PNW Pridecast: Being Brand Ambassadors, Celebrating Standout Faculty Members, and Stewardship for Bats

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Episode Script

Hello again, Purdue Northwest colleagues!

The PNW Pridecast is back, sharing the latest internal faculty and staff news with you.

I’m your host, Kale Wilk, and in this episode we’ll talk about the important impact of the PNW brand, Power Onward, in defining the Purdue Northwest experience, newly published “Pride of PNW” faculty spotlights, and ecological stewardship for bats.

Chancellor Search Candidate Campus Presentations

Before we get started on this episode’s topics, we’d like to provide a reminder that three finalist candidates for Purdue Northwest’s next Chancellor will deliver open forum campus presentations during November.

All information, including curriculum vitae, dates and times, and Zoom and survey links are available at pnw.edu/chancellor-search. The finalists include:

• Chris Holford, Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs at PNW, presenting on Nov. 13.
• Mary Holz-Clause, Chancellor at the University of Minnesota-Crookston, presenting on Nov. 15.
• Mohamed Abousalem, Vice President for Research and Innovation at San Jose State University and President of the San Jose State University Research Foundation, presenting on Nov. 28.

Again, all information can be found by visiting pnw.edu/chancellor-search.

Power Onward Brand Ambassadors

Since its launch in 2020, Purdue Northwest’s Power Onward brand has elevated the university’s recognition in Northwest Indiana and beyond. More than just a visual identity, Power Onward is a signifier of what makes PNW unique among other universities and how our students, faculty and staff accomplish transformative change every day.

Never quitting…seeking challenges…accomplishing a lifelong dream…knowing you’re ready for whatever is next…these are just some of the many ways PNW community members Power Onward. The brand serves as a way to articulate what that means through a cohesive message. In an increasingly competitive higher education landscape, Power Onward helps solidify the institution’s uniqueness and reputation, supports a sense of belonging for students, faculty and staff, and forms a collective voice that helps recruitment and retention efforts.

Recently the Office of Institutional Advancement commissioned a third-party to conduct a brand perception research study that surveyed prospective students, parents, educational influencers, and the general public in Northwest Indiana, Chicagoland, and Indianapolis. The study included more than 900 participants’ responses.

Among nearby public universities inside and just outside of Indiana, PNW ranked third in familiarity behind the flagships of Indiana University Bloomington and Purdue West Lafayette. Ranked on a three-point scale, when compared with other higher education institutions. PNW ranked above average in all categories, including academic quality, degree offerings, diversity and inclusion, community engagement, research contributions, and graduate placements. When asked what would be one defining word that comes to mind when respondents think of PNW, 94% of responses were a positive or neutral keywords.

The perception study overall indicates strong familiarity with PNW in Northwest Indiana and the Chicago area, as well as brand recognition throughout Indiana and surrounding areas. Furthermore, Power Onward is effectively motivating target audiences.

Power Onward is the best way to show what is making PNW unique. That is a combination of the relationships that are built in classrooms, the connections that students make with their peers and their faculty.

Katie Stompor, executive director of Digital Media and Brand Engagement

Here’s Katie Stompor, executive director of Digital Media and Brand Engagement, with more:

“Power Onward is the best way to show what is making PNW unique. That is a combination of the relationships that are built in classrooms, the connections that students make with their peers and their faculty. It’s the drive that all the staff have coming here every day. And it really and truly is different than other institutions. Having a brand and having an identity, and not saying it’s just a phrase, it’s trying to identify what it is that makes us unique.

“One of the (survey) respondents said, ‘it means you can do it, you keep going, they keep to your pace, and urge you to do better because they know you can.’ Another respondent said, ‘I think it’s about how you never stop trying…no matter what comes your way you keep moving forward.’ This really shows us that external audiences understand and can convey Power Onward very well.”

As a faculty or staff member, there are easy ways for you to be a Power Onward brand ambassador. By visiting pnw.edu/brand, you can view guidelines explaining how to best share brand messaging and identity. There, you can see articulations of brand messages, download brand logos, toolkits, templates and more.

“We’re really encouraging everyone across the university to find those moments where they can wear Power Onward gear — when you’re at the grocery store, in the community, outside of work — and really just be proud that you work here, said Stompor. “That’s all in an effort to not only reinforce the brand, but to show that we all take pride in being part of this community and that the next generation should be very excited to come here. It’s the little things that you can do that make all the difference in the world.”

“Pride of PNW” Campaign Showcases Faculty Members’ Engagement

Speaking of embodying how we Power Onward, a new cohort of Purdue Northwest faculty members is being recognized during this academic year as the “Pride of PNW.”

As a metropolitan university delivering impactful change for Northwest Indiana and beyond, PNW has gathered researchers, scientists and practitioners from around the world who are driving change in their fields. They are faculty members committed to excellence, devoted to teaching and passionate about helping students succeed.

The campaign is produced by the office of Academic Affairs to recognize faculty members who exhibit exemplary, unique or innovative scholarly work in one or more areas of learning, discovery and engagement. Specific activities fostered by these faculty are also spotlighted to show how their students experience enhanced coursework and research experiences.

By visiting pnw.edu/pride-of-pnw, you can see the honored faculty members for the 2023-24 academic year. You can read more about their research interests, their innovative work and what motivates or inspires their goals as a scholar. Ten faculty members will be spotlighted during the year.

At this time, you can catch stories reflecting the work by Khair Al Shamaileh, associate professor of Electrical Engineering, and Julia Rogers, assistant professor of Nursing. Al Shamaileh details how innovative approaches are important for engineering students to better understand intensive concepts. He uses modern engineering software featuring simulations and visualizations, as well as hands-on projects and lab activities, so students can see theory in action. Rogers leverages virtual and augmented reality technologies to educate students on the intricacies of the human anatomy. By offering immersive and realistic experiences for students with tools like Anatomage tables, she notes students retain pathophysiology knowledge better and subsequently improve their exam scores.

Other faculty members to be honored, in order of their publication dates, include:

• David Pratt, associate professor of Education
• Deanne Shimala, clinical assistant professor of Accounting and Finance
• Magesh Chandramouli, professor of Computer Graphics Technology
• John Durocher, Nils K. Nelson Endowed Professor of Integrative Human Health
• Beth Vottero, professor of Nursing
• Shreya Bhandari, professor of Social Work
• Pat Obi, White Lodging Professor of Finance
• Lash Mapa, professor of Mechanical Engineering Technology

Again, you can catch all the “Pride of PNW” profiles at pnw.edu/pride-of-pnw.

Environmental Stewardship Through Bat Houses

We’ve just recently finished the month of October, home to all things ghosts, goblins, bats, and more. However, spooky fun aside, bats play an integral part in the ecology of Northwest Indiana. Did you know some species even have a migratory route that goes over the Westville campus?

The future installation of bat houses at PNW’s campuses and Gabis Arboretum will serve as an environmentally friendly resource benefitting these tiny creatures as they live in and migrate through our area.

The bat houses are supported by an anonymous donor gift. During the spring, PNW’s department of Biological Sciences, local organization Good Bat Neighbor and Dale Sparks, principal scientist at Environmental Solutions & Innovations, hosted a family-friendly event at the Westville campus to educate visitors about bats and help them try to spot any in the vicinity. Using Anabat acoustic monitors, they were able to watch and listen for the high-pitched sounds emitted by bats using echo-location.

Bat houses are about the size of a shoe box and are positioned several feet off the ground. They allow for a small space where bats can roost in between rest and feeding. Bats serve an important function by eating many of the bugs that are typical pests for humans, like mosquitoes. They’re also great pollinators too!

The bat houses will also help serve as protection from an invasive species of fungus that has caused white nose syndrome in some bat species. The fungus gets into bats’ respiratory systems and causes them to wake up more often during their hibernation period, using up fat reserves and then starving before spring arrives.

Vanessa Quinn, professor of Biology and associate dean of the College of Engineering and Sciences, looks forward to how eye-opening this stewardship toward bats will be for PNW students and the neighboring communities.

“I think this is a great way to get a glimpse into a species and understand the biodiversity that is in our backyard,” said Quinn. “I am really excited that we have friends of PNW who are interested in the environment and ensuring that we are creating spaces on our campuses for the wildlife that we share the space with. I am excited to see how we can encourage the community to think differently about bats. No bat has ever flown into anybody’s hair, that is a myth, it is not going to happen. They are not flying into your house to suck your blood.

“We can have some great conversations and outreach with the communities to say bats are our friends, they are doing important ecological services for us and here are things we can do for them because they are really doing so much for us.”

Recent News

Finally, let’s close out with a couple recent faculty and staff recognitions and news:

• Ernie Talarico, visiting instructor of Biological Sciences, recently delivered a virtual commencement address to students and faculty at Tan Tao University School of Medicine in Vietnam. Talarico encouraged new medical school graduates to be prepared to think outside the box and engage in a moral responsibility of lifelong learning. Talarico hosted a cohort of international students during the summer, including several from Tan Tao University, for a problem-based learning seminar. Students enhanced academic knowledge, interpersonal investigation skills and critical thinking concerning complex health care issues through case studies and shadowing at St. Mary Medical Center in Hobart.
• Nicky Jackson, professor of Criminal Justice and director of the Center for Justice and Post-Exoneration Assistance, will participate as a panelist in “The Future of Film: Cinematic Arts in the Age of AI” on Nov. 10 in Dublin, Ireland. The session will take place at Trinity College and will be moderated by Justin MacGregor, head of Film Studies at the college and head of European Content at MindRiot Entertainment. The session is part of a larger conference hosted by Trinity College and Microsoft executive Jonathan Foster to gather input from different entertainment leaders and academics regarding the future of film and artificial intelligence. MindRiot Entertainment founder Jonathan Keasey was recently appointed as an ambassador for PNW’s Center for Justice and Post-Exoneration Assistance.
• The College of Technology was recently nominated for the “Future of Industry” award at the Nuts, Bolts & Thingamajigs Gala. The award signifies creating and implementing a successful manufacturing summer camp at the university. The college joined the program in 2019 beginning with only three camps and 32 students, and has now grown to four camps and more than 70 student participants.

That’ll do it for this episode. Remember, you can listen to past episodes and share suggestions for PNW faculty and staff news by visiting pnw.edu/pridecast.

I’m Kale Wilk, bidding “talk to you later,” and I’ll reconnect with you in a few weeks.