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

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 September:

Dr. Travis Cooper, associate adjunct faculty of religion, was featured as part of the cover story for CBS Sunday Morning for a story on the public’s mystifying, intense, one-sided bond with celebrities and brushes with fame.

Dr. Colleen Wynn, associate professor of sociology and co-director of the Community Research Center, highlighted an interactive exhibit in Krannert Memorial Library about the roots of housing and lending discrimination in Indianapolis to WISH-TV, a story which was also picked up by the Daily Journal.

Dr. Amanda Miller, chair of the Department of Sociology, spoke about dating apps to Arirang TV, South Korea’s television network which broadcasts to more than 145 million households worldwide. She also discussed the impact of police-action shootings on the community to WPTA.

Sarah Pfohl, associate professor of photography and art education, generated interest and excitement for the Sutphin Lecture as well as the Night Calls exhibition featuring Rebecca Norris Webb by doing a live interview on WTHR as well as the All Indiana program on WISH-TV.

Dr. Tanuja Singh and Deborah Daniels, Board of Trustees chair, were quoted by both the Indianapolis Business Journal as well as the Daily Journal after the UIndy announced a $5.2 million donation from J.J. and Mary Kay Ott and creation of an endowed scholarship fund. 

Rebecca McKanna, associate professor of English, discussed her 2024 Indiana Author Award win and her efforts to inspire her students on both WXIN/Fox59 as well as on WISH-TV.

Dr. Jyotika Saksena, professor of international relations, was mentioned by the Warsaw Times-Union for her upcoming presentation on Congolese refugee women in Indiana on the Manchester University campus.

Kirk Bryans, director of the Professional Edge Center, explained to WRTV how the University of Indianapolis is helping its students find jobs and remain in Indiana after graduation, following the announcement of an expanded collaboration with Ascend Indiana.

CariAnn Freed, director of institutional being, showcased the art exhibit entitled Hasta Las Raíces: To The Roots, a collaboration of the Hispanic Latino Collective (HLC) and the Student Organization of Latinx (SOL), which is in the Art Experience Lab in Schwitzer 203 as part of WISH-TV’s coverage of Hispanic Heritage Month.

Dr. Krista Latham, professor of biology and anthropology, as well as the director of the Human Identification Center, was credited by the Indianapolis Star as well as the Daily Journal for her role in helping identify the body of Michael Benjamin Davis, a man who Johnson County authorities had not been able to identify for 31 years. She was also credited by Current Publishing for her role in identifying victims at Fox Hollow Farm as a memorial in their honor was unveiled in their honor at a park in Hamilton County.

Steve Schuetz, interim vice president of enrollment management, discussed with the Daily Journal how UIndy is handling the ongoing lull of Hoosier high school graduates attending college.

Dr. Gregory Shufeldt, associate professor of political science, talked with the Indianapolis Star if the success of Libertarian gubernatorial bid candidate Donald Rainwater was likely to be replicated in 2024 after a strong showing in 2020, fueled by many voters upset over the state’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Emily Hancock, associate director of admissions, discussed the tips as well as the mistakes that high school students can make when writing their college essays with The Journal Rewired at Southport High School.

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

Dr. Laura Merrifield Wilson, associate professor of political science, discussed the implications of the first presidential debate with WRTV as well as provided a recap with WPTA. She provided her expertise about the ongoing race and campaign with both Courthouse News Service and UIndy adjunct professor Abdul-Hakim Shabazz’s IndyPolitics.org website. She shared her expertise regarding the inequities of voting barriers and accessibility as a local church hosted a community conversation about voter engagement with WRTV. Her position as moderator for the upcoming gubernatorial debate as the Indiana Debate Commission is accepting questions for the debate was mentioned by outlets including the Terre Haute Tribune Star as well as WAVE-TV. She hypothesized what to expect for a back-to-back set of debates between Republican candidate Mike Braun and Democratic candidate Jennifer McCormick to the Indianapolis Business Journal.

Dr. Karl Knapp, dean of the School of Business, weighed in on the positives as well as negatives of artificial intelligence in college classrooms with WISH-TV.

Carey Dahncke, executive director of the Center of Excellence in Leadership of Learning (CELL), was quoted in Ed Prep Matters for the impact I-SEAL has had in increasing the number of qualified special education teachers in the classroom.

Tracy Butler, director of postsecondary readiness at CELL, was interviewed by the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette as the paper explored how the success of the P-CAP pilot career program has spread to other schools in the area.

Dr. Vincent O. van Empeh, assistant professor of practice in the School of Business, shared his expertise on the topic of the best credit cards for groceries with WalletHub.

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.