Pierce to represent STEM interests at NSF sponsored program

Dr. Latoya Pierce, Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology and Behavioral Sciences, will represent Louisiana Tech University at a national LiY Workshop in Seattle, WA.  LiY stands for Lead-it-Yourself and is an NSF sponsored program developed by the University of Washington's ADVANCE Center for Institutional Change.  This workshop is designed to help individuals and institutions who currently plan, or want to plan, organize, and run faculty workshops and have an interest in STEM faculty diversity and inclusion.  Dr. Pierce was selected from numerous applicants and will attend the LiY workshop on October 25, 2015.

For the past year, Dr. Pierce has served as a steering committee member for the ADVANCEing Faculty Lunch Series, a part of the ADVANCEing Faculty Program in the College of Engineering and Science at Louisiana Tech University.  The ADVANCEing Faculty Lunch Series committee consists of an interdisciplinary faculty group and Dr. Pierce was selected to represent the College of Education.  The function of this committee is to provide faculty members with an opportunity to network as well as a professional development lecture series including topics such as tenure, research, funding opportunities, service, and leadership.  From this endeavor, Dr. Pierce was encouraged to apply for the LiY workshop.  The acceptance of her application and workshop attendance will afford her the opportunity to disseminate information and resources to faculty and administrators at Louisiana Tech University.  ​

NASA Comes to Ruston, and The Ruston Daily Leader Spreads the Word!

The SciTEC Center in College of Education partnered with the Boys and Girls Club of North Central Louisiana this summer to provide a week of summer learning with the assistance of NASA leaders and educators. Thanks to Mrs. Julie Ricca from Stennis Space Center and Mrs. Heather Harold , SSI Director, for making this summer an amazing one! To learn more, check out the article in The Ruston Daily Leader linked below:

http://rustonleader.com/node/62486http://rustonleader.com/node/62486

Dr. lore dickey: Making a Difference on the National Stage

Dr. lore m. dickey, Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology & Behavioral Sciences, represented his department and the College of Education well as the co-chair of a task force of the  American Psychological Association (APA). The task force was charged with developing guidelines for psychologists who work with transgender or gender nonconforming (TGNC) people. In an early-morning text to his department chair, Dr. Donna Thomas, dickey wrote "The Guidelines are APA policy," a humble statement that doesn't nearly capture the time, effort, and devotion he dedicated to the task.

Dr. dickey and co-chair Dr. Anneliese Singh, Associate Professor from the University of Georgia's Department of Counseling and Human Development Services, learned that the “Guidelines for Psychological Practice with Transgender and Gender Nonconforming People” were adopted by APA’s Council of Representatives at its meeting August 5, during the APA's 123rd annual convention in Toronto, Canada. The guidelines fill a gap that was exposed by a 2009 APA survey, the results of which demonstrated less than 30 percent of psychologists and psychology graduate students surveyed understood many issues of concern for TGNC individuals. In addition to establishing protocols for psychological practice, the guidelines address research, education, and training. They provide a complementary resource for the APA's Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct.

Regarding the task force and its important work, Dr. dickey said, "The work of the guidelines task force is a culmination of over four years of effort to create some practice guidelines that address the need for affirming psychological practice with transgender and gender nonconforming clients. We hope that the work that we have created will be readily implemented by psychologists in every area of practice, be it clinical, teaching, research, or service, in an effort to help improve the quality of life for transgender people everywhere."

Back home at Louisiana Tech, the guidelines will immediately become a valuable resource for Counseling Psychology doctoral students in their Professional Issues and Ethics course, alongside other APA guidelines such as those related to working with girls and women; older adults; and lesbian, gay, and bisexual clients. Thank you, Dr. dickey, for leading the charge on this groundbreaking effort! 

CIL's Carrice Cummins Recieves the ILA 2015 Special Service Award

The International Literacy Association recently awarded the Special Service Award to Dr. Carrice L. Cummins, endowed professor in the Department of Curriculum, Instruction, and Leadership in the College of Education at Louisiana Tech University. The award is given "periodically for unusual and distinguished service to ILA" according to the ILA staff. Dr. Cummins is a former President of the ILA (formerly known as the International Reading Association) and a former member of the Board of Directors.Congratulations, Dr. Cummins on this well-deserved national honor!  To learn more about the organization and the award, you can visit the ILA site by clicking the following link: http://www.literacyworldwide.org/ . 

Marcus Cherry, Psychology Graduate Student, Recieves First Place for His Research Poster, "Personality and Coping Strategies as Predictors of Help-Seeking Attitudes among Military-Affilliated and Civilian Students"

Mr. Marcus Cherry and Co-Author Dr. Margaret Cochran  of Northwestern State University recently received an award for their research poster titled " Personality  and Coping Strategies as Predictors of Help-Seeking Attitudes among Military-Affiliated and Civilian Students."  Mr. Cherry is a student of Dr. lore dickey, faculty member in the college's Department of Psychology and Behavioral Sciences. The research included the analysis of survey data from over 280 participants. Content explored include personality and coping mechanisms. Additional information about the research and the award may be found by accessing the link below.

Psychology Times Volume 6

Kinesiology's Dr. David Szymanski Serves Little League Players and Leads the Boys to a World Series Title!

A team of 11 and 12 year old boys who played in the regular spring season of Dixie O Zone Baseball were selected as All Stars for the 2015 season and competed in some pretty exciting  post-season play. On Sunday, July 26, the team beat McComb, MS  with a 4 to 2 score and won the World Series Championship title! As one player's mom, Jessica Szymanski wrote, " There were so many exciting things that happened during that game...lots of hustling in the outfield, double plays in the infield, diving catches in the infield, great fielding by our, clutch hitting in the 4th and 5th innings and great pitching!! Our coaches and players deserved every bit of that excitement!! Of course, we parents loved every minute of it as well!! The team ran on the field and made a dog pile close to the mound! It was pure excitement!!!" 

The games were hosted in Hattiesburg, MS. Team members and coaches are listed below:

Ruston World Series Champions include Brandon Carter, Jordan Gilmore, Will Harris, Josh Miller, Dyllon Nimmers, Jacob Palacios, Dmitry Payne, Caleb Phillips, Kyle Russell, Dawson Szymanski, Landry Tucker and Lucas Wick. Coaches included the COE's own, Dr. David Szymanski,Gregg Phillips, Jamie Tucker,  and Jason Carter who are picturedwith the Championship trophy.

Congratulations, boys, on representing Ruston well! 

Psychology's Dr. Lore Dickey Recieves the 2015 Award for Significant Contribution to Social Justice and Advocacy

Dr. lore dickey has been selected as the 2015 recipient of the Significant Contribution to Social Justice and Advocacy Award. The award is presented by the Section for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Issues of the Society of Counseling Psychology. The award will be presented August 6th in Toronto, Canada at the APA Convention.Congratulations, Dr. Dickey!


Dr. Dickey's LATECH Webpage