Glenda Carr and Amy Hardy honored for outstanding service

MERIDIAN– Two Idaho State University-Meridian faculty members—Glenda Carr and Amy Hardy—are among five university professors receiving Outstanding Service Awards for 2018.

The five will be honored at a reception April 10. One will receive the 2018 Distinguished Service Award at commencement May 5 in Pocatello. 

“We are proud of the many public service activities that Idaho State University faculty perform for the University and the communities they live in on top of their other duties as teachers, researchers and creators of new knowledge,” said Laura Woodworth-Ney, executive vice president and provost for academic affairs. 

Public service has been an integral part of Carr’s life since she was a child.  As a Girl Scout growing up in Missoula, Montana, she volunteered for countless community projects. Today, she directs ISU-Meridian’s Community Health Screening Program—six free screenings held annually to connect underserved adults to the medical, dental and mental health services they need. 

"When I think about the screenings, I still get goose bumps,” said Carr. “We started as a group trying to keep people out of hospital emergency rooms by providing early intervention. To see us come this far—as a united group in our community—is exhilarating.” 

Since the program’s inception in 2010, the screenings have served more than 1,000 adults and provided ISU student clinicians with an interdisciplinary educational experience unsurpassed in the state.  Community partners include Ada County, Central District Health, the Idaho Foodbank and the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare. 

Since 2007, Carr has co-advised the ISU chapter of the American Pharmacists Association-Academy of Student Pharmacists. Her duties involve guiding students in community outreach projects such as Operation Immunization, Operation Diabetes and Meth Awareness, In 2017, the APhA named her Outstanding Chapter Advisor of the year. Carr holds a pharmacy doctorate from University of Montana.

Amy Hardy, a clinical associate professor and program director in the Department of Communications Sciences and Disorders, is committed to improving the lives of others through her profession. 

“I think in this day and age we often lose sight of serving others,” she said. “In an age of social media, we often forget the value of interacting with people face-to-face.” 

Founder of ISU’s Communication Preschool and Infant Feeding and Swallowing Clinic, Hardy treats children with communication and swallowing disorders—with many young clients and families referred to her by the Treasure Valley medical community.  She also develops clinical treatment strategies for adults recovering from traumatic brain injuries and the complications of stroke. 

Hardy, who has more than 20 years of experience in pediatric and adult communication disorders, serves as clinic coordinator and adviser to more than 58 online students in the graduate communication sciences and disorders program. She encourages students to use their education to help others, not merely as a means to a paycheck. 

A past president of the Idaho Speech Language Hearing Association, she has authored numerous articles and presented research at national conferences on strategies for treating communication and swallowing disorders. Affiliated with ISU since 2010, she holds a master’s degree in communication sciences and disorders from Northern Arizona University.

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