May 5, 2017 | Erin Bluvas, bluvase@sc.edu 
Updated May 15, 2017

[Click here to view a gallery of photos taken by Tom Johnson and Errol Tisdale.]

The 2017 Arnold School of Public Health Hooding Ceremony began with a warm welcome to master’s and doctoral degree graduates and their families and friends by Dean Thomas Chandler.

Catherine E. Heigel, director of the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control, served as the event’s featured speaker. “This is an honor for me to come talk to you about public health and a view from the outside,” she began.

Then she asked what she considers to be a simple but profound question first posed by Harvard Business School Professor Clayton Christensen: “How will you measure your life?” Heigel explained that Christensen, who is a cancer survivor known for his technical writings in innovation, challenges others to be disruptive innovators. Heigel suggested that the call of Arnold School graduates is to be disruptive innovators.

Quoting Christensen, Heigel said: “The metric by which God will assess my life isn’t dollars but the individual people whose lives I have touched.”

“I personally share this view of how to measure personal success,” she added. “Those who enter the field of public health are successful every day. Public health professionals touch and improve the lives of thousands of people.”

James Hardin, Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs and Curriculum, presented the annual Arnold School student and alumni awards. Next, Chandler announced the Arnold School faculty award winners. Delta Omega Honorary Society Mu Chapter inductees were recognized as well.

Angela McLeod (Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders) received the James A. Keith Excellence in Teaching Award. Named for a former professor and associate dean of the Arnold School, it is designed to recognize superior teaching. Daniel Fogerty (Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders) received the Faculty Research Award for his outstanding scholarly record. Myriam Torres (Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics) received the Faculty Service Award, which is designed to recognize a faculty member who has provided exceptional outreach to the community, made significant contributions to public health practice, or provided leadership in professional organizations or university governance.

The Norman J. Arnold Alumni Medal was awarded to Carol Ann Page (MSP, Ph.D., Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders) for demonstrating work that has had both a positive impact on the profession of public health and on the health of an identified community/population and has brought recognition to the Arnold School of Public Health. Ana Isabel Gallego received the Gerry Sue Arnold, which recognizes more recent alumni (graduated in the past 10 years) for their contributions to the profession of public health and on the health of an identified community/population.

The Jeffrey Keith Mattison Outstanding Student Achievement Award went to Elena Keretses (Department of Exercise Science). This award is given to a master’s degree student who exemplifies service, leadership and personal example. Morgan Hughey (Department of Health Promotion, Education, and Behavior) received the Doctoral Achievement Award for demonstrated academic achievement, professional promise in creating meaningful and relevant research and/or practical application in the field of public health, and potential leadership and service to the community or to the field of public health.

The Arnold School’s six departments also presented awards during the 2017 Hooding Ceremony.

Communication Sciences and Disorders: Jessica Rice (MSP) and Christina Younes (MCD)

Environmental Health Sciences: Kelly Fleming (Distinguished Graduate Student), Diptadip Dattaroy (Doctoral), and Alexis Donohue (M.S.)

Epidemiology: Olubunmi Orekoya (Doctoral) and Jourdyn Lawrence (Master’s)

Biostatistics: Xinling Xu (Doctoral)

Exercise Science:  Leanna Ross (Doctoral), Elena Keretses (Master’s) and Katharine Olscamp (MPH)

Health Promotion, Education, and Behavior: Morgan Hughey (Doctoral) and Cleofins Mulligan (Master’s)

Health Services Policy and Management: Shannon Palm (Michael D. Jarrett Award)

Faculty member inductees into the Arnold School’s Mu Chapter of Delta Omega Honorary Society included: Christine Blake and Geoffrey Scott. Graduating student inductees were Jarrod Bullard, Elizabeth Costa, Sabrina Karim, Jourdyn Lawrence, Kerry Spillane, Xinling Xu, and Yanan Zhang. Alumni inducted into the Society included Asha Burrell, James Floyd, Ana Isabel Gallego, Sarah Gareau, Breanna Latisha Grant, Yong-moon Park, Nicole Vaughn.