[New] University Health Center (UHC) shares goals for 2023

According to Southern Adventist University’s Strategic Plan, a document released in 2022 that outlines the school’s future goals and objectives, Southern is planning to move the University Health Center (UHC) to a new location and implement several new objectives.

According to Dennis Negrón, vice president for Student Development, there are three goals in the strategic plan regarding the UHC, one of which will not be implemented.

The first goal Southern wishes to implement is adding a general health fee, which would be charged to students each semester. However, Negrón explained that this has not been approved by the university yet. Right now, students have to pay a fee every time they visit

Southern Accent

The Accent encourages readers to write articles and voice their opinions. However, the views expressed do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Accent, Southern Adventist University or the Seventh-day Adventist Church. For any questions, comments and article submission information, email the editor at acrosby@southern.edu the UHC. With a general health fee, students would be able to go to the UHC multiple times without having to pay the visitation fee every time.

For all advertising inquiries, email studentadmgr@southern.edu.

“[The] University Health Center loses money,” Negrón said.

“The university has to supplement [it] and give $210,000 a year. We don't try to make money off students. One of the things that we know is that university health centers all over the country are losing money as well. Other universities have decided one way of dealing with that loss of money is to charge every student a general health fee.”

Negrón said the university wants to ensure that the UHC has the correct amount of staff to care for Southern students.

The second goal outlined in the strategic plan involved a collaboration with McKee Foods. Negrón said this collaboration is no longer planned.

The strategic plan set a third goal of finding a more convenient location for the UHC. The options listed in the plan include the current Collegedale Spanish-American SDA Church (SuCasa) building, Collegedale Academy Elementary and Fleming Plaza.

Negrón said Southern is gearing towards the current SuCasa location, but has not confirmed anything yet.

“We are looking at finding a way to make the UHC more convenient and accessible to our students in our big picture planning,” Marty Hamilton, associate vice president for Financial Administration said. “We just don’t know where or when yet.”

Atzy Lopez-Avila, junior biology major, shared her thoughts on the possible relocation of the UHC in an interview with the Accent.

“When I had COVID for the first time during my freshman year, I did not own a car, and that made it more difficult for me to get to the UHC,” Lopez-Avila said. “It was Jan- uary, and it was too cold to walk. [I didn’t go] until my roommate came back, and she took me to the UHC. It is nice to hear that Southern is thinking of having a more accessible and closer location to campus.”

Editor-in-Chief Alana Crosby Managing Editor Amanda Blake News Editor Matthew Orquia

Collegedale News Editor Elsie Pak

RUTH WILLIAMS

her students, encouraging us to question our world, and helping us notice the beauty and depth of human behavior,” Lee said.

Another tribute, made by Jon Pinero, alum, during Williams’ retirement, expanded on the professor’s teaching philosophy.

“Growing up I was taught to put all your heart and soul into anything that you do; however, I have never seen anyone that lives out these words more than Dr. Williams,” Pinero said. “She has a way of teaching difficult and boring topics through the lens of inspiration and intriguing insight.”

Student Tributes

Some current psychology students at Southern spoke with the Accent about their experiences with Williams. The professor was described multiple times as inspirational, genius and passionate.

Renée Hanson, senior, shared a message she posted on Instagram after learning of Williams’ passing.

“I’m feeling so much grief. I want to say the deepest thank you to Dr. Williams, Queen of the Psychology Program, for being wind under my wings and a tidal wave of inspiration, spirituality, and professional excellence,” the message stated.

Hanson’s post continued to express her deep appreciation for Williams’ challenging teaching style, describing hours the professor spent on the phone with her “compelling [her] deeper and deeper into accuracy, clarity, logic, and relevance.”

“If I’ve learned anything from period had a huge impact on me because it helped me realize that, as an adult, I can and should stand up to abuses of authority. What a valuable lesson and what a powerful way to learn it. Thanks Dr. Williams!”

Zarina Gurley, also a senior, described Williams as the epitome of a teacher who goes above and beyond. She was hard on her students but also had a quirky sense of humor.

“She was this very larger than life person. She was literally a genius,” Shadley said. “On the first day … I sat there terrified, like, ‘What did I get myself into?’ She knew everything.”

Williams’ intellect was intimidating, said Shadley. She forced her students to pursue excellence, to push the boundaries and develop studies that meant something, that covered topics that weren’t mainstream.

A Life Remembered Williams’ obituary, published in the Chattanooga Times Free Press, detailed her impressive educational journey, concluding with a Ph.D. in Educational Psychology from the University of Minnesota.

Dr. Williams, it’s to keep hoping, keep praying, keep laughing, keep thinking, keep praising God,” the message concluded. “So, I’m praising God for the gift of being her student, for the gift of life, for the gift of Jesus. Dr. Williams, I can’t wait to talk again!”

Levi Renner, a senior, wrote in an email to the Accent that Williams consistently told her students their generation was “too passive and unwilling to stand up to abuses of authority.”

Renner recounted a class period during which Williams ordered a student to rise and face the wall. The student obeyed, to Williams’ chagrin. She then set her sights on Renner and commanded him to leave the classroom. Renner knew what she expected, but her guise was so terrifying, all he could do was shake his head.

“When she demanded I leave again, I finally plucked up the courage to say ‘no’ aloud, and, after a really tense moment, she finally broke character and praised me for standing up to her,” Renner wrote. “That class

Although she didn’t know it at the time, Gurley and her classmates were being shadowed by a mysterious figure during last year’s annual Southeastern Psychological Association meeting in Hilton Head, South Carolina. The figure, they later learned, was one of Williams’ student assistants whom she directed to follow the group in disguise to teach the class a lesson on awareness.

Williams was simultaneously strict and fun, and she cared about her students individually, Gurley added.

“[She was] a very understanding person,” Gurley said. “ … When I needed some kind of accommodation, but I didn’t necessarily have the documentation for it, she made sure to understand what the situation was and still expected me to grow like everyone else. … Most professors haven’t quite done it the way she did.”

Moriah Shadley, master’s student, changed her major her senior year from theology to psychology. Her first experience in the program was Research Design and Statistics at 8 a.m. with Williams.

“She forced us to go outside of the normal of what you’re expected to do,” Shadley said. “ … It was always a pain … and it was amazing.”

If it weren’t for Williams, Shadley would have dropped psychology, she said. Shadley enjoys being challenged and appreciated Williams’ knack for encouraging students to utilize their unique experiences and passions. Williams helped Shadley develop practicum criteria when she chose to pursue equine therapy, hired Shadley as a reader because she knew her struggles with dyslexia would help her help others and shared Shadley’s pain when her mom was diagnosed with cancer.

Shadley said Williams was the mother of the psychology program. She wore dramatic clothes and hats, terrified her students and was there when they needed to cry.

When Shadley learned of Williams’ passing, she was surprised. She didn’t know she had been battling cancer.

“She didn’t want her problems to be other people’s problems,” Shadley said.

“However, [Williams] unapologetically expressed that her most significant accomplishment was a degree that she did not earn: her B.A. degree (‘Born Again’ into the tangible, viable kingdom of God),” the obituary stated. “An outspoken advocate for the downtrodden, oppressed and those without a voice, Dr. Williams was a passionate believer that ‘injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.’”

The obituary continued to describe William’s career in teaching, one she excelled at on an international level at multiple universities. She was repeatedly recognized for her expertise and was also a popular public speaker and preacher.

The obituary stated that Williams is succeeded by several family members, whom she considered to be “the wind beneath her wings.”

“Dr. Williams enjoyed meeting new people and making and keeping friends,” the obituary concluded. “She believed that there are fewer joys that supersede a good book, a good friend, and a good laugh! She was loved by many and an inspiration to countless students, colleagues, friends, and family.”