College of Health and Human Services Impact Report FY23-24
College of Health and Human Services
Fiscal Year 2023-2024
Dear Donor,
The College of Health and Human Services' purpose statement is "Together we advance the equitable health and wellbeing for all."
With continuing support from generous donors, we actively pursue this purpose to make a diference in the lives of students and those we serve in the community through workforce development, research, volunteerism, and education. Our core values include "Be Bold, Be Curious," and "Center Student Success "
These values guide our focus, and faculty research in health disparities, injury prevention, speech and hearing defcits, nursing practice, behavioral health, substance use, food science, air and water quality, and chronic disease prevention bring forth exceptional discovery and application to the health and wellbeing of many.
Generous gifts from donors, whether small or large, enable students to gain valuable experiences outside of the classroom that lead to better preparation for employment and further education.
Our success is dependent on such generosity!
Steven P. Hooker, Ph.D., FACSM, FNAK Dean and Professor College of Health and Human Services
Changing Lives through Philanthropic Support
Carolyn and Clif Colwell Imperial Valley Nursing Fund
This gift will support the general operations of the SDSU nursing program in Imperial Valley, specifcally focusing on addressing the Imperial Valley region's nursing shortage and health disparities. The fund will support the greatest needs of the program, including 1) infrastructure improvements to existing facilities, facility rent expenses, technology purchases, and equipment expenses; 2) faculty and staf support, including faculty research/stipends, books and equipment, travel/accommodations, professional development, and curriculum development; and 3) student awards, including scrubs, equipment, travel to healthcare facilities and conferences, research expenses, and collaborative community projects.
Prebys Foundation Grant to support the SDSU School of Social Work
The SDSU School of Social Work was awarded a $1.24 million grant to make its Master of Social Work (MSW) program more fnancially accessible to students from diverse backgrounds. The funding will help to address the critical shortage of behavioral health workers and support program graduates on their path to becoming licensed clinical social workers (LCSWs) in California. Over two years, 10 MSW students will receive stipends. These graduates have a specifc interest in youth behavioral health services, and their cultural and linguistic backgrounds make them well-suited to address the needs of underserved communities.
Distinguished Professor in the School of Public Health and Vice President for Research and Innovation Hala Madanat shared, “The partnership with the Prebys Foundation will have a ripple efect on the larger community by increasing the overall pool of well-qualifed social workers in the region.”
Drs. Jolene Koester and Ron Lustig Endowment
The Drs. Jolene Koester and Ron Lustig Endowment for the Audiology White Coat Ceremony at San Diego State University signifes a profound commitment to the advancement and recognition of audiology students.
Administered through the College of Health and Human Services, this endowment supports the annual White Coat Ceremony. This pivotal event marks audiology students’ transition to clinical practice and underscores their dedication to providing exceptional patient care and service.
Living the Aztec Experience
Julianne Diaz, Class of 2024
Class Level: Undergraduate Student
College: College of Health & Human Services, School of Nursing
Major: Nursing
Julianne completed two nursing externships in the Emergency Department at Scripps Encinitas, for a total of 500+ hours. She also volunteered as a Pathmaker Intern at Palomar Medical Center, with over 1,200 hours completed.
She was the valedictorian graduate with a 4.0 GPA and was the selected Outstanding Undergraduate Student for the School of Nursing, all while also accelerating to graduate in December instead of May.
Lastly, she passed the NCLEX (BRN exam) in January and received her RN license, and in April 2024, started a new position at Sharp Grossmont Hospital as a Graduate Nurse Resident in the Emergency Department (ED).
"Looking ahead, my goals are to continue learning and growing in my position as an ED nurse, to precept students and other new grads in the future, and to work toward certifcations in the ED, such as becoming a Certifed Emergency Nurse (CEN) and Mobile Intensive Care Nurse (MICN). I look forward to exploring the many opportunities that the feld of nursing ofers!" - Julianne Diaz
“
Looking ahead, my goals are to continue learning and growing in my position as an ED nurse ...
Jocelyn C. Smith, Class of 2024
Class Level: Graduate Student
College: College of Health and Human Services
Major: Dual MPH/MSW: Public Health (Health Management and Policy) and Social Work (Community Development and Administration)
Jocelyn's two opportunities to study abroad were standout experiences at SDSU. She completed a global health and French seminar in Switzerland and a course titled, "Public Health 550: Global Health" in Vietnam in the winter of 2024.
She participated and won the Three-Minute Thesis competition at the SDSU Research Symposium in March, then competed and was a fnalist in the statewide CSU Three-Minute Thesis Grand Slam.
During her time as a graduate student, she has maintained a 3.98 GPA, continued to work part-time as a Registered Dietitian and Graduate Student Assistant at the Center for Excellence in Aging and Longevity (CEAL) and as an Instructional Student Assistant for Dr. Carleen Stoskopf in the School of Public Health.
"Public health and social work are about building stronger, healthier communities through equity and justice. For me, graduating means putting knowledge into action. My dual masters' degrees in public health and social work have provided me with lenses and frameworks to view and understand the world, and now I'm ready to do the work." - Jocelyn C. Smith
Public health and social work are about building stronger, healthier communities through equity and justice.
Simon Pierce, Class of 2024
Class Level: Undergraduate Student
College: College of Health and Human Services
Major: Kinesiology
Simon is honored to be the recipient of the American Kinesiology Association Undergraduate Scholar Award.
In the fall semester of his junior year, Simon started as one of the frst students in Dr. Nogueira’s Muscle Contractile Function and Repair Laboratory. He contributed to researching diferent variables that afect the rate at which diaphragm force is impaired during mechanical ventilation. Simon performed all procedures, contractile experiments, and statistical analysis of data independently.
He presented his research at local academic meetings such as the SDSU Student Symposium 2023 and 2024 as well as in refereed proceedings by the Southwest American College of Sports Medicine and the American Physiological Society.
Simon accumulated almost 500 hours of volunteer time in various physical therapy settings such as skilled nursing, pediatrics, orthopedics, and acute rehabilitation.
He graduated with a bachelor's degree in kinesiology this past May with Summa Cum Laude honors and will be attending the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) in June for his doctorate in physical therapy.
Congratulations, Simon, on receiving the American Kinesiology Association Undergraduate Scholar Award!
Celebrating Shared Success
Recent Rankings
SDSU Speech-Language Pathology graduate program soars to 12th nationally (U.S. News & World Report)
The School of Public Health is No. 29 in the nation, audiology is No. 30 and physical therapy is No. 53 (U.S. News & World Report)
The nursing program is listed at No. 55, its highest ranking in at least fve years (U.S. News & World Report)
The social work program is No. 51 (U.S. News & World Report)
Statistics of Interest
8 programs in top 100 rankings by U.S. News & World Report
350K services hours completed by students per year
$65M+ in research funding each year
Recent Highlights
The Doctor of Physical Therapy program was approved to be established as an independent School of Physical Therapy in the College of Health and Human Services, efective June 1, 2024.
New School
8 programs from the college are in U.S. News & World Top 100 Report
The Doctor of Physical Therapy program has been approved to be established as an independent School of Physical Therapy.
Helping to Build a Brighter Future
Achievements:
Teresa Girolamo, Ph.D.
Title: Assistant Professor, Speech Language and Director of Brain, Environment, and Language Lab
College: College of Health and Human Services
Over the past year, Dr. Girolamo has conducted an American Speech-Language-Hearing Foundation community-based participatory project to understand how social determinants of health shape the transition to adulthood in autistic individuals. This funded work has supported a strong transition to SDSU since beginning in January 2023, with eight refereed journal articles and 23 articles overall. Dr. Girolamo has also worked with students to engage communities, resulting in 100% engagement across campus and in new community partners.
Additionally, Dr. Girolamo is collaborating with California Association of Health and Education Linked Professions (CAHELP) Joint Powers Authority (JPA) to develop a community-driven study on interprofessional training for speech-language pathologists and speech-language pathology assistants serving students who use augmentative and alternative communication in the Desert Mountain region.
As a former special education teacher and nontraditional student, Dr. Girolamo's experiences have shaped her commitment to community-based participatory research and mentorship:
"Since beginning at SDSU, I have received 12 awards and grants, have three grant proposals under review, and have submitted four extramural grant proposals, which were favorably reviewed and have been or will be resubmitted. These new connections have also led to the development of several new extramural proposals to be submitted this fall and winter with the Center for Inclusive Excellence and Sage Project, the College of Education, and HealthLINK.
All of these awards difer in scope but center on autism, community engagement, and building upon community strengths to address fundamental questions pertaining to human development and include student training, as well as community support, as fundamental components.
I am fortunate to mentor wonderful students in the lab and to have found a strong community of people, campus ofces, and organizations committed to quality education, research, and training who lead by example. I do not have plans of slowing down, and in large part, this is thanks to the community I have found at SDSU."
Achievements:
Lauren Willner, Ph.D., MSW
Title:
Assistant Professor, School of Social Work
College: College of Health and Human Services
Lauren Willner, Ph.D. is an organizational scholar whose research focuses on human service nonproft organizations.
She is currently conducting a national study examining how the adoption of for-proft business models by human service nonprofts afects service delivery, and ultimately, the clients and communities served by the organization.
She is particularly interested in building research collaborations with agencies serving older adults, community mental health centers, and general poverty relief organizations. Dr. Willner has been awarded funding from the SDSU Division of Research and Innovation to support this research.
She is particularly excited to have been accepted to present on this project at the International Society for Third Sector Research in Antwerp, Belgium in July 2024.
Dr. Willner is also serves as a co-investigator for SDSU Faculty United towards Excellence in Research and Transformational Engagement (SDSU FUERTE), a National Institutes of Health (NIH) funded project aimed at increasing diversity among faculty in the bio-medical sciences at SDSU. As part of the evaluation core, she leads data collection and analysis to evaluate the impact of the FUERTE project on faculty experience.
Additionally, she teaches courses on management and leadership, as well as classes on organizational change, to Master of Social Work students.
She is committed to teaching the next generation of social workers how to efectively lead impact-driven human service organizations using compassion, innovation, and creativity.
Faculty Achievements
Achievements:
Noé Crespo, Ph.D.
Title: Professor, Health Promotion & Behavioral Science
College: College of Health and Human Services
Dr. Crespo recently received the School of Public Health’s 2024 Outstanding Faculty Research Award for his prolifc research activities.
Dr. Crespo is Principal Investigator of two large NIH R01s clinical trials funded by the National Institute for Minority Health and Health Disparities. In collaboration with Family Health Centers of San Diego, the COVID-19 Prevention Program (CPP) is a randomized clinical trial to test the short- and long-term efects of a tailored Promotora-led intervention to prevent household spread of COVID-19. The Vaccine Promotion Program (VPP) is a cluster randomized trial to test the short- and long-term efects of a multilevel intervention to promote uptake of COVID-19 vaccinations in San Diego.
Dr. Crespo also collaborated with colleagues from Johns Hopkins University on the CommuniVax project to identify efective community-based strategies to promote health equity and reduce the impacts of COVID-19 among minority populations in San Diego and across the U.S.
In addition, Dr. Crespo is collaborating with the City of Chula Vista Parks and Recreation Department and with researchers from the Universidad Autonoma de Baja California (UABC- Mexicali) to implement and evaluate the Athletes for Life (AFL) program in recreation centers. AFL is a family-based program to promote ftness, physical activity and healthy eating among underserved families.
Dr. Crespo is also studying occupational, environmental and behavioral risk factors for cardiometabolic disease, cancer and mental health among long-haul truck drivers.
Dr. Crespo serves as co-lead of the outreach core for the U54 CREATE cancer partnership between SDSU and UCSD, co-lead of the Cancer Control Program at UCSD’s Moores Cancer Center, and coinvestigator and training champion of SDSU’s ACCEL cancer training program. He has over 60 peerreviewed publications, over 100 conference abstract presentations, and actively serves as a reviewer on NIH study sections.
In 2023, Dr. Crespo received the SDSU CHHS Living Our Values award, and in 2002 he received the SDSU Presidential Research Faculty award. He shared the following about his widely recognized work:
"Much of my research has focused on promoting changes to social and physical environments to promote healthy lifestyles and well being among underserved communities. My work emphasizes the importance of collaborating with community partners to achieve meaningful and sustainable public health impacts. My research also actively involves undergraduate and graduate students from various programs and disciplines to provide them with opportunities for professional and personal growth."
Endowments
Providing Resources for Today’s Students and Tomorrow’s Aztecs
New Endowments
Dr. Michael Buono Endowed Scholarship
Drs. Jolene Koester and Ron Lustig Endowment for the Audiology White Coat Ceremony
Endowments (Active)
Alumni Endowed Scholarship for Nursing
Alvarado Health Foundation Nursing Endowed Scholarship
AMI Award Endowment
AMN Nursing Endowed Scholarship
Barbara K. Rosenblatt Endowment
Baronofsky Memorial Endowment
Barry Jones Endowment
Betty Broom Endowed Faculty Research Fund
Beverly Butcher and Erin Ballard Memorial Scholarship Endowment
Center on Substance Abuse Endowment
Charles E. and Marie S. Curtright Endowed Scholarship for Nursing
Charles E. and Marie S. Curtright School of Nursing Endowment
Community Health Group Endowment
Cynthia J. Hooker Memorial Endowed Scholarship
David C. Pritchard Memorial Endowed Scholarship
Dorothea Lambert Endowment
Dorothy Lee Elliott Endowment
Dr. Abram S. Benenson Endowment
Dr. J’s Student Club Endowment
Dr. Sue Earnest Endowed Scholarship
Eldred George Mugford in Memory of Clare Helen Mugford, RN Endowed Scholarship
Emma Lora Johnson Memorial Endowed Scholarship
ENS Emeritus Professorship Endowed Scholarship
Ernest Witte Memorial Endowed Scholarship
Exercise & Nutrional Sciences Endowment
Fitness Clinic Endowment
Fitness Clinic Operations Endowment
Florence Bacong Choe Memorial Endowed Scholarship
Frances Shimp Tidwell Endowment
Frank Parodi Endowment
Funderburk Center for Substance Abuse Endowment
G. W. Ellis Memorial Endowment
George and Ruth Warwick Endowment
Gregory Voigt and Robert Moore Scholarship in Athletic Training
Hanlon Endowed Chair
Hanlon GSPH Award Endowment
Harriet Green Kopp Doctorial Dissertation Award
Hebbel Gerontology Internship
Hilda and Colonel Robert L. Dodge Endowed Scholarship for Nursing
Hoffer-Riedman Endowed Scholarship
J.E. Lindsay Carter Endowed Scholarship
Jamie B. Geller Memorial Endowed Scholarship
Jane Beers School of Social Work Endowed Scholarship
Jeri and Elliot Hirshman Nursing Endowment
John Anderson Bequest-Public Health Endowment
John E. Floodberg Endowment for the SDSU Adaptive Fitness Clinic
Kala Singh Endowed Scholarship
Kasch-Boyer Endowment
Katherine R. Foley Endowed Scholarship
Kathleen Kopels Celebration Endowment
Kathy Rahe Memorial Nursing Endowed Scholarship
Koch-Pollak Endowed Scholarship
Language, Learning, and Literacy Endowed Scholarship
Lauretta S. Wenc Endowment
Lori Lemas Memorial Endowment
Lorraine Sears Bryant Memorial Endowed Scholarship
M.Q. Hawkins Memorial Dietetic Program Endowment
M.T. Sandways Memorial Endowed Scholarship
Maria Sardinas Behavioral Health Institute Endowment
Mariana Churchill Endowment
Marianne Kochanski Scholarship Endowment
Marilyn E. Newhoff Endowed Fellowship
Marlene Ruiz Endowed Nursing Scholarship
Mary Cave Endowed Scholarship
Mary Quam Hawkins Endowed Scholarship
Michael and Nua Shores Endowed Scholarship
Michele J. Crisafulli Endowed Scholarship
Paul Pfaff Memorial Endowment
Petra Steinhauser Endowment
Reet Howell Memorial Endowment
Robert Gamble Bowers, Sr. Memorial Endowed Scholarship
Sadanand Singh Endowed Professorship in Speech and Language Sciences
Sam Foshee Memorial Endowed Scholarship
School of Nursing Endowed Scholarship
Sharon Burt Memorial Endowed Scholarship
Sharp HealthCare Endowed Scholarship
Sheila and Jeffrey Lipinsky Language and Cognitive Neuroscience Lab Endowment
Social Work Endowment
Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences Scholarship Endowment
