reetings from 806 W Franklin St

Our year is off to a terrific start Wersquove welcomed two new fac-ulty to the department ndash Zewelanji Serpell PhD and Kurt Cran-dall PhD (Page 10)- and our research mission received a giant boost with the receipt of an $181 million five-year grant from the US Food and Drug Administration to study so-called modi-fied risk tobacco products Co-led by Tom Eissenberg PhD and Robert BalsterPhD the FDA grantmdashthe third largest in VCUrsquos historymdashwill establish the Center for the Study of Tobacco Prod-ucts in our department The Center will focus on evaluating nov-el tobacco products such as electronic cigarettes and developing an evaluation tool to help inform US tobacco regulatory policy As a hub for health and prevention research on the Monroe Park Campus the Department of Psychology is striving to grow our emphasis in substance abuse research and training Given that the grant includes a training component for pre- and post-doctoral students the FDA funding will help us capitalize on op-portunities for research and training in the area of tobacco and tobacco products Read more about the award on Page 5 Our department also seeks to expand our focus on prevention including the prevention of youth violence substance abuse academic failure depression and other mental health problems and obesity and associated health disorders Our department is a national leader in work on the prevention of youth violence We are particularly proud of Albert Farrell PhD whose contri-butions to the field of youth violence prevention were recog-nized by the university at this yearrsquos faculty convocation when he was awarded the universityrsquos highest academic honor the Uni-versity Award of Excellence (see Page 11) Our strong focus on community-based prevention and intervention is also evidenced by a $24 million grant award to Joshua Langberg PhD from the Institute for Educational Sciences The four-year grant will be used to compare two different types of school-based inter-ventions for improving the academic performance of middle-school students with ADHD (see Page 8) In addition to our faculty our students continue to excel Read about the accomplishments of Linda A Mensah-Etsi (cover pho-to) a junior psychology major on Page 17 and Adriana Rodri-guez doctoral student of clinical psychology on Page 16

We are looking forward to an ex-citing fall and hope you will drop us a line and let us know what is happening in your life Sincerely

Wendy Kliewer Professor and Chair

PROGRAM DIRECTORS

Eric Benotsch

Health

Jeff Green

Social

Barbara Myers

Developmental

Bruce Rybarczyk

Clinical

Everett Worthington

Counseling

Jennifer Elswick

Newsmagazine Production

Jody Davis

Web and Facebook

Important Alumni Links

Submit a class note

Update your contact information

Join VCU Alumni

View the alumni directory

Get your alumni email address

Michael Southam-Gerow Director

Graduate Studies

Dorothy Fillmore Associate Director for Academic Operations

Wendy Kliewer Chair

Linda Zyzniewski Director

Undergraduate Studies

1 Cover photography by

Alexis Mathis (class of 2015)

Featured in photo

Linda Metsah-Etsi class of 2015

See undergraduate student spotlight p17

4-5 Research Spotlight

Thomas Eissenberg PhD

6-7 Alumni news and notes

8-9 Department news and updates

10

Meet our new faculty members

Kurt Crandall PhD

Zewelanji Serpell PhD

11 Recipient of the

University Award of Excellence

Al Farrell PhD

12-13 VCU students faculty and alumni

contribute to advancing the

treatment of insomnia

Bruce Rybarczyk PhD

14-15 The impact of recent US government

actions on the departmentrsquos research

mission

Brigette S Pfister MHRD CRA

16 Graduate student spotlight

Adriana Rodriguez MS

Clinical psychology program

17 Undergraduate student spotlight

Linda Metsah-Etsi class of 2015

(cover photo)

18-19 Spotlight on international research

and learning

Paul Perrin PhD goes to Spain

20 Campus vistors

Kristin Heron PhD Penn State

and

Shigehiro Oishi PhD

University of Virginia

21 August 2013 graduates

22 Department contact information

Tom Eissenberg PhD came to our de-

partment in 1997 and has not slowed

down since A professor of biopsychology

and health psychology Eissenberg re-

searches the addictive properties and

health effects of the use of alternative to-

bacco products such as electronic ciga-

rettesmdashsee exciting new grant announce-

ment on opposite page For the last ten

years Eissenberg and his collaborators

have also been studying the effects of wa-

terpipe or ldquohookahrdquo smoking

The origins of waterpipe smoking can be

traced back to the 1600rsquos in the Middle

East and India More recently hookah

smoking has become extremely popular in

the United States and continues to grow

among adolescents and young

adult populations Often used in

social settings such as in ldquohookah

barsrdquo waterpipe smoking is a

popular method of smoking to-

bacco (usually flavored) where

one puts charcoal on top of a per-

forated piece of aluminum foil

which is then placed on the head

of the hookahmdashsee diagram As

the smoker inhales through the

mouthpiece the water in the ba-

sin of the pipe cools the smoke

making the smoke milder and

more palatable than the smoke

from cigarettes

A common misconception and a leading

contributor to the increase in the popular-

ity of waterpipe smoking is the belief by

non-cigarette smokers that waterpipe

smoke is less dangerous than cigarette

smoke One of the goals of his research is

to determine whether or not there are

data to support these beliefs

Eissenberg and his team have assessed the

composition of waterpipe smoke what

compounds in the smoke make their way

into the smoker and what physiological

and subjective effects waterpipe smoke

has on the smoker

As part of this assessment the research

team has found that hookah smokers

often take relatively large puffs when

smokingmdashup to ten times larger than that

of the average cigarette puff Though an

average cigarette smoker will inhale 50 ml

of smoke per puff for example the hook-

ah smoker averages 500 ml of smoke per

puff (about one quarter of a two liter

bottle) During a typical 45-minute smok-

ing session waterpipe smokers will take

an average of 100 puffs and end up inhal-

ing 50000 ml of smoke Typical levels of

smoke inhalation from a smoking session

can range in quantity from 50 to 100 times

the amount of inhaled smoke than the

amount inhaled from a single cigarette

According to Eissenberg there is no rea-

son to believe waterpipe smoking is less

lethal than cigarette smoking or causes

less dependence Hookah smoke as it

turns out also contains high levels of toxic

compounds including tar carbon monox-

ide heavy metals and cancer-causing

chemicals (carcinogens) Because water-

pipe smokers inhale tobacco smoke along

with charcoal smoke the full inhalation

also contains higher levels of carbon mon-

oxide than does cigarette smoke

Another shared belief among many water-

pipe users is that the water somehow fil-

ters the smoke they inhale making it less

toxic than cigarette smoke Eissenberg

though says there is no evidence to sup-

port this claim He says that the levels of

nicotine carbon monoxide and other com-

pounds remain constant in the hookah

smoke both before and after the smoke

hits the water

Eissenberg also notes that dependency

can become a major problem ac-

companying waterpipe smoking

especially in places where the wa-

terpipe has a longer history of

use such as in the Middle East

Eissenberg and his colleagues

have worked on strengthening

their research methods by devel-

oping and validating a new tech-

nology ndash the real time smoke sam-

pler ndash which randomly samples

smoke content in the lab when

research participants are smoking

a waterpipe The tool can meas-

ure how many puffs are taken

how long the draws are how

Research Spotlight

Thomas Eissenberg PhD

Tom Eissenberg PhD came to our de-

partment in 1997 and has not slowed

down since A professor of biopsychology

and health psychology Eissenberg re-

searches the addictive properties and

health effects of the use of alternative to-

bacco products such as electronic ciga-

rettesmdashsee exciting new grant announce-

ment on opposite page For the last ten

years Eissenberg and his collaborators

have also been studying the effects of wa-

terpipe or ldquohookahrdquo smoking

The origins of waterpipe smoking can be

traced back to the 1600rsquos in the Middle

East and India More recently hookah

smoking has become extremely popular in

the United States and continues to grow

among adolescents and young

adult populations Often used in

social settings such as in ldquohookah

barsrdquo waterpipe smoking is a

popular method of smoking to-

bacco (usually flavored) where

one puts charcoal on top of a per-

forated piece of aluminum foil

which is then placed on the head

of the hookahmdashsee diagram As

the smoker inhales through the

mouthpiece the water in the ba-

sin of the pipe cools the smoke

making the smoke milder and

more palatable than the smoke

from cigarettes

A common misconception and a leading

contributor to the increase in the popular-

ity of waterpipe smoking is the belief by

non-cigarette smokers that waterpipe

smoke is less dangerous than cigarette

smoke One of the goals of his research is

to determine whether or not there are

data to support these beliefs

Eissenberg and his team have assessed the

composition of waterpipe smoke what

compounds in the smoke make their way

into the smoker and what physiological

and subjective effects waterpipe smoke

has on the smoker

As part of this assessment the research

team has found that hookah smokers

often take relatively large puffs when

smokingmdashup to ten times larger than that

of the average cigarette puff Though an

average cigarette smoker will inhale 50 ml

of smoke per puff for example the hook-

ah smoker averages 500 ml of smoke per

puff (about one quarter of a two liter

bottle) During a typical 45-minute smok-

ing session waterpipe smokers will take

an average of 100 puffs and end up inhal-

ing 50000 ml of smoke Typical levels of

smoke inhalation from a smoking session

can range in quantity from 50 to 100 times

the amount of inhaled smoke than the

amount inhaled from a single cigarette

According to Eissenberg there is no rea-

son to believe waterpipe smoking is less

lethal than cigarette smoking or causes

less dependence Hookah smoke as it

turns out also contains high levels of toxic

compounds including tar carbon monox-

ide heavy metals and cancer-causing

chemicals (carcinogens) Because water-

pipe smokers inhale tobacco smoke along

with charcoal smoke the full inhalation

also contains higher levels of carbon mon-

oxide than does cigarette smoke

Another shared belief among many water-

pipe users is that the water somehow fil-

ters the smoke they inhale making it less

toxic than cigarette smoke Eissenberg

though says there is no evidence to sup-

port this claim He says that the levels of

nicotine carbon monoxide and other com-

pounds remain constant in the hookah

smoke both before and after the smoke

hits the water

Eissenberg also notes that dependency

can become a major problem ac-

companying waterpipe smoking

especially in places where the wa-

terpipe has a longer history of

use such as in the Middle East

Eissenberg and his colleagues

have worked on strengthening

their research methods by devel-

oping and validating a new tech-

nology ndash the real time smoke sam-

pler ndash which randomly samples

smoke content in the lab when

research participants are smoking

a waterpipe The tool can meas-

ure how many puffs are taken

how long the draws are how

Research Spotlight

Thomas Eissenberg PhD

much time elapses between puffs and the

speed at which the air is drawn from the

waterpipe He then takes the data and

sends them to his colleague Alan

Shihadeh PhD at the American Universi-

ty of Beirut in Lebanon From the data

Shihadeh can create an exact replica of

the smoking session all the way down to

the same tobacco This allows him to

measure the content of the smoke in a

noninvasive manner Upon validation of

the instrument the real time smoke sam-

pler was taken out of the lab setting into a

popular cafeacute in Beirut to gather data in a

more natural environment The composi-

tion of the smoke in the bar was found to

be consistent with similar measures taken

in the lab The next step in this line of in-

quiry will be to conduct the same research

in waterpipe bars in Richmond

In addition to conducting his own re-

search Eissenberg actively works to pro-

mote the responsible conduct of research

particularly with regard to interactions

between local Institutional Review Boards

and behavioral scientists His work in this

realm resulted in a recent invitation from

Secretary Kathleen Sebelius of the US

Department of Health and Human Services

to join the Secretarys Advisory Committee

on Human Research The purpose of the

committee is to advise the secretary on a

range of issues involving experimentation

with humans such as clinical trials re-

search with children deception in re-

search and consent and confidentiality in

Internet research

Furthermore Eissenberg is a member of

the US Food and Drug Administrationrsquos

tobacco product scientific advisory com-

mittee Because the FDA has been given

the authority to regulate tobacco products

in recent years the scientific advisory

committee was formed to keep the agency

abreast of the most current scientific re-

search findings on tobacco and tobacco

products

The next step for Eissenberg is to devote

his energies to the establishment and

management of the Center for the Study

of Tobacco Products (see news article be-

low) The Center will be a hub of scholar-

ship and training and will yield opportuni-

ties at VCU to generate more multi-

investigator funding in the future Its goal

is to better inform government agencies

through evidence-based research about

the regulation of tobacco and tobacco

products as pertinent legislation is consid-

ered

Read the full article on VCU News Excerpt Virginia Commonwealth University has received an $181 million federal grant ndash

VCUs third largest to date ndash to study so-called modified risk tobacco products and other novel tobacco products such as electronic

cigarettes and to develop an evaluation tool to help inform United States tobacco regulatory policy VCU is among 14 institutions

across the country selected to participate in a regulatory science research program that will provide vital scientific evidence to the

US Food and Drug Administration and the National Institutes of Health Researchers in the VCU Department of Psychologys Cen-

ter for the Study of Tobacco Products in the College of Humanities and Sciences will study methods for evaluating modified risk

tobacco products as one of 14 Tobacco Centers of Regulatory Science a new program launched by the US Food and Drug Admin-

istration and the National Institutes of Health Thomas Eissenberg PhD professor of psychology and director of VCUrsquos Clinical

Behavioral Pharmacology Laboratory and Robert Balster PhD professor of pharmacology and toxicology in the VCU School of

Medicine are the co-principal investigators on the grant Listen to Eissenbergrsquos interview on Richmond public radio

Submitted by Megan Sutter doctoral student

in the health psychology program

Christopher Kilmartin (MS lsquo86 PhD lsquo88)

is a professor of psychology at Mary Wash-

ington University For the current year

though he is Distinguished Visiting Profes-

sor of Behavioral Science and Leadership

at the United States Air Force Academy in

Colorado Springs His work on the

ldquoculture of hyper-masculinityrdquo was high-

lighted in a recent New York Times op-ed

article by Frank Bruni called ldquoTackling the

Roots of Raperdquo In addition he and co-

author John Lynch Jr (MS lsquo86 PhD lsquo89)

just published the second edition of the

book ldquoOvercoming Masculine Depression

The Pain Behind the Maskrdquo

Dorothy Espelage PhD (BS rsquo91) recent-

ly accepted the Lifetime Achievement

Award from the American Psychological

Associationrsquos Prevention Section Award-

ees are recognized for their outstanding

achievements and contributions to psy-

chology Her work stood out in a

crowded and impressive group and was

described as exemplifying excellence in

prevention science and practice according

to the APA section Espelage has also

been appointed Edward William Gutgsell

amp Jane Marr Gutgsell Endowed Professor

at the University of Illinois at Urbana-

Champaign We were thrilled to welcome

Espelage back to campus in May when she

delivered the commencement address at

the diploma ceremony for Psychology

graduates

Adam Joseph Prus (PhD lsquo04) is an associ-

ate professor in the Department of Psy-

chology at Northern Michigan University

He recently published the book ldquoAn Intro-

duction to Drugs and the Neuroscience of

Behaviorrdquo Joe Porter PhD professor of

biospsychology at VCU

will be using this very

book for spring 2014

when he teaches the

new undergraduate course

ldquoPsychopharmacology Drugs and Behav-

iorrdquo

Jeffrey Holder (BS lsquo05) is currently work-

ing as a BPMSix Sigma Black Belt Consult-

ant for a local company based in Rich-

mond BPM means business process man-

agement and Six Sigma is improvement

and project management work Over the

past two years he has traveled to Jamaica

Prague and Belgium and has discovered a

great affinity for Eastern Europe and WWII

history He says he has ldquohellipa small coffee

disorder in that he has to have itrdquo and

misses the college environment and the

academic level of discourse

Melinda Moore (PhD rsquo07) has started her

own company Spectrum Transformation

Group The company is a Richmond-based

behavioral health organization offering

intensive one-on-one treatment services

for children with autism and related neu-

rodevelopmental disorders

Ian Wallace (MS lsquo06 PhD lsquo09) recently

started a new position as a counseling psy-

chologist in Counseling and Psychological

Services at The California Maritime Acade-

my (a California State University campus)

located in Vallejo Calif He and his wife

Claire welcomed their second son Miles

to the family in July

Raymond Tademy (BS lsquo03 MS lsquo07 PhD

lsquo10) finished his three-year postdoctoral

fellowship with our department in the

Center for Cultural Experiences in Preven-

tion and is now working as an assistant

professor in the Department of Psychology

at Norfolk State University He says he is

enjoying this wonderful new personal and

professional challenge and expresses

thanks to our department for preparing

him so well for the teaching research

community service and advising aspects of

his new position Tademy has wasted no

time jumping right into things at Norfolk

State and is already part of several depart-

ment and university committees

Lindsey Dorflinger (MS lsquo09 PhD lsquo11)

recently accepted a position at the Con-

necticut VA Health Care System in

West Haven as health behavior coordina-

tor She says she is having a blast working

alongside VCU postdoctoral fellows Leila

Islam (MS lsquo03 PhD rsquo13) and Aaron Mar-

tin (PhD rsquo13) In this new position she

will get to participate in a wide range of

activities including individual and group

interventions for health behavior change

research training physicians and other

medical providers and program develop-

ment and evaluation She is also part of

the clinical health psychology training pro-

gram which she particularly loves and

where she gets to work with Aaron Leila

and the other health psychology trainees

It is a busy and exciting time for KC Con-

ley (MS rsquo09 PhD rsquo12 ) She completed

her internship at the New Jersey VA in Au-

gust 2012 and her postdoctoral fellowship

in college mental health at Pace University

in August 2013 She is happy to report

Alumni News and Notes

Adam Prus PhD holding his

new book ldquoAn Introduction

to Drugs and the Neurosci-

ence of Behaviorrdquo

VCU Alumni travel 2014 opportunities Panama Canal 100th Anniversary cruise Jan 4-12

Tahitian Jewels Jan 15-25

Asian Explorations Feb 20-March 10

Tanzania Safari During Great Migration March 3-13

Lesser Antilles cruise March 10-17

Southern Culture amp The Civil War paddlewheel cruise March 28-April 6

Passage to India April 2-15

Historic Reflections Mediterranean cruise April 20-May 1

Italyrsquos Lake District May 13-21

Mediterranean Grandeur May 15-26

Oxford England May 17-25

Mediterranean Antiquities May 21-29

The Great Rivers of Europe June 7-22

National Parks amp Lodges of the Old West June 28-July 7

Canadian Rockies Parks amp Resorts July 17-23

Adriatic Antiquities cruise June 26-July 9

Iceland to Greenland cruise Aug 2-14

Discover Switzerland Aug 6-21

Russia Revealed Moscow to Petersburg river cruise Aug 21ndashSept 5hellip (see more)

having passed the Examination for the

Professional Practice in Psychology in May

and receiving her New York license this

September Conley recently accepted a

staff psychologist position at the Center

for Motivation and Change where she will

be treating individuals who have problems

with substance use andor compulsive

behaviors She just celebrated her one

year wedding anniversary and is happily

living in Brooklyn NY

Shannon Hourigan (MS lsquo09 PhD lsquo12)

completed her postdoctoral fellowship at

Boston Childrens Hospital at the end of

August and then accepted a position in

the Division of Psychology Department of

Psychiatry as a full time attending psy-

chologist working in the Optimal Weight

for Life Program part of the New Balance

Foundation Obesity Prevention Center at

BCH She also has an academic appoint-

ment at Harvard Medical School as an in-

structor in psychology in the Department

of Psychiatry

Half of her time is spent doing clinical re-

search and she is currently working on an

exciting interdisciplinary collaborationmdasha

combined behavior and nutrition inter-

vention pilot using a telehealth approach

to reach families and served by an excel-

lent community pediatrics practice with

whom her program is partnering As the

only psychologist on the team she de-

signed and has been implementing the

behavioral intervention Her work on this

project has been significantly informed by

the ADAPT study and Chorpitas modular

approach

The other research project in the works is

a secondary prevention study with a local

pediatrics practice for toddler children to

provide anticipatory guidance to parents

regarding behavioral issues around feed-

ing to facilitate development of healthful

eating This has been partially informed

by her dissertation as well as her work

with the New Balance Foundation Obesity

Prevention Center She and the Center

are planning to submit an R21 and hoping

to collaborate with the Brazleton Institute

In addition to her clinical work she has

been tasked with developing the behav-

ioral medicine curriculum for the clinic

In Memoriam

James E Conner PhD (BS rsquo49) of Ra-

leigh NC Jan 4 2013 at age 88

Maria Devens (MS rsquo93 PhD rsquo96) of Chi-

cago April 10 2013 at age 46

Robin B Bunster (BS rsquo99) of Lake

Oswego Ore April 20 2013 at age 45

We want to hear

from you too

Click HERE and give us your update

to feature in the next issue

Jasmine Abrams MS a

doctoral student in

the health psychology

program is the 2013 re-

cipient of the Psychology

of Black Graduate Stu-

dent Women Award for

her manuscript entitled

Demystification of the lsquoStrong Black

Womanrsquordquo Abrams was honored during

the Division 35 Section 1 awards ceremo-

ny at the 2013 American Psychological

Association convention in Hawaii

Faye Belgrave PhD

professor of social psy-

chology and director of

the Center for Cultural

Experiences in Preven-

tion will serve as the fac-

ulty fellow for advancing

diverse faculty in research

in VCUrsquos Division for Inclusive Excellence

In this role she will be responsible for

providing seminars consultation and pro-

fessional development to support diverse

faculty in sponsored research

Mary Beth Heller PhD

will serve the department

as interim director of the

Center for Psychological

Services and Develop-

ment Her appointment

follows the departure of

Leticia Flores PhD Flores

is the new associate director of University

of Tennesseersquos Psychological Clinic

Wendy Kliewer PhD

professor of developmen-

tal psychology and de-

partment chair and Jo

Lynne Robins PhD as-

sistant professor in the

VCU School of Nursing

have been awarded a VCU Presidential

Research Quest Award for Project HEART

Their study will examine the impact of

stress on the physical body for mothers of

teenagers in underserved communities in

the Richmond area and its surrounding

communities Also the study will examine

relationships between stress and resilien-

cy on heart health in adolescents and

mothers living in underserved communi-

ties Read more about this important in-

terdisciplinary effort at improved commu-

nity engagement and health

Joshua Langberg PhD

assistant professor in the

clinical psychology pro-

gram received a $24

million grant from the

Institute of Educational

Sciences for the project

ldquoEfficacy of an Organiza-

tional Skills Intervention for Middle School

Students with ADHD The four-year grant

will be used to compare two different

types of school-based interventions for

improving the academic performance of

middle school-age students with ADHD

Read more about it

Micah McCreary PhD

associate professor in the

counseling psychology

program led a group of

seven students and one

kindergarten teacher to

the ravaged island of Haiti

as part of the VCU service-

learning Haitian Empowerment Program

between science and religion Read the

news release from VCU News

VCU recently made a promotional video

highlighting four facultystudent research

partnerships and discussing some of the

benefits of participating in research and

what students need to

know to ensure a success-

ful experience Joe Por-

ter PhD professor of

biopsychology and his

undergraduate student

Brian Joseph were fea-

tured Watch the video

Bruce Rybarczyk PhD

director of clinical training

for our clinical program

and newly promoted pro-

fessor of clinical psycholo-

gy was recently featured

in an article in the maga-

zine ldquoVirginia Livingrdquo for his expertise in

the study and treatment of insomnia

Read the article

Third year doctoral stu-

dent in the health psy-

chology program Daniel

Snipes MS recently

learned that his first au-

thor publication (co-

authored by Eric Be-

notsch PhD) entitled High-

risk cocktails and high-risk sex Examining

the relation between alcohol mixed with

energy drink consumption sexual behav-

ior and drug use in college students was

the second most downloaded article in the

journal Addictive Behaviors for the month

of August Read the abstract

Michael Southam-

Gerow PhD professor

in the clinical psychology

program director of

graduate studies and co-

director of the Anxiety

Clinic at the Center for

Psychological Services

and Development was recently called up-

on to address the management of the

Department News and Updates

Kliewer

McCreary

Porter

Langberg

Southam-Gerow

Rybarczyk

Belgrave

Snipes

Abrams

Heller

Hulsey Van Tongeren Green

anxiety children sometimes feel about go-

ing back to school in the fall Read the

VCU News QampA Another bit of good

news for Southam-Gerow is his recent

promotion from associate professor to full

professor

Everett Worthington

PhD director of clinical

training in the counseling

psychology program was

nominated for the pres-

tigious Joseph B and To-

by Gittler Prize The

$25000 prize includes a medal and a lec-

ture at Brandeis University by the recipi-

ent The awardee must have produced a

body of published work that reflects schol-

arly excellence and a lasting contribution

to racial ethnic andor religious relations

anywhere in the world

Worthington has also been featured in

several media and print outlets recently

For example an article he wrote on forgiv-

ing the man who murdered his mother

appeared in Septemberrsquos issue of Christi-

anity Today the largest popular magazine

in American Christianity He was also

quoted as an expert in forgiveness in a

recent online article regarding the ordeal

of Ariel Castro and the three women he

held as captives in his Cleveland base-

ment

In addition Worthington has published a

new book ldquoMoving Forward Six Steps to

Forgiving Yourself and Breaking Free from

the Pastrdquo that was featured in a VCU

news article Read an excerpt

Linda Zyzniewski PhD associate profes-

sor of social psychology director of under-

graduate studies and deanrsquos fellow for the

College of Humanities and Sciences is

president-elect of VCUrsquos chapter of Phi

Kappa Phi Her term will

be for the 2014-15

school year ΦΚΦ faculty

have made significant

contributions to ad-

vancement of knowledge

and understanding

through research publication profession-

al innovation or artistic creativity sus-

tained excellence in teaching achieve-

ments transcending customary levels of

service in academic or professional socie-

ties of national scope recognition by other

major honor societies special honors and

awards and significant leadership in the

VCU academic community

Congratulations to the

recipients of this yearrsquos

annual department fac-

ulty awards for excel-

lence The Outstanding

Service Award was given

to Barbara Myers

PhD for sustained ex-

cellence in service to her community uni-

versity College department and field

Myers has been instrumental in establish-

ing and maintaining VCUrsquos community

partnership with Richmond City Jails

The winner of this yearrsquos Outstanding

Scholarship Award goes to Joshua Lang-

berg PhD Langberg is a strong ADHD

researcher who continues to publish high

impact findings and obtain substantial

grant funding for his work

Finally we would like to recognize Micah

McCreary PhD as this yearrsquos winner of

the Outstanding Teaching Award

McCreary continues to be one of the high-

est student-rated instructors in our de-

partment He provided an excellent ser-

vice learning opportunity for our students

this summer in Haiti

Support Staff Updates

Jennifer Elswick Direc-

tor for Strategic Initia-

tives and Assistant to

Chair was appointed to

serve as one of two in-

augural staff members

on the VCU Academic

Affairs Committee She

was also featured in a recent article in the

College of Humanities and Sciences news-

letter

Stephanie Hart MBA

CRA service center di-

rector of operations par-

ticipated in the National

Council of University Re-

search Administrators

Financial Research Ad-

ministration Workshop The

two and a half day workshop focused pri-

marily on the financial aspects of research

administration and provided an in-depth

look at financial compliance issues

through a combination of lecture case

studies review of federal audit reports

and a discussion of best practices

Yin Huang grants manag-

er just completed the

three-credit course Busi-

ness Statistics to supple-

ment the knowledge base

for her position

Diana Pauley executive

secretary received a Spot Award for Day-

to-Day Excellence for her persistence in

getting Williams House a new roof

Department News and Updates

Worthington

Elswick

Zyzniewski

Myers

Hart

Kurt Crandall PhD is a licensed clinical

psychologist who joined our faculty this

fall Crandall received his PhD in clinical

psychology from the University of Kansas

with a specialty in health psychology He

interned at the Veterans Affairs Medical

Center in Washington DC where he

worked in psychiatric triage counseled pa-

tients with chronic pain and conducted

group therapy for veterans who were en-

rolled in a partial hospitalization program

Following his internship year he spent

three years as an assistant professor in the

Department of Psychology at Wesleyan Col-

lege in Macon Georgia From there Cran-

dall left academia and returned to clinical

work to complete a postdoctoral fellowship

with an emphasis on couples and family

therapy at a community mental health cen-

ter in Chicago After his postdoctoral expe-

rience he worked as a staff psychologist in

the Primary Care Clinic at the VA Hospital in

Seattle

Upon his move back to the east coast Cran-

dall returned to academia and joined the

psychology faculty at Longwood University

For the past several years he has also been

employed as a psychologist in a private

practice here in Richmond Crandall prac-

tices as a cognitive behavioral therapist and

is trained to work with adults His clinical

areas of interest and experience include

promoting health through behavioral

change treating mood and anxiety disor-

ders helping clients cope with physical ill-

ness and disease facilitating stress manage-

ment and counseling couples His general

research interests are in the areas of health

psychology and positive psychology More

specifically he is interested in the effect

positive frames of thinking (eg hope opti-

mism forgiveness) may have on onersquos phys-

ical and emotional health

Zewelanji Serpell PhD joined our depart-

ment this fall as an associate professor in

the developmental program Before VCU

she was an associate professor in the psy-

chology department at Virginia State Uni-

versity Prior to that Serpell held a re-

search faculty position at James Madison

University and served as the associate di-

rector of the Alvin V Baird Attention and

Learning Disabilities Center She has also

held research positions at the Research Tri-

angle Institute-International the Eunice

Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child

Health and Human Development Study of

Early Childcare the American Association

for Colleges of Teacher Education and the

Center for Research on Children Placed At-

Risk

Serpellrsquos principle research interest is har-

nessing advances in cognitive science to

develop interventions that target executive

functions Translation is a particular goal of

her work which often takes the form of a

series of iterative small-N lab studies to in-

dividualize or perfect the design of inter-

ventions followed by often challenging

attempts to implement these interventions

in the real world of schools

Serpell currently has three active projects

In collaboration with former department

assistant professor Michelle Ellefson PhD

and Teresa Parr (BS lsquo93 MS lsquo95 PhD

lsquo99) the first project explores whether the

mental activities associated with playing

chess improve executive function and aca-

demic outcomes in elementary school stu-

dents The second and third projects are

funded by the National Science Foundation

and conducted in collaboration with col-

leagues from Virginia State University and

University of California San Diego These

projects involve testing the efficacy of com-

mercially available ldquobrain trainingrdquo pro-

grams with African American students and

examining the role of non-cognitive factors

specifically motivation and affect in cogni-

tive training contexts

Serpell was born and raised in Zambia and

reports having family all over the world

She received her bachelorrsquos degree in psy-

chology from Clark University in Worcester

Mass and her masterrsquos degree and PhD in

developmental psychology from Howard

University in Washington DC In her spare

time Serpell enjoys reading novels cooking

vegetarian meals and swimming with her

two sons She says she came to VCU for the

research opportunitiesmdashnew faculty collab-

orations working with VCUrsquos diverse stu-

dent body and getting involved with efforts

to improve outcomes for K-12 students

attending urban public schools

Meet our New Faculty Members

Zewelanji Serpell PhD

Kurt Crandall PhD

An affable psychology professor with a tidy office Dr Albert D Farrell warmly greets visi-tors to the West Franklin Street space that houses the Clark-Hill Institute for Positive Youth De-velopment The institute serves as a hub for studies led by Dr Farrell its director and one of the na-tionrsquos leading research scientists on risk and protective factors associated with problem behaviors during adolescence He began his academic career at Virginia Commonwealth University in 1980 as an assis-tant professor with the goal of ldquoworking with students who are involved in and excited about researchrdquo In 1992 he joined an effort that dramatically shaped the rest of his career It began with evaluating a Richmond youth violence prevention program Since then Dr Farrell has received nearly $16 million from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to continue re-searching youth violence including developing and evaluating a middle school program Responding in Peaceful and Positive Ways which was designed to reduce violence by promoting positive problem-solving skills Grants totaling $26 million have supported his research which has been cited more than 1500 times and as often as 100 times annually in recent years Dr Farrellrsquos work has been continuously funded by the CDC for 21 straight years ldquoHis empirically supported model for youth violence prevention is considered the gold standard by psychologistsrdquo writes Dr James Coleman dean of the VCU College of Humanities and Sciences In 2005 the Clark-Hill Institute was selected by the CDC as one of eight Academic Centers of Excellence in Youth Violence Prevention and received $43 million in funding over five years Five years later VCU edged out Johns Hopkins Harvard Columbia and the University of California Berkley among others for a second round of funding securing $65 million to run the institute through September 2015 ldquoIrsquom really proud we were able accomplish thatrdquo Dr Farrell says ldquoWe competed extremely well against elite institutions with considerable resourcesrdquo For one CDC-funded project Dr Farrell collaborated on the Multisite Youth Violence Prevention Project with researchers from Duke University the University of Georgia and the University of Illinois at Chicago He developed most key aspects of the study according to Dr Thomas Simon deputy associate director for science in the CDCrsquos division of violence prevention ldquoDr Farrell has a gift for bringing together diverse opinions and identifying a path that utilizes the best science and practice principlesrdquo Dr Simon writes He uses that same quality in the classroom where he continues to teach the ldquoResearch Methods in Clinical Psychologyrdquo course he created 32 years ago Dr Farrell describes his role as more facilitator than teacher as he works to get students thinking about problems instead of looking to him for answers Dr Monique Vulin Reynolds a former student describes his class as one of the most useful and enjoyable she took at VCU ldquoHis own passion and dedication to the subject matter was what made the difference in keeping us absorbed and working hard to meet his expectationsrdquo she writes He earns near-perfect ratings on student evaluations according to Dr Wendy Kliewer chair of the psychology department Thatrsquos an unparalleled feat she writes especially since he taught a graduate statistics course she says both students and faculty shy away from Dr Scott Vrana a VCU psychology professor notes that one thing is missing from Dr Farrellrsquos resume mdash that he pours ldquothousands of hours into promoting and advancing the careers of other faculty members graduate students and postdoctoral fel-lowsrdquo His record does reflect some of that time Dr Farrell has chaired advisory committees for 30 masterrsquos theses and 22 doctoral dissertations Students and faculty describe him as a mentor who is approachable open and supportive and who always makes time for others no matter his schedule In reflecting on his career at VCU Dr Farrell says the way its pieces ended up fitting together seems sensible Its specific course however was strongly shaped by opportunities that presented themselves along the way Being at VCU provided advantages over other universities he worked with on youth violence prevention research he says mdash chiefly the lack of barriers between VCU and the community because most Richmonders are connected to VCU in some way While he has no imminent plans for retirement Dr Farrell says he hopes that he will be remembered as the first director of the Clark-Hill Institute as it continues making important strides in youth violence prevention ldquoWe are so totally aligned with VCUrsquos Quest for Distinctionrdquo he says ldquoWersquore interdisciplinary and well---positioned to really expand We have tremendous potentialrdquo

Recipient of the University Award of Excellence

Albert Farrell PhD

Picture and article courtesy of VCU University Relations

Graduate students in the clinical and

counseling psychology doctoral pro-

grams have completed a series of studies

under the mentorship of Bruce

Rybarczyk PhD (lsquo89 clinical program

graduate professor of clinical psycholo-

gy and director of clinical training) mak-

ing substantial contributions to advanc-

ing the treatment of insomnia in individ-

uals with co-morbid psychiatric condi-

tions Three of those studies were fea-

tured in a special issue of the Journal of

Clinical Psychology Two of the studies

were intervention studies with individu-

als with psychiatric diagnoses The first

was a dissertation by Nile Wagley PhD

(rsquo10 counseling program) providing cog-

nitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) to pa-

tients undergoing treatment at the VCU

Outpatient Psychiatry Clinic These pa-

tients were receiving treatment for an

average of 36 years and continued to

have insomnia symptoms in spite of their

psychiatric care Two sessions of CBT for

insomnia including one conducted via

telephone were effective in improving

sleep and reducing depressive symp-

toms Among the twenty patients who

participated in treatment 38 were able

to achieve normal sleep eight weeks

after the start of treatment relative to

none in the control group A second dis-

sertation study at the same clinic em-

ploying a large group of patients all of

whom were dependent on hypnotic

medication for managing their insomnia

and a longer format of treatment was

recently completed by sixth year clinical

psychology graduate student Hannah

Lund It also obtained encouraging re-

sults that will be written up for publica-

tion in the near future

A second intervention study targeting

recent veterans with Post-Traumatic

Stress Disorder (PTSD) conducted by

Skye Margolies PhD (rsquo11 clinical pro-

gram) was also featured in the special

issue This dissertation study tested four

sessions of CBT-I and an optional supple-

mentary treatment for nightmares

(imagery rehearsal therapy) with forty

combat veterans (mean age 377 years)

who served in Afghanistan andor Iraq a

group that has experienced high levels of

both PTSD and insomnia The treatment

sessions were provided at the McGuire

Veterans Administration Hospital in Rich-

mond The treatment led to significant

improvements in self-reported and ob-

jectively measured sleep a reduction in

PTSD symptom severity and PTSD-

related nighttime symptoms and a re-

duction in depression and distressed

mood compared to the waitlist control

group This study was replicated by Lau-

rin Mack PhD (rsquo13 clinical program)

Her study provided a classroom CBT in-

tervention to a wide array of veterans as

a follow-up supplement to a recently

completed a psycho-educational course

on coping with PTSD This study replicat-

ed the earlier findings of improved sleep

although it did not obtain the same re-

sult for reductions in PTSD symptoms

possibly related to the fact that many of

VCU Students Faculty and

Alumni Contribute to

Advancing the Treatment of

Insomnia Bruce Rybarczyk PhD

Graduate students in the clinical and

counseling psychology doctoral pro-

grams have completed a series of studies

under the mentorship of Bruce

Rybarczyk PhD (lsquo89 clinical program

graduate professor of clinical psycholo-

gy and director of clinical training) mak-

ing substantial contributions to advanc-

ing the treatment of insomnia in individ-

uals with co-morbid psychiatric condi-

tions Three of those studies were fea-

tured in a special issue of the Journal of

Clinical Psychology Two of the studies

were intervention studies with individu-

als with psychiatric diagnoses The first

was a dissertation by Nile Wagley PhD

(rsquo10 counseling program) providing cog-

nitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) to pa-

tients undergoing treatment at the VCU

Outpatient Psychiatry Clinic These pa-

tients were receiving treatment for an

average of 36 years and continued to

have insomnia symptoms in spite of their

psychiatric care Two sessions of CBT for

insomnia including one conducted via

telephone were effective in improving

sleep and reducing depressive symp-

toms Among the twenty patients who

participated in treatment 38 were able

to achieve normal sleep eight weeks

after the start of treatment relative to

none in the control group A second dis-

sertation study at the same clinic em-

ploying a large group of patients all of

whom were dependent on hypnotic

medication for managing their insomnia

and a longer format of treatment was

recently completed by sixth year clinical

psychology graduate student Hannah

Lund It also obtained encouraging re-

sults that will be written up for publica-

tion in the near future

A second intervention study targeting

recent veterans with Post-Traumatic

Stress Disorder (PTSD) conducted by

Skye Margolies PhD (rsquo11 clinical pro-

gram) was also featured in the special

issue This dissertation study tested four

sessions of CBT-I and an optional supple-

mentary treatment for nightmares

(imagery rehearsal therapy) with forty

combat veterans (mean age 377 years)

who served in Afghanistan andor Iraq a

group that has experienced high levels of

both PTSD and insomnia The treatment

sessions were provided at the McGuire

Veterans Administration Hospital in Rich-

mond The treatment led to significant

improvements in self-reported and ob-

jectively measured sleep a reduction in

PTSD symptom severity and PTSD-

related nighttime symptoms and a re-

duction in depression and distressed

mood compared to the waitlist control

group This study was replicated by Lau-

rin Mack PhD (rsquo13 clinical program)

Her study provided a classroom CBT in-

tervention to a wide array of veterans as

a follow-up supplement to a recently

completed a psycho-educational course

on coping with PTSD This study replicat-

ed the earlier findings of improved sleep

although it did not obtain the same re-

sult for reductions in PTSD symptoms

possibly related to the fact that many of

VCU Students Faculty and

Alumni Contribute to

Advancing the Treatment of

Insomnia Bruce Rybarczyk PhD

the participants had PTSD for several

decades rather than several years Both

Margolies and Mack were funded by

prestigious Rehabilitation Research Fel-

lowship awards for over $61000 com-

bined from the Department of Veteran

Affairs

CBT for insomnia was developed by a

group of pioneering researchers begin-

ning twenty-five years ago VCU Psychol-

ogy and Psychiatry has a long history

with this pioneering work One of the

most prolific researchers in this area

Jack Edinger PhD (rsquo78) is an alumnus of

the clinical psychology program and an-

other prominent researcher Charles

Morin PhD was a faculty member at

VCU While here Morin conducted one

of the first randomized clinical trials

showing that CBT was superior to hyp-

notic sleep medications CBT has several

treatment components including an ini-

tial reduction in sleep to increase sleep

drive and retrain normal sleep as well as

a method for eliminating time spent in

bed while awake to weaken the associa-

tion between being in bed and having

anxiety about not falling asleep The

treatment also includes education in the

science of

sleep in order

to provide the

patient with an

ldquoownerrsquos man-

ualrdquo for their

sleep system

These studies

contribute to

growing evi-

dence that CBT

for insomnia is

a treatment

that should be

offered to all

mental health

patients as a

supplement to

other treatments they are receiving that

are targeting the primary mental health

diagnosis Not only is sleep substantially

improved as a result of these interven-

tions but other mental health symptoms

are alleviated as a consequence of im-

proved sleep Additionally there are no

side effects treatment is brief the bene-

fits are sustained over time and the cost

is limited especially when employing self

-help materials The challenge that lies

ahead is training more clinicians to deliv-

er this brief treatment and getting the

word is out to health professionals and

the public that this should be a first line

treatment for persistent insomnia Alt-

hough a 2005 National Institutes of

Health expert panel recommended that

CBT be offered to all chronic insomnia

sufferers before prescribing a medica-

tion there has been very limited pro-

gress in dissemination thus far This is

due to the public and professional bias

towards the use of medications and the

lack of awareness of this newer treat-

ment approach To address the science-

practice gap future research by

Rybarczyk and colleagues will test a

ldquostepped carerdquo approach to delivering

CBT in primary care using varied levels

of treatment intensity and different

methods of delivery including the Inter-

net This stepped care approach will be

tested in primary care offices The con-

cept was detailed in a 2011 publication

by Mack and Rybarczyk

Although there are less than two hun-

dred clinical psychologists who are ex-

perts and researchers in CBT for insom-

nia a remarkable number of them are

VCU clinical psychology alumni In addi-

tion to Edinger and Rybarczyk Jason

Ong PhD (rsquo04 clinical program) is

board certified in behavioral sleep medi-

cine and is a prominent insomnia re-

searcher at Rush University Medical Cen-

ter in Chicago Don Townsend PhD

(rsquo99 clinical program) is a board certified

sleep clinician at the Fairview Sleep Cen-

ter in Minnesota and Kevin Smith PhD

(rsquo04 clinical program) is an assistant pro-

fessor of pediatrics at the University of

Missouri-Kansas City and is board certi-

fied in behavioral sleep medicine VCU

alumni are likely to have an even larger

impact on the growing field of behavioral

sleep medicine in the future as all four

of the recent graduates who conducted

the research

described

above are con-

tinuing to work

in this field

VCU faculty contributors to the studies de-scribed above include Drs Steve Danish David Leszczyszyn John Lynch (MS lsquo86 PhD lsquo89) Tim Nay and Scott Vra-na

Bruce Rybarczyk PhD and Denise Borden MD discuss a patientrsquos care in VCUrsquos Primary Care Clinic

Over the past year the news has been filled with ongoing

legislative disputes in Washington Terms like fiscal cliff

debt ceiling and sequestration have become part of our vo-

cabulary With myriad predictions being made it can be

hard to decipher what impact recent government actions

could have here in our department

There are several recent government actions that could sub-

stantially influence research activity in Psychology The

first is known as sequestration or the ldquofiscal cliffrdquo This

was a result of the Budget Control Act of 2011 which im-

posed across-the-board cuts to defense and discretionary

programs in the event that Congress could not reach a com-

promise on the federal budget The Act was supposed to

motivate Congress to reach a solution as no one wanted or

expected to see sequestration implemented Unfortunately

Congress failed to reach a compromise and sequestration

went into effect on March 1 2013

Sequestration resulted in substantial budget cuts to our ma-

jor federal funders The National Institutes for Health Psy-

chologyrsquos largest funding source lost 5 of its total budget

amounting to $155 billion Since these were across-the-

board cuts no area of health research was spared As a

result we have received fewer new awards and our contin-

uing awards have been reduced VCU President Michael

Rao estimated in February that VCUrsquos grant portfolio could

see reductions of $12-$21 million by September 2013 as a

direct result of sequestration Luckily we have not seen

this dire outcome just yetmdashVCUrsquos grant award portfolio

showed excellent performance in fiscal year 2013mdashbut that

does not mean that effects will not be felt later

For example at the department level fewer new grant

awards could result in a lack of replacement funding for

projects slated to end soon Individuals paid from those

projects would likely be laid off if no source of new fund-

ing could be found Reduced budgets for continuing pro-

jects could result in cuts to the number of people a given

project could support Sequestration will also make it hard-

er for new faculty to get their first grants as grant programs

become increasingly competitive This in turn makes it

harder for them to support graduate students and postdoc-

toral associates There could also be an impact on federally

funded fellowships scholarships and student aid The fed-

eral work-study program for example could lose up to $50

million dollars as a result of sequestration That represents

a substantial number of students who would have to find

other sources of income

As if that were not enough sequestration is only one piece

of the puzzle Other government actions have the potential

to compound the impacts One such action is the Afforda-

ble Care Act otherwise known as ldquoObamacarerdquo Aside

from the obvious controversy the ACA has had some unin-

tended consequences In Virginia it resulted in the Man-

power Control Act or the 29-Hour Rule This law limits

part-time and hourly employees to a total of 29 hours per

week This has resulted in loss of income for students and

other part-time employees some of whom have historically

held multiple jobs at the university Multiple university

jobs are no longer allowed under the Manpower Control

Act In addition since the rule applies to adjunct faculty

too it has resulted in a reduction in the number of credit

hours they can teach This means an additional burden on

the already overloaded full-time faculty who must make up

The Impact of Recent US Government Actions on the

Departmentrsquos Research Mission

Brigette S Pfister MHRD CRA

Page 9

the shortfall in credit hours taught in addition to their ex-

isting responsibilitiesmdashlike grant writing This could fur-

ther depress our new award activity over the next few

years

The recent government shutdown adds another dimension

of complexity The government shutdown was brought

about by circumstances similar to those of sequestration

Once again legislators needed to compromise on the feder-

al budget in order to avert disaster This time the point of

contention was the Affordable Care Act Republicans

wanted to defund the ACA as a condition of passing the

Continuing Resolution that would keep the government

operational Democrats refused to approve any bill that

attempted to defund or otherwise nullify the ACA Once

again no compromise was reached and the government

shutdown took effect on October 1 2013

Immediately many federal systems were taken of-

fline We could not submit new proposals progress reports

or even establish new accounts Awards already delayed

and reduced by sequestration stopped altogether for the

duration of the shutdown Though there is widespread

conjecture on the subject no one really knows what the

long term impact will be on university research

During the shutdown work on existing projects was al-

lowed to continue provided that funding had already been

made available However we were unable to draw down

funds from the federal government In other words if we

didnrsquot already have it then we couldnrsquot spend it If the

shutdown had gone on longer even existing projects would

have probably had to lay off grant funded personnel and in

some cases completely stop work Also the government

doesnrsquot process passports and visas during the shutdown

so projects that depend on foreign travel were held up con-

siderably

The situation could worsen if Congress fails to devise a

workable long-term solution when the current debt ceiling

expires on February 7 If there is failure to compromise

the United States could default on our national debt There

is no clear picture of what the impacts of that would be but

we know they would not be positive

Since our overall grant portfolio at VCU did not appear to

suffer in fiscal year 2013 it might be tempting to disregard

some of the more dire warnings However it is important

to recognize that incoming awards are based on proposals

submitted in fiscal year 2012 or earlier so many of those

funding decisions were made prior to the most current cri-

sis We probably wont see the true impact of all of the

above until fiscal year 2014 or thereafter At minimum

the cessation of all proposal activity during the shutdown

will result in delayed resumption of award activity in addi-

tion to the delays and budget cuts already happening be-

cause of sequestration This will likely cause our total

awarded dollars to decrease over the next few years

Overall the impact on VCU research may not be disas-

trous but at the department level grant projects and the

individuals working on those projects could suffer signifi-

cant impact from the cumulative effects

Brigette S Pfister is director of sponsored programs for the

College of Humanities and Sciences at VCU

Dome United States Capitol Washington DC

Architect of the Capitol

Adriana Rodriguez graduated from the

University of California Berkeley in 2008

with a Bachelor of Arts in psychology and

a minor in ethnic studies Following grad-

uation Rodriguez obtained a research as-

sistant position with Bruce Chorpita

PhD at UCLA helping to advance the

effectiveness of mental health treatment

for children and adolescents Her work

with Chorpita further solidified her aspira-

tion to pursue a doctoral degree in clinical

psychology working specifically with racial

andor ethnic minority youth

Rodriguez joined the Michael Southam-

Gerow PhD research laboratory as a

doctoral student in clinical psychology in

the fall of 2010 When asked why Rodri-

guez decided to attend VCU she stated

that she felt inspired and motivated by the

energy and innovation that Southam-

Gerow brings to the field of psychology

ldquoIt was the best decision I could have

maderdquo

In reflecting on her experience at VCU

Rodriguez is struck by how collaborative

the department in general and her lab in

particular are Her research interests lie

broadly in the dissemination and imple-

mentation of mental health treatment for

children and adolescents She is also in-

terested in cultural and linguistic adapta-

tions of assessments to minority popula-

tions in real-world clinic settings Recent-

ly Rodriguez was able to collaborate with

Rosalie Corona PhD of the clinical psy-

chology program whose work focuses on

health promotion and risk reduction

among ethnic minority populations In

working with Latina college students Ro-

driguez notes ldquoI understand the difficul-

ties that this population is facing from a

policy perspective and also through my

personal experiencehellip I was that kid who

didnrsquot have enough money for the bus

farerdquo

Born to a working-class Mexican family

Rodriguez is the first to receive a college

education let alone pursue a graduate

degree Her work is driven in part by a

desire to empower her family and culture

while forging her own identity

When asked about career aspirations she

responds ldquoI want to keep goinghellip go as far

as I canrdquo Rodriguez is molding herself for

a research position in academia where she

would ideally like to serve at the public

policy level of mental health treatment

dissemination and implementation

In her spare time she enjoys running long

distances around Richmondrsquos Byrd Park

and Brownrsquos Island She also spends time

drawing particularly individuals with pro-

nounced facial expressions Rodriguez

jokes that this interest probably stems

from all the time she has spent coding vid-

eotapes in the Southam-Gerow lab

Graduate Student Spotlight

Adriana Rodriguez MS Clinical Psychology program

The Global Bridges Project is a community engaged research pro-ject directed by Maghboeba Mosavel PhD of VCUrsquos Department of Social and Behavioral Health School of Medicine This summer Mosavel led a small team of six students to the University of Kwa-Zulu-Natalmdasha VCU international partner universitymdashin Durban South Africa to conduct community engaged research in the Ken-neth Gardens public housing community in Durban Jasmine Abrams and Morgan Maxwell were two of those students A third student Carrie Miller is a second year master of public health student who has previously worked for the Department of Psychol-ogy as project coordinator for Clarissa Holmes PhD Abrams and Maxwell chronicled their work in Durban on this blog httpbuilding-global-bridgesblogspotcom Itrsquos a great read

Submitted by Annie Rabinovitz doctoral

student in the clinical psychology program

Abrams Maxwell

Page 9

the shortfall in credit hours taught in addition to their ex-

isting responsibilitiesmdashlike grant writing This could fur-

ther depress our new award activity over the next few

years

The recent government shutdown adds another dimension

of complexity The government shutdown was brought

about by circumstances similar to those of sequestration

Once again legislators needed to compromise on the feder-

al budget in order to avert disaster This time the point of

contention was the Affordable Care Act Republicans

wanted to defund the ACA as a condition of passing the

Continuing Resolution that would keep the government

operational Democrats refused to approve any bill that

attempted to defund or otherwise nullify the ACA Once

again no compromise was reached and the government

shutdown took effect on October 1 2013

Immediately many federal systems were taken of-

fline We could not submit new proposals progress reports

or even establish new accounts Awards already delayed

and reduced by sequestration stopped altogether for the

duration of the shutdown Though there is widespread

conjecture on the subject no one really knows what the

long term impact will be on university research

During the shutdown work on existing projects was al-

lowed to continue provided that funding had already been

made available However we were unable to draw down

funds from the federal government In other words if we

didnrsquot already have it then we couldnrsquot spend it If the

shutdown had gone on longer even existing projects would

have probably had to lay off grant funded personnel and in

some cases completely stop work Also the government

doesnrsquot process passports and visas during the shutdown

so projects that depend on foreign travel were held up con-

siderably

The situation could worsen if Congress fails to devise a

workable long-term solution when the current debt ceiling

expires on February 7 If there is failure to compromise

the United States could default on our national debt There

is no clear picture of what the impacts of that would be but

we know they would not be positive

Since our overall grant portfolio at VCU did not appear to

suffer in fiscal year 2013 it might be tempting to disregard

some of the more dire warnings However it is important

to recognize that incoming awards are based on proposals

submitted in fiscal year 2012 or earlier so many of those

funding decisions were made prior to the most current cri-

sis We probably wont see the true impact of all of the

above until fiscal year 2014 or thereafter At minimum

the cessation of all proposal activity during the shutdown

will result in delayed resumption of award activity in addi-

tion to the delays and budget cuts already happening be-

cause of sequestration This will likely cause our total

awarded dollars to decrease over the next few years

Overall the impact on VCU research may not be disas-

trous but at the department level grant projects and the

individuals working on those projects could suffer signifi-

cant impact from the cumulative effects

Brigette S Pfister is director of sponsored programs for the

College of Humanities and Sciences at VCU

Dome United States Capitol Washington DC

Architect of the Capitol

Adriana Rodriguez graduated from the

University of California Berkeley in 2008

with a Bachelor of Arts in psychology and

a minor in ethnic studies Following grad-

uation Rodriguez obtained a research as-

sistant position with Bruce Chorpita

PhD at UCLA helping to advance the

effectiveness of mental health treatment

for children and adolescents Her work

with Chorpita further solidified her aspira-

tion to pursue a doctoral degree in clinical

psychology working specifically with racial

andor ethnic minority youth

Rodriguez joined the Michael Southam-

Gerow PhD research laboratory as a

doctoral student in clinical psychology in

the fall of 2010 When asked why Rodri-

guez decided to attend VCU she stated

that she felt inspired and motivated by the

energy and innovation that Southam-

Gerow brings to the field of psychology

ldquoIt was the best decision I could have

maderdquo

In reflecting on her experience at VCU

Rodriguez is struck by how collaborative

the department in general and her lab in

particular are Her research interests lie

broadly in the dissemination and imple-

mentation of mental health treatment for

children and adolescents She is also in-

terested in cultural and linguistic adapta-

tions of assessments to minority popula-

tions in real-world clinic settings Recent-

ly Rodriguez was able to collaborate with

Rosalie Corona PhD of the clinical psy-

chology program whose work focuses on

health promotion and risk reduction

among ethnic minority populations In

working with Latina college students Ro-

driguez notes ldquoI understand the difficul-

ties that this population is facing from a

policy perspective and also through my

personal experiencehellip I was that kid who

didnrsquot have enough money for the bus

farerdquo

Born to a working-class Mexican family

Rodriguez is the first to receive a college

education let alone pursue a graduate

degree Her work is driven in part by a

desire to empower her family and culture

while forging her own identity

When asked about career aspirations she

responds ldquoI want to keep goinghellip go as far

as I canrdquo Rodriguez is molding herself for

a research position in academia where she

would ideally like to serve at the public

policy level of mental health treatment

dissemination and implementation

In her spare time she enjoys running long

distances around Richmondrsquos Byrd Park

and Brownrsquos Island She also spends time

drawing particularly individuals with pro-

nounced facial expressions Rodriguez

jokes that this interest probably stems

from all the time she has spent coding vid-

eotapes in the Southam-Gerow lab

Graduate Student Spotlight

Adriana Rodriguez MS Clinical Psychology program

The Global Bridges Project is a community engaged research pro-ject directed by Maghboeba Mosavel PhD of VCUrsquos Department of Social and Behavioral Health School of Medicine This summer Mosavel led a small team of six students to the University of Kwa-Zulu-Natalmdasha VCU international partner universitymdashin Durban South Africa to conduct community engaged research in the Ken-neth Gardens public housing community in Durban Jasmine Abrams and Morgan Maxwell were two of those students A third student Carrie Miller is a second year master of public health student who has previously worked for the Department of Psychol-ogy as project coordinator for Clarissa Holmes PhD Abrams and Maxwell chronicled their work in Durban on this blog httpbuilding-global-bridgesblogspotcom Itrsquos a great read

Submitted by Annie Rabinovitz doctoral

student in the clinical psychology program

Abrams Maxwell

Adriana Rodriguez graduated from the

University of California Berkeley in 2008

with a Bachelor of Arts in psychology and

a minor in ethnic studies Following grad-

uation Rodriguez obtained a research as-

sistant position with Bruce Chorpita

PhD at UCLA helping to advance the

effectiveness of mental health treatment

for children and adolescents Her work

with Chorpita further solidified her aspira-

tion to pursue a doctoral degree in clinical

psychology working specifically with racial

andor ethnic minority youth

Rodriguez joined the Michael Southam-

Gerow PhD research laboratory as a

doctoral student in clinical psychology in

the fall of 2010 When asked why Rodri-

guez decided to attend VCU she stated

that she felt inspired and motivated by the

energy and innovation that Southam-

Gerow brings to the field of psychology

ldquoIt was the best decision I could have

maderdquo

In reflecting on her experience at VCU

Rodriguez is struck by how collaborative

the department in general and her lab in

particular are Her research interests lie

broadly in the dissemination and imple-

mentation of mental health treatment for

children and adolescents She is also in-

terested in cultural and linguistic adapta-

tions of assessments to minority popula-

tions in real-world clinic settings Recent-

ly Rodriguez was able to collaborate with

Rosalie Corona PhD of the clinical psy-

chology program whose work focuses on

health promotion and risk reduction

among ethnic minority populations In

working with Latina college students Ro-

driguez notes ldquoI understand the difficul-

ties that this population is facing from a

policy perspective and also through my

personal experiencehellip I was that kid who

didnrsquot have enough money for the bus

farerdquo

Born to a working-class Mexican family

Rodriguez is the first to receive a college

education let alone pursue a graduate

degree Her work is driven in part by a

desire to empower her family and culture

while forging her own identity

When asked about career aspirations she

responds ldquoI want to keep goinghellip go as far

as I canrdquo Rodriguez is molding herself for

a research position in academia where she

would ideally like to serve at the public

policy level of mental health treatment

dissemination and implementation

In her spare time she enjoys running long

distances around Richmondrsquos Byrd Park

and Brownrsquos Island She also spends time

drawing particularly individuals with pro-

nounced facial expressions Rodriguez

jokes that this interest probably stems

from all the time she has spent coding vid-

eotapes in the Southam-Gerow lab

Graduate Student Spotlight

Adriana Rodriguez MS Clinical Psychology program

The Global Bridges Project is a community engaged research pro-ject directed by Maghboeba Mosavel PhD of VCUrsquos Department of Social and Behavioral Health School of Medicine This summer Mosavel led a small team of six students to the University of Kwa-Zulu-Natalmdasha VCU international partner universitymdashin Durban South Africa to conduct community engaged research in the Ken-neth Gardens public housing community in Durban Jasmine Abrams and Morgan Maxwell were two of those students A third student Carrie Miller is a second year master of public health student who has previously worked for the Department of Psychol-ogy as project coordinator for Clarissa Holmes PhD Abrams and Maxwell chronicled their work in Durban on this blog httpbuilding-global-bridgesblogspotcom Itrsquos a great read

Submitted by Annie Rabinovitz doctoral

student in the clinical psychology program

Abrams Maxwell

Linda A Mensah-Etsi (see front cover) a

junior psychology major is a recent recipi-

ent of the Melvin V Lubman Scholarship

in Psychology The Melvin V Lubman

Scholarship was established by Mrs Golde

Lubman Feldman to honor her husbandrsquos

dedication and service as a professor in

the Department of Psychology Mensah-

Etsi reports that the scholarship will help

her greatly with her tuition and fees

When asked why she chose psychology as

a major Mensah-Etsi said that she is curi-

ous about many things and psychology

was the one subject that kept her interest

piqued at all times She said ldquoI like how I

can always be surprised by all the different

topics covered under psychology alonerdquo

Surely her constant interest is in part due

to her two ldquoall-time favoriterdquo classesmdash

Statistical Applications in the Psychology

Field with Linda Zyzniewski PhD and

Abnormal Psychology with adjunct profes-

sor Jessica Brown Mensah-Etsi picked

these as her favorites because she likes

the mathematical focus of statistics and

admitted to having an ldquoobsessionrdquo with

mental illnesses

Continuing her love for the subject Men-

sah-Etsi has decided to further her skills by

applying for several internships through-

out the department After narrowing

down her choices for internships this fall

from three options she is excited to have

begun her new internship at VCUrsquos Clark

Hill Institute for Positive Youth

Development She says she chose this op-

portunity because ldquonot only is it in the

field in which I am currently interested

the internship will give me the opportunity

to learn a valuable coding skill that I might

eventually need to userdquo

A former volunteer elementary school

teachers aide she has a clear interest in

working with children and teens and

would like to pursue another volunteer

opportunity with the organization Stop

Child Abuse Now here in Richmond

With time on her side Mensah-Etsi cer-

tainly has plenty of opportunities to

change her career path She hopes she

can get a job with her degree or perhaps

continue on to graduate school and even

sees a career in research as a possibility

Ultimately though she is interested in

counseling young children or teens who

have experienced trauma Her goal is to

help kids ldquounderstand that at least one

person is on their side even if it seems that

they have to deal with it on their ownrdquo

One of the many interesting aspects of

this junior is that she is only 18 years old

She was a mere 16 years of age when she

first enrolled at VCU and proves daily that

age has nothing to do with capacity for

success A very hard worker when asked

about her free time Mensah-Etsi says she

has been very preoccupied with school-

work as well as with working two jobs

However she says working out at the gym

has been very close to a hobby for her

lately

When shersquos not in Richmond Mensah-Etsi

lives in Alexandria with her family We

asked her why she chose to settle in Rich-

mond and attend VCU and she jokingly

said it is because her two favorite colors

are black and yellow ldquoOn a serious noterdquo

she stated ldquoI just really fell in love with

the city when I visited so there was no

doubt in my mind that I wanted to attend

VCU I grew up in a city so this felt close

to homerdquo

A native of Togo in West Africa Mensah-

Etsi moved to the US in 2007 shortly be-

fore she turned 13 She says it wasnrsquot a

hard transition for her as she already

spoke French and Ewe (an ethnic lan-

guage) so English was quite easy to learn

by comparison She indeed misses the

spicy foods of Togo but also says that

while other people in Richmond may be

annoyed by the street sounds lights and

crooked sidewalks it makes her feel right

at home

Submitted by Megan Sutter doctoral stu-

dent in the health psychology program

Undergraduate Student Spotlight

Linda A Mensah-Etsi Class of lsquo15

Congratulations to David Rockman class of 2013 for receiving the Benjamin A Gilman Scholarship Rockman will receive $5000 to study in one country from four weeks to one academic year Named after retired Congressman Benjamin A Gilman from New York the programrsquos goal is to diversify the kinds of students who study abroad and the countries and regions where they go

This summer Paul Perrin PhD led six

VCU psychology doctoral students on a

month-long expedition to the University of

Deusto in Bilbao Spain to participate in a

research training program on racialethnic

disparities in health The trip was due in

large part to Perrinrsquos ongoing collabora-

tion with Juan Carlos Arango-Lasprilla

PhD a research professor in the Universi-

ty of Deustorsquos Department of Psychology

and former faculty member in VCUrsquos De-

partment of Physical Medicine and Reha-

bilitation Perrin and Arango-Lasprilla

spent the past year planning and coordi-

nating this unique opportunity for stu-

dents who worked with them on various

research projects meeting and collabo-

rating with researchers from all over the

world Among the group of 20 interna-

tional researchers contributing to and par-

ticipating in this training program were

psychology doctoral students Gillian Lei-

bach and Stephen Trapp of the counseling

program Sarah Doyle of the developmen-

tal program Shaina Gulin of the clinical

program and Alejandra Morlett Paredes

and Megan Sutter of the health program

The students worked with a team of inter-

national researchers spanning ten differ-

ent countries The purpose of the training

program was to teach students to conduct

health disparities research in an interna-

tional context and build collaborative

teams at various universities and rehabili-

tation facilities The specific focus was the

psychosocial functioning of individuals

from understudied global regions with

neurological conditions such as traumatic

brain injury dementia spinal cord injury

and multiple sclerosis Unpaid family care-

givers often provide the majority of the

informal care to individuals with these

conditions yet have very few resources in

order to meet their family and caregiving

needs Therefore a major goal of these

projects was to study the factors related

to mental and physical health of caregiv-

ers and to create culturally sensitive

health care recommendations for these

regions The team is accumulating evi-

dence for interventions that will improve

the quality of informal care for individuals

with neurological conditions in regions

such as Latin America where much of this

research is being conducted

Each of the VCU doctoral students had the

opportunity to take the lead on projects

studying the potential protective and risk

factors associated with caregiver mental

and physical health in either older adults

with dementia or in children with spinal

cord injuries and disorders They were

also able to propose potential future pro-

jects with existing data or completely new

data collections based in various under-

studied global regions such as in Neiva

Colombia Auckland New Zealand Copen-

hagen Denmark and Mexico City Mexico

among many others Perrin and the team

of international researchers offered a

number of seminars on advanced research

methods and statistics such as factor

analysis structural equation modeling

qualitative research methods meta-

analysis neuroimaging and scientific man-

uscript preparation

The

group

was able

to take

part in

many

cultural

experi-

ences

and enjoyed exploring the city of Bilbao

and the surrounding countryside and

beaches The researchers and students

spent most of their time in the countryrsquos

Basque region where they were able to

visit the iconic Guggenheim Museum of

modern and contemporary art innumera-

ble pintxo restaurants (a specialty of this

region similar to tapas) and a celebration

of Bilbaorsquos 713th anniversary

The group also traveled to many places

around the country including Bermeo and

San Sebastiaacuten which are located on the

Northern coast of Spain near the border of

France In Bermeo they made a trek to

San Juan de Gaztelugatxe a hermitage

that is accessed by hiking down a narrow

trail crossing a stone bridge and walking

up approximately 230 steps The group

felt the hike was definitely worth the

effort though andmdashas a legend in-

structsmdashgot to the peak rang a bell three

times and made three wishes Together

many of the researchers and students also

took a day trip to San Sebastiaacuten a coastal

town that rests on the Bay of Biscay fa-

mous for its renowned Basque food and

of course its shoreline They also got the

chance to venture to southern France and

Barcelona

Spotlight on International Research and Learning

Paul Perrin PhD

Submitted by Megan Sutter doctoral student

in the health psychology program

ldquoA major goal of these

projects was to study the

factors related to mental

and physical health of

caregivers and to create

culturally sensitive health

care recommendations for

these regionsrdquo

ldquoI had a wonderful experience in Bilbao When I started graduate

school I certainly did not expect I would get to travel abroad to do

research It was a really unique opportunity getting to meet and work with well-known researchers from around the world Bilbao

is beautiful and I did quite a bit of exploring in and around the city

learning the areas rich cultural customs and history It is a good

feeling to know that our research has the potential to help im-prove the quality of life of patients with neurological conditions

and their caregiversrdquo

Shaina Gulin clinical psychology doctoral student

Back row [L to R] Javier Pentildea

(Spain) Hinemoa Elder (New Zea-

land) Nada Andelic (Norway)

Alfonso Caracuel (Spain) Hugo

Senra (Portugal) Stephen Trapp

(USA) Ivan Panyavin (Spain)

Anne Norup (Denmark) Charles

Hallmark (USA) Alejandra Morlett

(USA) Alexander Moreno

(Canada) Rociacuteo Del Pino Saacuteez

(Spain) Clara Isabel Gonzaacutelez

Berdugo (Spain) Maria Cristina

Quijano (Colombia) Yaneth Rodri-

guez (Mexico)

Front row [L to R] Juan Carlos

Arango-Lasprilla (Spain) Carlos de

los Reyes (Colombia) Megan

Sutter (USA) Sarah Doyle (USA)

Gillian Leibach (USA) Shaina Gulin

(USA) Naroa Ibarretxe (Spain)

Paul Perrin (USA)

Kristin Heron PhD from Penn State University visited the de-

partment early in the fall semester Heron is associate director

of the Dynamic Real-time Ecological Ambulatory Methodologies

Initiative at Penn States Survey Research Center In this posi-

tion she uses ecological momentary assessment and ecological

momentary intervention in her research focused on a range of

clinical health topics including eating behaviors body image

physical activity promotion and smoking cessation Ecological

momentary assessment broadly refers to the use of assess-

ments (eg questionnaires) that capture information about

people as they go about their daily lives in their natural environ-

ment (eg home) Ecological momentary intervention refers to

interventions or treat-

ments that are delivered

to individuals as they go

about their daily lives

Heron spent time training

students in Dr Robin

Everharts research lab on

ecological momentary

assessment for a pediatric

asthma study that will

allow families to use

smart phones as they re-

port on their childs asth-

ma care in real time

Shigehiro Oishi PhD

professor of psychology

at the University of Vir-

ginia presented a talk to

the department in Sep-

tember titled ldquoThe Psy-

chological Wealth of

Nationsrdquo

Here is the abstract

What is a good society

Philosophers from Plato to Bentham have argued that a good

society is a happy society―namely a society in which most citi-

zens are happy and free from fear Since the publication of

ldquoThe Wealth of Nationsrdquo by Adam Smith in 1776 most econo-

mists have implicitly assumed that a happy society is a material-

ly wealthy society Thus gross national product and related

indices became the most popular indicators of the well-being of

nations from the 1950rsquos to date Recently however prominent

economists as well as political scientists sociologists and psy-

chologists have shown that a happy society is not only a materi-

ally wealthy society but also a society in which citizens can trust

one another have a sense of freedom and have close social re-

lationships The inquiry into the psychological wealth of na-

tions or the subjective well-being of nations helps answer a

fundamental question in philosophy and social sciences for mil-

lennia lsquolsquoWhat is a good societyrsquo

Shigehiro Oishi PhD

Kristin Heron PhD

Kristin Heron PhD from Penn State University visited the de-

partment early in the fall semester Heron is associate director

of the Dynamic Real-time Ecological Ambulatory Methodologies

Initiative at Penn States Survey Research Center In this posi-

tion she uses ecological momentary assessment and ecological

momentary intervention in her research focused on a range of

clinical health topics including eating behaviors body image

physical activity promotion and smoking cessation Ecological

momentary assessment broadly refers to the use of assess-

ments (eg questionnaires) that capture information about

people as they go about their daily lives in their natural environ-

ment (eg home) Ecological momentary intervention refers to

interventions or treat-

ments that are delivered

to individuals as they go

about their daily lives

Heron spent time training

students in Dr Robin

Everharts research lab on

ecological momentary

assessment for a pediatric

asthma study that will

allow families to use

smart phones as they re-

port on their childs asth-

ma care in real time

Shigehiro Oishi PhD

professor of psychology

at the University of Vir-

ginia presented a talk to

the department in Sep-

tember titled ldquoThe Psy-

chological Wealth of

Nationsrdquo

Here is the abstract

What is a good society

Philosophers from Plato to Bentham have argued that a good

society is a happy society―namely a society in which most citi-

zens are happy and free from fear Since the publication of

ldquoThe Wealth of Nationsrdquo by Adam Smith in 1776 most econo-

mists have implicitly assumed that a happy society is a material-

ly wealthy society Thus gross national product and related

indices became the most popular indicators of the well-being of

nations from the 1950rsquos to date Recently however prominent

economists as well as political scientists sociologists and psy-

chologists have shown that a happy society is not only a materi-

ally wealthy society but also a society in which citizens can trust

one another have a sense of freedom and have close social re-

lationships The inquiry into the psychological wealth of na-

tions or the subjective well-being of nations helps answer a

fundamental question in philosophy and social sciences for mil-

lennia lsquolsquoWhat is a good societyrsquo

Shigehiro Oishi PhD

Kristin Heron PhD

Doctor of Philosophy

Benita Belvet

Jessica Brown

Suzzette Chopin

Lillian Christon Arnold

Ashley Dibble

Rebecca Hubbard

David Jennings

Nichole Kelly

Laurin Mack

Priscilla Powell

Molly Neff

Laura Slosky

Denicia Titchner

Stephanie Wolf

Bachelor of Science

Vanessa Agyeman

Hasen Alghamdi

Latessa Allums

Michael Amon

Sonja Ayers

Sweska Basnet

Kirstie Breland

Erica Brown

Ashley Callis

Jakwame Carey

Megan Cavanagh

Grace Charriez

Courtney Christian

Alicia Cook

Aldijana Cordic

Jonathan Cox

Mary Dean

Anne Fishback

Sherona Gardner

Andrew Gibbs

Myra Glorioso

Logan Gravitt

Lateisha Greene

Katelyn Gruber

Jamila Harris

Tiquana Hill

James Hovermale

Savonne Howard

Marshall Hunter

Kelley Hurdle

Arturo Iglesias

Lucas Keckley

Hira Khalid

Jamison Lancaster

Dana Larson

Russ Lawrence

Michele Mascatello

Rachel Mason

Tiffany Mayo

Natasha McCoy

Alexandra McDougall

Brandie Mckenzie

Xue Ju Meyer

Scott Misturini

Lindsay Mitchiner

Lea Moisa

Brooke Myers

Krislee Nelson

Paul Norton

Sierre Norton

Kristin Oravetz

Stephen Page

Ryan Pannell

Kevin Papile

Natalie Parks

Krishna Patel

Justin Payne

James Peacock

Quy Phan

Cecilia Presseau

Nathalie Rieder

Kylessia Ross

Faryal Shahid

Katelyn Sisk

Angel Slach

Indira Smajlagic

Natalie Taylor

Adrienne Tetreault

Brandon Tolbert

Tierraney Truss

James Vosti

Brenda Wei

Patrick Wiley

Alaysia Williams

Lyndsay Wilshaw

Christopher Wilson

Virginia Commonwealth University is an equal opportunity affirmative action university providing access to

education and employment without regard to age race color national origin gender religion sexual

orientation veteranrsquos status political affiliation or disability

College of Humanities and Sciences

Department of Psychology

806 W Franklin St

PO Box 842018

Richmond VA 23284-2018

Phone 804-828-1193

Fax 804-828-2237

Web address wwwpsychologyvcuedu

Newsmagazine comments Jennifer Elswick jlelswickvcuedu

Virginia Commonwealth

University

Photo by Elijah Christman fiscal technician in the Department of Psychology

A few spirited Psychology undergraduate and graduate students gather in front of White House with assistant director of academic advising Katharine

Stoddard MEd NCC second row from bottom on far right and director of undergraduate studies Linda Zyniewski PhD third row from

bottom on far right

Virginia Commonwealth University is an equal opportunity affirmative action university providing access to

education and employment without regard to age race color national origin gender religion sexual

orientation veteranrsquos status political affiliation or disability

College of Humanities and Sciences

Department of Psychology

806 W Franklin St

PO Box 842018

Richmond VA 23284-2018

Phone 804-828-1193

Fax 804-828-2237

Web address wwwpsychologyvcuedu

Newsmagazine comments Jennifer Elswick jlelswickvcuedu

Virginia Commonwealth

University

Photo by Elijah Christman fiscal technician in the Department of Psychology

A few spirited Psychology undergraduate and graduate students gather in front of White House with assistant director of academic advising Katharine

Stoddard MEd NCC second row from bottom on far right and director of undergraduate studies Linda Zyniewski PhD third row from

bottom on far right