Fall 2022 Newsletter

ROBERT MORGAN, Dean, College of Health and Human Sciences

Wow, what a first year. The time really flew by, but I learned so much about SIU Carbondale and our college. Most notably I learned what great people we have here in the College of Health and Human Sciences. I would put the work ethic, dedication and commitment to excellence of our faculty and staff against any faculty and staff in the country. We have truly great people across the college landscape.

As I spoke to college faculty and staff to kick off the new year (for those interested in the entirety of that presentation, you can find it on YouTube), I developed a diagram that I believe captures our uniqueness – our collective efforts at changing and enriching lives.

All of you, as alumni of this college, are in the business of making lives better. Whether that be in health or behavioral health, the safe, efficient, and effective transportation of people from point A to point B, or wellness and safety more generally, we collectively have committed our careers to the service of others. That is what makes us unique, and it certainly makes us special. Although we come past his time, I believe Albert Einstein had all of us in mind when he said, “Only a life lived for others is a life worthwhile.”

As we kick off another year, we have much to celebrate. We again increased our enrollment in the college such that we continue to account for approximately 35% of the SIU enrollment. With 3,035 undergraduates and 669 graduate students enrolled for fall 2022, we saw a 2.15% increase when many colleges across the country are in decline. We had a tremendous College Connection event to welcome new and returning students back to campus, including a dunk tank whereby we awarded over $5,000 in book scholarships to students who dunked faculty, school directors and me. We gave out numerous raffle prizes (including free flights courtesy of CapeAir), and we served over 120 pizzas. We also hosted an open house to highlight our new learning living communities (LLC) in Mae Smith. That’s right, we took over the entire tower (minus one floor) for our LLC. We branded the tower, decked out the patio (cornhole, pingpong table, grill) to provide our students with the best in living conditions. And starting in September, each school will be conducting academic events every month throughout the year to also ensure a rich learning environment within the LLC.

I close with an invitation. We will be hosting an alumni, faculty and staff appreciation tailgate during homecoming weekend (Oct. 15). Please plan to join us and enjoy some good Southern Illinois BBQ and a cold beverage of your choosing before we beat Western Illinois.

Best Wishes and Go Dawgs, 

Robert Morgan, Ph.D.
robert.d.morgan@siu.edu

by Pete Rosenbery

CARBONDALE, Ill. — Researchers at Southern Illinois University Carbondale are examining whether sports psychology skills and techniques can help student pilots get in a good mindset and optimize their performances.

Starting this fall, a cross-disciplinary collaboration that involves the School of Aviation and the School of Psychological and Behavioral Sciences, both within the College of Health and Human Sciences, will aim to improve flight students’ scores on rigorous practical examinations, or check rides. Working with four clinical psychology graduate students, eligible aviation students who volunteer for the approximate 16-week online program will learn to increase their psychological flexibility, motivation and performance.

“We are looking at performance psychology that has been used in professional sports for many years, where simply they get athletes in the right head space for optimal performance,” said Irene Miller, an assistant professor in aviation management, adding that utilizing performance psychology is new to the aviation field.

The goal is to have 120 aviation flight students — 60 each in the fall 2022 and spring 2023 semesters — with varying amounts of flight experience participate. Students will participate in six, one-hour sessions via Zoom. The research study proposal has been reviewed by the Federal Aviation Administration, and officials there, along with the U.S. Naval Training Command, are eager to see how the study turns out, Miller said.

Eric Lee, an assistant professor in clinical psychology, is supervising and implementing the study.

Rigorous demands

Students can experience many stress factors in college and that can be even more significant when coupled with passing FAA written exams and mastering flight skills needed to pass practical exams to obtain pilot licenses and ratings. A check ride is a 3- to 4-hour practical exam involving an oral and flight evaluation, usually to earn an FAA rating.

Miller explained students at times might make a seemingly minor error during a check ride but then dwell on that rather than focusing on the tasks at hand and anticipating the tasks ahead. The primary consequence of dwelling on a minor error is not passing the FAA practical exam (check ride). Ultimately, if the student’s performance continues to degrade, then they will risk the chance of not completing the flight training program.

Simply telling someone to “not be nervous” doesn’t work, said Miller, but giving them skills so they can cope and “thrive very well in those situations” is the goal. Faculty also involved in the research with Miller and Lee are Mike Robertson, a professor in aviation flight, and Ken Bro, an assistant professor in aviation management.

“Pilots have to take check rides throughout their careers. It is a part of the job that never stops,” Robertson said. “Often this causes stress, especially in the student population. If they can learn the skills to enhance their performance now, it will only benefit them as they continue their piloting career.”

Psychological flexibility

Lee explained that the sessions will be focused on skills and strengths and less on symptoms.

“What we are doing is teaching these acceptance-based cognitive behavioral skills,” he said. “We are focusing on flight checks, but they are broadly applicable skills.”

Having psychological flexibility allows people to move away from a mind’s natural tendency to look back at something that was off rather than focusing on the task at hand. Students will practice skills to help them achieve that, he said.

“Being psychologically flexible in the moment is to be present and aware,” he said.

Graduate students who are involved in the project will benefit from gaining clinical hours and having direct contact with students under his supervision, Lee said. The students discussed the study’s design and methodology over the summer.

The goal is to have preliminary results by fall 2023, he said.

Lee is also excited about collaborating with another area of campus.

“I think most disciplines are this way,” he said. “We can often feel kind of siloed and that we kind of just talk to ourselves and that we are only helping ourselves in some ways. In psychology especially, we are always trying to reach people who could benefit from this; what more can we do? There is a real possibility here to be useful.”

By Christi Mathis

CARBONDALE, Ill. — Southern Illinois University Carbondale’s registered nursing program launched just a couple of years ago, but it already is having a big impact. It’s all part of SIU’s plan to address the nursing shortage by training prepared and experienced healthcare workers.

The first accelerated nursing program students were already engaged in potentially life-saving health and wellness activities before they graduated in August, and as the first group of traditional nursing students enters their final year, they are also making a difference.

Some students, like Kira Marks, chose the accelerated BSN program to start a second career, one of the more unusual stories from the class. Before she graduated, Marks secured an ICU position at SIH Memorial Hospital of Carbondale following licensure and she likewise did her clinical training at the SIH facility. She appreciates the intense nature of her internship and the fact that she got the hands-on experiences she has.

Marks earned a degree in automotive technology at SIU in 2009 and worked in the industry for several years, but as time went on, began exploring options for a career change that would give her a secure career where she could stay in Southern Illinois. She had worked as a phlebotomist for SIH in the past and liked the company, and as she explored her options, discovered the new accelerated BSN program and it was just what she was looking for.

“I still work with my hands, fix things, and make them work right,” Marks said with a laugh. And indeed, she’s very excited that she will be helping people and having a real impact.

The need for registered nurses is great, officials said. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projected a job growth rate of 9% in the decade ending 2030, but officials note that this projection was made before the pandemic and the mass exodus of nurses that resulted. A recent report from McKinsey and Company said that the United States may see a shortage of 200,000 to 450,000 registered nurses by 2025.

“The nursing shortage is significant,” said Jennifer Harre, Southern Illinois Healthcare (SIH) chief nursing officer. “It’s been very critical to our organization because we’ve had to backfill a large number of vacancies with higher dollar contracted employees, and that’s just not sustainable. Even then we have had to close beds at times because we don’t have the staff to cover all of the beds, and that means patients have to go outside the region for care. We don’t want them to have to do that.”

Marks, along with Maggie Kelley, Gavin Wells, and Alexis Hoagland are among the first graduates of SIU’s new Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing program. On top of classroom instruction and clinical, they spent their final months of study working on a couple of special projects to benefit their fellow SIU students as well as community members.

They conducted a sun safety promotion at Carbondale Park District’s Super Splash Park in July. The nursing students hosted an educational display table offering information, handouts, and sunscreen samples to community members. They chatted with people, encouraging them to wear sunscreen, shared information about the harm the sun can cause to the skin, and told them how to recognize the signs of cellular changes and damage on all types of skin.

“It’s rewarding that we get to have that impact on our local community, especially people who aren’t seeking help or coming into a medical facility for care,” Kelley said. 

Kelley, of Vienna, Illinois, said oftentimes there is a misconception that people of color don’t have to worry about sun damage when in fact, that’s not true. What often happens is that darker skin tones sometimes mask the signs, making damage more difficult to detect until it is more advanced. That’s one of the reasons they wanted to make sure people know because that knowledge can save lives, they say.

After working six years as a lifeguard, Wells has seen what the sun can do, and he and his fellow nurses-in-training were quick to choose sun safety as their class project for the community health course taught by Debra Penrod, assistant professor of nursing.

There were four student groups, and each was asked to develop its community health project. The project phases include finding a need, developing a project, completing a program, and evaluating its success. Penrod said the program could take place on campus or in an external setting such as a daycare, nursing home, or anywhere in the region.

Other nursing group projects focused on educating SIU students about the health hazards of binge drinking and what to do if someone loses consciousness and educating their peers about sexual health. Penrod said she’s excited to see her students’ enthusiasm and initiative as well as the potential impact. Each group has also worked with the Student Health Center on a project.

Working with campus partners to serve students

Wellness and Health Promotion Services, a service of SIU’s Student Health Services, collaborates with campus and community partners to create a healthy and inclusive campus culture by providing resources and programming to equip students with the skills and information they need to make effective choices for their health and well-being, according to Rachelle Ridgeway, interim director of Wellness and Health Promotion Services and associate director of Counseling and Psychological Services. Penrod’s students are helping staff do that even more effectively in 2022 and beyond, Ridgeway said.

Each spring, SIU students are asked to evaluate the student health services provided and give input on what services and information they want and need. That’s where Penrod’s BSN students came in.

Ridgeway said she is excited to be collaborating with students from SIU’s nursing program as they have applied best health practices to help evaluate those survey responses and then plan preventative care presentations, workshops, and social media posts that are based on student need assessments and program outcome measures. She said the nursing students not only bring to the project planning professional expertise as nurse candidates but also personal experience as Saluki peers.

“I think the students receiving the information will appreciate receiving it from their peers and experts in the field,” Ridgeway said. “We provide topic-specific presentations and workshops, host informational campus events, and partner with campus and community entities to provide prevention-based training on a variety of topics that impact student success, including physical, nutritional, and sexual health; alcohol and other drug harm reduction; violence and suicide prevention; stress management; resilience and coping skills and health equity, even healthy eating. And all of our services are free to SIU students, even if they don’t have insurance.”

Hoagland, Marks, Kelley, and Wells met at the Student Health Center to create detailed plans for student workshops, and PowerPoint presentations, and brainstorm ways to reach fellow students via social media, signage, or other methods with valuable health-related information.

“These are things we get to write about and share our experiences about,” said Hoagland, of Edwards, Illinois. “We can help them discover resources we didn’t know were available to us. There are a lot of free resources on this campus and in the community, and we’re nursing students and we didn’t even know about them. That’s one of the things we’re trying to do with the things we’re creating.”

Marks, of Carbondale, Illinois, noted that many students don’t realize they can get treated or obtain X-rays or lab services for just $10 at the Student Health Center.

Going full circle

The community projects, both on- and off-campus are valuable in more ways than one, according to Penrod. They are a great way to give back to the campus and the community at large, a practical way to capsulize what the nursing students have learned, and a wonderful resume booster, she said.

“This is the culmination of everything they’ve learned in nursing,” she said.  “They study, they comprehend, they train, they evaluate, then they create a plan and help people, all the while using best medical practices. Then, they do it for real. It is the whole learning continuum.” 

Three degree pathways, rigorous accelerated program

SIU began its Bachelor of Science in Nursing program in 2020 and the university offers three degree completion tracks: the traditional four-year bachelor’s program, the accelerated BSN program, and the hybrid RN to BSN degree-completion program. The traditional BSN program will graduate its first class in May 2023. When in full operation, officials anticipate SIU’s nursing program will provide training for about 300 students over four years.

The accelerated BSN program launched in the fall of 2021. The accelerated program is concentrated and rigorous, essentially covering the advanced skills typically taught over three years in just a year, officials said. During summer 2022, the first 16-member SIU accelerated BSN class completed what would typically be the “senior” year of their curriculum, actually their third semester, before graduating in August.

SIU’s nursing program earned accreditation from the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE), the accrediting arm of the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) in May, and it’s the first nursing program in the state to incorporate training from Mid-America Transplant into its curriculum, according to Kelli Whittington, assistant professor and nursing program director in the School of Health Sciences.

Clinical experience that matters

A requirement for their community health course is clinical experience, and Penrod said her students obtained that experience this summer in various ways.

Moving forward, plans call for continuing to incorporate community health and SIU Student Health Services projects into the curriculum for both the accelerated and traditional nursing student programs, Penrod and Ridgeway said. 

For instance, they said in spring 2023, plans call for the traditional nursing students to be involved with conducting the Student Health Services programming assessments, which the accelerated BSN students can then help develop programming for again next summer. Throughout the year, as it fits within the schedules of the various nursing programs, the nurses-in-training will begin assisting Ridgeway and Wellness and Health Promotion Services with a variety of workshops, events, and other endeavors. Projects range from helping to train residential advisers about student health and wellness, promoting suicide prevention, and fostering healthy relationships.

Making it count

Whittington said the nursing students have several locations to choose from in which to serve their clinicals, from Carbondale to the Metro East and Springfield. While taking classes at SIU, the students have accumulated a lot of other practical experience as well, and it’s already paying off.

Wells and John Young assisted staff from SIH in providing free sports physicals at Carbondale High School in early June. Wells and other students assisted with pediatric physicals at the Murphysboro school district earlier this year as well.

A Poplar Bluff, Missouri, native, Wells had a biology degree from another university but was excited to hear he could complete his nursing degree in just a year at SIU, a university he said had a great reputation. He believes the curriculum and hands-on training have prepared him well for his plan in the fast-paced world of a registered nurse working in the ICU or emergency room.

The mother of a five-year-old, Kelley, wants to work in a pediatric ICU, ideally at Children’s Hospital in St. Louis. Kelley said she thinks it’s important to treat parents and children the way she would like to see her child and herself treated if they were dealing with a health care situation. Originally a social worker, Kelley has always had a heart for helping people, but after living abroad in Italy for several years she returned to the United States and decided to switch to a career where her work on behalf of her patients was more quickly noticeable and tangible, and she’s happy that she can complete her degree in just a year at SIU.

Hoagland was a biology/chemistry major, originally planning to go into medicine, but became concerned that various factors would steer her away from her preferred areas of specialty. As she thought about it, she realized that her real love is the ICU and she chose a career in nursing and SIU’s accelerated BSN program. And it’s already paying off, she’s proud to say. She was hired at Memorial Hospital in Carbondale, pending passing her RN board examinations to earn her license. She’ll be working in the cardiovascular intensive care unit.

“It’s pretty exciting,” she said. “I did my clinicals there, and they trained me in that unit so I’ll be fully prepared.”

SIH and SIU have an ongoing partnership to address healthcare needs throughout the region, as SIH pledged $1 million to help SIU launch the BSN program and this summer, SIH announced a new scholarship program for SIU’s accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing program. Students who meet the criteria can receive full scholarships, earn their degree in a year, and then pledge to work at an SIH facility for a period of time commensurate with the amount of funding received.

By Tim Crosby

Sarah Michalak says she may have met her long-lost sibling at SIU.

OK, not really. But she has so much in common with her roommate in Aviation Living Learning Community in the residence hall towers at SIU that it seems like it might be possible.

“I have an amazing roommate. We’re super similar, and share clothes, shoes, even looks and food preferences and hobbies,” said Michalak, a freshman aviation management major from Crystal Lake, Illinois. “Sometimes I think we might be long lost twins!”

Michalak is just one example of the many who benefit from SIU’s living learning community concept, which offer students the chance to live with others who share similar majors or interests. Each LLC is unique, allowing students, faculty and staff to tailor their experience. Faculty involvement may include programs, shared meals in the dining halls, presentations in the residence halls, tutoring and mentoring. Some LLCs may also offer special equipment or research materials.

The College of Health and Human Sciences maintains LLCs in Mae Smith Hall in almost all of the floors, 3 through 17. (The second floor is designated for the ROTC programs.) All together, the college has 407 LLC spaces, more than half of which are currently occupied by students from automotive technology and aviation majors.

Jon Shaffer, director of University Housing, said the LLC concept evolved from an earlier “theme housing” concept, which housed groups of students with commonalities within close proximity.

“But theme housing lacks the intentionality of LLCs,” Shaffer said. “The true essence of living learning communities is to create a seamless and intentional immersive learning environment tying together in- and out-of-classroom experiences.”

Under Dean Robert Morgan, all CHHS LLCs have been consolidated at Mae Smith Hall, Shaffer said.

“We are looking at the LLC experience encompassing programs across the college,” Shaffer said. “While individual floors remain associated with particular majors or groups of majors, having all of the college’s LLC residents under one roof means the building can take on a collegewide identity. This, of course, builds affinity to the college – and SIU as a whole – rather than students just identifying with their major.”

The advantages are many. For example, an LLC can host specific study sessions, tutoring and even academic advising in the residence halls. It also can increase the opportunities for service learning.

“LLC life is an ‘all hands on deck’ program where everyone involved plays a role in ensuring the experiences are intentional, purposeful and providing learning opportunities,” Shaffer said.

For Michalak, having students from her major so close by provides constant motivation and support.

“There is a lot of consolidated passion for your major,” Michalak said. “Often, other kids are also working on the same homework and classes you are, so it's super helpful to feel like you're going into your chosen path as a team, and that if you ever need help, there's plenty available.”

And the sense of community is palpable.

“I like that the LLC has a lot of kids with similar passions to you,” she said. “Everyone is working toward the same goal, and we all stumble in different places – places that other kids on the same path might be able to help out with. Our floor has movie nights, snow cones, a great R.A., and everyone is constantly hanging out and visiting each other.”

Media Contact

Tim Crosby
public information coordinator
618-534-3045

By Christi Mathis

CARBONDALE, Ill. — The dicey relationship between many members of the Black community and the health care industry distresses Roderick Campbell, but after completing his master’s degree in health administration at Southern Illinois University Carbondale during the summer, he’s determined to bring the parties together.

The St. Louis native has already made a habit of serving others, and he scored a prestigious administrative fellowship at the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston that he’s confident is building on his SIU experience to help him lay the groundwork for his goal.  

“There is a longstanding distrust between the Black community and the health care community, with reason, and I believe as a Black man in the health care industry I can be a catalyst for change on the business side of health care,” Roderick said. “I want to help bridge the gap of health inequities in underserved communities, especially Black communities, by educating people about the health care system and building trust toward the medical industry. I also hope I can pave the way for what Black children can aspire to be, not just athletes and musicians.”

His efforts both in and out of the classroom have already garnered the attention and acclaim of faculty, administrators and others at SIU.

 “The amount of service this young man has given to the community is remarkable,” said Sandra Collins, health care management program director, professor and distinguished faculty member. “He’s an all-star student with a lot of potential in the health care field. He’s going to change the world. He’s got this ease about him that is amazing. The things he would write on assignments – it’s just a gut feeling that something significant is going to come from this young man. He wants to bridge the trust gap minority populations have with health care providers, and I’m confident that he can help do that.”

Energy and people drew him in

After a successful academic and athletic career at Chaminade College Prep and at Northwestern University, where he earned his bachelor’s degree in health communications with a minor in African American studies, Campbell began searching for the next steppingstone. He sought a university where he could continue his football career, but more importantly, wanted a place with a top-quality Master of Healthcare Administration program. 

“I realized I wanted to do more on the business side of health care, and when I met Dr. Sandra Collins and other faculty and the coaches on campus, they really made an impression on me,” Campbell said. “I could see the tradition of excellence and wanted to be part of it.”

He also loved the “energy and authenticity” he found at SIU. A bonus was SIU’s location, just a couple of hours from his hometown so that friends and family could watch him in action as a Saluki cornerback

“I’m so glad I chose SIU,” he said. “I’m grateful for my time at SIU. I learned a lot and met a lot of great people.”

Dedicated to service

Campbell arrived on campus in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, and one of his first goals was to let the coaches, faculty and fellow Salukis “know where I was coming from and what I am passionate about, and that is bringing people together.”

At SIU, he helped found Saluki Unity, a student organization aimed at connecting people and engaging with the community. He recruited other athletes and students from across campus to participate and served as president of the Black Student Union, which is part of Saluki United.

He was also active in Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Inc., where his volunteer work and community service included cleaning up roadways, helping with food drives, and assisting with holiday gift baskets by collecting items, wrapping, and packing. He and other members of the Saluki Gridiron group conducted holiday toy drives and performed other community service projects.

Campbell was part of SIU’s “Conversation of Understanding” that focused on race and athletics during the spring of 2021, during which he joined SIU System President Dan Mahoney and a variety of coaches, SIU administrators, and others. The panel discussion can still be seen on YouTube.

“I’m always looking for opportunities to serve. I really want to make a difference in the world,” Campbell said. “These activities really have a big impact on me, too, so no matter where I go in life, I’ll search for ways to help others.”

Award-winning collegiate years

Along with his community service activities and playing two seasons on the Saluki football team, thanks to the extensions the NCAA granted due to COVID-19, Campbell also excelled in the classroom and his chosen field.

He has won the Mid-America Healthcare Executives Forum graduate student recognition award for the SIU Health Administration Program, netted a healthcare practice internship with WittKieffer (a global executive search and advisory firm in Oak Brook), and attended the American College of Healthcare Executives conference in Chicago.

Campbell said it’s important and beneficial for him to speak multiple languages as he will encounter diverse populations working in health care, so he worked on his language skills every chance he got. He said he’s fairly fluent in French and getting better all the time at Spanish.

Great learning experience

Campbell said he was very excited to receive the very competitive yearlong fellowship at Baylor, which he began in June while finishing his degree.

He credits SIU with doing “a great job preparing me for the didactic portion of the work I’m now doing.” He said his studies and activities as a Saluki provided him with the experiences and academic credentials he needed to “get my foot in the door in this ever-changing world of health care.”

He likewise believes this fellowship is giving him a chance to hone his organizational and administrative skills as he handles a wide variety of duties. He’s also job shadowing various officials with Baylor and said his philosophy is always to “be a sponge,” soaking up as much knowledge and on-the-job experience as possible.

He believes this great learning experience will “fast-track” him to an executive healthcare position.

His dream job is to become the CEO of a healthcare organization.

“I want to make SIU proud,” he said.

As his career begins, he will look for healthcare management occupations that allow him to grow, learn, and have a positive impact.

“One of the reasons I got into health care is to help people,” Campbell said. “I want to find ways to integrate my career with my higher purpose, serving the community.”

Alumnus expands from coaching athletes to helping leaders build their strengths

By Tim Crosby

CARBONDALE, Ill. – Don’t call Brett Bartholomew a life coach.

“I don’t use that term,” the 2012 SIU Carbondale graduate said from his home in Georgia recently. “I've always found it to be associated with gurus who hop on stage and spit motivational cliches at folks. I always wanted to help people solve some of their most meaningful problems and overcome limitations, whether physical, psychological or otherwise.”

There’s no question he’s gone a fair bit down that road. A top performance coach, author, keynote speaker and host of a highly-ranked podcast, Bartholomew’s resume has grown to include working with members of Fortune 500 companies, the U.S. Special Forces, sporting organizations and professional athletes. His book, “Conscious Coaching: The Art and Science of Building Buy-In,” achieved international bestseller status in two categories and has been ranked among Amazon’s Top 100 Books Overall.

But it was his desire to help others overcome obstacles that first led him to the highly competitive strength and conditioning field, where he served as a coach for 15 years, including several as a graduate assistant working in SIU Athletics.

Growing up in Omaha, Nebraska, the son of a financial adviser father and a Mensa member mother who worked for the federal government, Bartholomew spent time playing sports and dabbling in “normal neighborhood trouble.” The nearby Nebraska Cornhuskers football team loomed large, as did adopting the work ethic instilled by his parents.

“I've always appreciated the way they blended a love for the technical aspects of their craft with their appreciation for people skills and all things communication,” he said. “They knew regardless of the profession you were in, it always came back to how you dealt with people.”

Nearly losing his life as a youngster because of poor medical care was another profoundly affecting experience, however. The experience eventually took up almost 50 pages in “Conscious Coaching” and helped shape his desire to help others.

“After that, I studied everything I could about the human body, psychology and the like. This is what initially set me on the path with respect to human performance/strength and conditioning,” he said. “Later, it’s what led my becoming the founder of the leadership-development company I now own and operate.”

A tip from a coach at Nebraska, where he was finishing up another internship, led him to SIU in 2009.

“The opportunity at SIU was going to be great since it would give me a small stipend, allow me to get my master’s degree and get experience working with even more sports,” he said. “The opportunities afforded me the ability to experiment, fail, and learn in countless ways, and I was immersed in firsthand exposure to coaching under a wide variety of constraints.”

Bartholomew credited Associate Professor Phil Anton and Professor Julie Partridge, both of the School of Human Sciences, as well as former faculty member Jared Porter, with challenging and encouraging him.

“These individuals possessed tremendous passion and intelligence and also an uncanny mixture of wit and patience,” he said. “They were true guides, and they understood the challenges I faced, essentially working a full-time job while also working to obtain my degree.”

After completing his Master’s Degree course requirements in December 2010, Bartholomew left SIU and started work in the private sector as a strength and conditioning professional at The Andrews Institute. He completed his master’s thesis and graduated from SIU in 2011. In 2017, he launched “Conscious Coaching: The Art and Science of Building Buy-In.”

“The book was about the human side of coaching, communication, and the nuances of learning how to deal with a wide range of personalities and archetypes, which was something I believe many coaches and leaders forget about or believe themselves to be better at than they are,” he said.

With its universal themes, the book found broad appeal among many professions, eventually crossing over into the worlds of tech, finance, and the military. Its success led to speaking and consulting opportunities and opened the way to starting his own company.

“I really enjoyed how it allowed me to serve and support a much broader audience than just athletes,” Bartholomew said.

Media Contact

Tim Crosby
public information coordinator
618-534-3045

By Pete Rosenbery

CARBONDALE, Ill. — When it came to continuing his fire service education and work toward a master’s degree in public safety and homeland security administration, Fabio Puccini knew where he wanted to go.

With a bachelor’s degree in fire service management from SIU Carbondale in 2008 already in place, Puccini used the university’s Extended Campus program through Joliet Junior College to advance his education and career. Starting the PSHSA master’s program in January 2020, Puccini, a battalion chief with the Schaumburg Fire Department in suburban Chicago, earned that degree in May 2021. In August 2022, Puccini was promoted deputy chief of operations, where he oversees a department of 120 line personnel and five civilian employees.

Puccini said he’s excited for the opportunity. He also notes that he was the only candidate with a master’s degree. Earning his undergraduate degree from SIU informed his decision, but there were other reasons.

“The schedule was inviting to a working firefighter, and unlike other nontraditional programs, the curriculum focused on my area of interest and expertise,” he said. “​The accessibility of reaching instructors was also paramount.”

Puccini’s story is one Lindsay M. Laycoax, the lead site coordinator for both the undergraduate and graduate program within the School of Justice and Public Safety, is familiar with. The master’s program, which is available online and at Joliet Junior College, has 58 students, most of whom are within the continental United States.

Since the master’s program began in 2013, 138 students have earned degrees and students within the program and its graduates are the biggest salespeople, said Laycoax, a former firefighter and fire chief.

The 30-hour master’s program can be completed in three semesters. Approximately 78% of SIU PSHSA graduates are in an administrative leadership position in their respected public safety field, he said.

“Often times, they go from undergraduates to graduate students. They understand the need,” Laycoax said, noting education and testing requirements for emergency personnel have increased through the years.

Puccini’s current duties include overseeing the department’s daily operations, long-term goals, budget formulation, personnel issues and labor-management relationships. He’s also tasked with the responsibility to respond to larger scale incidents, not only within Schaumburg, but other surrounding communities as needed.

A 1990 graduate of West Leyden High School where he was in the top 10% of his class and a National Honor Society member, Puccini, already interested in becoming a paramedic, initially started as an electrical engineering major at University of Illinois Chicago but quickly lost interest. He started EMT classes at Triton College and then riding with the Leyden Fire Protection District “and it didn’t take long for me to realize this was my calling,” he said.

Puccini started as a part-time firefighter and was certified as a paramedic when 20. He also spent time with the Franklin Park Fire Department and the city of Park Ridge Fire Department before accepting a position with the Schaumburg Fire Department in 2002. While he was the first in the family to join the fire service, Puccini said his sons have both found jobs with fire departments.

Laycoax said Puccini’s drive in wanting to be successful was key, noting he rose through the ranks to be a captain, then battalion chief and now deputy chief.

“It’s not about anybody else but you are doing it for yourself,” Laycoax said. “Fabio was an excellent student, but he had his mind set on being a chief. He knew what he wanted.”

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