APSU Public Health

Through our partnership with the Mt. Olive Cemetery Historical Preservation Society and speaker, author, life coach, and podcast host, Tyra Garlington, we had the chance to record an episode on Frankly Speaking with Tyra G, which will air on Radio Fairfax and other podcast streaming services in the near future. We will keep you updated on a specific date.

Titled "Bending the Arc: Learning from Our Past to Shape Our Future," the episode focuses on our work to help students and public health professionals learn about health disparities, health inequities, racism, and oppression and how they have impacted African American health experiences throughout history, with a particular focus on Clarksville's largest and oldest African American burial ground, Mt. Olive Cemetery.

Again, we will alert you as the podcast becomes available.

We were recruiting future APSU Public Health at the Austin Peay State University transfer student orientation today outside the Morgan University Center.

APHA and Public Service Promise are co-hosting a free, expert-led webinar on how to obtain student loan relief from the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program. Use the link to register today! https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/2517140559412/WN_rZzXJUhCRtqQQuEohr9SzA #/registration

Check out the great spring 2024 work by the APSU College of Behavioral and Health Sciences, including APSU Public Health students!

Spring CoBHS 2024 Newsletter Read all about the exciting things happening in the College of Behavioral and Health Sciences!

Dr. Fitch became interested in healthcare and education during his college journey. Within that time, he collaborated with like-minded individuals to create two student health organizations, and a health-related newspaper to explore questions and topics that were different from course content.

He obtained his MPH at the University of Michigan and his MD at the University of Maryland. Based on these routes, Dr. Fitch observed that there was valuable, but different perspectives between public health practitioners and medical doctors.

We thank Dr. Fitch for all his exceptional work and valuable input to APSU Public Health faculty and students!

Today we celebrated our graduating seniors at the Spring Commencement Ceremony! You have worked very hard to reach this important milestone and the future is bright! Congratulations to our public health graduates: Carla Augustin, Teiya Byles, Destiny Eldridge, Laila Holmes, Juanita Jimenez, Miranda Dailey, Kadeem McCarthy, Blake Qualls, Isis Richardson, and Patrick Richardson.

We'd like to congratulate Dr. Shannon Haselhuhn on winning the 2023-2024 CJH Research Award through the Austin Peay State University Eriksson College of Education. Way to go!

Public health students participated in a multi disciplinary seminar hosted by the Psychological Science and Counseling Department. The event offered students opportunities to network, discuss how careers connect, and to work together on a case study. What a great way to finish the semester!

On May 1, 2024, APSU Public Health instructor, Shannon Haselhuhn, successfully defended her doctoral dissertation titled "Exploring Undergraduates' Mental Health Help-Seeking Barriers and Preferences."

Congratulations, Dr. Haselhuhn!

Thank you to all those who helped make this event possible!

We would like to offer a special thanks to Ethan Steinquest for the wonderful story and photos.

Honoring the past, shaping the future: APSU highlights health disparities at Mount Olive Cemetery APSU's Master of Public Health program and the Mt. Olive Cemetery Historical Preservation Society recently partnered to tackle health disparities and promote antiracism through a GOVing Tuesday-funded professional development program.

On April 29th, 2024, students in HHP 4800 (Capstone for Public Health) presented their research posters that described the planning, implementation, and evaluation process of the April 4th, 2024 event titled "Wellness Hub: Tigers, Govs, and Community Unite with Food, Fitness, and Fun."

The student posters described the process of incorporating and delivering healthy heart screenings at the event and focused on the following cardiovascular disease risk factors: hypercholesterolemia, hyperglycemia, hypertension, obesity, physical inactivity, unhealthy diet, and smoking.

Additional posters from the Wellness Hub event, created by APSU Nursing students in NURS 4050/4051 (Community and Public Health Nursing), were on display and focused on similar topics for both youth and adults.

Thank you to the APSU College of Behavioral and Health Sciences and all other partners for making this culminating event possible.

Also, thank you to all those who came to the Exposium to view the posters and engage with the students.

Whether you are graduating or returning in the Fall, be sure to implement some healthy self-care habits this summer!
Happy end of the Semester!

We had a wonderful time celebrating our new Eta Sigma Gamma (ESG) initiates! ESG is a national public health education honorary that recognizes academic achievement and provides opportunities for public health education practice. Congratulations Alison, Deanna, Destiny, Gazala, Laila, and Shalaya on being the newest members of the Epsilon Tau chapter.

We would like to Congratulate Dr. Heather Tillewein for successfully completing the Climate Change and Health Program at Yale School of Public Health!

On Monday, April 29, 2024, between 8:00 - 10:00 a.m., outside of the Austin Peay State University Morgan University Center, you are invited to attend a public health research poster exposium being held by students in HHP 4800: Capstone for Public Health where they will present research posters depicting their work in designing, implementing, and evaluating the 2024 Wellness Hub event at Burt Elementary School. Please come and support these students who have worked very hard this semester!

Here are some tips for Study Day!

Dr. Chakrabarti started her career as a community-based researcher in India about 20 years ago. She has worked in a variety of settings, including the community, legislators, and public health concerns such as maternal and child health, environmental health, and school health!

Dr. Chakrabarti stated, “My interest to work in public health and health communication stemmed from my belief that maintaining a symbiotic and harmonious relationship between our mind, body and soul is key to wellness, a belief derived from Hinduism, one of the dominant religious practices in India.”

In her free time, Dr. Chakrabarti enjoys traveling, photography, cooking, and embroidery.
We thank Dr. Chakrabarti for all her exceptional work and valuable input to APSU Public Health faculty and students!

We encourage all students to apply for this internship with the Tennessee Department of Health! This is a great opportunity for professional development.

If you are interested, the contact info is on the flyer. Do not hesitate to ask any questions🙂

Congratulations to Naomi Bannis for being accepted into the 2024 Human Sexuality Summer Research Fellowship with the California Institute of Integral Studies. Naomi will be on the Physical Disability Team with faculty lead Dr. Heather Tillewein. The research team will look at sexual behaviors among individuals with physical disabilities using Dr. Tillewein's published data sets.

It’s back! Come make zen gardens and enjoy herbal tea to learn stress reduction techniques to avoid va**ng!

Tell your friends!

📍MUC Ballroom
📆Wednesday 24th
🕕1-4pm

Do you need to relax during this productive week?

Come Paint and Sip!
📍MUC Plaza
📆 Tuesday 23
🕕1-3pm

Yesterday, our MPH program and Mt. Olive Cemetery Historical Preservation Society members hosted a professional development event, Mt. Olive Cemetery: A Training Ground for Racism Prevention in Public Health, for public health professionals and students. During the event, participants were led through a public health historical tour and headstone cleaning workshop of Mt. Olive Cemetery, and they left the event with a 12-week antiracism guide to take back to their organizations.

The event was funded by generous donors during the APSU GOVing Tuesday initiative. We thank you!

Yesterday, APSU College of Behavioral and Health Sciences held its annual awards day to recognize students for their academic accomplishments, and many public health students received awards. Congratulations to our public health award and scholarship winners!
Academic Achievement Award - Miranda Dailey
Emerging Leader Award - Patrick Richardson
MPH Academic Achievement Award - Mike Ruttlen Jr.
MPH Health Impact Award - Unjanae Johnson
Friends of HHP Scholarship - Teiya Byles
MPH Graduate Poster Presenter - Amanda Martinez

Thanks to all those involved in this special event for Austin Peay State University students to care for their physical and mental well-being.

A special shout out to the APSU College of Behavioral and Health Sciences Committee for Belonging, Engagement, Recruitment, and Retention for coordinating and executing this event to help increase student belonging on campus!

Thank you to all those involved in this awesome program for the homescooled youth participants!

What an event to close out the semester!


📍The Quad
📆April 23rd
🕕6pm-8pm

Come enjoy food, yard games, and laser tag!

What a beautiful day for this event with HHP 3450 students to remember and honor Clarksville's African American history!

Thank you to the APSU College of Behavioral and Health Sciences Director of Communications, Victoria Godinez, for joining us and capturing the event so well!

Also, thank you to the various groups and individual leaders who have made a class experience like this possible with the creation, unveiling, and promotion of these markers, such as the Tennessee African American Historical Group, led by Frederick DeShon Murphy and Tracy Jepsen; city and county officials; community members; and the Clarksville Montgomery County African American Legacy Trail, led by Shana Thornton and Terry Morris;

This Saturday, April 20th, Eta Sigma Gamma will welcome its newest members in a formal initiation ceremony.

Eta Sigma Gamma is a national public health education honor society that recognizes academic achievement and provides opportunities for advocacy, research, service, and teaching.

Congratulations to our 2024 initiates:
Deanna Coleman
Destiny Eldridge
Alison Grey
Laila Holmes
Gazala Momin
Shalaya Perkins