
Jan. 21, 2021
School of Social Work announces new administrative team
Aaron Thompson, the newly appointed Director of the School of Social Work, announced a new administrative team following his appointment. Carol Snively, associate teaching professor, will serve as the associate director of the School of Social Work. As associate director, Dr. Snively will assist Dr. Thompson with educational programs, student affairs, faculty teaching affairs and development of strategic initiatives to advance the school. She will also represent the school in the director’s absence. Dr. Snively will remain in her role as the Master of Social Work program director. “I have enormous respect for Dr. Snively,” Dr. Thompson said. “Her depth of institutional knowledge, knowledge of the CSWE accreditation standards, and her leadership on the School of…

Jan. 15, 2021
Fall 2020 Dean’s List
Jan. 15, 2021 Congratulations to all students who made the Fall 2020 Dean’s List! Each school and college at the University of Missouri determines its own dean’s list eligibility for undergraduate students. Students who had privacy holds in MyZou are excluded from public lists. To qualify for the dean’s list in the School of Health Professions, a student must earn a 3.3 GPA in a minimum of 12 graded (A-F) credit hours. Dean’s list honors only apply to Fall and Spring semesters. Courses graded S/U or Hearer do not count toward the required 12 graded hours. Self-paced courses must be…

Jan. 15, 2021
Special interests can be assets, not hindrances, for youth with autism
Jan. 15, 2021 Kerri Nowell, assistant clinical professor in the Department of Health Psychology and a pediatric clinical psychologist at the MU Thompson Center, together with colleagues Stephen Kanne, Cynthia Brown and Courtney Jorgenson, developed the survey for caregivers of youth with autism to assess various special interests they may have and determine if those special interests were interfering with the child’s development. After analyzing nearly 2,000 responses, in addition to possible reductions of anxiety and improvements of mental health, Nowell found that many caregivers also recognize the child’s special interests as outlets that can potentially benefit them in social…

Jan. 12, 2021
OTA program receives candidacy status for accreditation
Jan. 12, 2021 Early last month, the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy (ACOTE) voted to grant candidacy status to the Occupational Therapy Assistant Baccalaureate Program, which is set to enroll students for Fall 2021. Candidacy status means that the Department of Occupational Therapy is now eligible to begin admitting students to the BHS-OTA program. “We are excited to be at the forefront of this new era in OTA education and proud to be offering this unique opportunity at the University of Missouri,” says Tim Wolf, occupational therapy department chair. During the review process, ACOTE identified the following strengths with the…

Jan. 7, 2021
Mizzou students recognized by Missouri Public Health Association
The Missouri Public Health Association has announced their award winners! Each year, MPHA makes awards to deserving students in the field of public health. Two Mizzou Master of Public Health students won awards this year: Devin Hursey received The Edna Dell Weinel Scholarship, and Kayla Reil received the Health Profession Scholarship. MPH student Kayla Riel Hursey,…

Jan. 5, 2021
Botswana Blackburn named Associate Chair of Health Sciences
Botswana Blackburn has been named associate chair of the Department of Health Sciences effective Jan. 1. An associate teaching professor, Dr. Blackburn has served as the Health Sciences program director since July of 2018. “Dr. Blackburn has demonstrated outstanding performance and made important contributions to helping the Department of Health Sciences accomplish its educational mission,” said Li-Wu Chen, department chair. “She is well respected by our faculty, staff and students.” As the associate chair, Dr. Blackburn will assist Dr. Chen with issues related to DHS’s educational program, student affairs and teaching-related faculty affairs. She will also assist with strategic initiatives…

Dec. 21, 2020
Nuclear Medicine program earns reaccreditation
Dec. 21, 2020 The Mizzou Nuclear Medicine program earned reaccreditation for seven years from the Joint Review Committee on Educational Programs in Nuclear Medicine Technology (JRCNMT) in November. In its report, the JRCNMT noted several strengths of the Mizzou program: Variety of clinical affiliates and support from affiliate educational supervisors Excellent faculty who are passionate about nuclear medicine Unique partnerships with Northstar, NextGen and the MU Research Reactor, which provide learning and research opportunities for students Excellent administrative, advisement and records support Support from administration at both department and college level, including advocating for faculty development funding Over the…

Dec. 16, 2020
Thank you, Dale Fitch!
Dec. 16, 2020 Associate Professor Dale Fitch has directed the School of Social Work since 2017. His term comes to an end this month as School of Health Professions Dean Kristofer Hagglund prepares to announce a permanent director. “In working closely with Dale these past few months, I have come to appreciate his dedication to the mission of the School of Social Work and his commitment to supporting his colleagues, students and the community,” Dean Hagglund said. “Dale successfully guided the School of Social Work to the School of Health Professions, much to the delight of the faculty and staff…

Dec. 16, 2020
Mizzou student goes from intern to executive director
Plenty of Mizzou grads use an internship to launch their career, though likely few have made the jump from unpaid intern to head of an organization in eight months. But Nicole Cope, who is graduating this week with her master’s of public health, is doing just that. Cope is set to become executive director of the Missouri Immunization Coalition, a nonprofit raising vaccine awareness. It’s a new beginning for Cope, who is also retiring from the Army Medical Corps after a decorated 23-year career, having earned the rank of master sergeant.

Dec. 15, 2020
A class like no other
Show Me Mizzou talked with Social Work graduate Brandon Shults and 10 other graduating Mizzou students about their plans for the future and the moments that defined their time on campus.