Achievements

Psychology Students and Faculty

Psychology

HSU psychology students and faculty gave 20 presentations at the annual Western Psychological Association (WPA) conference in Reno, NV (April 25-28). The meeting is the nation’s largest regional psychology conference with two thousand attendees.

The Psychology Department continued its tradition of student-faculty research with 42 undergraduate student authorships and 20 graduate student authorships.

Student presentation highlights included Rebekah Becker on the development of a college student motivation scale, Crystal Perez on work creating a self-confidence inventory, Zoey Phillips on affective, cognitive, and behavioral aspects of forgiveness, Edwin Vazquez on the influence of diversity course enrollment on ethnic identity development, and Tish Dias on quality of life and grief.

Psychology faculty members presented as well. Professor William Reynolds presented on topics such as fatigue assessment, and moderators and mediators of the stress-depression relationship. Professor Chris Aberson gave a two-hour talk titled “R for SPSS users” as part of the annual Statistical Workshop Series and participated in a symposium titled “Internet Application in Support of Statistics Education.”

Since 2000, psychology students and faculty have given nearly 300 conference presentations.

Marshelle Thobaben

Nursing

Nursing professor Marshelle Thobaben recently published an article and textbook chapter. The article, "Psychiatric Home Health Skilled Nursing Services," was published in the February 2013 issue of Home Health Care Management & Practice Journal: Vol. 25, Issue 1, February 2013, Pg. 32-34.

The textbook chapter, titled "People of Turkish Heritage" was published in Transcultural Health Care: A Culturally Competent Approach, 4th ed. Editor: Larry D. Purnell; 2013; F.A. Davis Publisher.

Tasha R. Howe and Howard Friedman

Psychology

Drs. Tasha R. Howe and Howard Friedman -- along with HSU students Esperanza Alcazar, Edwin Vazquez, Rebekah Becker, and Sarah Murphy -- have had a presentation accepted at the biennial meeting of the Society for Research in Child Development.

Their study, entitled "Heavy Metal Enthusiasts at Mid-Life: Developmental Trajectories and Functioning Three Decades Later" examined the life-histories and current functioning of middle aged 1980s heavy metal groupies, band members, and fans, in comparison to a middle-aged comparison group and another group of HSU students.

Alister Shirazi

Economics

HSU economics major and 2012 Economic Fuel winner Alister Shirazi has been inducted into the Rotary Club of Southwest Eureka with an honorary one-year membership. Shirazi won the $5,000 Economic Fuel prize, which will help him expand his Arcata business “iPhone Surgeon,” a repair service for iPhone, iPod and iPad devices. He plans to open an Arcata storefront in the near future.

The Rotary Club of Southwest Eureka awards an honorary membership to one Economic Fuel winner annually. The organization awards $117,000 in seed capital each year to local college students who compete in the business plan challenge. Click on www.economicfuel.org.

Chris Aberson

Psychology

Psychology Professor Chris Aberson was recently named Associate Editor of the Journal of Applied Social Psychology (JASP). Published by Wiley-Blackwell, JASP is devoted to applications of experimental behavioral science research to problems of society. Dr. Aberson joins JASP after completing a four-year term as Executive Editor of The Journal of Social Psychology (JSP). In honor of his service with JSP, Dr. Aberson was named Executive Editor Emeritus, making him the youngest person to ever hold an Emeritus title.

Child Development Lab

Child Development

Humboldt State’s Child Development Lab has been re-accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children through 2017. The Lab received 100 percent on seven of the ten standard domains and above 90 percent on the remaining three. The CDL staff are: teachers Jillian Mooney, Jennifer Mager, Maddie Torrey, Jesika Mitchell and faculty supervisors Mary Ann Hansen and Carol West.

Michael Le

Psychology

Psychology Academic Research M.A. student Michael Le received the Western Psychological Association’s Maslach-Zimbardo Research Award in Social Psychology. Le’s research focuses on how a prominent theory relevant to prejudice (Integrated Threat Theory) differentially predicts evaluations of African Americans by White and Hispanic/Latino students. The award, which is funded by an endowment created by Dr. Christina Maslach (Professor of Psychology at UC Berkeley) and Dr. Philip Zimbardo (Emeritus Professor of Psychology, Stanford), goes to the top student submission in Social Psychology. Le will receive his award this April at the annual Western Psychological Association conference.

Heriberto Herrera

Psychology

Heriberto Herrera, a first year graduate student in School Psychology (Psychology), received the Pearson Minority Scholarship from the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP). One of five named scholarships to be awarded to minority students nationally, Herrera was the only first year graduate student to receive an award this year, and one of a very few non-doctoral students to ever receive this award. He is the first HSU student to receive this award in the 24 years the scholarship has been in existence. Herrera received a $5,000 scholarship and reimbursement for his trip to Philadelphia to receive his award.

Tasha R. Howe

Psychology

Tasha Howe has published a textbook:
Howe, T.R. (2011). Marriages and Families in the 21st Century: A Bioecological Approach. Wiley-Blackwell.

The textbook is multi-disciplinary and can be used in social work, sociology, nursing, psychology, family studies, child development and related disciplines.

Ilan Navah

Nursing

Received a Global Health Fellowship with USAID (US Agency for International Development) where he will work as an HIV/AIDS home-based care nurse in Uganda for 3 months. In the capital, Kampala, Ilan will work with TASO (The AIDS Support Organization) in local communities helping carry out their mission of "living positively with AIDS."