For further information on the university or any items posted here, contact media relations director Scott Hall at (317) 788-3583 or schall@uindy.edu.

The University of Indianapolis Alumni Association recently presented its Distinguished Alumni Award to two Indianapolis residents, Tim Martin and Beenu Sikand, honoring them for their contributions to their communities, their professions and the university.

Martin, a Perry Township resident, served in the Indianapolis Police Department for more than 42 years, rising to the rank of deputy chief before retiring. As a highly regarded officer, he often escorted visiting presidents and other dignitaries visiting the city. Under his leadership, the department’s missing children’s unit received national recognition for its success in locating children. Read more »

Six new members have joined the Board of Directors for the University of Indianapolis Alumni Association effective June 1, most of them for three-year terms. The association serves more than 26,000 alumni worldwide.

The new directors are:

Chad Brandenburg of Fishers
Vice President, Business Banking, National City Bank, Carmel

Philip K. Jackson of Indianapolis (46217)
Tax Manager, Larry E. Nunn & Associates, Columbus

Clance LaTurner of Indianapolis (46203)
Independent consultant, Vocal Presence, Indianapolis

Kelly Thompson of Indianapolis (46227)
Licensed Social Worker, Veterans Administration

Eric Stone of Indianapolis (46240)
Technology Administrator, Shiel Sexton, Indianapolis

Mary Massing Sturm of Indianapolis (46227)
Independent consultant, Medical Management Support Services, Indianapolis
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Tackling the need for advanced nursing care, as well as Indiana’s dismal record on women’s health, the University of Indianapolis is launching two new options for graduate students in its School of Nursing.

Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner is a new specialty track for students in UIndy’s two-year Master of Science in Nursing program. The WHNP curriculum prepares nurses for leadership roles and advanced clinical practice with special attention to women’s health issues from pre-conception through post-menopausal care.

Nurse practitioners are especially valuable in medically underserved rural communities – a term that applies to nearly half of Indiana counties – but our state ranks last in the number of nurse practitioners per capita. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Indiana women have some of the nation’s highest rates of cigarette smoking and death by cancer. On the 2007 National Women’s Law Center Report Card, Indiana received an “F” grade for women’s health and was ranked 40th nationwide on such factors as access to health services, prevalence of chronic illness and reproductive health.
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Forensic specialists from the University of Indianapolis are lending their expertise to an international effort to study and preserve Africa’s endangered mountain gorillas.

The work is taking place in the volcanic mountains of northwestern Rwanda, where zoologist Dian Fossey of “Gorillas in the Mist” fame lived among the massive primates and brought them to the world’s attention.

UIndy Professor Stephen Nawrocki and graduate student Amandine Eriksen journeyed to Rwanda in 2008 and are returning this summer, along with other U.S. scientists who are assisting the Rwandan Office of Tourism and National Parks in creating a repository where skeletal remains of mountain gorillas will be carefully maintained for research on diet, disease, stress and other factors affecting their health and survival.

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As speculation continues over the crash of an Air France jetliner on a transatlantic flight, a University of Indianapolis expert says recent events point to the possibility of terrorism.

Although there have been no claims of responsibility or specific indications of sabotage, the disappearance of a large airliner without warning is extremely rare, and investigators say no potential causes have been ruled out. Today, aviation authorities said another Air France flight from Buenos Aires to Paris was grounded temporarily May 27 because of a telephoned bomb threat.

The circumstantial evidence for terrorism includes a history of Islamic extremism in and around Brazil, where the flight originated, as well as the recent opening of a French military base on the Arabian Peninsula, according to Douglas Woodwell, assistant professor of international relations at UIndy.
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Physical therapy students from the University of Indianapolis will take their expertise to Laurelwood Apartments on May 26, providing health screenings and wellness information to residents of all ages

The third annual Laurelwood Health Fair runs from 4 to 6 p.m. at the complex on Teakwood Drive, off Carson Avenue.

Laurelwood offers rent-subsidized housing on the city’s near-southeast side, under the authority of the Indianapolis Housing Agency. The community usually includes more than 500 children age 18 or younger, many from single-parent families.

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Woodrow Wilson fellow Alan Stuckey speaks at a May news conference with Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels.

Alan Stuckey says the example set by his wife, an elementary teacher, inspired him to take his life in a new direction.

“She genuinely makes a difference in the lives of the children who come through her classes,” says the New Palestine resident. “Her inspiration, and my sense of the need, has made me feel driven to have the same kind of impact myself.”

With his horticulture degree and experience in beekeeping, Stuckey is a good example of the 20 carefully selected candidates who will come to the University of Indianapolis this fall for a rigorous new master’s degree program that has been called “the Rhodes Scholarship of teaching.”

The Woodrow Wilson Indiana Teaching Fellowship is the start of a planned national program to recruit and train people with strong math and science backgrounds for work as middle and high school teachers. The New Jersey-based Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation selected Indiana to kick off its state-by-state strategy.

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Interactive video stepping games like Dance Dance Revolution can be a fun addition to a productive fitness regimen, according to initial findings from a study in UIndy’s Krannert School of Physical Therapy.

Students in a research course this year ran a six-week program in which 30 subjects met for three 45-minute sessions each week to play the popular arcade game, a sort of disco hopscotch that involves stepping in time with pulsing music and directional arrows. Although previous studies have examined the game’s effects on kids, the UIndy project, designed and overseen by Assistant Professors Anne Mejia Downs and Stacie Fruth, was the first to look at adult subjects.

Results from an earlier pilot study, presented at the American Association of Physical Therapists national conference, suggested that regular DDR activity could improve blood pressure, body mass index, and oxygen uptake, which is measured with a breathing meter to assess aerobic fitness. More recent data showed improvements in balance and mood, with active heart rates that meet recommended levels for moderate exercise.

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Nearly 90 student government leaders from 23 Indiana colleges and universities will gather Saturday at the University of Indianapolis for the inaugural Indiana Collegiate Student Government Conference, organized by UIndy’s Richard G. Lugar Center for Tomorrow’s Leaders.

The first-of-its-kind event will run from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. in UIndy’s Schwitzer Student Center and Christel DeHaan Fine Arts Center. Senator Lugar will deliver the keynote address at 3:15 p.m. in Schwitzer Student Center’s UIndy Hall.

“I am excited to visit with an impressive gathering of student leaders,” says Indiana’s senior senator. “The topics discussed in these sessions will augment their already strong leadership and help them network with their peers from across the state.” Read more »