- University News Archive - ��Vlog��ý Little Rock

- University News Archive - ��Vlog��ý Little Rock /news-archive/tag/catherine-crisp/ ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Tue, 30 Mar 2021 20:44:05 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 Crisp uses Mindful Self-Compassion to help people de-stress during the pandemic /news-archive/2021/03/30/crisp-mindful-self-compassion/ Tue, 30 Mar 2021 20:44:05 +0000 /news/?p=78622 ...]]> Dr. Catherine Crisp, an associate professor of social work at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock, is using her training in mindful self-compassion to help fellow educators reduce the stress in their lives brought on by a global pandemic. Crisp, who happens to be the only mindful self-compassion trained teacher in Arkansas, has been leading a weekly meditation group for her co-workers at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock during the 2020-21 school year. Dr. Peggy Scranton, a professor of political science who is a mindfulness-based stress reduction teacher, and Dr. Dent Gitchel Jr., an associate professor of rehabilitation counseling who is a compassion cultivation training teacher, facilitate the group that meets for 30 minutes at 8:30 a.m. on Tuesdays and usually attracts 5-10 people. “What’s been so remarkable about teaching with them is that we are each trained in a different form of meditation,” Crisp said. “We spend the first five minutes inviting people to get settled in, which for me means getting the fidgetiness out of my body and finding a place of stillness. We gently lead people into the practice of meditation. I think of it as being a slow walk toward the beach. After five minutes, we do a more formal practice that lasts about 20-25 minutes. When the meditation is over, we invite people to check in or ask how the experience was for them.” For those who aren’t familiar with the meditative style of mindful self-compassion, it’s a question that Crisp gets asked often enough. “Mindful self-compassion consists of treating yourself like a cherished friend, and there are three components,” Crisp said. “The first is mindfulness which is paying attention to the present moment without attempting to change it. The second is common humanity which is a sense of connection to other people. And the third is self-kindness, which is being kind to ourselves.” Dr. Erin Finzer, associate vice chancellor for academic affairs, invited Crisp to start the group as a way to improve employee wellness. “People who work in higher education are feeling a lot of pressure to both be there for their students and be there for their families,” Crisp said. “We are having a similar experience as our students. We can’t get out in the community. A lot of relationships with family and friends have been suspended. We are also trying to be there to support our students and being asked to innovate in our classes.” As a college professor, Crisp has found that practicing mindful self-compassion has made her a better teacher who can relate more with her students. “It starts with being compassionate to myself and sending that energy out into the world,” Crisp said. “When I am kinder to myself, I am kinder to those around me. For the first time this semester, I tried something that I called ‘the seven days of grace’ for my students. Some people need a hard deadline, and some people need a soft deadline. The late penalties for my students don’t’ start until the seven days of grace have finished which is seven days after the due date.” Crisp began meditating about 12 years ago and practicing mindful self-compassion about five years ago after unexpectedly experiencing a significant hearing loss in her right ear. “Five months after my diagnosis, I went to the first workshop I’ve ever attended on mindful self-compassion, and I was led to some exercises that immediately softened my response to my hearing loss and gave me permission to grieve,” she said. Crisp said that practicing mindful self-compassion has had a huge impact on her life, leading her to live a happy and healthier life. “Mindful self-compassion had an effect on this life-changing, but not life-threatening, health issue I was experiencing,” Crisp said. “It can be applied to a lot of other things, not just the big stuff but something as simple as getting frustrated at the person in front of me in the grocery store line. I start practicing mindful self-compassion, and my body softens and I relax and suddenly the situation is not as stressful as it was.” After seeing the positive results mindful self-compassion brought to her life, Crisp undertook the training to become a teacher in the technique during a sabbatical in 2018. “This is where I will give extraordinary credit to ��Vlog��ý Little Rock since I applied to do this as my sabbatical,” Crisp said. “I drove to New Mexico to take the class, and I did the teacher training in a Boston suburb in 2018. Then I offered the class for free to a class of 12-14 women, most of whom were employed by MidSouth.” If you’d like to learn more about mindful self-compassion, Crisp is hosting an from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Saturday, April 24, via Zoom. The workshop costs $10 for community members, $15 for those earning three hours of continuing education credits, and is free for ��Vlog��ý Little Rock social work and gerontology students. All funds raised will be donated to the ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Association of Black Social Workers.]]> ��Vlog��ý Little Rock, Clinton School of Public Service Partner on Concurrent MPS-MSW Degree Program /news-archive/2021/03/01/concurrent-social-work-public-service-degree-program/ Mon, 01 Mar 2021 21:24:34 +0000 /news/?p=78456 ...]]> ��Vlog��ý Little Rock School of Social Work. “I’m thrilled about the partnership with the School of Social Work,” said Clinton School Academic Dean Susan Hoffpauir, who was once a faculty member in the School of Social Work. “It’s such a perfect fit for students in both programs, and many have already reached out for more information.” The concurrent degree program will allow for cross-credit of specified courses, resulting in a savings in the total number of credit hours that would be required for both degrees if completed separately. A student in the concurrent MPS-MSW program must complete all the requirements for the MSW degree as specified by the School of Social Work and all requirements for the MPS degree as specified by the Clinton School. The ��Vlog��ý Little Rock School of Social Work graduates more social work students than any other social work program in Arkansas. Its MSW program is nationally accredited by the Council on Social Work Education. “I am excited about the opportunity to work with the Clinton School. Students who graduate from the concurrent program will have a unique set of skills that they will bring to their communities,” said Catherine Crisp, associate professor and MSW program coordinator. “I’ve met with several students who are interested in the program, and I am excited to begin working with them.” Questions about the MPS-MSW concurrent program can be emailed to Hoffpauir at sahoffpauir@clintonschool.uasys.edu or Morgan Leyenberger, ��Vlog��ý Little Rock School of Social Work admissions coordinator, at socialwork@ualr.edu.]]> Faculty members create research collective to highlight feminist research /news-archive/2017/11/22/feminist-research-collective/ Wed, 22 Nov 2017 14:05:52 +0000 /news/?p=68622 ...]]> Faculty members at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock have started a group to explore feminist research and collaboration opportunities around campus. The Feminist Research Collective is open to all faculty members interested in intersectional feminist research, advocacy, and pedagogy at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock. Kris McAbee, associate professor of English and one of the group’s founders, said faculty members have talked about starting such a group for years. She was inspired by a similar group her friends started at the University of Texas at Dallas. “They found really productive engagement with each other,” McAbee said. “One rhetorical scholar and one artist have collaborated on projects and now have a joint installation at a museum in Dallas. It’s a relationship they wouldn’t have formed had they not come together through this group.” This semester, the group has held two meetings exploring research on masculinity and child sexual abuse in abolitionist narratives by Dr. Laura Barrio Villar, associate professor of English, and the work on anti-racism, love, and politics by Dr. Jana McAuliffe, assistant professor in the Department of Philosophy and Interdisciplinary Studies. “It’s been so heartwarming and encouraging to meet and work with colleagues who have interests that I didn’t know were so similar to mine,” McAbee said. “I think it can be easy to get isolated in your department. This is a way for us to collaborate across departments and fields and share our research with each other. It’s nice to have a group to keep us committed to keeping up our scholarship.” For more information, contact Kris McAbee, kxmcabee@ualr.edu, or Catherine Crisp, clcrisp@ualr.edu. ]]> College of Education and Health Professions honors top faculty, staff, and students /news-archive/2017/04/20/college-of-education-and-health-professions-awards/ Thu, 20 Apr 2017 13:10:50 +0000 /news/?p=66921 ...]]> College of Education and Health Professions at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. Ortega received the Faculty Above and Beyond award at the college’s annual awards ceremony April 7 in Dickinson Hall. In addition to teaching four classes and coordinating the second-largest graduate program on campus, Ortega took on additional administrative responsibilities due to the departure of the program support person. “Dr. Ortega is extremely humble and has continued to go above and beyond for his students, peers, the program, the college, and ��Vlog��ý Little Rock,” Jason Kushner, professor of counselor education, wrote in his nomination letter. “He is highly regarded as a motivated, professional, detail-oriented, inspiring professor who uses his extensive knowledge of the field of rehabilitation in informing the next generation of practitioners in the area of disability students and rehabilitation.” Linda Stauffer, associate professor of interpreter education and program coordinator of the Interpreter Education Program, received the Faculty Excellence in Teaching award for the college. “Dr. Stauffer’s commendable record of teaching exemplifies the caliber and type of individuals many universities desire among faculty members,” said Dr. Glenn Anderson, Stauffer’s co-worker and assistant professor of the American Sign Language and English Interpreter Education program. Cari Reeves, director of the Environmental and Spatial Technology program, received the Trojan Excellence Award, which goes to an outstanding College of Education and Health Professions staff member. Sara Fruechting, assistant professor of nursing, and Catherine Crisp, associate professor of social work, were the recipients of the Dean’s Awards. The student award winners include:

��Outstanding Associates Degree Seeking Student: Dawn Moline, nursing major
��Outstanding Bachelors Degree Seeking Student: Josh Gray, interpreting major
��Outstanding Master’s Degree Seeking Student: Suzanne Rogers, communications and speech disorders major
��Outstanding Doctoral Degree Seeking Student: Lindsey Sloan, audiology major

At the ceremony, departmental friends were recognized for their outstanding service and commitment to the College of Education and Health Professions, including:

��Friend of the Audiology and Speech Pathology Department: Little Rock School District
��Friend of the School of Counseling, Human Performance and Rehabilitation: Services for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing
��Friend of the School of Education: Dr. Danyell Crutchfield Cummings, director of testing and evaluation at Little Rock School District
��Friend of the Jodie Mahony Center: Family of Martha Gaunt Bass
��Friend of the School of Social Work: Dave Hoffpauir
��Friend of MidSouth: Shelia Garrett, cessation section chief for the Tobacco Prevention and Cessation Program at the Arkansas Department of Health
Friend of the ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Speech and Hearing Clinic: Martha Alman

]]>