“Academic Accomplishment” Class Notes
Claudia Barone (Nurs ’88)
Claudia Barone (Nurs ’88) was invested June 13, 2017 in the Nicholas P. Lang, M.D., and Helen F. Lang, R.N., Endowed Chair at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS).
As a nationally known expert in tobacco cessation and a leader in academic nursing, Ms. Barone was first invested in 2015 as the inaugural holder of the Lang Professorship at the UAMS College of Nursing. The professorship was elevated to an endowed chair, one of the highest academic honors a university can bestow on a faculty member, through additional gifts from the Langs and others. The chair will support Barone’s continued work in tobacco cessation.
“Endowed chairs are game changers in that they provide the chair holder with the time and financial resources needed to pursue educational excellence, world-class patient care and outstanding health care research,” said Patricia A. Cowan, dean of the UAMS College of Nursing, who presented Ms. Barone with a commemorative medallion. “Dr. Claudia Barone is a superb educator, clinician and researcher. We’re especially pleased to celebrate the vital advances in tobacco control that will unfold through her investiture in this endowed chair.”
Ms. Barone is a certified tobacco treatment specialist through the University of Massachusetts Medical School’s Center for Tobacco Treatment Research and Training, and she was an appointed member of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee from 2014-2015 and the Association for the Treatment of Tobacco Use and Dependence from 2013-2016. She served on the Arkansas Tobacco Prevention and Cessation Advisory Committee from 2008 to 2015 and was vice chairperson from 2013-2015.
Ms. Barone is a former dean of the College of Nursing, serving in the role from 2006-2011. She is now a tenured professor in the College of Nursing and an advanced practice partner in the UAMS Center for Nursing Excellence.
She came to UAMS in 1988 as a clinical nurse specialist in the UAMS Medical Center’s surgical division. In 1991, she became a clinical instructor in the College of Nursing. In 2002, she was named interim associate dean for the master’s program and served from 2003 to 2006 as associate dean for academic administration.
Mark Santana (Engr ’09)
Mark Santana (Engr ’09) received a doctorate in environmental engineering from the University of South Florida in August 2015. He is a postdoctoral researcher at the Instituto Catalán de Investigación del Agua in Spain.
Cynthia Walter (Col ’77)
Cynthia Byers Walter (Col ’77) was awarded the degree of Doctor of Ministry in Christian Spirituality from Virginia Theological Seminary on May 18, 2017. She is Rector of Lawrencefield Parish Church in Wheeling, WV, married to Richard W. Walter Jr. (Col ’74, Law ’77 L/M) and the mother of Benjamin Franklin Walter (Col ’05 L/M).
Brian Matney (Col ’87 CM)
Brian K. Matney (Col ’87 L/M), an educator in Virginia Beach, is one of forty-six individuals across the United States and internationally to complete the Harvard University Graduate School of Education’s first offering of its certification in advanced educational leadership. The CAEL program brings together educators on-line to study issues related to instructional innovation, professional development, evidence-based practice, and access and equity in education. Mr. Matney is married with two sons
David Susman (Col ’81 CM)
David T. Susman (Col ’81 L/M) was elected to serve a second three-year term (2017-19) as the Kentucky representative to the American Psychological Association’s council of representatives. A licensed clinical psychologist, he is an assistant professor of psychology and director of the Harris Psychological Services Center and the Internship Consortium Program at the University of Kentucky.
Neva Bryan (Col ’89 CM)
Neva Bryan (Col ’89), assistant director of Professional and Career Development for the University of Virginia’s College at Wise, has earned the Global Career Development Facilitator (GCDF) credential through the National Career Development Association (NCDA) and the Center for Credentialing and Education (CCE).
GCDF credential holders are trained to help people, both individually and in a group setting, make informed decisions when considering their own career development. Through the use of best practices, various assessment tools, and career development models, GCDFs equip each individual with the knowledge and skills to embark on the professional journey.
GCDFs are trained in 12 core career development competencies, including career development models, assessment, technology, ethical and legal issues, diverse populations, labor market information, and program management and implementation.
NCDA was founded in 1913 as the National Vocational Guidance Association (NVGA) and renamed in 1985. It is the first and longest running career development association in the world. NCDA is a founding Division of the American Counseling Association (ACA).
The CCE is a not-for-profit organization that provides practitioners and organizations with assessments, business support services and credentialing. Created in 1995 as an affiliate of the National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC), CCE credentials more than 25,000 practitioners globally in a variety of fields.
Neva joined the office of Professional and Career Development in January 2013. She graduated from the University of Virginia with a degree in Foreign Affairs and received her Master of Professional Writing from Chatham University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Diane Wilkin (Col ’77)
Diane Smith “Smitty” Wilkin (Col ’77) became the Eastern Region Vice President of the National Art Education Association (NAEA) which has headquarters in Alexandria, Virginia, at the close of the annual National Convention in NYC on March 5th. Wilkin will serve on the NAEA board for three years representing the 13 states located in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. Wilkin is an art educator at Harry S Truman High School located in Levittown, PA and continues to serve the Pennsylvania Art Education Association as Past-President.
Joanna Berger (Col ’11)
Joanna was awarded the degree of Master of Science in Applied Animal Behaviour and Animal Welfare from the University of Edinburgh’s Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies in Scotland. She graduated with Distinction (highest honors) after completing an independent study of African Grey Parrot social, territorial and foraging behavior at Project Perry, the Central Virginia Parrot Sanctuary. She has founded her own business, the Animal Behavior Consultancy, and provides in-home consultations to address the challenging behaviors of multiple species of pet, shelter and zoo animals throughout Virginia. She will present her parrot research at the Animal Behavior Management Alliance conference at the Cincinnati Zoo in April.
Frances Keene (Educ ’02)
Frances Babb Keene (Educ ’02) earned her doctorate in higher education from Virginia Tech in December 2016. Having begun her doctoral work while six months pregnant in 2007, and having taken her prelims in 2009 while pregnant for the second time, she credits her husband, friends and colleagues in student affairs for helping her through the toughest parts of going to school, working full time and being a parent all at once. Ms. Keene plans to continue her work in Student Affairs at Virginia Tech.
Lillian Smith (Col ’08)
Lillian Smith (Col ’08) graduated from Brooklyn Law School with a J.D. degree in May 2016. In recognition of her academic achievements, she received the Faculty Prize, the Judge Leonard P. Moore Memorial Prize and the Robert A. Morse Memorial Prize, in addition to the Brooklyn Law Review Prize. She will clerk with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. Ms. Smith is the daughter of Raynell V. Smith (Grad ’72 L/M).
Elizabeth Marlowe (Col ’00 CM)
Elizabeth Marlowe (Col ’00 CM) received a doctorate in education with a concentration in adult learning from Virginia Commonwealth University in May 2016. She is education director for the practice of clinical medicine at the VCU School of Medicine and lives in the Church Hill district of Richmond, Virginia.
Tamar Roomian (Col ’11)
Tamar Roomian (Col ’11) was awarded a master’s degree in nutritional epidemiology and a master’s in public health from Tufts University in February 2016.
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