Faculty Research Spotlight

Spring 2020 Library Lecture Series

Location: LI 148
Time: 6:00 p.m. - 6:45 p.m.
Dates: February 20 - April 9

Thursday, February 20

Dr. Ania Young - Psychological Flexibility as a Model of Building Resiliency in Educational Settings

Psychological flexibility refers to several human capabilities: adaptation to various situational demands; ability to shift behavioral repertoires when they interfere with personal or social functioning; mindfulness, acceptance, and commitment to behaviors that are congruent with personal values; and ability to balance different, and sometimes competing, life domains (Kashdan & Rottenberg, 2010). Psychological in-flexibility may interfere with one’s ability to cope with stressors, and it may lead to career burn- out and giving up on goals, such as graduation from college. Building on existing research evidence, preliminary data from a study on social belonging of Native American students, and her own teaching experience, Dr. Young will illustrate how building psychological flexibility in K-12 teachers, school children, college professors, and college students can build resiliency, problem solving, critical thinking, motivation, independence, and well- being. The presentation will offer ideas for how the tenants of psychological flexibility can be built into the curricula as well as into organizational structures in order to stimulate flexible and healthy pro-social behaviors.

Bio: Dr. Young began her position as an Assistant Professor at MSUB in the Fall of 2017. She earned her M.S. in Applied Behavior Analysis from Northeastern University, Boston, and her Ph.D. in Public Policy and Administration from Virginia Commonwealth University. She has been practicing as a Board Certified Behavior Analyst for over 19 years and has worked in the field of developmental and intellectual disabilities for over 24 years. She has worked and consulted as a behavior analyst in different states including Massachusetts, Virginia, Colorado, and Montana. She practiced and supervised behavior analytic services in variety of settings including schools, psychiatric hospitals, and group homes and with variety of populations, including children in foster care and children and adults with mental health diagnoses. Dr. Young’s research interests include application of psychological flexibility model and Acceptance and Commitment Training in the area of resiliency and strengthening positive human relationships. Her current research projects include assessment of sense of social belonging and resiliency of minority college students and designing effective support systems for teachers and families of children with special needs.

Leanne Gilbertson’s research presentation scheduled for Thursday, March 19 has been postponed to a later date.

Thursday, March 19

Dr. Leanne Gilbertson - The Art of Wendy Red Star: Enacting Visual Sovereignty in Colonized Spaces

Contemporary artist Wendy Red Star was born in Billings and was raised on the Apsáalooke (Crow) reservation in Montana. An avid researcher of museum archives and historical narratives, Red Star creatively recasts traditional display spaces, offering new and unexpected perspectives that are inquisitive, witty, and at times, unsettling. Reviewing a range of objects and exhibitions installed in traditional Euro-American museums and galleries, including Red Star's recent solo exhibition at the Newark Art Museum (2019), this presentation reviews how Red Star enacts her own visual sovereignty, performing within colonized spaces a unique brand of story-telling and meaning-making.

Bio:Leanne Gilbertson is Associate Professor of Art History and Director of the Northcutt Steele Gallery at Montana State University Billings. She earned a B.A. in Art History from Montana State University, an M.A. in Art History from University of Iowa, and an M.A. & Ph.D. in Visual and Cultural Studies, as well as Graduate Certificate in Gender and Women Studies from University of Rochester. Prior to joining the faculty at MSUB, she held teaching positions at University of Pittsburgh, Sam Houston State University, and University of Toledo. Her curatorial efforts, gallery programming & community outreach have been recognized by grants from Humanities Montana and the Montana Arts Council.

Dr. Gilbertson has been invited to present her research at a number of regional, national, and international conferences and art institutions, and has curated over twenty exhibitions of contemporary art. Her writings on contemporary art and visual culture have been published in Art Journal, InVisible Culture, Pastelegram, and Rhizomes: Cultural Studies in Emerging Studies as well as in exhibition catalogues. Her research has recently been supported by a UCross residency. Currently she has a book chapter on art critic Harold Rosenberg forthcoming in American Aesthetics Today: Theory and Practice (SUNY Press) and is completing an article about the institutional interventions of contemporary artist and MSU alumna Wendy Red Star.

Thursday, April 9

Ambrin Mashood's research presentation scheduled for Thursday, April 9 has been postponed to a later date.

Dr. Ambrin Masood - Self-Awareness and Empowerment through Equine Facilitated Psychotherapy

The human-animal bond has been displayed since 12,000 BCE, but it wasn’t until the 1700s that the relationship was considered positive and beneficial for humans (Thompson, 2005). In 1961 Boris Levinson presented his article about pet therapy at the American Psychological Association meeting. Levinson’s article was written after he found a severely impaired boy talking to “Jingles” his dog, when they had been left alone for a few minutes (Sherpell, 2011). This was significant because Levinson was not able to get the child to talk in previous sessions. Building on existing research evidence, preliminary data from Animal Assisted Therapy studies, and her own experience with horses, Dr. Masood will illustrate how the Equine Facilitated Psychotherapy (EFP) can improve self-awareness, resiliency and self-esteem, therefore giving the person a strong sense of empowerment to fight the mental health stigma. 

Bio: Ambrin F. Masood, PhD is an Assistant Professor for the Department of Rehabilitation and Human Services at Montana State University Billings and a Montana licensed school psychologist. She earned her PhD in School Psychology from Auburn University in Auburn, Alabama. Her masters are in Clinical and Experimental Psychology. She is a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor in Montana and a licensed school psychologist for the state of Montana. She has years of experience in psychological testing as a psychometrician and therapy as a school psychologist. She serves on the editorial boards of the Journal of Public Health Issues and Practices and Journal of Educational and Developmental Psychology. Her main interest is in cross-cultural research and research on parenting and resiliency in children. She has authored articles in the areas of personality, mental disability, language and resiliency in youth. She has given back to her community through educating people about resiliency, culture, stereotypes and prejudice – For example, Building bridges and becoming aware of our fellow Muslims in an attempt to eradicate stereotypes and prejudice.