The University of Scranton Virtual HamSCI Workshop The fourth annual HamSCI Workshop 2021 for amateur radio operators and professional scientists will be held in a virtual format on Friday and Saturday, March 19-20. The University of Scranton will serve as host for the Zoom webinar, sponsored by the National Science Foundation (NSF), that will include addresses by guest speakers, poster presentations and demonstrations of relevant instrumentation and software. Participation is free through support from the NSF and the University. The theme of this year’s workshop is midlatitude ionospheric science. The workshop will also serve as a team meeting for the HamSCI Personal Space Weather Station project, which is a NSF funded project awarded to University of Scranton physics and electrical engineering professor Nathaniel Frissell, Ph.D. The project seeks to harness the power of a network of licensed amateur radio operators to better understand and measure the effects of weather in the upper levels of Earth’s atmosphere. The workshop’s keynote address on the “History of Radio” will be given by Elizabeth Bruton, Ph.D., curator of technology and engineering at the Science Museum of London. She will discuss the history, science, technology and licensing of radio amateur communities from the early 1900s through to the present day, exploring how individuals and communities contributed to “citizen science” long before the term entered popular usage in the 1990s. Dr. Bruton has been a non-licensed member of Oxford and District Amateur Radio Society since 2014 and their web manager since 2015. J. Michael Ruohoniemi, Ph.D., professor of electrical and computer engineering at Virginia Tech and principal investigator of the Virginia Tech SuperDARN Initiative, will review the physics of the midlatitude ionosphere and discuss ways in which the amateur radio community can contribute to advancing scientific understanding and technical capabilities. Joe Dzekevich K1YOW, an amateur radio citizen scientist who recently published his work in CQ Magazine, will present “Amateur Radio Observations and The Science of Midlatitude Sporadic E.” The event will also include virtual oral presentations by researchers from NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, MIT Haystack Observatory, the University of Oslo, the University of Bath, Case Western Reserve University, Dartmouth College. the University of Alabama, Clemson University, the New Jersey Institute of Technology and The University of Scranton, among others. University students Veronica Romanek (KD2UHN), Hampton, New Jersey; Cuong Nguyen, Ashley; and M. Shaaf Sarwar (KC3PVF), Lahore, Punjab, are among the iposter presenters. A full schedule of speakers and registration information can be found on the HamSCI Workshop 2021 website.
The University of Scranton’s Earth Day Essay Contest Open for Submissions Area students in grades seven to 12 can participate in The University of Scranton’s Earth Day Essay Contest 2021. The contest is offered free of charge and this year’s essay theme is “Caring for our Common Home.” Essays for students in grades seven and eight must be between 200 to 400 words. Essays for students in grades nine to 12 must be between 300 to 500 words. Electronic submissions must be sent to susan.falbo@scranton.edu on or before Friday, April 9. Visit the University’s Sustainability website for complete submission rules and details. Only electronic submissions will be accepted this year. Mail-in entries will not be accepted for 2021. Winners of the Earth Day Essay Contest will be announced via an event hosted on The University of Scranton Sustainability Office Facebook page on Earth Day, April 22, beginning at 7 p.m. This year marks the 51st anniversary of Earth Day.
The University of Scranton to Offer New Master’s Degree in Applied Behavior Analysis The University of Scranton will offer a new Master of Science degree in Applied Behavior Analysis, which will provide students with the educational and supervised fieldwork experiences necessary to achieve national board certification in the much-in-demand profession. Applications are currently being accepted for the graduate program that begins in the fall 2021 semester. Annual demand for board certified behavior analysts “has increased each year since 2010, with a 1,942 percent increase from 2010 to 2018 and a 127 percent increase from 2017 to 2018,” according to a 2019 Behavior Analyst Certification Board report on U.S. Employment Demand for Behavior Analysts: 2010-2018 (Littleton, CO. author). In addition, the report noted that demand has also increased in all 50 states during this period. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects above-average job growth of 22 percent for behavior analysts between 2018 and 2028. According to Payscale.com, the average salary for Board Certified Behavior Analysists is $62,472. “There is a critical shortage of skilled professionals who can offer behavioral intervention. Board Certified Behavior Analysts are required to demonstrate a high level of understanding and application of behavioral principles and concepts that are scientific and evidence-based,” said Michael E. Kelley, Ph.D., LP, BCBA-D, program director. The 42-credit master’s degree program will be housed in the Counseling and Human Services Department of the University’s Panuska College of Professional Studies. The course content is consistent with certification rules for individuals and accreditation standards for programs that meet the eligibility requirements for graduates to sit for the national certification exam for Behavior Analysis, as specified by Behavior Analysis Certification Board. “Board certification is required for working with individuals living with autism in behavior analysis in most states in the United States of America,” said Dr. Kelley. “Highly-educated and skilled providers of autism services are needed in our region to help our children and family members who are waiting – often desperately – for services.” Students in this graduate program will complete: 30 credit hours of classroom-based didactic courses; six credit hours of thesis or capstone; and six credit hours of a supervised fieldwork experience. The supervised fieldwork experience will provide students with real-world experience in the application of Behavior Analytic principles, clinical services and research. The clinical site selection will be based on the student’s career goals. The University currently offers an 21-credit post-graduate Applied Behavior Analysis Certificate of Advanced Graduate Study. The University also serves as the Executive Hub of five Autism Collaborative Centers of Excellence, which are part of a multi-year, multi-million regional initiative supported by the AllOne Foundation to enhance the service delivery system for individuals with autism and their families living in 13 counties in Northeastern and North Central Pennsylvania. The University’s executive hub, located on Mulberry Street, has state-of-the-art assessment labs to aide in education and training of graduate students. The center is also used for evaluation purposes and research. Applicants to the graduate program must meet admission requirements. For additional information, visit the applied behavior analysis master’s degree program webpage or contact Dr. Kelley at Michael.kelley@scranton.edu or Caitlyn Hollingshead, director of graduate, transfer and international admissions, at Caitlyn.Hollingshead@scranton.edu or 570-941-6202.
The University of Scranton Kania School of Management Accreditation Extended The gold standard for business school accreditation – AACSB International – will continue at The University of Scranton for the next five years. The undergraduate and master’s programs in business offered by The Kania School of Management have been accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB International) for the past 25 years. AACSB has extended Scranton’s accreditation through 2025. Schools accredited by AACSB submit to a comprehensive, 360-degree review every five years to prove that the college continues to offer students an exceptional and relevant business education. “Parents and students recognize AACSB as the de facto gold standard for business school accreditation. The external accrediting body provides them reassurance of the quality of the business programs being offered at Scranton,” said Sam Beldona, Ph.D., dean of the Kania School of Management. Less than five percent of business colleges worldwide – 882 schools of business in 57 countries – hold the prestigious AACSB accreditation. Dean Beldona credits the success of the AACSB accreditation review to the scholarship and passion for teaching of the faculty; the care given to students by staff, alumni and business partners; and the motivation and aptitude of our students. The accreditation review, completed by deans of other AACSB accredited schools, includes an extensive written report in addition to an onsite visit. The visiting deans meet with faculty, staff and students, the provost and president, as well as multiple advisory committees. The process seeks evidence to prove the education provided by colleges remain relevant to the current needs of businesses. The review looks at a school’s course creation or innovation; the course delivery or engagement of faculty, staff, students and other shareholders; and outcomes or assessment of learning. Dean Beldona noted that the successful innovations at the Kania School of Management include the launching of a business honors program, a new master’s degree in finance, new undergraduate and graduate degree programs in business analytics and a Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) Program, which AACSB recognized in 2019 for “Innovations and Best Practices in Canada, Latin America and the United States.” “Faculty have not only remained current with research, but have been internationally and nationally noted for successful research and publication,” said Dean Beldona. Most recently, the Accounting Department was ranked as the fourth most prolific department in the world for accounting education research (excluding cases) over the most recent six-year period in a 2020 Brigham Young University report. The report also ranked three faculty members with respect to authorships of individual accounting faculty in the area of accounting education. “Examples of the University’s engagement with the community include MBA curriculum content developed specifically for and delivered at Geisinger in Danville and for Tobyhanna Army Depot. In addition, we have worked with The University of Scranton Small Business Development Center (SBDC) to develop initiatives for the Women’s Entrepreneurship Center, as well as other programming,” said Murli Rajan, Ph.D., associate dean of the Kania School of Management. Undergraduate Kania School of Management programs include bachelor’s degree programs in accounting, business administration, business analytics, economics, electronic commerce, entrepreneurship, finance, international business, management, marketing and operations and information management. Graduate level Kania School of Management programs include a master’s in accountancy, a master’s in finance, a master’s in business analytics and a master of business administration (MBA) in general management or with a specialization in accounting, business analytics, finance, healthcare management international business, management information systems, marketing and operations management. Combined bachelor’s and master’s level programs include accounting BS/MBA, operations management BS/MBA and finance BS/MBA, as well as accelerated programs in a number of areas. The University also offers online MBA programs in general management or with specialization in accounting, business analytics, enterprise resource planning, finance, healthcare management, human resources, international business and operations management. Founded in 1916, AACSB International is the longest serving global accrediting body for business schools that offer undergraduate, master’s level and doctoral degrees in business.
