mathematics Education at the undergraduate and graduate levels. She received her BSE and MA from the University of Michigan and her PhD from University of Miami. Greif Green received her BA from Brandeis University and her MA and PhD from University of California, Santa Barbara. She will be teaching on the prevention, assessment and interventions for children with emotional and behavioral disorders (Special Education). Dwyer received her M.ED. from Harvard University, her Ph.D. from University of Michigan and will be teaching courses in Early Childhood Education.
New clinical faculty include Sarah Sparrow teaching Physical and Health Education, Kevin Koizol in Special Education, Brian Bucci in Deaf Studies and American Sign Language and Jason Norman in Deaf Studies and American Sign Language. The clinical faculty is a group of both former adjunct professors and new educators to SED.
Boston University School of Education is seeking to fill seven open faculty positions to start in September 2011. For more information or to apply, please visit www.bu.edu/sed/about-us/faculty/job-opportunities.
Established in 1918, Boston University’s School of Education serves a diverse student body of 400 undergraduate and 600 graduate students, 112 of whom are pursuing doctoral degrees. It has 52 full-time faculty, numerous adjunct faculty, and 40 staff members. In addition to a significant focus on preparing education professionals, the school is regarded highly for programs in the fields of literacy, mathematics education, deaf studies, international educational development, special education and science education. It is further distinguished by its productive partnerships with local school districts, most notably with Chelsea and Boston.
Founded in 1839, Boston University is an internationally recognized private research university with more than 30,000 students participating in undergraduate, graduate, and professional programs. BU consists of 17 colleges and schools along with a number of multi-disciplinary centers and institutes which are central to the school’s research and teaching mission.
BU School of Education to Host Private Screening of Waiting for Superman
Contact: Lauren Davalla, 617-358-1688 | davalla@bu.edu
(Boston) – Boston University School of Education (SED) is hosting a screening of Waiting for Superman, an acclaimed documentary from Academy Award-winning director Davis Guggenheim. The filmmaker takes an in-depth look at the current state of public education in the United States, spotlighting the lives of five public school students and several educators in their pursuit of academic growth. The screening is open to SED students, faculty, staff and alumni.
Event Details
Event: Waiting for Superman Private Screening
Date: Thursday, October 7, 2010
Time: Doors open at 7:00 PM, screening at 7:30 PM
Location: Coolidge Corner Theatre
290 Harvard Street
Brookline, MA 02446
Admission: Private
Contact: Office of Student Services, 617-353-4233, sedstu@bu.edu
SED Director of Student Services, Jacqueline Boyle said, “SED students felt strongly about screening this film as a community. It appears that Guggenheim’s exhaustive review of what the American education system has become is of interest to our students and we needed give them an opportunity to see it for themselves.”
“I’m glad SED got behind this event,” said SED Graduate Student and screening organizer Andrew Barlow. “The film addresses important issues that we face as future educators and also addresses hot topics in this year’s elections.”
Established in 1918, Boston University’s School of Education serves a diverse student body of 400 undergraduate and 600 graduate students, 112 of whom are pursuing doctoral degrees. It has 52 full-time faculty, numerous adjunct faculty, and 40 staff members. In addition to a significant focus on preparing education professionals, the school is regarded highly for programs in the fields of literacy, mathematics education, deaf studies, international educational development, special education and science education. It is further distinguished by its productive partnerships with local school districts, most notably with Chelsea and Boston.
Founded in 1839, Boston University is an internationally recognized private research university with more than 30,000 students participating in undergraduate, graduate, and professional programs. BU consists of 17 colleges and schools along with a number of multi-disciplinary centers and institutes which are central to the school’s research and teaching mission.
BU Ranks in Top 20 College Contributors to Teach for America
Contact: Lauren Davalla, 617-358-1688 | davalla@bu.edu
(Boston) – Boston University was recently ranked in the top twenty large universities, those with at least 10,000 undergraduate students, for the amount of graduates it provided to the 2010 Teach for America (TFA) corps. Out of the 4,500 new corps members in 2010, 35 of them came from Boston University. The ranking was mostly due to Boston University School of Education’s (SED) recent partnership with TFA which began at the start of the 2008-2009 school year.
Director of Educational Initiatives at SED Amy Slate said, “We have found our partnership with TFA to be mutually beneficial and are proud to be a significant contributor to their corps.”
TFA corps members are top college graduates and professionals who commit to teach for two years in underserved schools and become lifelong leaders in the pursuit of educational equity. TFA recruits individuals from all academic majors and backgrounds who have demonstrated outstanding achievement, perseverance, and leadership. Other top university contributors to the corps are University of Texas at Austin, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor and Cornell University.
Established in 1918, Boston University’s School of Education serves a diverse student body of 400 undergraduate and 600 graduate students, 112 of whom are pursuing doctoral degrees. It has 52 full-time faculty, numerous adjunct faculty, and 40 staff members. In addition to a significant focus on preparing education professionals, the school is regarded highly for programs in the fields of literacy, mathematics education, deaf studies, international educational development, special education and science education. It is further distinguished by its productive partnerships with local school districts, most notably with Chelsea and Boston.
Founded in 1839, Boston University is an internationally recognized private research university with more than 30,000 students participating in undergraduate, graduate, and professional programs. BU consists of 17 colleges and schools along with a number of multi-disciplinary centers and institutes which are central to the school’s research and teaching mission.
