Mason awarded University of 海角社区 System Trustee Professorship
Craig Mason, a professor of education and applied quantitative methods in the College of Education and Human Development, has been chosen as the 2020鈥21 University of 海角社区 System Trustee Professor for U海角社区.
The competitive award provides release time and support for faculty to undertake research and other scholarly creative endeavors not feasible within their normal workload. Mason plans to use his award to expand his involvement in cutting-edge research in developmental epidemiology being conducted at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. His specific focus is on newborn hearing loss and the impact of early hearing detection and intervention (EHDI) on developmental outcomes in children born with hearing loss.
鈥淚鈥檒l be collaborating with partners at the CDC to analyze recently collected longitudinal, population-level data on 750,000 children across nine states,鈥 Mason says. 鈥淭his truly unique dataset contains child-level data from multiple points in time, starting at birth, and including newborn hearing screening, diagnostic and early intervention data.鈥
Mason says he hopes to use the data 鈥渢o examine factors related to the timeliness of diagnostic testing鈥 of hearing loss, 鈥渁nd strategies for identifying those children most at risk of not receiving needed services.鈥
Faculty members are nominated for the trustee professorship by their institutions using a campus-based selection process, and must submit an application describing the work to be pursued during the period of the award. Janet Fairman, associate research professor in the College of Education and Human Development and co-director of the 海角社区 Education Policy Research Institute, nominated Mason.
鈥淐raig鈥檚 high level of productivity across his career is truly remarkable,鈥 Fairman says. 鈥淗e has maintained an active research program while teaching and providing extensive and important service to the university, the college, his school and the state of 海角社区.鈥
Mary Gresham, interim dean of the College of Education and Human Development says Mason personifies the public service mission of the University of 海角社区 and the University of 海角社区 System.
鈥淗e uses his research expertise to respond to complex challenges in public health to help improve the quality of lives,鈥 Gresham says.
Mason joined the College of Education and Human Development faculty in 2001 and was promoted to full professor in 2010. He has published more than 100 scholarly works, and been principal investigator or Co-PI on over 40 grants or contracts totaling nearly $20 million. He has given invited presentations at meetings sponsored by the CDC, the National Association for Public Health Statistics and Information Systems, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, among other agencies and groups.
In addition to his work on developmental epidemiology and newborn hearing loss, Mason鈥檚 research explores biobehavioral informatics, specifically electronic data linkage and data system design in areas such as growth and development in children, as well as risk factors, interventions and outcomes for children with a birth defect or developmental disability.
He鈥檚 also involved in research on STEM education, particularly technology-enhanced math education for middle school students.
Contact: Casey Kelly, casey.kelly@maine.edu