Faculty Honors
Congratulations to our outstanding faculty on their achievements!
Social Work Faculty receives Medal of Honor award
Dr. Cathy Tompkins received a Medal of Honor award by the Association of Baccalaureate
Social Work Program Directors for her work to bring gerontology education and
scholarship to undergraduate social work programs.
October 1, 2007 - School of Nursing Faculty receives two awards for Nursing
Reform
Last month Dr. Jennie Wu was honored by colleagues in the Peoples Republic
of China for her work on nursing reform, which spans a 17 year period of work
and contributions to health care in China. The first award, presented by Dr.
Ying Liping, Director of Beijing University Hospital Administration, recognized
her tireless effort to assist the Chinese nursing profession to adopt the nursing
process and nursing outcomes in nursing practice. In presenting the second
award from the Beijing Medical Education Association, Dr. Zhou Donghai, President
of the Association, cited her long standing friendship and dedication to nursing
reform in China. View first image. View second
image.
July 26, 2007 - Center for the Study of Chronic Illness and Disability
faculty receives National Science Foundation award
Dr. Lynn Gerber has been awarded $500,000 from the National Science Foundation.
The project, entitled "MRI: Development of New Instrumentation to Measure
Upper Extremity Motion for Research and Teaching in Rehabilitation Science,
Bioengineering and Robotics," includes colleagues at the Krasnow Institute
and Computer Science.
July 16, 2007 - High Honors for CHHS Professor
Dr. Ryszard Michalski, Endowed Professor and Director of the CHHS/Provost's Office
Center for Discovery Science and Health Informatics, received the Officer's
Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland, awarded to him by the
President of Poland Lech Kaczynski. This high honor was bestowed on him in
recognition of his body of scientific work and his facilitation of collaborative
works between scientists in Poland and the United States.
June 27, 2007 - School of Nursing Faculty Receives International Recognition
for her Play
Dr. Jeanne Sorrell's original play titled "Six Characters in Search of an
Answer: Ethical Concerns in Persons With Alzheimer's" has been selected
for the 2007 International Nursing Media Award for Print. In her letter of notification,
the sponsor noted "this entry is an excellent reflection of the nursing
profession." Dr. Sorrell will be honored at the meeting of the Honor Society
of Nursing, Sigma Theta Tau International's 39th Biennial Convention to be
held in November 2007 in Baltimore, Maryland.
June 19, 2007 - George Mason University Professor To Help Ensure People With
Disabilities Receive Quality Health Care
George Mason University professor Sue Palsbo was recently awarded a one-year
$367,359 grant from the California Healthcare Foundation to study a first-of-its-kind
questionnaire that interviews Medicaid beneficiaries with disabilities on how
they rate the quality of their health care. Ultimately, the research will help
Californians with disabilities better choose health insurance plans or specific
group practices – potentially becoming a model for other states and employers
currently measuring quality of care only among the general population. Read
the full Press Release.
May 17, 2007 - Social Work faculty named Fenwick Fellow
Congratulations to Dr. Halaevalu Vakalahi, Associate Professor in the Department
of Social Work, who was named as one of the Fenwick Fellow for next year.
As noted in the fellowship announcement. Dr. Vakalahi’s study, “Pacific
Islander Americans: Immigration and the Duality of Identity and Experiences,” will
involve extensive review of journal articles, books, films and videos related
to the experiences of Pacific Islander Americans as immigrants to the United
States, particularly in relation to social, political, educational and economic-based
factors that impact health, well-being and social functioning.
April 9, 2007 - CHHS faculty receive awards
Congratulations to Odette Willis, School of Nursing, for being one of five recipients
of the George Mason University Teaching Excellence Award. The Award is given
each year to faculty members who have provided compelling evidence of their
teaching success.
Congratulations also to Dr. Cathy Tompkins, Department of Social Work, for being selected to receive the first Annual CHHS Habit of Excellence Award. The award is to be given each year to a full time faculty member who strives for excellence in all that he or she does.
April 4, 2007 - Social Work faculty selected as Hartford Faculty Scholar
Dr. Cathy Tompkins, Department of Social Work,
has been selected as a Hartford Faculty Scholar in Social Work. This
is a highly competitive national program that gives current faculty members
two years of support so that they can obtain mentoring from senior scholars
in their areas of research and continue to develop their leadership skills
in Social Work. Congratulations to Dr. Tompkins on this very
high honor in recognition of her many accomplishments to date, and her potential
for sustaining high level contributions throughout her career.
February 21, 2007 - CHHS Faculty receives Mason Outstanding Achievement Award
Dr. Goodlet McDaniel will be the recipient of the Mason Outstanding Achievement
Award. The award is given to individuals whose achievements have resulted in
significant benefit to the University, College, School, Institute, or Department.
February 19, 2007 - Meiners Receives Grant to Help States Develop New Approach to Long-Term Health Care Insurance
Mason Professor Mark Meiners has joined a team of organizations dedicated
to helping states develop a new public-private approach to long-term health
care insurance that focuses on meeting the needs of consumers, private insurers
and Medicaid agencies.
The Long-Term Care Partnership Expansion project, initiated by the Robert Wood
Johnson Foundation, will be administered by the Center for Health Care Strategies,
a nonprofit organization focused on quality and cost issues surrounding publicly
financed health care. The project will provide up to 10 states with seed grants
of $50,000 and technical assistance to participate in the process of developing
a partnership long-term care insurance program. Read more in the Mason
Gazette.
November 14, 2006 - National Nurse of the Year Award
Congratulations to Dr. Jeanne Sorrell for receiving Nursing Spectrum's 2006 National Nurse of the Year Award.
October 27, 2006 - Leadership Award
Dr. Catherine Tompkins, Department of Social Work, was awarded the prestigious 2006 Mit Joyner Gerontology Leadership Award at the Annual Meeting of the Association of Baccalaureate Social Work Program Directors held in Los Angeles , California on Oct. 25-29th. Dr. Tompkins received the Mit Joyner Award to honor her excellent work in promoting gerontological issues within the baccalaureate social work community.
September 1, 2006 - Funding Award
Dr. P. J. Maddox, Department of Health Administration and Policy, recently received a funding award to develop a Strategic Plan for School Health Services in Fairfax County. Congratulations, Dr. Maddox!
August 17, 2006 - Disability Care Coordination Study Funded
Dr. Sue Palsbo's proposal titled "The Business Case for Disability Care Coordination" has been funded by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). She will collaborate with Dr. Jessica Lin in Computational Science for the time-series analyses of the data. The overall goal of the project is to measure the business case for disability care coordination from the perspective of the payer.
August 14, 2006 - New Appointment for Social Work Faculty
Dr. Dennis Ritchie, Department of Social Work, has been notified of his appointment to serve a three year term on the Council on Social Work Educaion (CSWE) Commission on Global Social Work Education and also of his selection to serve as chair of CSWE's Council on Global Learning, Research and Practice. These are two major national leadership roles promoting a global perspective within social work education and practice.
August 3, 2006 - Interdisciplinary Alzheimer's Study Funded
Jeanne Sorrell, School of Nursing, and Catherine Tompkins, Department of Social Work, have received notice that their research study, Ethics of Respect for Spirituality in Persons Living with Alzheimer's Disease, has been funded by the Commonwealth of Virginia through the Alzheimer's and Related Diseases Research Award Fund. Further information about the grant is at http://www.vcu.edu/vcoa/ardraf/0607grants.pdf
June 25, 2006 - Distinguished Public Service Award
Dr. Lynn Gerber has been selected as the 2006 recipient of the American
Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (AAPM&R) Distinguished
Public Service Award. This award recognizes individuals who in the course
of their public service activities have significantly contributed to the
growth and development of services that impact directly on the specialty
of Physical Medicine and Rehabiliation. Some past recipients of this award
include: Judith Heurmann, Henry Betts, Senator Tom Harkin, Senator Edward
Kennedy, and Senator Robert Dole.
Dr. Gerber will receive her award in November at the AAPM&R Annual Assembly
as part of the Walter J. Zeiter Lecture and Richard and Hinda Rosenthal
Lecture.
April 28, 2006 - Teaching Awards given to our Faculty
Dr. Charlene Douglas has been selected to receive a 2006 George Mason University Teaching Award. This is exceptional recognition of Dr. Douglas' commitment to providing students with the highest quality education and her obvious success in achieving this goal.
Faculty Awards received in 2005-2006
Carle, A. (2005). "Best of the Best in Aging Services ". Aging News Alert.
Gerber, L. H. (2005). Ted Cole Research Award. University of Michigan.
Liss, C. (2006). Evelyn Cohelan Faculty Leadership Award.
Mahon, M. M. (2005). Media Award. for 17 years of "Kid's Corner, with
Nurse Dr. Mimi Mahon", WXPN radio, Philadelphia. American Academy
of Nursing.
Pawloski, L. R. (2005). Fulbright Award. for Study in Thailand: "The
Nutritional Status of Adolescent Boys and Girls Living in a Peri-Urban
Community in Thailand."