HU classroom dedicated to longtime professor

A classroom at Heritage University is now named in honor of a longtime Heritage faculty member who retired two years ago for health reasons. More than 50 family, friends and supporters gathered for the heartwarming ceremony at Heritage last week for the dedication of “The Professor Apanakhi Buckley Collaborative Classroom” located in Petrie Hall Room 1112.

Guests, and Apanakhi herself, heard testimonials from many who shared how she positively impacted their lives and the university. Apanakhi taught at Heritage from 2000 to 2016, and in 2014 began using the room now named in her honor as a classroom. A glass sign outside the room now tells visitors the name of the room. The room is also temporarily decorated with indigenous artwork.

Pictures from the ceremony can be found on the Heritage University Facebook page.

Pacific Power Foundation Gives $2,000 Grant to Heritage University for Scholarships

Heritage University’s David Wise accepts a $2,000 check from Pacific Power Foundations’ Lori Froehlich. The grant will be used for student scholarships.

Date: July 20, 2018

Contact: David Mance, Media Relations Coordinator, (509) 969-6084 or Mance_D@Heritage.edu.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Pacific Power Foundation gives $2,000 grant to Heritage University for student scholarships

Toppenish, Wash. – Heritage University is pleased to announce it has once again been awarded a $2,000 grant from the Pacific Power Foundation. This is the third year in a row Heritage has received the grant, which will be used for student scholarships.

David Wise, VP of Advancement and Marketing for Heritage, was presented with the grant check by Lori Froehlich, regional business manager for Pacific Power on July 13. “We at Heritage are thrilled for the Pacific Power Foundation’s continued support of educational opportunities for deserving students in our community,” said Wise. “This generous grant will help students who have all the drive but not all the funds necessary to pursue a college degree at Heritage.”

Froehlich says Heritage University’s mission of providing education to underserved communities mirrors the Pacific Power Foundation mission of supporting the growth and vitality of communities through charitable investments. “We are glad to support Heritage and its work to help students earn a four-year degree. Heritage University’s work puts students in a position to improve their lives, the lives of their families and to give back to their communities.”

For more information, contact David Wise at (509) 865-0717 or wise_d@heritage.edu.

About the Pacific Power Foundation

The Pacific Power Foundation is part of the PacifiCorp Foundation, one of the largest utility-endowed foundations in the United States. The foundation was created in 1988 by PacifiCorp, an electric utility serving 1.9 million customers in six Western states as Pacific Power (Oregon, Washington and California) and Rocky Mountain Power (Utah, Wyoming and Idaho). The foundation’s mission, through charitable investments, is to support the growth and vitality of the communities served by Pacific Power and Rocky Mountain Power. For more information, visit www.pacificpower.net/foundation

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Diversity outreach belongs on campus (editorial), Yakima Herald-Republic, July 15, 2018

Reaction from local universities to the Trump administration’s recent retraction of Obama-era “guidance” promoting diversity in the admissions process turned out to be something slightly more than a collective shoulder shrug but far less than an Edvard Munch “The Scream”-like freak out.

As it should be.

Jumping the urban-rural divide through digital stories, Walla Walla Union-Bulletin, July 11, 2018

Digital storytelling came to Walla Walla this summer, through a partnership between Whitman College and Heritage University in Toppenish, Wash.

Over a period of several weeks, nearly two dozen students — equal populations from both schools — worked together in a new, place-based storytelling project called Rural American Digital Lab, or RADLab, as it got nicknamed.

Summer program for Yakama students, KAPP-TV, July 12, 2018

TOPPENISH, Wash. – Two local universities are working together in a unique five-week summer science program.

Heritage University and Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences are working with the Mount Adams School District and the Yakama Nation Tribal School on a science program that is focusing on students living on the homelands of the Yakama Nation.

Heritage students overcome much to succeed (editorial), Yakima Herald-Republic, July 13, 2018

YAKIMA, Wash. — This newspaper recently published articles related to a lack of college success among our youth in the Yakima Valley. Experts have suggested that poverty, lack of higher education of parents and ignorance of opportunity contribute to this disparity. However, a significant number of students at Heritage University have surmounted these supposed barriers.

Summer program prepares students for health and science jobs that may benefit the valley, KIMA-TV, July 11, 2018

Students in SPYS class (KIMA-TV)

YAKIMA Wa. — University leaders are teaching young students about health and science careers to prepare them for jobs in the Yakima Valley.

Heritage University and Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences have come together with the Mt. Adams School District and Yakama Nation Tribal School to create a science- focused program for middle and high school students.

Student Jayenell Lee who is attending the five-week program and she says she wants to go into the Neuro Science field and feels like this program is helping her get there.

Heritage University, PNWU entice students to science

Toppenish, Wash. –Heritage University and Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences have come together with the Mt. Adams School District and the Yakama Nation Tribal School to create a unique science-focused program for young people living on the homelands of the Yakama Nation.

The five-week long Summer Program for Yakama Students (SPYS) encourages and rewards young people in the Valley to enroll and succeed in science classes. Dr. Maxine Janis, president’s liaison for Native American affairs at Heritage University, and Dr. Mirna Ramos-Diaz, assistant professor of family medicine at PNWU, and Dr. Naomi Lee from Northern Arizona University created SPYS. Dr. Janis and Dr. Ramos-Diaz co-wrote a proposal to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and received notice of funding days before the program began in the Yakima Valley.

First week of classes in the Summer Program for Yakama Students project at Heritage University

“I just want to emphasize that our collaboration is the only way this program is possible,” said Dr. Ramos-Diaz, SPYS co-director. “What makes my heart sing is the work from everybody so we could build this pathway program for our underrepresented youth.”

The intent of the program is simple – build and strengthen the scientific knowledge and motivation of students to enter the health sciences and do well in their science curriculum. Upon successful completion of the program, the high school students may be able to participate in a two-month internship at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) at the NIH in Bethesda, Maryland.

Dr. Janis and Dr. Ramos-Diaz have worked closely for years on both the summer internship program and the Roots To Wings program that involves both schools. “I am thrilled to be working with partners who feel as passionately as I do in developing programs that will benefit the Native peoples of our Valley.”

SPYS is a comprehensive science-based education program which integrates traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) as part of the curriculum. The program will also offer instruction on how to apply for college, seek scholarships and financial aid, and learn successful study habits. Local culture is also woven into the curriculum, such as incorporating the knowledge of various foods into the study of chemistry, and integrating Native traditions and values into science. “We know that combining culture with science makes the course of study more accepted by students, who in turn will do better in these types of programs,” said Ramos-Diaz.

The SPYS program is designed to provide opportunities for underrepresented youth to seek health professions pathways. Native Americans and Mexican-Americans under the age of 18 living on the Yakama Nation are participating in SPYS. Once they complete the program, these students will be in the position when they turn 18 to complete a competitive application for a summer internship at the NIH in Bethesda.

First week of classes in the Summer Program for Yakama Students project at Heritage University

Guest lecturers from across the nation will join Heritage and PNWU faculty for SPYS. Dr. Rita Devine, program coordinator for NINDS and Dr. David Wilson, director of the Tribal Health Research Office at NIH will visit the students and observe their progress. Dr. Wilson’s office coordinates NIH research related to the health of American Indians and Alaska Natives (AI/AN) at NIH institutes and centers. “Dr. Wilson’s presence at SPYS will bring a great deal of prestige to the program,” said Ramos-Diaz.

“The NIH always seeks to support pilot programs such as SPYS to demonstrate how underrepresented students in health sciences disciplines can conduct research that will impact health, disease and health care outcomes,” said Dr. Janis. “Support for the SPYS preparatory education program offers opportunities for our Native youth to become active participants as scholars in the health sciences.”

Heritage University in Toppenish will host the first week of SPYS beginning July 9, 2018. PNWU in Yakima, Wash. will host the second and third week, with the program returning to Heritage for the final two weeks.

For more information, contact:

Maxine Janis at (509) 865-0737 or Janis_M@Heritage.edu

Mirna Ramos-Diaz at (509) 249-7796 or MRamosDiaz@pnwu.edu

Scoring college entrance tests, Yakima Herald-Republic, July 9, 2018

YAKIMA, Wash. — On various weekends during the upcoming school year, high school juniors across the Yakima Valley will cram into classrooms to take college entrance exams.

Taking those exams can be harrowing. Some students study endlessly for the SAT and ACT, thinking their chances of getting into college — and thus securing a financially stable future — ultimately hinge on their scores.

Camp S.E.E.D. Flourishes

Local middle school and high school students have a better understanding of the business world after participating in Camp S.E.E.D. Marketing Day at Heritage University last month. Several dozen students from area schools spent two weeks with Heritage University Enactus members to learn marketing skills. With the help of mentors, they researched, developed, manufactured and marketed products which they sold to the campus community on June 28. The students also sold lunch and snack items.

This is the fifth year for Camp S.E.E.D. (Social, Economic and Environmental Development) at Heritage. Several of the mentors, including Grandview High School student Agustin Cortes, attended Camp S.E.E.D. as a student, and is glad to be giving back to the program.

To see pictures from Market Day, visit the Enactus Heritage University Facebook page by clicking here. Camp S.E.E.D. will host a second cohort of students the first week of July at Heritage.

Camp S.E.E.D. Market Day at Heritage University, June 2018