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Impending Winter Storm

Due to the impending storm, all classes and activities at Kean’s main campus in Union, Kean Ocean and Kean Skylands will operate remotely on Sunday, January 25, and Monday, January 26. 

The University will observe a Winter Wellness Day on Tuesday, January 27, following the storm. Classes and activities will not run, and employees are not expected to work. 

Due to ongoing power problems at the Kean Ocean Gateway Building, all classes and activities at Kean Ocean will also be conducted remotely on Friday, January 23, and Saturday, January 24. This only applies to Kean Ocean. 

Only essential personnel should report to work as scheduled during the remote period or on Tuesday. Employees with questions about their status should consult their supervisor. 

Keanu’s Kitchen will remain open for residential students on the Union campus from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday through Tuesday. 

All vehicles parked on the Union campus must be relocated to the Vaughn-Eames overnight parking lot by 6 p.m. on Saturday to allow for storm cleanup. Vehicles parked elsewhere on campus are subject to relocation. 

Speech-Language Professors Spearhead New Autism Training Program

Sep 27, 2019
Autism Training 1

Pictured (L-R): JoAnne Cascia, Ed.D., Alan Gertner, Ph.D., Mahchid Namazi, Ph.D., and Aaron Gubi, Ph.D.

Two Kean University speech-language pathology professors have received a faculty scholarship to develop a model graduate-level training program for students to specialize in working with children on the autism spectrum.

Over the next year, Mahchid Namazi, Ph.D., and JoAnne Cascia, Ed.D., will create a 12-credit course, Interprofessional Specialization in ASD, for Kean students in the speech-language pathology and clinical-school psychology (Psy.D.) programs to prepare them for both conducting research and providing direct care to patients. 

Autism Training 2

In this interdisciplinary approach to curriculum development, they will work in collaboration with their School of Communication Disorders and Deafness colleague, Professor Alan Gertner, Ph.D., and Aaron Gubi, Ph.D., assistant professor in Kean’s School and Clinical Psychology (Psy.D.) program.

The New Jersey Autism Center of Excellence (NJACE) provided a $10,000 scholarship to fund the project.

“The program focuses on services for individuals with autism, especially those from underprivileged environments,” Namazi said. “With the ever-increasing prevalence of autism, we need specialized and highly competent clinical professionals to work with this population. We hope that this training program will serve as a model for other universities in the state and beyond.”

Namazi and Cascia said they sought the grant to fill a gap in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) training. They found that graduate schools offered courses in ASD but not concentrated programs. “It will bring distinction to the Nathan Weiss Graduate College at Kean,” Namazi said.

The professors will develop a collaborative and evidence-based approach to working with ASD patients. 

“Health care today has to be interprofessional; it has to be interdisciplinary,” said Christine W. Thorpe, Ed.D, dean of Nathan Weiss Graduate College. “Every patient and client is in need of more than one healthcare professional.”

The program is expected to be available to students starting in Summer or Fall 2020.

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