Three faculty receive Trustees Teaching Awards

To facilitate the recruitment and recognition of outstanding faculty, the Trustees Teaching Awards were established to honor individuals who have a positive impact on learning through the direct teaching of students, especially undergraduates. Award recipients must have demonstrated a sustained level of teaching excellence.

This year's recipients of the Trustees Teaching Awards from the IU School of Public Health-Bloomington are:

• David Smiley, Department of Recreation, Park, and Tourism Studies
• Dr. Hsien-Chang Lin, Department of Applied Health Science
• Dr. Carol Kennedy-Armbruster, Department of Kinesiology

Read more >>

Faculty contribute to Journal of Leisure Research

Dr. Rasul Mowatt, a faculty member in the Department of Recreation, Parks, and Tourism Studies at the IU School of Public Health-Bloomington, recently served as the guest editor of the Journal of Leisure Research (JLR) special issue on social and environmental justice. 

The journal publishes research findings from original investigations that contribute new knowledge and understanding to the field of recreation and leisure studies. The findings of these cutting-edge research projects are relevant to researchers, students, and practitioners.

The issue featured research by Dr. James Farmer, also of the IU School of Public Health Department of Recreation, Parks, and Tourism Studies, in the article "Agrileisure: Farmers' Markets, CSAs, and the Privilege in Eating Local."

In the article, Dr. Farmer and his team discuss how participation in local food systems has recently emerged as an important and overlooked leisure behavior that is critical to community recreation agencies, sustainable development, and overall public health. His study collected motivational, participation, and demographic data from 712 individuals who shop at farmers' markets, subscribe to community supported agriculture (CSA) programs, or do not participate in either. 

The results indicated that environmental and nutritional motives were the top two factors affecting farmers' market and CSA participants' engagement, while also highlighting a significant association between the CSA and farmers' market participants and privilege variables. These findings suggest that even as farmers' markets and CSAs are promoted as a means to reduce food insecurity and promote agrileisure opportunities, barriers exist that exclude many from engagement.

Shannan Stryjewski earns Outstanding New Advisor Certificate of Merit

Shannan Stryjewski

Shannan Stryjewski, and advisor for the Department of Applied Health Science at the IU School of Public Health-Bloomington, has earned the Outstanding New Advisor Certificate of Merit for the National Academic Advising Association (NACADA). 

The Outstanding New Advisor Awards are presented to individuals who have demonstrated qualities associated with outstanding academic advising of students and who have served as an advisor for a period of three or fewer years. Winners are honored at an awards ceremony held during the NACADA Annual Conference in the fall.

Shannan advises current and prospective students majoring in Human Development and Family Studies, Youth Development, or minoring in Gerontology, Human Development and Family Studies, Human Sexuality, and Youth Development. She received both her undergraduate and graduate degrees from Indiana University. She received a Master of Science degree in Counselor Education and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology.

Ivy Tech Transfer Fair helps students connect with the School of Public Health-Bloomington

Twice a year, Ivy Tech Community College offers students the opportunity to talk with representatives from area colleges and universities regarding continuing their education at another institution. This Transfer Fair offers students the opportunity to explore potential careers and programs they wish to pursue as they continue their education.

The annual event, which attracts between 50 to 100 students, offers both students who have completed associates degrees and those who have taken prerequisite courses with the intention of moving into a four-year program, a variety of options for continuing their studies. Dedicated staff from the IU School of Public Health-Bloomington were on hand to showcase the breadth and depth of academic offerings available to the students.

Alumna named 2014 Health Teacher of the Year at the AAHPERD/SHAPE Conference

Heidi Stan

In early April, SHAPE America, formerly the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (AAHPERD) honored the elite of the physical education, adapted physical education, school health and dance education profession by honoring the best of the best with the National Teachers of the Year award. The winners are recognized for their outstanding teaching performance and the ability to motivate today's youth to participate in a lifetime of physical activity.

Among the recipients was Heidi Stan, BS’02, who received the Health Teacher of the Year award for her work at Riverside Junior High School in Fishers, Indiana. Stan’s health education programming for which she was recognized is designed to improve the "health literacy" of the students ensuring they're able to obtain, interpret and comprehend basic health information, as well as products and services in order to enhance personal, family, and community health.   

From activities focused on endurance, flexibility, and coordination to lessons on portion control and reproduction, Stan’s curriculum is mapped out to ensure that students are lifelong learners and participants. Stan emphasizes the principles of health promotion, disease and injury prevention, and how to incorporate students' new-found knowledge into making positive health decisions.

NLRB college football ruling a potential game changer

Galen Clavio

Galen Clavio, a sports communication and marketing expert at the Indiana University School of Public Health-Bloomington, described the recent ruling by the National Labor Relations Board allowing Northwestern University football players to unionize "potentially a game changer."

"This ruling is potentially a game changer for the college athletics model as a whole. The primary things that the National Labor Relations Board ruled were that the football players at Northwestern were not 'primarily students'; that their football coaches exercised strict control over their schedules; and that their athletic scholarships were, in effect, compensation in exchange for work at school, with the work in this case being their football duties. This was a bit of a surprise ruling, as many in the legal profession thought that the players were going to lose this ruling.

“Northwestern has already announced that they are going to appeal, so there is still more to come in this case. But this is a major step toward a change in the way college athletics is treated by the courts and could lead to a system where football players -- and potentially other college athletes -- could form their own unions and collectively bargain with college athletic departments on a range of issues, from salary to health benefits to other items."

Donisha Reed honored with Stephen Jay Leadership Public Health Award

Donisha Reed

Donisha Reed, BSCH Master of Public Health student and research coordinator for the Center for Sexual Health Promotion, was recently honored with the Stephen Jay Leadership Public Health Award at the 2014 Indiana Joint National Public Health Week Conference. 

The award is presented to an MPH student (across the three statewide MPH Programs at IUPUI, IUB, and Purdue) who exhibits exemplary public health leadership, scholarship and practice resulting in the improvement of public health in Indiana. 

Donisha was recognized  for her tireless community engagement efforts across a wide range of initiatives and organizations during the course of her MPH program.

In addition, within the first few months of starting her new position as the Community Outreach Director at the Wichita Falls YMCA, Donisha has just been awarded a prestigious grant from The Oliver Foundation in support of her own innovative health promotion program, “ELF: Eat Well, Live Well, Feel Well.” The Oliver Foundation is a Houston-based non-profit operating foundation organization dedicated to the prevention of childhood obesity by providing technical support, training, and nutrition and physical activity education materials to grant recipients.

Decreased smoking rates correlate with wealth

Jon Macy

Indiana Public Media recently ran a story that discussed findings by University of Washington showing that smoking rates are declining in wealthier counties faster than poorer counties.

Indiana University Department of Applied Health Science associate professor Jon Macy was consulted to provide his expert opinion. Based on his assessment, he says says he’s not surprised by the findings.

“We failed in terms of delivering interventions to those high risk groups in our communities and we need to do a better job,” Macy said.

He says the study provides the data needed to better develop strategies of reducing smoking rates on a local level that would engage with socio-economic groups who would benefit the most from targeted anti-smoking activities.

Read more >> 

Health Program Fair helps students explore potential careers

Cindy Moore

Students from across the IU campus recently had the opportunity to explore a multitude of educational opportunities and campus resources at the annual Health Programs Fair hosted by the Health Professions and Prelaw Center. 

Co-sponsored by various campus schools and departments including the IU School of Public Health-Bloomington and the departments of Applied Health Science and Kinesiology, the fair offered students an opportunity to learn about much more than just the familiar roles of "doctor" and "nurse." 

Designed to provide students with the opportunity to meet with representatives from medical schools and health profession programs from across the country, as well as learn about associated volunteer opportunities and student organizations, the fair attracted students just beginning their college careers to those applying to graduate-level programs.

New Public Health Library resources

The IU School of Public Health-Bloomington Library has added three major new library online resources to the collections, accessible both on or off campus.

Rehabilitation Therapy in Video

This resource offers a large streaming video resource for the study of occupational therapy, physical/physiotherapy, and speech-language pathology. The collection allows students and faculty to easily find, cite, and share footage of top clinicians and academics explaining the underlying anatomical and neurological issues in specific patient populations, while demonstrating effective techniques and methods for their treatment. All of the video has been thoroughly indexed to allow users to search and filter content by patient details, therapist specialization, treatment method, presenting problem, and more.

Wiley Blackwell Encyclopedia of Health, Illness, Behavior, and Society

This is the first comprehensive, interdisciplinary, and international reference work on all aspects of the social scientific study of health and illness.

UptoDate

Evidence-based clinical decision support resource, UpToDate is updated daily following a continual comprehensive review of peer-reviewed journals, clinical databases and other resources (see the Evidence section for a detailed list). Topics in UpToDate are revised whenever important new information is published.