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Suicide and Violence Prevention
NSU’s commitment to collaboration is clearly evidenced by the Office of Suicide and
Violence Prevention. Dr. Douglas Flemons, SHSS Professor of Family Therapy, co-directs
the office with Dr. Scott Poland, CPS Professor of Psychology. The office, which reports to
the Division of Clinical Operations, is also staffed by a post-doc psychologist and a
graduate assistant. Drs. Flemons and Poland and their staff offer trainings throughout the
campus on suicide prevention, suicide assessment, stress reduction, and time
management, and their website at
provides
resources for campus based
and
online
students, faculty, and staff. The office is just
completing a 3-year SAMHSA grant that funded the creation of three video-supported
Blackboard training modules on suicide prevention and assessment, designed to assist in
the creation of a human safety net for the entire NSU community. Drs. Flemons and
Poland, co-PIs for the grant, were assisted by the grant coordinator, Dr. Erin Procacci, and
by creative consultant Dr. David Spangler, a professor and administrator in the Fischler
School of Education.
Systemic Change in Schools
Under the direction of NSU faculty and the Broward school district's office of Diversity and
Multicultural Affairs, master's and doctoral level family therapy interns provide mentoring,
family therapy and consultation to public schools serving an at risk population. For
2012/2013, the program will serve four elementary and three middle schools. The
program has received district wide recognition, and has resulted in a publication in Family
Therapy News, two national presentations and several dissertation projects.
Community Outreach
SHSS has developed a verity of community outreach projects within the departments and
in the community. These projects are developed for the students to advance their
academic and experiential learning. Please visit our website for detailed information
A
BOUT
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UR
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TUDENT
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SHSS Student Government Association
The SHSS Student Association (SHSS SGA) is an organization whose goal is to unify the
student body by building learning communities through social activities, academic events,
and clubs, etc. The SHSS SA consists of the Executive Board (President, Vice-President,
Treasurer, and Secretary) and Representative Council (Student Representatives from each
department, International Student Representative, Online Student Representative).
Elections are held in March for these offices. An SHSS faculty member serves as SA
Advisor. Please visit
Graduate Assistantships
Each department offers some graduate assistantships (GA) for doctoral students. GAs
must be enrolled as full time students in an on-campus degree program at the SHSS,
maintain a minimum 3.5 GPA, and remain otherwise in good academic standing. The GA’s
duties may include but will not be limited to assisting the faculty member in developing
and conducting research, preparing and facilitating grants and contracts, conducting
research relevant to course preparation, and community outreach. Positions will be for a
10-20 hours per week. Compensation is hourly at $15/hour. Continuation of the
assistantship may be reviewed after each term based on the student’s academic
performance and performance as a GA.
