University of Louisville
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Metropolitan College partnership between UPS, local higher education celebrates a quarter-century of success
BY JILL SCOGGINS UOFL NEWS - MAY 21 2023
Back in the late 1990s, UPS’s Louisville air hub, known today as Worldport, was wrestling with a significant problem. Needing employees round-theclock, the company was finding it difficult to recruit and retain workers for its overnight shifts. As it planned a much-needed expansion, the company knew the problem would only grow.
The solution? Metropolitan College – a unique public-private partnership that dramatically increased tenure among workers during the wee hours each night and provided more than 22,000 students over the past quarter-century the opportunity to earn a college degree debt-free.
Metro College allows students at the University of Louisville or Jefferson Community and Technical College to work third shift at Worldport at Muhammad Ali International Airport. In return, they earn a weekly paycheck and payment of their tuition, academic bonuses and fee payment assistance. The program receives state support to fund up to 50% of tuition and fees. The company also provides academic bonuses that include semester and graduation bonuses.
The program launched in the fall semester of 1998 as a partnership among UofL, JCTC, UPS, Louisville Metro Government and the commonwealth of Kentucky. As it celebrates its 25th anniversary, it has proved to be a resounding success in providing access to education and bolstering the local workforce.
“Metropolitan College is one of those initiatives that seemingly has no downside,” said UofL President Kim Schatzel. “Prior to my academic career, I spent 20 years in industry, so I see the value of Metro College across the board. In making this program possible, the state of Kentucky, UPS, JCTC and UofL have created a national model of what a combined education-workforce-economic development initiative can and should be.”
High on the list of pride points is that students graduate 100% debt-free. They also have the benefit of the Metro College Career and Academic Planning Program that helps students navigate the higher education experience and find careers after graduation.
“In addition to paying for college, Metro College provides a student with a livelihood while they are in college,” said Ty Handy, JCTC president. “That is crucial for many students who must support themselves either fully or partially while they are in school. And the added value of the career and academic guidance they receive cannot be underestimated.”
Another major result of the program involves third-shift worker tenure. Prior to the program’s launch, the average tenure of a third-shift worker was eight weeks. As of fall 2022, tenure increased to three years.
“For UPS, the success of Metro College has been integral to our ability to deliver what matters to our customers around the world,” said UPS President Jim Joseph. “In addition to the steady source of talent to help us run our Worldport operation, the program provides student-workers the opportunity to pursue their dreams debt-free, while also receiving competitive pay, benefits and work-life experience and guidance. Our community benefits by growing and enhancing the talent pool within the commonwealth. The program really is a win-win-win for all involved.”
Thalia Almenares came to Louisville in 2016 from Cuba and began work at UPS in 2017. Through Metro College she started taking classes at JCTC before transferring to UofL where she is poised to graduate in May as a dental hygienist.
“UPS was the best bet for my dreams,” she said. “I couldn’t believe it when they told (me) they were going to pay my tuition 100% in full. But also, with the help of the UPS team, I was able to overcome the language barrier and have a job to support my family while earning a great education. The program also provides you with a great work-life balance. I wasn’t sure if it was possible to be a student and work at the same time, but UPS opens that door.”
Another program benefit is the chance to learn leadership skills and to rise in the ranks while still enrolled in college. Just ask Jeff Wafford ’03 and Donovan Neal ’19.
“Coming out of high school, I knew I couldn’t pay for college. I was actually planning to go into the military until a friend of mine told me about UPS two months before the semester started,” Neal said. “I began in August 2012 in the UPS hub as a package handler and eventually got a role as a supervisor in finance and accounting.” He graduated from UofL with a degree in finance and today works in human resources for UPS.
Likewise, Wafford progressed through the ranks of the multinational shipping company. He enrolled in Metro College more than two decades ago and started as a package handler. “I then became a training and development supervisor, training new hires, and I’ve been lucky enough to advance through customer relations and business development.”
Wafford, now director of public affairs in government affairs, continues to tout Metro College. “Today, I not only have the chance to talk about it to our leaders here locally and throughout Kentucky but also to the states I cover, in the Virginias and the Carolinas. They all want to know, ‘What can we do in our states to have a program like this?’ ”
Almenares and Neal talk up the program as well.
“I tell people that if UPS is my big family, then Metro College would be my mother,” Almenares said. “I say this because my mother makes sure that I have food, that I feel supported and loved, that I have everything I need. Well, Metro College provides me everything regarding school needs.”
“I was a supervisor in finance and accounting, but I knew my impact could be greater in an HR role because I wanted to actually talk to these students,” Neal said. “I tell them, all you have to do is work third shift and maintain a C (average) or better, versus having to pay for your tuition.”
The rigors of overnight work – Metro College students work 11 p.m. to 4 a.m. about 15 hours per week – coupled with college enrollment can be daunting, but Metro College staff at UofL and JCTC help students handle it. The staff members advise entering students to enroll as a parttime student to get adjusted to the new routine. And they provide advice on life skills that students may need.
“I am extremely grateful to all the Metro College staff because the wraparound services they provide are vital,” Wafford said. “I barely knew how to open a checking account when I started, so to have somebody explain things like this to me was so important. These are the things that are so vital to these students that make the program a success.”
As for handling the late hours that the job requires, Wafford notes that working overnight may not be as much of a problem as might be imagined.
“Twenty-three years ago, my then-college roommate and I were up at 3 o’clock in the morning, as college students sometimes are, and we saw this ad for Metro College,” he said. “We said, ‘You know what? We should do this. We’re up all night anyway. We have these loans we’re getting ready to take out, and we need some money.’ So the next day, we applied.
“I’ve talked about Metro College for 23 years and hopefully (because of) my son, I’ll get to talk about it for the next 23 years,” Wafford said “Let’s keep this program going, for the students, for the future of the commonwealth.”
For more information about Metro College visit metro-college.com
UofL partnership with GE Appliances and Bullitt County Public Schools offers guaranteed entrance to Speed School
The University of Louisville’s J.B. Speed School of Engineering has partnered with GE Appliances, a Haier company (GEA) and Bullitt County Public Schools to support the next generation of engineering professionals through the Guaranteed Entrance to Engineering School (G.E.E.S.) program. The partnership was announced at the closing event of the GE Appliances Bullitt County Engineering Exploration Program.
Over the past school year, 22 teams of Bullitt County Public School students designed tiny homes for a local nonprofit organization geared to enable independent, yet sustainable living. All project designs are authentic to the students and focus on disability inclusion, energy sustainability and food independence to facilitate independent living for all people.
As part of the year-long project, carpentry and electrical trade students designed and built the interior of the house and the solar array that will power the home efficiently. The students are continuously working on the project’s future phases as part of earning their school certifications by learning core trade skills – wiring the home, building interior structure, installing cabinetry and potential deck additions.
“GEA’s engineering and development teams have been working diligently with senior capstone students from Bullitt East and Bullitt Central high schools to serve as mentors throughout the school year,” said Michael Ekbundit, director of engineering programs for GE Appliances. “This project and program are so special to me and the students in its impact, we’re changing these kids’ lives and opening doors of opportunity that most of us didn’t have at their age.”
Ekbundit has led the program on behalf of GE Appliances for multiple years and is excited to see the next phase of the partnership launch offering students from Bullitt County Public Schools guaranteed entrance to UofL’s Speed School.
The J.B. School of Engineering is devoted to ushering talent into the school. A large part of their role as an engineering college is to be instrumental in the pipeline of students from the K-12 grades to college STEM disciplines that will lead in STEM positions in the industry. The G.E.E.S. program will provide students with experiences within the engineering field during high school. Through successful completion of the G.E.E.S. program, students are guaranteed admission into the University of Louisville’s J.B. Speed School of Engineering.
“The Speed School of Engineering greatly values the relationship we have with GE Appliances,” said Emmanuel Collins, dean of engineering. “And we are excited to have the G.E.E.S. program graduates as students at the Speed School of Engineering.”
“Our business is laser focused on developing the next generation of advanced manufacturing professionals,” said Katina Whitlock, senior manager of community engagement for GE Appliances. “Our partnerships with local school systems, colleges, universities and skilled-trade centers are investments in the manufacturing industry as a whole with the ability to positively impact people in our region for generations to come.”
GE Appliances also supports Jefferson County Public Schools, Shelby County Public Schools, University of Louisville, Jefferson Community and Technology College and area nonprofit organizations to expose, inspire and support students entering academic and professional careers in science, technology, engineering, math and manufacturing through scholarships, corporate grants and employee volunteerism, mentoring and tutoring.
UofL, JCPS celebrate 2023 Louisville Teacher Residency graduates
Candice Hardin, Louisville Teacher Residency (LTR) coach at JCPS, hands a rose to LTR graduate Donald Morehead at the graduation celebration on May 18 (photo courtesy JCPS)
More than 30 new University of Louisville-trained teachers will be assigned to high-needs schools in the Jefferson County Public Schools (JCPS) system after completing a unique, one-year training program.
The teachers received their master’s degrees this month from UofL after completing the Louisville Teacher Residency (LTR) program, which is designed to increase the pool of diverse, highly skilled teachers in low-performing urban schools.
The program, the first of its kind in Kentucky, offers college graduates who did not major in education the opportunity to obtain a master’s degree and teaching certification in one year. In exchange, they commit to teach in a high-needs JCPS school.
“UofL is deeply grateful for our partnership with Jefferson County Public Schools to implement a teacher residency program that recruits, retains and elevates future educators,” said Amy Lingo, interim dean of the College of Education and Human Development (CEHD).
The 2023-24 LTR program begins in June, with a class of up to 50 residents. During the residency year, participants spend four days a week in the classroom alongside JCPS master teachers. During the summer and on Fridays, the residents will attend classes at UofL, and complete coursework co-designed by JCPS and the university. Participants will earn $30,000 plus benefits from JCPS during their residency then commit to work for five years in an Accelerated Improvement School (AIS) within JCPS.
Class Act Credit Union committed up to $300,000 for scholarships and programming for the first three years of LTR and has committed to the same funding for another three years.
Individuals interested in applying for the LTR program should visit the JCPS website. Candidates must have a bachelor’s degree and at least a 2.75 GPA. Participants need not be a minority to apply, though the district is prioritizing candidates in high-needs areas, including minority representation and math and science teachers
UofL medical students honored for paving the path for kids affected by gun violence
A ceremony on Tuesday, May 9 honored the medical students and showed appreciation for the time and effort they put into building the curriculum and stimulating a real impact on these kids and teenagers. Karen Udoh, who has served as a leader and voice of the Future Healers Program, was recognized with a special send off as she heads to Baltimore to start her residency with the Johns Hopkins Department of Medicine. Udoh will remain a part of Future Healers as an advisor.
Since October of 2020, the partnership has brought over 100 kids to the program.
Louisville has seen a significant increase in gun violence in the last decade, including two mass shootings in the last month. The health care response from the UofL Hospital – J. David Richardson Trauma Center, paired with the Future Healers Program aims to create a hope for the kids in this community.
Eboni Cochran receives 2023 award for Outstanding Community Partner
Eboni Cochran is the recipient of the 2023 UofL Outstanding Community Engagement Award for a Community Partner. Eboni is the is co-director of Rubbertown Emergency Action (REACT), a grassroots organization of citizens living on or near the fenceline of Rubbertown. Rubbertown is host to 11 large chemical plants, the largest source of industrial emissions in the city. A trusted voice in environmental justice efforts for several decades, Eboni regularly leads Environmental Injustice tours around west Louisville, and also co-directs West Louisville Math and Science. Recently, she has been working with Megan Poole, UofL assistant professor of English, College of Arts & Sciences, and Dr. Poole’s students, on the Air Justice project. The Air Justice project aims to make engaging with the issue of air pollution easier, and also seeks to amplify what communities in Louisville want from environmental health equity work. Air Justice works with scholars, students, and local community members like Eboni to research solutions that bring legislative change and decrease toxic emissions in neighborhoods.
Eboni also received the 2023 Josh Smith Award for Sustainability pictured above
Outstanding Community Engagement Award winners also included:
- UofL students Adrienne Smith, Kendria Kelly-Taylor, Jason Deakings for their work with young adults are affected by HIV. The Fighting Injustices among African American Youth Project works to address HIV testing and prevention barriers among justice-involved African American young adults.
- UofL Assistant Professor of Comparative Humanities Dr. Hilaria Cruz won the faculty award. Dr. Hilaria Cruz grew up speaking Chatino, a language for which there was no writing system. She was forced to learn Spanish in school. However, as a PhD student, working with two others, she co-developed a writing system for Chatino. Since then, Dr. Cruz has devoted her professional life to promoting literacy in Chatino. The Chatino Tonal Books Project is one way she has worked to achieve this goal. With her students, both undergraduate and graduate, she has written and published 19 children’s books.
- Jason Beare received the staff award for starting the Louisville H.E.R.O. Run/Walk/Ruck 5k to raise money for local Veterans in 2022. Thanks to the participants, donations, and sponsorships from numerous local and national businesses, they donated $7500 to Veterans Club, Inc., which used the funds to aid Kentuckiana-area Veterans in financial crisis. They also donated a full $5000 scholarship to the Salute to Scholarship Fund at UofL.
The Outstanding Community Engagement Award was created in 2009 as a way to recognize faculty, staff, students, and community partners who are involved in outstanding community engagement service. Honorees engaged in exemplary community engagement activities such as volunteerism, outreach, partnerships, curricular engagement, or community-based research receive $1,000, a crystal award, and their name added to the permanent recognition display located in Ekstrom Library.
Reflecting on the April 10 shooting: a message from President Schatzel
The shooting in downtown Louisville on April 10 continues to shake all of us, especially those who were closest to the victims. Several members of our campus community were beloved family members and dear friends of the victims of the horrible attack. Please keep those injured or killed, those that love them, our fellow Cardinals and our entire Louisville community in your prayers and thoughts. I know you join me in sending our deepest condolences to those who lost a loved one so tragically in the shooting.
I want to make sure to recognize and appreciate the heroic actions of those in our community who responded quickly, bravely and professionally in the early moments of the horrific attack and throughout the day.
I know you all join me in offering our tremendous gratitude to the courageous officers of Louisville Metro Police Department who rushed into the Old National Bank Building, saving lives while putting themselves at great risk.
Within minutes, officers from our own UofL Police Department arrived to support LMPD. These brave members of our community worked quickly with LMPD to secure the scene itself as well as throughout the hospital district. I cannot say it often enough how greatly I appreciate our colleagues – the officers of ULPD – as each day they work tirelessly to keep our community safe.
We all recognize with deep gratitude the efforts of our colleagues at UofL Health – UofL Hospital – the trauma doctors, nurses and staff – who provided outstanding emergency medical care to those injured in the attack and continue to care for them. In our darkest moments, these heroes, as well as other first responders, exhibited true bravery and professionalism in serving their fellow citizens. I feel, as I know we all do, humbled by their actions and grateful to all of them.
I want to remind everyone that asking for help, especially in times of trauma and stress, is a most important part of recovery. Help is available for those needing additional support. Students can call our Counseling Center at 502-852-6585 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. or access other options at https://louisville.edu/counseling/resources. Counseling for our faculty and staff is available through our Employee Assistance Program provider, Anthem EAP. Call 800-865-1044 or go to AnthemEAP.com > Select “Member Log In” > Type “University of Louisville.”
As we all work to find a path forward in the midst of this tragedy, although I have only been a part of UofL for less than three months, I have great faith in our Cardinal and Louisville communities. I have quickly learned that Cardinals stick together, especially when they need each other most. Please take an extra moment to care for yourself, your classmates and your colleagues, and don’t hesitate to reach out to the university for support.
Sincerely,
Kim Schatzel, Ph.D.
President
Third-year law student talks about experience serving at the Trager-Brandeis Elder Law Clinic
By UOFLNEWS - MARCH 28, 2023
Morgan LaRosa, a third-year law student at UofL, has participated in the Trager-Brandeis Elder Law Clinic since its inception in spring of 2022. A partnership of the University of Louisville Trager Institute and the Brandeis School of Law, the clinic provides free estate planning services to underserved clients. Staffed by UofL law students under the direction of Misty Clark VanTrease, a licensed attorney and adjunct faculty member at the School of Law, this is one of only a few clinics in Jefferson County that provides such services to low-income clients. UofL News reached out to Morgan to learn about her experience and how it has impacted both her and the clients she serves.
UofL News: You’ve been involved with the clinic since it began. What keeps you coming back?
LaRosa: I am drawn back by the work we are doing and all of the clients I have gotten to meet. The creation of this clinic felt serendipitous; it was exactly what I was looking for. I came into law school knowing I had an interest in estate planning and working with elderly populations. I had resigned myself to the fact that I was probably going to end up working in a general law school clinic that, while a great learning opportunity and benefit to the community, would not be in an area of the law that I had an interest in practicing. Then the Trager-Brandeis Elder Law Clinic was announced as an option for students’ required experiential learning.
Elder law can be such a rewarding field. The documents we are drafting – durable power of attorney, health care surrogate designation, living will directive and last will and testament – are important documents that can ease the burden on the client and their family and friends when it comes to end-of-life care. They are crucial in preserving the wishes of the client for a time when they may not be able to fully communicate those wishes anymore. The clients that come to see us trust us with the task of making sure their wishes are clearly stated and protected in legal documents. Many clients have expressed their gratitude for the services we are offering, and I am just as grateful that they have trusted me with their estate planning needs and the opportunity to learn and grow as a student. My experience in the clinic has been the highlight of my law school education.
UofL News: How has your role in the clinic evolved?
LaRosa: My role has evolved with the growth of the clinic and the growth of my experience in elder law. In January 2022, when we were preparing to open the clinic, we were a much smaller group. There were four students with three attorneys supervising us. We were learning as we went along and had the task of setting the foundation for the clinic. We had to decide everything, from what supplies we needed in the office to what language we wanted to include in our documents. My role was conducting client intake interviews, drafting documents and conducting document executions.
I thoroughly enjoyed the work I did in spring 2022 and reached out to Misty toward the end of that semester about the possibility of doing some work in the clinic over the summer on a volunteer basis. The Trager Institute and the law school approved the idea of a limited summer clinic, and in summer 2022, the clinic offered two mini clinics.
During these mini clinics I had the opportunity to take on a more supervisory and administrative role. There were about 10 law students per session that I, along with attorneys Misty, Sheldon Haden and Chris Brown, trained and supervised. I was the point of contact for all client communication and observed all client meetings. It was a whirlwind experience. Over the course of four days, we served 17 clients and prepared a total of 64 documents.
This semester I have a combined role. I am meeting with clients and drafting documents as I did in my first semester, while also providing support and advisement to the nine other students in the clinic. I am the first student to return to the clinic for a second semester, so I came in with a wealth of knowledge to share.
UofL News: Why is elder law important?
LaRosa: Elder law is a field of law that encompasses services that benefit everyone as they enter the later stages of life. Aging is a natural part of life, and with it comes new concerns and milestones. It is important to have a sector of the legal field dedicated to the complexities that come with life planning documents. Having a long-term care plan and estate planning documents can relieve some of the stress that clients and their families face when thinking about the future.
UofL News: Students participating in the elder law clinic are required to take part in the Trager Institute’s case conceptualization workshops. What have you learned or gained from these workshops that you can apply to your clinic work?
LaRosa: The case conceptualization workshops are a really cool way to view a client/patient as a whole and see the way that the various practices at the Trager Institute interact to provide comprehensive care to its clients/patients. It exemplifies the team effort to improve overall quality of life instead of simply issue spotting. When there is a team of doctors, social workers and attorneys coming together for the good of one person, you can ensure that you are addressing care options for physical health, mental health, social relationships and legal security. It provides an expansive view of who we are helping.
UofL News: What impact has this clinic had on the clients that you’ve worked with?
LaRosa: I hope this clinic has helped provide our clients with a sense of peace for the future. Estate planning can feel daunting and scary to many people. Our goal with this clinic is to provide valuable estate planning services to a population that is underserved due to financial limitations. The clients I have served have expressed their gratitude for the help they received through the clinic. I strive to make sure that each person I meet with fully understands the power of the documents we prepare, that they feel confident in the decisions they are making and that they walk away with a sense of relief that they took the initiative to seek out our help. By executing these documents, clients hopefully feel comforted that their wishes have been legally documented.
As of the end of 2022, the clinic had served 76 clients in preparing 305 legal documents.
UofL News: How do you think your experience at the law clinic will influence your future goals and plans after you graduate from Brandeis?
LaRosa: My experience at this clinic has solidified my interest in practicing as an estate planning attorney. Moreover, it has expanded my view of the field of elder law. I now plan to practice as an elder law attorney in Kentucky upon graduating and passing the Kentucky bar exam. I enjoy the work I have done at the clinic. It has provided me with hands-on, practical experience that I never would have fully acquired from a law school classroom. There is nothing more valuable than real client interaction. I want to continue serving the aging populations of Kentucky.
Q&A conducted by Samantha Adams.
Celebrating excellence in service through community engagement
BY UOFL SCHOOL OF MEDICINE NEWS, 03/29/23
Jason Beare, research manager in the department of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery, was awarded the 2023 Outstanding Community Engagement Award in the staff category at the 8th Annual Engaged Scholarship Symposium sponsored by the University of Louisville Office of Community Engagement on March 24, 2023. The intent of the Community Engagement Award is to recognize exemplary contributions that impact the well-being of the community or individuals in the community. Beare received a monetary award and his name added to a permanent recognition display in Ekstrom Library on UofL’s Belknap campus.
A 14-year employee of the University and longstanding UofL Staff Senator, Beare and his wife, Melissa, created the Louisville Honor Earned, Remembrance Owed (H.E.R.O.) Run/Walk/Ruck 5K to honor military personnel while supporting Kentuckiana-area veterans and dependent students. The event was first held in June 2022 with nearly three hundred participants, including virtual runners from Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Kosovo, and Horn of Africa.
Through the inaugural event, Beare raised more than $12,000 to benefit veterans and veteran dependents. A $7,500 donation was awarded to Veterans Club, Inc. to assist local veterans who have fallen on financial hardships. Numerous local veterans received life-changing support thanks to the donation, including a new HVAC unit for a disabled veteran caring for his spouse with severe asthma, housing assistance for a veteran and his family living in a storage unit, and food assistance for an elderly disabled veteran.
“What is more amazing,” said Kyle Hurwitz, director of the Center for Military-Connected Students, “is the enduring impact their actions will have on UofL students through their $5,000 H.E.R.O. Run/Walk/Ruck 5K contribution to UofL’s Salute to Service scholarship fund for veteran and dependent students.” Awarded for the first-time in fall 2022, the scholarship is changing lives. The first recipient was a Freshman Music Therapy major, and youngest daughter of a deceased veteran. The student is a Type 1 Diabetic, struggling to afford insulin and continuous glucose monitoring. The scholarship is allowing her to not have to choose between medical care and tuition bills and is enabling her to continue her education.
Beare was also able to bring positive attention to the University of Louisville campus, partnering with various offices in support of the event. University Athletics were involved in hosting the Start/Finish line at Cardinal Track Stadium. UofL Police provided security officers and police officers for road closures and overall safety. UofL Parking provided the barricades for road closures, and also offered free parking in the Floyd Street garage for all race participants.
“Melissa and I had no idea what to expect when we started talking about creating a charity 5K event for veterans,” said Beare. “We thought we’d be lucky to get 100 participants and donate a couple thousand dollars. The support of the UofL community has been a humbling and rewarding experience, and truly helped grow the Louisville H.E.R.O. Run beyond our wildest expectations. The 2023 event will be even bigger and better.”
The School of Medicine recognizes the importance of supporting our community, and we are proud of the engagement that Jason Beare has achieved through his service to veterans in the city of Louisville. The next Louisville H.E.R.O. Run/Walk/Ruck 5K will occur on June 3, 2023 to close out Memorial week.
Dental student honored for community service
University of Louisville second-year dental student Kierra Dages is one of 11 dental students nationwide recognized for dedication to community service.
The American Student Dental Association (ASDA) announced the winners of the 2023 Community Builder of the Year Award earlier this year.
The new award recognizes dental students who demonstrate that part of becoming a dentist is serving communities and helping those in need. One winner was named from each of ASDA’s 11 districts.
ASDA is a national student-run organization that advocates for dental students.
Dages is a second-year DMD student from Hebron, Kentucky. She completed a bachelor’s degree in public health at UofL in 2019.
“I’ve always had the approach of looking at the bigger picture and systemic health,” Dages said, adding she believes that she and other dental professionals should “always remind ourselves … that we’re not just working on the mouth and we’re not just focusing on oral health, but on overall health.”
As Dages progresses through dental school, she will have the opportunity to serve patients at the School of Dentistry’s on-site clinics and externship sites around the state.
Dages saiid she looks forward to serving a diverse group of patients. “It really prepares you to be able to adapt and think critically and be able to work around issues that you’re going to see out in everyday practice,” she said.
Dages has also connected with the community through volunteering with charitable organizations. She has been active in Grow502, founded by UofL School of Medicine student Onu Udoh in 2020 to reduce health disparities in underserved Louisville communities.
At one Grow502 event, “we were able to provide dental care, wound care, vaccinations, hot meals, clothing and showers to the unhoused population in Louisville,” she said.
UofL receives nearly $1.2 million from Humana Foundation to address community’s heart health
The University of Louisville joined The Humana Foundation to announce two grants for the School of Medicine that will support dietary interventions aimed at improving heart health in the Black community.
The grants contribute to UofL’s strategic imperative to address health equity and serve as part of The Humana Foundation’s strategy to eliminate unjust and unnecessary barriers in health care.
“UofL continues to appreciate the support of The Humana Foundation in addressing health equity,” President Kim Schatzel said. “Their generous support will enable us to conduct the important work of engaging with communities of color to research the role of nutrition, food quality and diagnostic screening as they relate to heart health.”
“Every day, people face a multitude of choices that can affect their health and quality of life,” said Tiffany Benjamin, CEO of the Humana Foundation. “In too many communities, these choices are limited by factors beyond their control. That is why we are expanding healthy choices for communities and eliminating social and structural barriers, so that more people can reach their full health potential.”
Each of the three-year grants will fund regional nutrition programs. The larger of the two grants is $1,037,000 and will support the DISPARITY Trial (Dietary Intervention for primary and Secondary Prevention And Plaque Regression Investigated with Computed TomographY). The grant will support cardiac disease screening and nutrition-based interventions to address cardiac health disparities among older Black adults in Louisville.
The second grant of $154,000 is earmarked for the H.E.A.R.T. of Louisville Project: Helping Everyone Address Risk Today. The funding will support the identification of members of the Black community in Louisville at-risk for coronary disease and enrollment into long-term nutrition and lifestyle interventions.
“Food insecurity is a major problem that correlates with health care disparities,” said cardiologist Kim Allan Williams Sr., chair of the UofL department of medicine. “Nutrition education and food quality issues plague our African-American community, keeping heart disease as the leading killer of Americans. Our trials will help detect disease in those who are at risk and manage those already diagnosed using lifestyle changes, medication, enhanced access to cardiac care and advanced diagnostic imaging.”
The programs funded by both grants will include efforts to create healthy emotional connections, as a vital part of a holistic approach to care and shaping a healthier approach to nutrition to support lifelong health and wellbeing.
SPOTLIGHT– A&S Faculty in Community Engaged Scholarship and Activities
Pictured left to right: Douglas Craddock, Sarah Emery, Julia Kachanova, William Scott Gunter, Megan Poole, David Johnson, Lora Haynes, Haily Culp, Cara Synder, Lyrah Fosl, Melanie Gast, Rebecka Bloomer, and Shelby Pumphrey.
BY SHERRI WALLACE, Ph.D
In 2022, The College of Arts and Sciences had several stellar faculty, graduate, and undergraduate students involved in a range of uniquely defined community engaged scholarship (CES) projects and activities, awarded grants from the Office of Community Engagement (OCE) to support their initiatives.
In West Louisville, Sarah Emery, Professor in Biology, collaborating with Julia Kachanova, doctoral candidate in Biology, received a $1,000 grant on an IRB-approved dissertation project, “West Louisville Urban Orchards.” William Scott Gunter, Assistant Professor in Geographic & Environmental Sciences, collaborating with Megan Poole, Assistant Professor in English, received a $2,999 grant to work on curricular engagement around the topic of “Rubbertown Citizen-led Science Project on Air.” David Johnson, Assistant Professor in the School of Public Health, and Information Sciences, received a $3,000 grant for a research collaboration entitled, “Research on Solar Installation in West Louisville Neighborhoods,” with Angela Storey, Associate Professor in Anthropology, and Lauren Heberle, Associate Professor in Sociology.
A few other CES activities centered on the unhoused. Lora Haynes, Professor in Psychology, received a $,3000 grant for cross-college curricular engagement, “Family Resiliency Curriculum at a Homeless Shelter,” in collaboration with Hailey Culp, MA candidate in UofL College of Education & Human Development and Denise Simmel, Co-Director & Community Volunteer at Hotel Louisville. Also, Cara Snyder, Assistant Professor in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, received $3,000 for a curricular engagement and research initiative on “LGBTQ+ Youth Houselessness” in collaboration with Lyrah Fosl, graduate research assistant in Human Health Equity Innovation Hub, and Savannah Quach, undergraduate student.
Melanie Gast, Associate Professor in Sociology, received a $2,998 grant to develop and draft policy briefs and conduct a media campaign on “Louisville Metro’s Youth Engagement Services,” an inter- and cross-disciplinary collaboration with the School of Public Health and Information Sciences, Department of Health Promotion & Behavioral Sciences faculty Dr. Rebecka Bloomer along with graduate students Cat Alexander and James Joyce, and undergraduate student Jada Harris in Sociology. And, Shelby Pumphrey, Assistant Professor in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, received a $1,000 grant to create a series of community trainings and seminars on “Community Herbal Gathering.”
The uniqueness of these community-engaged research and teaching projects is that they are all addressing a critical community need while providing research opportunities for faculty and engaged learning for students. Grantees will have the opportunity to present about their community-engaged work at the Annual Engaged Scholarship Symposium coordinated by the Office of Community Engagement.
Keynote Speaker Announced for 2023 Engaged Scholarship Symposium
The Annual Engaged Scholarship Symposium is an opportunity to network and share current research and teaching activities involving community partners and service to the community. Please join us for a day of panel presentations, lightning talks, and recognition of UofL faculty in community-engaged scholarship and sustainability.
Keynote Speaker –Marisol Morales, Ed.D.
Dr. Marisol Morales currently serves as the Executive Director of the Carnegie Elective Classifications for the American Council on Education (ACE). In this role Morales provides conceptual leadership and operational oversight to the Carnegie Elective Classifications. This includes the collaborative development of and responsibility for all initiatives, oversight and facilitation of relevant national and international advisory committees, conceptualizing and implementing extensive data archives as well as developing and enacting a shared vision regarding access to and use of the knowledge produced by the Carnegie Elective Classifications to beneficially guide research, policy, and practice. Prior to this role she was the Vice President for Network Leadership at Campus Compact, from 2018-2022. Morales was the Founding Director of the Office of Civic and Community Engagement at the University of La Verne from 2013-2018 and the Associate Director of the Steans Center for Community-based Service Learning and Community Service Studies at DePaul University from 2005-2013. In 2020, she was appointed as a Visiting Assistant Professor of Community-Engaged Scholarship at University of Central Florida and also serves as an adjunct faculty in the ENLACE Higher Education Master’s program at Northeastern Illinois University. Morales sits on the editorial board of the Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning, on the editorial advisory board of Liberal Education, a publication of the Association of American Colleges and Universities, and on the board of the International Association for Research on Service Learning and Community Engagement (IARSLCE). Locally, she serves as the chair of the Puerto Rican Agenda of Chicago’s Education subcommittee and on the alumni board of the Center for Latino Research and the Latin American and Latino Studies program at DePaul University. Dr. Morales holds a BA in Latin American/Latino Studies and a MS/MS in International Public Service Management both from DePaul University. She earned her Ed.D. in Organizational Leadership from the University of La Verne. Her dissertation focused on the community engagement experiences of Latinx students at a Hispanic Serving Institution.
Getting out of class: Engaged learning experiences support student success
On a sunny afternoon Cala Salah is up to her elbows in the dirt. Far removed from textbooks, dry erase boards and computers, Salah, a public health major at UofL, harvests vegetables as part of her internship with the Food Literacy Project.
Her work’s purpose is twofold: it supports the organization’s mission to address disparities in access to health foods for traditionally excluded and marginalized populations; and it helps Salah fulfill the requirements she needs to graduate.
Salah’s work with the Food Literacy Project illustrates how the university supports the whole student through transformative, purpose-driven and engaged learning. UofL’s strategic plan emphasizes the need for robust engaged learning experiences to make the university a great place to learn for its students and a great place to connect to community and industry partners.
Engaged learning is nothing new at UofL, where many programs include engaged learning requirements in their curricula. The University Career Center serves nine of the university’s 12 colleges/schools, representing almost 16,000 undergraduate and graduate students in more than 50 academic units. The College of Business, J.B. Speed School of Engineering and Brandeis School of Law all have career centers serving their students specifically.
But the abundance of engaged learning opportunities available across campus, while a good problem to have, presented an opportunity to create a centralized solution to better serve students.
This fall, UofL opened the Center for Engaged Learning (CEL), designed as a first stop for students who want to enhance their learning experience beyond the classroom. The CEL comprises two offices, the Office of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity and the Office of Experiential Learning. These offices partner with the Career Centers, Office of Community Engagement, Office of Study Abroad and International Travel, academic programs and several other units to connect students with engaged learning activities.
Paul DeMarco, interim director of the Office of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity, served on strategic plan subcommittees focused on the need to engage every undergraduate student in meaningful experiential learning opportunities. Streamlining resources and processes to improve the student experience and their career prospects after graduation became a top priority of the groups.
“These are opportunities for students to apply what they learn in class to real-world problems,” DeMarco said.
DISCOVERING A PASSION
Madison Cicha, an environmental science major, completed a 10-week Summer Research Opportunity Program (SROP) directed by the CEL and the Office of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity. The SROP provides students with a structured and immersive research experience with a faculty member, as well as weekly professional development seminars. For her research, Cicha worked with the Green Heart Louisville Project and the Christina Lee Brown Envirome Institute to measure how trees and other vegetation provide a sound buffer along heavily trafficked roadways in Louisville.
“It was a great opportunity to do this caliber of research, especially as an undergraduate student,” Cicha said. “The people I met at the Envirome Institute were great to work with, and I think that experience and those new relationships will set me up for my future goals.”
The mentoring she received from Ray Yeager, assistant professor in the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences and a contributor to Green Heart, provided her with much needed guidance on research that she would not have been able to learn on her own.
“Research opportunities are crucial for students to gain much needed skill sets outside of the classroom,” Yeager said. “Such experiential learning provides a transition to working independently, problem solving, personalized feedback and tailored opportunities that are invaluable for career preparation.”
Engaged learning does not stop with course requirements. According to Erica Gabbard, director of the Office of Experiential Learning, the CEL also helps students enrolled in programs without engaged learning opportunities find ways to apply their studies to professional experiences.
Sasha Gorchanyuk, a senior communication major with a minor in film studies, discovered her passion for and talent in working with corporate partnerships through her internship with the Louisville Bats Minor League Baseball team. Gorchanyuk knew she wanted experience in sports and was eager to learn about elements of the industry that were not familiar to her. Her internship allowed her to take on different roles in the front office including corporate partnerships, ticket sales, in-game entertainment and promotional activities.
Gorchanyuk, who will graduate in May 2023, places immense value in the engaged learning experience.
“I would advise students to say ‘yes’ to any internship opportunities,” she said. “I’ve completed internships ever since my sophomore year, and they have influenced who I am today and informed me on what I want to do after graduation.”
CONNECTING WITH THE COMMUNITY
The CEL is not just a resource for students. Community and industry partners often ask UofL for guidance on the best types of students (majors, talents, etc.) for their internship positions and how to create a meaningful engaged learning experience for both the student and the business.
The benefits of quality partnerships are seen through UofL alumni, such as Oliver Kratholm ’22. During the spring 2022 semester, Kratholm enrolled in a community internship course, which provided him with the opportunity to work with Seven Counties Services, a mental and behavioral health, substance abuse treatment and intellectual and developmental disabilities service.
He found firsthand exposure to the clinical setting was rewarding and enlightening.
“Being able to shadow professionals as they work with a variety of clients with different mental health concerns really sparked my interest for pursuing further education and a career in the field,” Kratholm said.
At the conclusion of the internship, he continued with Seven Counties. He is also doing work with a research lab at UofL and plans to eventually return to school to pursue a doctorate in clinical psychology.
The paint in the new CEL is still drying, but Gabbard and DeMarco are excited about the university’s new resource. The CEL is assembling an advisory board comprised of local community organizations, economic development representatives, industry partners and nonprofits which will help strengthen connections between the university and the community. Other goals include looking for opportunities to help faculty incorporate engaged learning in their coursework and finding other ways for UofL students to get more out of class by getting out of the classroom.
“UofL wants engaged learning to be more than a box to check on the road to graduation,” Gabbard said. “For our students, now is the time to test the waters, try new things and expand their skill set so they can confidently enter the workforce in the vocation they choose.”
EDITOR’S NOTE: Julie Heflin and Brad Knoop from the Office of Communications and Marketing as well as Stuart Esrock (retired) from the communication department and the University Career Center contributed to this article.
UofL online social work student, U.S. Marine hopes to help older adults
Cindia Fernandez wears many hats. She is an active-duty U.S. Marine Corps Master Sergeant stationed at Camp Lejeune, N.C. She also is a UofL Online Master of Science in Social Work student, with the goal of becoming a Certified Gerontological Social Worker, addressing the challenges of the aging process by promoting independence, autonomy and dignity in later life.
A passion to help others is central to her own life, demonstrated in part through a willingness a few years ago to donate a kidney to her father who had end-stage renal disease, a condition in which the kidneys function below 10 percent of normal ability.
In June 2004, Fernandez stepped up to serve in the U.S. Marine Corps, leaving for boot camp just 10 days after graduating high school. After this and follow-up training, she arrived at Marine Corps Base Hawaii in Kaneohe Bay. During her assignment, Fernandez deployed to Iraq in support of Operation Enduring Freedom with Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 362 (HMH-362), providing transport of combat troops, supplies and equipment during day and night operations.
During a later assignment in Montgomery, Ala., she was a part of an infantry company and oversaw training evolutions in preparation for combat operations, contingency operations, and humanitarian/peacekeeping operations, including national emergencies.
In 2012, Fernandez arrived at Parris Island, S.C., to support recruiting missions, and was selected to attend the University of South Carolina through the Marine Corps Degree Completion Program, receiving a bachelor’s degree in psychology.
Upon graduation, she was transferred to Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in San Diego, Calif., where she worked at the Professional and Personal Development Branch assisting Marines on educational program opportunities and offering transitional counseling services.
Her next assignment was in New Orleans, La., supporting the Marine Corps Reserve Forces administratively. Following that three-year assignment, she moved to her current role, as a Course Chief for the Marine Corps Center for Learning and Faculty Development, where she teaches Marines to become curriculum developers for their formal schoolhouses.
Fernandez enrolled in UofL’s Online Master of Science in Social Work in fall 2022 after an extensive college search process. When looking for an institution, she said UofL’s reputation was a major influencer in her decision.
Not only did UofL offer the degree she wanted to pursue but, “the Raymond A. Kent School of Social Work and Family Science ranks in the top 17 percent in the nation,” Fernandez said. “UofL also is one of the few universities that matches the DoD Tuition Assistance cap per semester hour for a master’s program.”
Fernandez says she is impressed with the assistance from staff and faculty at UofL, pointing to Kent School program coordinators Holly Eckert and Connie Cox as being extremely helpful, saying “they carefully explained the process and requirements of practicum and the expectations as a graduate student.”
UofL honors and celebrates Fernandez for her military service and is proud to recognize the 247th birthday of the U.S. Marine Corps on Nov. 10.