President's Notes XIII.16 | April 25, 2024

I was delighted to speak at the Undergraduate Leadership Awards Ceremony where we recognized outstanding student leaders. From Pride Guides to RAs, each make incredible contributions to Regis, making it a better place for all of us. I was also proud to present the Student Employee of the Year award to Karleen Perez '25 from the Center for Global Connections. Director Megan Gibbons shared wonderful things about how she interacts well with so many students and is eager to share the knowledge she acquired while working in this role with her peers. 

We also celebrated the Honors Induction Ceremony on Tuesday evening. More than 100 students were inducted into a national honor society. Congratulations to three seniors were presented with the Maria Leonard Book Award: Olivia Alvino, Kristin Barrett, and Lilla Torontali. 

Honors students in ID-330 Contributing to the Common Good course created a project that aligns with their passion to help their communities. Students presented their work in the College Hall Foyer earlier this week for fellow students, faculty, and staff to enjoy. 

Here is a group shot with Honors Program Co-Director Marie Gabour in the forefront.

Students in the School of Health Sciences hosted a poster session earlier this week on campus. Seventy posters were presented by undergraduate and graduate students in exercise science, nuclear medicine, neuroscience, psychology, public health, social work, ABA, and occupational therapy. Thank you to everyone who attended and offered the students an opportunity to present their research or internship experience in a professional setting. 

I couldn't be more pleased with the wonderful opportunities available to our students and how well they represent Regis!

Congratulations to biology majors and pre-med research students Rachelle Manzi ’24 and Madelyn Robertson ’24 who will present their poster titled "The Mechanism of BMP-9 Mediated SMAD-3 Phosphorylation in Vascular Endothelial Cells" at the American Medical Student Association's national conference in Washington, D.C. at the end of May. Rachelle is the President and Maddy is the Vice President of our Pre-Medical Chapter of AMSA. 

Valerie Amicangioli ’25 and Naomi Kooker, assistant professor of communications, attended the 2024 Power of Narrative conference at Boston University last month—thanks in part to the support of the Carole Remick Charitable Foundation. They met Martin Baron, a keynote speaker and former Boston Globe editor whose Spotlight team was featured in the 2015 movie with the same name. Valerie, a writing major and communication minor; and contributor to The Regis Herald, said, “As a student journalist, it was fascinating to meet professional journalists, and hear about their experience."  

Last week students in the Intro to Neuroscience course got the unique opportunity to tour the Harvard Brain Tissue Resource Center at McLean Hospital, the nation’s top psychiatric hospital. Dr. Oluwarotimi Folorunso, researcher at McLean and director of education and outreach at the Center, provided an engaging demonstration about the importance of brain tissue donation for the study and development of treatments for psychiatric illness. 

Regis recently updated our research agreement with the Basic Neuroscience Division at McLean which welcomes our students to complete their research experience in a McLean lab. This great partnership helps our students excel in the field and compete nationally for research and health-related jobs and graduate opportunities.

Neuroscience students and Program Director Steven Threlkeld also attended the North East Undergraduate Research on Neuroscience (NEURON) conference hosted by Quinnipiac Medical School. Steve tells me our students did an excellent job presenting their work to peers from around New England. 

DNP student Deborah Odunze '24 presented a poster with her scholarly practice project results at the Spring Massachusetts/Rhode Island League for Nursing Conference on April 12. Her project is titled "School nurses perceptions of resources needed for school-age children after an infections disease outbreak."

Congratulations to the following faculty members for recent publications and presentations.

Applied Behavior Analysis faculty Diana Parry-Cruwys, Jacquelyn MacDonald, Jessica Slaton, Allen Karsina and Cormac MacManus published an article in the Behavior Analysis in Practice journal on strategies for incorporating compassionate care in an ABA graduate  program.  
 

In addition, Jackie and Diana, along with Regis ABA alums Kendra Guinness '17 and Ryan Atkinson '20 published this article in Behavioral Interventions titled "An online  sequential training package to teach citation formatting: Within and across participant analysis."

Deborah Jean-Baptiste, program director for adult/geriatric NP program, is presenting a poster on her published study on sickle cell disease at the New England Regional Nurse Practitioner Conference on May 2. 
 

Associate Professor Jennifer Krusinger and Assistant Professor Aubrey Crosby represented the Regis Writing Program at the International Conference on College Composition and Communication in Spokane, Washington on April 6. Their talk, "Small Acts for Big Change: Curricular and Co-Curricular Integration of Social Justice and Community Engagement in the First-Year Experience and Beyond," explored connections between the classroom and community, pointing towards events such as the Small Acts, Big Change Social Justice Symposium held last weekend in the Fine Arts Center. 

The inaugural symposium was organized by Jennifer and Aubrey in conjunction with Gerena Walker, Director of the Center for Student Engagement. The all-day event featured panel presentations, posters, artwork, a thesis slam, and performances from more than 100 Regis students and faculty on current social issues. Nadia Raymond, director of global nursing, kicked off the event and iterated the importance of small acts of service and the fleeting moments that inspire the future directions of our lives. Kate Edney and Erin Wisniewski spoke to the value of the work students are doing and the hopeful impact it has to the community. The event concluded with keynote speaker Leslie White Harvey, City Councilor of Framingham, MA. Thanks to all who participated and planned this excellent showcase that was made possible in part by a Kaneb Grant. 

A highlight of this semester was welcoming Renowned Poet and Professor Nikki Giovanni to campus for the inaugural Elliott Lecture Series, made possible by a generous bequest from late Regis English Professor Patricia D. Elliott, PhD. It am so grateful to Nikki for sharing her incredible experiences with us and to Dr. Elliott for leaving a lasting legacy at Regis. Read more about the lecture.