“Without Red Bird, most people here simply would have no dental care. It’s extremely important to this community,” said Revelle Berry, who, with her family, is a longtime clinic patient.

When Bill Collins ’91 stepped in to help in 2016, the Red Bird Dental Clinic had been without a dentist since 2015.

“There were more than 300 people on the emergency waiting list,” Collins said.

His goal was to fill the gap until a permanent provider could be hired but the remote location made it difficult to find another dentist.

“I was working there two days a week in July. When I asked Red Bird’s executive director if they had any luck finding a dentist, she said ‘yes.’ I was relieved. When I asked ‘Who?’, she said ‘You,’ ” he explained.

In August 2016 Collins started working three days a week as dental director while also maintaining his own dental practice in Pikeville. The schedule may seem daunting but Collins felt compelled.

“These are my people,” he said. “I’m a mountain boy, just here to help.”

Forging a Partnership

It wasn’t long into Collins’ new leadership role that the Red Bird Dental Clinic began a collaboration with the School of Dentistry to bring students to the heart of the Daniel Boone National Forest and expand the clinic’s capacity to serve more people.

In 2017, the Red Bird Dental Clinic became a new site for third-year dental students to get hands-on experience, with all 120 receiving the opportunity to spend a weekend treating those who need it most.

“Generations of poverty have greatly exacerbated health conditions that need extensive, late-stage treatment, follow-up and support,” said Kari Collins, executive director of the Red Bird Clinic Inc. and Red Bird Mission Inc. “Our vision is of one of a healthier, sustainable community and UofL is an important partner in carrying out this vision.”

Red Bird Mission is a faith-based organization that started in 1921 with a private school and expanded to include job training, clothes closet, food pantry, adult education and senior citizen services. Medical and dental services also grew out of the charitable organization, eventually falling under the umbrella of Red Bird Clinic Inc.

Red Bird Mission board member Les Allen is a clinic patient and says having dental students come to southeastern Kentucky says a lot about the university. “It gives the impression that people are literally going the extra mile to give us a hand. It’s not convenient, but they do it. And, it adds to the clinic for patients to interact with students and to be part of the education process,” he said.

“This experience gives our students enriching cultural and clinical practice experiences that will make them compassionate, exceptional dental health care providers,” said Gerry Bradley, dean of the dental school.

Under Collins’ supervision, students complete numerous dental procedures—from extractions and fillings to crowns and bridges. In addition to Collins, the students work alongside and learn from UofL dental alumni Susan King ’85 and Bob McGuinn ’74 and former dean of the University of Kentucky College of Dentistry, Sharon Turner.

Since the partnership started, dental students have cared for almost 600 patients, many of whom were dealing with challenges specific to rural eastern Kentucky that impacted their dental health. These include a high poverty rate, opioid addiction and an overreliance on soda due to bad tasting water.

Filling a Significant Need

“We were as poor as a church house mouse — but we didn’t know we were poor,” said Burgie Collett on growing up in Leslie County in the 1950s and ’60s.

Collett attended a one-room school until eighth grade and graduated from Leslie County High School in 1972. Through the years, he participated in youth programs at Red Bird Mission Inc.

Although Collett left Kentucky to find work, he returned to Leslie County after retirement to care for his ailing parents. It was then that he became a Red Bird Dental Clinic patient.

“I’ve had two teeth pulled and numerous fillings,” he said. “The dental students are always friendly and make me feel comfortable.”

As a third-year dental student on her clinical site rotation to Red Bird last year, Sarah Jestel initially struggled to cope with the reality of a real clinical environment. “I would almost pass out when it came time to do an extraction,” she said.

Dentists at Red Bird pull many teeth due to extreme decay from too much soda.

“We are working to educate patients about how to have better dietary habits and about other prevention measures such as placing (dental) sealants and applying fluoride varnishes,” Collins said.

After working with Collins and interacting with the clinic’s patients, Jestel overcame her fear and even opted to return to the Red Bird Dental Clinic after her initial rotation.

“The patients were so appreciative of the work we completed, especially those patients requiring extractions,” she said. “Many had been in pain a long time.”

Fighting a Growing Addiction

Recent years have brought a harrowing new complication to the area’s oral health care challenges. Like many areas across the nation, the Appalachian region has experienced mounting problems related to substance abuse and addiction. The shrinking availability of jobs, widespread hunger and inadequate or unsafe housing constitute the norm throughout the area.

“When people don’t have hope, they get lost in something and, too often, it is drugs,” Allen said. “Our community is among the hardest hit,” Collins said.

“It seems to be more prevalent in depressed areas. We are seeing children of addicted parents homeless and wandering from house to house. If we don’t address this now, generations will be lost. It takes the active response of public and private entities.”

Since moving back to Leslie County, Collett signed up to work as a volunteer firefighter. He is one of the first on the scene when handling calls related to an overdose. Collett said this fall he knows of about 60 local overdose calls in 2018.

“They are like zombies,” Collett said.

The Red Bird Dental Clinic recently began working with rehabilitation organizations to provide oral health care for those actively engaged in substance abuse treatment. The use of a mobile dental unit increases the clinic’s ability to serve those without access to care.

Terry Smith, a staff member with the faith-based Chad’s Hope addiction treatment center, said some of his clients have “rotten teeth or no teeth.” Even after completing a recovery program, his clients with bad teeth face the difficulty of finding a job and coming to terms with the effects of their addiction.

“These are men with no self-esteem. The only job they can get is maybe washing dishes,” he said. “Red Bird coming to help us is a godsend.”

Furthering the Clinic’s Reach

The Red Bird Dental Clinic provides dental care for many patients who are low-income, underinsured or uninsured. The clinic offers a sliding-scale fee program, and individual donors, along with organizations like the Good Samaritan Foundation, Delta Dental and Avesis, give money to help cover the treatment for those with the greatest need. It’s the partnership of many that allows the Red Bird Dental Clinic to reach more people in this isolated region.

“Although I’m blessed to have a good job with dental insurance, we have a number of working poor in the area — lots of single parents just doing the best they can,” longtime patient Berry said. “People come here and know they’re getting high-quality dental care, and it is also a good feeling to know we are helping in educating future dentists.”

With Collins at the helm, the Red Bird Dental Clinic and UofL are providing better health care for the underserved.

“As long as my hands and my eyes hold out, I’ll be around,” he said. “We’ll do all we can to continue to serve those who live every day with the challenges of poverty.”

While one Mack holds court downstairs, his second-floor office is filled with other Macks: his wife, Christi, is seated at his conference table; 13-year-old daughter Lainee is working on homework; 12-year-old daughter Hailee is sitting at dad’s desk. Three-year-old son Brayden is down the hall with his grandparents, trying out  treadmill in the players’ workout room.

When Louisville Basketball hired Mack in March, it got a dual threat — an elite coach who could lead a storied program back to the NCAA Tournament and a devoted dad who would set a good example for players. The combination has led to a renewed sense of stability for the Cardinals players, a boon in recruiting and an environment that breeds high expectations for the season.

The blending of his Cardinals team and Team Mack into one Brady Bunch-style basketball family is a priority for the coach, whose ultimate goal is the same for his kids as it is for his players — success.

“I don’t want to have that work-family life balance. Balance infers that you’re on one side of the scale and the other side is either drooping or rising. I want them to be sort of intertwined,” he said. “Raising my kids in the right way and being a role model for the players that I coach; I want to be able to live that for my team and show them that you can do both.”

Married…with 16 children

Basketball has always been a big part of the Macks’ lives. Chris Mack spent his college career at the University of Evansville and Xavier University and coached at Wake Forest before returning to Xavier as head coach. His wife was a basketball standout at the University of Dayton. Their three kids are just as comfortable in a gym as they are at their house.

Because of their mutual love for the game, it’s no surprise that Christi is willing to go all in when it comes to sharing her husband with 13 players, several assistant coaches, a rabid fan base and countless recruits.

“Sometimes we really have to work at it, but it’s something that’s important to both of us,” Christi said. “I love basketball and I’m not going to sit back at home. We’ve been fortunate to be at universities that are really accepting of our family being around.”

So Christi, Lainee, Hailee and Brayden have become fixtures at the basketball offices and on the sidelines. Watching Mack interact with his family has given his players a lot of insight into their new leader.

“The way he treats his kids is a lot how he treats us,” said McMahon, a redshirt junior. “He expects a lot out of us. It makes you want to go hard for him every day because you know he truly cares about you. It’s not like he has just three kids at home, he also has 13 kids here.”

“I think the best teams in any sport care about one another,” Mack said. “They play for one another. They sacrifice for the greater good of the team, and that’s not always easy to do in 2018 when so much is self-promotion. There’s a trust level that goes into sacrificing some of those personal things for the team.”

Being willing to make that sacrifice is something Mack preaches when he visits recruits. Step by step, he has made major strides in bringing players to Louisville. When he heads out on the recruiting trail, he often takes some important backup with him — his daughters. Lainee has been on recruiting visits for the past couple years, including spending four days at the Under Armour Challenge this summer. Hailee recently tagged along on a quick trip to Ireland to visit a recruit’s mother.

Having his daughters on recruiting trips serves two purposes. First, Mack is staying connected to the most important people in his life. Second, it demonstrates Mack is genuine when he promises recruits’ parents he is a family guy who will support their sons as if they were his own.

“When these kids commit to a university, they commit to being a part of our family,” Christi said.

Everybody loves Mack

Mack wants the family ties to extend to every single Louisville fan.

“Once you start to gain a trust with your own players, then it’s slowly going to go out into the community—whether it’s interacting with fans, whether it’s speaking at alumni events or season ticket-holder events,” he said.

This summer, the program hosted the Chris Mack Summer Camp, the first time in several years that university basketball camps with the men’s team were held. During the season’s first few home football tailgates, the Yum! Center practice facility had a full house when the basketball team held pick-up games in front of the fans. Players promoted the games on Twitter, where Mack himself is fairly active.

“I think it’s a little bit of fresh air for people to see that we’re pretty down to earth,” Christi said. “People are a little bit stunned that we like to eat at Roosters and Chris eats at Burger King, but I think it’s important for people to see how we are. There’s been nothing but positive feedback and the fans have been amazing.”

The Macks also want to give back. The Mack Family Foundation began as a nonprofit centered on serving and inspiring less fortunate children in the Cincinnati region. In Louisville they plan to continue their charitable efforts by focusing on childhood literacy.

“We want to continue to establish Coach Mack Corners that are dedicated to literacy in underfunded schools that need help here in Louisville,” Mack said. “A big part of it is teaching my kids — not just the kids that we’re trying to serve — but teaching my kids the importance of serving.”

Coach knows best

After the preseason workout wraps, Mack’s two teams naturally merge on the court. Players and assistant coaches shoot baskets with Lainee and Hailee while Brayden races up and down the floor.

“I think the atmosphere has changed,” Sutton, a redshirt junior, said.
“You see him and his family, which is a great thing to see in a college coach these days. Sometimes you see his kids around practice, running around having fun. They embrace him as a college coach and a dad, which is cool.”

“These guys are like older brothers to my kids,” Christi said. “We want them to be around us. We want our girls to be up here rebounding for them in the gym. I think it’s great for the team, too, because a lot of these guys don’t get to see their family a lot. A lot of them have younger siblings that they don’t see. I think the guys enjoy it just as much as we do.”

Showing his players they can have basketball, a family and a career is important to Mack, who understands that despite their public personas as elite players, he is coaching young men who still have a lot of life ahead.

“What I want them to take advantage of is the opportunity they have because they are a Louisville basketball player — whether that’s friendships they gain or whether that’s alumni they meet who can help them well beyond when their basketball stops bouncing,” he said.

“I want them to learn life lessons that I think the sport of basketball at this level really teaches you: You have to be dedicated. You have to work hard. And those are the things that I think make you successful when you leave the sport. I think all those things it takes to be successful in basketball, that’s what it takes to be successful in a marriage, in a profession, in a life.”

Now that’s some sage dad advice.

30 Second Timeout with Coach Mack

Q: Your assistant coach Luke Murray invites you over for a movie night. Which of his dad’s (Bill Murray) movies are you watching?

A: I would watch “Caddyshack” because Luke claims he’s never seen the movie and I find that hard to believe as a guy who probably has watched it I would say 300 times, 400 times, and knows every line in it.

Q: Which current Cardinal player do you trust to babysit your kids?

A: V.J. King. Yeah, V.J. King.

Q: What do the players think about your love for Kid Rock? Are you going to add some Kid Rock songs to the team’s hype music?

A: I’ve never asked the Louisville guys what they think of it because I probably know what the answer to that is. I’ll leave it up to my staff to do the hype music. It doesn’t help if I’m the only person hyped by Kid Rock.

Q: You versus your wife, oneon-one. Who wins?

A: I do. I’m better than her. She’d say I’m taller and have an unfair advantage, but yeah.

Editor’s note: The Mack family has some different opinions.

Christi: He’s crazy. He’s got bad knees. I can beat him full-court still.

Hailee: I agree with Mom. She would win running. But when Dad’s around, I don’t agree.

Lainee: Yeah, if he’s around then we say Dad would win on shots.

The 165,000-square-foot, $80 million facility—a project more than two years in the making—helps rectify UofL’s shortage of classroom space and ushers in a new era of active learning methods proven to foster student engagement. The building contains more than 50 technology-rich classrooms, labs, seminar rooms, group study areas and common areas designed to encourage student interaction.

“The University of Louisville has struggled with providing high-quality classroom space that matches up to the high-quality instructors and the high-quality instruction that we provide,” said President Neeli Bendapudi. “Our hope is this building sends a powerful signal to the world that UofL will continue to thrive and excel as an academic institution.”

The building is located where the legendary Crawford Gym once stood. In a nod to the past, the first-floor benches are made of wood recycled from the Crawford Gym floor. Since its opening, these benches have become busy social spaces along with the common areas and informal meeting spaces.

What you won’t find in the building? A traditional, large lecture hall with auditorium seating.

An Active Attitude
The Belknap Academic Building was constructed specifically to encourage active learning, an interactive, student-centered approach to teaching that stretches back throughout the past 30 years.

“Innovation in higher education is essential and traditional. Research on learning and in brain science has demonstrated that interactive, student-centered teaching methods position students for greater success,” said Gale Rhodes, executive director of the Delphi Center for Teaching and Learning.

Classrooms include moveable furniture, whiteboards for student use, and technology that allows multiple users — faculty and students alike — to share content from their smartphones and laptops to the in-room displays. The building also has many informal meeting spaces for group work and projects
outside of class time.

“The reason we need a building with new types of learning spaces is that they represent our improved understanding of the role technology, space and pedagogy can play in student learning and student success,” said Jeff Hieb, assistant professor of engineering fundamentals in the Speed School. “The spaces improve student interaction, allow faculty to have high-quality interactions with small groups of students, and the technology is designed to promote collaboration, which is a skill students need to develop.”

There are plenty of universities and colleges that have active learning classrooms, but very few have entire classroom buildings dedicated to active learning. With the BAB, UofL is now one of a small group of universities in the country to have a large classroom building dedicated to active learning classrooms.

“[The building] represents the new future of teaching, allowing our university to meet educational needs in ways we never have before,” Rhodes said.

The Heart of Student Success
The Belknap Academic Building also houses the university’s Student Success Center, which focuses on first-year programming efforts to support retention, offers exploratory advising and has staff dedicated to helping students overcome obstacles and complete the path to graduation. The Resources for Academic Achievement (REACH) program also is located in the new building.

“These services are essential to student success and they belong in the
same building,” Provost Beth Boehm said. “We are trying to provide constant, intensive support for our students. Our goal is for them not just to succeed but
to excel.”

Having all the services in a one-stop shop, coupled with other student success-driven programs, means a greater ability to provide immediate assistance to students and foster a high-touch, high-tech approach to academic support, according to Geoff Bailey, REACH executive director. 

“Students will be able to travel from many of their classes directly to our centers and staff, which helps reduce physical and other perceived barriers for access,” Bailey said. “Further, given our close proximity to our partners, we’ll also see enhanced collaborations and referrals that will directly benefit students.”

Something for Everyone 
Much ado has been made about the Belknap Academic Building since its plans were unveiled. But, what do the students think about the new space?

So far, they love it.

Nicole Harris, a sophomore mechanical engineering major, hangs out in the BAB during a gap between classes on Tuesdays.

“I live off-campus, so it’s nice to have this place to go. It’s a nice, big, comfortable space. It seems like a lot of people take advantage of the different types of spaces that are here,” Harris said.

Students have also noticed how the building helps enhance their classroom experiences. Jacqueline Lizotte, a junior anthropology major from Harrisonburg, Virginia, has two classes there this semester, and said the classrooms are “very conducive to group
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It’s not just the upperclassmen who are enjoying the space, either. A trio of freshmen — Royster Strickland, Taylor Brock and Emily Beltchev — said they use the space for studying.

“We usually come here to study because it’s quieter than the SAC (Student Activities Center). The SAC is more for eating and socializing. This is more of a working space,” Brock said.

“I came from a huge, cramped high school with over 2,000 students, so this building is very different. It’s so big, inviting and contemporary,” Beltchev said.

In Bendapudi’s short time on campus she has re-energized the Cardinal community, and her inauguration was not only a celebration but also a reminder that the university’s best days are ahead.

“In the shadow of The Thinker, I want you to think with me big bold thoughts, daring to imagine what would happen if we were to succeed,” she urged the crowd.

Bendapudi said she envisions a university where all students know they can count on a whole set of mentors deeply invested in their success; where every staff member knows there are opportunities for professional development and lifelong learning; where every faculty member can count on excellence among colleagues in the teaching, research and service missions of the university; that attracts talent from all corners of the globe; and that is a partner in the life of the city and of the state.

“These are the thoughts, these are the possibilities, that excite me and keep me motivated to do more for this amazing university,” she said. “With your help, we can move these thoughts to actions and these possibilities to realities.”

“The pursuit of excellence is our reward. It is the journey that matters.”

1 of 4

Fast forward to present day and the country has been introduced to Phocus, a fizzy blend of caffeine and sparkling water. When the drink first launched in October 2017, Mittel and his team had enough to last them until March—or so they thought. Phocus was sold out within the first three months.

Even amid the drink’s immediate success, Mittel said he is just getting started. His ultimate goal “is to have Phocus sold wherever water is sold.”

Despite multiple opportunities to leave, Mittel chose to develop Phocus in the very city where he and his seven siblings grew up.

“We have ties,” he said of Louisville. “Every single member of our family has attended, in some capacity, the University of Louisville. The school has given me so much. The faculty that have been part of my journey through it all, they have been more influential than they know.”

In fact, Mittel credits his two UofL degrees for helping him envision and design Phocus. His medical background helped him create a healthy alternative to high-calorie energy drink and his engineering degree provided the insights needed for the sourcing and logistics that the entrepreneur handles daily.