Hello everyone. Greetings from Milledgeville! Fall is here with leaves turning various colors of November, even though it still feels like summer, and the campus looks fantastic as is typical for Georgia College & State University this time of the year.

This month, some of the public health team will travel to Atlanta where the American Public Health Association is meeting. They expect over 12,000 people there for this event. If you are also attending, please look for us and say hello. We will not have a booth, but several of us will be there. In addition, our senior public health students recently attended the 12th Annual State of the Public’s Health Conference at the Univeristy of Georgia and toured the Institute for Disaster Management.

On campus, we are working to establish budgets for next year, where we expect to have another record year for freshmen enrollment. Our graduate programs have high interest levels as well.

The College of Health Sciences(COHS) Leadership Board meets on campus this week and several of our members have given us valuable leads on funding opportunities for our mobile clinic idea. Emily Lim Boewadt, COHS Senior developmetn officer, and my staff are working to assist the Center for Health & Social Issues on proposals that would see this funding through. Meanwhile, our college supported the Breast Cancer Awareness Walk, and diabetes awareness events in the Milledgeville area.

In other news, the Office of the Provost will nominate the Simulation and Translational Research Center for the University System of Georgia Board of Regents’ Momentum Award for Excellence in Teaching and Curricular Design for its “Trick or Treatment” program (see our video at the end of our newsletter).

Our college continues to develop innovative methods to enhance student learning. Our school's directors, Dr. Josie Doss and Dr. Lisa Griffin, along with their faculty, continue to do an outstanding job in recruitment and in showcasing the programs we offer to prospective students.

As always, if you are in Milledgeville, please stop by and say hello. If we don’t see you prior to the Thanksgiving holiday, have a great one, travel safe and enjoy the break!

Congratulations to the School of Health & Human Performance Public Health faculty on the following grants and contracts!

• Dr. Ernie Kaninjing, PhD, School of Health & Human Performance, Establishment of the Inclusive Cancer Care Research Equity (iCCaRE) for Black Men Consortium (Yr 2 of 2), US Department of Defense, $113,522.
  
• Dr. Damian Francis, PhD, Center for Health & Social Issues, Intergovernmental Contract for the Purpose of Monitoring and Evaluation, Georgia Department of Public Health, $113,522.
  
• Helen Dupree, Health & Human Performance $5,000 for The Body Project: An Assessment of Program Impacts on Eating Disorder Behaviors among College Students.

Dr. Damian Francis, assistant professor in public health and the Director of the Center for Health & Social Issues in the College of Health Sciences at Georgia College & State University, joins us to discuss disparities in healthcare in black and brown communities. He also talks about the improvement and stagnation in access to resources and services and ways to address these disparities.

Exercise science program faculty Dr. Mike Martino, Dr. Joanne Spalding and Austin Parks consistently support the Bobcat Sports Performance model through consulting, research and providing education to the Athletic Department administration, coaches and graduate assistants.

Thank you to Sean Boland, one of our athletic training preceptors from Mary Persons High School, for coming to lecture to our second-year students about instrument assisted Graston techniques.

Epidemiology students in public health recently interacted with community breast cancer survivors to learn about the importance of screening.

Seniors Maddy Meiser and Jasmine Harrison recently networked with Aline Stone from American Heart Association and Liz Head from the Georgia Department of Public Health.

OrthoGeorgia Athletic Training Medical Director, Dr. Matthew Toth, provided an in-house educational session on the elbow and hand with our second-year athletic training students! Thank you, Dr. Toth!

Brennan Rae, a public health senior, and Kaitlin VanVoorhis, a graduate student in health promotion, recently presented their research at the 16th American Association for Cancer Research Conference in Orlando, Florida. The conference focused on the science of cancer health disparities in racial/ethnic minorities and the medically underserved.

Their presentation is based on the work they performed in the summer of 2023 under the guidance of Dr. Ernie Kaninjing. The title of the poster was, “An exploration of the prostate cancer survivorship experience of sub-Saharan African immigrants in the United States.” Key findings of their research include four major trends affecting survivors: (a) the impact of prostate cancer on sexual health, (b) emotional health, (c) dietary changes, and (d) changes in physical activity. Prostate cancer affects men of African ancestry at a disproportionate rate compared to men of other races and or ethnicity.

The research presented by the two students highlight the interwoven relationship between survivorship and acculturation experiences of immigrant men that need to be addressed to facilitate improved prostate cancer survivorship outcome.

The American Association for Cancer Research is the oldest and largest scientific organization in the world focused on every aspect of high-quality, innovative cancer research.

This year’s conference attracted hundreds of participants from across the globe and across disciplines such as clinicians, patient-advocates, researchers and others committed to making an impact in cancer research. It offered a unique opportunity for these students to interact and network with world renowned scientists during the poster sessions and other sessions of the conference.

Senior seminar students in public health recently attended the 12th Annual State of the Public’s Health Conference at the University of Georgia(UGA) in Athens.

In addition to attending conference sessions, the students received a tour of UGA's Institute of Disaster Management.

Justine Savizon, Christiana Hughes and Jasmine Harrison, all public health seniors, participated in the American Cancer Society Diversity in Cancer Research training.

Under the guidance of Dr. Ernie Kaninjing and Dr. Damian Francis, these students received training in cancer health disparities research and worked on individual projects. This was an opportunity for the students to present their work as a poster presentation at the American Cancer Society annual meeting in Atlanta, Georgia.

Christiana Hughes’ presentation titled “Socio-ecological factors and prostate cancer screening among African immigrant men in the United States,” examined the association of access to health insurance, screening behaviors, and health literacy among African immigrant men.

Justine Savizon’s project explored the impact of living in a rural county in Middle Georgia with prostate cancer outcomes, while Jasmine Harrison’s presentation focused on racial and geographic disparities in post-treatment complications among black breast cancer survivors.

The Diversity in Cancer Research Training program is funded by the American Cancer Society to advance research and training in cancer health equity among undergraduate and graduate students.

The annual meeting was a forum for grantees to share their research, exchange ideas, and network with other researchers to foster collaboration and career development.

The School of Nursing welcomes Ms. Melanie Hammond as the new Simulation Education Specialist. Melanie is a Georgia College & State University alumna, where she received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing in 2019.

After graduation she worked as an emergency room nurse and in clinical research where she specialized in studies with an emphasis in endocrinology. She discovered her passion for education in this role and is currently pursuing a Master of Science in Nursing Education at Georgia College & State University with an anticipated graduation date of May 2024.

Before becoming a Simulation Education Specialist, Melanie worked as a Graduate Assistant in the School of Nursing for the 2022-2023 academic year.

Congratulations to the following faculty for accepted podium presentations at the Georgia Assocaition for Nursing Education (GANE) conference in the spring of 2024!

• Dr. Krystal Canady, Dr. Shantee Henry, and Dr. Talecia Warren - Podium Presentation titled: Improving BSN student success in simulated clinical experiences

• Dr. Joyce Norris-Taylor, Dr. Angela Queen, and Dr. Catherine Fowler - Podium Presentation titled: Resilience, anxiety, and stress in baccalaureate nursing students: The REASON study

A special thank you to full-time nurse midwifery faculty members Dr. Monica Ketchie and Dr. Deborah MacMillan as well as our adjunct nurse midwifery faculty members Dr. Anthonia Anukam, Dr. Laura McKay and Dr. Barbora Snuggs for their dedication and commitment to their students, patients and community.

“It’s not just the making of babies, but the making of mothers that midwives see as the miracle of birth.” – Barbara Katz Rothman

The University System of Georgia Faculty Council is an advisory body for the Chancellor of the University System of Georgia(USG). Its members represent all institutions within the University System of Georgia and the Council holds two meetings a year.

Dr. Catherine Fowler, School of Nursing, and Dr. Robert Sumowski, Georgia College & State University's Senate Presiding Officer, attended the October meeting held at Gordan State College.

Right: Dr. Ashwani Monga, USG Chief Academic Officer(left) and Dr. Catherine Fowler (right)

Below: Chancellor Sonny Perdue (left) with Dr. Robert Sumowski (right)

The School of Nursing faculty officially welcomed the fall 2023 nursing cohort.

The White Coat Ceremony marks the beginning of their journey in becoming a nurse. The students recited the Oath to Compassionate Patient Care before family, friends and faculty members.

Three of our Bachelor of Science in Nursing students have been named Piedmont Nursing Scholars beginning fall 2023.

The Piedmont Nursing Scholars Program rewards qualified nursing students with funds to defray the cost of attending nursing school and the opportunity to work as a Piedmont nurse after they graduate. This empowers students to have a pathway to join a leading health care provider in the Southeast and an opportunity to make a positive difference in every life they touch across Georgia and beyond.

Congratulations to Caroline Renner, Kaley Rupnow and Kara Dial!

Third-year nursing students visted the GCSU Montessori Academy at the Early Learning Center to teach about the importance of toothbrushing.

Trick or Treatment is an annual event held by the School of Nursing Simulation and Translational Research Center,where undergraduate nursing students demonstrate their patient safety skills, such as medication administration, perform procedures correctly, and proper management of technology and equipment.

Graduate students in the healthcare simulation certificate program also demonstrated put their new skills with moulage application and management of various simulation technologies.

Check out the Front Page story: Bobcats Celebrate Spooky Season

We had a blast with all of you at the Georgia National Fair in Perry, Georgia this year! We can't wait to see you at the next GCSU Alumni event.