PNW Pridecast: Days of Discovery showcases PNW research

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Episode Script

Hello again, Purdue Northwest colleagues. Welcome back to another installment of the PNW Pridecast, sharing PNW’s internal faculty and staff news.

I’m Kale Wilk, Communications Specialist in Marketing and Communications, and we are excited to share several updates with you all.

Days of Discovery to showcase PNW research

PNW will host its annual Days of Discovery research symposium April 4 and 5 to exhibit scholarly work by PNW students, as well as spotlight distinguished internal and external guest presenters.

At both the Westville and Hammond campuses, multiple student presenters will display posters and be able to explain their learning engagements, research findings, and academic growth. Several will also be invited to deliver oral presentations.

Highlighted guest presenters include plenary speaker Veera Gnaneswar Gude, NiSource-Meyer Charitable Foundation professor of Energy and the Environment and director of the PNW Water Institute, and keynote speaker Dierdre Mask, author of The Address Book, the book used during this academic year’s One Book, One University program.

Michael Zimmer, associate professor of Biological Sciences and faculty fellow for undergraduate research, says the annual symposium is a prime opportunity for students, faculty, and staff to come together and see the multidisciplinary scholarship that others are engaging in. Zimmer also says Days of Discovery lets students grow their confidence by participating in a supportive environment where they can grow their delivery and networking skills.

“This is important because it really brings research full circle,” said Zimmer. “It is not sufficient to get an idea, get some support, and gather data — it is really important to share that work with others. Writing a paper is a particular skill set, but it is another to talk to a fellow undergraduate, or maybe someone from upper administration, that comes by and says ‘hey, tell me about your work!’ To be able to talk about your work and give that 1-3 minute elevator speech is a skill that is going to be perfected with practice.

“Research is authentic — it is making an effort to acquire new data. Students have an opportunity to apply and use some of the basic fundamentals and concepts that they are learning about in lecture. I think by applying that information you end up engaging in a different way of thinking: a learning by doing.”

To learn more information about the Days of Discovery schedule, visit pnw.edu/research.

Events Management maximizing the Great Hall’s potential

The Great Hall Events and Conference Center at PNW staff welcomes internal and external partners to leverage the department of Events Management and help plan your next successful event with the space and services available at the James B. Dworkin Student Services and Activities Complex at the Westville campus.

Events Management is actively capitalizing on the modern facilities and plentiful amenities to facilitate a range of event types, including private and social functions like weddings and parties; corporate and business conferences, meetings, and retreats; and other specialty gatherings for government and nonprofit entities. The staff’s expertise in hospitality, dining, tourism, and management can help take the stress away and produce high quality events with the versatility afforded by the Great Hall space, expansive kitchen, outdoor patio zone, and more.

As an additional part of its domain, Events Management is managing food and catering services at the Westville campus. Chef Blake Noland brings a wealth of experience to his role in helping provide delicious eats for the PNW Gallery Cafe and other requested events.

Ashley Gerodimos, executive director of Events Management, says the space was previously solely used for internal events. After being granted permission from the Board of Trustees, her staff has actively been selling to the community and helping bring in external events to take advantage of the space.

“The Great Hall itself is a great space, but we have so many other supporting spaces not only in the Dworkin Center but also throughout the entire campus,” said Gerodimos. “So we are very appealing to the region and beyond. It’s floor-to-ceiling windows, great pre-function space, it’s very beautiful, very modern. We have incredible built-in-technology throughout the entire campus that really lends us to be a great space for conferences, conventions, and other things that might be happening, or just daily events for different businesses and corporations in the area.

“There is a distinct need for a modern facility like ours, not just for the bridal community and people who are getting married, but definitely for the corporate community too. And the timing, to me, could not be better than it is now. After coming out of COVID and virtual events, the events industry in general is just seeing how events are being taken up. There’s pent-up demand for events. Some of the ways we do events may have changed, some may not have changed, but definitely one of the things that has not changed is that people like to gather and be together. We are certainly able to do that in the Great Hall Events and Conference Center.”

To learn more information, visit pnw.edu/great-hall.

Women’s History Month to address maternal and reproductive health, celebrate women leaders

Planning committee members and several PNW units and clubs have come together to organize a range of events for Women’s History Month focused on empowering women, discussing key women’s health issues and recognizing accomplished university and community leaders.

Two events will specifically deal with conversations around reproductive and maternal health care, including a film screening tomorrow, March 9, of the documentary “Aftershock” and a keynote by Dr. Janet Seabrook, CEO of Community HealthNet Health Care Centers in Gary, Indiana.

You can also see Cheri Honkala, a nationally-renowned advocate for the poor and unhoused, who will discuss the U.S. Supreme Court’s rulings through Roe v. Wade and Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization and the impact on impoverished populations.

Danita Johnson, president and CEO of Edgewater and Health in Gary, Indiana, will be featured in the Society of Innovators and the Leadership Institute at PNW’s March Lunch & Lead session, where she will discuss how women leaders can help inspire and teach us to live our best lives.

Mary Beth Fraser Connolly, continuing lecturer of History, and Angela Schooley, associate professor of Nursing, help explain the importance of bringing reproductive and maternal health to the forefront of Women’s History Month this year:

“We were inspired by recent development with the Dobbs case,” said Connolly, “and so it was important to bring this to a conversation and dialogue, and to shine a light on the situation in the United States and women’s reproductive health here.”

“The legalization of abortion and easier access to health care has just improved women’s health and their ability to contribute to their community overall,” said Schooley. “What we’ve seen over the last couple of years is extremely frightening. To not be able to make medical decisions that directly affect your health, there’s some pretty severe repercussions that we have been seeing over these last couple of years.”

You can find details on these and more by visiting pnw.edu/womens-history.

Recent news

We have a few items we’d like to close out with:

• You can help show your pride for PNW by helping vote for the university in two separate online contests through local news and business publications.Before March 10, vote for PNW in Northwest Indiana Business Magazine’s 2023 Best of Northwest Indiana and Michiana Business awards program. PNW is up for “Best university to attain an MBA” and “Best university for a technology degree.” You can place your vote by visiting nwibusiness.com/bestof. Winners will be announced in April.

  You can also place your vote in The Times Media Company’s annual Best of the Region awards program through March 26. By visiting nwi.com/bestof, you can place one vote per day for PNW, which is up for “Best College/University” and “Best Adult Educational Institution,” recognitions the university has consistently won many times. Winners will be announced in May.

• Exclusive PNW merchandise is now available by visiting the new PNW Swag Wagon, a mobile university-owned shop featuring PNW gear and swag you will not be able to purchase anywhere else!Look for the swag wagon at large on-campus events and athletic competitions. The unique product lineup includes t-shirts, hats, wearable blankets, and much more that are only available in person through the wagon. All purchases must be made with a credit card.

  Your department or unit can request the PNW Swag Wagon by using a Qualtrics form. Inquiries will be considered and determined based on the wagon’s availability and event details.

• PNW will welcome nearly 500 local high school students and their coaches from across Northwest Indiana during spring Academic Senior Super Bowl competitions in March. This marks the 14th year PNW has hosted this competition.The competitions involve engaging, fast-paced academic questions in rounds related to certain subject areas, including math, English, science, fine arts, and social studies, as well as an interdisciplinary round. Each year usually also incorporates a theme, with this year’s being “The Age of Exploration.”

  Competitions are scheduled for March 8 and 9 at the Westville campus and March 15 at the Hammond campus.

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That is all we have time for! You can catch up on past episodes and submit your internal faculty and staff news or suggestions by visiting pnw.edu/pridecast.

I’m Kale Wilk, signing off, and I’ll connect with you again in a few weeks.