October 2011 Newsletter
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Saying Goodbye: Two CSBS Members Lose Battle with Cancer
College KudosHaimanti Bhattacharya,
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Nancy Patterson Klekas, accounting supervisor of psychology, lost her five-year battle
with cancer on August 17th, 2011. Klekas was a graduate of the University, and became
a dedicated employee of the U for 27 years. In 2009, her hard work was acknowledged
when she received The Staff Excellence Award for outstanding service to the university. 
Frederick Rhodewalt passed away August 19th, 2011 due to complications of cancer.
In his time at the U, Rhodewalt held a number of positions within the college including
associate and full professor of psychology, associate dean of the college, chair of
the sociology department, and associate dean of the graduate school. He received numerous
awards including the Senior Superior Research award from the college and the Society
for Personality and Social Psychology award for his distinguished service.
assistant professor of economics, recently received the “Quality of Research Discovery”
award from the European Association of Agricultural Economists. Bhattacharya received
the award based on her article that was featuredAmerican Journal of Agricultural Economics back in 2008. 
Kathleen Nicoll, assistant professor of geography, adjunct professor of geology and
geophysics, and affiliated faculty member of the Middle East Center was recently named
a member of the Fellow of Geological Society of America. 
Legacy of Lowell and the CSBS Ambassadors
Kicking off Homecoming week festivities, the 8th Annual Legacy of Lowell Day took
place Saturday, September 24th. Students, faculty, and members of the community worked
together on a variety of projects in an effort to make their community a better place.
The CSBS Ambassadors recruited 120 students to the service day—their first attempt
at direct recruitment with the Legacy of Lowell day. Over 600 students met up at Mountain
View Elementary and were disbursed among numerous service projects that included painting
a mural and a house, knitting hats and blankets for newborns, putting together backpacks
for elementary school students, as well as sorting through medical supplies. Together,
community members, faculty, and students completed over 20 service projects. A big
CSBS thank you goes out to our ambassadors and to all those who donated their time
to help the community. Watch the video.
Veteran Conference Visits Capitol Hill
The University of Utah’s National Center for Veterans Studies and the American Psychological Association held a two-day conference in Washington DC to discuss the vital issue of reducing suicide risk in the military and veteran populations. Dr. M. David Rudd, national science director and dean of the College of Social and Behavioral Science and a group veterans, researchers, and clinicians gathered for a ‘best practices’ conference on September 13th. Together they discussed the best practices in assessment and clinical management. On the 14th of September, a distinguished panel of experts including Rudd took part in two congressional briefings with six bipartisan members of Congress to discuss military and veteran suicide. The conferences were made possible by a gift from O.co—formerly known as Overstock.com.
Psychology Professor Cynthia Berg Takes on Diabetes
Diabetes affects an estimated 23.6 million people in the United States according to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive Kidney Diseases (NIDDK). And although some forms of diabetes may be considered more life threatening than others, each can have the potential for dangerous consequences when they aren’t properly treated. With that in mind, psychology professor Dr. Cynthia Berg, along with colleagues Dr. Deb Wiebe, Yana Sucky, Jonathan Butner, and numerous graduate students received financial support from NIDDK, to take on a new research project specifically concerning adolescents with diabetes and their transition into adulthood. Nicknamed READY, The Self-Regulation Approach to Diabetes Adherence Into Emerging Adulthood study follows closely behind previous research from 2005. Find out more about this research.
Shaping up the 2012 Elections
Elections: It’s the subject on everyone’s mind. And with how the past few years have been shaping up, the upcoming primaries could arguably be the start of one of the most important presidential elections to date. Although elections aren’t until November 2012, the hype has grown exponentially in the past few months as we continue to find out who plans on running for office, as well as the continued economic hardship the country faces. So what’s in store over the next year? Keep reading. See what Kirk Jowers and Dan Jones have to say about the elections.
Annual Siciliano Forum is Upon Us Once More
As times are changing and technology progresses, many are asking themselves one question: is journalism dead? In light of this troubling thought, The Hinckley Institute of Politics presents the 15th Annual Rocco. C. and Marion S. Siciliano Forum. The topic of Considerations on the Status of the American Society will examine The Future of Journalism. From October 24th-28th, there will be several events and forums the public to hear from numerous specialists from a variety of journalistic backgrounds and their ideas about the future of journalism. The Hinckley Institute will be holding a variety of forums throughout the week on subjects such as How are Journalism Leaders on the Group Adapting to the Changing Media as well as What It Means to be a Journalist in the Digital Age. Also, make sure to tune in each day at 11 am to RadioWest KUER 90.1 FM to hear Doug Frabrizio speak with different guests including New York Times Page One Director Andrew Rossi, and Martin Tolchin, Founder of The Hill—a newspaper that reports on events in Congress. Get the detailed events of the Siciliano Forum here.
Anthropologists Examine Migration of First Americans
Little was known about the migration of the First Americans up until this point. But thanks to a new approach, researchers are now studying the ancient DNA of their skeletons in hopes of finding answers. With over 60 studies hitting the media, a group of anthropologists are currently reviewing them. The team includes the U’s anthropology professor Dennis O’Rourke and his research associate Jennifer Raff. Regarding the newest research, some say that the DNA supports the idea that the ancient Americans first preoccupied Beringia for thousands of years before moving onto the Americas. And though one popular theory is that there was one sizeable migration shift from Asia, O’Rourke believes that the evidence cannot rule out the possibility of several migrations. Read the American Association for the Advancement of Science article.
Funding the Student Experience
A special thanks goes to the generosity of donors to our Connections Fund. Every gift directly supports students who may have financial need to complete research, and/or applied learning or service learning projects. The fund also provides annual scholarships to students who have demonstrated academic excellence. During the past few months, students have been reaching out CSBS friends and alums, gathering over $30,000 in donations. Give to the Connections Fund online.