BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - April Grudi, an assistant clinical professor at the Paul H. O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs, has been honored with Indiana University’s Faculty Academy on Excellence in Teaching Annual Innovate Award for 2023 in the category of community engagement.
The FACET Innovate Award recognizes faculty who bring passion, innovation, and creativity to the classroom to promote student success. Grudi previously earned IU’s Trustees Teaching Award in 2023.
As the director of the O’Neill School’s Master of Science in Healthcare Management (MSHM) program, Grudi has spearheaded the development of an impactful practicum course where students serve as project leads with community partners in the healthcare field. Notable results over the past four years include:
- 106 students serving as project managers on over 300 mission-critical projects in healthcare organizations across the nation
- Over 32,000 hours of community service logged
- Training provided for 75 community members across 50 different organizations in areas including project management, coaching skills, and unconscious bias training
In collaboration with community partners, Grudi and her students have achieved remarkable outcomes, including:
- Assisting in the certification of the entire city of Indianapolis as a dementia-friendly city and hosting a conference to train others on how to do the same
- Developing a predictive modeling tool that allows physicians to calculate the risk factors of a patient post-surgery and reduce the number of heart patients returning to the hospital within 30 days of discharge
- Creating DEI hot topic cards to facilitate tough discussions across an entire organization
"It is truly an honor to receive the FACET Innovate Award, but the most rewarding aspect of my work is witnessing the real-world impact my students are making in the community. They are leading for the greater good, bringing positive change to healthcare organizations and beyond," said Grudi. "Together with our community partners, we are creating a lasting legacy of service and innovation.”
The FACET Innovate Awards were first awarded in 2017 to promote FACET’s mission of modeling faculty development while sharing and disseminating best practices in teaching for the benefit of the entire IU community. Grudi was one of just four finalists for the award from IU’s Bloomington campus, and she was the only Bloomington-based educator to win the award.
Grudi received a crystal award and a plaque to be displayed at the O’Neill School.