Thursday, November 8, 2001 TODAY Loma Linda University news LLU chancellor inaugurated on October 24 Hispanic Alumni of LLU names alumnus of the year for 2001 Fall week of devotion held on Loma Linda campus Hispanic Alumni of Loma Linda University holds fifth annual scholarship banquet on October 15 on the Loma Linda University campus Teaching Learning Center moves to West Hall Center for Health Promotion presents weight loss tips Annual 5K/10K healthy neighborhoods race held October 7 Office of diversity hosts new student orientation LLU chancellor inaugurated on October 24 See more photos. Richard H. Hart, MD, DrPH, chancellor, Loma Linda University, delivers his inaugural address titled "...Except As We...Forget." See complete text of his address. Lowell C. Cooper, MDiv, MPH, newly elected chair of the Board of Trustees for Loma Linda University, and vice president of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, brings a congratulatory message from the Adventist world Church. An inauguration ceremony for Richard H. Hart, MD, DrPH, celebrating his appointment as chancellor of Loma Linda University, was held Wednesday, October 24, in the Loma Linda University Church of Seventh-day Adventists. More than 2,000 individuals attended the event. "On the special occasion of this inauguration," says B. Lyn Behrens, MBBS, Loma Linda University president, "the University reaffirms its commitment to its historic mission—to further the healing and teaching ministry of Jesus Christ." Attending the inauguration were delegates from 15 universities and colleges located throughout California. In addition, delegates from Walla Walla College, College Place, Washington; Southern Adventist University, Collegedale, Tennessee; and the University of Hawaii, Honolulu, were in attendance. Members of the various inaugural processional groups gather at Magan Hall prior to entering the University Church of Seventh-day Adventists for the inauguration of Richard H. Hart, MD, DrPH, as the first chancellor of Loma Linda University. See more photos. The inauguration began with a processional composed of the chancellor's party; Loma Linda University Board of Trustees; delegates of universities, colleges, and learned societies; and Loma Linda University vice chancellors, deans, and faculty. The processional was led by University marshal Ronald L. Carter, PhD, professor and chair, department of natural sciences in the Graduate School. "It is good for us to have an occasion like this," states Lowell C. Cooper, Mdiv, MPH, newly elected chair of the Loma Linda University Board of Trustees, and vice president of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, "to be reminded to sharpen our vision and to recognize the role of leadership. "Dr. Hart, today we honor you and uphold you, as the chancellor of this University, and we recognize what needs to be done in the days ahead is not something that you can do alone. So we pledge our support and desire to work with you." In her comments, President Behrens stated "…today we formally pass the baton to Chancellor Hart, and Chancellor Hart, this community celebrates that you have accepted the call to servant leadership. We entreat you, Chancellor Hart, to center us on Christ and to build on the principles of faith, hope, and love and to enable us to consistently live the virtues we have embraced. And so, we pass the baton asking that God would richly bless you, and empower you to be what He has called you to be at this time in the history of Loma Linda, and in the history of the world." In his inaugural address titled "...Except As We...Forget," Dr. Hart paid tribute to the early pioneers at Loma Linda University for their sacrifices in making Loma Linda what it is today. In addition, he paid special tribute to the faculty and researchers who comprise this institution. Please turn to page 8 for the complete text of Dr. Hart's inaugural address. Dr. Hart was named chancellor and chief executive officer of LLU in February, 2001. He was born in 1945 at the Loma Linda Sanitarium and Hospital, and received his early education in Washington at Upper Columbia Academy in Spangle, and Walla Walla College. While at Walla Walla, he became the first student missionary from the Seventh-day Adventist Church to serve outside of North America. In 1966, prior to his first year in medical school, he married Judy Osborne. The Harts now have three daughters: Chandra, Briana, and Kari. In 1970, he earned two LLU degrees—an MD from the School of Medicine and an MPH from the School of Public Health. Following an internal medicine internship at LLUMC, he began studies toward his doctor of public health degree at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland. From 1972 to 1976, Dr. Hart served in Tanzania. As a population intern from the Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health, he developed the department of community health in Moshi. During this time, he co-authored Child Health, a book for mid-level health professionals in Africa. In 1974, a USAID contract with LLU took him to Dar es Salaam, where he was chief of party to the Ministry of Health and helped to develop a maternal and child health program. In 1977, Dr. Hart received his doctor of public health degree from Johns Hopkins University and became board certified in preventive medicine. Dr. Hart has served Loma Linda since 1972, including positions as chair, department of health sciences; director, Center for Health Promotion; chair, School of Medicine department of preventive medicine; and, since 1990, dean, School of Public Health. Dr. Hart's vision extends to the farthest reaches of the globe. His early involvement in student missionary work was key in the development of Students for International Mission Service and the Social Action Community Health System—a local low-cost health-care system for the medically underserved. He is also president of Adventist Health International, a new organization created to manage health services in developing countries. Also participating in the program and assisting in the litany of dedication were Allen Job, MS, MPH, president of the student association; Monica M. Neumann, MD, associate professor of anesthesiology, and chair, IFAC; Helen E. King, PhD, RN, dean, School of Nursing; Donald G. Pursley, DBA, executive vice president and chief financial officer, Loma Linda University Medical Center; and Richard C. Osborn, PhD, president, Pacific Union College, Angwin, California. ‘…Except As We…Forget' It was not unlike many other institutional committees before and since. Powerful pressure groups arrayed on either side of the issue. Inability to reach a consensus. A beleaguered chairman calling multiple meetings with changing membership, trying to break the impasse. Finally, in an act bordering on insubordination, he made his own decision. Walking to the local bank and borrowing $1,000 against his personal reputation, he made the initial down payment on the thrice-failed hotel that locals had come to call "Lonesome Linda." And in that single act, Loma Linda University began. The next three months unfolded a sequence of events that convinced even the most skeptical that God's hand was in this endeavor. Nearly 100 years have now passed. Years that have seen near death struggles on occasion, and a few brilliant victories. Years that have produced men and women who have been called to make lonely decisions—decisions with profound impact not only on the University itself, but on a growing health-care network created by its alumni that now spans the globe. The first half of this institution's history was filled with many remarkable events, perhaps culminating in Percy Magan's leadership bringing solid accreditation to the struggling medical school. For most of us, the last 50 years are better known, with individuals whom we have personally known and respected. While it is always dangerous to select out single events or individuals, let me risk my perceptions. The decision in the 1960s to consolidate the school at Loma Linda from the Los Angeles campus was one of those defining issues. Led by Dr. David Hinshaw, a small group of clinical faculty committed to leave the established facilities and patient base in the city, believing that a unified campus could survive, patients would come for quality care to what was then an outlying area, and the institution's objectives would be better served. It was my privilege during my freshman year in medicine to watch the towers go up that formed the core of the new building here in Loma Linda. Even the change of name from hospital to Medical Center sounded bold. That summer I was working for a local moving company, and at the appointed time, we backed our moving vans up to the loading dock of the old hospital on the hill, rolled the few patients still left in their beds into the vans, secured them, and took them down to the new facility. To that small group—Drs. Hinshaw, Ralph Thompson, Louis Smith, Bruce Branson, John Petersen, Varner Johns, Joan Coggin, Roy Jutzy, Ellsworth Wareham, and others, we extend our thanks. Emboldened by the new facility and a growing reputation, an expanding number of young Adventists came to Loma Linda for their professional education. In the 1960s and '70s, their bright, inquiring minds asked many questions of their church, their society, and how to appropriately understand and explain God's role when confronting challenging circumstances. Thousands of our alumni from that era are forever indebted to two individuals who were willing to meet those questions without defensiveness, providing a clarity of understanding that has given this church many local leaders and Sabbath School teachers through the years. Drs. Graham Maxwell and Jack Provonsha, whose total commitment to truth made their wisdom and counsel acceptable and appealing, thank you for anchoring this University in its understanding of God's role in this world. From its inception, Loma Linda had emphasized teaching and service, but had only dreamed of being a research center. Increasingly, as it matured and stabilized, a growing number of faculty started pushing various research agendas. The era of innovation and research then received a jump start from a single surgery in the Fall of 1984 that was recounted around the world—Baby Fae. From Dr. Leonard Bailey's commitment to dying infants came a turning point in Loma Linda's reputation and recognition. Along with Dr. Bailey, Drs. Larry Longo, Jim Slater, Gary Fraser, David Baylink, and others have now established LLU as having a commitment to inquiry that is acknowledged worldwide. Dr. Bailey, please accept our thanks as a symbol of all our researchers who are pushing the boundaries of knowledge. The final era I would like to mention came in the last 15 years. With scientific acceptance, educational maturity, and administrative cohesiveness, the institution was able to more overtly emphasize its original agenda—"the teaching and healing ministry of Jesus Christ." With an environment provided by our president, Dr. Lyn Behrens, and methodology articulated and championed by Dr. Wil Alexander, LLU has steadily and deliberately claimed its uniqueness among academic health-science centers as an institution truly driven and instructed by its Christian commitment. Thank you, Lyn and Wil, and many others, who have made us proud of our heritage. Each of those pivotal events, and thousands of others, called for singleness of purpose to guide this institution through uncertain waters. Those called to decision making were certainly plagued with struggles and doubts. Is there something spiritually or morally valuable in facing so much uncertainty and questions? If not, why does the God who ordained this institution, allow so many difficult challenges to confront its leadership? My sense is that God uses the uncertainties of our tomorrows to maintain our faith and commitment to the certainty of His future. Years ago I read an article by Dr. Mervyn Hardinge, the founder of our School of Public Health, discussing the then current interest in anticipating and planning the future through "feasibility studies." His fundamental thesis was "What would have happened if Noah had done a feasibility study? Or Moses? Or Daniel? Or John Burden, who made our initial $1,000 down payment?" Conceived in faith, succored by adversity, Loma Linda University has met many challenges, from both internal and external forces, and is now positioned for the 21st century. So what about the future? With a still small and over-committed institution, what will it bring to us? New challenges to be sure, for they are already here. New champions undoubtedly, for that is the way change occurs. September 11 has shown us that we cannot predict or control the future. Even the date, 9-1-1, seems to have prophetic overtones. How do we balance our commitment to quality education, global service, and innovative research? What does our constituency, our Church, need from us? And, if I can be so arrogant, what does the world itself need from us? There can be no question now that we are members of a global village. Information exchange and the networking of ideas are changing everything. We have clearly endorsed our motto,"to make man whole," by articulating the many facets of personal wholeness. But as we move into the local and global community, we are recognizing that the physical, mental, social, and spiritual components of wholeness may not complete the picture. The brokenness of this world cannot be healed without economic wholeness, without political wholeness, environmental wholeness. How far into those realms can an academic health-sciences center with limited resources reach effectively? Yet clearly our commitment to wholeness is not complete without that kind of restoration. Can Loma Linda University fill this continuing and expanding demand for principled Christian leaders to carry out these objectives? What skills and characteristics will they need? What kind of qualities will distinguish our graduates? Robert Coles, the noted Harvard psychiatrist, tells the story of one of his students. She was from a midwestern town, of modest means, who had made her way to Harvard out of her own hard work. She had taken a job cleaning other students' rooms to support herself when she came to Coles with her predicament. One of her classmates, she recounted, was a brilliant student, already published, heading for medicine, and achieving A's in all his classes. But he had been propositioning her in his room while she cleaned. Her poignant question should haunt us all: "What's the point of knowing good if one doesn't go on trying to become a good person?" She finally left Harvard, or what she came to call "fancy, phony Cambridge." Character. Values. Commitment. Compassion. Integrity. What role does an institution of higher education have in developing them? Are quality alumni primarily a function of a good admissions committee who seek to determine who is really behind the nice words on the forms? Or, is there a role for the curriculum committee and faculty in these areas—molding, challenging, confronting, guiding? Is it arrogant, is it safe, for an institution, even one founded on Christian values, to try to influence a student's character? Loma Linda University has unabashedly made a commitment to not only provide quality technical education but to also produce quality people. It is clear that this kind of education will not occur primarily in the classroom, but on the wards, in the clinics, and in the community, as human needs are confronted and force an understanding of our own perceptions and values. It is these kinds of experiences, accompanied with appropriate mentoring and reflection, that provide the meaning and direction for life. When one's commitment is real and goals are pure, the path is sure. John Gardner from Stanford commented on this when he wrote "Meaning is not something you stumble across, like the answer to a riddle or the prize in a treasure hunt. Meaning is something you build into your life. You build it out of your own past, out of your affections and loyalties...out of your own talent and understanding...out of the things you believe in…The ingredients are there. You are the only one who can put them together into that unique pattern that will be your life. Let it be a life that has dignity and meaning for you. If it does, then the particular balance of success or failure is of less account." The past has always shaped the future. I believe our founders would be proud of the institution today and would have confidence in its future. For it was our founder, Ellen White herself, who penned our assurance and guide, "We have nothing to fear for the future, except as we shall forget God's leading in our past history." Thank you for sharing this time with us, and may God continue to bless Loma Linda University. *Following is a listing of the Loma Linda University pioneers mentioned in the inaugural address in order referred to: David B. Hinshaw Sr., MD, emeritus professor of surgery; Ralph J. Thompson Jr., MD, emeritus professor of surgery; Louis L. Smith, MD, emeritus professor of surgery; Bruce W. Branson, MD, emeritus professor of surgery; John E. Peterson, MD, emeritus professor of medicine; Varner J. Johns Jr., MD, emeritus professor of medicine; Joan Coggin, MD, MPH, professor of medicine and special assistant to the chancellor for international affairs; Roy V. Jutzy, MD, professor of medicine; Ellsworth E. Wareham, MD, emeritus professor of surgery; A. Graham Maxwell, PhD, emeritus professor of religion; Jack W. Provonsha, MD, PhD, emeritus professor of religion; Leonard L. Bailey, MD, professor of medicine; Lawrence D. Longo, MD, distinguished professor of physiology and pharmacology; James M. Slater, MD, FACR, professor of radiation medicine; Gary Fraser, MD, PhD, professor of epidemiology and biostatistics; David J. Baylink, MD, distinguished professor of medicine; B. Lyn Behrens, MBBS, president and CEO, Loma Linda University Adventist Health Sciences Center; and Wil Alexander, PhD, founding director, Center for Spiritual Life and Wholeness. |top| Hispanic Alumni of LLU names alumnus of the year for 2001 Honored as alumnus of the year by the Hispanic Alumni of Loma Linda University was Abraham A. Acosta, MD, MPH. Dr. Acosta was born October 19, 1954, in San Juan Nepo, on the Caribbean coast of Colombia. His elementary and high school studies were completed in his native city, and he obtained his bachelor's degree in 1972 at the Instituto Colombo Venezolano in Medellin, Colombia, currently the Adventist University Corporation of Colombia. He received his MD in 1980 from the University of Cartagena, one of the oldest and most prestigious institutions of his country. In 1986, he began the master of public health in international health, which is a program offered by Loma Linda University in Latin America and the Caribbean, graduating in August, 1989. From 1992 to 1993, he studied in the management development program at the School of Business and Economics at the Adventist University Corporation and is currently taking a master's degree in curriculum development at the Diego Portales University in Santiago, Chile. Dr. Acosta has enjoyed a broad trajectory of service as a rural doctor (for which he won an award); medical director of the Adventist Medical Center in Barranquilla; conference health and temperance director; ordained district pastor (a personal highlight) and Colombian Union department head for health and communications; scientific director and host of the TV program "Health For All," and has also been a member of the scientific committee of the 2nd Latin American Conference for Health Promotion and Education. Dr. Acosta has also been a presenter at conventions and professional meetings, including the First Health Promotion Journey, coordinated by the Association of Non-Governmental Chilean Organizations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, an agency of the United Nations (ASONG-CEPAL [Spanish for Asociacion de Organizaciones No Gubernamentales; Comision Economica pare America Latina y el Caribe]), held in 1995 in Santiago, Chile. Later, he was called to serve at the Adventist University in Chile, as the director of the master of public health degree program, specifically for health education. This academic program is currently being offered by Loma Linda University on the campus of that institution. In December, 1995, he was named president of the Adventist University in Chile, which is a responsibility he holds to this day. Professionally, Dr. Acosta has been scientific director for the Anti-tobacco Foundation Club of Colombia and president of the Adventist Medical Association of Colombia and has published in the fields of health and education. He has taught "Research Methods," "Principles of Health," "Health and Evangelism," "Program Laboratory," and "Populations and Integrated Health." Dr. Acosta has been project director for the Interdisciplinary Research for Community Health Development project at Metropolitan University; and he has also chaired examining committees on various occasions, judging the presentations and thesis defenses of graduate students and is a member of the prestigious Kappa chapter of the Delta-Omega, a society of health professionals in the United States. Dr. Acosta is married to Elma Newball Sotelo, also an educator, with whom he has three children: Abraham Rodolfo, 20; Elmita Rosa, 18; and Ana Lucila, 9. Abraham and Elmita are studying medicine at the Adventist University del Plata. Together, they form a wonderful family, committed to the mission of the Church and enjoying their service to God and their fellow man. |Top| Fall week of devotion held on Loma Linda campus Vice president for academic administration at Walla Walla College, College Place, Washington, John C. Brunt, PhD, presents his final devotion at the Loma Linda University fall week of devotion held in the University Church of Seventh-day Adventists. Dr. Brunt spoke on the overall theme of "Exploring Questions That Matter." In addition to his administrative responsibilities at Walla Walla College, Dr. Brunt also serves as professor of biblical studies. Dr. Brunt has frequent opportunities to preach and present seminars in churches and worker's meetings throughout the United States. He is involved in the Walla Walla College Church as an associate head elder. He has held evangelistic meetings in Cour d'Alene, Idaho; Pushkin, Russia; and in the Republic of Singapore. Hispanic Alumni of Loma Linda University holds fifth annual scholarship banquet on October 15 on the Loma Linda University campus See more photos. On Sunday, October 15, nearly 200 faculty, students, and friends of Loma Linda University gathered for the fifth annual scholarship fundraiser dinner presented by the Hispanic Alumni of Loma Linda University (HALL). Sidney Torres, MD, co-president of HALL, welcomes guests to the Hispanic Alumni of Loma Linda University's fifth annual scholarship fundraiser dinner on October 15, at the Wong Kerlee International Conference Center in Loma Linda. Eleven Loma Linda University students received scholarships ranging from $1,000 to $2,000 during the banquet. Students honored were Sandee Annette Castañeda from the School of Nursing; Sara Garcia Chávez from the School of Nursing; Brando Cobanov from the School of Medicine; Karen De La Cruz from the School of Medicine; Rebeca E. Durán from the School of Public Health; Brenda M. Flores from the Graduate School; Lucelia de Paula Lima from the School of Dentistry; Eduardo Nam from the School of Medicine; Carlos Romero from the School of Allied Health; Gerardo Alberto Toledo from the Graduate School; and Isaac Hernandez Vielma from the School of Medicine. Receiving HALL's Special Recognition Award was Benjamin Hernandez, MSW. Born with perfect pitch to Enrique and Magdalena Hernandez in Los Angeles, California, Mr. Hernandez began soothing souls through music almost immediately. Performing with his older brothers, Henry and David, as the Little King's Heralds, he sang gospel songs and played the accordion in many Los Angeles area churches. During junior high school, Mr. Hernandez' choir skills were nurtured as a member of the California Boys Choir. During high school at Lynwood Academy, Ben learned to play piano and sang in the school's premier chorale group, the Linaires. While attending college he sang with the Loma Linda University Singers. Through the years he has directed many choirs including the Los Angeles Spanish-American Seventh-day Adventist Church choir, the Norwalk Seventh-day Adventist Church choir, the La Sierra Spanish Seventh-day Adventist Church choir, the McFadden Spanish Seventh-day Adventist Church choir, and most recently at the Santa Ana Broadway Spanish Seventh-day Adventist Church choir. He also directed the Orange County Mass Choir of Spanish Seventh-day Adventist Churches. Mr. Hernandez served as pianist and organist at the La Sierra Spanish Seventh-day Adventist Church. He often has shared his musical talent giving solo vocal performances. Mr. Hernandez received his bachelor of science degree in social work from Loma Linda University Riverside campus (now La Sierra University) in 1979 and his MSW from California State University, Long Beach, in 1984. He was assistant manager of the Adventist Book and Bible House in Glendale, California, and was a career counselor at Cerritos College. His first social service was for the Los Angeles County Department of Children Services, initially in the city of Norwalk, working with foster children and then in south central Los Angeles. Later, while working for the Children's Bureau in Orange County, he organized and taught parenting classes in churches, schools, and community centers. During this time he conducted family and individual counseling. Mr. Hernandez' public service began with his election to the Anaheim Elementary School Board in 1994 where he served for six years. He worked as a field director for the Loretta Sanehez campaign for the 46th U.S. Congressional District. For the past two years, Mr. Hernandez has been a member of the school board in the Anaheim High School District. He began substitute teaching in 1996. His interest in education led him to obtain teaching credentials at California State University, Long Beach, in 2000. He taught 6th grade at the Vanguard Learning Center in Compton until he became ill in January, 2001, due to a malignant brain tumor. Mr. Hernandez has involved himself in many volunteer activities. He has been appointed to the Orange County Mental Health Advisory Board; chair of Children and Youth Services Mental Health Advisory Committee for Orange County; and board member of Kinder Caminata—a nonprofit organization that helps kindergarten children meet professionals on college campuses.   Abraham A. Acosta, MD, MPH, thanks HALL for honoring him as the 2001 alumnus of the year. He has been very involved in church activities as a leader in church groups and weekly Sabbath School programs and in Pathfinders. He organized and led youth groups on camping trips in the mountains and to the Colorado River. His favorite activities are traveling; playing chess, softball, and basketball; skiing; and hiking. He especially enjoys these activities with his 7-year-old son, Alex. Keynote speaker for the evening, Jaime Estremera-Fitzgerald, began his life many years ago outside a tiny town in Puerto Rico named Esperanza—an appropriate name for the direction his life would take. Hope for a better world and finding ways he could affect change, as well as instill hope in others has been his life-long endeavor. When he was two, his family migrated to San Francisco and later to Los Angeles where he did most of his growing up. Spanish was his first language, but he quickly learned how to speak English after moving to the United States. He attended private schools and after serving in the Air Force during the Vietnam War, attended Loma Linda University and then Pepperdine University completing his master's degree in clinical psychology, graduating with honors. Having a strong desire to serve his community and an education in tow, Mr. Estremera-Fitzgerald made the decision to become a minister where he worked with youth and counseled troubled families for many years. Knowing that he was meant to work with people, but feeling that his reach was limited as a minister, he left the ministry, after 14 years, and began searching for his niche. Many adventures later, Mr. Estremera-Fitzgerald found himself in New Mexico leading the way with an innovative alcohol and drug prevention program that he took part in designing. While serving as executive director for this program for five years, Mr. Estremera-Fitzgerald became involved with the welfare of the community around him and that became the focus of his career as a human service advocate, as well as in all his future endeavors. As a member of the executive committee of ENLACE—which is a country-wide collaborative education grant—he has played an active role in bringing education and literacy to the Hispanic community in his area. He also developed a propensity for health-care issues and grew into a profound knowledge of health-care policy and budgets as they relate to legislative agenda in New Mexico. This knowledge has been interwoven with various projects he embarked on as a citizen advocate. Mr. Estremera-Fitzgerald has served as interim director of the Santa Fe Community Partnership where he was brought in as a troubleshooter to put the organization back on track and get it to a point where it could serve the community as well intended in its scope of services. He was the director of media and community relations in the successful Tom Udall for Congress Campaign earning him national recognition, as well as experience in working with the community in many different situations. As a news reporter and disc jockey for KSWV "Que Suave" Radio, he has had experience in public relations on all levels, communication skills in all aspects of media, and extensive knowledge of intergovernmental processes, not only on the federal level, but on the city, county, and state levels as well. Currently the president and CEO for MasterWorks Design which handles innovative interior design for commercial, residential, hospitality, and health-care facilities, Mr. Estremera-Fitzgerald is able to use his knowledge of health-care issues, policy, and budget to help create better health-care facilities around the country for the elderly population, as well as for the general services for the public. Additionally, he serves on committees related to human services, including the New Mexico Supreme Court Task Force for Child Abuse and Neglect. Due to his career as a human service lobbyist, advocate, director of various nonprofit organizations, and collaborator with a wide number of community programs, Mr. Estremera-Fitzgerald brings a vision, innovation, creativity, and an ability to provide strategic direction to all his endeavors. |Top| Teaching Learning Center moves to West Hall Shirani de Alwis-Chand, EdD, director of the Teaching Learning Center, instructs students in the new large classroom located in West Hall. After being residents of Evans Hall for eight years, the Teaching Learning Center has recently been relocated to make room for the expanding Adventist Health Study. The Adventist Health Study and its School of Public Health portions are now housed on the entire second floor of Evans Hall. The Teaching Learning Center is now located in the lower level of West Hall in room B-112. Despite the effort of moving, the Center has several benefits being in a new location. In West Hall, the classroom is 23 feet by 36 feet and can offer students more space and more activity room. "Change is always challenging, but our location now is much more functional," says Shirani de Alwis-Chand, EdD, director of the Teaching Learning Center. The Center now occupies five offices and a large classroom in West Hall, with new paint and renovations in all the rooms. "It is lucky that we moved when we did, because our classes were getting too large for our former classroom," reveals Dr. Chand. Enrollment for the Center has increased dramatically recently. Eighty-three percent of the students projected to enroll for the entire school year have already been enrolled by fall quarter. Eighty-seven percent of the projected income for the entire school year has already been received by the fall quarter. The Teaching Learning Center bases its teaching and learning on principles taken from education, psychology, and medical research. The goals of the Center are to help students become efficient learners; provide strategies that enhance reading, studying, test-taking, writing, and oral communication; assist students in coping with academic stress and anxiety; provide support programs; and monitor student progress. The Center offers several courses, such as the ABLE courses, which focus on efficient information processing. ABLE stands for: Assess learning style and skills; Break through in reading speed and comprehension; Learn memory and analytical techniques and skills; and Enhance ability to take tests. Also offered by the Center are the WRITE courses, which stress dynamic writing skills. WRITE stands for: Writing critically in academia; Reviewing grammar skills; Instigating creative language; Terminating writer's block; and Evaluating composition skills. Oral communication classes are also offered by the Center. These classes focus on improving oral communication of the English language and developing specific techniques for delivering dynamic, effective, and engaging oral presentations. In addition, the Center provides a program called BULC (better understanding of learning challenges). BULC is a support group for students with learning differences. The program provides support for students and faculty alike and promotes community awareness of various learning challenges. West Hall is located on the west end of the Loma Linda campus, near Barton Road and Campus Street. For more information on the Center's move to West Hall or any of the programs offered through the Center, please call (909) 558-8625. |Top| Center for Health Promotion presents weight loss tips Winter is fast approaching, and with that comes large Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners. Eating those large dinners feels great at the time, but often we pay the price in January with unwanted weight gains. Instead of unsuccessfully trying to work those extra pounds off later, why not take precautionary steps now to avoid overeating and gaining the extra weight? The following tips may help. Add extra activity to your life, for example park farther away in the parking lot, do your own gardening, and take the stairs instead of the elevator. Don't skip meals when you are planning on eating out later. Your self-control will disappear if you arrive at a restaurant hungry. Practice putting your fork down between each bite and savoring the taste of each morsel. The key is to take your time enjoying your meal. Try to keep a food diary and exercise log to pinpoint your triggers for eating and your excuses for not exercising. Often awareness can help you change bad habits. Learn to eat in moderation. Listen to what your body is craving and eat it, but stop when you feel full. These tips were provided by the Center for Health Promotion. The Center currently offers a weight-loss program called "Better Weigh." This 12-week program is for any overweight individual who wants to permanently change their weight and develop a healthier lifestyle using a creative low-fat meal plan with ordinary foods. The group sessions focus on skills necessary for lasting lifestyle changes. Call (909) 558-4594 for information regarding a free weight management orientation. The Center for Health Promotion is located in Evans Hall, on the Loma Linda campus, on the corner of Stewart and Anderson streets. |Top| Office of diversity hosts new student orientation The office of diversity hosted the 2001–2002 Loma Linda University new student orientation on October 8 where guests and program participants were treated to a pizza dinner. Here, Richard H. Hart, MD, DrPH, chancellor, Loma Linda University, one of several faculty, staff, and administrators who took part in the program, welcomes the new students to the University. |Top| [November 8, 2001 TODAY] [News and media page] University | Medical_Center | LLU&MC_home | Search_&_index | News_&_events | Employment | Contact | Our_mission | All contents copyright © 2001 Loma Linda University. All rights reserved. Revised Monday, November 12, 2001 2:36 PM Send comments and questions to webmaster@univ.llu.edu URL: http://www.llu.edu/