NSU Horizons Fall 2006

academic notes 4 horizons Medical School Dean Named Physician of the Year A nthony J. Silvagni, D.O., Pharm.D., FACOFP, dean of NSU’s College of Osteopathic Medicine, was named Physician of the Year by the Florida Society of the American College of Osteopathic Family Physicians (FSACOFP). The award, which was presented during the FSACOFP’s annual convention, recognized Silvagni for his “longstanding commitment to the highest quality of patient care and dedicated leadership in this pursuit.” Silvagni is the first NSU-COM dean to receive this prestigious award. He currently serves as chairman of the Council of Florida Medical School Deans and as treasurer of the Florida Patient Safety Corporation. n CPS Professor Linda C. Sobell Receives Honor for Work in Substance Abuse Education and Recovery T he Association for Medical Education and Research in Substance Abuse granted its annual Betty Ford Award to Linda Carter Sobell, Ph.D., ABPP, a professor and the associate direc- tor of clinical training at NSU’s Center for Psychological Studies. Association president Richard Saitz said Sobell was selected because she has made a significant impact on the field of alcohol and drug abuse education and recovery. She is known nationally and internationally for her work on the assessment and treatment of addictions, particularly brief motivational interventions, the process of self-change, and assessment instruments. The Betty Ford Award is named in honor of the former First Lady, who was candid about her successful battle against dependency on drugs and alcohol. She helped establish the Betty Ford Center at the Eisenhower Medical Center in Rancho Mirage to provide treatment to others with related addictions. n Mailman Segal Institute— Tampa Receives $1.9 million Federal Literacy Grant T he Tampa Bay satellite of NSU’s Mailman Segal Institute for Early Childhood Studies received a $1.9 million federal grant to train Head Start teachers and assistants to infuse literacy into every part of the preschool experience. More than 240 children from low-income families in Hillsborough County are expected to benefit from the grant, which will support the Prescription for Reading Excellence Program, a partnership between MSI-Tampa Bay and the Hillsborough County Board of Commissioners’ Head Start program. MSI-Tampa Bay received the only Early Reading First Grant awarded to a Florida agency by the U.S. Department of Education in the 2006 cycle. The institute has received three previous federal awards— totaling $4.1 million—for programs offered in Hillsborough and Broward counties. The Early Reading First Program was authorized by No Child Left Behind, Title I, Part B, Subpart 2 to provide support for early childhood education programs serving preschool-age children. The pro- gram is an effort to create centers of educational excellence dedicated to improving the school readiness of the nation’s young children, especially those from low-income families. The Prescription for Reading Excellence program will provide literacy-based college- level coursework and mentoring to 24 Head Start teachers and assistants serving 240 children from low-income families. n