Held in the ASC galleries through Dec. 16, the exhibit will open with a reception on July 14 at 5 p.m. featuring the dedication and renaming of the Photographic Archives gallery in Friedman’s honor.

Friedman’s sister, Carol Abrams, donated the bulk of his artistic works to the Photographic Archives after his passing in 2017.

“Julius loved to mentor students and fellow artists. In giving his work to the Archives and Special Collections, students can learn from his work,” she said.

Abrams also provided support to renovate the gallery, enhance storage for ASC’s photographic holdings, including Friedman’s work, and prepare the collection for research by the community. This preparatory work is ongoing, and the full collection is expected to be open to the public in 2023.

Beloved by the local arts community, Friedman also was highly regarded among international audiences. Perhaps best known for the posters “Fresh Paint” and “Toe on Egg,” Friedman created posters and other graphic works for a broad range of clients. Outside of his design work, Friedman created his own artwork through photography – often printing on unique surfaces like metals and fabrics – as well as sculpture, furniture design, collage, book art and collaborative video. While this exhibit focuses on his early posters, the collection includes this broad range of media and formats.

“Julius Friedman was such a significant figure in our local arts scene,” said ASC Director Carrie Daniels. “We are delighted to serve as the home of his archive, and to present a slice of it to the community in this exhibition.”

Friedman was a graphic design graduate of UofL and had a decades-long relationship with the University Libraries. His work frequently appeared in ASC exhibits, including a 2012 celebration of Photographic Archives’ 50^th Anniversary, which featured Friedman’s photographic capture of a ballet dancer in mid-swirl. Friedman’s close friend, former Art Library Director Gail Gilbert, inspired one of Friedman’s later efforts, a project titled The Book. Gilbert suggested that Friedman create works of art from old books that otherwise would have been thrown away, and he ran with the project, taking old books, tearing them, twisting them, boring into them, reconstituting them and creating art. The Book consists of 130 photographs of that art.

Among ASC’s digital offerings are two recordings of conversations between Abrams and ASC archivist and local historian Tom Owen. In them, Abrams discusses her memories of growing up with Julius, her older brother and only sibling, and how she came to work alongside him in his studio and then gallery to exhibit and sell his work commercially. Abrams recounts observing her brother’s talent burgeoning in childhood and watching him become successful as an adult. She also talks about establishing a nonprofit foundation in her brother’s name to help young people pursue academic degrees in the arts, the .

The Early Poster Designs of Julius Friedman, 1965-1980 will run July 14-Dec. 16 in the Julius Friedman Gallery, on the lower level of Ekstrom Library on UofL’s Belknap campus.��

Referencing her role as Middle School Executive Administrator, Greenwell says, “Middle School is not an easy time for kids. This program was designed with that in mind. We know that students thrive when they have a choice in their learning and feel a sense of belonging. Through Explore, students will go through a rotation of pathway offerings in 6th grade. Then at the end of 6th grade, they will choose their 7th and 8th grade pathway in a special selection ceremony. Over the next two years, students will experience project-based learning, guest speakers, field trips to local high schools, and the creation of a capstone backpack artifact that connects to their passion.”��

Greenwell stressed that the program is about hands-on learning and student choice during a time when many students can become disengaged.����

Prior to the Explore program, middle school students had to choose between taking an art and music-based elective or pursuing career and technical education electives such as robotics or healthcare.

“Now, due to funding and staffing, kids get to have both. It’s a win-win for all,” Greenwell said.����

Greenwell will work with principals districtwide to expand the program.

“The principal is key to the success of any new initiative and when working with principals, it’s important to respect their knowledge and experience in the field. Therefore, their time must be valued and goals must be clear,” she said. “It’s essential to provide expectations, but then also avenues of support for success. My goal has always been to serve others, and in this role, I’m able to do that on a much larger scale. Working with principals is no different – I’m here to serve.”��

As Greenwell gets this new program rolling, she acknowledges that her experience earning a Doctor of ����ֱ�� (Ed.D) degree from UofL was the “best step I made in my professional career.”

“The programs, especially the Ed.D, challenged me to pinpoint my exact philosophy of education and to understand the need for continual growth. There were long days and long nights in the process, but I graduated with a sense of pride knowing what I had accomplished,” Greenwell said. “I encourage anyone who wants to grow in education to pursue their administrative degree and doctorate. If nothing else, you will be exposed to a world of research that will help shape your beliefs about student learning and open your eyes to inequitable systems you can then fight to change.”��

Story written by Susan Hildebrand, CEHD recruitment strategist.

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Watkins ’06 is doing his part to help fellow Black Americans with access to affordable education that could propel them to business opportunities and generational wealth.

After earning his UofL electrical engineering bachelor’s degree, Watkins started the speakers’ bureau Great Black Speakers and other entrepreneurial ventures, also adding a Cornell University MBA to his resume.

He co-founded in 2016 and is vice chairman of The Black Business School, an education and training platform to provide Black students with culturally relevant, practical instruction in areas from investing to personal finance to entrepreneurship.

Watkins also co-founded the Black Experts Empire for professionals and publishes the Black Business Daily newsletter with articles pertinent to business and investing.

Cornell’s SC Johnson College of Business highlighted his success story of entrepreneurship during Black History Month.

After graduating with a bachelor’s of science in exercise science, Jamie moved to Gainesville, Florida, to get his master’s in exercise physiology until his path changed course.

Jamie enjoyed cooking and initially thought it to be a hobby. Once he got his first job in the kitchen, he realized his hobby was quickly turning into a passion. During that time, he began thinking out of the box when it came to cuisine.

“One night, with a buddy of mine, I said, ‘No one is microbrewing soy sauce in the U.S.,’ and it turned out to be a true statement,” Jamie said.

In 2005, Jamie moved back to Louisville and continued his research about microbrewing soy sauce. As a self-taught chef, Jamie learned everything about cooking on his own, but once he got the idea of his business, he enlisted the help of others.

“I used every free service available to me, including the University of Louisville’s entrepreneurial studies program,” Jamie said. “I had never written a business proposal before, but was so blindly passionate about this idea that I had that I was not going to be told I couldn’t do it.”

His perseverance created Bourbon Barrel Foods and Bluegrass Soy Sauce. Bluegrass Soy Sauce is Jamie’s true passion, and Bourbon Barrel Foods is a business that has many bourbon-based products.

“Bourbon Barrel Foods was a company meant to pay for my passion of soy sauce,” Jamie said. “In 2006, we had our first products on the shelf, and it was around a time that the state was really trying to push for tourism with the bourbon business.”

Bourbon Barrel Foods grew as bourbon tourism grew and almost every year since, the company has experienced growth. The business’s growth is in many ways due to Jamie’s idea of what products should be created.

“One of the first products we started making was bourbon-smoked sea salt,” Jamie said. “And in my house, you didn’t ask for the salt without getting the pepper, too, so we did bourbon smoked pepper.” Now, Bourbon Barrel Foods’s salt and pepper are part of more than 100 products.

Since the beginning of Bluegrass Soy Sauce, Jamie had the opportunity to help others who are looking to pursue the same passion.

“I’ve been pretty open about how we make soy sauce and our story, and now other people around the world are doing it,” Jamie said. “An owner of a business from the Netherlands wanted me to show him how to make soy sauce. He made five trips to Kentucky. We showed him everything we do, and now they’ve been Europe’s only micro-brewed soy sauce for the last six years.”

Mentoring others in the process of microbrewing soy sauce is not his only path of helping others. While Jamie initially never planned on having a business that employed others, Bourbon Barrel Foods employs 35 people.

“We’ve grown because my employees all embrace the brand and what it is that we do,” Jamie said. “You can’t ask someone to love the brand, but my employees do, which is really cool and a big part of our company.”

Looking back, although Jamie is proud of where he has come from, he has no plans of slowing down.

“Growth and fulfilling the visions of where I want the company to be is something that keeps me going,” Jamie said. “Whenever I find myself going into the warehouse on my own, it’s like wow, everything I’ve dreamed of is becoming true, but I see so much more that this company can do.”

Bourbon Barrel Foods does have a lot more it can do, and with an exciting expansion, Jamie believes there is a lot more room for growth.

“We are doing an expansion in our warehouse, from 1,000 square feet to a 21,000-square-foot facility,” Jamie said. “There’s a dedicated room for smoking products. I used to smoke in a smoker the size of a small fridge, and now we have six smokers the size of pickup trucks.”

As an entrepreneur, Jamie gets to continue creating and growing Bourbon Barrel Foods. With expansion, that will mean many other people will get to experience this Louisville product.

“It’s exciting for me, and creating a sense of community around something like that is fun,” Jamie said. “I’m fortunate enough to have been the first, but now we want to continue and strive to be the best.”

Church, the assistant director at the Conrad-Caldwell House in the historic Old Louisville neighborhood, didn’t dream of working in historic houses as a child. In fact, it wasn’t until pursuing his associate degree that Church became interested in history.

“Growing up, my mom researched our family history constantly, and I never understood why she enjoyed it,” Church said. “Now, all of a sudden, I find myself researching families I have no genealogical connection with and loving what I do.”

After transferring to UofL from Jefferson Community Technical College, Church continued to grow in his passion for history. Even today there are still many things he learned at UofL that he uses in his career.

“Historical methods is the first required course you have to take at UofL in order to graduate with a degree in history. This course is meant to train students on how to use primary and secondary sources to conduct research and write your findings,” Church said. “The course itself was fantastic, and I look back to what I learned in that course when I’m conducting research, presenting a lecture or writing an article. Whatever research I’m doing, I’ll always look back to the things I learned in that historical methods course.”

Though many people might not consider having a career in historic homes at first, Church found this path to be the perfect fit for who he is and what he wanted to do.

“My initial goal when I switched my major was to become a history teacher. I had always intended on going into teaching,” Church said. “When I started working in historic houses, I realized that I could still be a teacher, interacting with and teaching new people every day.”

Some of the topics Church gets to teach visitors of the Conrad-Caldwell House include what Louisville’s Gilded Age looked like, the stories of the families who lived in the house, the historic St. James Court and details about the 10,000 square-foot Victorian home.

After graduating, Church had the opportunity to connect his schooling field with his career field right away. With connections he created by working at the College of Arts & Sciences Dean’s Office, Church’s first job was at , a historic house museum across the river. From there, he was able to gain the experience he needed to apply for the position with the Conrad-Caldwell House.

“Professionally, my biggest accomplishment is being able to work in my field of study,” Church said. “It’s been amazing to be able to take my degree from UofL along with my passion for history and thankfully transition into a career field where that degree is useful.”

In October, Church is even busier with additional spooky events at the Conrad-Caldwell House. One of the programs offered is an evening tour of the house where visitors can expect to learn about different Victorian mourning cultures. Outside of October, the Conrad-Caldwell house is a staple of Louisville history and provides many opportunities for events and programs.

For other students interested in a career connected to history, Church suggests getting involved. It might not be easy to know where to start, but being in a city with such a rich history is a good beginning place.

“I received my degree from UofL, but I find that all of the hands-on experience I learn on site every day is just as, if not more, valuable to my career,” Church said. “The more I’m working, writing, studying and being in my career, I’m advancing all of my professional skills that lead me to bigger and better places.”

Photography by Andrew Dean.

Edison is a Louisville native, and currently lives in his childhood home. He has spent about 25 years away from Louisville but came back because of his love for the city. Before his jobs took him elsewhere, Edison went to UofL, receiving both his bachelor’s and master’s degree.

Now, Edison is an associate professor in the��, teaching a diverse group of classes, including Spanish.

“I love teaching, it’s exciting,” Edison said. “I’ve been fortunate to come here, and two of the professors I had when I was a graduate student are still here and are now my colleagues.”

Outside of teaching, Edison has a strong passion for gardening. After buying the available lot next to his home, he created different green spaces for different purposes.

“The backyard is flowers and vegetables,” Edison said. “I’ve put in a Koi pond this past spring, and I have a high tunnel, which is a type of greenhouse without heat.”

Though gardening is Edison’s passion, there is a purpose behind his gardening.

“I’m putting in this infrastructure because I want to create something in west Louisville that shows that people can do things to help the environment,” Edison said. “A garden can produce items that you don’t need to go to the grocery store to buy; you can be self-sufficient.”

With the idea of helping the environment in mind, Edison also created a certified monarch butterfly waystation, which is an area of land that provides resources necessary for monarchs to produce successive generations and sustain their migration.

“I decided to dedicate my front yard to make it a butterfly waystation, so monarch butterflies can get nourishment as they travel from the northern hemisphere back to Mexico,” Edison said.

A butterfly waystation has a different look than a normal front yard. The main plant that will be present in a waystation is the milkweed plant, which can grow to an average height of five feet tall. At first glance, Edison’s front yard might look like negligence, but there’s an environmental purpose.

“Right now, within the city, the regulation is that if your lawn is taller than 18 inches you can get cited,” Edison said. “If you have a monarch waystation, those flowers could be 10 feet tall. Regulations in the city have not caught up to environmental movements that we are doing.”

In addition to educating those who pass by his front yard, Edison hopes to encourage people to use their green space in an environmentally beneficial way, like creating butterfly waystations. He plans to help by providing the plants necessary for a waystation.

“If I buy two plants to propagate now, a couple years down the road I would have enough to give to anyone who wants to make a waystation,” Edison said. “That’s a way to create environmental stewardship within our community.”

Edison is an environmental steward himself, involved in multiple gardening groups. These groups, like the��, are all aimed at making an environmental impact in Louisville.

Though he has high hopes for the future of his home garden and waystation, Edison has already impacted UofL with his gardening passion. The tranquility garden, located on the northwest corner of Stevenson Hall, has been a steppingstone for students to get involved with gardening and has allowed Edison to combine two of his favorite things, UofL and gardening.

“There are organizations on campus for those who feel like gardening is their passion,” Edison said. “I encourage those who are interested to look around because there are always opportunities and a need for people who are interested.”

She is now a health operations program manager at Apple, . UofL News recently caught up with Spicer to reflect back on her time at SPHIS and to learn her advice for future public health leaders.��

UofL News: How did you get interested in this field?

Spicer: When I first started at UofL, I was in the Speed School, interested in pursuing a degree in bioengineering. I decided early on that I was more interested in the biology aspect of the degree and switched my major to focus on cellular and molecular biology. Throughout my program, I learned that I wanted to work in the health field but knew that medicine was not for me. It was not until my junior year that I learned about SPHIS and the MPH degree. Once I learned about it, I knew that was what I wanted to study. I was drawn to the idea of being able to focus on the health of a population and incorporating scientific methods to encourage safe and healthy environments at a population level.��

UofL News: What positions did you hold during and/or prior to SPHIS?��

Spicer: Throughout my undergraduate time at UofL, my primary roles were in scientific labs. I worked as a lab tech in a psychology lab and a biology lab. During my master’s program at SPHIS, I transitioned to non-profit and government jobs, working with the YMCA and Louisville Metro Dept. of Public Health & Wellness. I completed my practicum with the National Park Service, focusing on public safety in the Cape Cod National Seashore.

UofL News: What did you do after SPHIS?

Spicer: I started at the Massachusetts Department of Public Health as an epidemiologist supporting the School-Based Healthcare program. It was there that I learned a love for healthcare administration. From there, I worked at Kaiser Permanente as a data analyst and program manager before landing in my current role at Apple where I have been for the past four years.��

UofL News: In what ways do you think your SPHIS degree aided you in securing past positions and prepared you for your current role?

Spicer: What I value most from my time at SPHIS, aside from the relationships that I made and deep knowledge base, was the introduction to the idea that public health extends into a wide range of opportunities in the workforce.��

UofL News: Help us give readers an idea of what you do day-to-day.��

Spicer: In my role, I focus on healthcare operations and administration in a corporate wellness setting. Every day looks different for me, but I work with clinicians and operations management every day to define and implement programs that support wellness for Apple employees and their families.

UofL News: What advice would you give new students just beginning their public health journey?

Spicer: Explore non-traditional public health options as our degree and expertise translates extremely well into so many, potentially nonobvious settings.

UofL News: What advice would you give a student getting ready to graduate with a public health degree?

Spicer: It may take time to understand and identify where you want to go with your career and degree and that’s ok! Learn from all of the opportunities you are given as you may identify areas of interest outside of your specific MPH concentration.��

UofL News: Anything else you would like to add?

Spicer: The field of public health is constantly evolving to meet the needs of our local, national and international communities. I’m honored to be a member of the SPHIS alumni and to contribute to the field in any small way that I can!

Interview conducted and story written by Paige Wills, communications and marketing manager at SPHIS.

“I saw the live stream headquarters in NASA and it showed all these engineers losing their minds seeing the landing of the rover on Mars,” he said. “I said to myself, ‘Now that’s what I want, to have that feeling of elation and that passion for something you’ve spent years of your life working on.”

Now employed at Blue Origin, the space flight company that made history with its July 20, 2021 human flight to the edge of space with four civilian passengers including Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, Blincoe has seen that long-ago career inspiration come to fruition.

For the last five years, Blincoe has worked for Blue Origin as a structural engineer along with three other Speed School alums (Celeste Atchison ChE, ’18, Matt Cosgrove ME, ’19, Nick Greco ME, ’13). As ground support for the New Shepard program at Launch Site One near Van Horn, Texas, Blincoe works on everything except the rocket itself including maintenance platforms, lifting equipment, tooling, and structures to react engine testing, for example.

“One thing unique about ground support is I’m not just working on one small part of the rocket,” said Blincoe. “My job interacts with every department, for instance if avionics needs access to panels, we build platforms or ladders for them.”

Ground support not only builds things to maintain the rocket, but also designs the launch facilities such as the launch tower, launch pad and landing pad.

“We work on all that infrastructure; it’s a large net we cast,” said Blincoe.

Blincoe credits his Speed School experiences, and specifically his involvement on the River City Rocketry team and its NASA Student Launch program, with his initial interest and subsequent passion in the space industry. Colleague and former classmate Nick Greco introduced Blincoe to the River City Rocketry team and passed the leadership mantle to him to be co-captain of the rocket team during Blincoe’s final two years at Speed School.

In Blincoe’s first year as co-captain, the rocketry team that competed in the NASA Student Launch program won third place in the competition, and second place the subsequent year while Blincoe was captain. While placing second the team also won the “Vehicle Design Award”, “Project Review Award” and “Safety Award”.

Blincoe said the cool thing about the NASA Student Launch program was how it prepared him for his career at Blue Origin.

“We were forced to go through these different design review processes: preliminary design, critical design and flight readiness. You write up these 200-to-400 page documents and give 45-minute presentations to NASA engineers walking them through the design for your rocket and ground support from conception all the way to how we will verify it for flight,” said Blincoe.

“To have this long term project with this team of excellent people from a diversity of backgrounds and this idea that there’s this common goal and daily mission to get to the final configuration and ready for launch – that where’s I really caught the passion.”

Blincoe said support from the Speed School administration also enabled his and other students’ ability to reach beyond the classroom.

“When we showed our real interest in the rocket team and began to show performance, they stepped up with financial backing and expansion to support growth, like today’s state-of-the-art Engineering Garage,” which was just ramping up when Blincoe left UofL. “They are supplying students with tools and lessons where I am just blown away,” said Blincoe.

He said that while today’s engineering students might not immediately think of UofL for aerospace, it’s viable because of the many places engineering degrees can take you.

“As a structural engineer, my first thought wasn’t a rocket company. But UofL opened doors for a few of us to get into the field that when we started at UofL, we weren’t thinking we could or would get into,” he said.

Blincoe said one of the slogans at Blue Origin has been “Launch, Land, Repeat,” and now that they have reached that milestone of the first human flight, it is about repeating. “There is a lot on the horizon with the company, including more regularly scheduled ventures to space,” he said.

Amazon and Blue Origin founder Bezos has said the goal is for millions of people to be living and working in space. Does Blincoe think we will realize that dream?

“Bezos commented in an after-launch interview and compared space flight to the history of winged flight,” said Blincoe. “Right now, we are at the stage where the single prop plane is coming out of the barn, but look how far that has come to today. We have 737 jets. We are just at the beginning stages and anything is possible.”

What is next for Blincoe’s career in the space industry?

“For me, the biggest thing is to make sure whatever I do next, I am able to keep that same feeling I had when I watched those engineer’s faces when Curiosity landed,” he said. “I’ve been fortunate at Blue to be a part of almost every launch, and feel that elation seeing the rocket launch and come back down with my own eyes. It hasn’t gotten old yet.”

Alumnus Collie Crawford (BSEE ’18, MEng IE ’19) has the distinction of being the first graduate of GE’s newest workforce development program, Industry 4.0 Development program, or I4DP. The two-year program was created in 2019 to address a growing business need – a stable of technical engineering talent with the depth and breadth of Industry 4.0 skills that can support GEA’s smart factories. The four hands-on rotations for I4DP include highly-specialized, in-class training in industrial controls, robotics, testing and data visualization.

While Crawford had previous co-op and industry experience in controls, he was intrigued by the opportunity to learn more about the other three areas.

“I loved learning from the engineers during my rotations and finding new applications and ways to do things,” he said.

Trenton Ingrim, senior director of Advanced Manufacturing of the program, also a Speed School graduate (EE ’95, MEng EE ’98), said Crawford has been “fantastic.”

“His structured and logical approach to the work is a credit to him – plus he can definitely see the connections between systems,” Ingram said. “Completing the program, we want them to understand how a smart, interconnected factory works, and identify what they like most and feel the strongest about as they look for their first assignment off program.”

For Crawford, that first assignment has been taking a controls engineering position in dishwasher manufacturing and hitting the ground running.

He said Speed School established a solid foundation that helped him to pursue his career goals.��

“I enjoyed the capabilities the co-op program gives you to go out in the field while also learning in school, and applying your problem solving skills while also learning some parts of the trade that are more technical,” he said.

Crawford also cited the Capstone course as a continuing influence.

“It was a really good course that held us to the fire of doing everything properly, and it was a great experience there that I still use frequently,” he said.

In addition to Crawford, the program’s first graduate, two other current I4DP participants, Lana Chausenko (CSE ’17) and Jordan Klotz (EE ’18, MEng EE ’19) are Speed School alumni.

Chausenko said I4DP was an amazing opportunity she couldn’t pass up, and it included robotics, which she said she fell in love with after taking classes with Dan Popa at Speed School. But for her, the program also offered a way to understand operations from a macro view.

“I’ve always thought before you start your main position, that understanding the system and how it all works together is very important, to get all the perspectives,” she said. “That’s what I’m experiencing right now.”

For Jordan Klotz, the master’s program at Speed School was the most valuable experience to prepare him for his future career path.

“The opportunity to work in a lab at UofL was wonderful,” he said. “It was one of the most diverse places I’ve ever worked, with some of the smartest people I’ve ever met from all over the world – China, India, Romania, everywhere. The professors at UofL are top minds in their field and great teachers. That is one of the strengths of Speed School and one of the things that helped me the most – getting involved and asking the right questions.”��

Trent Ingrim said Speed School talent has been instrumental for GE Appliances.

“In the Industry 4.0 program, three of the four assignment leaders for the participants graduated from UofL,” he said.

“It’s easy to get excited about the bells and whistles, the machine learning, the AI,” said Ingram. “But we need people who can understand the fundamental building blocks and different components – what they are – what they do – and how to put them together,” said Ingrim. “It’s a good partnership with Speed School and I look forward to what the future holds.”