CEHD Research in Press: September 2026

NEWS 

Graduate Rural Behavioral Health Opportunity and Workforce Program (GROW-ND) – Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) via North Dakota’s Rural Health Transformation Program (PI: R. Flinn; Co-PIs: Fehr, Dahl, Cooper). Faculty in CEHD, CAS, CNPD received funding ($199,990) to launch GROW-ND, an interdisciplinary initiative to expand the number of rural behavioral health rotations across the state and increase the number of behavioral healthcare students serving rural communities in North Dakota during their training at UND and beyond. Faculty involved in this project include: Ryan Flinn, Karla Fehr, Ethan Dahl, Akorede Teriba (CEHD); Stephen Cooper, Jennifer Schlinger, Angela Novak, Kris Hendrickx (CNPD); and John Paul Legerski (CAS).

Recovery Housing – ATTC Supplement (PI: R. Flinn). The Mountain Plains Addiction Technology Transfer Center received supplemental funding ($181,818) from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration to support the development of evidence-based training curricula and technical assistance related to recovery housing for people diagnosed with substance use disorder.

Mountain Plains Rural Opioid Technical Assistance Center (MP ROTAC; Subaward PI: R. Flinn). Dr. Ryan Flinn received subaward funding ($48,645) from the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHIE) to support their SAMHSA-funded Mountain Plains Rural Opioid Technical Assistance Center (2026-2029).

The National Association of School-University Partnerships association leadership elected Dr. Amber Adgerson and Dr. Stephanie Savick of Notre Dame of Maryland University as Co-Chairs of the NASUP Anti-Racism Committee (3-Year Term; 2026-2029). Their joint leadership on the committee reflects NASUP’s commitment to building a stronger organization through multiple perspectives. Drs. Adgerson and Savick will guide the committee’s work on developing goals and initiatives that promote belonging and social justice while strengthening NASUP’s organizational culture. By modeling cross-association collaboration, Dr. Smith and Dr. Savick will help surface exemplary work across the membership, expand opportunities for connection throughout the year, and ensure that NASUP continues to lead in creating a more inclusive organization and field.

Dr. Lee Ann Rawlins has been selected to serve on the Council for Global Affairs & Development (CGAD), an international organization that brings together professionals across countries and disciplines to advance dialogue and action related to sustainable development, human rights, peacebuilding, diplomacy, and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Through this role, she will contribute her expertise in aging, disability, rehabilitation, and disaster resilience, with particular attention to ensuring that older adults, people with disabilities, and other vulnerable populations are included in global development and resilience efforts.

SPOTLIGHT

The Lecture with Dr. Jesse Rhoades

The CEHD Lecture Series features selected newly tenured or promoted faculty in the College of Education & Human Development who have accumulated a unique body of knowledge and insights worth sharing. Each lecturer will discuss personal and professional learnings that have led them to this point in their career, followed by a Q&A session.

The inaugural lecture featured Dr. Jesse Rhoades, Professor of Kinesiology, who shared his unconventional path from struggling in school and being labeled “non-college bound” to becoming a professor and conducting research with NASA. Dr. Rhoades highlighted his collaborative research examining human movement in space, including current work exploring how the extreme conditions of the lunar surface affect astronaut movement and spacesuit design.

Importantly, his work actively engages students as research partners, providing opportunities to contribute to data collection, publications, and research conducted with NASA’s Johnson Space Center.

The Lecture was featured in UND Today, and the full video and transcript are available here: https://vimeo.com/1230972635

UCLC Research

A collaborative partnership between the University of North Dakota’s University Children’s Learning Center (UCLC) and faculty members in the College of Education and Human Development (CEHD) is advancing research on how young children develop STEM-related reasoning through experiences connected to nature, movement, and their lived environments.

Since 2024, the collaboration has positively impacted partnership stakeholders and generated multiple scholarly contributions focused on socioecological STEM education, visuospatial reasoning, and STEM learning among preschool-aged children. Faculty members, Drs. Elizabeth Suazo-Flores, Amber Adgerson, and Chris McGrail, have shared the work through peer-reviewed publications, edited book chapters, conference proceedings, and presentations at national and international research conference.

The partnership has now reached another milestone: UCLC’s outdoor classroom is complete. Landscaping work was finalized this summer, creating an intentionally designed outdoor learning environment for UCLC children and educators.

The classroom creates a setting where children can investigate patterns, movement, weather, nature, and other STEM phenomena through hands-on experiences while giving CEHD faculty and UCLC educators opportunities to continue studying and refining early childhood STEM practices.

The project demonstrates the value of school-university partnerships that connect research with practice and create tangible opportunities for children, educators, and communities.

LATEST SCHOLARSHIP

CEHD faculty are in bold, and CEHD students are underlined. 

Grants

Graduate Rural Behavioral Health Opportunity and Workforce Program (GROW-ND) – Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) via North Dakota’s Rural Health Transformation Program (PI: R. Flinn; Co-PIs: Fehr, Dahl, Cooper).  ($199,990)

Recovery Housing – ATTC Supplement via Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (PI: R. Flinn). ($181,818)

Mountain Plains Rural Opioid Technical Assistance Center via Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHIE) (MP ROTAC; Subaward PI: R. Flinn). ($48,645)

Publications

Teriba, A. A., Mitic, R. R., Ellingson, K. M., Peterson, A. M., Cooper, A. M., Lenway, A. C., Brown, C. M., Rott, H., Morin, J. J. (2026). Sport satisfaction and psychological well-being in collegiate athletes: The role of upbringing, athletic status, and adaptive psychological attributes. Sports, 14(6), 222. https://doi.org/10.3390/sports14060222

Cho, H., Kang, H., & Jang, E. (2026). Social-emotional learning of online graduate students in education programs: Students’ perceptions and experiences. Social and Emotional Learning: Research, Practice, and Policy. First published online. 10.1016/j.sel.2026.100229 (Open access).

*Funded by the UND CFL Open Access Publication Grant

Dr. Ryan Flinn served as guest co-editor of a special issue of the American Psychologist entitled “Trans Psychology Amid Anti-Trans Legislation in the United States.” https://www.apa.org/pubs/journals/amp/trans-psychology-amid-anti-trans-legislation-us

Yi, J., Yeo, H. T., & Hadrann, W. (2026). Investigating Anti-Black Attitudes, Opposition to Affirmative Action, and Social Justice Behaviors among Chinese International Students. The Counseling Psychologist, 54(6), 882-913. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/00110000261458819

Wolkenhauer, R., Yen, Y., & Rutten, L. (2026). Developing an inquiry stance: A hermeneutic case analysis of an early-career teacher in a practitioner inquiry community. Teachers and Teaching: Theory and Practice. https://doi.org/10.1080/13540602.2026.2723338

Teriba, A. A., Mitic, R. R., Ellingson, K. M., Peterson, A. M., Cooper, A. M., Lenway, A. C., Brown, C. M., Rott, H., Morin, J. J. (2026). Sport satisfaction and psychological well-being in collegiate athletes: The role of upbringing, athletic status, and adaptive psychological attributes. Sports, 14(6), 222. https://doi.org/10.3390/sports14060222

DeShaw, K. J., Brin, H. N., Walch, T. J., Shoemaker, M. E., Benike, A., Dicks, N. D., Barry, A. M. (2026). An application of the Health Belief Model to Exercise Behaviors Among Career and Volunteer Firefighters. Occupational Health, 1, 43. https://www.mdpi.com/3042-8637/1/3/43

Munala, L., Kimber, F., Abusbaitan, H. A., Hoffman, S., Hearst, M., Pirsch, A., Dressel, A., Walton, A., Chinkondenji, P., Phiri, G., Kamanga, V., Kathewera Banda, M., Likha, W., Lopez, A., & Mkandawire-Valhmu, L. (2026). A Cycle of Gendered Vulnerability: Understanding Violence, Poverty, and Systemic Failure Among Refugee Women in Malawi. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/08862605261485297

Presentations

Rollag, A. *, Peterson, A. *, Brown, C. *, Lenway, A. *, Ellingson, K. *, Cooper, A. *, Teriba, A. (2026, August). The Impact of Masculinity Beliefs on Stigma and Emotion Regulation. [Poster session]. 2026 American Psychological Association Convention, Washington, DC.

Johur, T. (2026, September 16-17). Digital Accessibility Practice and Inclusivity in Higher Education: A Tale of Personal Experience.[paper presented, September 16]. UND Multicultural Conference in Higher Education, University of North Dakota, Grand Forks, USA. https://dailynewnation.com/news/856832

Islam, M. J. (2026, September 16-17). Accessibility and Inclusion in AI-Enabled Non-Academic Services in Higher Education: A Conceptual Framework.[paper presented, September 16]. UND Multicultural Conference in Higher Education, University of North Dakota, Grand Forks, USA

Williams, L.A. (September, 2026).  Accessibility as student success:  Reframing access in higher education.  UND Multicultural Conference, Grand Forks, ND.

Williams, L.A. (September, 2026).  Supporting teacher mental health and well-being in higher education.  UND Multicultural Conference, Grand Forks, ND.

Williams, L.A. (September, 2026): The new reality of retirement. The Academic Minute .https://www.academicminute.org/p/lee-ann-rawlins-williams-university

Link, L. J. & Brenner, T. H. (2026, September). Building community partnerships. Graduate Leadership Institute [Leadership Presentation]. University of North Dakota, Grand Forks, ND, United States. ​ 2026.09.21-Graduate Leaders Institute.mp4

Dasse, K., Ravi, P., Hunter, C. (2026, September 11). Period, full stop: A phased study of Grades 3–12 teacher readiness for student menstruation support in North Dakota – Protocol [Conference presentation]. Central States Law Schools Association Annual Scholarship Conference, Grand Forks, ND.

Chinkondenji, P. & Whyte, G. (2026). Visual narratives of forced displacement, schooling, and re-settlement among refugee and asylum-seeking students in Grand Forks, ND. Research Report. Education, Health & Behavior Studies Faculty Publications. 112. https://doi.org/10.31356/ehb-fac112

Hammack, R., Robinson, J., Gist, J., Cabrera, L, & Lee, M. (2027). Engineering in context: How teachers leverage personal and community experiences to drive elementary engineering instruction. Association for Science Teacher Education (ASTE), Providence, RI.

Robinson, J. & Brecklin, C. (2026). NSF/EPSCoR fellowship insights on building and supporting an interdisciplinary STEM ecosystem. Presentation for the EPSCoR conference, Minot, ND.

Johur, T. (2026, September 16-17). Digital Accessibility Practice and Inclusivity in Higher Education: A Tale of Personal Experience. [paper presented, September 16]. UND Multicultural Conference in Higher Education, University of North Dakota, Grand Forks, USA.

Public Media

Williams, L.A. (September, 2026).  Why so few older Americans get counseling – and how it could help.  The Conversation.

Gifford, A. (September 2026). School districts grapple with how to grade K-12 students fairly. Epoch Times. Laura Link’s research and work with two U.S. school districts was included, and she was quoted, for an article on K-12 grading practices.  https://www.theepochtimes.com/us/school-districts-grapple-with-how-to-grade-k-12-students-fairly-6082631?utm_source=ref_share&utm_campaign=copy

Chinkondenji, P. (2026, September 1). The politics of re-entry: Unsettling colonial logics in schooling post-pregnancy. FreshEd. https://freshedpodcast.com/recommended/chinkondenji/

City Desk. (2026, September 19). Bangladeshi scholar highlights inclusive digital education. Daily New Nation. https://dailynewnation.com/news/856832

Women’s Oun Desk. (2026, September 5). Torosa Johur: Breaking barriers for people with disabilities. Daily Observer. https://observerbd.com/news/591696 ; E-paper (page-15): ttps://epaper.observerbd.com/

New Nation. (2026, September 5). Breaking barriers: Bangladeshi scholar takes digital accessibility to global stage. Daily New Nation. https://dailynewnation.com/news/853789 E-paper (page-3): https://ep.dailynewnation.com/2026/09/05/