GRADUATE COUNCIL MEETING
April 5, 2007
3:00pm, Gilkey 109
Present: Dreher, Grosskopf, Francis, Koenig, Rettig, Russ-Eft, Strickroth, Wolpert
Absent: Blythe, Filtz, Harter, McLain, Unsworth
Guests: Prasad Tadepalli
Hal Koenig (College of Business) introduced new Graduate Council member Theo Dreher
(College of Science) who will be replacing Alix Gitelman while she is away on sabbatical.
1. Minutes from Previous Meeting
A motion was made and seconded to approve the minutes of March 1, 2007. All voted in favor.
Motion passed.
2. Wood Science & Engineering Follow-up Review Report
Hal Koenig (College of Business) presented a follow-up report of the Wood Science and
Engineering (WS&E) Graduate Council Program Review. The original graduate program review
took place March 8, 2004. Koenig and Peter Bottomley (Microbiology) revisited the department
in November 2006. Koenig reported that the department head, Tom McLain, provided a twopage response in advance of the meeting. That response is appended at the end of the following
review report:
Wood Science & Engineering Follow Up Review
March 2007
Department Head McLain of Wood Science & Engineering (WS&E) prepared the two page
response (attached) in advance of a meeting with Hal Koenig and Peter Bottomley, members of
the 2004 Graduate Review Committee. A meeting was held in November of 2006 to discuss the
department’s response to the committee’s suggestions.
Addressing the recommendation in order:
• Add a faculty member in the composites area
The composites area is integral to the WS&E department and at the time of the Graduate
Council review, the composites faculty member had recently left the department. We are
very glad to see that the department was able to hire two faculty members.
• Even out graduate student committee workload for faculty
While recognizing differing strengths and proclivities of faculty members the Graduate
Council team was concerned about some faculty members serving as the major professor for
1
four or more graduate students at the same time. We are satisfied that with the Department
Head’s oversight through exit interviews and student success in their graduate programs.
• Giving doctoral students the opportunity to teach.
The departmental response to this concern is understandable given the absence of TA
funding, and the lack of courses that require TA assignments (see Department Head’s
response). It would be useful for the department to make enquiries into other national
programs in their discipline, to determine if “teaching experience for graduate students” is a
common occurrence, and if so, how it is accomplished.
•
Students stating they would start over with a different major or different university in exit
interviews conducted between 2000 and 2003.
We appreciate your interest in this area. Regarding foreign students interpreting the survey
incorrectly, you might have it back-translated by two foreign students who speak the same
language. In this process, one student translates it into his/her native language and the other
student translates it back into English. If the translated version does not match the original
English version changes in the wording must be made.
•
Difficulty of graduate students with a WS&E undergraduate degree to find classes that
are not simply “slash” versions of their undergraduate classes
We are pleased to see additional graduate classes being offered.
• Wireless access in Richardson Hall
At the time of the report, wireless access was just beginning to spread across campus. We
are glad to see that it is available for students and they can access their ONID accounts and
the internet. Access issues with regard to security are understandable.
• Student fees and the cost of insurance
We understand the department’s situation regarding funding students.
In addition to a discussion of the department’s response to Graduate Review Committee
recommendations a few other topics were also discussed.
Diversity was an issue that had been discussed during the Review and in regard to the
graduate student population there have been changes in the intervening three years.
Professor McLain noted that the graduate student population in the department has become
more diverse. Chinese students are going to programs in China and the University of British
Columbia more often than programs in the United States. This is a result of huge
investments in programs in China, Scandinavian countries and Canada as compared to much
smaller investments in domestic programs. The current student population includes more
students from Europe and South America.
The WS&E faculty was ethnically diverse at the time of the review but was challenged by
gender diversity. Gender diversity is still problematic, but Professor McLain reported that
they have a female research associate that is a great role model for women graduate students.
2
The research associate has been hired to teach one course but her research is currently
supported by soft money.
The loss of civil engineering faculty who were interested and willing to collaborate with
WS&E faculty came up in our discussion. Professor McLain indicated that when this was
coupled with the departure of a key senior WS&E faculty member, the number of joint
projects and graduate students pursuing dual majors was significantly reduced. A newly
hired endowed faculty member in biomaterials science offers new opportunities with
materials science and mechanical engineering faculty. In particular, Professor McLain was
optimistic that new graduate courses and collaborations will develop in this area.
3
McLain, 11/1/06
Comments on Actions related to
2004 WS&E Grad Council Review Recommendations
Recommendations:
ƒ
An effort was underway to hire a faculty member in composites – we do not need to tell the
Department about the importance of this area in WS&E, but we encourage them to make this
appointment a reality.
New Assistant professor (Muszynski) was hired in Fall 04. Through gift from JELD-WEN
Foundation we were able to hire a senior-level endowed chair faculty member in the composites
area as well.
ƒ
Even out graduate student committee workload for faculty; some faculty are advising as
many as 4-5 graduate students and others as few as one graduate student. The underlying
issue is the time that the major professor can spend with each student.
That’s pretty much the way the world is going to work. Some faculty prefer, and have capacity,
to manage many students and others don’t. I monitor mentoring success through an exit
interview and other observations and haven’t spotted a recurring problem. Since all of our
students are grant funded there will be a natural variation in the number mentored by each
faculty.
ƒ
While having “real” faculty member in front of a class is great, doctoral students should be
given teaching opportunities – determine how this can best happen.
This is a perennial problem for which we have no good answer. We do not have TA positions in
WSE so teaching opportunities are limited to lectures and oversight of a few undergraduate labs.
Nevertheless, I find that most of our PhD students are finding opportunities to develop some
level of teaching skill. We are very aware of this issue and help our students as much as possible
find opportunities.
ƒ
In an exit survey of students who graduated between 2000 and 2003, only six of thirteen
stated that they would start over with the “same major,” and only seven of thirteen said they
would start over at the “same university.” This needs to be investigated.
This was very much of a surprise and we can’t explain it. I have adjusted the questions I ask in
my exit interview to try to tease out any discontent, but that has not revealed any systematic
problems. We are very sensitive to this issue now, but need more contemporary data. Our
survey expert wonders if the question may lead foreign students to a different answer than
domestic students.
4
ƒ
It is hard for graduate students with a WS&E undergraduate degree to find “new” course
work (i.e. courses that were not required as part of their undergraduate program of study).
How can the department maintain rigor at both the undergraduate and graduate level?
I think that we have solved this problem with the proposed or realized addition of new advanced
graduate courses in Polymer Composites, Frontiers in Bio-based Materials Science, Wood
Quality and Advanced Topics in Wood Composites.
ƒ
If a plan is not in the works for wireless access to computer networks in Richardson Hall,
work with the College to make this happen.
Students now have public wireless access in Peavy and Richardson that enables them to connect
to their ONID accounts and the internet. However, they cannot access the part of the Forestry
network that is behind a firewall without paying a fee. Given our budget restraints, the nature of
security and service center agreements, I suspect that won’t change anytime soon. Students do
have free access to all of the Forestry network through readily available hardwired machines.
ƒ
Students expressed concerns about student fees and the cost of insurance – how can the
Department help with these issues?
We can’t. But we pay most students a stipend and now the GA Salary Supplement.
After Koenig’s presentation, there was some discussion about the surprising results of the 20002003 exit surveys. Council members suggested that the small sample size, language
comprehension of non-native speakers of English, and the high rate of civil engineering students
opting for a dual major with Wood Science & Engineering may have all contributed to the
unexpected response. However, there was no suggested explanation why seven out of thirteen
students responded that they would not start over at “the same university.” Koenig told the
Council that Tom McLain continues to monitor this issue with exit interviews.
A motion was made and seconded to approve the WS&E Follow-up Review Report. All voted
in favor. Motion passed.
3. Human Development and Family Studies Follow-up Review Report
Prasad Tadepalli (EECS) presented a follow-up report of the Human Development and Family
Studies (HDFS) Graduate Council Program Review. The original graduate program review took
place May 21, 2004. Tadepalli and Belinda Batten (Mechanical Engineering) revisited the
department winter term 2007. Tadepalli reported that in a meeting with the department head,
Carolyn Aldwin, and the graduate advisor Alexis Walker, he and Dr. Batten gathered
information about the current status of the graduate program including a written response from
the Department head that is added to the report as an appendix. The complete HDFS follow-up
report is appended to these minutes.
5
After giving the Council Members a brief overview of his report, Tadepalli remarked that the
original review panel’s recommendations were taken very seriously by the department and he
stated that he was very impressed at the progress made.
A Council member asked for clarification on HDFS’ recent faculty recruitment. It was asked if
the four new faculty members hired were all full professors. Tadepalli answered that all were
hired to senior positions (admitting that the department is a bit top-heavy), but after additional
conversation with the Council he confirmed that both Mark Lusk and Marc Braverman were
originally hired to administrative positions in International Programs and Extension respectively.
A motion was made and seconded to approve the HDFS Follow-up Review Report. All voted in
favor. Motion passed.
New Business
Sally Francis (Graduate School) announced that the Graduate School has announced a call for
nominations for the Excellence in Graduate Mentoring Award and asked Council Members to
volunteer to fill an unexpected vacancy on the award committee. When no one volunteered,
Francis indicated that she would also ask the Council members not present at the meeting or
allow the current members of the award committee to proceed without a representative from the
Graduate Council.
Consideration of GK12 Proposals
Bruce Rettig (Graduate School) informed the Council that on April 20, the Research Office will
forward GK12 proposals to the Graduate Council for review. Mary Strickroth (Graduate School)
gave a brief description of the GK12 program and its goal to improve science education. The
program provides graduate students from science programs stipends to work in rural public
schools assisting teachers. Since NSF only allows one proposal to be submitted per university,
the Graduate Council would be deciding which would go forward. Rettig commented that it is
unlikely that there would be many proposals to consider. Discussion of the proposals (if more
than more is submitted to the Research Office) will be held on May 3.
Meeting adjourned.
6
Three-year review of the Human Development and Family Studies
The Human Development and Family Studies (HDFS) program was reviewed 3 years ago by the graduate
school. Prasad Tadepalli (EECS) and Belinda King (ME), who were two of the original members of this review
committee conducted the follow-up review on February 22, 2007 and wrote this report. We met with the department
head Carolyn Aldwyn and the graduate advisor Alexis Walker for about an hour and half.
HDFS was a very strong program even at the time of the original review. The HDFS department was
chaired by an interim head, Karen Hooker, at that time. Carolyn Aldwyn was hired later that year as the head of the
department. The original review was mostly positive about the graduate program, the department and its leadership.
Quoting from the review,
“Most of the faculty members are active in research, publishing, and getting grants. Some of them are
fellows in their respective professional societies and have won numerous awards. They serve on editorial boards of
several journals and review for journals and conferences. The students are quite satisfied with the research training
and education they are receiving and are full of praise for their professors. They especially appreciate the warmth
and concern the faculty members appear to show in their interactions with the students.”
Nevertheless, the review committee made several recommendations, which are taken very seriously by the
department. The actions taken by the department in response to these suggestions are documented in a detailed
report from the department head, which is attached as an appendix to this report. In summary, we are very
positively impressed by the enthusiasm with which our recommendations are embraced and implemented by the
department. We summarize the main points below, leaving the details to the appendix.
Curriculum
One weakness in the curriculum identified by the external evaluator, Teresa Cooney, is the lack of courses
in observational methods. In response, the department introduced two qualitative methods courses with particular
emphasis on observational methods. Moreover these two courses were made mandatory to all graduate students.
They also added new courses in development theory and methods which are supported by the new faculty. They are
planning to offer at least 3 elective courses per year to support the research work of the faculty and students.
Faculty Recruitment and Research
The department added 4 full professors since the last review: Scott Hofer, Rick Setterston and Mark Lusk
hold regular faculty positions and Marc Braverman is an Associate Dean of HHS with faculty home in HDFS.
They also hired a Research Associate professor, Andrea Picciman. They are hoping to fill the Knudsen Endowed
chair position in the near future and hire 2-3 assistant professors in the next few years. They were able to increase
the diversity in gender and sexual orientation and are trying to increase the racial diversity.
Since the original report, two new signature research centers have been established in which the HDFS
faculty play the primary roles: Center for Healthy Aging Research which emphasizes health and behavior issues of
the elderly and Sustainable Rural Communities Initiaitive, which focuses on the well-being of rural communities in
Oregon. These centers are supporting a lot of collaborative research with departments such as Public Health,
Resource and Agricultural Economics, Forestry, and Sociology.
Child Development Center is a remarkable facility but was not being used much for development research
at the time of the original review. There are now several projects, two headed by Joanne Sorte and two by Megan
McClelland, that study various aspects such as childhood obesity and emergence of learning-related skills in
children.
The faculty was encouraged to pursue more federal research funding in the original report. Several of the
faculty have participated in a workshop sponsored by the dean on grant writing. There have been several proposals
submitted. Some of the faculty obtained funding from NICHD, USDA-NRI and the Department of Education.
2
Three new faculty brought in 4 funded projects with them. The department has been very successful in getting
internal funding from the college and the university.
Student Recruitment and Support
HDFS has a unique approach to recruiting students in that they exclusively admit Ph.D. students and focus
on personal contacts of the faculty and potential match to their research interests. They are also ahead of the curve
on web-based advertising. They invite the admitted domestic students to an on-campus visit and a large fraction of
them decide to enroll in their program.
Their approach to recruiting through personal contacts and on-campus visits seems to be working well.
They were able to attract more Ph.D. applicants than before and increase the racial and gender diversity of the
student body. The recruits included 2 McNail scholars and 4 men.
Since the previous review, the department has made significant strides in increasing the support for
students to attend conferences. They make awards of $500 each to students on a competitive basis to attend
conferences to present papers and posters. They awarded 11 such scholarships in the last year.
They improved the communication with graduate students by holding open question-answer sessions with
the graduate program co-directors every quarter. They initiated a spring celebration of graduate student
achievements where the faculty provide lunch and express appreciation of student successes. This seems to have
been well-received.
Computing Infrastructure
The department used several technology resource fee grants to significantly improve the computing
infrastructure. Milam hall was converted to wireless and a large server and several laptops were purchased so that
any class room in Milam can be turned into a computer lab. A variety of software licenses enable the students to
access any analytical software they need. With the help of the research office and the Center for Healthy Aging
Research, they established a “LIFElab,” which is a center for data collection located in Bates Hall. Currently it has a
large server and 19 computers that gather in-house and lab-data and process surveys.
In summary, the HDFS department made great strides in all aspects in the past 3 years and seems poised to
the next level of advance. Their dedication to their mission, strong focus, and effort are highly commendable and
they are worthy of all the support they can get from the college and the university administration.
HDFS Response to Graduate Council Follow Up
February 2007
The Human Development & Family Studies Graduate Program was evaluated in 2004. The
committee was quite positive, but made 13 recommendations for improvements. The following
is an account of our response to those suggestions in the last two years. Recommendations are
indicated in bold.
1. Establish at least one course on observational methods.
We now offer annually two qualitative methods courses, both of which devote significant
attention to observational methods. Further, the first of the two is now required for all graduate
students. In addition, more of our graduate students who seek additional observational methods
are referred to appropriate courses in anthropology (ethnographic methods) and in sociology
(qualitative sociology).
2. Conduct more research in the Child Development Center.
There are new research projects being conducted at the CDC (see Appendix A). Two are headed
by Dr. Megan McClelland and involve seven graduate students, as well as two undergraduates
who received URAP awards. Two are headed by Joanne Sorte, Director of the CDC, and
involve both graduate and undergraduate researchers. An additional master’s thesis project from
the Design & Human Environment department is currently awaiting IRB approval.
3. Consider special topics courses in the signature areas of research.
With the addition of new faculty, we have added the proposed new courses in development,
theory, and methods. We are also planning to offer at least three electives classes a year.
4. Consider making comprehensive examinations a more productive process for students.
We have continued to study this issue, including conducting an additional survey of
comprehensive exams in other HDFS units across the country. We have not found a common
approach nor have we settled on a solution. We continue to believe that interdisciplinary
programs such as ours provide a useful exercise by requiring students to integrate material they
have learned in coursework taught be faculty from various disciplines. Conversations currently
are focusing on ways to make the qualifying exams equitable across students (e.g., developing
common theory and methods questions for each cohort). Because our graduate faculty has
changed quite a bit over the past several years, we think further discussion of this issue is
appropriate at this time.
5. Improve the quality, quantity, and diversity of graduate student applicants.
We are convinced that improving the pool of applicants is best accomplished through personal
contacts. Toward that end, we have recently developed an invitation for faculty to send
electronically to respected colleagues, telling them about our program and encouraging them to
send us their best undergraduate students.
We also are learning that print material is not a particularly effective way to reach a young
audience. The Graduate Committee intends to focus its efforts during spring quarter on revisions
to our web materials. In addition to make the website more informative and more user friendly,
we plan to include a podcast or two about our program.
Our application numbers are growing; we received 19 complete applications for our January 15th
deadline and we have a second deadline on April 1st. Our efforts to increase the diversity of
applicants seem to be working as well. For example, we received applications from and admitted
two McNair scholars this month. We also had applications from five people of color of whom
two (three?) have been admitted. The Graduate Council’s report also noted a small number of
male applicants. This year, of the 19 applications we received by January 15th, three (16%) were
from men, two of whom were admitted. In fact, 25% of those admitted were men. Currently, 4
(13%) of our 31 graduates students are men.
Next month, we will have our 3rd annual recruitment weekend in which applicants living in the
U.S. who received a positive decision are invited to come to campus to meet with faculty,
graduate students, and each other; attend classes; and explore the campus and Corvallis. The
Department pays the travel and lodging expenses for these visits. So far, the vast majority of
people who attend have decided to enroll in our Program.
Last year and in the current year as well, we have promised the best applicants in our pool a
graduate assistant position of at least .30 FTE. This higher FTE seems to be leading to more
decisions to enroll at Oregon State.
6. Set aside some funds to support graduate student travel to attend conferences.
We have set aside funding to support $500 awards for graduate travel to conferences from three
sources: the Petersen Endowed Chair, the Knudsen Endowed Chair, and departmental funds. We
have developed an application process for these funds (see
http://www.hhs.oregonstate.edu/hdfs/graduate/funding.html). This program has been very
popular, and we have had to tighten eligibility. The most important criterion is participation in
the program, either by presenting a paper or poster or by engaging in society governance at some
level. In 2005-2006, we awarded 11 students scholarships for a total of $5,500 (see Appendix
B). So far this year, we have awarded 10 fellowships for a total of $5,000, but denied two.
7. Reconsider the exclusive emphasis on Ph.D. bound students.
Graduate faculty members have considered this issue at length and our position is unchanged.
Given limited resources and the very large number of undergraduates we serve, we do not feel
that it is in our best interests to emphasize the terminal M.S. degree, which would require us to
provide graduate-level training in research to individuals who will not be practicing researchers.
Instead, we seek to improve our recruitment of top Ph.D. students.
8. Improve the communication with the current and new graduate students.
Last year, the chair hosted an open office period for graduate students to ask questions. This
year, each quarter, we are holding an open session each quarter for all graduate students with the
graduate program’s co-directors at which any question may be raised. Beginning in the fall and
for the first time, we paired in-coming students with a current graduate student co-advisor.
Although some of these pairings have been more successful than others, the successful ones have
far exceeded our expectations. We will continue this practice in coming years. Our research
apprenticeship/observation program is rotating students through various research projects and
labs in the department, providing opportunities for students to work with different faculty and to
get to know other graduate students. We have instituted a spring celebration of our graduate
students as well. Faculty provide lunch and celebrate students’ milestones and accomplishments.
Finally, on their own, students have initiated a weekly social hour.
9. Develop ways of obtaining more federal grants that enable the faculty to do research
publishable in top quality journals.
Several of our faculty have participated in the grant writing program sponsored by the dean,
which resulted in a number of submissions. So far, an R03 from NICHD has been funded to Dr.
MacTavish; Dr. Richards received funding from USDA-NRI; and Dr. Rosenkoetter is
collaborating on several studies funded by the Department of Education, and several other
proposals are pending. Drs. Acock and Vuchinich have been collaborating with Dr. Flay in
Public Health as co-investigators on federal submissions, and Dr. Vuchinich has recently
submitted his own grant proposal. Dr. McClelland is resubmitting her proposal, and has also
sought funding with research colleagues in Taiwan from their government.
We have three new faculty, Profs. Rick Settersten and Scott Hofer, and Research Associate
Professor Andrea Piccinin, who have brought a total of four new grants or subcontracts with
them, three from NIH and one from the MacArthur Foundation. Drs. Settersten, Hofer, Piccinin,
Aldwin and Levenson have been participating in a P01 submission from UC Berkeley, and Drs.
Hofer, Piccinin, Aldwin, Hooker, & Levenson are collaborating on another PO1 submission for
this June, with Dr. Hofer as PI.
Faculty have been very successful in garnering pilot funding from either the college or the
Center for Health Aging Research (CHAR), which has supported graduate students and
publications. Four grants have been funded by HHS: One to Dr. Hooker, one to Dr. McClelland,
another to Drs. Levenson and Aldwin, and a fourth to Drs. MacTavish and Richards. Several
faculty have also received pilot funding from CHAR, including Dr. Walker and Drs. Hofer and
Aldwin.
Thus, the faculty have been very active in seeking funds for their own research and to support
graduate students. This is resulting in an increasing publication rate among the faculty.
10. Continue the efforts to develop signature research centers and seek collaborators
outside the department and college.
Since the original submission of our graduate review, two centers have been funded in which
HDFS faculty participate. The Center for Healthy Aging Research has provided an excellent
avenue for collaborative research. Dr. Walker has a grant funded with Drs. Becky Donatelle and
Melinda Manore in Public Health on health behavior habit interventions in middle-aged women.
Drs. Hooker and Aldwin are consultants on a grant funded to Carmen Steggel and Atiya
Mahmood on acceptability of technologies which would help older adults age in place. Drs.
Hofer and Aldwin recently received a grant working with Dr. Tory Hagen and psychosocial
stress and cellular stress.
Drs. Kate MacTavish, Sally Bowman, Sharon Rosenkoetter, and Leslie Richards have been very
active in the Sustainable Rural Communities Initiative, as has new Extension Demographer Lena
Etuk. All of these faculty are engaged in rural Oregon. Dr. MacTavish has been examining the
issues of mobile home park residence and child and family wellbeing, and is also working with
Dr. Richards on a project looking at community factors that shape physical activity among rural
low-income Latino youth. Dr. Richards is just completing the second wave of the multi-state
Rural Families Speak study examining the wellbeing of low-income rural mothers in the postwelfare era. Dr. Bowman has a large project funded through the Ford Family Foundation focused
on the evaluation of parent education and family support services in rural Oregon. Dr.
Rosenkoetter, through a training grant has facilitated the preparation of special education
practitioners for work on rural schools. All such work is supported through the collaboration
with other rural scholars engaged in the SRCI, such as Dr. Bruce Weber in Resource and
Agricultural Economics, as well as faculty in Sociology and Forestry such as Drs. Rebecca
Warner and John Bliss, respectively. The SRCI faculty have recently received permission from
NSF to pursue an Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship in Rural Studies
training grant which would provide significant support for doctoral students.
11. Try and get at least 2 more faculty slots, not counting this year’s hiring.
We have been increasing our number of faculty since the last review. As mentioned earlier, we
hired two new full professors, Drs. Scott Hofer and Rick Settersten, and one new Research
Associate Professor, Dr. Andrea Piccinin. In addition, we have two senior faculty who initially
came to OSU in administrative posts. Dr. Marc Braverman is Associate Dean for Extension in
HHS whose home department is HDFS. He teaches a graduate course in evaluation
methodology every other year. Dr. Mark Lusk came to OSU as Director of International
Programs, and has recently stepped down to take a full-time post in our department as a full
professor. He will serve as point person for the Human Services option in the HDFS major, and
is currently teaching a graduate class in Program Development. We are still pursuing candidates
for the Knudsen Endowed Chair in Family Research and Policy. We hope to hire two-three
additional assistant professors in the next few years, but it is unclear whether the financial
situation of OSU will permit this.
12. Improve the computational infrastructure.
In the past two years, we have substantially upgraded the computer infrastructure for HDFS.
Through a series of Technology Resource Fee (TRF) grants we developed a virtual computer lab.
One grant funded the conversion of Milam Hall to a wireless facility, and another allowed the
purchase of a large server (called “umbrella”) and a whole series of software and licenses for
both quantitative and qualitative analysis. Thus, students can access any analytical software they
need as long as they have an onid account. An additional grant funded 25 laptops and a laptop
cart for transporting the laptop to classrooms. As Milam is wireless, this allows any classroom in
Milam to be a virtual computer lab. HDFS is funding a GTA to help other students with
accessing umbrella. This system has been used to great benefit in our quantitative methods
classes by Drs. Acock and Vuchinich, and Dr. Richards is currently piloting the system in the
new graduate qualitative methods class. Further, other faculty have started using the system in
other classes, such as our undergraduate WIC class.
This year we received substantial funding from the Research Office (RERF funds) and the
Center for Health Aging Research to develop the LIFElab, a facility for data collection. The
LIFElab, located in Bates Hall, consists of 19 computers, 8 of which will be used for data
collection (cognitive and survey data) in the lab, one of which is connected to a scanner for
processing surveys, and ten of which will be used for in-home data collection. In addition, we
also purchased a large server to support data collection, including web-based surveys. The
LIFElab is nearing completion, but will require some soundproofing to be completely viable.
13. Upgrade the library collection to research level.
We continue to support the idea of upgrading the library collection, although resources required
seem prohibitive in this regard. Our experience is that access to digital collections, either from
campus or through interlibrary loan, has made the collection less of a problem than was true in
the past. It would be terrific, though, if the library was able to arrange for immediate access to
materials rather than the 6-month delay common for some key periodicals in our field.
Appendix A: Research Projects at the Child Development Center
McClelland, M. M. The emergence of learning-related skills. College of Health and Human
Sciences, Oregon State University, ($14,019). Funded May 1, 2004 – June 30, 2005.
McClelland, M. M. The kindergarten readiness study. Oregon State University Research Office,
($10,000). Funded June 1, 2005 – September 30, 2006.
Carrie Farris (MA student)
Sarah Feeney (MA student)
Michaella Sektnan (MA Student)
Devora Shamah (PhD student
Shannon Wanless (PhD Student)
Amy Murray (MA Student - is doing thesis on data from project)
Shauna Tominey (PhD student)
Sorte, Joanne.
Health in Action, a program approach to reducing obesity in young children ($64,844),
Northwest Health Foundation grant, 2005-2006. Undergraduate research opportunities (time
studies of child activity levels, data review of child 24 hour food recall nutrition assessment,
calculation of Body Mass Index for preschoolers); graduate student involvement in program
development discussions, no direct implementation involvement or thesis; Director's publication
of project design and results in Young Children, National Association for the Education of
Young Children, presentations for State Superintendent Conference, Oregon Dietetics
conference, etc.
Oregon Head Start Prekindergarten Program ($1,070,728 and etc.) Oregon Department of
Education, 2005-2007 (and etc.). Undergraduate and graduate grant management &
implementation experience and data mgt; Sako Tsutsuminaka thesis (teacher perceptions);
graduate participation Shauna Tominey (potential research at CDC), Cris Dogaru (informed
thesis and dissertation), Katherine Lloyd (informed study), Carrie Farris (informed research)
Deb Upington (grad student) and Marilyn Read (DHE). Children's preference for environments
study, Research for Master's thesis. IRB pending; project dates March - May 2007.
APPENDIX B
$500 Travel Allotments
For Graduate Students
2005-2006
Name
Date of Travel
Where To
Event
Account
Devora Shamah
Aug. 8-12, 2005
Tampa, FL
Rural Sociological
Society
Department
Erica Srinivasan
Nov. 18-22, 2005
Orlando, FL
Gerontological Society of
America
Knudson
Yu Jin Jeong
Nov. 14-20, 2005
Phoenix, AZ
NCFR
Department
Bethany
Chamberlain
Nov. 16-19, 2005
Phoenix, AZ
NCFR
Petersen
Cris Dogaru
March 4-7, 2006
Lexington, KY
National Early Childhood
Transition Center
Research Team Meeting
Department
Shannon Wanless
April 27-30, 2006
Louisville, KY
Conference on Human
Development
Department
Cris Mouzong
March 23-26,
2006
San Francisco,
CA
Conference for Society
of Research on
Adolescence
Department
Michaella Sektnan
April 27-30, 2006
Louisville, KY
Conference on Human
Development
Department
Amy Murray
April 27-30, 2006
Louisville KY
Conference on Human
Development
Department
Doris CancelTirado
April 27-30, 2006
Palm Springs,
CA
Western Psychological
Association Conference
Department
Amanda Taylor
April 27-30, 2006
Palm Springs,
CA
Western Psychological
Association Conference
Department
$500 TRAVEL ALLOTMENTS
FOR GRADUATE STUDENTS
2006-2007
Name
Date of
Travel
Where To
Event
Account
Devora Shamah
Aug 1014,2006
Louisville KY
Rural Sociological
Society
Dept
Michelle Cox
Nov 16-20,
2006
Dallas TX
Gerontological Society
of America
Dept
Shannon
Wanless
Taiwan
Dept
Verna Ourada
Nov 8-11,
2006
Minneapolis MN
National Council on
Family Relations
Petersen
Shauna
Tominey
Nov 8-11,
2006
Atlanta GA
NAEYC
Dept
Doris CancelTirado
Nov 1-4,
2006
San Diego, CA
National Organization
of Human Services
Conference
Dept
Liz Levaro
Nov 16-20,
2006
Dallas TX
Gerontological Society
of America
Denied
Patricia
Meierdiercks
Nov 8-11,
2006
Minneapolis MN
National Council on
Family Relations
Denied
Yu-Jin Jeong
Nov 8-11,
2006
Minneapolis MN
National Council on
Family Relations
Knudson
Sarah Feeney
Nov 8-11,
2006
Minneapolis MN
National Council on
Family Relations
Knudson
SoYoung Lee
Nov 15-20,
2006
Dallas TX
Gerontological Society
of America
Petersen
San Francisco
CA
Centenary Celebration
& Conference
Dept
Kathleen Lloyd