by Emma Prophet

The 2025 CPP Fall Retreat was an insightful, energizing, and memorable experience that brought together faculty and staff as well as community members for a time of learning, reflection, and connection. The retreat has been an important tradition for the CPP college. It provides a strong sense of unity and thoughtful conversations.

Throughout that time, faculty and staff were able to step away from their busy routines and focus on growth in a more intentional way. Whether talking through ideas with new faces or reconnecting with familiar ones, everyone seemed genuinely appreciative of the opportunity to slow down and be present with one another. The retreat served as a reminder of how valuable it is to have dedicated time to gather, share perspectives, and build supportive relationships.

Each year, the CPP Excellence Awards recognize individuals who exemplify exceptional dedication, leadership, and service within the College of Professional Programs. Recipients of this award consistently demonstrate a commitment to elevating the student experience, advancing the mission of the college, and contributing meaningfully to their departments and the broader campus community. Their contributions strengthen our programs, inspire those around them, and highlight the remarkable talent and dedication present throughout CPP.

The 2024-2025 CPP Excellence Award Winners are:

● Faculty Service Activities: Ashley Lepisi, Education

● Faculty Teaching: Clive Gary, Education

● Faculty Scholarly & Creative Works: Rajeev Dwivedi, Business

● Classified Staff: Christi Wavada, Education

● Classified Staff: Christine Davies, Psychology

● Exempt Staff: Jill Stinson, Education

● Campus Partner: Margie Scammell-Renner, Advancement

● Community Partner: Matt and Candie Chew, Champions Retreat

● Community Partner: Bob Cole

● Team: Family Resource & Training Center (FRTC)

● Alumni: Alvaro Figueroa Garcia

● Alumni: Mary Beazer

One of the most anticipated moments of the event was the keynote presentation delivered by Cimone Wright-Hamor. Cimone’s message was powerful, engaging, and deeply thoughtful. She spoke with clarity and authenticity about leadership, the impact of faculty and staff on students’ lives, and how universities should navigate the information age. Her ability to connect with the audience through personal stories, practical insights, and genuine passion, made her presentation one of the defining highlights of the entire retreat. Attendees left feeling both inspired and challenged in the best possible way.

As the retreat concluded, the sense of community was amplified. Many participants expressed how refreshing it was to be in a space where learning, encouragement, and meaningful conversation were at the center of the day. The blend of educational content, supportive interactions, and Cimone Wright-Hamor’s outstanding keynote presentation, all created an environment that felt uplifting and restorative. Overall, the 2025 CPP Fall Retreat was a wonderful success!

Congratulations to the 2024 winners of the annually awarded faculty Excellence in Research and Excellence in Teaching awards in the Schools of Business and Professional Accounting.

• Dr. Habib Islam, Assistant Professor in the School of Business, received the Excellence in Research Award
• Eldonna Shaw-Davis, Lecturer in the School of Business, received the Excellence in Teaching Award

Ed Byrnes Joins State Public Safety Committee

Dr. Ryan Parrey, Director of the Disability Studies program in the School of Social Work, was interviewed for the Disability, Education, and Society Podcast. Co-hosts Dr. Alexis Padilla and Dr. Paolo Tan were in conversation with Dr. Parrey for Part II of their episode titled, “Moments in Which the Meaning of Disability is an Open Question.”  You can listen to the audio here (click link), or watch the YouTube recording here (click link).

EWU Celebrates Future Teachers

Congratulations to the 2023 winners of the annually awarded faculty Excellence in Research and Excellence in Teaching awards in the Schools of Business and Professional Accounting.

• Dr. Rajeev Dwivedi, Visiting Associate Professor of Information Systems and Business Analytics, in the School of Business, received the Excellence in Research Award
• Jessica Kong, MPAcc, CPA, Lecturer in Professional Accounting, in the School of Professional Accounting, received the Excellence in Teaching Award

by Mya Brossoit

The College of Professional Programs is excited to highlight Dr. Kevin Criswell for his impressive involvement in the passing of Senate Bill 5189.

Dr. Kevin Criswell, a Bellevue-based Visiting Assistant Professor in the School of Psychology, recently worked alongside Dr. Kayleen Islam-Zwart in providing testimony on Capitol Hill in Olympia in support of passing Senate Bill 5189, which allows for the credentialing of  behavioral health support specialists.

A Behavior Health Support Specialist (BHSS) may work in positions under supervision including crisis services, integrated care, or specialty behavioral health care. The bachelor level provider works through a scope of evidence-based behavioral health interventions that is now credentialed and available in Washington State.

While testifying during the bill hearings, Dr. Kayleen Islam-Zwart and Dr. Kevin Criswell described the various benefits graduates would attain from this credential as they participate in the applied skills training at EWU for behavioral health support specialists.  Criswell also described the influential contributions this credential would provide the community as a whole:

We also testified on the benefits for the public at large to increase access to behavioral health interventions for depression, anxiety and other common behavioral health conditions.

With the increase in mental health issues and expanding need for mental health services across the state, the state credential for a BHSS introduces a creative solution for Washington state’s limited mental health workforce.

When asked about its impact on EWU’s Psychology programs, Criswell shares the increase in interest students may express in Eastern’s Psychology majors, or interest from other majors regarding health profession support. The new opportunity provides bachelor level students with a path to earn paid experience as a BHSS in the absence of doctorate or masters level clinical training programs.

EWU will continue to contribute to the work on solidifying clinical program guidelines to prepare higher education and clinical training sites statewide.

Criswell states that the new apprenticeship now opens up “alternate pathways to becoming a BHSS” that will benefit not only students, but the community as a whole. He foresees a growing number of mental health service clinics including the BHSS position as a vital part of their interdisciplinary teams in healthcare. This also would allow individuals in the BHSS position to “expand their impact on addressing their communities’ mental health service needs through focused management of mental health symptoms.”

With the help of faculty from the University of Washington, EWU has had the privilege of launching the very first Behavioral Health Support Specialist Certificate Program within the Psychology department, and d

…I hope our BHSS Certificate program can serve as a model for similar programs in our state.

The College of Professional Programs applauds Dr. Kevin Criswell and Dr. Kayleen Islam-Zwart for their work in supporting this bill and making it a reality, improving community behavioral health options, and bettering the EWU community!

Dr. Bill Shaw (Accounting) and Dr. Brian Davenport (Organizational Leadership), along with community partner Ms. Ana Fortson (Spokane County Superior Court), received the award for Excellence in Community-Based Teaching and Learning for their presentation “Test Driving Career Through Community Engagement: A Guardianship Auditing Project”.  The Award for Excellence in Community-Based Teaching and Learning is a recognition for excellence in a scholarship of community-based teaching and learning. Presenters in this area explored how their teaching and students’ work in the community helped to advance outcomes for our neighborhoods or around critical-issue areas.

Dr. Beth Halaas (Social Work), Dr. Bipasha Biswas (Social Work), along with community partner Dr. Rumyana Kudeva (Spokane Regional Health District), received award for Excellence in Community-Based Research for their presentation “Co-Constructing Strategies for Addressing Structural Inequality in Refugee and Immigrant Communities (SSIRI) in Spokane, Washington”.  The Award for Excellence in Community-Based Research recognizes a community-based research. Award recipients advanced a project applying disciplinary expertise to a problem in the community in order to address and solve a critical issue.

See the link below for the event program:

CEI 2023 Program

Emily Collins, Psychology major at EWU-Bellevue, recently attended the Annual Convention of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology (SPSP) in Atlanta, Georgia with Dr. Julie Swets. At this conference, they co-presented a poster entitled “Relationship Nostalgia and Attitudes toward Intimate Partner Violence.”

To support her travel expenses to Atlanta, Wmily applied for and received multiple student travel awards including the School of Psychology Student Research Support Award, the Student Travel/Conference Award from the College of Professional Programs, and the Undergraduate Student Travel Award from the Provost’s office.

Dr. Swets says, “Not only did Emily get all this accomplished, but she was a joy to travel, present, and
conference with.”  Congrats Emily and thanks to Dr. Swets for being a great faculty mentor!