Celebrating Anniversary, Faculty Scholars: Rosalie Corona

In celebration of its 10th anniversary in 2016, a series of faculty spotlights were written for the Virginia Commonwealth University Division of Community Engagement (DCE). In collaboration with VCU’s University Relations office, the feature stories were used to convey a key message that the DCE can help elevate faculty members’ teaching and scholarship by providing the training, funding and connections to engage with the greater community.

The features became part of the university’s overall Make it Real campaign and were used on the DCE’s anniversary splash page, in print and in the division’s e-newsletter. 

View the series on VCU’s website

Promoting mental health in Richmond’s Latino community

In 2015, Rosalie Corona, Ph.D., facilitated a discussion with community partners about critical health issues in Richmond’s Latina/o community. A key finding? Not enough bilingual mental health providers and limited access to needed services.
She is now training 50 members of the Latina/o community to become mental health “first responders,” able to identify mental health symptoms and connect with services. These health workers will address the cultural stigmas related to mental health and decrease barriers to receiving assistance.

“For me, research, teaching and service are totally integrated. The impact of my scholarship is not just in journal publications, but rather how many people within the community have access to care.”

A perfect example of that is her founding and directing the VCU Latina/o Mental Health Clinic, working with community partners and VCU psychology doctoral students to provide mental health services to the community.

Corona has partnered with some of the same community organizations for over a decade. These relationships began as a result of her connection with the Division of Community Engagement.

“When I was brand new to VCU, Cathy Howard [vice provost of community engagement] heard about my research interests, and scheduled a meeting with various stakeholders. It was my first connection to the community, and it was the start of it all.”

Photo credit: Virginia Commonwealth University