IU South Bend added three new minors in 2022, open to all IU South Bend students, regardless of major.
The new palliative and supportive care minor in the Vera Z. Dwyer College of Health Sciences is the first minor of its kind in the area.
“Palliative care is not hospice care,” explains Bunmi Okanlami, MD, MBA, chair of palliative care and clinical assistant professor of health sciences. “It’s comprehensive care of the person from the time of diagnosis of serious illness. Hospice care is palliative care at the end of life.”
The purpose of palliative care is to help people and their families with serious illnesses live their best lives while still caring for and treating the disease. It addresses all facets of a serious illness, such as finances, nutrition, work and home adaptations, psychological counseling and care coordination.
The new minor will train and educate students across disciplines in palliative care, who in turn will go on to apply their knowledge and skills in their future professions in the community.
Hailey Fair, a freshman psychology major and Titan softball player, decided to pursue the minor to gain knowledge about working with children in a hospital setting. “I plan to work in child-life specialties, so I wanted to learn how to make children more comfortable when they are diagnosed and getting treatments,” she explained. “I really like how my professor has lots of experience in the field and can share stories about it.”
Contact Bunmi Okanlami at oaokanla@iu.edu for more information about the palliative care and support minor.
Coaching Minor Answering Need for Trained Coaches
Likewise, the new coaching minor in the School of Education, launching in fall 2022, answers a need in the community for trained coaches. “After I received multiple requests from athletic directors from local schools asking for coaches, I decided to conduct a survey of local principals. The survey confirmed a strong interest among principals in a coaching minor program,” said Tony Randles, PhD, MPH, acting assistant dean of the School of Education.
In response, the School of Education developed a 15-credit-hour coaching minor based on the learning outcomes of the National Association for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE) guidelines for elementary to college level coaching.
The coaching minor teaches students to understand the scientific foundation of coaching athletic teams, which includes sport psychology, common athletics injuries and prevention, and fitness and conditioning with sport specific training. In addition, students understand the rules, duties and legal and administrative aspects of coaching an athletic team.
Students are taught by faculty who are experienced coaches and athletic directors. In addition to the coursework, students also complete 100 hours of practical experience with a local athletic team. The school has partnered with coaches and athletic directors in the community so students can gain hands-on experience.
“The coaching minor prepares students with practical experience in real-life settings, working closely with faculty both in the classroom and on the playing field,” said Randles.
Minor Prepares Students for Careers in Publishing
The publishing minor in English and fine arts combines training in art, digital media, and graphic design with instruction in writing and editing. Students learn about all aspects of publishing, from drafting and designing to marketing and publicizing a finished product.
Through coursework and opportunities at the CLAS Publishing Center (Pub Hub), 42 Miles Press, and Wolfson Press, students can also get hands-on training in a field that’s relevant to any major and career path.
Sophomore English major Faith Fegley is minoring in women’s and gender studies and publishing. “I hope to become a published author,” said Fegley. “I’m learning technicalities and the nuances of book publishing before I enter the workforce. It will give me that head start to the publishing business.”
The interdisciplinary minor encompasses both the visual elements of publishing in the fine arts—graphic design, printmaking—with the writing and editing elements in the liberal arts. “We really wanted to create a curriculum that encompassed both the arts and English,” explained associate professor of English and director of creative writing Kelcey Ervick. “Students get experience on both sides of the publishing process, which helps prepare them to see the big picture of publishing.”
The core required course taught by Wolfson Press Publisher and English Professor Joseph Chaney, Literary Publishing and Editing, helps students understand the ways that they all can contribute to a publishing career or publishing field. Guest speakers in a variety of fields share their insights, students learn about different types of careers and jobs in publishing and gain an understanding of the parts of a book and publishing terminology.
Bryce Delaney Walls, a senior English major in the creative writing track said, “My work in Pub Hub and graphic design courses in the publishing minor have helped me get interested in lots of different types of arts---poetry, visual arts, painting. These experiences are also exposing me to the more important processes of editing and publishing.”
For more information about the Publishing minor, contact Dr. Kelcey Ervick at parkerk@iusb.edu
For more information about the Coaching minor, contact Dr. Tony Randles at randlest@iusb.edu
