Five ETSU faculty members have been selected to participate in the inaugural Faculty Research Cohort.
The cohort was launched in partnership with the ETSU Office of Planning and Decision Support, the ETSU Office of the Provost and the Applied Social Research Laboratory. Members received a grant and will spend the next year working on their research projects. Each member will work with a graduate assistant to conduct their research.
The cohort members are Manik Ahuja, Bethesda O’Connell, Mimi Perreault, Anca Traian and Wesley Wehde.
Ahuja is an assistant professor in the ETSU Department of Health Services Management and Policy. His project is “Social isolation, loneliness and substance use among college students in Central Appalachia during the COVID-19 pandemic.” He will look at some of the adverse consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic on young people particularly affected by loneliness and isolation. He said the cohort has allowed faculty the opportunity to exchange ideas and support one another in their research.
“Through this cohort we have a strong collaboration and every person on there has been very supportive of each other, very team-orientated,” said Ahuja.
O’Connell is an assistant professor in the ETSU Department of Community and Behavioral Health. Her project is “Healthy housing: a retrospective analysis of the health impacts of interventions on substandard housing.” Throughout her project she will be working with the nonprofit, Appalachia Service Project, and the local healthcare system, Ballad Health, to analyze the impact of what Appalachia Service Project does in the community regarding healthcare.
“I’m very appreciative of the opportunity and that ETSU is doing this,” said O’Connell. “I’m just thankful and glad to be a part of it.”
Perreault is an assistant professor in the ETSU Department of Media and Communication. Her project is “An Evaluation of Campus and Community Conversations on Climate: Overlooked in Appalachia and the “Write your Story in (Blue+Gold)=Green” Event.” Perreault said that the Overlooked in Appalachia component of her project, an online student-run magazine, allows her to provide information to the general public that nobody else is providing.
“When I saw that this opportunity came up, I got really excited,” said Perreault. “There’s just a lot of opportunities to learn, which is excellent because I need to learn.”
Traian is an assistant professor in the ETSU Department of Economics and Finance. Her project is “An investigation on financial literacy and the role of social networks on financial decisions.” Throughout her project, Traian will be looking at where young adults get their information when making financial decisions. She hopes her project will help her direct her financial education teaching in the right direction.
“I’m excited to see how it goes,” said Traian. “I’m excited to get started and I’m ready to work.”
Wehde is an assistant professor in the ETSU Department of Political Science, International Affairs and Public Administration, where he teaches courses on American government and research methods. His project is “Comparing Public and Emergency Managers’ Perceptions of Emergency Communication and Response.” He will look at and compare where the public and emergency managers like to source their emergency notifications and hopes to incorporate some of his research data into his teaching.
“I’m really excited about it,” said Wehde. “For me, it’s a really great opportunity to meet other researchers and build new connections.”
