Expertise
Undergraduate Program Director/BS in Public Health
Research Interests
Ethics in Health Education
Education
- Ph D: Education, (2011), Virginia Commonwealth University - Richmond, VA
Supporting Area: Health Education/Health Promotion
Dissertation/Thesis Title: The Role of Faith Leaders in Partnerships Among Health Promotion Researchers and Faith Communities
Biosketch
Rebecca Foco, Ph.D./MCHES, serves as an Associate Teaching Professor in the Department of Public Health in the Zuckerberg College of Health Sciences at the University of Massachusetts Lowell (UML). In addition to teaching a variety of public health and health education/promotion courses, Foco serves as the Undergraduate Program Director. She has won several teaching and advising awards during her tenure at UML and has served as a college teaching fellow.
Foco has presented work on teaching and learning at national and international teaching conferences.
Foco earned her Ph.D. in Education with a Concentration in Health Education and Promotion from Virginia Commonwealth University.
Selected Awards and Honors
- 2015 Faculty Award for Teaching Excellence (2015), Teaching - University of Massachusetts Lowell
Selected Publications
- Foco, R.L., Fox, F., Ramsey, C.A., Ripley, E. (2014). A Network of Community Partners Representing Multiple Communities: Developing a Tool for Matching Community Engaged Scholars with Community Partners. Journal of Community Engagement and Scholarship, 6(2), 35-41
- Ripley, E , Ramsey, C., Prorock-Ernest, A., Foco, R., Luckett, Jr., S., Ornato, J. (2012) EMS Providers and EFIC Research: Benefits, Ethics, and Community Consultation. Prehospital Emergency Care, 16(4), 425-433.
- Foco, R. (2011). The Role of Faith Leaders in Partnerships among Health Promotion Researchers and Faith Communities.
Selected Presentations
- Valdez,C., Vogelzang, J., Foco, R., Kanekar, A. (2021, September). Introduction and Application of the New Code of Ethics. Society for Public Health Education Webinar.
- Foco, R.L. (2020, April). Formative Assessment: A Powerful Process for Improving Learning. Oral presentation at the 2020 Annual Meeting of the Society for Public Health Education, Virtual Conference.
- Hunt M., Fox, M. & Foco, R.L. (2018, June). Formative Assessment: Small Investments Can Yield Big Returns. Oral presentation at the 2018 Annual Teaching Professor Conference, Atlanta, GA.
- Foco, R.L. (2018, March). Specifications Grading: Increasing Rigor and Saving Faculty Time in the Undergraduate Public Health Courses. Oral presentation at the 2018 Undergraduate Public Health and Global Health Summit. Arlington, VA.
- Foco, R.L. (2015, May). Using Backward Design and VALUE Rubrics for Assignment Design. Poster presentation at the Lilly International Spring Conference on College and University Teaching and Learning, Bethesda, MD.