UIndy Faculty, Staff Provide Expert Insight to Local & National Media in November
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 November:
Dr. Rachel Feldwisch, assistant professor and associate dean of the College of Education and Behavioral Sciences, discussed UIndy’s new Behavioral Health Trauma certificate and provided tips to people struggling with mental health in a live interview with WXIN. She was also interviewed by WTHR as well as WRTV about the launch, in addition to being quoted by the Indianapolis Recorder. Her interview in the Daily Journal was also syndicated by Philanthropy News Digest.
Chad Odaffer, assistant professor and program director for exercise science, was named as one of the best fitness trainers in America for 2025-2026 by Golf Digest, one of only ten in the Midwest and the only trainer in all of Indiana.
Douglas Boxler, adjunct professor of criminal justice, demonstrated how students are getting hands-on forensic science training at the Criminal Justice Education Lab on WXIN.
Dr. Tanuja Singh penned an op-ed for the Thought Leadership Series in the Indianapolis Business Journal entitled “Cracking the Glass Ceiling is Not Enough” which announced the inaugural Women’s Executive Leadership Institute. Singh and Stephen F. Fry were interviewed by the Indianapolis Business Journal as well as the Daily Journal in connection with Fry’s $5 million gift to establish a trio of new programs in the School of Business. Singh and Kim Pate, director of intercollegiate athletics, were quoted by both WISH-TV and the Hickory Daily Record in connection with Pate’s hire by UIndy.
Rick Dunkle, general manager of UINDY TV and WICR as well as assistant professor of practice of communication, hosted a panel on storytelling at the National Student Media Convention in Seattle and was interviewed by the CSU Signal.
Andrea Walker, associate athletics director for academics, was the focal speaker to help shed light on the recruitment process for student athletes at American colleges and universities as part of a two-day informative session, in partnership with the United States Embassy, as described in Winn Media.
Dr. Gregory Shufeldt, associate professor of political science, provided political analysis before and after the election to the Indianapolis Star on topics like how Republican women see themselves in Democratic candidate Jennifer McCormick or why statewide races were a lot less close than many people expected. He also discussed the implications of several Carmel school administrators, including the superintendent, publicly supporting two school board candidates at the polls on Election Day to Current Publishing.
Dr. Joe Burnell, associate professor of chemistry, was mentioned in The Catholic Register for his role as being executive director of Sigma Zeta in connection with inducting the first students into the Gamma Phi chapter in St. Mary’s University in Calgary, the first chapter in Canada.
Dr. Matt Will, associate professor of finance, was interviewed live multiple times with Tony Katz on WIBC.
Dr. Ted Frantz, chair of the history department and Director of the Institute of Civic Leadership, provided historical perspective and background about Grover Cleveland to USA Today after former President Donald Trump won a second nonconsecutive term in office. He also discussed President Joe Biden’s quietness after the election to the Associated Press for a story which was syndicated widely including San Francisco Chronicle, Detroit News and Chicago Tribune, as well as for online for television outlets like WFTV and WSOC.
Dr. Laura Merrifield Wilson, associate professor of political science, shared why early voting is growing in popularity and about Rep. Jim Banks easy win in the Senate race to the Indianapolis Business Journal. She discussed abortion as a campaign issue to Deutsche Welle (an article which originally appeared in German for Germany’s public broadcaster) as well as its failure to resonate as a message in the Texas statewide races for the nonprofit Texas Tribune. She provided many live interviews for political shows like IN Focus both before and after the election, as well as Inside Indiana Business, WPTA and WFYI. She talked about how young voters could make the difference in the election to Indiana Public Media. She spoke to WRTV on the difficulty of Governor-Elect Mike Braun’s desire to lower taxes while also decreasing healthcare expenses. She analyzed for WFYI Hamilton County’s perceived purple status in the red state of Indiana as well as the lower voter turnout for both Hamilton and Marion counties. She provided election-related insight on Hamilton County for both the Indianapolis Star and Hamilton County-based Current Publishing. She and Shufeldt discussed Trump’s dominance in Indiana as part of a nationwide trend to the GOP for CNHI Newspapers which includes the Goshen News and the Anderson Herald Bulletin.
Cynthia Carrasco, vice president and general counsel, was profiled by the Daily Journal after winning her first full-term as a state senator in District 36, representing Johnson and Marion counties.
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.