Schultz receives funds for TEACh Cincinnati
EHS Quick Notes
Li receives funds from Lifetown Columbus
Dillon receives national research award to explore AI use in schools
Cara Dillon, assistant professor of school psychology in Miami’s Department of Educational Psychology, has received a $13,217 Early Career Research Award from the Society for the Study of School Psychology. Her project, “Piloting Artificial Intelligence as an Intervention Fidelity Measurement Tool,” will explore how school psychologists and administrators perceive and use AI to collect intervention fidelity data in schools.
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Smith co-authors study on effects of simulated hyper-gravity on walking biomechanics
Dean Smith, clinical professor in the Department of Kinesiology, Nutrition, and Health at Miami University, co-authored a new publication in Biomechanics titled “Effects of Simulated Hyper-Gravity on Lower Limb Kinematics and Electromyography During Walking.” The study used a novel harness system to simulate increased gravitational load without added external mass, isolating the effects on gait kinematics and electromyography across varying load levels.
Malaya, Christopher A., Pranav J. Parikh, Dean L. Smith, and Charles S. Layne. 2025. "Effects of Simulated Hyper-Gravity on Lower Limb Kinematics and Electromyography During Walking" Biomechanics 5, no. 2: 31.
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Misco and Gross publish on teaching birthright citizenship
Tom Misco, professor of Teaching, Curriculum, and Educational Inquiry, and graduate student Erik Gross co-authored an article in Social Studies Research and Practice. Their piece, “Teaching about birthright citizenship and ex/inclusion within the United States,” explores how social studies educators can use the topic of birthright citizenship to frame enduring questions of civic identity and inclusion in the U.S. curriculum. The article includes instructional strategies for engaging students in historical and contemporary debates.
Gross, E. & Misco, T. (2025). Teaching about birthright citizenship and ex/inclusion within the United States. Social Studies Research and Practice.
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Misco co-authors article on ToponomiCrit theory for renaming places
Tom Misco, professor of Teaching, Curriculum, and Educational Inquiry, co-authored a new article in Theory & Research in Social Education with Nathaniel Bryan and Dustin Hornbeck. The article, “ToponomiCrit: A theory for decolonization and dewhitesupremacization,” introduces a framework that draws on Critical Race Theory and spatial analysis to challenge place names rooted in White supremacy. The authors offer a decision-making heuristic to guide renaming efforts in education and civic spaces.
Misco, T., Bryan, N., & Hornbeck, D. (2025). ToponomiCrit: A theory for decolonization and dewhitesupremacization. Theory & Research in Social Education, 1–19.
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Yue Li, associate director of the Discovery Center for Evaluation, Research, and Professional Development, received $48,697 from Lifetown Columbus for the project entitled "Evaluation of Stop to Live."
Brian Schultz receives funding
Brian Schultz, associate dean for external relations and partnerships in the College of Education, Health, and Society, received $32,000 from the Carol Ann and Ralph V. Haile, Jr. Foundation for the project entitled "TEACh Cincinnati Summer Funding."
Miami faculty awarded NIH grant to study cardiovascular recovery after inactivity
Kevin Ballard, associate professor of kinesiology, nutrition, and health at Miami University, will lead a new $422,894 research grant funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health. Faculty colleagues Kyle Timmerman, associate professor and interim department chair, and Paul Reidy, assistant professor, will join Ballard on the project, which examines how cardiorespiratory fitness and adiposity affect recovery of glucose and vascular function following periods of physical inactivity. Reidy played a key role in shaping the proposal.
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Kimieciks present at national play conference
Jay Kimiecik, associate professor of Kinesiology, Nutrition, and Health, and Carlyn Kimiecik, assistant professor of Family Science and Social Work, presented at the 2025 National Conference on the Value of Play in Bloomington, Indiana. Their session, Up the river with a playful paddle: Creating psychological freedom and wellbeing across the lifespan, explored the power of play to support wellness at every stage of life. They were joined by undergraduate students Izzy Storey (KNH) and Katie Dunn (FSW).
Reidy project receives funding
Paul Reidy, assistant professor of Kinesiology, Nutrition, and Health, received $410,071 from the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases for the project "Influence of early life physical inactivity during a key period of postnatal development on adult muscle quality—from matrix to mortality."
Sherrill Sellers, associate dean, Amity Noltemeyer, dean, and Brian Schultz, associate dean, of the College of Education, Health and Society, received $163,675 from the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce for the project entitled "Empower VetEd: Supporting Military in Miami University Educator Prep Programs."
Racheal Banda, assistant professor; Ganiva Reyes, associate professor; and Kathy Batchelor, Miami University John Heckert Professor of the Department of Teaching, Curriculum, and Educational Inquiry recently published an article in the Teacher Educator Journal. The article, “A path forward: A critical race mixed methods study of social justice teacher education,” measures the impact of justice-oriented curriculum on pre-service teachers’ social justice dispositions and commitments to action in their future classrooms.
Ganiva Reyes, associate professor in the Department of Teaching, Curriculum, and Educational Inquiry, was elected to serve as chair of the Critical Issues in Curriculum and Cultural Studies SIG of the American Educational Research Association for a two-year term. Reyes also was selected to serve as a member of the Editorial Advisory Board of the Educational Studies journal of the American Educational Studies Association, also a two-year appointment.
TEACh Cincinnati receives support
Brian Schultz, associate dean for external relations and partnerships, and Amity Noltemeyer, interim dean of the College of Education, Health, and Society, received $415,000 from the U.S. Department of Education, of which $346,195 is for the project entitled "TEACh Cincinnati: Cincinnati-Based Support." The remaining awarded amount of $68,805 is designated for the evaluation portion of the project.
Gregory presents research at conference in D.C.
Kimiecik earns Cortland alumni honor