Author Archives: mcconnar

Climate Justice talk on Thursday, April 21

The 2022 Drs. Gene & Carol Willeke Frontiers in Environmental Science Distinguished Lecture will be presented this year by Dr. Mustafa Santiago Ali, who will be speaking on Earth Day Eve with a talk entitled, “Climate Justice and Community Revitalization: Progress, Challenges, Moving Forward.”

Dr. Mustafa Santiago Ali is the Founder & CEO of Revitalization Strategies; Vice President of Environmental Justice, Climate, and Community Revitalization at the National Wildlife Federation; a Thought Leader and Activist for Environmental Justice. He served 24 years in the US EPA and was a founding member of the EPA Office of Environmental Justice where he served as Director of Communication and led the Communications and Stakeholder Involvement team.

The talk will be presented on zoom on Thursday, April 21, at 6 p.m. Please click here to register for this free talk.

8 PSY students received University Summer Scholarships

Congratulations goes to eight undergraduates in our department (and to their mentors) who received University Summer Scholars for the Summer of 2022. Specifically, the following students will receive USS awards to support their scholarly work this summer:

Caroline Bartoszek (Jennifer Quinn)
Henry Beckett (Jennifer Quinn)
Sidra Capriolo (Yvette Harris)
Harrison Carvour (Anna Radke)
Lucy Chappell (Jennifer Quinn)
Peyton Matik (Jay Smart)
Jon Sciortino (Matthew McMurray)
Alexia Zylko (Matthew McMurray)

Congratulations to each student-mentor combination, and good luck with your research this summer!

Undergraduate Zoe Platow named Goldwater Scholars

Congratulations to Zoe Platow (a psychology and biochemistry co-major, mentored by our own Matt McMurray), who was one of two Miami undergraduates named a Goldwater Scholar. These scholarships are widely viewed as one of the most prestigious awards to support undergraduates pursuing degrees in STEM fields, and about 300 are awarded each year nationally. Congrats Zoe!

Sean Monroe receives Smith Promise Award

Sean Monroe was named a recipient of the Smith Promise Award for the 2021-22 academic year. His faculty advisor is Dr. Anna Radke. The Smith Promise Award is awarded to an exceptional graduate student studying behavioral neuroscience. Sean will be formally recognized at the next Graduate Research Forum (November 2022). Congrats Sean!

Yvette Harris to participate in “Families on Death Row”

Our own Yvette Harris will take part in an event sponsored by the University Libraries, the Department of Psychology, and the Miami Alumni Association entitled, “Families on death row: The work of women in securing innocence.” The program will feature Melinda Dawson discussing how the criminal justice affected her family because of the wrongful conviction of her husband, Alison Cohen presenting a summary of current death penalty legislation, and Yvette Harris discussing how maternal imprisonment has an impact on mothering and how families adjust to maternal incarceration with a specific focus on mothers who are on death row.

This event will take place on Wednesday, March 2, from 12-1 p.m. as a virtual event. You may register for the event on the Alumni Association’s website.

4 faculty members promotions approved by BOT

At its February 25 meeting, Miami’s Board of Trustees approved promotions for four of our colleagues. Specifically, Anna Radke and Vrinda Kalia were promoted to the rank of associate professor and conferred tenure. In addition, Jay Smart and Paul Flaspohler were promoted to the rank of professor. These promotions take effect at the start of the 2022-23 academic year. Congratulations to Anna, Vrinda, Jay, and Paul for these well-deserved promotions, recognizing their many contributions to teaching, research, and service!

PSY 294 professors receive Howe Award for Excellence

Congratulations goes to three psychology professors who will receive the 2022 Howe Award for Excellence in Disciplinary Writing Instruction. Carrie Hall, Jenn Quinn, and Jay Smart were unanimously selected by the Howe Local Advisory Board to receive the award, which will be presented to them at the University Awards Ceremony, planned for Tuesday, March, 15 2022, at 5 p.m. in the Marcum Center. The three will also share the related professional development prize money.

These colleagues participated in the Howe Faculty Writing Fellows program, working on assignments, support mechanisms, and student assessments of writing in PSY 294 (Writing and Research Methods). The Howe Award for Excellence in Disciplinary Writing Instruction recognizes this work and subsequent development that the team has provided for PSY 294 courses. Congratulations to Carrie, Jenn, and Jay!

Anna Radke receives Miami Rapid Investment Program grant

Congratulations goes to Anna Radke, who will receive a $96K grant from Miami’s Rapid Investment Program (RAPID) grant program. The RAPID grant is a new internal funding mechanism to support Miami faculty members whose research is especially viable for extramural funding. The RAPID grant will support her research on motivational brain systems that contribute to substance use disorders from March 2022 to March 2023. Congratulations to Anna for this receiving this award!

Seven clinical doctoral students matched for internships

Congratulations to our seven clinical graduate students, each of whom matched for internship positions for next year. This outstanding outcome reflects many years of professional dedication and development as well as several months of challenging interviews. Congratulations to our students, to their mentors, to everyone who contributes to our clinical students’ development and opportunities, and to yet another year with 100% matching in our clinical training program!

Sarah Adut – University of Rochester – Psychiatry
Pankhuri Aggarwal – University of Pennsylvania Dept. of Psychiatry
Lauren Jones – Indiana University School of Medicine
Feven Ogbaselase – University of Mississippi Medical Center
Shelby Ortiz – University of North Carolina School of Medicine 
Natalee Price – University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center
Selime Salime – Charleston Consortium Internship

Amanda Reichert three minute thesis finalist

Congratulations to Amanda Reichert, who has been named as a finalist for Miami’s Three Minute Thesis (3MT) competition. 3MTs are held at nearly 1000 universities worldwide, where participants present their research in just 180 seconds to a general audience. Amanda will participate in the finals on Wednesday, February 23, 2022, at 4:30 p.m. in 152 Shideler Hall. Congrats to Amanda (and to her advisor, Jenn Quinn), and good luck in the 3MT finals!