OSU junior Teressa Hartley was the project manager for a redesign of a conference room in the Memorial Union. (photo: Theresa Hogue)

Bright colors and bold patterns surround Oregon State University student Teressa Hartley as she stands in the Pan-Afrikan Sankofa Conference Room in the Memorial Union. But what draws her attention is a print by Portland artist Isaka Shamsud-Din, depicting African American residents fleeing their homes in the former housing development of Vanport, in Portland.

Hartley, a junior in interior design, knows the story of Vanport well. Her grandparents, like many other Vanport residents, were forced to flee their home with only a suitcase between them after a dike holding back the Columbia River burst, flooding the makeshift town.

Honoring the rich history of the African American experience is an important part of the redesign of the Memorial Union conference room, and Hartley is establishing her own place in history as the first student to be hired as a project manager for the redecoration of an MU room.

During her sophomore year, while Hartley was working at the Black Cultural Center on campus, she and other BCC members were asked by a group of senior design students to provide input on the re-decoration of a conference room in the MU. The students, under the direction of Associate Professor Carol Caughey, were tasked with creating an African American theme for the room, and asked the BCC students about their childhood homes and their perceptions of African American style, using that information to create suggested interior designs. Eventually, the designers were asked to reflect a broader African theme, to be inclusive of all people of African heritage.

Hartley joined a committee of students and staff to choose from eight different designs created by the students, and was pleased by the choice of bold colors and patterns that were finally selected.

The Pan-Afrikan Sanfoka Conference Room in the Memorial Union. (photo: Theresa Hogue)

“I thought it was awesome,” she said.

So when Hartley heard that she could apply for a Promise Internship during Summer 2009 to manage the actual redesign of the room, she immediately applied, and was hired as project manager. The opportunity not only allowed her to participate in a room that honors her own heritage, but it falls in line with her dream of being a commercial designer.

“It’s more complex and interesting,” to design a public space, she said, so that rather than redoing someone’s bedroom, you’re making over an entire office or building. “You have the abilty to affect people’s lives with something larger.”

Supporting the MU mission

Kent Sumner in the Memorial Union said the project manager position was opened up to student interns to support the MU’s mission to include student designers and workers in its projects, and also ended up saving money. He said this project was so successful that they will likely continue using intern project managers.

As project manager, Hartley had to oversee the final designs of the room, which eventually included extending the redecoration to an adjoining room. She kept workers on a timeline, helped manage a budget, and did everything from making sure the paint colors worked well to making decisions on the height of a door when they added a closet into the space.

The best advice she received during her work was from her supervisor, Sid Cooper, who told her to “Own the ground you stand on.” She said the project helped her learn to trust herself and her decision-making abilities. She also said the project was truly a team effort, and she was thankful for the support she received.

Sustainability

Sustainability was as important in the room as keeping an African feel, not only for budget reasons but to honor OSU’s mission to be environmentally conscious. A majority of the artwork was pulled from pieces hidden in MU storage, and simply reframed. When a decision was made to create a doorway between the two rooms, discarded doors were refinished and reused in the space. The chairs were reupholstered with new fabric, and the carpeting contains recycled materials, and is laid in tiles, so if one portion is damaged it can easily be replaced with little waste.

A mural made up of quotes from prominent African and African American thinkers adorns the back wall of the conference room. Hartley and Earlene Wilson-Huey of the Ujima Education Office chose the quotes, which were then put into a design by a graphic arts student, and painted by Corvallis artist Dale Draeger.

The word Sankofa in the conference room’s new title refers to the West African symbol of a bird, reaching over his shoulder to grab an egg. Hartley said that image is deeply meaningful to the intent of the room.

“It’s about us reaching into the past and grabbing what is valuable, and using it to move us forward.”

The room will be dedicated during a ceremony at 5 p.m. Oct. 13 in the Memorial Union main lounge.

~ Theresa Hogue

Marie Harvey earned lifetime achievement award for public health work.

Winning a lifetime achievement award was “a sobering experience” for Marie Harvey, chairwoman of the Department of Public Health at Oregon State.

“It made me realize this is the last chapter of my career,” said Harvey, who received the American Public Health Association honor Oct. 27. “With so much work that needs to be done, I need to focus on mentoring the next generation of faculty, researchers, and students.”

“They are the ones who will develop the abilities to take on the challenges in the future,” she said.

Harvey, whose work has been on the sexual health of men and women, received the 2008 Carl S. Shultz Award for outstanding lifetime achievement from the Population, Family Planning and Reproductive Health Section of APHA.

The award, the highest recognition given by the section, cited the commitment and contributions Harvey has made to the field of sexual and reproductive health, including research, teaching, and mentorship to other faculty members, researchers and students.

Harvey, who came to OSU in 2003, is a researcher focused on the social, psychological, and cultural aspects of sexual and reproductive health.

She is a founder of the Pacific Institute for Women’s Health in Los Angeles and a member of the board of directors for the Oregon Public Health Association.

Throughout her career, she has focused on the reproductive health of women, beginning her work on the frontlines as a social worker and family planning counselor.

Harvey is “very excited” with her current research projects: understanding the factors that contribute to increased risks of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections, and to unintended pregnancy, including relationship dynamics as well as cultural and social determinants.

Harvey is involved in two studies, one funded by the Centers for Disease Control and the other by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Population Affairs, that examine sexual risk behavior and contraception use among Latinos in rural Benton, Linn, Marion, and Polk counties.

She said the award “is particularly meaningful”  because the Population, Family Planning and Reproductive Health Section uses evidenced-based research to promote policies, programs and services to bring about change, to make a difference, to bring reproductive rights to all men and women.

The American Public Health Association is the oldest, largest and most diverse organization of public health professionals in the world and has been working to improve public health since 1872.

~ by Angela Yeager and Ed Curtin

Tom Eversole, director of strategic planning for Health and Human Sciences, explains OSU's lead role in what could be a collaborative effort to establish a school of public health in Oregon. (photo: Angela Yeager)

For the past year, leaders in the OSU College of Health and Human Sciences (HHS) and at other Oregon universities have been exploring the potential of developing a new academic  entity: an accredited school or college of public health. The new school would be the only such institution in the state of Oregon.

That proposal is now moving forward under the leadership of Tom Eversole, hired last summer as director of Strategic Development for a College of Public Health & Human Sciences. Eversole says that the proposed school ideally would be collaborative, including Oregon Health and Sciences University and Portland State University as partners. Both universities already join forces with OSU in a nationally recognized masters of public health degree program.

For OSU, the potential new college would result in an expansion of graduate programs and a new ability to compete nationally for research funding only available to accredited schools or colleges of public health, organizers say. OSU already has faculty in the areas required by the Council on Education for Public Health for accreditation. It awards masters degrees in three and offers the only Ph.D. programs in public health in the state.

“We are in a position to provide the leadership needed to achieve accredited school status at all three universities,” said Tammy Bray, HHS dean. “We are in frequent consultation with our colleagues at OHSU and PSU as we begin the development process. They are important partners in this project and have been very helpful in shaping the initial conversation among a variety of stakeholders.”

Start up costs for the new college initially would come from vacant academic lines within the Department of Public Health at OSU. The department is filling vacancies across HHS in ways that align with staffing requirements for accreditation. Future investments will be necessary at all three participating institutions.

It is expected, however, that heightened ability to pursue research grants, service contracts and foundation funding will provide a considerable return on investment of public funds. “The new school will allow us to build and support the academically trained workforce Oregon needs to address the public health challenges of tomorrow. It is an important investment in the health of the next generation of Oregonians,” Eversole said. For more specifics on the public health proposal, see answers to an FAQ list posted here.

According to the 2008 survey of local health departments by the Coalition of Local Health Officials, health departments statewide were assessed as having only 57 percent of the required capacity as measured using national standards by the National Association of City and County Health Officials (NACCHO.)  The greatest gaps were in public health policy development, program evaluation and research.  These are some of the gaps the new school will be designed to fill.

Eversole led a discussion last week on creation of the school of as part of the Oregon Public Health Conference, held on the OSU campus. Eversole outlined specific needs for such a school and the way the school might be structured. Health researchers and professionals from around Oregon were enthusiastic about the proposal, chiming in with ideas on how the school might look.

“Oregonians expect and deserve a robust, world-class public health system,” Eversole said. “We need a coordinated effort among public health academicians, practitioners and government agencies to make that happen.”

Eversole told participants that nationally nearly one-quarter of the  public health workforce is close to retirement. In order to meet employment demands, three times as many public health graduates will be needed annually during the next 12 years.

Conference participants had thoughts on the school’s academic focus. One person wanted to see occupational public health emphasized; another said internships for students must be a strong component. Many affirmed the collaborative nature of the school, not only for OSU, PSU and OHSU, but for government agencies, professional associations and public health practitioners that must be part of the program.

Dr. James Gaudino, a medical epidemiologist with the state Department of Human Services in Portland, said he received his medical training in California. When he moved to Oregon, he said he was shocked to find there wasn’t an accredited school of public health. Oregon, in fact, is the only West Coast state without such a school.

“There’s a big gap and it needs to be filled,” he said. “I’m part of a group trying to work on getting an accredited maternal health program in the state. When we applied for grants, we were told all grants had to be directed to an accredited school. I only see a benefit to Oregon having this.”

Under the proposal, an application for accreditation would be submitted by fall 2011. A two-year self study would follow, and accreditation could be awarded as early as 2014.

~ by Todd Simmons

Elizabeth Cuno gained real life skills from her mentor, Stephanie Bernell, College of Health and Human Sciences. (photo: Jim Folts)

Elizabeth Cuno has two excellent reasons for majoring in health management and policy: her kids.

Seven years ago, Cuno experienced complications 20 weeks into her pregnancy and had no insurance. At first, the hospital “just told me my daughter was going to die,” she says, “and I don’t think the hospital treated me as though I were a person.”

Although Cuno and her baby eventually received the necessary care, she decided she wanted others to receive better treatment than she experienced.

Last spring, Cuno took Stephanie Bernell’s class in health economics in the College of Health and Human Sciences. It’s a difficult class where students have to learn complex mathematical tools to analyze the healthcare system.

Cuno says she appreciates Bernell’s passion for the topic, her ability to look at it from several angles and how she goes beyond theories by giving students newspaper and peer-reviewed articles that coincided with the lecture topics.

Bernell also provides students with examples of how a theory is applied in a person’s life, like how to buy health insurance — something many students don’t have. In some cases, Bernell has gone with her students to examine their options and fill out the forms.

In class, she’ll download an insurance contract and show students how to read it, explaining deductibles, copayments, expenditure caps, formulary restrictions and other issues students can expect to confront over their lifetimes.

“I don’t just tell them what the concept is, I actually bring it to class,” Bernell says. “It’s not abstract anymore.”

Bernell finds inspiration from students like Cuno, who balances school, working an average of 30 hours a week and raising two kids on her own. “Elizabeth tries harder than almost any student I know,” Bernell says. “That she manages the other commitments in her life and takes school as seriously as she does is remarkable.”

Bernell also believes OSU serves an important purpose in making education accessible for students who have to work around real-life constraints.

“Oregon State is a great place because we can give students like Elizabeth really top educational opportunities at an affordable price. Set the bar high enough and students will reach it. Elizabeth is a student who does that.”

~ by Gary Dulude

Liz Gray (left), assistant dean for academic programs in the College of Health and Human Sciences and Dean Tammy Bray assist first-year student Whitney Lawrence as she moves into her new residence in Buxton-Hawley hall. (photo: Angela Yeager)

When OSU residential director Doug Wilcox was a student at New Hampshire’s New England College, he knew almost all his professors, so much so that having dinner with them was a part of his day-to-day life. So when he learned about plans within the College of Health and Human Sciences – the fourth largest at OSU – to create its own residential hall, Wilcox was thrilled that HHS students would experience a similarly close-knit community.

Starting this term, Buxton-Hawley residential hall became a part of a new program called LinC Live, which was created by a team at HHS with the support of Cindy Empey, director of residential life, and Tammy Bray, dean of HHS. According to Bray, LinC Live (which stands for Learning in Communities) not only groups participating HHS students within one residential area, it provides a living/learning environment where students interact closely with each other and faculty members.

More than a 100 students from HHS – mostly first-year students – moved in on Sept. 21 to their new residential hall. There are 425 total students in Buxton-Hawley, making HHS students the largest group representing a single college.

“The housing department is moving towards this model,” Wilcox said. “The research out there supports that living/learning communities result in students more likely to have stronger grade point averages, better relationships with faculty and a higher retention rate.”

The model for how this can work is OSU’s Weatherford Hall, home of the College of Business’ Austin Entrepreneurship Program. There, students develop business ideas in incubator spaces, hear visiting lectures as part of the “Fireside Chats” series and interact with entrepreneurship faculty.

“In every exit study that is done, students say one of the most meaningful experiences they have in their college career is their interactions with their professors,” said Kathy Greaves, a senior instructor in HHS and the new faculty-in-residence with LinC Live. “When they are recognized outside the classroom by a faculty member or really engage with faculty, they don’t feel like they are this anonymous student in a big university anymore.”

Liz Gray, assistant dean for academic programs at HHS, said LinC Live is part of a much larger strategic plan at the college. LinC includes community outreach and classroom learning components as part of an integrated model that gives students an intimate, enriching experience at one of OSU’s fastest-growing colleges.

“We’re looking at exciting new ways of connecting with students,” Gray said.
“Everything we do in the College of Health and Human Sciences reflects the research and best practices on student engagement, and student engagement results in student success.”

Gray points to a full slate of activities taking place at Buxton-Hawley as an example of the new approach. Greaves said LinC Live will include several formal educational programs in the lounge at Buxton, as well as a new idea called Chew & Chat. At the Chew & Chats, faculty members will have dinner in the West Dining Hall, and students will be invited to join them in an informal discussion.

On move-in day, Greaves – along with 16 faculty and Bray – were on hand to greet students, meet parents and, in some cases, lug a box or two into a room. By the end of that first day, many residents already were on a first-name basis with a faculty member.

Whitney Lawrence, 19, is from Maryland and had never been to Oregon before she started at OSU this term. Lawrence is a first-year interior design student and said she was nervous about being so far away from her family and living in a new place. She said meeting so many people in her first week on campus made her more comfortable.

“This hall is focused, so I was interested in getting in (to Buxton-Hawley) to help me with my studies,” she said. “I’ve already met a lot of other design students in my program and I met professors like Kathy. Now I don’t feel as nervous because I have friends already. Now I’m excited to start school.”

~by Angela Yeager

LinC Live Programs:

• “Design on a Dime.” Wednesday, Oct. 1, 7:30 p.m. Buxton Lounge. Carol Caughey will share inexpensive ways to liven up residential hall rooms.
• “Eat Well, Play Well, Be Well: Prevent the Freshman 15.” Wednesday, Oct. 15, 6 p.m. Marketplace West – Small Conference Room. Chew & Chat with Ingrid Skoog, Nutrition and Exercise Science.
• “Keeping Yourself Safe: Smoking, Drugs, and Other Risky Behaviors.” Wednesday, Oct. 29, 6 p.m. Marketplace West – Small Conference Room. Chew & Chat with Ray Tricker, Public Health.
• “College 101:  Love, Sex and Healthy Relationships.” Wednesday, Nov. 12, 7:30 p.m. Buxton Lounge. Informal seminar hosted by Kathy Greaves, Human Development and Family Sciences.

Links

http://www.hhs.oregonstate.edu/