Be the voice of O’Neill students

Posted on August 12, 2019 by Leslie Wells

A new name for the O’Neill School in March 2019 meant a new beginning for the O’Neill Student Council. OSC is the O’Neill School’s only undergraduate student organization, and they’re looking for leaders.

The Basics

OSC advocates for O’Neill students and promotes opportunities for service, social networking, community engagement, and professional development.
The organization represents all majors in O’Neill and has leadership opportunities for students.
On Tuesday, September 10, OSC will have its first call-out meeting of the new school year. That’s when they’ll discuss the group’s goals and collect nominations for leadership team elections.

O'Neill Call-out Meeting Tuesday Sept. 10 at 6 p.m.. in BS 4095

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CHJR researchers examine drug overdose deaths in Marion County

Posted on July 22, 2019 by Leslie Wells

New data from the IU Public Policy Institute’s Center for Health and Justice Research shows a drop in the number of opioid-related overdose deaths in Marion County. Despite the decline, opioids were still present in 78 percent of the county’s 361 overdose deaths in 2018. That same year, the number involving fentanyl, a synthetic opioid, was found in 54 percent of the deaths.

There are other concerning trends as well. Both methamphetamines and cocaine are being found in overdose victims at higher rates than in previous years.

These numbers come from a unique analysis done by PPI’s CHJR research team. It’s an analysis that takes into account both coroners’ reports as well as police reports to reveal a realistic picture of what’s happening.

That analysis is currently headed up by Philip Huynh, a PPI project analyst. In 2016, Huynh sat in an office in Fort Wayne combing through police and coroner reports. He was an intern with the Allen County Health Department at the time, helping them get a better handle on what people were dying from so they could address the problem.

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CHJR Director Brad Ray earns award for translating research into practice

Posted on July 15, 2019 by Leslie Wells

Brad Ray has devoted his career to better understanding issues involving substance use, mental health, and the criminal justice system. As the director of the Center for Health and Justice Research at the IU Public Policy Institute, he spends most of his time building partnerships to ensure his research impacts the community.

“I can say with certainty that the best research questions I’ve ever answered have come from relationships with my community partners,” he says.

His dedication to building those relationships—and commitment to ensuring his research gets to those who need it—gained the attention of the selection committee for IUPUI’s Bantz-Petronio Translating Research into Practice (TRIP) Award. They selected Ray as the 2019 TRIP Award recipient.

“I feel a great sense of humility getting this award,” Ray says. “Of all the awards I might have received from IUPUI, this one provides the greatest sense of personal accomplishment.”

Each year, the award recognizes outstanding work by an IUPUI TRIP Scholar in translating research into practice and solutions that provide innovative ways to improve lives or the community.

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Nonprofit Governance course helps graduates improve boards and organizations

Posted on July 1, 2019 by Leslie Wells

The Summer 2017 cohort of IU Executive Education's Effective Nonprofit Governance:<br /> Row 1: Blake Johnson, Angie Sander, Andrea Vrobel, Amy Casavant<br /> Row 2: Linda Webb, Shalu Manchanda, Lori Del Vecchio, Amanda Leffler, Andy Black (Instructor)<br /> Row 3: Jennifer Funk, Sara Johnson (Exec Ed), Donna Haggard, Mary Anna Weber (Instructor), Karra Heggen, Margaret Ahearn (Exec Ed), Sharon Springer, Garrett Hedeen — The Summer 2017 cohort of IU Executive Education’s Effective Nonprofit Governance:
Row 1: Blake Johnson, Angie Sander, Andrea Vrobel, Amy Casavant
Row 2: Linda Webb, Shalu Manchanda, Lori Del Vecchio, Amanda Leffler, Andy Black (Instructor)
Row 3: Jennifer Funk, Sara Johnson (Exec Ed), Donna Haggard, Mary Anna Weber (Instructor), Karra Heggen, Margaret Ahearn (Exec Ed), Sharon Springer, Garrett Hedeen
Not pictured: Brandon Lee

The next cohort for IU Executive Education’s Certificate in Effective Nonprofit Governance begins on July 25, 2019. To register, click this link.

In 2017, Nigena Livingston was building Urban Act Academy from the ground up. She had worked as an educator for years, but launching Indianapolis’ newest charter school was unfamiliar territory.

She was beginning to write the school’s charter and establish its founding board, but she lacked clear direction.

“I had been a principal but felt like a novice when it came to being a CEO,” Livingston says. “I needed more information about boards and board management. I wanted to know how to support my board so that we would know we were on track and doing right by our students.”

So she enrolled in IU Executive Education’s Effective Nonprofit Governance certificate course through the O’Neill School. The six-course program includes lessons on the responsibilities of board members, the evolution of a board, how members help with fundraising, and how to best hold CEOs accountable for advancing the organization’s mission.

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Pay gap lessons help student negotiate better salary

Posted on June 17, 2019 by Leslie Wells

picture of Kennedy Jefferies standing in front of IUPUI flag. — O’Neill Civic Leadership major, Kennedy Jefferies, used lessons on the pay gap to help negotiate a higher salary in her first full-time job.

Kennedy Jefferies is only a month into her first full-time job. The O’Neill Civic Leadership major accepted a position as the director of preschool ministries for a large church in Indianapolis.

She now edits youth curriculum and recruits and manages 30–50 volunteers who lead classes for hundreds of children, provide childcare at church events, and work during youth functions.

Jefferies is passionate about volunteer work like this. She knew she wanted to work with a diverse base of volunteers. It’s why she took Marshawn Wolley’s Managing Workforce Diversity class.

“I think we can often be unintentionally exclusive,” Jefferies says. “To overcome that, I wanted to learn how to manage a workforce very different than me.”

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