UIndy Faculty, Staff Provide Expert Insight to Local & National Media in October

As part of their commitment to “education for service,” faculty and staff at the University of Indianapolis share their expertise with local and national news outlets in order to keep our community informed and to introduce new perspectives on current issues.

UIndy faculty and staff were featured in the following news stories in October:

Dr. Laura Merrifield Wilson, associate professor of political science, moderated the Indiana gubernatorial debate on Oct. 24, resulting in coverage by event host WFYI, local outlets like WTHR and the Indianapolis Star to name as few, as well as regional outlets like ABC7 in Chicago and even national coverage by C-SPAN. She also moderated the only debate featuring the candidates in the U.S. Senate race on Oct. 29, covered by outlets like the Indianapolis Star, as well as the Indiana Capital Chronicle and also WFYI. There was also extensive mentioning of her name in the weeks leading up to the debates by places like KPC News, which covers Northwest Indiana, and the Indiana Capital Chronicle. Both Wilson and her students were profiled by WTHR as they gathered to watch the vice presidential debate together and then registered people to vote in the University Heights neighborhood. She penned an op-ed entitled “Move over, boomer, younger voters slay” in the Indiana Capital Chronicle which was syndicated by other media outlets including the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette as well as the Crawfordsville Journal Review. She shared her expertise with the Indianapolis Star for articles about Destiny Wells in the Indiana Attorney General’s race and the politics emerging in the nonpartisan Hamilton County school board races. She also discussed the Attorney General’s race for WFYI as well as The Indiana Lawyer. She broke down the vice presidential debate as well as the importance of the youth vote for WPTA. She analyzed why more Democratic women are running in deep-red Indiana for CNHI Newspapers which includes the Logansport Pharos-Tribune as well as Danville Commercial-News. Wilson discussed the implications of the fact that 36 percent of Indiana’s State Representative races are uncontested as well as how the election could impact public universities with WTIU. She was interviewed by WAVE-TV in Louisville about the gubernatorial race as well as live on WIBC by both Hammer & Nigel as well as UIndy adjunct professor Abdul-Hakim Shabazz.

Dr. Tanuja Singh was honored as a 2024 Woman of Influence by the Indianapolis Business Journal. Singh and two students were interviewed, along with Riley Childers, international student advisor, for the 36th annual Celebration of Flags which aired on WISH-TV.

Dr. Ted Frantz, chair of the history department and Director of the Institute of Civic Leadership, was interviewed by the Associated Press for an article about how Kamala Harris and Donald Trump’s divergent approaches to various ongoing crises would test the public’s mood in the final weeks of the campaign. The story was syndicated in more than 100 publications including WCBS, the Boston Globe, and the Chicago Tribune. 

Carey Dahncke, executive director of the Center of Excellence in Leadership of Learning (CELL), was interviewed by Chalkbeat about how the I-SEAL licensing program is putting a dent in Indiana’s shortage of special education teachers. The story was also published by the Indianapolis Business Journal and the Daily Journal. He was also interviewed for an article by the Logansport Pharos-Tribune in connection with a $2 million federal grant award expanding the P-CAP program to 12 additional high schools across Indiana.

Dr. Toni Morris, associate professor of nursing, appeared live on WISH-TV to promote the upcoming vaccination clinic at Schwitzer Student Center in partnership with the Indiana Immunization Coalition.

Dr. Gregory Shufeldt, associate professor of political science, explained how a wrench was thrown into the Indiana gubernatorial race with the candidacy of Micah Beckwith as lieutenant governor on the U.S. Sen. Mike Braun’s Republican bid in a story to the Associated Press, which was syndicated more than 100 times including in places like Cincinnati’s WLWT-TV as well as MSN Canada. He spoke to the threat signaled to Braun’s odds by the Republican attack of Libertarian candidate Donald Rainwater in an article to the Indianapolis Star which was also published on Yahoo News. Shufeldt and Merrifield Wilson also provided quotes to Capital B News as the state’s first Harris/Walz campaign office opened in Gary.

Sarah Pfohl, associate professor of photography and art education, previewed the Night Calls exhibition featuring Rebecca Norris Webb and the Sutphin Lecture with interviews in the Daily Journal, the Greensburg Daily News, as well as with a live interview on WRTV.

CariAnn Freed, director of institutional being, and Taylor Cook, student success coach, were interviewed on WISH-TV in connection with the Crowning Glory art exhibit showcasing the beauty and significance of Black hair featuring the artwork of Cook’s sister, artist Sydney Miller. 

Dr. Grant Williams, assistant professor and director of the theatre program, spoke to the Daily Journal about the establishment of Creative Grounds Fine Arts Academy as the theater-in-residence at the University of Indianapolis.

Liz Whiteacre, associate professor of English, took part in a poetry reading and discussion for Indy Reads as mentioned by Do317.

Dr. Larry Belcher, professor of finance, explained what an annual percentage rate or APR is and how consumers can use it to compare various financial opportunities for an article which appeared on WalletHub.

Dr. Leah Milne, associate professor and director of graduate programs in English, lectured and conducted a discussion on the connection of literature and empathy for an event at Saint Mary’s College in an article for The Observer.

Dr. Vincent O. van Empeh, assistant professor of practice in the School of Business, explained how an individual can determine what type of bank account is right for them in MoneyGeek.

Dr. Matt Will, associate professor of finance, was interviewed live multiple times with Tony Katz on WIBC.

Are you a UIndy faculty or staff member who was recently featured in the media? Let the Office of Communications and Marketing know at newsdesk@uindy.edu to be included in the next monthly update.