2018 Notable Women
JOHNSON CITY (Nov. 6, 2018) – East Tennessee State University’s Women’s Studies Program has announced Drs. Kelly Atkins and Jodi Polaha (Jones) as the 2018 recipients of the Notable Women of ETSU Award.
They will be honored at the annual Notable Women of ETSU Colloquium on Wednesday, Nov. 14, from 5-7 p.m. at the Reece Museum. This event highlights the expertise and accomplishments of women academicians at ETSU; provides a forum for the exchange of ideas, research and projects generated by women faculty; and identifies women faculty whose work advances understanding of women and their lives.
Atkins is an associate professor in the Department of Management and Marketing and leads the Merchandising Program. Her research ranges from multidimensional, gender-neutral measures of apparel shopping to effective classroom management and evaluation of group assignments.
She has given over 20 conference presentations across the country and has been published in numerous peer and editorially reviewed journals, including the Journal of International Consumer Marketing and International Journal of Retail and Distribution Management.
Atkins is faculty advisor for the ETSU chapter of Beta Gamma Sigma, an international honor society for business students, as well as the Reformed University Fellowship student ministry. She is active in the university’s International Friendship Program and the women’s ministry at Westminster Presbyterian Church. In addition, she collaborated with Dr. Anna Roberts, Barbara Mason and ETSU First Lady Donna Noland on the development of the official ETSU tartan.
Atkins’ passion is evident in her teaching style, research and service, according to her nomination. “Kelly is very active in community engagement,” one colleague wrote, “and she volunteers her time with several worthy causes both on campus and in the region. Kelly’s willingness to give back to others reflects a true scholar-citizen who practices what she preaches and helps to solidify her as a role model to her students – and even her fellow faculty members.”
Polaha is an associate professor in the Quillen College of Medicine’s Department of Family Medicine and assistant director of Interprofessional Education for the Academic Health Sciences Center at ETSU. She is a member of the board of directors for the Collaborative Family Healthcare Association and co-editor of Families, Systems, & Health, a journal of the American Psychological Association.
Polaha has received over $2.5 million in grant funding to support her research, which focuses on the integration of mental health services into primary care practices. She has published in over 40 peer or editorially reviewed publications and has presented at over 70 conferences locally, nationally and internationally.
In addition to her professional roles at ETSU, Polaha serves the community as a Washington County commissioner and as a member of the Johnson City Development Authority and Tannery Knobs Task Force.
Polaha is recognized as a Notable Woman of ETSU for her devotion to improving health care, mentoring students from many health care disciplines and serving her community.
“Dr. Polaha is the most exceptional faculty member I have worked with in my graduate or undergraduate career,” one of her nominators wrote. “She is an innovative, ambitious, dedicated and passionate teacher, researcher and mentor. She lives a life that is strongly guided by her values and dedicates herself to her family, her career and her community.”
The Notable Women of ETSU Colloquium is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be served.
For more information, contact Dr. Phyllis Thompson, director of the ETSU Women’s Studies
Program, at 423-439-4125 or thompsop@etsu.edu. For disability accommodations, call the ETSU Office of Disability Services at 423-439-8346.
Media Contact:
Jennifer Hill
hill@etsu.edu
423-439-4317