TERRE HAUTE, Ind. — Dignitaries, donors and guests gathered Thursday at the largest funded — and recently completed — project in Indiana State University’s history to recognize donors who are further enhancing the facility.
President Deborah Curtis thanked state and local
officials for their support of the project during a dedication ceremony for
phase two of the College of Health and Human Services Building.
“Indiana State University is bolstering the Indiana
health care workforce and increasing access to health care for our fellow
citizens — especially those who live in rural areas,” Curtis said. “This is so
important for a state that, unfortunately, has a lot of work to do on infant
mortality, diabetes, smoking and obesity. Our graduates will be on the front lines
of helping Indiana get healthier.”
The university broke ground on the $64 million
two-phase project in July 2016. The first phase was completed in spring 2018,
with the renovation of classrooms and labs in the 1960s-era Arena building
wrapping up the facility’s second phase this year.
State Rep. Bob Heaton (R-Terre Haute), who has
experienced a hip replacement and a couple of knee replacements in recent
years, described it as “money well-spent.”
“The General Assembly believes in ISU and their mission.
I know no one here takes that for granted,” Heaton said. “I’m very thankful for
this project, because we need more health care professionals in Indiana, as
well as here in the Wabash Valley. I know firsthand how important it is to have
physical therapists there at your side getting you back on the go.”
The renovation and 87,000-square-foot expansion
project remedied critical need for classrooms and laboratories — equipped with
the latest technology — to support the rapid growth the College of Health and
Human Services has experienced in recent years. It now educates more than 3,000
students and employs more than 150 faculty and staff.
College of Health and Human Services Dean Caroline
Mallory echoed Curtis’ thanks to the Indiana Commission for Higher Education
and state legislators for their commitment to the institution.
“This college is where students become professionals,
where faculty teaching and scholarship support students’ career readiness and
where the public can be assured that we are stewarding resources to improve the
quality of life for all of Indiana,” Mallory said.
“From laboratories designed to simulate the workplace,
to seminar and huddle spaces that promote collaboration between students and
faculty, to spaces that inspire a greater sense of wellbeing, this facility is
designed to facilitate our mission to graduate skilled professionals who are
prepared to make a difference in their community.”
Sharisse Smith of Terre Haute is one of those
soon-to-be professionals. She’s a senior applied health sciences major with a
double minor in business administration and African American studies.
“Being in this building every day helps me to stay
engaged with not only my classmates, but also form relationships with the
professors that pour knowledge and support into us every single day,” Smith
said. “When I leave ISU, I hope to use all the skills I learned to reach my
dreams — to complete medical school and become a servant to the public.”
The vision for the facility dates back to 2013. As
Indiana State added and expanded degree programs to address gaps in health
professions, classes were scattered across campus, making it difficult for
inter-professional collaborations to be formed and sustained, Curtis noted.
“With the completion of phase two of the project, the
programs are now under one roof and in a state-of-the-art facility that will
inspire the people we need to be leaders in health and wellness,” she said.
The Indiana Department of Workforce Development
estimates the state will annually have openings for 1,200 social workers,
health educators and counselors, more than 600 openings for child care
professionals and more than 3,000 openings registered nurses, nurse
practitioners, physician assistants, physical and occupational therapists.
“If you want an incredibly fulfilling career where you
are making a difference and getting paid well to do so, you need to be taking
classes under this roof,” Curtis said. “The jobs that CHHS students receive
upon graduation will not be outsourced overseas. These jobs are
recession-proof, because people need health services regardless of the state of
the economy.”
Terre Haute Mayor Duke Bennett was introduced as a
longtime partner to the college, both in his current role and his prior tenure
at the Hamilton Center.
“The facility’s presence you see from Third Street
makes it look so much different here,” Bennett said. “When you walk in this
building … (you realize) what a tremendous learning environment it is for
students who come here.”
Named spaces in the building and their donors
recognized include the following:
• Passmore Family Permanent Art Collection given by
Barbara and J. Laurence Passmore.
• Robert and Jean Hollar Student Success
Center given by Bruce and Constance Hollar McLaren and Donald and
Carolyn Hollar Palmer.
• Dr. Richard Spear Conference Room given by Beverly
Spear.
• Dr. Howard Ishisaka Landing given by Nancy Ishisaka
and Beverly Spear.
• Sigma Theta Tau, Lambda Sigma Chapter Honorary Wall
given by the Lambda Sigma Chapter
of Sigma Theta Tau International, Honor Society of Nursing.
• Doctor of Athletic Training Student Social Area
given by Indiana State faculty Lindsey Eberman and Kent Games.
• Lugar Family Collaboration Space named in memory
of Frank W. Neu given by his daughter, Robyn Lugar, associate professor of
social work at Indiana State, and her husband, Joseph.
The dedication ceremony, which was also in
celebration of the university’s sesquicentennial era, was followed by
refreshments.
