Southern California University of Health Sciences announces 2022 Faculty Awards

Jan. 9, 2023

Southern California University of Health Sciences (SCU) announced the annual 2022 Faculty Award winners during the Jan. 6, 2023 Provost’s Forum. SCU Faculty Awards recognize outstanding faculty for their achievements in the areas of teaching, contribution and scholarship. The university-wide recognition is also a means to encourage faculty to continue to excel in their professional fields and express appreciation for their contributions to SCU and to the field of healthcare.

Three major areas have been identified in the Faculty Performance Appraisal system that represent the various activities in which faculty are involved, including teaching, contribution and scholarship. Awards are given to outstanding faculty in the respective areas of performance based on formal evaluations through a self-nomination, or a supervisor nomination.

2022 Outstanding Teaching Award: Dr. Jory Basso

The 2022 Outstanding Teaching Award was presented to Dr. Jory Basso, DC, MEd, BSc, Associate Professor, Foundational Health Sciences Department.

Dr. Basso was nominated for his impact on the growth of the Foundational Health Sciences classes over the past two years, as well as his innovative teaching methods and consistently maintaining positive student feedback.

In her nomination, Dr. Winmar Way highlighted several of Dr. Basso’s accomplishments, including:

• Basso’s Case of the Week teaching method in his Clinical Nutrition class, where he uses the Zoom whiteboard and presents a clinical case history. Students participate in an interactive discussion, allowing them to apply knowledge and outcomes in different ways. He was invited by SCU’s Center for Faculty Development and Excellence (CFDE) to showcase this strategy at a pre-term training.
• The use of weekly Socrative reflection questions offered to students, allowing them to receive real-time feedback that can be instituted, immediately. Socrative is an easy, web- or app-based tool that provides instructors with strategies for posing questions and challenges to students and displaying student responses on the instructor’s screen in real-time. It is an opportunity for students to speak their mind anonymously if they wish, as well as a chance to check in with students. The first question he asks, is “How are you feeling today?” This has resulted in students feeling comfortable to discuss important and difficult life events such as family issues, illnesses, etc., allowing Dr. Basso to to reach out to students personally, or refer them to Student Services for further support.
• Basso presented ‘How to Increase Engagement and Connectedness in Online Courses’ at Ontario Tech University in 2021.

2022 Outstanding Scholarship Award: Dr. Raheleh Khorsan

The 2022 Outstanding Scholarship Award was presented to Dr. Raheleh Khorsan, PhD., MA, BA, Program Director, Master of Science in Medical Science (MSMS) program.

Dr. Khorsan was nominated for her continued contributions to the research enterprise in the Interprofessional Education (IPE) Department over the last year.

In his nomination, Dr. Preetideep Singh stated that “Dr. Khorsan’s dedication to helping faculty write research papers, prepare required reports, and communicate university driven mission via research by presentations, publications, and reports has had a tremendous impact on the ability of our people and our programs to attract recognition in scholarship and to disseminate the outcomes. She is richly deserving of this recognition.”

2022 Outstanding Contribution Award: Dr. Ferrahs Abdelbaset

The 2022 Outstanding Contribution Award was presented to Dr. Ferrahs Abdelbaset, DC, Visiting Assistant Professor, MSMS program.

In her nomination, Dr. Raheleh Khorsan stated that “Dr. Abdelbaset is a wonderful ambassador for our university in assisting students, faculty, and staff. Ferrahs is helpful, caring, resourceful, and happy to offer service no matter the task. Over the last two years, I have known Ferrahs to be a fantastic teammate. He is always cheerful and exceptional in everything he does. He is a true champion for higher education with a strong commitment to serving our student’s success. His skills, knowledge, willingness to help others, and dedication to our university and the community make him our MSMS Outstanding Contribution Award nominee.”

2023 Faculty Awards

For faculty interested in self-nomination or supervisor nomination for future 2023 Faculty Awards, the following criteria should be followed:

• For the Teaching Award, include a self-assessment and supervisor assessment of teaching using the 2022-23 Faculty Performance Appraisal (FPA) form; teaching section. Include a brief narrative that states the reasons why the nominee is deserving of the award. This requirement applies for both full-time and part-time faculty nominees.
• For the Contribution Award, write a narrative regarding service to the university, profession and/or the community and state the reasons why the nominee is deserving of the award. The supervisor’s input is recommended.
• For the Scholarship Award, write a narrative regarding the applicant’s scholarly contributions and include a list of scholarly work. The supervisor’s input is recommended.

The deadline for 2023 Faculty Award nominations is Oct. 15, 2023. Full details on Faculty Awards are sent periodically from the Professional Personnel Committee. For questions on Faculty Awards, contact Dr. Prasad Vinjamury, Chair, Professional Personnel Committee, at prasad@scuhs.edu.