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HPEB students, faculty earn recognition for work
December 6, 2011
From student honors to faculty achievement, kudos are in order for the Arnold School's Department of Health Promotion, Education, and Behavior.
Dr. Kara Montgomery, a clinical assistant professor in the Arnold School's Department of Health Promotion, Education, and Behavior, recently received an "Excellence in Teaching Award" from the Alpha Chapter of Mortar Board at USC.
Montgomery was nominated for the award by Melanie Dunn, an exercise science major and South Carolina Honors College student. "Dr. Montgomery helps her students learn about nutrition, life, compassion and service. I am so fortunate to have had her as a professor," Dunn said.
Twenty-four other USC faculty members across campus were recognized for "their mastery of the classroom" and for their "sincere motivation to educate, enlighten, and inspire their students."
"As an alumnus, I am honored and humbled to have been nominated by Melanie. It means so much to have her and the Mortar Board Honor Society recognize my commitment both to USC and to my community efforts," Montgomery said.
Mortar Board is a national honor society composed of university seniors selected on the basis of their outstanding leadership, scholarship and service to the Carolina community. Since 1988, USC's chapter has acknowledged faculty who have demonstrated a sincere motivation to educate, enlighten and inspire their students. The Alpha Order chapter at USC was chartered in 1967 and provides opportunities for continued leadership development and encourages lifelong contributions to the global community.
A faculty member since 2004, Montgomery teaches undergraduate courses in applied nutrition and introduction to health promotion, in addition to graduate courses in community health development and obesity/eating disorders. She has taught University 101 since fall 2001. Prior to joining HPEB, Montgomery was a student services coordinator for the Arnold School's Office of Student Services. She is the recipient of the 2010 Arnold School James A. Keith Excellence in Teaching Award, member of Omicron Delta Kappa Society and Delta Omega. She and her husband, Jay, have two daughters Ally and Hannah.
STUDENT HONORS
Jean Marie Place received a cash award to help her with her dissertation research from the Women's Studies Endowment Fund established by philanthropist Harriott Hampton Faucette of Columbia.
Tracey Thomas and Shaun Owens recently presented two talks and gave a poster presentation that won third place at the 2011 International Cancer Education Conference of the American Association for Cancer Education.
Amira Osman presented a poster at the 2011 Carolina Women's Health Research Forum on "Ethnic Differences in Disability among Israeli Women: The Role of Lifetime Adversity and Socioeconomic Disadvantage."
Rasmi Avula, who recently defended her dissertation on maternal demands and abilities to feed children in Bangladesh, has accepted a post-doctoral fellow position with the International Food Policy Research Institute. She will be based in the organization's office in New Delhi, India.
Amy Teixeira defended her thesis on parental influence on adolescent fruit and vegetable consumption and body mass index. She is continuing at USC as a research staff member.
Urarat Buranakongkatree, who defended her dissertation on the implementation of an elderly club program in Thailand, will return to her faculty position in Ubon Ratchathani, Thailand.
HPED doctoral student Miriam Evans and her team at Jones Chapel Baptist Church received a mini-grant this fall from the S.C. Cancer Prevention and Control Research Network. The grant will enable the church to develop and promote a walking-trails program for a rural S.C. community.
Michael Burke was awarded a USDA RIDGE (Research Innovation and Development Grant in Economics) for his dissertation, "Examining the Relationship between the Social Context of Meals, Diet Quality and Eating Patterns in Food-Insecure African-American Households with Children.
Nine doctoral students have received research assistance from the funds provided by the Office of the Provost to support doctoral study: Alicia Best, India Rose, Leah Williams, Winston Abara, Yong Chu, Stacey Smallwood, Heather Dolinger, Megan Weis and Jean Marie Place.
FACULTY ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Tune into S.C. Educational Radio on Dec. 5 for an interview with Dr. Deborah Billings on the Your Day radio program, scheduled to air after the NPR news at noon. The interview focuses on reproductive health in South Carolina, Tell Them, and the Affordable Care Act. Visit http://yourday.clemson.edu for web-streaming of the interview. A few days after it airs, the interview also will be posted on the website archives.
Two of Dr. Daniela Friedman's articles in the Journal of Cancer Education are among the Top 5 cited from that journal.
Dr. Heather Brandt, working in collaboration with Dr. Darcy Freedman of the College of Social Work and Laura Kissel of Media Arts, produced a documentary film that tells the story of the Right Choice, Fresh Start Farmers' Market in Orangeburg. The market was developed to introduce healthy food choices at a federally qualified health center. Funding for the documentary was from the USC Science and Health Communication Research Group. The film, which has had a great reception among Orangeburg audiences, soon will be shown in Columbia.
