Nancy Raybin recaps her time with the Student Health Coalition, from initial introduction during the spring semester and subsequent participation as a community organizer in St. Charles, Va. during the summer of 1973 to serving as co-Director–alongside Randy Hodges and Polly McClanahan-McArthur–the following academic year. Follow this link for access to the full-length interview. Recorded …
Irwin Venick, Joe Little, and Bob Hartmann reflect on the birth and growth of the Center for Health Services (CHS) over time, tracing its stages of development from its initial Medical School partnership to its later social-science orientation and eventually, with Barbara Clinton as director in the late 1970s, to its relationship with the Nursing …
On the Center’s multi-phasic identities and development over time Read More »
Bob Hartmann and Irwin Venick respond to Gillian’s question about how they would approach or encourage others to approach similar student and/or community-led projects today. Bob provides insight into what the Coalition did right and what it could have done better, concluding that there’s value in and need for both community and institutional support. Irwin …
On the role of institutional support in community-driven change Read More »
Bob Hartmann, Irwin Venick, and Joe Little reflect on how the SHC process became institutionalized and the widespread (but split) resistance to it. Bob concludes that if they’d known more about how universities work or approached the formalization process retrospectively, student resistance may not have been (or wouldn’t now be) so vehement. Irwin and Joe …
Resistance to institutionalization: then and now Read More »
Bob Hartmann shares the story of his trip escorting Sir George Pickering, a well-respected hypertension specialist from England who was at the time visiting as a guest professor, and Dr. Grant Liddle and his family to East Tennessee as an example of how the Medical School benefited from the accomplishments of the Student Health Coalition …
Margaret Ecker and Bob Hartmann discuss how the university seemed to be feeding off of and trying to control Coalition energy and notoriety in the effort to recruit foundation dollars. He shares the story of his trip escorting Sir George Pickering, a well-respected hypertension specialist from England, who was at the time visiting as a …
On institutional benefit of student-led Coalition energy and notoriety Read More »
Bob Hartmann shares the suspicion and intimidation he and others felt in the wake of developing the Center for Health Services (CHS), since the fuel behind it seemed to be coming primarily from and out of the Medical School for purposes less relevant to the core SHC vision (and which certainly didn’t align with Bill …
SHC resistance to university-driven formalization: on the Center’s origins Read More »
Bob Hartmann contrasts the informal and independent nature of the Coalition’s early, pre-Center days with that of the kind of student work he sees most often today. He draws on the metaphor that, prior to the formalization of the Coalition’s work which came with the establishment of the Center for Health Services (CHS), the SHC …
Bob Hartmann frames the Coalition work as having absolutely been outside convention and against the grain, in large part due to Bill Dow’s talent at generating and following through with big, extraordinary ideas. He then elucidates one of his favorite memories of this fearless SHC leader, telling of the fundraising trip Bob took with Bill …
Outside convention and against the grain: what set the Coalition apart Read More »
Bob Hartmann discusses the informal nature of community organizing characteristic of the Coalition’s work, both prior to and following summer health fairs. He shares the story of his and others’ regular visits back to communities during the academic year, highlighting the relationship he developed with J.W. and Kate Bradley in Petros, Tenn. and underscoring the …
Bob Hartmann on his follow-up visits with the Bradleys in Petros, Tenn. Read More »
