Highlights of BYU Colleges

Family, Home and Social Sciences

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  University of Chicago sociology professor Linda J. Waite and other scholars in the School of Family Life have discovered that marriage is beneficial. Waite listed seven ways married men are healthier than single men.

• Associate professor Rebecca DeSchweinitz will teach a new course called Growing Up in America: A History of Childhood and Youth. The class will be held Monday, Wednesday, Friday from 2:00—2:50 p.m.

Ira A. Fulton College of Engineering and Technology

• Professors Larry Howell and Vincent Wilding were appointed the new associate deans of the college. They started working in this position on July 1, the same day Professor Michael Jensen began his term as dean.
• Professor and Fulbright Scholar Christopher Mattson has been working with MIT professor Amos Winter to discover why certain problems such as lack of electricity and clean water still exist in developing countries.

David M. Kennedy Center for International Studies

• U.S. consular officer Joey Leavitt will speak at BYU about the U.S. immigration policy and how it interacts with reality in El Salvador. Leavitt will speak on July 13 at 3 p.m. in Room 238 of the Herald R. Clark Building.

Marriott School of Management

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  Stephanie Santistevan-Swett, a 2009 BYU graduate and current graduate student and teacher at Duke University, used her degrees to build up her own company, Eva Jo. Her journey was full of challenges, but she ultimately succeeded in creating a comfortable and fashionable clothing line.

David O. McKay School of Education

• Jen Jarrard and Nic Rowley, two teachers in BYU-Public School Partnership schools, were chosen to receive the 2016 Excellence in Mentoring Award from the Department of Counseling Psychology and Special Education in the McKay School.
• Carrie Caoili, a BYU McKay School PhD grad, researched the importance of spirituality in counseling people with eating disorders. She worked with professor P. Scott Richards and interviewed women with eating disorders, questioning whether patients’ spiritual practices effected their recovery and treatment. They discovered spirituality helped patients in their recoveries.

College of Life Sciences

• Dr. Jeff Tessem received the Hope for the Future Award from the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. This award honors those who fight against diabetes.

College of Humanities

• BYU associate professor Jeffrey S. Turley and University of Texas at San Antonio adjunct professor George Bryan Souza recently published a book about the Boxer Codex. The Boxer Codex is a hand written manuscript with unknown origins. Turley and Souza’s book was completed after over 10 years of work looking into the details and locations described in the Boxer Codex.

College of Fine Arts and Communications

• The BYU Ballroom Team continued its winning streak, bringing back first place prizes in the Latin and Ballroom Formation Dance competitions in the British Ballroom Dance Championships in Blackpool, England. This competition was followed by a tour of Europe.

• BYU grad Nik Day recently released his first solo album, Miracle. He wrote the 2014 youth theme song “Come unto Christ” for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. His recent album is not affiliated with the LDS Church.

College of Nursing

• Kim Helm is replacing Holly Skelton as the dean’s executive assistant. Skelton has served in this position for 30 years. She will be leaving this position to work for Advancement Vice President Matthew Richardson, where she will be managing campus devotionals and involved in broadcasting and BYU athletics.
• Debra Mills recently presented her research at the Pediatric Nursing Journal annual conference in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Her study focuses on facilitating nursing students’ end-of-life care of pediatric patients.

College of Physical and Mathematical Sciences

• Four chemistry professors from BYU collaborated to create a three-day CHEM CAMP for children ages 9-12. This year CHEM CAMP focused on the chemistry of medicine, materials, and food.
• Dr. John Spencer from the Department of Space Studies at the Southwest Research Institute expanded students’ knowledge about Pluto and Jupiter in the 2016 Quey Hebrew lecture. BYU students were some of the first people to see the Pluto photos that were taken during the New Horizons mission.
• Out of 400 student presentations in the Student Research Conference, only 55 students were named session winners. This was the 13th annual conference held by this college and gives students practice presenting their research to students and professionals.
• Chemistry professor Daniel Austin and his graduate students are trying to find the speed that will kill bacteria when it crashes into a hard surface. The research is being funded by NASA.

J. Reuben Clark Law School

• On June 23, BYU Law’s Admission Office hosted a seminar for its newly admitted students. The seminar focused on how to survive law school.
• Law School Dean James R. Rasband wrote an article titled “Law and Perspective” for the Clark Memorandum. He welcomed the new students and explained that he wanted each of them to see a different perspective as they study law.

Campus News

• BYU’s Young Ambassadors celebrated Father’s Day by creating a video titled “My Heavenly Father Loves Me.” It was filmed at the Ashton Gardens at Thanksgiving Point.