SOPHE recognizes outstanding contributions to health education and health promotion
More than 30 distinguished professionals and students were recognized at SOPHE’s Annual Conference in Denver, March 30- April 1, 2017
WASHINGTON, D.C. – March 15, 2017 – The Society for Public Health Education, Inc. (SOPHE) presented more than 30 awards and scholarships to health education researchers, faculty, programs, practitioners and students during its 68th annual conference in Denver, March 30 – April 1. The awards and scholarships recognize significant advancements to the profession of health promotion and outstanding contributions of veterans and rising stars to improving the public’s health.
Rob Simmons, DrPH, MPH, CPH, MCHES, associate professor and program director, Master of Public Health program at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, will receive SOPHE’s highest honor to a member, the Distinguished Fellow Award. Dr. Simmons’ curriculum vitae chronicles nearly 40 years of national and international commitment to serving, educating and advocating on diverse health issues such as health literacy, consumer health, family planning, school health, obesity and nutrition, cancer, childhood safety and early education, and tobacco and substance abuse prevention.
SOPHE recognized Rep. John Lewis, (D-5th District GA) with its highest honor to a non-member, the SOPHE Honorary Fellow Award. For more than a half a century, the Congressman has dedicated his life to protecting and advancing the nation’s civil rights, social justice, and peace. In addition to more contemporary issues such as health care, Congressman Lewis advocated for the social determinants of health such as housing, education, food, work, and equity in the criminal justice system.
The 2017 Karen Denard Goldman Health Education Mentor Award recipient is Michael L. Stellefson, Ph.D. of the University of Florida. He is honored for mentoring health education students in their preparation and performance, and bridging the gap between research and practice.
SOPHE partners with several foundations to confer awards at the conference. John Allegrante, Ph.D. received the 2017 Elizabeth Fries Health Education Award from the James F. and Sara T. Fries Foundation for advancing the field of health education and health promotion through research, program development, and program delivery. The Foundation for the Advancement of Health Education (FAHE) conferred the Delbert Oberteuffer Scholarship to Ryan G. Erbe, Ph.D.c who is studying school health education at the University of Indiana.
Other SOPHE honors include the Horizon Award, Technology Award, Program Excellence Award, Graduate Student Research Paper Award, and the Vivian Drenckhahn Scholarship. Ten SOPHE 21st Century Scholarship recipients were also recognized, as well as the academic program winners of SOPHE’s Graduate and Undergraduate Student Case Study Competitions.
Recognition was given to the recipients of the 2017 Lawrence W. Green Paper of the Year for Health Education & Behavior; the 2017 Sarah Mazelis Paper of the Year for Health Promotion Practice; and the 2017 Paper of the Year for Pedagogy in Health Promotion: The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning.
2017 SOPHE Award Recipients
Distinguished Fellow
Robert Simmons, DrPH, MPH, MCHES, CPH, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia
Honorary Fellow
Rep. John Lewis, D-GA
Karen Denard Goldman Mentor Award
Michael L. Stellefson, Ph.D., University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida
Dorothy Nyswander Open Society Award
Jagdish Khubchandani, MBBS, Ph.D, Ball State University, Muncie, Indiana
Elizabeth Fries Health Education Award
John Allegrante, Ph.D., Teacher’s College/Columbia University, New York
Presented by the James F. and Sarah T. Fries Foundation
Horizon Award
Stephanie Y. McCoy, M.Ed., CHES, Austin Public Health Department, Austin, Texas
Technology Award
Robert J. Bensley, Ph.D., MCHES, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, Michigan
Program Excellence Award
¡Sí, yo puedo controlar Mí diabetes!©
Presidential Citations
Collins O. Airhihenbuwa, Ph.D., MPH, St. Louis University, St. Louis, Missouri
John P. Allegrante, Ph.D., LHD, Teacher’s College/Columbia University, New York
Kelli Brown, Ph.D., CHES, Valdosta State University, Valdosta, Georgia
Lawrence W. Green Paper of the Year Award
From Foucault to Freire Through Facebook: Toward an Integrated Theory of mHealth,
September 2016, Vol. 2, No. 3, 206-213
Sheana Bull, Ph.D., MPH
Nnamdi Ezeanochie, MPH
Sarah Mazelis Paper of the Year Award
State Fall Prevention Coalitions as Systems Change Agents: An Emphasis on Policy
Health Promotion Practice, March 2016, Vol. 17, No. 2, 244-253
Ellen C. Schneider, MBA
Matthew Lee Smith, Ph.D., MPH, CHES
Marcia G. Ory, Ph.D., MPH
Mary Altpeter, Ph.D., MSW, MPA
(Bonita) Lynn Beattie, PT, MPT, MHA
Mary Ann Scheirer, Ph.D.
Tiffany E. Shubert, Ph.D., MPT
Pedagogy in Health Promotion: The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Paper of the Year Award
Descriptive Best Practices: Development and Assessment of Signature Assignments to Increase Student Engagement in Undergraduate Public Health
September 2016, Vol 2, No. 3, 206-213
Pamela Pinahs-Schultz, Ph.D.
Barbra Beck, Ph.D.
SOPHE/CDC Unintentional Injury Prevention Student Fellow
Kathleen Jerrell, MPH, M.D.
Sydney Kimmell Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia
SOPHE Patient Engagement Fellow
Jin Peng, M.S., M.D.
The Ohio State University College of Public Health, Columbus, Ohio
Graduate Student Research Paper
Samantha R. Paige, MPH, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida
Vivian Drenckhahn Student Scholarship
Valen Grandelski, Southern Connecticut State University, New Haven, Connecticut
Delbert Oberteuffer Scholarship
Ryan G. Irbe, PhD.(c), Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana
Presented by the Foundation for the Advancement for Health Education
Graduate Student Case Study Competition
University of Maryland, College Park – 1st
West Chester University – 2nd
Undergraduate Student Case Study Competition
Brigham Young University – tie
University of Northern Iowa – tie
Ohio Universit – 3rd
Anne Nolte Writing Award
TBA
Presented by the Foundation for the Advancement for Health Education
SOPHE’s 21st Century Scholarships
*Shawna Southwick Fox, Ph.D.(c), University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio
Trena Jill Gologan, Walden University, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Alexandria Lovell, University of Wisconsin La Crosse, La Crosse, Wisconsin
Wyatt Edward Meriwether, Walden University, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Molly Mihlbachler, Eastern Illinois University, Charleston, Illinois
*Sara Mohamed, St. Louis University, St. Louis, Missouri
*Taylor Jacquelyn Port, Eastern Illinois University, Charleston, Illinois
Mallory C. Rinckey, The University of Toledo, Toledo, Ohio
*Angela Sas, Truman State University, Kirksville, Missouri
Kaila Sharp, Eastern Illinois University, Charleston, Illinois
*In honor of Helen S. Ross
