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JUNE 30, 2014
NMSU Med Program
www.HispanicOutlook.com
VOLUME 24 • NUMBER 18
Health Care and Older Hispanics
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Po
lit ical Beat
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unning for president of the United States is a volatile high wire act. One perilous stumble on your way to that coveted oval office at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. – considering you’re an egocentric, ambitious politician which is no sin and necessary – and you’re dead meat. Being a statesman, if you make it, can come later with better consequences assuming you learn well the primers of being president. Being the first Latino president in U.S. history – in the current scheme of things – is a fairy tale but it can happen and you only have to look no further than our current president, Barack Obama, to show that the advent of the minority president was no fantasy. Enter our two Latino senators with outsize ambitions but, alas, minimum experience and exposure, but who knows? History in the age of our nation’s thrusting minority communities, may repeat itself. I really doubt it; in fact, I double doubt it but it’s worth the speculation and it could be fun. First term senators, Republicans Marco Rubio of Florida and Ted Cruz of Texas, think they are a good
If Obama Could, So Can A Latino by Carlos D. Conde fit for the White House Oval Office. The third, New Jersey Sen. Bob Menéndez, a Democrat, hasn’t mentioned higher ambitions but what about the veep’s job, Bob, which is not elective? All are new wave CubanAmerican politicians. No one from the largest of this minority group, MexicanAmericans, has voiced an interest although two of nation’s governors, Susana Martínez of New Mexico and Brian Sandoval of Nevada, are from this ethnic group but in a national election, perhaps to their detriment, would be cast as minority group Republicans. Frankly, there doesn’t seem to be that much Latino political talent around currently save for the Castro twins, Joaquín and Julian of San Antonio – one an embryonic congressman and the other, a newly appointed Obama cabinet member, but in national politics, they are still in the altar boy stage. Neither Rubio nor Cruz at this juncture publicly feign a serious interest in the president’s job but nor are they discouraging their supporters from such speculation, although Cruz seems to barely contain himself at letting people know, particularly his conservative supporters, that after eight years of Obama, he’s the man of all seasons and for all reasons. None have official exploratory committees but neither tries to discourage such conversations among them and their followers while both potential can-
didates fan the speculation in an aw-shucks-me-for-president pretentiousness. Well maybe not the ultimately conceited Cruz who thinks outright he’s presidential stock and it is his destiny, and woe to those who don’t recognize it and bestow him the opportunity to upright the country – in his ultra conservative Tea Party sorta of way, of course. Meanwhile Rubio seems to still be feeling his way around the Senate at times looking like the apprentice/member to a Senate bipartisan committee which hammered out a contentious immigration reform bill which is languishing in Congress because the lower chamber rejected it. The Senate minority leadership has taken Rubio under its wings to give him the exposure and credibility he needs particularly if he’s thinking about a run for the presidency, unlike Cruz who thinks he should already be president, thank you. Although both are novices at high stakes politics, Rubio is more vulnerable to selfinflicted stumbles on core issues. He most recently got pretzel on a throwaway argument like climate warming in which he disagrees in large part with scientific evidence that a large part of this is man-made and not the forces of nature. He says all “science deserves skepticism” about global warming and climate change being caused by such man-made elements like greenhouse gases while disputing that the iconic Miami
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Beach, near where he lives, stands to one day flow away with the incoming oceans caused by man-made weather distortions. On immigration reform , in which a senior bipartisan committee took the rookie senator under the patronage, to give him some seasoning on a career-defining issue, Rubio got caught in a whirlwind of bipartisan political posturing that did little to burnish his ethnic sensitivities which perhaps he’d rather set aside considering all the unproductive rhetoric. Meanwhile, Cruz exhibits something like “I was born to be president” hubris. No one doubts his brilliance. Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz called him “off the charts brilliant.” Cruz, some legislators claim, almost singlehandedly squashed the immigration reform bill in Congress by scaring off supporters in the House. His lack of sympathy for the plight of immigrants since his father was one and he logically is also one since he was born in Canada, is revealing.
Carlos D. Conde, awardwinning journalist and commentator, former Washington and foreign news correspondent, was an aide in the Nixon White House and worked on the political campaigns of George Bush Sr. To reply to this column, contact Cdconde@aol.com.
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MAGAZINE® JUNE 30, 2014
CONTENTS ACA Creates Urgent Need for Hispanic Health Care Professionals by Mary Ann Cooper
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NMSU Medical Program Brings Diversity and Science Together by Michelle Adam
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Meeting the Health Care Needs of an Older Hispanic Population by Jeff Simmons
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Helping Hispanic Students Cope with Mental Health Issues by Sylvia Mendoza
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Student Hispanic Dental Association Bridges Oral Care Gap by Frank DiMaria
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Cover photo courtesy of Foster Hall, New Mexico State University
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Published by “The Hispanic Outlook in Higher Education Publishing Company, Inc.” Publisher and Editor – Nicole López-Isa Executive Editor – Marilyn Gilroy Senior Editor – Mary Ann Cooper Administrative Assistant & Subscription Coordinator – Barbara Churchill Washington DC Bureau Chief – Peggy Sands Orchowski Contributing Editors – Carlos D. Conde, Michelle Adam Contributing Writers – Gustavo A. Mellander Art & Production Director –
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The Bastard Child: A Story of Hope, Resiliency and Perseverance
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Dramatic Demographic Shifts in Higher Education by Gustavo A. Mellander
The Hispanic Outlook in Higher Education Magazine® is a national magazine. Dedicated to exploring issues related to Hispanics in higher education,The Hispanic Outlook in Higher Education Magazine® is published for the members of the higher education community. Editorial decisions are based on the editors’ judgment of the quality of the writing, the timeliness of the article, and the potential interest to the readers of The Hispanic Outlook Magazine®. From time to time, The Hispanic Outlook in Higher Education Magazine® will publish articles dealing with controversial issues. The views expressed herein are those of the authors and/or those interviewed and might not reflect the official policy of the magazine. The Hispanic Outlook in Higher Education Magazine® neither agrees nor disagrees with those ideas expressed, and no endorsement of those views should be inferred unless specifically identified as officially endorsed by The Hispanic Outlook in Higher Education Magazine®.
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Interesting Reads Ricardo Valverde by Ramón García At his death in 1998, photographer Ricardo Valverde had for almost three decades documented the various communities and social spaces of Los Angeles. Although he began this lifelong pursuit while still in college, capturing the streets of his South Central neighborhood and the urban landscape of downtown Los Angeles, it wasn’t until the Watts Riots of 1965 that Valverde and his work became deeply political. Ramón García offers a clear framework for understanding Valverde’s art and life. 2013. 168 pp. ISBN: 978-0895511508. $60.00 cloth. University Of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis, Minn., (612) 627-1970. www.upress.umn.edu. A Short and Happy Guide to Being a College Student by Paula A. Franzese and Peter W. Rodino A Short and Happy Guide to Being a College Student is a resource to find essential wisdom for studies and life. It gives life lessons directed toward the college student on how to be your best in and out of class, how to prepare for exams, how to put your best foot forward on a job interview, how to find teachers to inspire you, what to do in classes that leave you uninspired, and how to cope with stress. All royalties from the book sales will be donated to public interest law scholarships. 2014. 200 pp. ISBN: 978-0314291387. $17.00. West Academic Publishing. St. Paul, Minn., www.westacademic.com. (877) 888-1330 The Innovative University: Changing the DNA of Higher Education from the Inside Out by Clayton M. Christensen and Henry J. Eyring The Innovative University illustrates how higher education can respond to what seems to be less than positive innovation, and offers an analysis of where the traditional university and its traditions have come from and how it needs to change for the future. Through an examination of Harvard and BYU-Idaho as well as other stories of innovation in higher education, Clayton Christensen and Henry Eyring create a roadmap on how universities can find new, less costly ways of performing. 2011.512 pp. ISBN: 978-1118063484. $32.95 cloth. Jossey-Bass Publishing, San Francisco, Calif., www.josseybasseducation.com. (415) 433-1740.
The Bastard Child: A Story of Hope, Resiliency and Perseverance by Sean P. Hoggs 2013. 228 pp. ISBN: 978-1491832868. $16.95. AuthorHouse, www.authorhouse.com. Bloomington, Ind. (888)519-5121
The
Bastard Child: A Story of Hope, Resiliency and Perseverance is Sean P. Hoggs' autobiography that tells his story of growing up on the violent inner city streets of Central New Jersey, abused and often homeless. But Hoggs learned at an early age that he could not let his socioeconomic background define who he would become. At age 16, he set out to turn away from drugs and crime. He was determined not to end up in jail or, even worse, dead. Through hard work, perseverance and fortitude, he became a success, sharing the fruit of his accomplishments with others through many humanitarian and mentoring efforts. For anyone trying to overcome personal hardship or dealing with any of life's challenges, his story is a must read. Mentors, teachers and parents will find Hoggs’ book an excellent conversation starter to reach young people facing what might seem to them to be insurmountable obstacles. The author sums up his story and offers readers a compelling reason for pursuing excellence in education. “It is simply a story of hope. After all, the odds are against becoming a professional athlete or music star. However, with an education, the percentages are in your favor to accomplish anything you want in life.” Unlike other authors who preach this message and claim to be experts in this arena, Hoggs has spent a lifetime polishing his credentials to justify his personal and world view. For three years, Hoggs was associate professor of aerospace studies at Rutgers University where he spent countless hours teaching, tutoring and mentoring civilians and military members alike. A noted international ambassador, Hoggs has raised funds for orphanages around the world and provided critical items for those in need. His passion to help others has served him well as a public speaker, mentor and role model. Sean P. Hoggs is a decorated retired military veteran of more than 24 years. He has served as both a commissioned officer and an enlisted member in the United States Air Force. He is a native of Plainfield, N.J., and is currently a senior aerospace instructor in his home state of New Jersey. He is a noted mentor and role model to the inner city youth of America, and is also an internationally recognized humanitarian. In 2007 he was named one of the Ten Outstanding Young Americans and is a noted mentor and role model to inner city youth. An internationally recognized humanitarian, he is also proud to be a 2011 Hall of Fame inductee at the Plainfield, N.J. High School. He currently lives in Columbus, N.J., with his wife of 25 years and their son. They have four children in all, ranging in age from 16 to 27. Reviewed by MaryAnn Cooper
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HEALTH
ACA Creates Urgent Need for Hispanic Health Care Professionals
by Mary Ann Cooper
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hen discussing the progress Hispanics have made and are making in joining the ranks of the burgeoning health care profession, it is not possible to ignore the impact of the elephant in the room – the recently launched Affordable Care Act (ACA). With more and more previously uninsured Hispanics signing up for newly-minted policies, there is an increasing need for Hispanic health professionals to treat them. And while the lists that follow of the top two-year and four-year schools awarding the most degrees to Hispanics entering the health care profession demonstrate progress, the need is great and there is still a long way to go to achieve true diversity in this area. The conventional wisdom has been that non-Hispanic health professionals fluent in Spanish would amply fill that role, but Dr. Elena Ríos, president & CEO of the National Hispanic Medical Association (NHMA), says it’s not that simple. In an interview with Kaiser Health News earlier this year she explained, “By the year 2042, the Census says 1 in 4 Americans will be of Hispanic origin. It doesn’t mean they’re all going to be Spanish-speaking, but they’re going to be more interested in having providers who can appreciate their culture and understand their families’ dynamics and their traditions, what types of food they like if they’re going to give them nutrition advice...so that’s the challenge.” Ríos also sees this as an opportunity for her organization to be “partners with those who don’t understand that challenge.” In a recent blog entry on NHMA’s website, Ríos noted that those in the health care industry should understand a basic reality. “When it comes to gaining access to health insurance, Hispanics have struggled more than any other demographic in America. Roughly 30 percent of Hispanics remain uninsured compared to just 19 percent of African-Americans and 11 percent of whites. And growing demand for health care services coupled with the dwindling numbers of primary care physicians means that even with health insurance coverage, accessing health care may still present challenges for some patients.” To that end, this year, the National Hispanic Medical Association held a conference to focus on The Affordable Care Act and best practices in health care for Hispanics. More than 500 physicians, other health professionals, students and government and private sector advocates gathered to discuss ways to increase Hispanics in the health care workforce and in clinical trials, new technology to monitor and educate Hispanics in the home, accountable care organizations, HIV-AIDS and Hepatitis C management, obesity reduction strategies for Hispanics, aging patients, and health reform and the Hispanic community. The emphasis on preventive care as part of ACA’s mandate presents a challenge for health care professionals as the marketplace changes. And according to a recent online survey, the NHMA and its membership have their work cut out for them. HolaDoctor, a health website for Hispanics, conducted a survey of Hispanics
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in February to learn about their opinion of the Affordable Care Act and their plans to purchase this enrollment cycle. The survey was conducted in Spanish and involved almost 700 respondents, of which those reporting not possessing legal residency were excluded from the survey analysis. Of all respondents, 62 percent reported that they did not have insurance, and 57 percent reported having intentions to buy a plan via Obamacare (the term Obamacare was used as it is more well-known in the Hispanic community). Of those who do not have health insurance, 77 percent said they planned on buying a plan via the health insurance marketplace, but had little understanding of the deadlines of open enrollment and what plans would be available to them. In addition, the survey revealed Hispanics' opinions about Obamacare: 67 percent of all respondents had a positive view of Obamacare. This overall positivity toward the plan was observed despite the fact that 51 percent of all respondents and 53 percent of those without insurance did not know the government offers financial help to buy insurance. "These statistics show us that the Hispanic community is open to Obamacare, but they still need more information in order to really understand the law and enroll in the health insurance exchanges," says Dirk Schroeder, executive vice president and chief medical officer of HolaDoctor. The survey also shed light on the best ways to reach Hispanics through marketing and enrollment tactics; for example, 47 percent of respondents filled out the survey via a mobile device (phone or tablet), demonstrating the opportunities of mobile outreach and marketing. In addition, 49 percent of all respondents without insurance who intended to buy through the health insurance marketplace planned on enrolling in person, while 31percent reported intentions to enroll via the Internet. Finally, 49 percent of all respondents who did not have insurance and reported that they did not intend to buy cited the price of the plans or their low incomes as reasons for not purchasing a plan. Ríos founded the NHMA in 1994, which advocates on behalf of the nation’s 45,000 Hispanic health care professionals. One of the goals in the Affordable Care Act is building diversity in the health care workforce. The number of Hispanics attending medical school continues to increase, rising to 1,826 enrollees, according to an October 2013 report from the Association of American Medical Colleges. Despite that increase, Hispanics represent only slightly more than 9 percent of the enrollees compared with their nearly 17 percent of the population, making health care work force diversity a continuing challenge for the NHMA. As Ríos told Kaiser, there has never been a more urgent need for more Hispanics in the health care field. “We need diversity in medical education at all levels, including medical students as well as faculty, as well as mentoring, so that more students who are not students of color can get a better understanding of how to take care of people.”
Four-Year Schools - Total Health Care Professions Degrees 2012 Institution Name 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25.
Miami Dade College, FL Nova Southeastern University, FL Florida International University, FL The University of Texas-Pan American, TX Florida National University-Main Campus, FL The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, TX The University of Texas at El Paso, TX Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, TX The University of Texas at Brownsville, TX Monroe College-Main Campus, NY The University of Texas at Arlington, TX University of Central Florida, FL South Texas College, TX University of Florida, FL Texas Woman's University, TX Loma Linda University, CA University of New Mexico-Main Campus, NM CUNY Lehman College, NY Grand Canyon University, AZ California State University-Long Beach, CA University of South Florida-Main Campus, FL California State University-Fresno, CA Broward College, FL University of Miami, FL Barry University, FL University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, NJ The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, TX California College-San Diego, CA California State University-Fullerton, CA
Hispanic Totals
Grand Total
All
Men Women
1,081 2,141 876 474 364 1,029 397 1,625 279 581 1,940 1,810 245 2,136 1,274 1,300 579 518 3,248 794 1,372 581 656 624 576 1,882 1,080 439 588
606 445 439 405 309 309 254 241 241 240 228 224 207 203 190 182 168 167 163 152 152 151 149 145 136 135 135 134 130
184 89 104 93 94 73 57 78 53 15 30 36 66 42 12 61 37 24 26 22 31 28 50 42 29 32 35 35 24
422 356 335 312 215 236 197 163 188 225 198 188 141 161 178 121 131 143 137 130 121 123 99 103 107 103 100 99 106
Hispanic Percentage 56% 21% 50% 85% 85% 30% 64% 15% 86% 41% 12% 12% 84% 10% 15% 14% 29% 32% 5% 19% 11% 26% 23% 23% 24% 7% 13% 31% 22%
Source: 2012. NCES DATABASE, IPEDS SYSTEM TOTAL DEGREES 4 YEAR SCHOOLS HEALTH PROFESSIONS
Two-Year Schools - Total Health Care Professions Degrees 2012 Institution Name 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25.
San Joaquin Valley College-Visalia, CA San Joaquin Valley College-Rancho Cucamonga, CA Dade Medical College-Miami, FL El Paso Community College, TX San Joaquin Valley College-Fresno, CA Central New Mexico Community College, NM San Antonio College, TX San Joaquin Valley College-Bakersfield, CA Del Mar College, TX Heald College-Salinas, CA Lone Star College System, TX Dade Medical College-Miami Lakes, FL Pima Community College, AZ San Joaquin Valley College-Hesperia, CA San Jacinto Community College, TX Heald College-San Jose, CA CUNY LaGuardia Community College, NY St Philip's College, TX Mandl School-The College of Allied Health, NY San Joaquin Valley College-Modesto, CA Austin Community College District, TX Heritage Institute-Ft Myers, FL Hillsborough Community College, FL Southeastern College-Greenacres, FL Fresno City College, CA Amarillo College, TX Heald College-Fresno, CA Texas State Technical College Harlingen, TX East Los Angeles College, CA Galen College of Nursing-San Antonio, TX
Hispanic Totals
Grand Total
All
643 413 289 280 370 386 398 363 291 224 702 181 431 270 460 273 450 251 274 178 492 324 569 247 314 369 235 106 207 187
329 250 220 219 217 185 180 180 148 148 143 135 133 130 126 119 112 107 107 106 101 100 95 92 91 88 88 84 84 79
Men Women 43 48 55 52 41 26 29 33 32 10 13 26 37 26 24 9 14 29 9 15 18 19 24 24 16 16 7 12 22 13
286 202 165 167 176 159 151 147 116 138 130 109 96 104 102 110 98 78 98 91 83 81 71 68 75 72 81 72 62 66
Hispanic Percentage 51% 61% 76% 78% 59% 48% 45% 50% 51% 66% 20% 75% 31% 48% 27% 44% 25% 43% 39% 60% 21% 31% 17% 37% 29% 24% 37% 79% 41% 42%
Source: 2012 NCES IPEDS DATABASE 2 YEAR SCHOOLS HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONS DEGREES 0 6 / 3 0 / 2 0 1 4
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HEALTH/ENROLLMENT/RECRUITMENT
Medical Program Brings Diversity and Science Together by Michelle Adam
New
Mexico State University (NMSU) uniquely prides itself as a majority-minority campus, where 57 percent of its Las Cruces campus is minority, and 45 percent Hispanic. According to a National Science Foundation (NSF) academic research and development expenditures survey (2010 statistics, the most current issued by the NSF), it also ranked third nationally in research and development expenditures at Hispanic-serving institutions, and number one among universities without medical schools. Bringing diversity and a commitment to science together, NMSU has become a doorway for Hispanics and other minority groups to pursue a passion and career in science – a field that often has lacked adequate representation among minority groups. One of its programs, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute Program, has provided this growing population of Hispanic and minority students an appreciation for science through outreach, research, and teaching opportunities. Back in 2006, the school’s biology department received a four-year grant, the second highest funding in the nation from the Howard Hughes Medical Intensive Program (HHMI), followed by another grant in 2010, to help increase students’ appreciation and understanding of science. According to Dr. Ralph Preszler, NMSU-HHMI program director, the university has a long tradition of increasing access to science for its students, and this initiative is following in these footsteps. “I get a lot of personal satisfaction when students who may not have initially realized they would be part of science and scientific research find that this is something they enjoy. They get really excited about these opportunities,” said Preszler. “And while Hispanics are underrepresented in the professional science field, they are not underrepresented in our department. Many come from families where there isn’t much exposure to science, and our job is to help them see that science is an option for them.” The school’s Howard Hughes Medical Institute program is divided into four sections: outreach, curriculum development, undergraduate research, and scientific teaching fellowships.
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“Many [students] come from families where there isn’t much exposure to science, and our job is to help them see that science is an option for them.” Dr. Ralph Preszler, NMSU-HHMI program director
dents affirmed they are now more likely to watch science stories presented in the media, and 69 percent affirmed they are more likely to understand these science stories presented in the media. The outreach activity increased students’ interest in taking additional high school science classes (60 percent) and in majoring in science at a college or university (37 percent strongly agree or agree). Because of the limited number of students that are directly taught by the MML outreach scientist, NMSU also created the Access to Science Center, which trains teachers to offer NMSU-HHMI outreach experiments in their classrooms with increasing levels of independence from the MML. These trainings occur in refresher courses, workshops, and more advanced courses, and have advanced to where teachers have worked with loaner Each component ensures students at all levels of the educa- kits in 28 different classrooms with 555 students. The NMSUtional spectrum are reached and have an opportunity to learn HHMI outreach program has been so successful that it has about and immerse themselves in science. now become a part of national discussions of the development The NMSU-HHMI Outreach Program provides high school of effective outreach to under-served populations. students in rural areas with opportunities to participate in inThe second part of the NMSU-HHMI program focuses on depth molecular biology experiments and by doing so stimu- curriculum development, especially in two introductory biololates their interest in the biological sciences. Through the gy courses. When students arrive at NMSU, they are now school’s Mobile Molecular Laboratory (MML), a school scien- offered courses that use peer instructors (BioCats) to facilitate tist directly interacts with students, especially in remote areas case studies and collaborative learning in workshops and lecwith high proportions of underrepresented minority (URM) tures. Students who, in the past, attended large lectures where students. In addition, the MML works with the Access to they would easily get lost trying to master the material, and Science Center (ASC) at NMSU to train high school teachers, were more likely to drop out because of this, now have peer who then reach more students in their own classrooms and instructors who provide collaborative learning in the classteach other teachers about science. room and in pull-out lab courses. “At the high school level, our goal is to help students real“We have been frustrated by the lack of success (finding ize that science can be exciting and fun to do, and that people courses interesting and getting good grades) our students at the university care enough about them to spend a week with them at school,” said Preszler. In the fall of 2012 and spring of 2013, the MML provided 2,095 New Mexico high school students, 65 percent of which were minority students, with week-long authentic science experiences. During each visit, an NMSU-HHMI outreach scientist leads students through activities in which they use modern molecular approaches to explore concepts in genetics and evolutionary biology. These visits have thus resulted in an increase in student interest in science. Using a 5-point Likert scale to respond to the statement “The information/discussion about current biology was interesting to me,” 78 percent of students selected the affirmative “strongly agree” or “agree.” Forty-nine percent of stu-
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have had in our introductory science programs,” said Preszler. “Since these changes that began in the spring of 2007, we have seen an increase of retention at the class level. Now, from the beginning of class, students can get engaged in the work and have peer instructors who can share how they were intimidated and what they’ve done to be very effective. This has helped students become less marginalized.” The successes of curriculum changes at the introductory levels of biology have inspired the NMSU-HHMI program to begin making changes to its upper level courses as well. If the
percent are working in STEM-related positions; 15 percent are in medical, dental, or veterinary school; 7 percent are in other professional programs associated with medicine; and 31 percent are in graduate school, including UCLA, Harvard, and Yale. Although still an undergraduate junior at NMSU, Vanessa Montoya is an example of a student who has already seen the benefits of partaking in HHMI’s undergraduate research program. As a native New Mexican with a dual major in biology and microbiology, her research in immunology and virology has opened doors to a summer research position with a Yale University scientist this summer. She believes her experience will help her be more competitive when she applies to medical school upon graduation, and, if the medical path doesn’t work for her, she now knows there are other research opportunities in science she’d be delighted to pursue. “I always loved science, but through this program I’ve developed an interest in research,” said Montoya, who, along with her brother, is the first in her family to pursue a college education. “This program has helped me embrace other opportunities and has pushed me to learn more and do my best.” Along with Montoya, Diego Quintana also is conducting research through the Howard Hughes program. He is only a freshman, yet he is already helping as a Research scholars at Poster Session at the end of the research assistant in the labs, and plans summer intensive research experience. to conduct actual research this summer. As the son of Mexican farmworkers, school receives the next four-year grant it recently applied for Quintana has been determined to pave a different road than it will implement these changes to help more students, espe- the one he’s known, from achieving valedictorian in high cially minority students, succeed in science. school and receiving scholarships for college, to his work as a The third and fourth components of the NMSU-HHMI pro- budding scientist at NMSU. gram include the undergraduate research and scientific teach“I love this program,” he said. “We are always learning ing fellows program. During the latter, graduate and post-doc- something new, and for medical school, I am trying to make toral students are guided in teaching, using a variety of for- my resume look as good as I can.” mats for diverse student populations. They receive support to Students like Quintana are only a few of hundreds, from help them successfully transition into faculty positions where high school up, who have already benefited from the NMSUthey will be adequately prepared to teach using more innova- HHMI program. They not only are discovering what’s possible tive and more accessible teaching methods. with science, but also are growing and building a brighter An important element of the NMSU-HHMI program is also future with the depth of learning they are receiving at NMSU. the undergraduate research program. Every year, about 30 “I think these students experience a lot of social maturaundergraduate students partake in their Science Scholars tion and become much more self-confident in their ability to (first and second years) and Research Scholars (third and do difficult things. We treat them as scientists and help them fourth years) programs, where students conduct scientific live up to this as they take on leadership positions,” said research, and, in the end, produce an undergraduate research Preszler. “When we see statistics on this population of students paper that has helped them enter into graduate-level medical succeeding, it is satisfying. But I get the most satisfaction from and science-related programs nationwide. their personal success stories.” Already, the program has revealed clear benefits. Of those 81 of the 85 Research Scholar alumni tracked: 21
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HEALTH/INNOVATIONS/PROGRAMS
Meeting the Health Care Needs of an Older Hispanic Population by Jeff Simmons
C
ommunity Healthcare Network (CHN) operates 12 federally qualified health centers in some of the most underserved communities in New York City. Each year, the nonprofit provides more than 75,000 people, many who are uninsured, with critical access to basic primary care, mental health services, nutritional counseling, dentistry, and more. Community-based care is at the core of CHN’s mission. The organization believes in offering health care services in locations that are easily accessible to its patients. To better serve those individuals, who are not as likely to visit a health center, CHN offers confidential educational outreach and sexual health services through its medical mobile van weekly throughout Manhattan and Queens. The mobile van also responds to specific health crises as they arise. During these health care visits, counselors and physicians say they encounter an increasingly aging and diverse population confronting higher rates of obesity, heart disease and diabetes. "An aging and increasingly diverse population requires that health care organizations and institutions take heed and respond to patients’ individualized needs,” says Catherine M. Abate, Community Healthcare Network’s president and chief executive officer. “It's important that we ensure that all of our patients are health literate so they better understand what questions to ask their doctor, how to address existing health conditions, and how to prevent new illnesses. “The growth in the Hispanic population of patients should be a signal to all health care providers that they should take steps now, and not wait until it's too late, to improve access and care." As the country’s Hispanic population continues to steadily escalate, medical providers are establishing ways to improve their services, to draw more Hispanics into the health care system and inevitably strengthen access. Hispanics represent
the largest ethnic group without insurance in the country. It’s estimated that nearly 1 in 3 Latinos living in the country does not have insurance or has poor access to quality care – the largest “minority” group by far (recent research noted that 1 in 8 white individuals are uninsured, by comparison). Experts further dispel perceptions that undocumented immi-
grant Hispanics are primarily among the uninsured, pointing out that nearly a third of U.S.-born Hispanics and more than a third of Hispanic American citizens are uninsured. The debate over access escalated amid the extended period to enroll for insurance under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). In mid-April, the White House reported that 8 million people signed up for private insurance under the ACA, which the federal government maintained would ensure coverage was more affordable and accessible for millions of Americans. The debate aside, experts agree an aging population that is increasingly Hispanic should warrant long-term efforts to improve the public’s understanding about proper health care, and to address issues earlier before they become life-threatening. According to the federal Department of Health and Human
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Services (HHS), Hispanics suffer from certain illnesses at disproportionately higher rates than non-Hispanic white Americans. Nearly 32 percent of Hispanics were obese in 2010, compared to just over 26 percent of whites, with a larger gap among women (33.1 percent of Hispanic women compared to 24.5 percent of white women). Among other troubling concerns: Hispanics face higher rates of the risk factors that can lead to heart disease such as obesity and diabetes; Hispanic women have steeper rates of cervical cancer, which they contract at 1.6 times the rate of white women, according to HHS department reports; and, only 46.5 percent of Hispanics had a colorectal cancer screening in 2010, significantly less than the 59.9 percent rate of non-Hispanics.
“With the Latino community, we know there are access issues,” says Yvette Martínez, associate state director of AARP New York, noting cultural and social reasons often driving that imbalance. “Add to that the fact that Latinos have the highest rates of being uninsured, and that there are particular diseases, such as diabetes, which Latinos are at greater risk for, but are hugely preventable.” AARP is just one organization that has recognized the alarming disparity and targeted its education efforts at the older Hispanic community. Last year, AARP launched an “aggressive” outreach campaign, both on national and local fronts, to encourage older Hispanics to sign up for insurance. “There was massive misinformation, a complete lack of knowledge about what this meant,” Martínez said. “There was so much information and fear about what it meant, and people were not enthused about enrolling.” AARP’s outreach efforts were designed to infuse a stronger understanding of the benefits of insurance and improved healthcare. “That was a huge part of the campaign,” she said. “If people are able to go to a doctor, and get regular checkups so that things that may be treatable are identified early, that keeps health care costs down for everybody.” AARP teamed up with other organizations – such as the nonprofit Hispanic Federation based in New York City – to amplify a media campaign and forge connections with Hispanic communities. One avenue to reaching older adults:
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connecting with Hispanic youth that enjoy close familial relationships with their elders. “Latinos are very family-oriented, and many adult children are still living with their parents,” she said. “What impacts one member of the family really impacts them all. Getting them information that will help them prevent diabetes or high cholesterol or heart conditions is important.” She added, “Keeping our community educated and healthy is really what’s important.” One creative campaign designed to connect with older – and younger – Hispanics was a digital outreach effort in which mothers would email or post on Facebook humorous e-cards aimed at their adult children reminding them to sign up for health insurance. The National Hispanic Council on Aging (NHCOA), a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit organization working to improve the lives of Hispanic older adults, their families and their caregivers, reports that Hispanic seniors represent 7 percent of the country’s older adult population; by 2050, Hispanics will comprise 20 percent of the nation’s older adults. NHCOA has developed a Hispanic Aging Network of community-based organizations across the country, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico that reaches millions of Hispanics each year. “As the U.S. population grows older, an increasingly larger share of our older Americans are Hispanic,” said Dr. Yanira Cruz, president and CEO of NHCOA. “Through this demographic shift we are confronting several realities that need to be addressed, particularly in the area of health. Hispanic older adults are disproportionately affected by chronic diseases and illnesses. In addition, we know that lack of health literacy is an added burden that impacts Latinos, as well as other Americans.” In early April, NHCOA launched a new health literacy elearning platform – Portal e-Comunidad – for lay community health workers to promote health literacy among Hispanic seniors with chronic diseases. The platform features five modules of 20- to 40-minute lessons on narrated PowerPoint presentations, including instructions on managing medications at home and how to get the most out of a doctor’s visit. When Hispanics do have access to health care, linguistic and cultural gaps between the health care provider and patient or a lack of cultural competency can result in misunderstandings and poor communication – a driving force behind the health literacy movement. Dr. Matthew Weissman, Community Healthcare Network’s chief medical officer and vice president of medical affairs, stressed the need for health care organizations to incorporate health literacy strategies to provide culturally competent care to Hispanic patients. Noting the Spanish word “once” for the English word “eleven,” he said: “One of the classic health literacy stories is about the medication bottle that says take once a day, but someone with limited English proficiency takes 11 pills
instead of one.” While elderly patients comprise about 7 percent of its current patient population, CHN anticipates a growth in that number due to higher life expectancy rates, along with the increasing amount of people who now qualify for affordable health insurance. Often, he said, elderly patients are receiving care from multiple medical providers, and receiving multiple medications. “Without the oversight of one qualified primary care doctor, it’s very easy for patients to have their health worsen,” he said. “And for Spanish-speaking patients, this care model is critical since English is not their first language and they may not know what questions to ask or understand all of the directions for taking medications and improving their own health conditions.” “We want to make sure they follow a provider’s directions,” he said. “We hire as many bilingual staff as possible. These are people from the community who are able to understand the language and culture of our patients.” Additionally, CHN ensures that it has a language line available so its patients can communicate with translators via phone, and the nonprofit is now readying to launch a video translation service to allow translators to notice nonverbal gestures to better assess conditions. “We suspect it’s going to enhance the translation process, and allow people to see each other, use gestures and read lips,” Weissman said. NHCOA reports that steep costs may often be prohibiting older adults from seeking medical care. While Medicare provides life-saving benefits, it does not provide insurance for all health care expenses. NHCOA notes that Medicare does not help older adults pay for long-term, dental, or vision care, and that the cost of long-term care can be too high for all but the wealthiest families. For many Hispanic older adults, Social Security is their only income. The average Social Security payment to male Hispanic older adults in 2010 was $12,815, and for female Hispanic older adults, the amount was $9,605. While Medicaid helps with costs, a person would need to live in poverty or near poverty to qualify for the benefits. In fact, NHCOA reports that Hispanics were the racial and ethnic group most likely to not see a doctor in the past year – because of cost. This has spurred nonprofits to strengthen their efforts to bring greater numbers of older Hispanics into the health care fold. That trend is evident at the 10-year-old East Harlem House Outreach Partnership (EHHOP), a clinic operated by the students of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, which provides free, confidential primary care to uninsured residents in the surrounding East Harlem community. The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene reported in 2011 that 17.6 percent of East Harlem residents – a heavily Hispanic community – had no insurance, compared with 15.6 percent in Manhattan as a whole, and 44.2 percent had no primary care provider compared with 18.4 percent in
Manhattan as a whole. Additionally, a third of East Harlem residents reported their health was fair, or poor, according to EHHOP’s 2012 annual report. Chronic illness, diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, asthma, and obesity rates were significantly higher in the community as well – and six of the top 10 causes of death in East Harlem resulted from complications of chronic disease. As a result, the clinic is navigating new initiatives to connect with a community often without access to care earlier. In October 2011, EHHOP launched a Patient Ambassadors Program to advocate for specialty care outside of EHHOP. Although EHHOP provides comprehensive primary care, some patients require specialty services and before this program was established, these patients encountered a number of barriers to specialty care. Language and health literacy barriers were particularly challenging for many of the most vulnerable patients to overcome – and led to long delays in effective treatment. Patient ambassadors are medical and graduate students who help patients with the logistics of referral appointments. They walk them to appointments, greet front desk staff, help them sign in and ensure payments proceed smoothly. They also help to coordinate follow-up care. Jillian Nickerson, a fourth year medical student at Icahn, is the chief teaching senior and chair of clinical care at EHHOP, noted that EHHOP sees patients from their early 20s to their 90s, the majority of whom are Hispanic. “We started out as an urgent care facility where patients came in for an appointment when they were feeling sick, but now we’ve become a medical home,” she said. EHHOP launched a chronic care program in which thirdyear students are paired with patients with complex chronic disease for one to two years to ensure they have a stable medical provider who can effectively tackle their health needs rather than the discordant care that comes with multiple providers. EHHOP also is regularly staffed with social workers and nutritionists – all in an effort to knit more comprehensive services together. “We train all of our students at the clinic to be very proactive about educating their patients,” said Nickerson, “and to make sure whatever they tell their patients is appropriate and understandable.” Establishing stronger inroads in the older Hispanic community is a key, she said. “Once people have diabetes or high blood pressure, diseases that could be prevented or improved through earlier lifestyle changes and education, it is harder to treat them,” she said. “The main reason we need to focus on this group of people is that they are at high risk. Some of it is genetic, some of it is because of the environment they live in, but there is a lot we can do. This is really important and meaningful to focus on.”
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HEALTH
Helping Hispanic Students Cope with Mental Health Issues by Sylvia Mendoza
For
Dr. Eugenia Curet, suicide among students is a disturbing fact of college life. For some students, the first taste of independence on a campus can lose its magic quickly when reality sets in. Many students are exposed to alcohol and drugs, sex and lack of time management, family conflict and job pressures. Balancing class assignments can start to seem impossible. Stress can take a toll on their well-being. They can feel out of control and overwhelmed, which starts a snowball effect where stress, sleep difficulties, anxiety and depression take root and can negatively impact academic performance. The spiral of hopelessness or the feeling of sinking in quicksand can go undetected. Students feel isolated and alone, afraid and overwhelmed until the pressure gets to be too much. However, the stigma attached to mental health issues and services can prevent them from seeking help at their most desperate hour. As assistant dean of students for medical and counseling services at University of Texas (UT)-Pan American, Curet has devoted her life work to helping students in distress, those with mental health issues, and those who fear seeking counseling and help. She has implemented programs and outreach services at the UT Brownsville and Pan American and believes similar services are necessary at any campus. “We have had students with severe depression attempt suicide or were planning to commit suicide,” says Curet. “But we have a team of counselors trained on mental health and substance abuse and have been able to provide interventions that have been successful in preventing the suicidal act. It’s a matter of awareness of warning signs and eliminating the stigma of mental health issues and counseling.” Possible warning signs for suicidal tendencies can include academic concerns, family dysfunction, homesickness, disrupted relationships, financial concerns, poverty, social isolation, problems adjusting to university life, isolation, use of drugs and alcohol, abuse and domestic violence. The list seems endless and can distract a young student trying to study and pursue higher education. “This is a huge period of transition in students’ lives, the age where a lot of mental health issues emerge and where access to alcohol and other substances is often common,” says Sheila Krishnan, campus prevention specialist at the Suicide Prevention Resource Center (SPRC). “If they do not have a support system, life skills that help them cope and resources where they can seek help, they can falter.”
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Even though the overall number of suicide deaths on campus is fairly low, Krishnan says, there is still a large number of students who report feeling depressed and anxious, which represents a significant burden of distress. It might take a village to educate students and the community as to resources and mental health services available, but
Dr. Eugenia Curet, assistant dean of student support services, University of Texas Pan American
the outreach is possible – and worth it. For her work on suicide prevention, Curet received the 2013 Leadership on University Campuses and in the Community Award by the Texas Suicide Prevention Council. With a three- year grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Curet implemented training to more than 200 faculty, staff and students in assessment and intervention strategies for addressing suicide issues. More than 3,000 members of the campus community and surrounding community agencies and educa-
tional institutions were trained as suicide prevention gatekeepers. Educational seminars on suicide prevention were hosted campus-wide. Training focused on how to recognize and respond to students’ mental health and behavioral needs. Emergency care was offered nearby during evenings and weekends when the campus clinic was closed. Literature for those in need and for educational purposes was provided in English and Spanish. Students attended the activities and were educated on mental health issues and more. Risk Factors Unique to Hispanic Students Although many college students are at risk for mental health issues and suicide attempts, Latino students face other risk factors that can add to the burden they deal with on a daily basis. Curet is focusing on how to reach Latino students who may fall through the cracks of a university system. There is a need for faculty and staff to be aware of a student’s culture and background, in addition to his/her mental well-being. For example, cultural traditions are not all good, says Curet. Family first is the norm; however, the pressure of responsibility toward family, whether it is financial or mental, can affect academic success. Parents must also be aware of how these familial expectations can backfire. They need to back off and allow their children to study without added pressures. Latino students also often grow up with non-traditional methods of seeking help for mental health issues, which might include espiritismo and curanderas, priests or other healers. Traditional Western medicine and approaches to mental health services are rarely the first approach to healing mental issues. Acculturation, the immigration experience, culture shock and perceived racial discrimination that can lead to feelings of alienation are factors that can accelerate the feelings of helplessness and hopelessness, says Krishnan. If support groups and networking groups are not part of the design from the beginning, the hopelessness becomes profound. Latino-focused Suicide Prevention Latinos often use traditionally natural support systems like priests, ministers, spiritualists, curanderos, and herbalists. “Espiritismo is an anthropologic and spiritual approach to healing and can help except perhaps in critical diagnoses like schizophrenia,” said Curet. “Sometimes psychotherapy and medication is only part of the answer. Looking at the bigger, holistic picture, other factors have to be taken into account with traditional methods of healing.” In developing a suicide prevention program for Hispanic students, the importance of family involvement is a cultural aspect that has to be incorporated, says Curet. “Personalismo” is when individual members are expected to seek resolution of any problems within the family. That belief extends to “family” that includes neighbors, padrinos and madrinas and people who genuinely care for them. However, they need to know
EXAMPLES OF RISK FACTORS FOR SUICIDE 1. Prior suicide attempt 2. Mood disorders 3. Substance abuse 4. Access to lethal weapons
WARNING SIGNS— that someone is seriously considering suicide 1. Threatening to hurt or kill oneself 2. Seeking a means to kill oneself 3. Hopelessness 4. Increasing alcohol or drug use 5. Dramatic mood changes
PROTECTIVE FACTORS— indicates someone is at a lower risk of suicide 1. Connectedness 2. Availability of physical and mental health care 3. Coping capability
ADDITIONAL PROTECTIVE FACTORS AMONG HISPANICS 1. Familialism 2. Ethnic affiliation 3. Religiosity and moral objections to suicide 4. Caring from teachers 5. Extended family connectedness
that seeking professional help is an alternative. When students find the courage to come to her, Curet looks at other factors. If they are poor and cannot buy food or clothing or need help applying for food stamps, this physical impact can easily affect their mental well-being. “How can you study or succeed academically if you’re cold and hungry? If your situation seems hopeless?” she said.
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Curet also tunes into what a student needs in terms of emotional connection. Once a Latina student walked into her office, devastated over a breakup, the pressure of keeping up with her classes and expectations she felt her family had for her to succeed. The combination had built up anxiety and depression. Feeling like she was in a dead end brought her to one conclusion: suicide seemed like the only way out. Assessing the young woman, Curet provided options and counseling. When she was ready to go to the hospital, the young woman grew concerned about the financial burden on her family. Curet told her not to worry, that the office would write letters for financial aid. “We’ll help,” she said. “Mijita, it will be OK.” Just using the term mija or mamita, can offer a calming influence. Curet coins a term for this need – cultural transference mode. “It’s when a patient looks at me as a mother or grandmother and expects or hopes that I’ll treat her with the same care and concern as she’d get at home. “We have to be more warm and less distant. That doesn’t mean we breach or overstep psychotherapy boundaries, but we have to assess the individual and the situation. And although we are supposed to stay within distance boundaries, we use terms of endearment— mamita or mijita to connect at a very basic level.” Culture patterns like affection and closeness and some kind of compassion reach Latino students better, Curet has found. “Otherwise, they won’t come back.” What can Administrators Offer Students in Distress? College campuses can be proactive. In order for universities to ensure students’ successful academic achievement, adequate provision of mental health services for suicide prevention are of paramount importance, says Krishnan. However, they need to also address dimensions of wellness at the social, spiritual, occupational, intellectual, environmental, physical and emotional levels. Focusing on strategic outreach and de-stigmatization of mental health treatment for all students should be implemented. “It’s important to create a culture of caring,” says Krishnan. “When big stakeholders are at the table like administrators, faculty and staff, each interacts with the student in a different way. With that effort, if you’re a student in a place where people care, it can make a big difference.” Krishnan points out that at the administrative level, common prevention strategies can include developing policies and protocols, educational programs and events, “gatekeeper” training programs, social marketing and communications campaigns. In addition, she provides a checklist as action points in mental health awareness and preventive measures. These include: • Identify students at risk • Increase help-seeking behavior • Provide mental health services • Help students develop life skills
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• Promote social networks among students, staff, and faculty and a sense of community on campus • Follow crisis management procedures – respond effectively to students who are acutely distressed or suicidal. Also, help survivors deal with grief and confusion and to prevent suicide contagion when a suicide does occur • Restrict access to potentially lethal means – including potential sites, weapons, and other agents that may facilitate dying by suicide There are definite consequences of not addressing students’ mental well-being. The relationship between untreated mental health issues and their negative effects on academic success, retention and graduation can be extreme, explains Krishnan. “These are often the economic incentives for colleges and universities to implement programs that help students address their mental health issues so they can stay and succeed in school.” Yet, schools cannot provide every answer for students in need. A very important factor is helping students help themselves. SPRC strongly encourages grantees to develop comprehensive suicide prevention programs that focus on more than getting students into counseling, explains Krishnan. “Campus administrators frequently report that students don’t have some of the life and coping skills that are important to have to thrive, so it’s important that initiatives are prevention-focused and not only crisis or intervention-specific.” Developing mindfulness training, strategies for resiliency, life skills and social networks and support groups are ways students can be proactive. They can also learn to get their basic needs met such as sleep, a healthy diet, exercise, social support, time management skills, and have creative outlets like music, meditation and individual forms of relaxation. “Learning life skills can be reaffirming and can offer healthy ways to cope, in addition to receiving therapy.” Peer involvement can also be another outreach effort that students can relate to and seek help from. Curet has worked with student groups like Active Minds (activeminds.org), which promote mental health awareness and try to debunk the stigma associated with it. Some members are trained to intervene, not to counsel. “They learn to be the eyes to see other students with risk factors and can refer them to a counseling center or a lifeline,” says Curet. Awareness and providing resources that reach Latin – and most college students – is the lifeline that can help prevent suicidal tendencies. Education is a key, but so is that caring environment, says Krishnan. “Helping students build resiliency and creating campus cultures of caring are crucial and it takes all of the people on campus – administrators, faculty, staff, students, parents – to work together to achieve this.”
HEALTH
Student Hispanic Dental Association Bridges Oral Care Gap by Frank DiMaria
In
2000 then Surgeon General Dr. David Satcher wrote and published Oral Health Report 2000, which illuminated a multicultural crisis in oral health care in America. In the report he indicated that those individuals who were the most affected by this crisis were those from a low socioeconomic background. Several years before Satcher issued his report, some dental professionals were already forming organizations to address these issues, specifically within the Hispanic community. The National Hispanic Dental Association was created in 1990 to improve the oral health of the Latino population in the U.S. through effective leadership. Shortly thereafter in 1993 Aidee Nieto-Herman, D.M.S, professor of the periodontology department at Tufts University, founded the Massachusetts Hispanic Dental Association as a chapter of the Hispanic Dental Association (HDA). One year later she founded the Student Hispanic Dental Association at Tufts. “Students are the leaders of tomorrow. The mission of this
student group is to help reduce oral health disparities,” says Nieto-Herman. Through the Hispanic Dental Association at Tufts, NietoHerman has improved oral health literacy by increasing prevention and treatment, increasing research on the Latino population, improving access to dental care, advocating for Hispanics and providing mentorship to Hispanics by selling dentistry as a career option. “Right now there are more dental schools with pre-dental societies and more schools that have a chapter of the Student Hispanic Dental Association. Our chapter was the fourth to be created and we now have 38 chapters nationally,” says Nieto-Herman. Each year, the HDA organizes and participates in several dental health fairs in the greater Boston area, including neighborhoods like Chinatown, Roxbury, East Boston and Jamaica Plain. Daniel González, president of the HDA at Tufts and a trustee on the National Hispanic Dental
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from 2009 to 2012.” Tufts’ HDA reaches far beyond the greater Boston area, offering assistance and services in Central and South America and the Caribbean. In its 20 years in existence HDA has completed 14 mission trips; four to Ecuador, three to El Salvador, three to the Dominican Republic, three to Haiti and one to Peru. Nieto-Herman began organizing mission trips to help less fortunate Hispanics when she was the president of the Massachusetts Hispanic Dental Association. She continues the tradition as the faculty adviser to the Tufts Hispanic Dental Association. “We started to organize trips to reduce global oral health disparities,” says NietoHerman. During the mission trips the HDA partners with a health organization or university in the country they are visiting. The partner provides security, the facility, and equipment and assists Nieto-Herman and the students in finding lodging. “All of the finances are sponsored by the traveling faculty and students. The dental supplies are sponsored by corporations such as Colgate, Henry Schein and Crest,” says NietoHerman.
Daniel González, president of the HDA at Tufts Association board, says that the HDA “tries to identify locations that are in need of our (services as they relate to our) motto, which is SEAL. This stands for service, education, advocacy and leadership. Within these values come very fundamental activities that we do both at the national and local level,” says González, who is entering his fourth year of dental school at Tufts. One of the biggest programs the HDA participates in is GKAS or Give Kids a Smile. Through this program the HDA provides free dental care to children thanks to a 2009 grant from the American Dental Association and the National Hispanic Dental Association. For five years now the grant has allowed the Massachusetts Hispanic Dental Association to provide dental care to those children in need. “We recently completed a two-year research study in partnership with a local pre-school in Roxbury called Neighborhood Involving Children Education (NICE), which has allowed us to train preschool teachers as ambassadors of the GKAS program to improve the oral health of children. The results of our study showed that after training the preschool teachers and parents, more children found dental homes and fewer children had cavities,” says Nieto-Herman. “We more than doubled the amount in financial services
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Dr. Aidee Nieto-Herman, professor of the periodontology department at Tufts University
Last year the HDA struck an agreement with Universidad Nacional Pedro Henriquez Urena, a dental school in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Tufts sent two exchange students to the university for the entire academic year. While there, the students rotated through the university’s clinic, attending to those patients who needed dental care. During the summer NietoHerman brought a group of Tufts dental students to the clinic. “The agreement that the HDA made was to help the Dominican community,” says González. “We took a group of Tufts dental students and found a population that has been completely underserved who cannot afford any dental treatment.” Those Dominicans who needed oral care boarded buses that were packed, some riding up to two hours to see NietoHerman and the Tufts dental students. “We see a lot of patients who say they’ve been to the local healer and they’ve fixed the tooth when in reality all they’ve done is fractured it so it’s no longer seen and we’ll see the roots and a source of infection that’s still there,” says González. “It’s a population that does not necessarily have access to proper dental care or medical. We’re dealing with a marginalized community in the Dominican Republic.” Nieto-Herman and her Tufts students spend about a week offering oral health diagnosis, oral hygiene instruction, prophylaxis, extractions and operative work (including composite and amalgam restorations). “We’re not restoring esthetics as much as we’re working the emergency cases,” says González. Dental students who have yet to gain clinical experience, perform administrative duties, like organizing patients and providing oral hygiene instruction. Those who have had clinical experience provide the actual oral care to patients. “They do extractions and operative work. One of the most important roles that the Tufts students play on these trips is interacting with the dental students from the country that we are visiting,” says Nieto-Herman. González, who has been to the Dominican Republic with Nieto-Herman, has extracted teeth, filled cavities, performed preventative care and offered medical consultations. “There’s a lot of malnutrition. We’ve also seen pathology,
bacterial infections, and parasitic infections. These are all the things we’ve identified and we’ve referred the patients to the right doctor for treatment,” says González. In addition to providing oral care to low-income Hispanics in the greater Boston area and abroad, the HDA offers a mentor program to youngsters both in the U.S. and abroad. In 1996 Nieto-Herman started a mentoring program and performed research on minorities in dentistry. In 2004 she published an article called “Promoting Dentistry as a Career for Minorities” in the Journal of the Massachusetts Dental Society. “At that time, I was president of the National Hispanic Dental Association and the chair of the Tufts Equal Opportunity Educational Committee (EEO). This research proved to me the lack of minority students pursuing dental careers. With this mentoring program and my students from Tufts HDA, we have been tutoring middle school, high school and college students. From that group I now have a group of Tufts dental students who were a part of that original mentor group,” says Nieto-Herman. As the faculty adviser of Tufts Hispanic Dental Association for 20 years, Nieto-Herman says she is very proud to see the Tufts students in this chapter grow to become one of the strongest chapters in U.S. dental schools. “The mission and vision of this small group continues to grow,” says NietoHerman.
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ion
Targ
n
igher Ed H u g t ca
Dramatic Demographic Shifts in Higher Education
et i
TARGETING HIGHER EDUCATION
by Gustavo A. Mellander
I
was amazed to read recently that many children born this year are likely to live to be 100! A full 25 percent of them will hit the century mark. Further, they will have not just one distinct career but three or four. Some will have as many as seven. All of that by the time they retire at the ripe new age of 80. That’s correct. Many, if not most, will work well into their late 70s. Medical doctors report that the 80s are the new 70s. What else does the future hold? A great many variables. The only definite certainty is change. Change in how we learn, think, work and live our daily lives. But we have experienced dramatic changes since the World War II. It has favored most, but not all, Americans. Every indication is that the pace will not abate; instead it will accelerate exponentially in ways many of us can’t begin to imagine. Nationally most want all children to become literate in the sciences, technology, and the arts to provide them the best foundation possible to pursue a career and transition easily to new ones. Everyone agrees industry and government should focus on creating more jobs that are enduring and satisfying. Unfortunately we see few productive steps being taken to reach those goals. Demographics and Hispanics Hispanics will be by far the dominant minority/majority in the country. California already refers to Hispanics as the majority minority. Hispanics may not actually achieve their oft promised “decade” but their growth and influence is inevitable. The present 14 percent will grow to 20 percent very soon. The cohort will be composed mostly of native born Hispanics, not recent immigrants. As the economy improves in this country, or as it worsens in Latin America, the historic and unending northward migration will accelerate. It may never end. Hispanics continue to have more children than other groups. That will abate someday but not for a generation or two. Public schools will continue to educate, be that as it may be, most Hispanic children. Half of them are not making it
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through high school. Many who do or those who attend “the school of hard knocks” will gravitate toward higher education. Their major entry portal will be their local community college. Since the beginning they have been committed to helping the newcomer, the late bloomer, the displaced homemaker, the tentative part-time student and on and on. Their mission will not diminish, quite the contrary. Demographic Shifts Ahead Few things impact a region or a nation more than significant demographic shifts. The same is true for colleges. We are who our students are. We all know about the continuing explosive increase of Hispanic young people in the country. Those numbers are going to increase exponentially and more will want to go to college. But there is another wrinkle in the nation’s changing and challenging demographics, one that will impact higher education dramatically. Declining population numbers Declining numbers? Is that a typo? No. One section of the nation is going to face just that. Specifically, we will see declining numbers of Caucasian, privileged high school graduates. Their numbers are in free fall, and will be even more so in the years ahead. It will spell trouble, at least discombobulation, for the hundreds of quasi-elite colleges that depend upon receiving yearly tuitions from that cohort to survive. It’s a given. Some predict those colleges will shrink, some might even disappear. The more optimistic view, however, suggests the population changes will compel institutions to transform themselves. Throughout history they always have. I suspect they will embrace, some screaming and kicking, under-
represented students as they never have before. Whatever scenario plays out student makeup in colleges is going to change. That’s an open secret among adroit admission officers. We see it accentuated in Midwestern and Northeastern states where the number of high school graduates will drop sharply over the next decade. Another interesting national reality on the horizon is that the number of black students will decline, whereas the number of Hispanic and Asian-American high school graduates will increase and significantly so. We can only imagine the ramifications. On the bright side, the nation is already seeing a sharp rise in first-generation and low-income college graduates. Many selective four-year institutions have committed themselves to serving them. It is really a success story for all involved, and will be complete if those graduates secure suitable employment. Some college officials are concerned about these demographic trends. Those who welcome diversity say they worry about both financing and supporting needier students, especially because many don’t arrive as academically prepared as their wealthier peers. Enrollment managers, who balance competing institutional goals – such as expanding access and increasing net-tuition revenue – are finding it more difficult to achieve those goals. Some fear what the future holds. But I suggest those national prognostications should be taken with a spoonful of salt. The effects of change, demographic and otherwise, have always varied from campus to campus. Many are a world unto themselves. A college's location, market position and reputation will play a large role in how they react to the upcoming changes. Most assuredly so will the way they choose to define diversity. A college might respond to a downturn in the number of affluent students by expanding its financial aid budget, allowing it to enroll more low-income students of all racial and ethnic backgrounds. Some well-endowed Ivy League schools are already doing just that. For others to make that move would most likely require losing something: a trade-off. For instance, budget cuts may be necessary. Perhaps, freshmen classes will have lower test scores than those who preceded them. International Students Colleges down the road faced with fewer student candidates might cultivate the international student market. Many foreign students want to come to America. They typically pay the full cost of attending college, they are highly motivated and many are superior students. China, India and some European countries have already found their pathway to American universities. More are waiting to be recruited. That is an especially fortuitous reality as our traditional territories begin to shrink. I predict an increasing surge of foreign students throughout American higher education.
Possible scenarios Will colleges see the homegrown demographic shift as an opportunity to redefine themselves or as a trend to resist at all costs? Reports, albeit sketchy, indicate they are going to accept reality. Realistically, what else can they do? They will seek students who meet their preferred profile. And they will bend if they feel their existence is dependent on doing so. At present many hope funding will materialize so they will not have to change that much. Others are more realistic and know, although many won’t admit it publicly, that they will change if they have to. They feel secure that new student populations exist throughout the country and most assuredly overseas. A few also look to distance learning as being an important part of their future. Some, it seems to me, are whistling through the cemetery. As Eric Hoover wrote in The Chronicle of Higher Education, “Many colleges might just have to give something up to stay afloat. Want to maintain your enrollment? OK, but your selectivity must go down.” That’s a bitter pill for some to swallow. Some presidents might be sighing heavily and gratefully that their retirement will come before the demographic bubble bursts upon their campus. For decades, colleges have tried to produce more of everything, and in many instances they succeeded. More applications, more revenue, and, as evidenced by higher test scores and lower admission rates, higher quality students. But that trajectory won’t be sustainable at many places, as much as the powers to be wish it were. That's not to say colleges are ignoring demographic change. Many, in fact, are responding in a variety of ways, albeit incrementally. Just as demographic shifts don't happen overnight, strategies for recruiting the next wave of students take time to develop. An East Coast college just can't parachute into California and collect applicants for next fall's class. Student recruitment is an increasingly complex mix of local, national, and global outreach. How a college pursues one group of students may affect how it can serve another. Many colleges have cultivated relationships with community-based organizations that serve low-income and first-generation high school students. If a university wishes to recruit more Hispanic students, they would be wise to engage their parents. That means talking with them about financial aid in Spanish. That would work even with families who speak English as well. That process requires considerable planning, effort, and financial investment. Bottom Line As mentioned earlier, international recruitment is widely viewed as a safety net to protect against shortfalls in enrollment and revenue. But advocates for low-income students are wary of the global-recruitment boom; they worry about colleges' giving more and more seats to students from other countries instead
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of to underrepresented applicants from the United States. In the final analysis each college will devise its own rules. A sharp divide will exist between colleges that continue the same old recruitment process and those that adopt new strategies for achieving greater diversity. Some are entrenched, others are imaginative. The importance of working with groups that help underrepresented students is paramount. Recruiting students is only part of the challenge, of course. Helping them afford college is another. And let’s slow the trend of loading students with enormous debt. It’s not fair. It should be noted that in the past decade some colleges have replaced loans with grants for families making less than $50,000 a year. That reduced the amounts students had to borrow. Such commitments require dedicated fundraising and shuffled resources, if not serious sacrifices. But it’s not easy and success is not guaranteed. The University of Virginia tried such financial aid policies and found them unsustainable. Access is not just a matter of affordability. It's also a question of assessing students' academic preparation. Many colleges still cling to the same old, narrow metrics of student achievement. Many say they want students with grit and determination, but at the same time still give much weight to ACT and SAT scores. The "overreliance on standardized testing and institutional obsessions with traditional measures of quality" can have harmful consequences, argue Donald R. Hossler and David H.
Kalsbeek in a recent article in Strategic Enrollment Management Quarterly. Enrollment management tactics have often been used in ways that work against low-income students, writes Hossler, a professor of educational leadership and policy studies at Indiana University at Bloomington, and Kalsbeek, senior vice president for enrollment management and marketing at DePaul University. At some point, current obsessions might seem hopelessly out of date or at least out of step with students seeking college admission. In the next five years, some colleges will have to admit more students with lower test scores. Merely admitting them is the first step – helping them succeed is the greater goal. Many colleges aren't investing enough in the programs and services needed to help a more diverse group students stay enrolled and graduate. In the years ahead, as an increasingly diverse pool of applicants, with a range of abilities and needs comes along, colleges will have to decide what course of action they wish to undertake. They would be well advised to study the successful record of community colleges nationwide. Decades ago they figured how to attract more students and try to meet their specific needs. Easy? No, but doable. Dr. Mellander was a university dean for 15 years and a college president for 20 years.
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Dean With a faculty of 213 full-time distinguished scholars/teachers and a combined undergraduate and graduate enrollment of more than 5,000 students, the College of Humanities and Social Sciences is the largest of the University’s academic units. The College provides a rich variety of degree programs from the BA to the AuD and PhD, and is organized into 13 departments, three interdisciplinary degree programs and nine centers and institutes. Degree programs include: Anthropology, Audiology, Classics and General Humanities, Communication Sciences and Disorders, Child Advocacy and Policy, English, History, Justice Studies, Linguistics, Modern Languages and Literatures, Philosophy and Religion, Political Science and Law, Psychology, Sociology, Spanish and Italian, Women’s Studies, and a number of minors, including African American Studies, and Latin American and Latino Studies. The College’s centers and institutes include the Center for Child Advocacy, the Coccia Institute for the Italian Experience in America, the Center for Heritage and Archaeological Studies and the Humanities Institute. The College has successfully combined a traditional focus on liberal education with programs at both the undergraduate and graduate level that fulfill specific career objectives. The Dean, who is appointed by the President and reports to the Provost/Vice President for Academic Affairs, serves as the chief academic and administrative officer of the College. The Dean is expected to be an intellectual leader within the College, across the campus and within the external community as well. She/he will have the vision to identify and the professional skills to pursue new opportunities for the College and the intellectual strength to direct its growth and academic development within the University’s expanding profile, to include programs at both the graduate and undergraduate levels. The Dean will oversee the recruitment and development of faculty and will assure the quality of the academic experience of the College’s students. She/he will be responsible for effectively representing the College to the campus, alumni and external communities and will provide leadership in the pursuit of the external resources required to augment State appropriations. The Dean will be responsible for the administrative and fiscal management of the College, overseeing a budget of approximately $37 million. The Dean will be a key member of the University’s senior leadership team and will be imaginative in finding ways to advance the goals and objectives of both the College and the University and to foster collaborations across the campus. QUALIFICATIONS Required qualifications include:
• A record of successful administration in higher education and a broad understanding of current issues in higher education • Demonstrated record in the acquisition of external resources • A thorough understanding of the disciplines and curricula within the humanities and social sciences • Experience with instructional modes and research utilizing information technology and electronic systems • Commitment to maintaining and extending student and faculty diversity • Ability to foster a collegial and collaborative academic environment, including the promotion of inter- and crossdisciplinary research and curricula SALARY RANGE: The salary range and title will be commensurate with the candidate’s credentials and experience. STARTING DATE: The new Dean will assume office in January of 2015. For further details regarding this opportunity, please visit:
http://www.montclair.edu/chss-dean/ APPLY BY: The Search Committee will begin reviewing files on July 1, 2014 with the intent of having a pool of candidates visit campus for interviews in Fall 2014. Building on a distinguished 105-year history, Montclair State University is proud to be a leading institution of higher education in New Jersey. The University’s six colleges and schools serve more than 19,000 undergraduate and graduate students in 300 majors, minors, concentrations and certificate programs. Situated on a beautiful, 250-acre suburban campus just 14 miles from New York City, Montclair State combines the instructional and research resources of a large public university in a dynamic, sophisticated, and diverse academic environment. Additional information can be found on the MSU website at:
www.montclair.edu. AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY/AFFIRMATIVE ACTION INSTITUTION
• An earned doctorate and a record of distinguished academic achievement appropriate for appointment at the rank of full professor in a department of the College • Strong communication skills • A commitment to excellence in teaching/learning, scholarship and the application of knowledge
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President The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois announces a search for President of the University, the appointment to be effective July 1, 2015, or as designated by the Board. The President of the University leads an academic community with a strong and proud tradition of excellence in teaching, research, public service and economic development. Established in 1867 as the public land-grant university of the State of Illinois, the University of Illinois has achieved international recognition as a center of higher learning. The University is a long-time member of the Association of American Universities. Now with campuses in Urbana-Champaign, Chicago and Springfield, including a major health sciences center in Chicago, the University’s reach is extensive. The three campuses offer a broad range of options for students from Illinois, from across the nation and from around the world. Distinguished faculty teach with passion; their discoveries and creative works enrich society at large. The University enrolls some 52,000 undergraduate, 21,500 graduate and 3,800 professional program students; and 5,800 faculty and 17,000 staff contribute to the work of the University. More than 650,000 alumni hold University of Illinois degrees. The President oversees an annual budget of $5.4 billion, made up of extensive Federal research funding, gifts from alumni and friends, and support from the people of the State of Illinois. A presidential search committee composed of trustees, faculty and staff members, alumni, and students is seeking an outstanding candidate. Nominations, applications, and expressions of interest are being solicited. Parker Executive Search is assisting the University with the search; nominations, materials and correspondence should be directed electronically to pwilliams@parkersearch.com. For full consideration, application materials should be submitted by Sept. 8, 2014. For any questions or to discuss the position, please contact: Laurie Wilder, Executive Vice President and Managing Director Porsha Williams, Vice President Parker Executive Search Five Concourse Parkway, Suite 2900 Atlanta, GA 30328 pwilliams@parkersearch.com For additional information regarding this position, please visit: http://www.bot.uillinois.edu/presidentialsearch The University of Illinois is an affirmative action/equal opportunity employer dedicated to building a community of excellence, equity, and diversity. We welcome applications from women, underrepresented minorities, individuals with disabilities, protected veterans, members of sexual minority groups and other candidates who will lead and contribute to the diversification and enrichment of ideas and perspectives. As a condition of employment, the successful candidate must have or be able to obtain a security clearance. The security clearance must be maintained while employed as president by the Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois.
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Executive Vice President for Administration & Chief Financial Officer The University of Connecticut (UConn) invites applications for the Executive Vice President for Administration & Chief Financial Officer (EVPA/CFO). Reporting to the President, the EVPA/CFO is the chief administrative and financial officer of the University. The University of Connecticut is one of the nation’s leading public research universities. Founded in 1881, UConn is a Land Grant and Sea Grant college and member of the Space Grant Consortium. It is the state’s flagship institution of higher education with its main campus in Storrs in addition to a Law School, Medical and Dental Schools, a Health Center and five regional campuses in Greater Hartford, Stamford, Waterbury, Avery Point, and Torrington. The Law School campus is located in Hartford; the Health Center campus is located in Farmington. Both are closely linked to the main campus through academic projects. UConn is ranked among the Top 20 public universities in the nation according to the 2014 U.S. News & Report. The University has approximately 10,000 faculty and staff and 30,000 students which includes more than 22,000 undergraduates and nearly 8,000 graduate/professional students. The EVPA/CFO oversees Capital Projects & Contract Administration; Facilities Operations & Building Services; Finance & Budget (including Procurement Services, Accounting, Accounts Payable, Bursar, Financial Systems, Payroll, Treasury); Human Resources; Labor Relations; Logistics Administration; Public Safety; Planning, Architectural & Engineering Services; and Infrastructure Planning for the entire University. The goal of the Office of the EVPA/CFO is to create and maintain essential University services and a physical environment that robustly supports the academic and research missions of the University of Connecticut. This is accomplished through quality customer service, effective collaboration with faculty and staff, and strong stewardship of the University’s financial, capital, and human resources. At least 15 years of experience in increasingly responsible positions within finance and administration is required. It is preferred that this experience is gained in a higher education, research institute, or academic medical setting. A demonstrated deep understanding of finance (including infrastructure finance, internal controls, cash management, and treasury services) and budgeting (capital and operational) is also required. The successful candidate should be an adept leader and manager who has the ability to oversee and lead an organization-wide, service-driven administrative and finance function that is proactive, progressive and collaboratively aligned with the many disparate organizational entities that compose a university. A Master’s degree in finance, management, or a related field from an accredited college or university is required. Initial screening of applicants will begin immediately, and continue until the position is filled. The University of Connecticut will be assisted by Ellen Brown Landers, Elizabeth Ewing and Tracie Smith of Heidrick & Struggles, Inc. For further information, please see: http://evpacfo.uconn.edu/. Nominations and applications should be directed to: UConn EVP/CFO Search Committee c/o Heidrick & Struggles, Inc. 303 Peachtree Street, NE, Suite 4300 Atlanta, GA 30308 Telephone: 404-682-7316 Email: uconncfo@heidrick.com The University of Connecticut does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, ethnicity, religious creed, age, sex, marital status, national origin, ancestry, sexual orientation, genetic information, physical or mental disabilities (including learning disabilities, intellectual disabilities, past/present history of a mental disorder), prior conviction of a crime (or similar characteristic), workplace hazards to reproductive systems, gender identity or expression, or other legally protected classifications in its programs and activities as required by Title IX of the Educational Amendments of 1972, the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and other applicable statutes and University policies. The University of Connecticut prohibits sexual harassment, including sexual violence.
EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT FOR MEDICAL AFFAIRS The University of Michigan invites nominations and applications for the position of Executive Vice President for Medical Affairs (EVPMA). The EVPMA at the University of Michigan has overall responsibility for the leadership and management of the entire University of Michigan Health System, which is comprised of the Medical School, including the Faculty Group Practice, the Hospitals and Health Centers, including Ambulatory Care Services, the clinical activities of the School of Nursing, and the Michigan Health Corporation. The EVPMA is one of three Executive Vice Presidents of the University reporting to the President. The EVPMA interacts extensively with the University of Michigan Board of Regents on matters related to the Health System. The University of Michigan Health System (UMHS) is one of the premier academic medical centers in the nation, with a total operating budget of $3.4 billion. The UMHS’s vision is to create the future of health care through discovery. The clinical delivery system totals 1,059 licensed beds, with over 45,000 admissions annually, and just under 2 million annual outpatient visits. U.S. News & World Report ranked the Medical School 8th in the nation for primary care, and tied for 12th as a research medical school. UM Medical School faculty received $284 million in NIH research funding in Federal FY2013. Nominees and applicants should hold an MD degree, have a record of successful research funding and/or achieved distinction in a clinical specialty, and embrace the tenets of basic, translational and clinical research for which the University of Michigan faculty are so well known. He/she must possess a track record of successful administration in an academic medical center, and have evidence of demonstrated management skills for leading a complex, multifaceted medical center in a major research university. He/she should understand and support the overlapping missions of the University, and the Health System, in their respective roles of teaching, research, patient care and community service. For additional information about the search, including an expanded position description, and the full membership of the committee, please visit: http://www.umich.edu/pres.committees/evpma.php Information about the University can be found at: http://www.umich.edu/ . The desired appointment start date is J a n u a r y 1 , 2 0 1 5 . The review of nominations and applications will commence immediately and continue until an appointment is made. Applicants should submit a curriculum vitae and any supporting documents that they deem relevant to: Ilene H. Nagel, Ph.D., MLS, and Kate Harvey Consultants to the Search Committee Russell Reynolds Associates Higher Education Practice EVPMA.Michigan@russellreynolds.com
The University of Michigan is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer.
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Economics Search University of North Carolina Asheville The Economics Department at the University of North Carolina Asheville (UNC Asheville) seeks a broadly trained economist whose first priority is excellence in undergraduate teaching and who wants to pursue a career in a liberal arts setting for a one-year visiting appointment academic year 2014-15.The successful applicant can expect to teach four 3 credit hour course sections each semester for a total of eight sections over the year. These courses will average 20-27 students each and will include principles of macroeconomics and principles of microeconomics plus at least one of the following: intermediate macroeconomics and corporate finance. In addition, there is the possibility of teaching an applied course in a field not listed above. The preferred candidate will have demonstrated strong commitment to support diversity, equity, and inclusion in an academic setting. UNC Asheville, located in the Blue Ridge Mountains in Western North Carolina, is the designated public liberal arts institution of the University of North Carolina system, committed to quality student-centered teaching, studentteacher interaction, and mentoring of students in undergraduate scholarship and service, within an inclusive campus community. UNC Asheville is committed to increasing and sustaining the diversity of its faculty, staff, and student body as part of its liberal arts mission. Liberal arts experience as a student and/or teacher is especially desirable as is an interest in contributing to interdisciplinary programs (Africana Studies, the Humanities program, Interdisciplinary Studies, Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies, etc.). A minimum of an M.A. is required with an ABD or Ph.D. preferred. Please send an application letter, curriculum vitae, copies of post-secondary transcripts, statement of teaching philosophy, copies of teaching evaluations, and three letters of recommendation (at least two should address teaching effectiveness and at least one should address expected date of degree completion if appropriate). Application review will begin June 1st and continue until the position is filled. UNC Asheville is committed to equality and diversity of educational experiences for our students. Qualified individuals are encouraged to apply regardless of socio-economic status, gender expression, gender and sexual identity, culture, or ideological beliefs. UNC Asheville is an Equal Employment Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer and will not discriminate against students, applicants, or employees on the basis of race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, age, sex, disability, political affiliation, protected veteran status, genetic information, or any other legally protected status with respect to all terms, conditions, and privileges of university-sponsored activities, employment, and the use of university facilities. Please contact: Dr. Chris Bell, Economics Department, 159 Karpen Hall, CPO #2110, UNC Asheville, One University Heights, Asheville, NC 28804-8509.
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Tenure-Track or Tenured Faculty Position in Visualization The University of Utah’s School of Computing is seeking to hire an outstanding tenure-track or tenured faculty member in visualization. While we will consider all areas of visualization, we are particularly interested in candidates with expertise and an excellent research record in information visualization and visual analysis. These interest areas reflect our strong research reputation in scientific and biomedical visualization, image analysis, and interdisciplinary scientific computing within the Scientific Computing and Imaging (SCI) Institute. Applicants should have earned a Ph.D. in Computer Science or a closely related field. The University of Utah is located in Salt Lake City, the hub of a large metropolitan area with excellent cultural facilities and unsurpassed opportunities for outdoor recreation only a few minutes drive away. More information about Salt Lake City and Utah can be found at http://diversity.utah.edu/faculty. Additional information about the school and our current faculty can be found at www.cs.utah.edu. Please send curriculum vitae, a research goals statement, a teaching goals statement, and names and addresses of at least three references. The application dateline is November 1, 2014 and applications will be reviewed when received. Please go to the following link to apply https://utah.peopleadmin.com/postings/32397 The University of Utah is fully committed to affirmative action and to its policies of nondiscrimination and equal opportunity in all programs, activities, and employment. Employment decisions are made without regard to race, color, national origin, sex, age, status as a person with a disability, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, and status as a protected veteran. The University seeks to provide equal access for people with disabilities. Reasonable prior notice is needed to arrange accommodations. Evidence of practices not consistent with these policies should be reported to: Director, Office of Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action, (801) 581-8365 (V/TDD). The University of Utah values candidates who have experience working in settings with students from diverse backgrounds, and possess a strong commitment to improving access to higher education for historically underrepresented students.
Assistant Professor Position in STEM Education University of North Carolina Asheville The University of North Carolina Asheville Department of Education, accredited by the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP), invites applications for a tenure-track Assistant Professor position in STEM Education to begin Fall 2015. Rank and salary for the position will be commensurate with degree and level of teaching experience. Candidates are required to have a terminal degree in Education or a related field (STEM Education or a STEM discipline); 18 graduate hours in a STEM discipline; experience in the field of Education, preferably at both the K-12 and University level; and a current and valid teaching license. Preference will be given to candidates with previous experience in a teacher licensure program, strong liberal arts background, and demonstrated success for 3 years or more in a public school setting. The twelve semester hour workload will include development and teaching of STEM area content courses and/or methods courses integrating STEM areas, supervision of student teachers, and Introduction to Education and other courses as needed. Successful candidates should also be prepared to teach outside the department in the University of North Carolina Asheville’s interdisciplinary liberal arts curriculum, required of all undergraduates. Candidate should submit a curriculum vita, a cover letter, a teaching philosophy, 3 letters of reference, unofficial transcripts, a copy of the teaching license, and course evaluation information (for candidates with higher education experience) via the People Admin online application system. Only online submissions will be accepted. Application review will begin immediately, and will continue until the position is filled. All materials submitted become the property of the University of North Carolina Asheville and will not be returned. The University of North Carolina Asheville, located in the Blue Ridge Mountains in Western North Carolina, is the designated public liberal arts institution of the University of North Carolina system, committed to student-centered teaching and to being an inclusive campus community. We encourage applications from women and traditionally underrepresented minorities. The University of North Carolina Asheville is committed to equality of educational experiences for students and is an equal employment opportunity/Affirmative Action employer. The University of North Carolina Asheville will not discriminate against students, applicants, or employees on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, political affiliation, protected veteran status, genetic information, or any other legally protected status with respect to all terms, conditions, or privileges of universitysponsored activities, employment, and use of university facilities.
FOUNDING DEAN
A NEW COLLEGE BRINGING TOGETHER THE SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE & SCHOOL OF URBAN AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS Arlington, Texas The University of Texas at Arlington seeks a founding Dean of a new College created by the integration of the existing School of Architecture and the School of Urban and Public Affairs. By combining the assets of two strong schools, the University seeks to further enable synergies between the disciplines that are crucial to the sustainable development of our Metroplex and region, and to extend the reputation, impact and influence of the University. Strong programs in design, planning and policy exist within each School, and the new College is expected to become a center for excellence in collaborative research and learning in the built environment, with particular focus on issues of metropolitan growth and change. An educational leader in the heart of the thriving North Texas region, UT Arlington nurtures minds within an environment that values excellence, innovation, ingenuity, and diversity. The founding Dean will drive a process of establishing a new College, of moving the university to a substantially higher reputational standing through transformational actions, and of partnering with local, national and international constituents to improve the urban and built environment. S/he will have the opportunity to develop a College that is a leader in sustainable urban communities encompassing the physical, human, social, economic, environmental and political dimensions. Together, through their various degree offerings, these two Schools can make a major impact in one of the fastest growing metropolitan areas, as well as across the nation and globe, and it is expected that the founding Dean will facilitate that vision. The successful Dean candidate will have an established reputation in architecture, urban planning, landscape architecture, public administration or public affairs. S/he will have extensive administrative experience in the academic, government, corporate or nonprofit sectors, and also be able to demonstrate a thorough and deep understanding of the issues confronting higher education today. The candidate must have demonstrated superb strategic planning and financial management skills and a track record of successful fundraising. Furthermore, the Dean must also recognize the value in collaboration across these distinct schools, recognize the disciplinary contribution each make to the whole, and value a wide array of scholarly and applied research and creative activities. The Dean will engage all constituencies of the two Schools in establishing the long-term vision for the College, in concert with the University’s strategic plan and the vision laid out by the President, and in making that vision a reality. Isaacson, Miller, a national executive search firm, has been engaged to assist with this important search. TO APPLY: Please send CV with cover letter, in strict confidence to: Jane Gruenebaum, Jackie Mildner, Gail Gregory, Isaacson, Miller, 1300 19th Street, N.W., Washington, DC 20036, Phone: (202) 216-2278, Fax: (202) 296-7271. Apply via our website: www.imsearch.com/5116 UT Arlington is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer. It is our policy to provide Equal Employment Opportunities for all individuals without regard to race, sex, religion, color, national origin, disability, or veteran's status.
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The Science & Resilience Institute at Jamaica Bay (New York) Brooklyn College – CUNY The newly formed Science & Resilience Institute at Jamaica Bay (SRIJB) seeks a dynamic and innovative scientist with demonstrated leadership, administrative, and research accomplishments to serve as its Founding Director. The position is expected to be filled by October 1, 2014. The SRIJB is an exciting new initiative that will be both an important contributor of scientific knowledge and a major creator of opportunities for resilience practice in the socio-ecological systems in and around Jamaica Bay and beyond. In addition to its role in coordinating and leading science research in the field of resilience, it is expected to play an important role in public policy initiatives in the Bay through its respective public agency and stakeholder constituent arms. The former includes all local, state and federal agencies with jurisdiction in the area of Jamaica Bay; the latter includes nonprofits and community organizations committed to the wellbeing of the Bay. Both of these entities are already in operation as components of SRIJB. The Founding Director will oversee all research activities and will develop the capacity of the SRIJB to inform policymaking and resilience building projects in collaboration with all levels of government and with a wide range of social and environmental organizations. He or she will therefore be overseeing staff and/or subconsultants involved in the coordination of policy work, as well as more traditional program-based research staff. The provisional offices for the SRIJB Directorate will be located at Brooklyn College, with plans to build a new permanent home on Jamaica Bay. The SRIJB Director will be a member of the Brooklyn College faculty and will be eligible for appointment as a full professor with tenure in a department in the natural or social sciences. FOR MORE INFORMATION AND TO APPLY: Isaacson, Miller, a national executive search firm, has been engaged to assist with this important recruitment. Jane Gruenebaum and Pam Pezzoli are leading the search with Talia Greenwald. Inquiries, nominations, and applications should be directed in confidence to the firm through the website, www.imsearch.com/5055.
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Priming the Pump...
SELF-RESPECT AS AN ANTIDOTE TO BULLYING
Miquela Rivera, PhD, is a licensed psychologist with years of clinical, early childhood and consultative experience. She lives in Albuquerque, N.M.
I have no right, by anything I do or say, to demean a human being in his own eyes. What matters is not what I think of him; it is what he thinks of himself. To undermine a man's self-respect is a sin. -- Antoine de Saint- Expiry
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cademic classes may present challenges for Latino students, but few things are as tough as dealing with a bully. Bullies are not only on playgrounds; they are in classrooms and boardrooms. Sometimes they are at home. Latino students may not always pinpoint or articulate the lack of respect they have experienced with teachers, friends or family, but they sense it. And whether or not the disrespect is intentional, the student is often left to heal the hurt and handle the bully on his own. Children who shut down and refuse to go to school or will not participate in class, shy away from social interactions or become combative often report that they do so because others don’t respect them. They know something is amiss, but they need adaptive ways of handling bullies. Respect for others and self-respect are crucial for Latino teens preparing to succeed at school and in the workplace. Children learn to respect others through the example set by family and friends interacting with one another. They develop self-respect by internalizing the opinions about themselves that they hear from others and emulating the self-care they see others practice. There is little wonder, then, why children raised in homes with domestic violence become perpetrators or victims and those with adequate guidance and positive interactions excel. We do what we know. Self-respect is the strongest antidote for disrespect; it is an immunization against bullying. If a child knows and views himself positively, he can more easily see that the mean words and actions of others need not diminish his own selfesteem. But here’s the catch: developmentally, children and adolescents view themselves as the center of things and have not yet developed extensive critical thinking skills to decipher truth from fiction. Because they think everything is about them, they assume mean words spoken are their fault and must be true. Parents, siblings, relatives, friends, classmates and teachers can devastate a child or teen who is
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learning something new, venturing into something different, or simply expressing his own uniqueness. By taking what he hears as truth, a child begins to believe what others have said about them – positive and negative. Children need guidance and feedback to improve, but it must be meted out in welltimed, helpful, respectful doses. Scoffing, humiliation or thoughtless comparisons stick like barbs; helpful suggestions and respectful feedback are more easily embraced. As the Latino child attains mastery over new things, he feels increasingly good about himself and his ability to learn. And when a teen feels good about himself, he does not need to be a bully nor tolerate anyone who is less than respectful. When self-respect is firm, a child facing a bully is more apt to refuse to accept what the bully is saying and choose words instead of fists to solve the problem. The child with self-respect has learned the truth of his own strength and goodness. He does not need to take on a bully’s need for put-downs or aggression. If the Latino with self-respect can practice self-talk to be heard above the clamor of unfounded criticism and hateful statements, he will be more likely not to take the bully’s bait. The self-respecting Latino knows that, if he gets into a fight he – not the bully – will become a new problem for authorities. The self-respecting Latino student sees that walking away, setting limits, relying on other positive friends, going to adults for support and using words can be difficult at the moment but more effective in the long run. Social and communication skills help round out the Latino students’ ability to weather any disrespect they experience, find common ground with those in disagreement, express themselves directly yet tactfully and open themselves to how others view situations. If students can develop selfrespect, respect for others, social skills and a strong ability to communicate, they can eventually choose where they work and play and handle bullies effectively when they encounter them (and they seem to be everywhere). Once Hispanic students master those skills, they know that, with time and persistence, they can pretty much master anything.