Dr. Kate DeCleene Huber, director of the University of Indianapolis School of Occupational Therapy (SOT) and alumni Paul Arthur coauthored an article titled"Behavioral Health Competence: An Exploration of Army Reserve Occupational Therapists" that is published in the March 2014 issue of Occupational Therapy in Mental Health.

Arthur and DeCleene Huber surveyed Army Reserve occupational therapists to determine the overall behavioral health competence of this population to to determine current levels of competence and highlight pre-deployment training needs. Results indicated that while Army Reserve OTs report high levels of behavioral health competence, many questions regarding diagnosis, assessment, evaluation, treatment planning, intervention, and progress arose throughout deployment.

The research was the the culmination of Arthur's Master of Occupational Therapy research project. He recently provided answers to some questions about the project:

How did this research topic come to mind for you?

"I was actually working on a really interesting measurement project with Dr. Lucinda Dale and her students, but my one-year deployment to Iraq threw a wrench into that, so I needed to seek an alternative direction when I returned," Arthur said. "While in Iraq, my boss, now the Chief of Army Reserve Occupational Therapy, and I discussed the issues deployed OTs had, in that none of them had much behavioral health experience, yet they were deployed in that capacity. It's a pretty high-stakes way to get your feet wet!"

Did the outcomes reflect your own experience? Were you surprised by anything you found?

"The results of the paper were pretty-well aligned with our hypothesis. Army clinicians are a fairly difficult population to study, in that the culture is to portray confidence and competence, even if that is not what you are feeling (or what is really the case). Probably the most surprising aspect of the paper was the clinician’s reliance on entry-level education for their behavioral health competence. Many had been away from school for decades and to imagine we are counting on them to recall info they learned in their early 20’s is pretty amazing."

What, if anything, could OT programs do to better prepare Army Reserve OTs for their work?

"While I like the notion of a required mental health fieldwork experience, it’s generally not realistic in many (if not most) areas of the country. We can still teach fundamental mental health concepts in our curriculum and there are some pretty nice, updated, textbooks to facilitate that. I generally think for the Army Reserve OT population, they need CEU opportunities and either a directive to take them, or at least an avenue to facilitate/pay for it."

Arthur noted that it was Dr. DeCleene Huber's support and perseverance that was significant to getting this paper published. He had these words of praise, "Having visited many OT programs, I think the relationships UIndy professors garner with their students is rather unique, and is largely responsible for the success their graduates."

Arthur is currently working with veterans with Alzheimer's disease and their caregivers for his dissertation at the University of Florida. He is pursuing a PhD in Rehabilitation Science and plans to have it completed sometime in 2015.

A new UIndy master’s degree program from the College of Health Sciences will prepare professionals to identify health disparities and develop community-based approaches to close the gaps.

Debuting this fall, the two-year Master of Public Health program will be the only one in Indiana, and one of few in the nation, with a concentration in health disparities, the preventable differences in health among populations that can occur along lines of age, sex, ethnicity, geography, socioeconomic status and other factors. The program will emphasize hands-on experience while offering courses in a primarily online format.

The Master of Public Health degree is relevant to a range of career settings including hospitals, nonprofit service agencies and corporate wellness. Candidates for the program could be recent bachelor’s degree graduates in fields such as social work or exercise science who want to expand their options, as well as doctors, nurses, physical and occupational therapists and other licensed professionals seeking to enhance their skills and broaden the scope of their work.

The core curriculum includes courses in epidemiology, biostatistics, environmental health, social and behavioral sciences, health systems and policy, cultural competency and health disparities.  The program develops the skills public health practitioners need to be effective, such as advocacy, leadership, grant writing, and program planning and evaluation.

UIndy’s hybrid MPH program combines online coursework and community-based projects with two weekend meetings on campus, a one-week summer intensive and a 400-hour professional practice internship.

(A longer version of this article was originally posted here.)

Dr. Michael Diacin was recently chosen to be the "Featured Professor" on DegreesInSports.com, an online database of sports degree programs. Dr. Diacin is an Assistant Professor of Kinesiology and the Program Coordinator for the Master of Science in Sport Management degree at the University of Indianapolis. His research interests include parental involvement in youth sports; experiential learning and internship development in sport management; and constraints upon family sport and recreation consumption. The following is more of the content from the interview with DegreesInSports.com. The first part of the interview is included in an earlier blog post and you may access the full interview at http://www.degreesinsports.com/professor.asp.

When trying to select a post-graduate program, what advice would you give a prospective student?

Determine the path you want to take and then find a program that specializes in that path. At the graduate level, the focus should be specific as opposed to general. If you don’t know what you want to do, don’t go to grad school simply to buy more time because the experience won’t be productive. Have an end goal in sight and then use that program’s resources to help you reach that goal.

What are the main selection criteria you consider when selecting students to be admitted into your program?

The undergraduate performance and standardized test scores matter a great deal. Someone who has turned in four years of mediocre performance doesn’t indicate they were particularly determined to do better. That attitude of apathy could continue in a graduate program so when those elements are poor, it is a red flag with regard to whether or not this person would be truly serious about graduate study. Another element is the personal essay. It is very important to clearly articulate what you want to get out of the program. If a program has a particular focus and that person does not indicate that in their interests, it could result in a mismatch between student and program.

How important is it for students to do an internship before they graduate? What advice would you give a student looking to select a sports internship?

It is critical. Those without some field experience really don’t stand a chance. When seeking an internship, ask the site supervisor what this experience will prepare you to do and also ask what can you market to future employers from this experience. If the experience doesn’t allow you an opportunity to accumulate evidence that indicates what you can do then it is an internship worth staying away from.

What are the main challenges that sports specific academic programs face over the next 3-5 years?

The biggest challenge, especially with brick and mortar universities is to embrace evolving technologies and still offer a program that allows for students to get the face-to-face time they need with faculty and practitioners that will serve as resources to them. Online learning offers many advantages but it needs to be delivered in a manner that enhances the program while keeping the personal element intact.

For more information about the sport management programs at the University of Indianapolis, visit our website or contact us at Kinesiology-grad@uindy.edu or (317) 788-4907.

UIndy has recently revamped the structure of its Engineering program, creating more benefits for students and providing more options for majors. The Engineering Dual Degree Programat UIndy is a cooperative partnership between the University of Indianapolis and the Purdue School of Engineering and Technology at Indianapolis (IUPUI). The program is designed to be 5 years in length, after which students will graduate with a degree in a Math or Science field from UIndy, and another in one of four areas within Engineering from IUPUI. Although the idea of staying in school for a fifth year, and taking courses at two different schools may seem different than the traditional four-year track at only one place, here are five reasons why any student interested in Engineering should consider the EDDP at UIndy.

1. Classes with more personal attention: Like the rest of the academic programs on campus, the EDDP at UIndy offers all  students the promise of a quality education, which can only be obtained through a learning environment with small class sizes and dedicated faculty who go above and beyond to help you succeed in their courses, and thereafter.

2. Stand out in the field with 2 Degrees: According to some of the EDDP faculty, having the knowledge and skills in a Math/Science field, and in Engineering makes a stronger engineer, and is more marketable in the workplace. The selection of internships and career possibilities also increases when a student holds two degrees.

3. Early exposure to hands-on experience: Students who choose Physics as one of their majors from UIndy, will greatly benefit from the new developments to the curriculum, with an emphasis on group projects. Professor Stephen Spicklemire says this will help enhance the learning experience for students, while helping them acquire the skills and experience needed for a career in Engineering.

4. Choose from 12 combinations of UIndy-IUPUI majors: Whereas the old UIndy/IUPUI engineering program only allowed students to earn a degree in Physics from UIndy, and Computer, Electrical, or Mechanical Engineering from IUPUI, the new program has 12 possible combinations for majors in Chemistry, Computer Science, Mathematics, or Physics from UIndy and Bio-medical, Computer, Electrical, or Mechanical Engineering.

5. Financial aid guaranteed for 5 years: Although most undergraduate financial aid is only guaranteed for four years, students enrolled in the EDDP will be able to have the same financial aid package they received as entering freshmen, applied to the additional 5th year in the program.

The University of Indianapolis School of Occupational Therapy is pleased to announce that assistant professors Lori Breeden, EdD, OTR and Alison Nichols, OTD, OTR recently successfully defended their dissertations and earned their doctoral degrees.

Dr. Nichols defended her doctoral capstone in May and graduated from Chatham University in Pittsburgh, PA with a Doctor of Occupational Therapy (ODT) degree. Her capstone project was titled, “Changes in Knowledge, Skills, and Confidence in Fieldwork Educators after Participation in an Evidence-Based Practice Short Course.”

Dr. Nichols specializes in early intervention pediatric occupational therapy. She is currently serving her second term as the secretary for the Indiana Occupational Therapy Association (IOTA) and has also served as a test-item writer for the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy (NBCOT). She earned her undergraduate and master's degrees at the University of Indianapolis.

Dr. Breeden defended her doctoral dissertation on in June at Ball State University. She will graduate in July with a doctorate in adult, community, and higher education.  Her dissertation was titled, “Exploring Older Adult Home Safety Education With Photo Elicitation via Telehealth.”

She specializes in neurological recovery and upper extremity spasticity management. Her research interests include client education, stroke recovery, OT delivery via telehealth, and the contribution of photovoice and photoethnic research to the understanding of participation in meaningful occupation with a chronic illness or disability. Dr. Breeden earned both her undergraduate and master's degrees at the University of Indianapolis.

Eastern Illinois University (EIU) will induct Dr. Joni Comstock into its Athletic Hall of Fame on September 6 in Charleston, Ill. Dr. Comstock will be entering the Athletic Hall of Fame as a friend of athletics based on the impact she has had on Eastern Illinois Athletics and national collegiate athletics. Dr. Comstock was a volleyball student-athlete at EIU and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in health and physical education. She received her master's degree in education and sports management from Illinois State University, and earned a doctorate in administration of higher education from the University of Illinois, Champaign.

In addition to her position at the NCAA, in 2012 Dr. Comstock became a co-instructor for the University of Indianapolis' Master of Science in Sport Management program, which focuses on intercollegiate athletics administration. She provides her expertise in the facility and event management course (KINS 510). She often holds class meetings for the UIndy students at the NCAA headquarters in Indianapolis, where students have the opportunity to learn from more experts in the sport management field.

Dr. Comstock has been with the NCAA as Senior Vice President of Championships and Senior Woman Administrator since 2006. She is responsible for the oversight of 84 NCAA national championships, statistics, playing rules administration, media coordination, and gender initiatives. She was previously honored by EIU in 2013 as one of ten significant contributors to Panther Women's Athletics during the school's celebration of the 40th anniversary of Title IX. She also represented EIU as their pioneer in women’s athletics and was honored by the Ohio Valley Conference that same year.

Over the past two decades, the terms program “performance and accountability” and “program evaluation” have become the focus of vigorous debate within the social, health and education services. Calls for increased scrutiny of public funding have increased the competition for scarce resources and federal, state and local emphasis on measurement of program and policy effectiveness have driven the focus on measurable outcomes. At the same time, increased focus on the quality of service delivery and on developing “learning organizations” has led to the building of systems of ongoing feedback and quality improvement efforts. The field of evaluation has grown in response.  

Course Offering
The University of Indianapolis Center for Aging & Community is offering GERO 571: Program Evaluation, a 3-credit, skill-based course designed to provide students in the healthcare and social sciences fields with an introductory overview of the tools and techniques to measure the activities, characteristics, effectiveness and efficiency of programs targeted to specific populations. This course is taught online and will begin August 25.

Objective
The primary objective of program evaluation is to provide feedback to decision-makers and other stakeholders, to determine whether a given program is achieving desired outcomes at a reasonable cost. In this course, the emphasis will be on what is needed to develop a successful evaluation, how to manage the context of the evaluation to ensure a positive evaluation experience for the evaluator(s) and the organization or program being evaulated, and how to foster the use of evaluation findings through design, conduct and reporting. At the end of the course, whether students are called on to evaluate a program, contract for evaluation services, or are charged with reading and acting on evaluation results, they will have the tools you need to successfully engage in program evaluation.

Course investigations will include readings from texts and articles, accessing websites, and conducting community research. Course assignments will include projects that will require students to read and analyze information sources, identify and interact with a specific program or policy, and develop a strategic evaluation plan.

Instructor
CAC Associate Professor Sharon Baggett, PhD is the instructor for this course. Baggett is routinely sought out for her skills as an evaluator and has provided evaluation services to organizations across the United States.

For More Information
People interested in taking GERO 571: Program Evaluation without applying to one of CAC’s graduate programs can take advantage of the Guest Student Option, which allows up to 6 credit hours to be take under guest status. All course fees apply. For more information, contact Stephanie Fritz at fritzs@uindy.edu or 317-791-5929.

The University of Indianapolis College of Health Sciences is pleased to announce the addition of Amie Wojtyna, PhD, MSBS, MPH to the teaching faculty of the university’s Community Health Education undergraduate program and the new Master of Public Health program.

Wojtyna earned her master’s in biochemistry and molecular biology with the intent to conduct breast cancer research. What she found was that hours spent at a lab bench did not give her enough interaction with the people she was trying to help, so at the suggestion of a colleague, she set her sights on public health. Now, 13 years later, Wojtyna is joining the UIndy faculty in the department of kinesiology where she will teach, among other things, MPH 510 – Understanding and Utilization of Epidemiology. She will also be teaching an undergraduate Introduction to Epidemiology course.

Epidemiology is the science that studies the patterns, causes, and effects of health and disease conditions in defined populations, which is what Wojtyna has spent the majority of her career doing. She has worked as a surveillance epidemiologist for both the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Indiana State Department of Health.

“Working in public health has allowed me to make an impact without giving direct medical care,” Wojtyna explained. “It’s not a basic science like biology. It’s not an abstract science like psychology. It’s a mixture and a completely different approach to science.”

A graduate of a DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana, Wojtyna believes that small private schools are lacking curriculum in public health.  She also sees a real need in Indiana for more of an emphasis on public health issues.

“I am excited to have the opportunity to work with the caliber of student UIndy attracts in both the undergraduate and graduate programs,” said Wojtyna. “Students who come from a rigorous academic program have the opportunity to make a difference in real world applications of public health concepts.”

When asked what she sees as the biggest issue in public health today, Wojtyna replied, “People and their behavior. It is very hard to change people’s behavior, but those changes in behavior – quitting smoking, exercising, using antibiotics appropriately – have positive impacts on public health.

The Master of Public Health program at the University of Indianapolis will begin in Fall 2014. The program, which will be delivered predominantly online, will offer a concentration in health disparities – preventable differences in the health of various populations.  To learn more, visit www.Uindy.edu/health-sciences/mph.

The University of Indianapolis Center for Aging & Community (CAC) invites students, faculty, staff  and community members to attend any or all of the following gerontology Capstone presentations on Monday, August 11, 2014. The location for the presentations is at CAC's Fountain Square office, 901 S. Shelby St., Suite 300, Indianapolis, IN 46203. Parking is available in the free public lot on Shelby Street (across from Arthur's Music).

9:00am - Virginia Cook: Respect My Story -- Elders share oral histories to promote community education.

10:00am - Kayleigh Allen: Support Groups and Older Women

11:00am - Rachel Arney: Creative Community Approaches to Using Older Adults' Perceptions of Exercise to Engage in Physical Activity

1:00pm - Tiffany Chappell: Sex Ed: In-service Training for Long Term Care Staff
 

The Capstone project reflects the student’s cumulative experience and skills gained throughout their graduate academic program with (CAC). Each student develops a project that demonstrates the ability to integrate gerontological knowledge gained through academic and practical experience and reflects the interdisciplinary nature and theoretical perspectives of gerontology. The student then delivers a professional presentation of Capstone findings and methodology to faculty, peers, and community professionals.

To learn more about the Master of Gerontology program offered by the University of Indianapolis Center for Aging & Community, please visit our website at www.uindy.edu/cac.

When prospective students inquire about UIndy's Doctor of Physical Therapy and Physical Therapist Assistant Programs, the person on the other end of the e-mail or phone is Amber Clarke, the newest Admissions Counselor in the university's College of Health Sciences.

Clarke is an Indianapolis native and a graduate of Marian University. She came to UIndy because she has an interest in higher education.

"I have an affection for students and mentoring. I like to see people being successful," said Clarke, who has a background in marketing. "This position fits all of that."

As the admissions counselor with responsibility for the Krannert School of Physical Therapy, Clarke is the first point of contact for students thinking about careers as a PT or PTA. Some days find her meeting with prospective undergraduates who will seek a pre-PT concentration that will prepare them to apply to physical therapy school. She advises students on prerequisites for admission to KSPT and answers questions about the admissions process.

Having arrived on campus in early July, Clarke said her favorite thing about UIndy is the people.

"I am very impressed with how involved the faculty are on campus," she said. "I've found everyone to be welcoming, genuine and friendly."

Students inquiring about UIndy's physical therapy programs will find Amber Clarke to be the same.

The deadline for applying to the 2015 Doctor of Physical Therapy program is October 1, 2014.

The deadline for applying to the 2015 Physical Therapist Assistant program is January 21, 2015.

What do you think of when you hear intercollegiate athletics?

Did you say, National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)? Well, that is what many people immediately think of when the words “intercollegiate athletics” are mentioned, but “intercollegiate athletics” is defined as

taking place between or participating in activities between different colleges: intercollegiate athletics.

Therefore, intercollegiate athletics not only includes the NCAA, but also athletic conferences and club sports.

The UIndy Master of Science in Sport Management program prepares graduate students to work with and within the NCAA, conferences, university athletic departments, and club sports via university recreational sports departments. A conference is an entity that governs member institutions that play competitively with one another. For example, the University of Indianapolis is not only a Division II school within the NCAA, but also a member of the Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC). In addition to the NCAA tournaments, the University of Indianapolis teams participate in GLVC tournaments and follow not only the NCAA guidelines, but also the GLVC guidelines.

With the growth of youth sports and travel teams, the number of young adults who want to continue to compete beyond the high school level is increasing. More high level athletes are opting to compete at the club level in order to focus on their education while still maintaining a high level of competition, or to continue a good athletic career while meeting people with similar interests. The growth in popularity of club sports has pushed some universities to take an active role in helping their student populations compete at regional and national levels. Club teams are not regulated by the NCAA nor the university’s athletics department, but rather managed through the university’s recreational sports office.

Since each university club sport carries the school’s name, guidelines that govern club sports exist. Some of the larger universities provide marketing and facilities to the club sports through the use of student activity fees and other fees assessed to each club. They have rules concerning fundraising and use of the university logos. This has expanded job possibilities within recreational sport departments on campuses across the nation.

These clubs include everything from football to martial arts to dance. Some of the club sports created their own governing bodies such as National Club Baseball Association (NCBA) and the National Club Track and Field Association (NCTFA). Those governing bodies have now also come together under the National Federation of Collegiate Club Sports Leagues, L.L.C. (CollClubSports), which allows the national associations to work together to advance participation in organized baseball, softball, track and field, basketball and football club sports. CollClubSports plays a similar role to the NCAA. There are many club sports such as martial arts, ultimate Frisbee, and volleyball that do not have national or regional governing bodies at this time, but the universities work with the club sports, and many of those sports represent the universities regionally and nationally. Focus on intercollegiate sports by earning your Master of Science in Sport Management at the University of Indianapolis, and take your place in a career in sports on a college campus.

The Indiana State Department of Health (ISDH) has made funds available for education of long term care health professionals in four topic areas: wound care, infection prevention, quality improvement and Alzheimer's and dementia care. The education provided by this project will be suitable for participants to pursue certification in these disciplines at their own cost if they so choose. The Project Manager is the University of Indianapolis Center for Aging & Community.

At this time, Quality Improvement Trainings have been scheduled in regions throughout the state.

Who should attend? Long Term Care Nurse Leaders, Quality Improvement Directors, Executive Directors. Note: There is a limit of one participant per long term care facility unless unfilled slots become available. Trainings are limited to 25 participants.

Trainer:  Evelyn Catt, MHA, Lean Six Sigma Black Belt, TTAC Consulting, LLC

Delivery Mode:   Four-day, face-to-face, Lean Six Sigma Yellow Belt Quality Improvement training course. Class is 8 am - 4:30 pm each of the four days. Participants must attend all 4 days to complete the course and be eligible to sit for the Yellow Belt Certification Exam.

Content: Evidence-based principles that facilitate improvement; QAPI Principles and key concepts of Lean; organizing the workplace; Kaizen and PDSA cycles; Six Sigma principles; root cause analysis; using quality improvement techniques to optimize care

Credential: Pre- and post-testing will be conducted to validate that effective learning has occurred. Participants completing the four-day course will be prepared to implement QAPI and eligible to sit for the Yellow Belt Certification Exam. Information will be provided to the students regarding their options for becoming yellow belt certified. Options include certification through the International Association for Six Sigma Certification or through Purdue Healthcare Advisors. Certification of participants will be at their own cost.

Cost: $60 for the 4-day workshop plus a $2.49 registration fee.

Identical Quality Improvement Trainings will be held regionally. To register, click on the location you wish to attend.

Fort Wayne, IN - Sept 8-11, 2014

Merrillville, IN - Sept 29-Oct 2, 2014

Columbus, IN - Oct 27-30, 2014

Evansville, IN -  Nov 10-13, 2014

Indianapolis, IN - Jan 12-15, 2015

For more information: Contact Lidia Dubicki, Project Coordinator, University of Indianapolis Center for Aging & Community or (317) 791-5926.

UIndy graduate, Chase Stouder finished his internship for the Indiana High School Athletic Association (IHSAA), and accepted a full-time position with the IHSAA. The Administration of Athletics course taught by Michael Sipe led Stouder to the realization that he wanted to work in high school athletics. Sipe is a former High School Athletic Director, and Stouder credits Sipe with teaching him about high school sports and ultimately helping him land his current job. During Sipe’s course, IHSAA Assistant Commissioner Sandra Walters spoke to the class about the IHSAA organization and its purpose. She discussed the IHSAA’s focus on education-based athletics and sportsmanship, and provided different scenarios concerning transfers and IHSAA rules. Stouder was able to meet Walters, and that led to his internship at the IHSAA.

Stouder said, “I believe hands-on experience in the field is one of the most important things you can do during your college career.” During his junior year, Dr. Larry DeGaris, Associate Professor, helped him land an internship with Indy Eleven, at that time called Indy Pro Soccer. Stouder worked with Peter Wilt, current president of Indy Eleven, to market the team by hosting events and fan forums.

In addition to internships, Stouder acquired hands-on experience from UIndy class projects. The Administration of Athletics course partnered with the Indianapolis Indians to market College Night. Although the game was rained out, the students gained the experience of organizing and marketing the event.

"Chase was an outstanding student who always went the extra mile to be successful. He strived very hard to succeed going beyond the expectations of the class as well as accepting a leadership role. He will make an excellent representative of the IHSAA with his work ethic," said Sipe.

Stouder also assisted in the Indy Sport Corp. Corporate challenge, a community event that emphasized healthy lifestyles, friendly competition, and company camaraderie. For more information about the UIndy Sport Management program, visit the website.

The University of Indianapolis Graduate Programs hosted the first-ever Interprofessional Graduate Student Forum  on Thursday, September 4, 2014. Students and faculty from several of the university’s three  dozen graduate programs -- including physical therapy, occupational therapy, psychology, public health, applied sociology and gerontology -- attended the event to learn about the legacy of Henrietta Lacks, a woman who has been critically important to modern medicine since the 1950s, yet who was virtually unknown until 20 years after her death in 1951.  The event gave students an opportunity to  discuss in small groups topics such as informed consent, scientific research, privacy and ethics.

Henrietta Lacks, was a poor, black woman from Baltimore, Maryland whose cells were harvested in 1951 during surgery for cervical cancer. Unbeknownst to Henrietta or her family, the cells were sent to a laboratory where they became the first human cells to be successfully cultured and reproduced. Since then, the HeLa cells, as they are called, have been proliferated millions of times over and were integral in the development of the polio vaccine, chemotherapy, the understanding of how human cells behave in space, and many other scientific advances.  The story of the HeLa cells is told in the 2010 book “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks,”  by author Rebecca Skloot.

At the Interprofessional Graduate Student Forum, Henrietta’s granddaughter, Kim Lacks, and her great-granddaughter, Veronica Spencer, took grad students and faculty on a virtual tour through the Lacks family album. They wanted to, they said, “help the students see Henrietta as both a woman and a medical contributor.”

The presentation included photos of the first time family members were able to view the HeLa cells under a microscope.  “It felt like Henrietta was with us,” said Veronica Spencer, of the day they viewed the living cells of their deceased matriarch.

During their visit to UIndy, the two women wove a story that painted Henrietta as a person – a wife and a mother – not just a collection of cells in a petri dish. It was evident in their presentation that the Lacks family, who has never been compensated for the use of HeLa cells, is extremely proud of Henrietta’s contribution to medicine and science.

In a question-and-answer session following the presentation, Kim Lacks said Henrietta’s story has led several family members to pursue careers in medicine, including Veronica who is studying to be a registered nurse.

Veronica left the students, many of whom will be working in the medical field, with this admonition:

“You go to school and pay a lot of tuition to learn big fancy words, like ‘supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.’ Then you get out and you want to use those big fancy words in your job, because you paid a lot for them. But you have to talk to people like you are talking to your family. If you talk to them with ‘supercalifragilisticexpialidocious’ and they don’t understand, you are robbing them of an opportunity for knowledge.”

Based on student feedback after the forum, Veronica’s words hit home. The University of Indianapolis Graduate Programs will continue to look for ways to bring graduate students together with opportunities for interdisciplinary learning.