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X-ORIGINAL-URL:https://grad.southernct.edu
X-WR-CALDESC:Events for School of Graduate and Professional Studies
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DTSTART:20260308T060000
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Halifax:20260430T120000
DTEND;TZID=America/Halifax:20260430T130000
DTSTAMP:20260911T140645
CREATED:20260420T165235Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260430T134656Z
UID:10001302-1777550400-1777554000@grad.southernct.edu
SUMMARY:Dissertation Defense: Kristin Bengtson Mendoza
DESCRIPTION:Title: DEVELOPING SECONDARY TEACHERS’ CRITICAL LANGUAGE AWARENESS AND TRANSLANGUAGING STANCE IN AN ADOLESCENT NEWCOMER PROGRAM: A CRITICAL PARTICIPATORY ACTION RESEARCH STUDY \nAbbreviated Abstract: This study employed cycles of mixed methods critical participatory action research (CPAR) to explore how content educators in a high school newcomer program conceptualized language in their instruction and developed their critical language awareness (CLA) and translanguaging stance. A new conceptual framework\, the Translanguaging Instructional Core\, integrated a critical translanguaging perspective into a longstanding educational leadership definition of instruction\, and the accompanying Translanguaging Instructional Core Developmental Continuum was utilized as a holistic measurement tool to assist educational leaders in synthesizing multiple sources of data and positioning educators at stages on a continuum between a monoglossic approach and a robust translanguaging stance. The study found that most of the high school content educators developed their CLA and a translanguaging stance through a community of practice that engaged in storytelling\, emotional processing\, use of figurative language\, and both social and internal/reflective experiences grounded in research. Five out of six educators who participated in the community of practice were found to have moved one stage or more along the Translanguaging Instructional Core Developmental Continuum through the experience. This study contributes findings to the underexplored intersection of translanguaging pedagogy\, transformative teacher leadership\, and multilingual education. It offers practical insights and a new conceptual tool for school leaders\, district policymakers\, and educator teams seeking to shift away from monolingual norms toward more inclusive\, student-centered language policies.
URL:https://grad.southernct.edu/event/dissertation-defense-kristin-bengtson-mendoza/
LOCATION:Davis Hall\, Room 009\, 36-40 Prescott St\, New Haven\, Connecticut\, 06514\, United States
CATEGORIES:Defense
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://grad.southernct.edu/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Kristin-Bengtson-Mendoza.jpg
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DTSTART;TZID=America/Halifax:20260430T194000
DTEND;TZID=America/Halifax:20260430T204000
DTSTAMP:20260911T140645
CREATED:20260408T130024Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260408T130024Z
UID:10001296-1777578000-1777581600@grad.southernct.edu
SUMMARY:Dissertation Defense: Dan Ostasiewski
DESCRIPTION:Title: A Case Study on School Improvement through Leadership & Professional Learning Communities in One Urban Connecticut High School \nAbbreviated Abstract: Many students require supports to promote academic achievement and eliminate barriers to achievement. Different schools work with organizations to promote success. The RISE Network is a non-profit organization that partners with schools to improve systems and practices to promote student success. Some RISE supports include tools and strategies such as an improvement cycle framework\, a data hub application\, protocols for distributed leadership and teacher collaboration\, professional experiences\, and classroom interventions. Currently\, RISE works with over 50 schools across four states. The RISE program features numerous programs\, including the 9th Grade Success and Postsecondary Success programs. These programs are implemented through collaboration with school administration\, teachers\, and counselors at partner schools. The purpose of this study is to examine the RISE program at one urban Connecticut High School to gain insights on how school leaders and educators implement and collaborate in the program\, its successes and challenges\, and how this will impact educators’ perceptions of student learning and achievement. This information will be organized and viewed through frameworks of Social Constructivism\, Leadership\, Collaboration\, and the Kotter 8-Step Change Model with the intention of understanding how external educational programs operate within organizational\, interpersonal\, and educational contexts.
URL:https://grad.southernct.edu/event/dissertation-defense-dan-ostasiewski/
CATEGORIES:Defense
LOCATION:https://southernct.webex.com/southernct/j.php?MTID=m9d11123b2943a34a4b99aac8603e0688; Meeting password: PzQescFK769
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DTSTART;TZID=America/Halifax:20260501T100000
DTEND;TZID=America/Halifax:20260501T110000
DTSTAMP:20260911T140645
CREATED:20260429T165648Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260429T165648Z
UID:10001304-1777629600-1777633200@grad.southernct.edu
SUMMARY:Dissertation Defense: Daisy Everingham
DESCRIPTION:Title: Identifying Coastal Resilience Solutions by Community Design in New Haven County\, Connecticut \nAbbreviated Abstract: In the US’ coastal North East\, the impacts of climate change are already being felt by communities who live near the shore – from destructive hurricanes and heavy winter storms to nuisance flooding and rapidly rising sea levels. Over the next decade there will be an increasing need for local government\, businesses and individuals to collaborate in identifying and implementing solutions that allow communities to adapt without negatively impacting environmental\, social and economic conditions. Heavily grounded in specific places\, these solutions need to be shaped by both expert knowledge and the perspectives of local people who have strong attachment to these locations. This project is based in New Haven County\, Connecticut\, and identifies the climate change adaptation solutions that can have the most positive impact on the county’s socio-ecological systems now and into the future. This study takes a three tiered approach by 1) identifying the coastal resilience priorities of experts within the state\, and 2) understanding coastal resilience priorities of local community members in New Haven County\, and finally\, 3) visualizing climate resilience futures being considered by these community members. The solutions that are frequently chosen by participants tend to be multi-faceted and lead to multiple positive impacts that improve habitat\, local economic viability and opportunities for increased community engagement with the coastline. Ultimately\, this research outlines possible climate change adaptation pathways for New Haven County communities moving forward that can be extrapolated to inform decision-making processes in other coastal counties throughout the region.
URL:https://grad.southernct.edu/event/dissertation-defense-daisy-everingham/
LOCATION:Jennings Hall\, GIS Lab 3rd Florr\, 501 Crescent Street\, New Haven\, CT\, 06515\, United States
CATEGORIES:Defense
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DTSTART;TZID=America/Halifax:20260506T140000
DTEND;TZID=America/Halifax:20260506T150000
DTSTAMP:20260911T140645
CREATED:20260504T132338Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260504T132442Z
UID:10001305-1778076000-1778079600@grad.southernct.edu
SUMMARY:Thesis Defense: Mai Le Chaplar
DESCRIPTION:Title: SUBJECTIFICATION\, INTERSECTIONAL IDENTITY\, AND RECOGNITION WITHIN OPPRESSIVE SYSTEMS \nAbbreviated Abstract: This thesis pairs the speculative fiction novels Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler and Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao with critical theories that explore subjectification. Both texts highlight how female protagonists\, Lauren Olamina and Wu Zetian\, navigate and ultimately resist the regimes that aim to oppress them. Although they begin as victims of these systems\, they refuse to be defined by them and assert their agency through acts of resistance. By drawing on theoretical lenses from Jessica Benjamin\, Judith Butler\, and Louis Althusser that focus on issues of subjectification—how one becomes and lives as a subject—this thesis argues that a demand for recognition and the dynamics of relationality and solidarity serve as tools of resistance against oppression. The purpose of this project is not to showcase the connections between these critical theories and their theorists\, but to explore how each novel resonates with different facets of each theory and to examine what is unleashed when authors set their stories in imaginary worlds rather than real ones. While Butler rethinks race\, religion\, and culture within systemic collapse\, Zhao amplifies the spectacle of domination and how oppression makes violent acts counter to domination seemingly necessary. Lauren Olamina rewrites dominant\, degenerated ideology through Earthseed and empathy\, and Zetian manipulates it by weaponizing and ultimately usurping patriarchal control. Both emphasize different roles of resistance that emerge when subjectivity is denied and reimagined. Ultimately\, this thesis argues that speculative fiction does more than mirror society; it reveals new frameworks for thinking about identity\, ideology\, recognition\, and power.
URL:https://grad.southernct.edu/event/dissertation-defense-mai-le-chaplar/
LOCATION:English Common Room Library
CATEGORIES:Defense
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DTSTART;TZID=America/Halifax:20260512T101500
DTEND;TZID=America/Halifax:20260512T110000
DTSTAMP:20260911T140645
CREATED:20260427T200729Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260427T200729Z
UID:10001303-1778580900-1778583600@grad.southernct.edu
SUMMARY:Dissertation Defense: Danielle Hill
DESCRIPTION:Title: Evaluating Machaeroprosopus Spp. Squamosal Morphology Based on New Material from the Martha’s Butte Beds: Chinle Formation\, Arizona \nAbbreviated Abstract: Occurrences of fragmentary phytosaurian (Machaeroprosopus spp.) squamosal bones are common in the Martha’s Butte Beds (Chinle Formation: Sonsela Member) of northeastern Arizona. Within the paleontology collection at Southern Connecticut State University (SCSU-P)\, multiple fragmentary squamosals display higher morphological variability than has been previously documented within Machaeroprosopus. Past studies have suggested that characters associated with the postorbital-squamosal bar are taxonomically informative among phytosaurs. The occurrence of squamosals outside the range of documented morphological variability raises questions regarding the extent of inter- and intraspecific variation among Machaeroprosopus spp. and the utility of fragmentary squamosal material in determining species-level taxonomic identification. Here\, I will describe in detail the morphology of 13 Machaeroprosopus squamosals in SCSU’s vertebrate paleontology collection. Published accounts of Machaeroprosopus squamosal anatomy will be referenced to determine the degree of morphological variation found in the SCSU-P specimens. Further\, I will describe the morphology of four complete squamosals with referrals to Machaeroprosopus spp. and incorporate these into a specimen-level phylogenetic analysis alongside the SCSU-P fragmentary squamosals to investigate whether species-level affinities can be established for the SCSU-P specimens. Although species-level assignment was not possible for most specimens\, I identified three morphotypes among the SCSU-P squamosal specimens\, suggesting that multiple phytosaur morphs were present in this paleoecosystem. Such variation could suggest subtle differences in jaw muscle organization and biomechanical function depending on species\, skull size\, sexual dimorphism\, and/or ontogenetic stage. My results highlight the need for large-scale documentation of inter- and intraspecific variation and investigation into the relationships between morphology\, function\, and ecology among Machaeroprosopus.
URL:https://grad.southernct.edu/event/dissertation-defense-danielle-hill/
LOCATION:Jennings Hall\, Room 131\, 501 Crescent Street\, New Haven\, CT
CATEGORIES:Defense
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://grad.southernct.edu/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/Hill_Field_Photo_Danielle-Hill.jpeg
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DTSTART;TZID=America/Halifax:20260624T150000
DTEND;TZID=America/Halifax:20260624T154500
DTSTAMP:20260911T140645
CREATED:20260615T132338Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260615T133059Z
UID:10001313-1782313200-1782315900@grad.southernct.edu
SUMMARY:Thesis Defense: Alina Tran
DESCRIPTION:Title: UPPER THERMAL REGIMES AND QUIESCENSE IN THE TEMPERATE CORAL ASTRANGIA POCULATA \nAbbreviated Abstract: While climate impacts on tropical corals are well-documented\, the thermal limits of temperate species like Astrangia poculata remain understudied. Notably\, A. poculata enters dormancy during cold winter temperatures (<5°C)\, but it is unknown if it exhibits a similar “warm-water dormancy” observed in other temperate corals. This study investigates how elevated temperatures (18–33°C) influence tentacle behavior and responsiveness in Rhode Island A. poculata colonies. Following daily feedings\, tentacle activity will be monitored both during a week of thermal stress and a subsequent recovery period. Additionally\, zooxanthellae densities will be calculated in visually bleached colonies\, though counts were primarily used to verify the extent of symbiont loss. By analyzing the relationship between temperature and tentacle behavior\, this research will determine if A. poculata utilizes dormancy as a survival mechanism against heat stress. These findings will provide critical insights into the thermal tolerance and resilience of temperate corals in a rapidly warming ocean.
URL:https://grad.southernct.edu/event/thesis-defense-alina-tran/
LOCATION:Academic Science and Labratory Building\, 103\, Jennings Hall\, Fitch St\, New Haven\, CT\, 06515\, United States
CATEGORIES:Defense
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://grad.southernct.edu/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/IMG_3791_Alina-Tran.jpg
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DTSTART;TZID=America/Halifax:20260701T140000
DTEND;TZID=America/Halifax:20260701T150000
DTSTAMP:20260911T140645
CREATED:20260629T155625Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260629T155753Z
UID:10001328-1782914400-1782918000@grad.southernct.edu
SUMMARY:Thesis Defense: Ilkay Tarman
DESCRIPTION:Title: DIGITAL TRANSLANGUAGING IN FIRST-YEAR COLLEGE WRITING: A CASE STUDY OF BILINGUAL STUDENTS AND INSTRUCTORS \nAbbreviated Abstract: The number of individuals who speak a language other than English as their first or dominant language continues to grow in the United States; however\, the first-year college writing (FYW) courses often remain unprepared to support emergent bilingual students. A mismatch exists between the predominantly monolingual orientation of FYW courses and the digitally mediated writing practices of emergent bilingual students. This study explores emergent bilingual students’ digital translanguaging practices and perceptions\, as well as instructors’ perceptions of digital translanguaging in FYW courses. Using a qualitative case study design\, data were collected through online writing tasks\, stimulated recall interviews and semi-structured interviews. Participants included three undergraduate emergent bilingual students enrolled in a first-year writing course\, specifically designed for bilingual students\, and three instructors teaching that specific course. Findings revealed that students used digital and linguistic resources as mediational tools to support their writing while simultaneously navigating English-only expectations. In contrast\, instructors\, approached digital translanguaging more cautiously because of ethical considerations and perceived challenges of implementing digital translanguaging in FYW classes. These findings have implications for policy\, practice and professional development. They highlight the need to create space for digital translanguaging practices in FYW courses so that emergent bilingual students could draw on their full linguistic repertoires.
URL:https://grad.southernct.edu/event/thesis-defense-ilkay-tarman/
LOCATION:Engleman Hall\, D149\, 385 Fitch Street\, New Haven\, 06515\, United States
CATEGORIES:Defense
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://grad.southernct.edu/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Ilkay-Tarman.jpg
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Halifax:20260720T170000
DTEND;TZID=America/Halifax:20260720T180000
DTSTAMP:20260911T140645
CREATED:20260720T132109Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260720T132109Z
UID:10001333-1784566800-1784570400@grad.southernct.edu
SUMMARY:Dissertation Defense: Jessica Rodican
DESCRIPTION:Title: Lived Experiences of Licensed Professional Counselors with Mandated Reporting Abuse and Neglect \nAbbreviated Abstract: Licensed professional counselors (LPCs) are legally and ethically obliged to report suspected abuse and neglect\, yet the emotional\, relational\, and interpretive scopes of this responsibility remain underexplored in the counseling literature. The purpose of this Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) study was to explore the lived experiences of LPCs with mandatory reporting abuse and neglect. Five practicing LPCs in Connecticut\, each with direct experience filing mandatory reports\, participated in semi-structured interviews. Data were analyzed following Smith\, Flowers\, and Larkin’s (2022) IPA framework\, resulting in three group experiential themes. Professional Responsibility captured participants’ shared duty to protect vulnerable clients alongside the ongoing negotiation of professional accountability. The Weight of Reporting reflected the emotional burden\, relational and professional consequences\, and the uncertainty participants experienced when deciding whether a situation warranted a report. The Significance of Supervision illustrated the protective role of consultation and peer support counselors receive when navigating reporting decisions without carrying that responsibility alone. Findings suggest that mandated reporting is experienced not as an isolated legal act but as an ongoing process of meaning-making that shapes counselors’ professional identity\, ethical decision making\, and therapeutic relationships. Implications include strengthening counselor education\, supervision\, and organizational support to address the emotional\, relational\, and interpretive complexity or mandated reporting alongside legal and procedural requirements. The findings should be understood within the context of the study’s Connecticut based sample and the phenomenological and interpretive nature of IPA.
URL:https://grad.southernct.edu/event/dissertation-defense-jessica-rodican/
CATEGORIES:Defense
LOCATION:
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Halifax:20260807T093000
DTEND;TZID=America/Halifax:20260807T123000
DTSTAMP:20260911T140645
CREATED:20260720T132501Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260720T132501Z
UID:10001334-1786095000-1786105800@grad.southernct.edu
SUMMARY:Dissertation Defense: Kayla Toole
DESCRIPTION:Title: “NO ONE PREPARED ME”—A QUALITATIVE STUDY EXAMINING NOVICE COUNSELORS’ EXPERIENCES SERVING MANDATED CLIENTS \nAbbreviated Abstract: In the United States\, a substantial number of individuals participate in counseling because of mandates from external entities rather than voluntary self-referral (Choi et al.\, 2022). Mandated clients may be referred by a variety of systems\, including the criminal justice system\, courts\, child protective services\, employers\, and educational institutions\, requiring them to engage in counseling services (Ritchie\, 1986; Sotero et al.\, 2016). Novice counselors are likely to encounter mandated clients early in their careers\, particularly in community-based settings where mandated counseling is common (Freadling & Foss\, 2014; SAMHSA\, 2023). Although graduate training introduces some clinical interventions for working with mandated clients (Kim\, 2008; Doumas et al.\, 2019)\, novice counselors often receive limited preparation\, supervision\, and ongoing support (Kim et al.\, 2018; Aarons et al.\, 2009)\, leaving them to navigate challenges such as client resistance\, limited client motivation\, and the demands of involuntary counseling (Ritchie\, 1986; Lui et al.\, 2020; Cook et al.\, 2020). Together\, these factors increase the risk of counselor burnout and reduced job satisfaction\, particularly among novice counselors (Cook et al.\, 2021; Ellis et al.\, 2014; Cook & Sackett\, 2018; Morse et al.\, 2012). This study explored the lived experiences of novice counselors in providing counseling to mandated clients\, explored gaps in training and educational programming\, and explored the importance of supervision practices and counselor wellness. \n\nThrough Interpretative Phenomenological (IPA)\, this study explored novice counselors’ experiences of conceptualizing and counseling mandated clients (Smith et al.\, 2021). Data were gathered using semi-structured interviews then analyzed using a constructivists lens. Throughout data analysis\, five main themes emerged: Navigating the Complexities of Mandated Clients\, Learning through Immersion\, Feeling Unprepared for the Realities of Mandated Clients\, From Stigma to Understanding\, and Navigating the Emotional Demands of the Counselor Role along with multiple subthemes for each larger theme. This study identified a gap in counselor education and training related to counseling mandated clients and insights into improvements in counselor education\, training\, and supervision practices to improve counselor experiences with providing quality care to this vulnerable population while maintaining counselor wellness. Keywords: mandated counseling\, novice counselors\, counselor education\, systemic barriers\, counselor wellness\, counselor preparation\, interpretative phenomenological analysis
URL:https://grad.southernct.edu/event/dissertation-defense-kayla-toole/
LOCATION:Davis Hall\, Room 223\, 537 Fitch Street\, New Haven\, CT\, 06514\, United States
CATEGORIES:Defense
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