Spring 2021 Newsletter
Fire Science
Kaitlin Ventrice is Beating the Odds in the Fire Service
In January, Kaitlin Ventrice received her letter of offer to become a firefighter in one of the larger fire departments in Virginia. Graduating from NJCU in May 2018 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Fire Science, she succeeded in earning a career position in the predominantly male field. “In 2018, 93,700 (8%) of the firefighters were female. Of the career firefighters, 15,200 (4%) were female firefighters.There were 78,500 volunteer firefighters who were female, which was 11% of the total number of volunteer firefighters” (NFPA report - U.S. fire department profile).
The path to career firefighter was not easy but Kaitlin did everything she could to prepare to be successful and earn a career in the fire service as a firefighter. It all began when she became a volunteer firefighter in the town where she lived and became hooked. She loved to challenge herself both physically and mentally to ultimately help others and found that being a volunteer firefighter was just that. After volunteering for several years, she decided that this was to be her career. To be the best she could be, she strived to continue to learn and knowing the importance of education she came to NJCU to earn her Fire Science degree.
Kaitlin had the education and experience, but the hiring process is still not easy. It can include any or all of the following: written exams, physical tests, various interviews, and even polygraphs. Determined, and applying to several departments she succeeded, Kaitlin was given a letter of offer to become one of the bravest for a fire department in Virginia. Currently in the Fire Academy, she is dedicated and strives to be successful both in the classroom and with the physical demands. With no exception she must perform to the same standards as her male classmates, including the physical standards. Being a firefighter is physically demanding, your carrying hose, equipment, and victims. You’re climbing stairs, going into smoke filled buildings, so keeping yourself in excellent physical shape is just as important as the educational and mental challenges that one faces.
In Kailin’s own words. “As a female in the fire service, I would take a look around and notice I was the only woman most of the time. Throughout school and the processes I have been involved in, I saw a handful of women. People will tell you that one has a leg up getting hired as a firefighter for being female nowadays, but I will tell you that you still have to work hard or even harder than those around you. I love hearing or seeing that women are becoming more interested in the fire science degree at NJCU and becoming firefighters. It is so empowering to be in a male-dominated occupation. Not only to say I was able to do it, but to help change the minds of those who may think otherwise and to help pave the road for future female firefighters. With that, I am not here to say any female can do it because in reality, not everyone can do it. One has to have the passion, the drive, and the heart to become a firefighter. I know my passion started in high school, but attending NJCU just made that passion grow. The class material, fellow classmates who were already paid firefighters, the structure of each class, and most importantly, the amazing professors, really helped me get to where I am today. The fire science staff at NJCU is the best one can get. Each professor has an outstanding background and amazing experience in the field. Going through the fire science program really helped me as I went through the hiring process. Everything done at NJCU with the fire science department is done with intention to guide the students and set them up for success, whether that be becoming a paid firefighter, a fire inspector, an arson investigator, etc. I still keep in touch with multiple professors. I have used professors as references during the hiring process and for recommendation letters. When it comes down to it, I do not think I would be where I am today without the staff of the fire science department at NJCU.”
Health Sciences
NLAPH Fellowships Awarded to Dr. Erin O’Neill and Adjunct Professor Stacey Flanagan
Dr. Erin O’Neill and Stacey Flanagan (Health Sciences’ Adjunct and Director for J.C. Health & Human Services) have been named 2021 Fellows for the National Leadership Academy for the Public’s Health (NLAPH). The NLAPH is run by the Center for Health Leadership and Practice, a center of the Public Health Institute, with generous support from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and The California Endowment. The focus for this fellowship is to recognize and bring together leaders from diverse sectors to improve health and advance equity: “Agile leadership is more important than ever in these uncertain times. We need leaders who can adapt to real-world events, such as COVID-19. We also need leaders who can advance racial justice, in partnership with their communities, to create a more equitable future” (center for Health Leadership & Practice, 2020).
NLAPH began in 2011 to provide training to four-person multi-sector teams from across the country to advance their leadership skills and achieve health equity in their community. The NLAPH has been in existence since 2012 with less than 800 total fellowships awarded. O’Neill and Flanagan are representing team Healthier JC for NLAPH’s 2021 cohort as one of 14 national teams (existing of a total of 63 fellows). The Healthier JC team’s goal is to further progress on innovative and sustainable solutions to bridge cross-sector services to individuals suffering from violence by connecting and aligning systems of care and intervention agents. Fellows of this program are expected to use the academy and its’ coaching (from internationally renowned Public Health experts) to improve population health by constructing innovative solutions and infusing the outcomes of this year-long leadership program into their respective public health fields (higher education, government, non- profits, etc.).
Health Sciences Highlights
Angela V. McKnight, NJ Assemblywoman and Health Sciences’ Adjunct, continues to be at the forefront for championing legislation to support maternal and child health outcomes, school health (COVID-related), and racial and health equity.
Health Officer Maya Lordo is a graduate from the Health Sciences’ Public Health Education Master's program and is a current adjunct, currently teaching Comprehensive Health Planning (HLTH 621) and Environmental Health (HLTH 301).
Adjunct Professor Steven Campos, Assemblywoman Angela McKnight, and Health Sciences Internship partners, Frank Gilmore and Evelyn Mercado (HOPES Cap) have been recognized for their community work in fighting COVID. Learn more.
Adjunct Professor Steven Campos (Hudson CMO) has been awarded for his excellence in combatting violence in Jersey City as a “Gun Sense Champion,” alongside Senator Cory Booker and Governor Phil Murphy.
Six current PHE undergraduate students have been selected, trained, and mobilized to man the statewide COVID emergency hotlines at the New Jersey Poison Control Center.
Dr. Erin O’Neill and Adjunct professor and Jersey City Director of Health & Human Services, Stacey Flanagan have been selected to take part in the prestigious, year-long, National Academy for Leadership in Public Health.
Dr. Danny Schieffler's work, co-authored with Dr. Sofia Matta from Naval Hospital Camp Pendleton, entitled "Evidence to Support the Use of S-Adenosylmethionine for Treatment of Post-Concussive Sequelae in the Military" has been accepted for publication in the journal Military Medicine. Their work will be displayed at the International Brain Injury Association 2021 Conference, July 28-12, 2021. and Academy of Consultation Liaison Psychiatry Annual Meeting, November 10-12, 2021.
Criminal Justice
New Book by Dr. Venessa Garcia
In her latest book, Women in Policing around the World: Doing Gender and Policing in a Gendered Organization (Routledge, 2021), Dr. Venessa Garcia, Criminal Justice, examines women in policing around the globe. Research on policing abounds; however, there is a lack of focus on the gendered nature of policing. Dr. Garcia uses the theory of gendered organizations as the central concept within her book. She examines the historical, legal, political, and social context of women in policing. Furthermore, she takes a global look at women’s experiences within this occupation. An examination of various nations reinforces the fact that gender stratification is a major part of every culture. Dr. Garcia takes the reader around the globe by focusing on various nations and examining how their police systems treat women police. Dr. Garcia introduces the reader to the sociology of gender and then guides the reader through understanding gender difference and gender stratification. She then moves to a discussion on women’s rights and their movement into the workforce and ultimately into the police workforce. Within policing, Dr. Garcia finds that women still face legal, occupational, and social barriers in recruitment, training, and promotion in policing. Women police experience gender and sexual harassment, as well as gendered stress. Women police the world over still face pressures to do gender in policing. However, there is a some move to increase women's social capital via mentoring and the growth creation of women's police organizations. Additionally, Dr. Garcia's work in the field of criminology has been recognized with her election as Executive Counselor (2020-2023) to the American Society of Criminology (ASC).
New Articles by Dr. Esther Nir
Dr. Esther Nir published "What Do the Gatekeeper's See? Perceptions and Evaluations of Scientific Evidence Among State Court Judges" (Nir & Liu, 2021) in the Journal of Criminology, Criminal Justice, Law & Society. This article is based on a qualitative study conducted with 41 state court judges. It evaluates judicial decision-making in determining the admissibility of scientific evidence and the limitations inherent in these processes.
Later this month the Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology will publish Dr. Nir’s article "Defending Constitutional Rights in Imbalanced Courtrooms" she wrote in collaboration with her colleague at Penn-State. This research involved qualitative interviews of defense attorneys, as well as surveys, to explore their perceptions of the challenges involved in protecting their clients' rights against unreasonable police stops, searches, and seizures. This article is at the intersection of law and criminology and explores critical 4th Amendment principles.
NJCU Mock Trial Team's Semester
The NJCU Mock Trial Team performed at a stunning level this semester. During the Drexel Dragon Invitational Competition, we won our trials against Michigan State, Stevenson University, and Bryn Mawr — not an easy task. We were neck-and-neck with the top teams and received an honorable mention for our team’s performance (we ranked 4th out of 18 competing teams, including many competitive universities). Additionally, two of our team members were recognized for outstanding performances: Sebastian Duarte was the top ranked plaintiff’s attorney in the entire competition and Fiona Moore received an outstanding witness award for her portrayal of an expert toxicologist. All of our competitors ranked first or second for their roles in at least one round. Congratulations to the team: Jessica Menjivar, Sebastian Duarte, Alex Rodriguez, Raymond Smikle, Fiona Moore, Cesar Romero, Nermeen Girgis, Paola Eusebio, and Paola Maldonado.
Security Studies
Meet Professor Dr. Sadia Ismat
Dr. Sadia Ismat has been serving government agencies for the last two decades. She has held multiple executive positions. Currently, she is working as a Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) for the Department of Finance, New York City's largest financial municipal agency which has a collective revenue annually of 65 billion dollars. Dr. Sadia has worked for various state and city agencies, providing consulting services to government and private firms throughout her career.
She is a regular contributor and speaker in Cybersecurity Conferences discussing Cybersecurity and Women in Cybersecurity. Dr. Ismat published research works encompasses federal compliance and biometric technology. She also works as an adjunct professor to various city and private universities.
NJCU Security Studies Faculty Present at National Conference
Dr. Michael Wiltsey and his colleagues gave a presentation titled, Domestic Child Abuse and Filicide: Protective Measures and Parenting Fitness Evaluations, at the 36th Annual Forensic Psychology Symposium hosted online by the American College of Forensic Psychology and Fielding Graduate University, March 18-21, 2021. Dr. Wiltsey and colleagues presented an overview of the New Jersey Resilience Program for Law Enforcement to executive level staff of the New Jersey Division of Criminal Justice in March 2021. He also organized and provided training to approximately 50 Resilience Program Officers and continued to conduct cross-institutional research with his colleague, Dr. C. Gabrielle Salfati from John Jay College of Criminal Justice, concerning resilience and mental health wellness among New Jersey Law Enforcement Officers. Valerie McClain, Psy.D., Elliot Atkins, Ed.D., Mark D. Ackerman, Ph.D., Michael Wiltsey, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor Pens Op-Ed on Benin's 2021 Presidential Election
As the West African country of Benin prepares to head to the polls on April 11, 2021 to elect a new president, there are controversies surrounding recent constitutional amendments and new electoral rules qualified as exclusionary by their critics. On March 10, Dr. Juste Codjo, an assistant professor at NJCU who specializes in political violence, wrote an op-ed in French that assesses the risks of political instability and violence in the run-up to the presidential elections in April. Drawing on research on the concept of political legitimacy, he highlights the security threats posed by the implementation of the controversial electoral measures. He concludes his analysis by making a set of recommendations to be implemented before the next presidential elections in this country that is still haunted by the precedents of violence that occurred after the 2019 legislative elections. Dr. Codjo’s op-ed was widely publicized in the local media in Benin and in the African diaspora in France. Here are images of the front pages of two local newspapers, one of which displays the title of Dr. Codjo’s op-ed right below a title about an interview with the U.S. Ambassador to Benin about the same situation.
Updates on Our Intelligence Community Center of Academic Excellence
Dr. Scott Fisher has focused his spring on growing our Intelligence Community Center of Academic Excellence (IC CAE). This includes data collection for the FOCUSdata Project and new opportunities for our students, including NSA's Virtual Career Invitational for People with Disabilities, a seminar on Radicalization and Violent Extremism Today with the Counterterrorism Education Learning Lab (CELL), and Lunch-and-Learn opportunities with the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) and National Security Agency (NSA). Upcoming summer opportunities include a no-cost 3-day certificate in intelligence and national security (offered jointly with Rutgers University), a research fellowship with National Intelligence University (NIU), and the IC CAE Scholar designation, also with Rutgers.
Nursing
Publications and Presentations
Dr. Nelda Ephraim recently published “Mentoring in nursing education: An essential element in the retention of new nursing faculty” in the Journal of Professional Nursing, 37(2), 306-19. She will be presenting at the Nurse Educator Conference (NEC) in the Rockies May Virtual Conference: Pearls of Wisdom: 30 Years of Education on May 11, 2021.
On March 31st, 2021, Dr. Lorraine Chewey and Dr. Nelda Ephraim will be presenting: “School Nursing in the 21st Century” at the New Jersey League for Nursing Annual Convention. This year, the convention will be virtual. Dr. Chewey & Dr. Ephraim are excited to present an overview of the specialty practice of school nursing to nurses statewide.
On Sunday April 11, 2021, Kappa Eta Chapter of Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society welcomed nursing inductees, their families, friends, faculty, and guests to Kappa Eta Chapter’s first virtual induction. Dr. Michael Edmondson, Dean of the College of Professional Studies, offered remarks and Dr. Denise Branchizo, Chair of the Nursing Department welcomed all the participants. Dr. Selena Gilles, Region 14 coordinator of Sigma was the keynote speaker. A PPT with pictures of the inductees with their inspirational quote was displayed at the induction. The PPT can be found on the Kappa Eta website along with the program. Kappa Eta congratulates the new members – Ireliz Almonte, Geraldine Amakihe, Meerwise Azizi, Elizabeth Benavides, Erin Buckley, Dianne Delouis, Holly DeVito, Morgan Engler, Avraham Fisgus, Rebecca Ann Florczak, Kate Galbavy, Julia Gray, Annie Marie Jablonski, Rachel Garris, Kay Ann Lawson, Nancy Medrow, Robin J. Morales, Elizabeth O’Grady, Yaima Perez – Martinez, Alecis Marie Valientes, Sarah Chyriwski, Kayla Demeo, Amanda HO, Daneh Ifeishat, Amanda Ilg, Erin Johnson, and Pooja Patel. Board members, Helen Urusov, and Carly Consentino, new members in 2020 joined the celebration. Dr. Nelda Ephraim, faculty member, received the research grant for her research on mentoring.
Youth Mental Health First Aid Training
During the Spring 2021 semester, 30 students in the graduate School Nurse Practicum classes in the Nursing and Health Sciences Departments were certified in Youth Mental Health First Aid. Students were broken up into smaller groups for a more personalized training.
Youth Mental Health First Aid is an evidence-based program sponsored by the National Council of Behavioral Health. The program is designed to teach parents, family members, caregivers, teachers, school staff, peers, neighbors, health and human services workers, and other caring citizens how to identify, help and support a child or adolescent (ages 6-18) who is experiencing a mental health or addictions challenge or is in crisis. This 6.5-hour blended/virtual training gives adults who work with youth the skills they need to reach out and provide initial support to children and adolescents who may be developing a mental health or substance use problem and help connect them to the appropriate care. We are certified to conduct in-person, blended and virtual trainings.
Dr. Chewey, Dr. Ephraim, & Dr. Joffe attended a 3-day Training in July 2020 to become certified as Youth Mental Health First Aid Instructors. The training was provided through a scholarship offered by the New Jersey Nursing Initiative (NJNI). New Jersey Nursing Initiative (NJNI) is a program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), assisted and supported by the New Jersey Hospital Association/Health Research and Educational Trust (NJHA/HRET), working to transform nursing education in the state of NJ.
Dr.’s Chewey, Ephraim and Joffe plan to expand to offer future trainings for NJCU students, faculty and staff later this year.
The Dean's Recent Accomplishments
Selected for Prestigious Leadership Dr. Michael Edmondson, Interim Dean, College of Professional Studies, is one of just 29 individuals nationally to have been selected to the AGB Institute for Leadership & Governance in Higher Education’s Class of 2021. This six month program is designed for individuals who aspire to presidencies at four-year public research universities and regional comprehensive institutions. The Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges (AGB) and higher education executive search firm AGB Search founded the institute to bolster the pipeline of qualified, diverse presidential candidates and prepare participants for the rigors of institutional leadership. Now entering its third year, the program has already seen six of its graduates achieve appointments to college or university presidencies.
Business Experts Press recently published Dean Edmondson’s sixth book Agility: Management Principles for a Volatile World.
In collaboration with the National Organization of Student Success – NJ Chapter, Dr. Edmondson conducted the workshop, Why Are Soft Skills So Hard: Essential Skills, for A VUCA World on March 31, 2021.
On Friday, April 16, 2021 Dr. Edmondson, provided the keynote address to the National Organization of Student Success – NJ Chapter – entitled “Measure Twice Cut Once: A Disruptive, Agile, and Radical Model for Placement in a Post-Pandemic World.”