MLK events begin with special College Coffee

The Office of Student Activities sponsored the "Civil Rights Arts Festival & College Coffee" featuring photography by an N.C. artist.

Artist Todd Drake speaks Jan. 15 with Elaine Turner, director of Residence Life at Elon University.

*****

Dozens of students, faculty and staff took part Tuesday in a special College Coffee, the first in a series of university cultural and service events this month to honor the legacy of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Sponsored by the Office of Student Activities, "Civil Rights Arts Festival & College Coffee" featured muffins and coffee in Hearth Lounge where visitors were greeted by photographs by a North Carolina artist whose said his goals are to "confront stereotypes" of ethnic minorities in the state.

An artist in residence at UNC Chapel Hill’s Center for Global Initiatives, many of Todd Drake's portraits featured images of Muslims living in North Carolina who face persistent misunderstanding and suspicion by the broader community. A few photographs portrayed immigrants to the state that Drake described as the "backbone" of North Carolina agriculture.

"I'm trying to share their life stories to provoke us to thank about their treatments," Drake said.

Leon Williams, director of the Multicultural Center, said this is the second year for a special College Coffee scheduled for the days leading up to the holiday honoring the slain civil rights leader. He wanted the theme of the College Coffee to be one of confronting oppression in all its forms - individual, institutional or structural - and to break away from diversity being about "black and white."

"The goal is to remind us that Dr. King's fight for human rights can be found in the narratives of all people," Williams said. "And what we really need to talk about is what oppression feels like. We all can relate to emotions, loneliness, pain, suffering and depression."

A special College Coffee in Hearth Lounge was the first in a series of events this month to honor the life of the late Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

The King celebrations continue on campus Wednesday when Dale P. Andrews, the distinguished professor of homiletics, social justice, and practical theology at Vanderbilt University, serves as the 2013 Martin Luther King, Jr. Commemorative Program keynote speaker on the timely topic, “His Past. Your Future. One Dream.”

The program will also recognize the winners of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Humanitarian Essay Contest. This event is sponsored by the Multicultural Center.

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by Eric Townsend, Staff Last Updated - 1/15/2013

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Physician Assistant Studies classes begin at Elon

With courses set to start this week, master's candidates in the university’s newest graduate program gathered Monday for campus orientation.

*****

Faculty and administrators welcomed to campus on Monday the inaugural class of students in Elon’s Physician Assistant Studies program, the newest addition to the university’s graduate offerings in the field of health care.

Thirty-eight candidates for the degree of Master of Science in Physician Assistant Studies spent their day in McKinnon Hall and Belk Library becoming acquainted with their professors, academic tools and resources available to them as students over the next two years. They joined for part of the day with 53 students in the newest class of the university's Doctor of Physical Therapy program.

Among those welcoming students were Elon University President Leo M. Lambert, Provost Steven House, and Elizabeth Rogers, dean of the School of Health Sciences. John Currin, president and CEO of Alamance Regional Medical Center, also took part in the program.

Program leaders said they were excited to now have nearly 200 graduate students active in the School of Health Sciences and that both programs, working together, will make for stronger medical professionals.

“Having a second health sciences program is going to enhance the educational experiences of both groups,” Rogers said. “The more we all know about each other’s personal backgrounds and educations, the better our patients will be served.”

The charter class of 38 physician assistant students represents undergraduate institutions such as UNC-Chapel Hill, University of Connecticut, University of Massachusetts-Amherst, Wake Forest University and Elon University. Students range in age from 20 to 33 and have a variety of health care experiences. Enrolling students come from 10 states including Texas and California.

“They are incredible individuals with exceptional academic preparation and life experience,” said Mark Archambault, the chair and program director for Physician Assistant Studies. “The faculty and staff look forward to enjoying the opportunity to witness their professional maturation rapidly evolve over the next few short years.”

The class of 53 new DPT students represents undergraduate institutions such as UNC-Chapel Hill, Furman University, Loyola University in Maryland, the University of Florida and Elon University. Students range in age from 21 to 45 and come from 15 states.

Both the PA and the DPT programs are based in the Francis Center on East Haggard Avenue about a mile from the heart of campus.

The Francis Center features three classrooms dedicated to the DPT program and two classrooms for the physician assistant program, with three clinical laboratories, five simulation/exam rooms and two observation rooms, an anatomy lab, a biomechanics lab, a human performance lab, an ultrasound lab, a neuroscience lab, an anthropometry lab, an electrophysiology lab, a metabolic lab and an osteology lab.

New teaching and research equipment includes a second Biodex system for campus, a Qualisys gait analysis and rehabilitation system, which includes 12 cameras and a 16-channel wireless EMG system, plus two force plates; and a Robomedica system. The first floor of the building also includes a large commons area, student lounge and fitness facility.

Students in the program said the mood on Monday afternoon was one of excitement sprinkled with anxiety. Their reasons for pursuing a career in the medical field were as varied as their backgrounds.

“I’ve always been interested in health care and like the diversity of possibilities that physician assistant studies offers,” said Keri Norris, a 2001 graduate of Appalachian State University who studied exercise science. “And I’m from a smaller town, which is why I like community here.”

Tyler Roper, who graduated with a degree in biology from UNC-Wilmington, said he looks forward to filling a critical statewide need in the years ahead.

“There’s a gap in the need for primary care professionals here in North Carolina,” he said.

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by Eric Townsend, Staff Last Updated - 1/7/2013

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MLK events begin with special College Coffee

The Office of Student Activities sponsored the "Civil Rights Arts Festival & College Coffee" featuring photography by an N.C. artist.

Artist Todd Drake speaks Jan. 15 with Elaine Turner, director of Residence Life at Elon University.

*****

Dozens of students, faculty and staff took part Tuesday in a special College Coffee, the first in a series of university cultural and service events this month to honor the legacy of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Sponsored by the Office of Student Activities, "Civil Rights Arts Festival & College Coffee" featured muffins and coffee in Hearth Lounge where visitors were greeted by photographs by a North Carolina artist whose said his goals are to "confront stereotypes" of ethnic minorities in the state.

An artist in residence at UNC Chapel Hill’s Center for Global Initiatives, many of Todd Drake's portraits featured images of Muslims living in North Carolina who face persistent misunderstanding and suspicion by the broader community. A few photographs portrayed immigrants to the state that Drake described as the "backbone" of North Carolina agriculture.

"I'm trying to share their life stories to provoke us to thank about their treatments," Drake said.

Leon Williams, director of the Multicultural Center, said this is the second year for a special College Coffee scheduled for the days leading up to the holiday honoring the slain civil rights leader. He wanted the theme of the College Coffee to be one of confronting oppression in all its forms - individual, institutional or structural - and to break away from diversity being about "black and white."

"The goal is to remind us that Dr. King's fight for human rights can be found in the narratives of all people," Williams said. "And what we really need to talk about is what oppression feels like. We all can relate to emotions, loneliness, pain, suffering and depression."

A special College Coffee in Hearth Lounge was the first in a series of events this month to honor the life of the late Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

The King celebrations continue on campus Wednesday when Dale P. Andrews, the distinguished professor of homiletics, social justice, and practical theology at Vanderbilt University, serves as the 2013 Martin Luther King, Jr. Commemorative Program keynote speaker on the timely topic, “His Past. Your Future. One Dream.”

The program will also recognize the winners of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Humanitarian Essay Contest. This event is sponsored by the Multicultural Center.

Email Author Your Email *
Message *
by Eric Townsend, Staff Last Updated - 1/15/2013

View the original article here

Read More

Physician Assistant Studies classes begin at Elon

With courses set to start this week, master's candidates in the university’s newest graduate program gathered Monday for campus orientation.

*****

Faculty and administrators welcomed to campus on Monday the inaugural class of students in Elon’s Physician Assistant Studies program, the newest addition to the university’s graduate offerings in the field of health care.

Thirty-eight candidates for the degree of Master of Science in Physician Assistant Studies spent their day in McKinnon Hall and Belk Library becoming acquainted with their professors, academic tools and resources available to them as students over the next two years. They joined for part of the day with 53 students in the newest class of the university's Doctor of Physical Therapy program.

Among those welcoming students were Elon University President Leo M. Lambert, Provost Steven House, and Elizabeth Rogers, dean of the School of Health Sciences. John Currin, president and CEO of Alamance Regional Medical Center, also took part in the program.

Program leaders said they were excited to now have nearly 200 graduate students active in the School of Health Sciences and that both programs, working together, will make for stronger medical professionals.

“Having a second health sciences program is going to enhance the educational experiences of both groups,” Rogers said. “The more we all know about each other’s personal backgrounds and educations, the better our patients will be served.”

The charter class of 38 physician assistant students represents undergraduate institutions such as UNC-Chapel Hill, University of Connecticut, University of Massachusetts-Amherst, Wake Forest University and Elon University. Students range in age from 20 to 33 and have a variety of health care experiences. Enrolling students come from 10 states including Texas and California.

“They are incredible individuals with exceptional academic preparation and life experience,” said Mark Archambault, the chair and program director for Physician Assistant Studies. “The faculty and staff look forward to enjoying the opportunity to witness their professional maturation rapidly evolve over the next few short years.”

The class of 53 new DPT students represents undergraduate institutions such as UNC-Chapel Hill, Furman University, Loyola University in Maryland, the University of Florida and Elon University. Students range in age from 21 to 45 and come from 15 states.

Both the PA and the DPT programs are based in the Francis Center on East Haggard Avenue about a mile from the heart of campus.

The Francis Center features three classrooms dedicated to the DPT program and two classrooms for the physician assistant program, with three clinical laboratories, five simulation/exam rooms and two observation rooms, an anatomy lab, a biomechanics lab, a human performance lab, an ultrasound lab, a neuroscience lab, an anthropometry lab, an electrophysiology lab, a metabolic lab and an osteology lab.

New teaching and research equipment includes a second Biodex system for campus, a Qualisys gait analysis and rehabilitation system, which includes 12 cameras and a 16-channel wireless EMG system, plus two force plates; and a Robomedica system. The first floor of the building also includes a large commons area, student lounge and fitness facility.

Students in the program said the mood on Monday afternoon was one of excitement sprinkled with anxiety. Their reasons for pursuing a career in the medical field were as varied as their backgrounds.

“I’ve always been interested in health care and like the diversity of possibilities that physician assistant studies offers,” said Keri Norris, a 2001 graduate of Appalachian State University who studied exercise science. “And I’m from a smaller town, which is why I like community here.”

Tyler Roper, who graduated with a degree in biology from UNC-Wilmington, said he looks forward to filling a critical statewide need in the years ahead.

“There’s a gap in the need for primary care professionals here in North Carolina,” he said.

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Message *
by Eric Townsend, Staff Last Updated - 1/7/2013

View the original article here

Read More