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NEWS & ANNOUNCEMENTS
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AHS celebrates 2007 Commencement
On the warm spring evening of May 10, 196 students were surrounded by families and friends to participate in commencement at the UIC Pavilion. The evening opened with remarks from Dean Toby Tate and UIC Chancellor Sylvia Manning, who urged graduates to “contemplate the distance you have come … enjoy what you have accomplished,” adding, “UIC will always be your university.”

This year’s speaker was Judith Heumann, recent top adviser on disability and development for the World Bank and assistant secretary for special education and rehabilitative services under President Clinton. Heumann helped develop legislation for the Americans with Disabilities and Individuals with Disabilities Education Acts. In her comments to graduates, she called our Interdisciplinary PhD in Disability Studies program “one of the best in the country” and remarked on how important all our students can be to “breaking down barriers” for people with disabilities.

A moving moment occurred when, while calling the names of graduates from movement sciences, associate professor Mary Lou Bareither took an impromptu moment to laud one graduate in particular. “If there were an award for perseverance in obtaining an undergraduate degree,” she said, “it would go to Pedro Medina.” She explained that, since first enrolling at UIC 11 years ago, Medina has been in and out of school to serve his community and country as a Chicago police officer and as an ROTC officer in Afghanistan, Iraq and New Orleans. Medina received a standing ovation when he accepted his diploma.

Before events concluded, graduates heard from distinguished alumna Geraldine Smothers (see below) and student speaker Louise Shines. Among her eloquent remarks, Shines told fellow graduates, “I will not wish you good luck. We don’t need luck because we are UIC Applied Health Sciences graduates.”

Alumna Geraldine Smothers honored for her leadership
AHS’ 2007 Outstanding Alumnus Award was presented to Geraldine Smother, HIM ’82, at commencement on May 10.

When President Bush introduced his Health Information Technology Plan in 2004—which set a goal for most Americans to have electronic health records within 10 years—Geraldine Smothers had already been working toward that objective for more than a decade. In 1995, she founded (and continues to lead) Professional Dynamic Network, a Chicago firm that provides temporary staff, recruitment services and management consultation to healthcare agencies modernizing their technology. She has since launched the Jordan Evans Institute to train professionals for work in the HIM field. And now she is introducing the next generation to a career in healthcare technology, having pursued and won a grant to add HIM courses to the curriculum at Percy Julian High School in Chicago’s Washington Heights neighborhood.

At commencement, Smothers told graduates to celebrate, calling graduation “one of the greatest accomplishments in your career.” Following Smothers’ remarks, Dean Toby Tate thanked her and presented her with a wooden chair engraved with the college logo.

Student excellence recognized beyond AHS
While it’s not surprising, students in the College of Applied Health Sciences continue to shine, drawing positive attention to our world-class programs.

Grabiner wins teaching award
Department head and professor Mark Grabiner was awarded a 2007 Silver Circle Award for Excellence in Teaching. The award is given annually to one professor in each UIC college who is nominated and elected by graduating seniors. Wrote one nominating student: “Dr. Grabiner forced me to think analytically and stimulated my interest in learning …. Dr. Grabiner proves what a good teacher is.” Another wrote: “His teaching stands out above any other teacher I have had at UIC.”

Virtual reality project wins prestigious honor
The UIC Electronic Visualization Laboratory’s “Virtual Eye/Virtual House” project has won the Dr. Frank H. Netter Award for Special Contributions to Medical Education. Awarded by the Vesalius Trust for Visual Communication in the Health Sciences, the honor “recognizes the person or persons who have recently developed visually oriented educational materials with either proven or potential impact on the way health sciences are taught and/or practiced,” according to the Vesalius Trust Web site. AHS associate professor Mary Rasmussen leads the project, supported by a team of colleagues. The Virtual Eye/Virtual House is one of the more collaborative projects at UIC, drawing additional contributions from the colleges of Pharmacy, Engineering and Medicine, as well as from the pharmaceutical and medical device company Allergan Inc.

Movement Sciences recognized for communal effort
The AHS Department of Movement Sciences received a 2007 Departmental Teaching Excellence Award from UIC and the Council for Excellence in Teaching and Learning. The honor, which comes with a one-time stipend of $20,000, rewards UIC academic units that have demonstrated a collective commitment to instructional excellence. MVSC department head Mark Grabiner says his faculty set a goal to win this award, adding, “I think this serves as a fine example of how good teamwork intersects with shared values.”

UIC becomes newest partner in AMIA 10x10 program
The American Medical Informatics Association has announced UIC as a partner in its 10x10 training program, which introduces health and IT professionals to the health informatics field. The program’s name references its goal to train 10,000 healthcare professionals in biomedical and health informatics by 2010. UIC’s contribution to the program is a one-semester course that emphasizes key challenges for the field. Comprising a Web-based component and a one-day, in-person session, the course has been adapted from UIC classes already offered and is directed by Annette Valenta, professor and head of the Department of Biomedical and Health Information Sciences in AHS.

What do you remember about the Circle?
Submit your memories or comments about life at UIC’s “Circle” campus through the UIAA Web site. Entries will be posted in the site’s Virtual Memory Book through fall 2007. The Chicago Circle committee is also developing a display to celebrate the creation and early life of the Circle campus; it will be unveiled in the Circle Lounge in Student Center East (formerly Chicago Circle Center) this fall.