The University of Toledo

What does this class mean to my students?

How engaged am I in my work?

What will be my professional legacy?

If these questions have significance to you or your colleagues, a free, brown-bag program this week may provide some insight.

The presentation will take place Thursday, April 29, from noon to 1 p.m. in Student Union Room 3018 and will address several provocative topics, including occupational relevance, motivation and student engagement.

Dr. David Anderson, professor of education and human development at George Mason University, will host “Legacy of Life: Engaging Students for Healthier Futures,” which is open to all faculty and staff.

“In planning this program, we kept coming back to a central theme,” said Dr. Tavis Glassman, assistant professor of health education and public health. “We all have this set time in our lives. What can we do with it to engage ourselves and others?”

Anderson will discuss how creating a “legacy” perspective can connect faculty, staff and students to the UT campus, the community and their futures.

A free “Legacy of Life” CD will be available at the event.

Anderson, a renowned consultant in the fields of substance abuse prevention, risk factors and model prevention programs, will offer his perspectives to several campus groups, including the Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drug Prevention Committee and staff from the Division of Student Affairs, during a two-day engagement.

“David Anderson did quite a bit of work in student affairs before he became a professor,” Glassman said. “His experience bridges the gap that is sometimes felt between research and practice. These fields don’t always seem interconnected, but they are.”

Anderson’s programs are offered as part of an internal grant awarded to four faculty members to examine how marketing messages influence student alcohol consumption rates.

The $55,000 grant will be used to conduct a yearlong study beginning in the fall by Glassman; Dr. Noela Haughton, assistant professor in the Educational Foundations and Leadership Department; Dr. Timothy Jordan, associate professor in the Department of Public Health and Rehabilitative Services; and Dr. Stephen Roberts, associate professor in the Department of Public Health and Preventative Medicine.

“We’re targeting first-year students in the residence hall setting,” Glassman explained. “The goal will be to examine whether marketing messages with a health focus have an affect on that population.”

Preliminary results are expected by summer 2011.

This entry was posted  on  Tuesday, April 27th, 2010 at  5:26 am and is filed under  Events, UToday.
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