IU Executive Education helps nonprofits strategically address the future

IU Executive Education helps organizations plan for a better future

Posted on November 18, 2019 by Leslie Wells

In libraries and church basements across the state, community leaders gathered to discuss addressing minority health issues in Indiana. It was the late 1980s and there was no cohesive statewide effort to focus on minority health disparities.

Those many meetings over many years helped lay the foundation for the Indiana Minority Health Coalition. Carl Ellison was there for its founding in 1994; he’s now its president and CEO. In its 25-year history, IMHC has expanded across the state, creating a network of local affiliates and partners committed to creating a unified voice for minority health issues.

“When we started, we never could have envisioned that we would be where we are today,” Ellison admits. “There is no model in the United States for who we have become. It’s been breathtaking to watch IMHC grow.”

IMHC followed its strategic plan through 2019 into exciting and uncharted territory, but the future would require a new course. Ellison and IMHC leadership knew they needed an outside eye and experienced ear to help them plot the organization’s next steps.

Ellison had worked with IU Executive Education when he was a board member for Covering Kids and Families Indiana. He knew their consulting services could help organizations with executive and leadership development, organizational assessments, governance, and strategic planning.

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O’Neill alumna helps community and students prepare for future

Posted on November 11, 2019 by Leslie Wells

Like many students, Kassandra Buster’s path has had a few twists and turns in it. She started at O’Neill in 1997—the first in her family to pursue higher education. She dreamed of a job in homeland security but that dream was put on hold.

“Life just got in the way,” she admits. “I dropped out.”

She left college for a job at Riley Hospital for Children but was still drawn to criminal justice and eventually took a position as a 911 dispatcher. By 2009, she realized not having a degree was holding her back.

Buster returned to O’Neill with more motivation and commitment than ever. She earned her bachelor’s degree in criminal justice, her master’s in criminal justice and public safety management, and a certificate in homeland security and emergency management.

She’s now putting those degrees to use for the community. As the senior coordinator with the IMPD Homeland Security Bureau, she updates Indianapolis’ emergency management plans and manages community outreach for disaster preparedness, including the Community Emergency Response Team.

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From first gen student to dean of the O’Neill School

Posted on November 4, 2019 by Leslie Wells

Indiana University O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs Dean Sian Mooney poses for a portrait at Indiana University Bloomington on Friday, Aug. 9, 2019.

More than 1 in 4 students in the O’Neill School are the first in their families to pursue a degree in higher education. Many first generation students’ stories are inspiring—yet they can face significant barriers throughout their college careers.

Dr. Siân Mooney, dean of the O’Neill School, was one of them. She says when she was pursuing her undergraduate degree, the designation of a first generation college student had not yet been invented. It wasn’t until she completed her Ph.D. and became a professor that she started hearing the term.

“I suddenly realized that was me; I’m a first gen student,” she recalls. “Understanding that helped me realize why some decisions and events were challenging for me. I also realized how many people in my early career helped take care of and guide me, even when I didn’t know it.”

Dean Mooney grew up in a very small island community in rural Wales in the United Kingdom. She says that her family knew very few people who had attended college and she didn’t see herself as someone who could achieve what—at the time—seemed to be such an elevated educational status.

“A university education seemed to be for other people,” Mooney says. “However, my mother really pushed me to think about it and really wanted me to go to university.”

Now, Dean Mooney wants to make sure O’Neill’s first gen students know they have that same support from O’Neill faculty and staff. She shared details about her time as a first gen student, advice on how to overcome barriers, and how the experience has influenced who she is today.

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Students lead the way to solving sustainability problems

Posted on October 28, 2019 by Leslie Wells

Students and leaders from the IUPUI Office of Sustainability attending the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education conference in 2018.

From the moment Dylan Patterson and Amber Greaney stepped foot onto IUPUI’s campus, they started living out O’Neill’s motto to Major in Making a Difference. The two students—both majoring in sustainability management and policy—knew there was work to be done.

“I took environmental science in high school and realized there were a lot of problems in this world,” Greaney says. “Someone’s got to solve them. Why not me?”

Patterson echoes that sentiment. Like many O’Neill students, they were drawn toward making the world a better place and improving their community.

“I realized one day that I didn’t want to spend every single day helping just one person, but rather I wanted to work toward something that would have a bigger impact,” Patterson says.

It’s passion they follow, not a paycheck.

“None of us are here to make a fortune,” he adds. “We’re getting these degrees because we want to advance society and help the current situation.”

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Marion County has third-highest eviction rate in Indiana

Posted on October 21, 2019 by Leslie Wells

a young caucasian man with his hands in his head concerned because has just received an eviction notice

Read the full report at this link.

Marion County accounts for 40 percent of evictions in Indiana and has the third-highest eviction rate in the state. In its latest policy brief, the Center for Research on Inclusion and Social Policy (CRISP) at the Indiana University Public Policy Institute takes a closer look at eviction trends in Marion County, the impact of those trends, and recommendations to address the issue.

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