Newsletter – April 2019
Bob’s Note
April 30th, 2019
Thank you for the welcome everyone in this school has given me. In the eight months I have been here I have gained valuable insight and crafted goals that would not have been possible without all of you: the faculty and staff of this school.
I am glad to have the opportunity to work with such an outstanding community, and I look forward to the road ahead. If you ever wish to meet up, whether that be to work collaboratively within a group or just to chat one on one, do not hesitate to contact me.
Thank you again,
Dr. Bob Wood
Director of the School of Allied Health
bobwood@boisestate.edu | (208)426-3795
School News
Here’s a look at what’s going on
We’re excited to kick off our very first newsletter! We’ve heard how important it is to you all to create more transparency in terms of communication across departments and as a school. It is our goal to promote a culture of inclusivity and unity, so if there is any feedback you have on the types of things you would like us to share with you, please follow the link at the bottom of the page to submit a request.
Processes
Strategic Planning Process
- Dr. Lynn Owens, hired consultant, has been facilitating a Strategic Planning Task Force consisting of key leaders and stakeholders to culminate a Strategic Plan for our school.
- The department heads have met with Lynn Owens multiple times now and have discovered one of the greatest needs within our school is the need to strengthen internal and external communications. Our largest objective over the next year is to improve our communications channels, understand our expectations and limitations, and speak a common language with one another, especially across different units.
Office of Research
- The school is exploring how we can support investigators on the post-award side of sponsored programs. We know that it’s challenging to get some of the information that investigators need, and we know there are limitations as to how frequently our office of sponsored research can provide the information, etc. Our office is committed to providing investigators with finances on a regular basis so that they can better monitor our grants.
Important notes to PIs
- The Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP) is in the process of developing a dashboard that will allow investigators and administrators to quickly obtain financial reports of their projects. In the meantime, Kristy Grabert, admin in the School of Allied Health Sciences, is working with the college Office of Research to pull financial information that will be forwarded to PIs on monthly basis, or as frequently as the PIs wish.
- If you receive notification of award and are awaiting funds but want to start working, you can route a request for advance funding to OSP through our college office of research. They will set up a cost center for you to which you will charge your project expenses. Please note: you should not charge sponsored project expenses to other cost centers that you ultimately intend to pay with funds from a grant.
- Below is a figure explaining how F&A costs are returned to various units, including to your own lab. Please do not make financial commitments based on future estimated F&A’s. The F&A’s belong to the university and they can change their philosophy at any time.
F&A Distribution from Sponsored Programs
In the School of Allied Health Sciences, facilities and administrative (F&A) cost associated with funded work will yield 25% of total F&A costs being returned to the department. Investigators are encouraged to negotiate up front with Department Chairs and Heads for use of any F&A beyond that allowed by department policy.
The School does not retain any F&A costs that are returned to Centers. The School intends to use its portion of F&A’s to support faculty professional development around the scholarship.
The School is currently working towards clarifying departmental use of salary savings. Stay tuned.
Office of Advising and Career Counseling
The school is in the formative stages of working with Offices of Advising on three critical issues:
- It is our intention to facilitate students choosing majors as early as possible upon arriving at Boise State University. In order to facilitate this, we will be asking departments (chairs/heads and program directors) to provide some guidance as to the strengths and weaknesses of their programs relative to accommodating students who are interested in degrees that will support “pre-professional” interests.
- We are in the early stages of launching a health careers student organization, that is particularly designed for students who will be going on to graduate and professional degree programs. We hope to utilize this co-curricular activity to better facilitate student awareness of graduate school and career expectations beyond their academic preparation.
- We will be employing a career counselor who will initially be embedded in Community and Environmental Health, but whose activities will gradually extend into other departments and programs, particularly where we do not have cohort-based programs. This search for this position is currently in progress and we will keep you all updated.
Committee Reports
Ad-hoc Policy Committee:
The school, being relatively new has not had a “Basis of Authority” policy, whereby we articulate the way in which policy is created or changed. A committee formed from representatives of each department has drafted a proposed policy that has been circulated for public comment, and will soon be put to a vote.
P&T Committee/Faculty Affairs:
As many of you know, earlier this year the school policy on P&T was rescinded. One of the primary driving forces for this was the need to ensure that faculty members get discipline specific feedback on their professional development. Consequently, the school P&T committee was dissolved and a “Faculty Affairs” committee was formed instead. This committee will be able to set its own agenda, and will also respond to requests from the school for certain items. Among one of the activities will be the establishment of a faculty governance structure for the school.
Technical Support
If your department is in need of website support, our office is open and willing to help. Please contact us with specific pages and information you would like to see updated, and we will try our best to assist.
College News
Policy on Clinical Promotion
One thing that will be forthcoming is an all-encompassing policy on promotion of clinical faculty. There’s a draft in committee right now that we hope to be circulated before semester’s end, with a goal of having a college-wide discussion. There will be more information on this in the future.
Retirement Celebration
You are invited to join your colleagues to celebrate the great work and accomplishments of Terry-Ann Gibson, Kim Martz, and Jane Grassley as they move into the next phase of their lives!
Welcoming New Staff
Mary Crowell, Student Services and Academic Advising Director. Please join us in welcoming Mary Crowell, the new College of Health Sciences’ Student Services and Academic Advising director. Crowell comes to Boise State from Lewis-Clark State College where she served as the director of the College Assistance Migrant Program. Read the Health Sciences article about Mary Crowell.
BB2 Update
While the college was down slightly in student credit hours and majors, the impact of this is not too significant that we can’t withstand it. The things that have been promised that we’re going to do, such as conducting searches for faculty, etc., will continue, however, it’s not likely we’ll be able to add any additional resources to the departments for this year. We are hopeful that some of the initiatives we have, such as new faculty coming in and a curriculum redesign, will help stimulate growth. We’re looking forward to doing what we can to increase productivity so that we may have more resources in future semesters.
Acknowledgments
Pangrazi Distinguished Lecturer
On April 15th and 16th, noted Physical Education Scholar, Robert Pangrazi, visited Boise State as a Distinguished Lecturer and spent time with students, faculty, and the community, including Boise Physical Educators. Dr. Pangrazi is faculty emeritus at Arizona State University. He has authored over 100 scholarly journals and 75 textbooks devoted to the education of school-aged children. His lectures underscored the importance of classroom management practices in the social and emotional development of our youth. Thanks to all those who participated in the visit, and special thanks to Ken Bell in the Department of Kinesiology.
The College of Health Science has adopted a Distinguished Lecture/Visiting Scholar program. Therefore, as we move forward, the school will participate in the college-wide event rather than host its own. Look for calls for proposals for invited scholars.
Spotlight Awardees
Awarded faculty are chosen from a pool of nominees nominated by department heads, where after the school leadership discusses the nominees and identifies one person per department for their outstanding work and contributions to their fields. Our goal is to nominate four Spotlight Scholars a year and choose one from each department.
Cynnie Curl
Curl was our first Spotlight Scholar awardee on November 1, 2018, for her lab research to improve the health and safety of agricultural workers and their communities, and to aid consumers in making informed decisions about what they eat and what they feed their families.
Samantha Davis
Davis was awarded Spotlight Teacher on February 15, 2019, for her work with Boise State’s MakerLab to fabricate 3D printed hearts as a way to educate Respiratory Care students on neonatal heart defects.
Leslie Kendrick
Kendrick was awarded Spotlight Scholar on March 14, 2019, for her collaborative research study on the impacts of concussions on children’s brains who participate in youth sports.
Yong Gao
We will be celebrating our newest Spotlight Scholar, Gao, this Fall. Stay tuned for updates on her accomplishments.
Birthdays
- April 15: Terry-Ann Gibson, Kinesiology
- April 20: Michele Kelly, Respiratory Care
- April 21: Lanny Inabnit, Respiratory Care
- April 30: Laura Jones Petranek, Kinesiology