“Son of Brooklyn” and Family Nurse Practitioner Joins Heilbrunn School

August 30, 2017

Growing up in Brooklyn, Julius Johnson passed by LIU Brooklyn countless times, but without ever really considering what lay within.

“Growing up,” Johnson said, “Downtown Brooklyn was where people went shopping. I would pass by without realizing what it was. At my school, a lot of kids were not thinking about college.

After earning his bachelor’s and master’s degrees and becoming a nurse practitioner, however, Johnson came to see his hometown university in a new light, and this fall, he’ll join the faculty of the Harriet Rothkopf Heilbrunn School of Nursing as an Assistant Professor in the Nurse Practitioner master’s program.

“LIU is at the center of a new Brooklyn for me,” Johnson said. “There are so many new homes, and so much investment in Downtown Brooklyn, and LIU can be a pivotal institution.”

As he built his career as a nurse practitioner in New York City, Johnson got involved with LIU Brooklyn’s chapter of his fraternity, Kappa Alpha Psi. As he taught his fraternity’s steps to the LIU students and served as a mentor, he found that he could make valuable connections at LIU because of its array of widely regarded health care programs. Now, those connections have led him to join the faculty, and he’s looking forward to connecting with students in a new way.

“I’m looking forward to inspiring the next generation of nursing leaders,” Johnson said. “My professors were really important in my career, and they inspired me to give back. I’ve spent a lot of time giving back in the community, and now I’m really looking forward to giving back to future nurses at LIU Brooklyn. I’m from Brooklyn, born and raised, and having chance to give back to Brooklyn is important to me. It means a lot.”

LIU Brooklyn Professor’s Research on Swearing Commands International Attention

August 30, 2017

If you’ve ever found yourself frustrated when attempting a difficult lift at the gym, don’t be embarrassed about swearing.

In fact, it might even help.

That’s the conclusion in research by LIU Brooklyn Adjunct Associate Professor of Sports Science David Spierer, which was presented at the annual conference of the British Psychological Society, and later covered in a wide range of publications and media outlets, including the New York Post, the New Yorker, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Fox News, and GQ.

Spierer and graduate student Emmanuel Katehis collaborated on the study – “Effect of swearing on strength and power performance” – with Dr. Richard Stephens of Keele University in England. While the study made headlines as something of a curiosity, the findings do have practical applications.

Participants in the study averaged a 5 percent increase in strength while swearing, as determined by the Wingate test (an intense anaerobic bike ride), and an 8 percent increase in strength on an isometric handgrip test.

“If we apply that to real life,” Spierer told Australia’s The New Daily, “think of a jar of pickles or something you’re trying to open that’s really difficult. Having 8 percent more power might actually open the jar.”

To learn more about the study, click here to read Spierer’s interview with The New Daily.

LIU Brooklyn MPA Program Hosts Policy Forum to Prevent Homelessness

August 30, 2017

The LIU Brooklyn School of Business, Public Administration and Information Sciences joined with Care for the Homeless to host a day-long policy forum in June. More than 300 leading community activists from across the New York metropolitan area attended the conference, which took place in the Library Learning Center on the LIU Brooklyn Campus.

The forum featured Public Advocate Letitia James and New York City Social Services Commissioner Steven Banks, along with an array of experts that included two professors from LIU Brooklyn’s Master of Public Administration program, Dr. Bakry Elmedni and Dr. Karina Moreno Saldivar. LIU Brooklyn’s N.A.S.P.A.A.-accredited MPA program prepares public service professionals for managerial positions in government, health, and non-profit sectors.

“Too often homelessness is accepted as a fact of life, like the weather,” wrote Jeff Foreman of City Limits, who attended the forum. The difference, according to Foreman, was that the experts who spoke at the LIU Brooklyn forum “asked not how to manage homelessness, but how to prevent and end homelessness as we know it in New York City.”

Click here to read more about the forum on preventing and ending homelessness.

LIU Brooklyn Encourages Midlife Entrepreneurship Through Partnership With Stage2Startups

August 30, 2017

For many people, talk of entrepreneurship and incubators provokes thoughts of Millennials and Generation Z. However, the reality is quite different. According to a recent Kauffman Foundation Index, approximately half of all new entrepreneurs are age 45 or older. That is why LIU Brooklyn’s Center for Entrepreneurship is partnering with Stage2Startups on a program to help older entrepreneurs become startup founders and offer support to this new community.

In partnering with Stage2Startups, LIU forged an alliance with a team of entrepreneurs with years of corporate experience. The founders of Stage2Startups created their company after noticing a need in the market based on their own experiences, and the Center for Entrepreneurship has provided a platform for Stage2Startups to use in filling that need.

The partnership launched on August 2 with a panel on funding options at the Center for Entrepreneurship’s lab on the LIU Brooklyn Campus. Among the distinguished speakers who addressed the audience of aspiring entrepreneurs were Chanel sales executive turned surf bikini company CEO Helena Fogarty, Lower East Side Credit Union representative Angel Garcia, NYC Small Business Solutions representative Calvin Fletcher, and Raise the Credit and Business Kings CEO Andres Rosa.

Dawn McGee Strickland, director of LIU Brooklyn’s Center for Entrepreneurship, moderated the panel. Before joining the University, Strickland was part of a startup team that raised over $5 million in venture financing, and previously served as a founding board member of the Laundromat Project, an award-winning arts and social justice organization.

Future programs in the series will include insight into equity and partnership agreements and other legal issues, technology, sales and marketing. All programs feature experienced entrepreneurs and may also include subject matter experts.

LIU Brooklyn Nursing Student Travels to Peru on Medical Mission

Brooklyn Campus News

August 29, 2017

With a state-of-the-art simulation laboratory, a commitment to interprofessional education, and licensing examination pass rates that exceed national averages, students come to LIU Brooklyn’s Harriet Rothkopf Heilbrunn School of Nursing for transformational opportunities that lead to meaningful careers.

Neha Parmar got one on her way to campus.

While traveling by bus back to LIU Brooklyn after visiting family in southern New Jersey, Parmar found herself chatting with a fellow passenger about her interest in medical missions to foreign countries. Before they arrived back in New York, it turned out that Parmar had been speaking with Sharrye Moore, a leader of the Give Them a Hand Foundation, a non-profit organization that brings together United Nations departments and staff, member states, non-governmental organizations and the private sector for a variety of humanitarian projects, including medical missions. That connection led to a spot on a medical mission this past August, as Parmar traveled to Peru to provide much-needed medical services at a seminary and nursing home in Huancavelica, a small town in a valley in the Andes Mountains.

“It was definitely an adventure,” Parmar said.

The seminary in Huancavelica is home to more than 160 boys, who are cared for and educated by the priests. Parmar spent her mornings examining the boys, often treating skin conditions that result from a lack of heat.

“It’s heartbreaking,” Parmar said, “The skin conditions go undiagnosed, because so many people have them that it seems normal. They don’t see anything wrong with it.

“The skin is our largest organ. If there are things going on and you’re not taking care of them, you’re probably going to have a lot of problems.”

Parmar spent her afternoons working at the nursing home, Hogar de Anancios Santa Teresa Jurnet, which houses adults ranging in age from their late 50s to their late 90s. Many of the adults in the home have been abandoned by their families, and Parmar served as an additional source of human contact, in addition to medical aid.

As part of her preparation to travel to Huancavelica, Parmar raised money and gathered supplies with the help of her LIU Brooklyn classmates. By the time Parmar headed to Peru, she had raised more than $2300 and filled 10 massive suitcases with medical supplies.

“It was nice to see everyone come together,” Parmar said.

And, while Parmar is back in the U.S. and preparing for another year at LIU Brooklyn, she’s still “very much involved” with her contacts in Huancavelica, and she’s eyeing future opportunities to do similar work.

“I’d like to start a foundation to incorporate more dermatology on medical missions,” she said, “and possibly implement a mission aspect to the nursing program here.”

LIU Brooklyn MBA Student Cooks Up a Sustainable Business Plan for India

August 29, 2017

LIU Brooklyn MBA student Nikhil Pawar represented the University with distinction in the New York State Business Plan Competition, advancing to the statewide finals in late April with his plan to market sustainable biogas for cooking to home users in India.

It wasn’t school pride or a competitive mindset that motivated Pawar to enter the contest, however. Instead, it was genuine entrepreneurial spirit and intellectual curiosity.

“I was just curious to know what the judges thought,” Pawar said.

Pawar already had sustainable business on his mind when he was tasked with coming up for a business plan in an entrepreneurship class with Associate Professor Christoph Winkler. Winkler encouraged students to think seriously about something they would want to do, and use that as the basis for their work. Pawar initially considered a business involving solar panels, but his thoughts quickly turned to biogas.

“I dug a little deeper,” Pawar said, “and companies were mostly focused on commercial use, and it wasn’t helping individual households.”

Pawar continued his research, looking to devise a compact, profitable process for supplying biogas for domestic use. Pawar talked to manufacturers in his home county about how costs could be reduced to profitably serve the 800 million people in the country who cook using kerosene, wood, or charcoal.

“It’s a huge market,” Pawar said, “but people’s salaries are very low.”

Pawar eventually found his answer from a solar power company in India. He adapted a model for offering consumers financing, and incorporated it into his business plan. When the course was complete, he brought his plan to the New York State competition, and took it all the way to Albany, where the finals were held on April 28.

“Even the guy who won thought I was going to win,” Pawar said, “but I didn’t have anything to show [in terms of real results].”

While he didn’t win the big prize, Pawar got what he was looking for: an indication that his plan is feasible. Now, as he completes his MBA studies at LIU Brooklyn, Pawar is focused on building the career experience that will empower him to make his business plan a reality.

“I want to gain some corporate experience,” Pawar said, “and gather the finances to do this.”

LIU Brooklyn Student Malika Jordan Selected for NYCDOE Teaching Academy

August 29, 2017

The start of a new school year always comes with a certain amount of excitement, but for Malika Jordan, it’s a little different. After all, she’s going “back to school” in more ways than one.

As she completes her bachelor’s degree in Childhood Urban Education, Jordan will begin her student teaching at PS 142 in the Bronx.

“This is my first experience [teaching] a fifth-grade class,” Jordan said, “so it’s something new to me. I want to connect with the kids and have them engaged in my lesson plan.”

Jordan knows that connecting with fifth graders may be a challenge, as she understands that long periods of time spent at their desks can lead to distraction and disruptive behavior.

“I understand” Jordan said, “because I was that student once.”

Still, Jordan has come into her own at LIU, and credits Colleen Walsh, Assistant Director of the New York City Teaching Fellows Program, with challenging her to become a better-rounded educator.

“My writing wasn’t the best,” Jordan said, “but she pushed me to do better, and to go to the Writing Center on campus. She said, ‘I know you have it in you.’ After I went to the Writing Center, I used different methods I learned there to improve my writing.”

Walsh’s guidance was also helpful in preparing Jordan to deliver lessons in front of her classes.

“She gave me that push to motivate myself and put nervousness aside,” Jordan said.

Now, after excelling in her coursework at LIU and working with Pre-K students for three years in the JumpStart program, Jordan has also been chosen for the New York City Department of Education’s Teaching Academy. As she completes her student teaching, she’ll be guided by an experienced teacher who will help her with lesson and unit plans. When she completes the program and earns her final certification, she’ll be automatically placed in an NYC DOE classroom.

Still with a job in sight, Jordan is focused on how she can best prepare herself for what lies ahead.

“I’m looking forward to improving my time management in the classroom,” she said, “and learning how to engage students more, especially when you have a limited time period for teaching a particular lesson.”

LIU Pharmacy Students Travel on International Rotations

August 29, 2017

With a 130-year legacy of pharmaceutical education in Brooklyn and more than 65 elite clinical affiliations, LIU Pharmacy’s proud tradition is one of ongoing connection with the local community.

At the same time, LIU Pharmacy’s students and faculty are extending that spirit of community across the globe.

In the coming year, LIU Pharmacy students will travel overseas for a hospital rotation in Israel, a community pharmacy rotation in Austria, and an oncology rotation in Thailand through LIU Pharmacy’s international experiential elective rotation program. These travels follow a pair of medical missions by LIU students, faculty, and family this summer, aiding underserved communities in Honduras and Guyana.

“It’s important to expose students to other cultures,” said Dr. Suzanna Gim, Associate Professor of Pharmacy Practice, “and allow them to have different experiences with other health systems. It helps them understand our health system better.”

Dr. Gim led the medical missions to Guyana and Honduras, traveling with students and, in one case, a pharmacist who is also the parent of an LIU Pharmacy student. While some of the students were already familiar with the countries where they volunteered – the two students who volunteered in Guyana come from that country – volunteering on the mission was still a different experience.

“We volunteer in rural areas,” Gim said. “They had never seen or interacted with Guyanan people the way they did during the trip.”

The medical missions and international rotations serve as valuable interprofessional training, as the LIU Pharmacy students interact with nurses, physician assistants, physical and occupational therapists, and other volunteers and local practitioners. The interaction with patients from different backgrounds also serves as preparation for what awaits PharmD students upon graduation.

“In New York City,” Dr. Gim said, “we have to deal with a lot of different cultures, because we have a lot of immigrants and patients who grew up in different cultures. Other countries have a different idea of what pharmacists do, and we have the opportunity to promote good pharmaceutical practice.”

LIU Brooklyn Alumna Wins Fulbright Distinguished Award in Teaching

August 29, 2017

Having taught in New York City ever since earning her MSEd from LIU Brooklyn’s School of Education in 2011, Aisling Roche has always embraced the chance to expand her horizons beyond the five boroughs.

“I’ve always tried to pursue global opportunities to nourish myself as an educator,” said Roche, who teaches at the Academy of Urban Planning and Engineering High School, “and bring a global perspective to my classroom.”

Roche will have one of her most exciting opportunities to date in February. The LIU Brooklyn alumna will travel to Mexico on a Fulbright Distinguished Award in Teaching Fellowship, studying art education and its connections to social resistance and identity formation.

“I’m specifically interested in whether art education is present in curricula,” Roche said, “or whether it happens in the community in a less formalized setting.”

While conducting her research, Roche will also partner with art institutions, and will seek out opportunities to co-teach classes or run workshops on best practices from the U.S. Mainly, though, her interest is in the cultural lessons on the ground, inspired by previous travel on a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities to study Meso-American culture.

“I was really taken and engaged with art in Oaxaca,” Roche said. “It’s a place that’s had a number of educational protest movements, and I was struck by the interaction of two worlds.

At the Academy of Urban Planning, Roche encourages her students to interact with new worlds through her Model United Nations program. In teaching her students to represent countries like Jamaica, Ecuador and Ethiopia (as they did at tournaments over the past year), Roche looks to foster “empathy through global understanding” in students who rarely travel outside their own neighborhoods, and she hopes that her upcoming work in Mexico will help her further those efforts.

“When I come back,” Roche said, “I want to work on making Model UN more culturally inclusive through exploration of human rights in Mexico.

“I also want to work with adults and teachers on cultural competency and compassion. In a place like New York City, we really need to think about it, and be culturally knowledgeable and respectful.”

LIU Brooklyn Professor Helps Star Athletes Win Big

August 29, 2017

LIU Brooklyn assistant professor Tony Ricci hasn’t exactly “gotten away from it all” this summer. In fact, some of his biggest moments in recent months have come just a short train or subway ride from LIU Brooklyn, where he teaches exercise biochemistry and nutrition.

On June 24, Ricci was at Madison Square Garden as a performance coach for WBC International Super Bantamweight Champion Heather “The Heat” Hardy, who made a successful transition to mixed martial arts with a win over Alice Yauger at Bellator 180. Four weeks later, he was at NYCB Live, Home of the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, watching another of his athletes, former UFC Middleweight Champion Chris Weidman, defeat Kelvin Gastelum for his first win in more than two years.

“It’s been a nice summer,” Ricci said with a laugh.

Ricci wasn’t in either fighter’s corner, but as a performance coach, Ricci is a vital part of the fight preparation process for Weidman, Hardy, and several other fighters, including former WBO Junior Welterweight Champion Chris Algieri.

While Ricci leaves the specifics of what happens in the ring or the cage to the fight coaches, “I do pretty much everything else,” he said. “Cardiovascular conditioning, strength training…I make sure that the athlete is trying to optimize all the variables of performance and recovery.”

For an athlete changing disciplines – as Hardy did in moving from boxing to MMA, or as Weidman did following his collegiate wrestling career – optimizing those variables often means a significant change in training styles.

“You have to change the strength program and the power program,” Ricci said. “Boxers aren’t used to having level changes with their bodies, or having to use their arms to hold somebody. Wrestlers don’t like going up and down [on the mat], and then having to throw a punch.”

Ricci’s success comes in helping his fighters adjust to new challenges from a physiological perspective, and he draws on his work when teaching his students in LIU Brooklyn’s School of Health Professions, many of whom were on hand in May, when Hardy defeated Edina Kiss in a boxing match held at the LIU Brooklyn Paramount Theater.

“When they come with me,” Ricci said, “we discuss the physiology of what went on, and what energy systems were used. One of the most exciting things about it is that everything they’ve learned, they can apply to what happened. They understand why it’s different to train a fighter than it is to train an athlete for football or hockey: how do we take the protocols from our class and apply them to three to five minutes of continuous activity? They get to see it live.”

And, as Ricci gets Hardy ready for her next MMA bout in October, he’ll continue to share his experience with his students.

“It’s a wonderful way to have an interactive education,” Ricci said.