Jeronima (Niimo) Nix (HESA Class of 2017) and Yihra Peralta (HESA Class of 2017) presented at the 13th annual New England Latinx Student Leadership Conference at Hampshire College. This year’s theme for the conference was “#DecolonizeLatinx.”

Nix and Peralta’s workshop was titled, “Navigating White Spaces: Self-Care & Success.” Additional information about other presenters, presentation, and the history of the conference itself can be found at the conference’s website: http://nelslc.com/.

Michael Thompkins and Ryan Baldassario, both members of the HESA Class of 2016, recently won the second-year graduate student Case Study Competition at the 2016 NASPA Annual Conference in Indianapolis, IN.

Competing against eight other teams of second-year graduate students from graduate preparation programs across the country, Michael and Ryan incorporated theory, research, national context, and practical solutions to address the various issues addressed in the case. Michael and Ryan joined the winners of the first-year case study competition to present their approach as an educational session at the NASPA Annual Conference.

Additional information about the Case Study Competition can be found on the NASPA website here: http://conference2016.naspa.org/engage/case-study-competition.

Dr. Milagros Castillo Montoya, Assistant Professor of Higher Education and Student Affairs in the Department of Educational Leadership has been selected as one of five national recipients of the 2016 Emerging Scholars Award by College Student Educators, International (ACPA).

ACPA notes, “the Emerging Scholars Program supports, encourages, and honors early-career individuals who are emerging as contributors to student affairs and higher education scholarship and who are pursuing research initiatives congruent with the mission, interests, and strategic goals of ACPA.” This is one of the ACPA’s major awards and will be presented to Dr. Castillo-Montoya on March 6, 2016 at its annual convention in Montreal, Canada. The award will support Dr. Castillo-Montoya’s research on the development of inclusive practices for teaching diverse college students.

Dr. Blanca Rincón and Dr. Justin Evanovich were awarded a $5,000 Provost’s Teaching Innovation Grant for the UNIV 1820 Intergroup Dialogue on Race course they will be co-developing and co-teaching this fall. The Provost’s Teaching Innovation Mini Grant Competition is designed to support faculty innovation around teaching and student learning.

While both faculty members are housed within the Department of Educational leadership, Dr. Rincón is an assistant professor for the HESA program while Dr. Evanovich is an assistant clinical professor for the Sports Management program.

Dr. Blanca Rincón will join nine faculty across the University of Connecticut as a 2016 Service Learning Faculty Fellow. The Service Learning Faculty Fellows program offered by the Office of Public Engagement recognizes faculty engaged in the pedagogy of service learning, a high-impact pedagogy that aims to bridge the needs of communities with active learning opportunities for students. Dr. Rincón teaches Assessment, Evaluation, and Research in Student Affairs, a service learning course where students work on a year-long assessment project for a UConn office or program (Learn more here: http://hesa.uconn.edu/edlr-5102-5103-review/), and is in the process of developing a new course for the Fall 2016 semester, Access to Higher Education.

Dr. Milagros Castillo-Montoya will serve as a panelist for the Consortium on High Achievement and Success (CHAS) Winter Representatives Meeting. Dr. Castillo-Montoya will work with fellow panelists to discuss topics revolving the meeting’s theme, “Diversity and Demographic Trends: Impacts on Access, Persistence, and Inclusion Initiatives at Selective Liberal Arts Colleges.”

The CHAS Winter Representatives Meeting will be held January 26-27, 2016 at Trinity College in Hartford, CT. If interested in attending the meetings or to learn more, please contact chas@trincoll.edu or call (860) 297-4173.

View the program flyer here.

On Thursday, January 14, Dr. Milagros Castillo-Montoya will serve as a panelist for a discussion focusing on diversity in teaching and learning. This panel is being hosted by a another program housed in the Department of Educational Leadership, Husky Sport, and will be followed by breakout sessions as well. Dr. Castillo-Montoya will be joined by Dr. Erica Fernandez, Dr. Erik Hines, and Dr. Tamika La Salle. Dr. Jennifer McGarry, chair of the Educational Leadership department, will moderate the panel.

A detailed breakdown of the event can be found at the following link: Diversity in Teaching and Learning Panel

Information about RSVP instructions can be found using this form.

As part of the Public Discourse Project, overseen by the Humanities Institute in the University of Connecticut’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, faculty across the university have been awarded grants to conduct research aimed at exploring new means to create meaningful public discourse in our country’s currently divisive culture.

One HESA faculty member, Dr. Milagros Castillo-Montoya, will be the principle investigator for the following project:

Asset Assessment, Campus Collaboration, and Facilitator Professional Development for Intergroup Dialogue
An environmental assessment of programs in the Neag School of Education engaging students and staff in advancing dialogue on social justice, equity, and intergroup differences to better understand existing resources and to establish what gaps exist in professional development for facilitating dialogue across differences.

More details about the full list of projects included in the Public Discourse Project can be found here: http://today.uconn.edu/2015/12/research-projects-explore-meaningful-public-discourse/