UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Students, staff and faculty members from Penn State's College of Education share recent research and career achievements.

• Janice Byrd, assistant professor of education (counselor education), received the AERA Division E-Distinguished Research Award over the summer.
• Soo-yong Byun, professor of education (educational theory and policy), was interviewed for a WITF podcast episode, “Teachers are leaving classrooms feeling undervalued — Penn State research.”
• Seria Chatters, adjunct associate teaching professor (counselor education) and assistant vice provost for educational equity, co-authored a new article, “Perceived School Fairness and Willingness to Report Bias-Based Bullying Among Youth During COVID-19 Pandemic”, in the Journal of School Health.
• Liza Conyers, professor of education (rehabilitation and human services), co-authored an article titled “COVID-19, Employment, and Quality of Life Among People Living With HIV” that appeared in the Rehabilitation Counselors and Educators Journal. She also co-authored a paper, “Exploring the Impact of an Integrated Trauma-Informed HIV and Vocational Intervention for Black/African American Women Living with HIV,” that appeared in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. In addition, Conyers has been invited to present on aphasia and mental health with Chaleece Sandberg in October at LaTrobe University in Melbourne, Australia, and at the University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand.
• Semonti Dey, a doctoral candidate in higher education, was named to the 2023-24 Association for the Study of Higher Education (ASHE) Graduate Student Committee.
• Allison Fleming, associate professor of education (counselor education), co-edited a book titled “The Psychological and Social Impact of Chronic Illness and Disability (8th Edition). She also co-authored two chapters, one in collaboration with Sarah Roundtree, a doctoral student in counselor education: “The Evolution of Laws and Policies in the United States and Their Impact on Disabled People” and “Interventions to Improve the Well-Being of People with Disabilities and Chronic Illness.” 
• Ed Fuller, professor of education (educational leadership), is quoted in an article in Education Week, “What Teacher-Preparation Enrollment Looks Like, in Charts.”
• Jason Griffith, assistant professor of education (children’s and adolescent literature studies), is quoted in a CNN article, “Requests to ban books hit a 21-year high. See which titles were the most challenged.”
• Jeffrey Hayes, professor of education (counselor education), completed his first year as editor of Cogent Mental Health, an international, open access journal published by Taylor & Francis.
• James Herbert, professor of education (rehabilitation and human services), is lead author of two new articles in Rehabilitation Research, Policy, and Education; “A Selective Review of Rehabilitation Services and Disabilities Studies Syllabi” and “Work Roles and Functions of Undergraduate Rehabilitation Services Alumni: A Replication Study.”  He also participated in a podcast, “Where Did All the Staff Go? Addressing Your Recruitment Woes: A Conversation.”
• Jilli Jung, a doctoral student in educational policy, is lead author of a new paper, “The Stubborn Unresponsiveness of Youth Voter Turnout to Civic Education: Quasi-Experimental Evidence From State-Mandated Civics Tests.” Maithreyi Gopalan, assistant professor of education and public policy, is a co-author.
• Matthew Kelly, assistant professor of education (educational leadership), was quoted in an article in The Philadelphia Inquirer, “Lawmakers were told Pa. schools need an extra $6.2 billion, on the first day of school funding hearings.” Kelly testified on Sept. 12 for the Basic Education Funding Commission (BEFC) in Allentown.
• Gerald Letendre, H.L. Batschelet Chair of Education (educational leadership), is lead author of a new paper, “Social robots in a project-based learning environment: Adolescent understanding of robot–human interactions.”
• Beverly Lindsay, professor emerita, presented papers at both the 2023 conferences of the American Sociological Association and the Association of Black Sociologists. The respective papers were: "The Roles of Universities in Virtual Intellectual Migration via Evolving Technologies and STEM” and "Public Sociology and International Affairs: Opportunities and Challenges for African Americans."
• Deirdre O'Sullivan, associate professor of education (rehabilitation and human services), is lead author of a recently published article, “Measuring Parenting Practices Across Four Dimensions in Adults with Disabilities: Development of the Revised Affirmative to Problem Parenting Scale (R-APPS),” in the journal Measurement and Evaluation in Counseling and Development.
• Pia Smal, associate teaching professor of education (rehabilitation and human services), is a founding member and president of Centre LGBT+, which had its grand opening of Centre County’s first LGBT center on Sept. 10.
• Rachel Wolkenhauer, associate professor of education (curriculum and supervision) will be presented with the Association of Teacher Educators' Duaine C. Lang Distinguished Mentoring Award at its spring conference.
• Carlos Zalaquett, professor of education (counselor education) and co-coordinator of the Clinical Mental Health Counseling Program, did a keynote presentation, “Siete tendencias actuales que empoderan estas reflexiones sobre la niñez a nivel local, regional e internacional” (Seven current trends that empower our reflections about our infancy at local, regional and international levels) at the Conference “Las Raices de Mi Miñez: Reflexiones Acerca del Desarrollo Infantil en Chile” (The Roots of My Infancy: Reflections on Child Development in Chile), sponsored by the Universidad de Concepcion. Concepcion, Chile, on June 13. He also co-presented “Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Around the World” during the American Psychological Association’s Annual Conference on Aug. 3-5 in Washington, D.C.

"College of Education News" highlights accomplishments by faculty, staff and students in the College of Education, including publications; research presentations at conferences and workshops; and awards and fellowships. Please share your news with us and your colleagues by emailing edrelations@psu.edu.