New lecture series in College of Allied Health Sciences begins Feb. 3

Published Jan 30, 2009 by
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GREENVILLE, N.C.    —   A new lecture series in East Carolina University’s College of Allied Health Sciences will feature speakers on health disparities and economics. 

The public is invited to the first Awareness Ventures: Health and Health Care Journeys Lecture Series which kicks off at 2 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 3, with guest speaker Dr. Jean Goeppinger, professor of nursing and public health at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. 

Goeppinger will present “An Empowerment Approach to Eliminating Health Disparities” based on a community research project conducted with Dr. Don Ensley, professor of community health at ECU, and Dr. Sidney Barnwell, Craven County health department. 

The group worked with residents in Craven, Edgecombe, Nash and Pamlico counties to create strategies to assist individuals and their community in caring for chronic diseases. “It is built around the empowerment model,” Ensley said of the two-year project funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 

On Thursday, Feb. 5, Dr. James Johnson Jr. will present “Health and Economics: A Paradigm Shift” at 2 p.m. in the East Carolina Heart Institute at ECU, first floor auditorium. Johnson, a Falkland native, is the Kenan Distinguished Professor of Entrepreneurship and director of the Urban Investment Strategies Center at UNC-CH.  

Topics for the inaugural lecture series will complement the upcoming Jean Mills Health Symposium, which will be held Feb. 6 in Greenville. The daylong symposium will feature recognized experts across the state and at ECU who use a health empowerment model.

Grant applications have been made to support the lecture series. The goal is to develop an annual series in the College of Allied Health Sciences to cover a wide array of health-related topics, Ensley said. 

Individuals with disabilities requesting accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act should contact the Department for Disability Support Services at (252) 328-6799 (V) or (252) 328-0899 (TTY).