Consultant Jeff Johnson to Facilitate ‘Campus and Community Conversation’ at IU Northwest on October 29

Public conversation precedes the installation ceremony for Chancellor William Lowe iunlogo

Indiana University Northwest welcomes the campus and the greater Northwest Indiana community to participate in the upcoming public event, ‘IU Northwest and Community-Based Engagement: Building Our Future Together.’ The ‘campus and community conversation’ will take place in Savannah’s Bergland Auditorium from 1 p.m. until 2:30 p.m.

The conversation, facilitated by nationally known consultant Jeff Johnson, will focus on ways that IU Northwest, the City of Gary and the Northwest Indiana region can foster greater partnership and collaboration for the benefit of all.

The conversation will be specifically tailored to four core areas of discussion: Economic Impact; Environment; Educational Access and Advancement; and Arts and Cultural Enrichment.

Serving as facilitator, Jeff Johnson, of the Jeff Johnson Institute, will open up each topic and then allow both the IU Northwest and community representative to further address and discuss their designated area of expertise. The public is encouraged to attend and participate in the conversation.

The individuals listed below will serve as the IU Northwest and community representatives during the public forum.

Facilitator
Jeff Johnson - Consultant

Johnson is a host and producer for Black Entertainment Television (BET), as well as an internationally recognized journalist and social activist. He is managing editor and chief correspondent for "The Truth With Jeff Johnson," a BET talk show that has earned Johnson the reputation as the network's "conscience voice" for his positive work affecting youth and young adults.

Johnson has also worked as a senior advisor for the Media and Youth Outreach for People for the American Way, National Director for the Youth & College Division of the NAACP, and as Vice President of the Hip-Hop Action Summit.

Economic Impact
Subir Bandyopadhyay, Ph.D. - IU Northwest School of Business and Economics

Bandyopadhyay is a professor of Marketing at IU Northwest, where he teaches Introduction to Marketing Management, International Marketing, and Marketing Strategy at the bachelor's and master's levels.

Bandyopadhyay has won several prestigious teaching awards. He was recently awarded a Mack Fellowship, a multi-year prestigious fellowship awarded to select, and distinguished full-time Indiana University faculty. This fellowship is rooted in continuing research to advance the scholarship of teaching and learning. Bandyopadhyay has also been awarded an Honorary Professorship by the X'ian Statistical Institute and Renmin University in China.

His research interests are in the areas of economic and econometric modeling in marketing, retailing, e-marketing, and global marketing. Bandyopadhyay has been published in many highly regarded marketing journals, such as Marketing Science, Marketing Management, Journal of Product & Brand Management, Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Quarterly Journal of Electronic Commerce, and International Journal of Advertising.

Bandyopadhyay has a Ph.D. from the University of Cincinnati and received his master in Business Administration from the Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta.

Linda Woloshansky - The Center of Workforce Innovations

Woloshansky is the President and CEO of The Center of Workforce Innovations and has 25 years of experience as a CEO of four organizations. Her experience includes working for the private sector, school systems, the state of Indiana and nonprofits in many different capacities.

Woloshansky’s background includes the development of a number of award-winning programs overseeing more than $150,000,000 of funding with no disallowed costs. She is a certified Six Hats Trainer, School to Work Specialist, and a Certified Training Consultant from Ball State University, and she has taught at state universities and economic development institutes around the country.

Woloshansky has also written numerous articles on workforce education and economic development, and has made presentations across the country.

Environment
Ellen Szarleta, J.D., Ph.D. - IU Northwest School of Public and Environmental Affairs

Szarleta is an assistant professor of environmental management at IU Northwest, where she teaches Introduction to Environmental Sciences, Public Management Economics and Environmental Policy Analysis, as well as Toxics, Public Health and Law.

Szarleta has served as a consultant on several projects, including Environmental Rulemaking and Electronic Governance, Beach Water Quality Public Education and Outreach, Brownfield and Greenfield Public Decision-Making Processes, and Cereal Grain Marketing Policy Project in West Africa. She has conducted public outreach and education on various environmental regulations, designed public outreach programs and communication materials, and created and implemented public opinion and economic valuation surveys.

Szarleta has a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Wisconsin and a Doctor of Jurisprudence degree, cum laude, from the University of Iowa.

Dorreen Carey - City of Gary Department of Environmental Affairs

Carey is director of the City of Gary Department of Environmental Affairs (GDEA). The GDEA is responsible for Brownfields Redevelopment Grants and Programs for the city as well as oversight and coordination with other city departments for environmental due diligence for development projects, wetlands delineations, natural resource restoration and preservation, and environmental cleanups.

The department also oversees the implementation and day-to-day monitoring required by the 30-year closure plan for the Closed Gary Landfill, and the permitting and monitoring air emissions sources in the city. The Environmental Affairs Department has taken the lead role in developing a natural resource corridor and multi-use trail plan for the city in partnership with the Planning and Parks Departments.

Prior to her position with the City of Gary, Carey served for eight years as Executive Director for the Grand Calumet Task Force, a local community-based urban environmental organization in Northwest Indiana. In that capacity, she served on several national and local environmental advisory boards including the Steel Sector Workgroup of the Common Sense Initiative appointed by former EPA Administrator Carol Browner.

Educational Access and Advancement
Rochelle Brock, Ph.D. – IU Northwest School of Education and the Urban Teacher Education Program

Brock is an assistant professor in the School of Education. She began her teaching career as a high school social studies teacher and now uses her experience and acquired skills to teach higher education. She also serves as the Executive Director of the Urban Teacher Education Program at IU Northwest. Brock is currently teaching Urban Field Experience, The Development of Secondary School Programs: Methods of Teaching in Urban Schools, and Cultural/Community Forces and Schools.

Brock has authored professional journal articles, book chapters and books and presented at numerous state, regional, and national education conferences. Her current research interests include urban education, multicultural education and teacher identity.

Brock received her doctorate in Curriculum & Instruction from Pennsylvania State University.

Sharon Johnson-Shirley, Ph.D. - Lake Ridge Schools

Shirley is superintendent of the Lake Ridge Schools, Calumet Township in Northwest Indiana. In the past, she has worked as a teacher, principal, director of curriculum, and assistant superintendent.

She has served as a member of the Indiana School Safety Specialist Academy since 1999 and has also served as a member of the State Academy’s advisory board. In 1999 the Lake County Safe School Commission was formed, and Shirley has been a proud member since its inception. She continues to work on various committees and has served as secretary.

Shirley is an active member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Phi Delta Kappa, Professional Fraternity, Lakeshore Alliance for Student Success, Indiana Association of Public School Superintendents, Indiana Urban Schools Association, Northwest Indiana Special Education Cooperative, Northwest Indiana Public School Study Council, Association for Supervision and Curriculum, Indiana Association of Public School Superintendents, Northwest Indiana Education Service Center, National Affiliate of National School Board Association, and Indiana School Boards Association and a member of NABSE National Alliance of Black School Educators.

She earned her bachelor’s degree from Indiana University Bloomington, a master’s degree from Indiana University Northwest, an administrative license from Purdue University Calumet, and obtained her doctorate degree from Loyola University in Chicago.

Arts and Cultural Enrichment
Lori Montalbano, Ph.D. - IU Northwest Department of Communication and Performing Arts

Montalbano is an associate professor with the IU Northwest Department of Communication and Performing Arts. She is currently teaching Public Speaking and Interpersonal Communication. She has won many teaching awards, served on key committees and has a significant record of research publication. Her teaching and research interests include gender studies, narrative studies and performance studies.

Montalbano received her doctorate from Southern Illinois University-Carbondale in performance studies and obtained her master’s degree in communication at Purdue University Calumet. She is a proud IU Northwest graduate with a B.A. in theater.

Larry Brewer - South Shore Dance Alliance at the South Shore Centre for the Arts

Brewer is the Artistic Director and Founder of South Shore Dance Alliance. Since 2000, he has been a full-time dance instructor at the Emerson School for the Visual and Performing Arts in Gary, teaching ballet, modern dance (Horton Technique), jazz, and West African dance.

He has a B.S. in Communications/Sociology from St. Joseph College Calumet. Brewer has also studied ballet, modern jazz and West African Dance at Indiana University Bloomington, Dance Theater of Harlem, The Alvin Ailey School, and the Chuck Davis African American Dance Company in New York.

A reception will follow the campus and community conversation in the Savannah Center lobby.

The installation of Dr. William J. Lowe as the sixth Chancellor of Indiana University Northwest will start at 3:30 p.m. in the Savannah Recreation Center. The Chancellor’s installation theme will focus on a renewed partnership between IU Northwest and the greater community.

Immediately following the formal installation ceremony for Dr. Lowe, there will be a reception to celebrate this important milestone in the life of the campus in the Shadows and Echoes Sculpture Garden, weather permitting, or in the Savannah Center lobby.

The formal ceremony and celebratory reception are open to all IU Northwest students, staff, faculty, invited community members, and community conversation participants.

Dr. Lowe joined IU Northwest as the campus’s sixth Chancellor and 12th chief administrator on July 1, 2010, succeeding Dr. Bruce Bergland. Lowe came to IU Northwest from Metropolitan State University in St. Paul, Minn., where he had served as provost and vice president for academic affairs since 2003. He served as interim president of that university from 2007-2008 and was also a professor of history.

The Savannah Recreation Center is located at the southeast corner of the main campus parking lot at 33rd Avenue and Broadway in Gary. Free parking is available in the main campus lot.

To RSVP for the Community Conversation, or the Installation Ceremony, or both, please email Delores Crawford in the Office of External Relations at decrawfo@iun.edu, or call (219) 980-6800.

For additional information on the Installation of IU Northwest Chancellor William J. Lowe, please visit http://www.indiana.edu/~ceremony/iun/index.shtml.