LehighNow Volume 02, Issue 03

              LEHIGHNOW
October 10, 2001
Volume 2, Issue 3
Lehigh receives $2.9 million
to study ADHD
IN BRIEF
NEW APPOINTMENT
Bell to lead
financial aid
Linda Bell, associate
director and systems
manager of financial aid,
has been named interim
director of the office
effective Oct. 1. She
succeeds Bill Stanford,
who retired as director of
financial aid in May.
Lucille Bavaria-Kozsey
had served as acting
director of financial aid
prior to Oct. 1.
Provost Ron Yoshida
commended Bell for
overseeing the implementation of the Banner
system for financial aid
in less than five months.
"Linda's knowledge of
Banner and the management of our financial aid
system encompass every
facet of the office,"
Yoshida said. "Last
summer, under Linda's
direction, the office
processed upper-class
students and completed
the packaging process a
full two weeks sooner
than ever before."
Bell joined the financial
aid staff in 1981 and was
promoted to assistant
director and again to
associate director.
Yoshida also praised
Bavaria-Kozsey.
"Lucille has done a
wonderful job getting the
financial aid office
through the very hectic
award period for the
class of 2005."
Lehigh has received $2.9
million from the National
Institutes of Mental Health
to do a five-year study
designed to improve the
behavioral, social and
educational outcomes of
young children at risk for
Attention Deficit/Hyperac-
tivity Disorder (ADHD).
The grant is a collaborative
effort with Lehigh Valley
Hospital (LVH).
George DuPaul, coordinator of Lehigh's school
psychology program, Lee
Kern, associate professor
of special education, and
John VanBrakle, M.D., chair
of LVH's department of
pediatrics, will head the
research team exploring
intervention as an early
strategy to reduce problems with ADHD.
The initiative - called
Project ACHIEVE - will be
coordinated by Suzanne
Irvine, research scientist in
the College of Education.
Graduate students in
school psychology, special
education and counseling
psychology will take part,
as will Dr. Mary Pipan, a
pediatrician at Children's
Hospital of Philadelphia.
Children with ADHD
often are given medication
such as Ritalin to control
poor behavior. Researchers
will explore ways of
reducing the use of medication and preventing more
serious problems among
children 3 to 5 years old.
"What we're trying to do
with early intervention is
prevent some of the
behavioral problems that
these children might
otherwise take into
elementary school, as well
as improve their learning
skills," DuPaul says. "We
hope early intervention will
prove more cost-effective in
treating ADHD, since fewer
children will need special
education and other services
to succeed in the classroom."
A total of 200 children in
the Lehigh Valley will be
referred to the project.
Children in a "multi-setting
early intervention group" will
receive a special program at
home and in pre-school that
uses positive supports to
influence behavior. Researchers, consulting with parents
and pre-school teachers, will
modify the environment of
homes and schools in an
effort to improve behavior.
Children in a "community
intervention group" will
receive services available in
communities, while their
parents will receive intensive
instruction related to child-
rearing and ADHD.
"The goal of the project is
to determine the type of
services that are most helpful
to at-risk children over the
long term," Kern says.
COE, NAESP
join forces
The College of Education and
the National Association of
Elementary School Principals
(NAESP) have joined to
improve the education and
leadership development of
principals in American
elementary and middle schools.
The two organizations will
foster a "think tank" environment in which educators,
researchers and NAESP
members can discuss the
globalization of education and
how school leaders can learn
from other cultures in improving K-8 education in the U.S.
Because U.S. census data
show a shift in the ethnicity
of Americans, says Sally A.
White, dean of the College of
Education, "studying other
cultures will help the U.S.
address the future educational needs of children,
teachers and administrators."
"Partnering with NAESP
will help both organizations
parlay the strengths of each,"
says Lehigh Provost Ron
Yoshida. "Lehigh will be
involved with school leaders
who deal with current issues
and NAESP will work with
faculty who continually think
of ways to create productive
and supportive learning
environments for children."
"This alliance will begin to
open the school doors of the
world for our members,"
says NAESP executive
director Vincent Ferrandino.
"There has never been a more
important time to introduce
the world's educators to each
other's methods and accomplishments. We expect our
alliance will do just that."
The new agreement
represents the first alliance
between the College of
Education and a national
organization, says White.
The education college is
ranked 39th by Lf.S. News and
World Report in its America's
Best Graduate Schools list.
NAESP, based in Old
Alexandria, Va., has a
membership of 28,500 school
principals in the U.S.,
Canada and other countries.
Last summer, NAESP and
Lehigh sponsored an
institute for school leaders at
Franklin College in Lugano,
Switzerland. More than 20
administrators and teachers
from international schools in
Zambia, the Dominican
Republic, Kuwait, the Czech
Republic and other countries
enrolled in the College of
Education's doctoral and
master's degree programs.
The education college has a
three-year agreement with
Franklin College to hold its
international program in
Lugano.