Bradley receives $1 million gift for Convergence project

Bradley University announced Monday it has received a gift of $1 million from Robert and Carolyn Turner and the Turner Family Foundation to support its Engineering and Business Convergence Center project.

Doug Stewart, chairman of Bradley’s Board of Trustees, commended the Turners for their continued strategic influence on the university. “I have been engaged with Bob and Carolyn for a long time and their support and leadership are again evidenced by this wonderful gift. Bob was chairman of Bradley’s Board of Trustees when the early versions of the Convergence concept were crafted, and he was always enthusiastic in recognizing its strategic importance to the University,” Stewart said.

University President Gary Roberts remarked on the Turner’s passion for and confidence in Bradley. “Their generosity will positively influence the educational experiences of generations of Bradley students, as well as support economic opportunity and development in Peoria and Central Illinois,” he said. “Their gift to the Convergence Center now places their cumulative financial support among the top three individual donors in the history of Bradley University.”

The Turners previously established the Robert and Carolyn Turner Center for Entrepreneurship in the Foster College of Business, the Turner Endowed Chair for Entrepreneurship, and the Robert and Carolyn Turner School of Entrepreneurship and Innovation.

Since its inception, the Turner Center for Entrepreneurship has annually averaged engagement of 240 students serving, on average, 400 clients, according to the University. Over its 15-year period of operation the Turner Center has served more than 600 unduplicated clients and facilitated more than 180,000 hours of student-client interaction. 

The Turner Chair and School for Entrepreneurship and Innovation have created and sustained meaningful opportunities for Bradley and for its faculty and students, and will provide for similar experiences and successes well into the future.

Bob Turner has also been a catalyst to Bradley’s launch of a technology-assisted distance learning initiative, which now engages hundreds of graduate nursing and counseling students across the country.

Bob and Carolyn shared their observation on Bradley’s Convergence initiative: “The Convergence Center illustrates Bradley’s focus on innovative concepts that enhance the student experience at the University. The program and the building fit well with The Turner School of Entrepreneurship and Innovation and we are pleased to support this effort.”

Bob and Carolyn Turner are Illinois natives who have made their home in the greater Philadelphia region.  He is a senior member of the investment committee of Turner Investments, trustee of the Turner Funds and manager of the global equity strategies and the strategic direction of Turner Investments. Prior to founding the Partnership, he held positions with Andersen Consulting and Meridian Investment Company. Turner holds a B.S. degree and an MBA from Bradley University, and also holds a chartered financial analyst designation. 

In addition to being a trustee of the Turner Funds, Mr. Turner serves as a member of the advisory council of the Notre Dame School of Architecture, and is an elder of the Paoli Presbyterian Church. He is a former trustee and chairman of the board of Bradley University.

Carolyn Turner is a University of Illinois graduate and an Honorary Alumna of Bradley University. She has a distinguished array of community and institutional involvements including current responsibilities as a member of the board of directors of the Philadelphia Zoo and a trustee of the Willistown Conservation Trust. 

Carolyn and Bob have four children, including Andrew who is a graduate of Bradley.

More than a quarter of adults 50+ get little physical activity

Despite the many benefits of moderate physical activity, 31 million Americans (28 percent) age 50 years and older are inactive – that is, they are not physically active beyond the basic movements needed for daily life activities. This finding comes from a new study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) published in today's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

"Adults benefit from any amount of physical activity," said Janet E. Fulton, Ph.D., chief of CDC's Physical Activity and Health Branch and one of the authors of the report. "Helping inactive people become more physically active is an important step towards healthier and more vibrant communities."

Inactivity across the US

CDC researchers analyzed data from the 2014 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System for all 50 states and the District of Columbia (D.C.) to examine patterns of inactivity among adults ages 50 and older by selected characteristics.  The analysis showed:

• Inactivity was higher for women (29.4 percent) compared with men (25.5 percent).
• The percentage of inactivity by race and ethnicity varied: Hispanics (32.7 percent), non-Hispanic blacks (33.1 percent), non-Hispanic whites (26.2 percent), and other groups (27.1 percent).
• Inactivity significantly increased with age: 25.4 percent for adults 50-64 years, 26.9 percent for people 65-74 years, and 35.3 percent for people 75 years and older.
• More adults with at least one chronic disease were inactive (31.9 percent) compared with adults with no chronic disease (19.2 percent).
• By region, inactivity was highest in the South (30.1 percent) followed by the Midwest (28.4 percent) and in the Northeast (26.6 percent). Inactivity was lowest in the West (23.1 percent).
• By states and D.C., the percentage of inactivity ranged from 17.9 percent in Colorado to 38.8 percent in Arkansas.
• • The percentage of inactivity decreased as education increased and also increased as weight status increased.

  "This report helps us better understand and address differences in inactivity among adults 50 years and older," said Kathleen B. Watson, Ph.D., an epidemiologist in CDC's Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity and lead author of the report. "More work is needed to make it safer and easier for people of all ages and abilities to be physically active in their communities."

  Helping older adults to be physically active

  Physical activity reduces the risk of premature death and can delay or prevent many chronic diseases, including heart disease, type 2 diabetes, dementia, and some cancers. As adults grow older, they are more likely to be living with a chronic disease and these diseases are major drivers of sickness and disability.

  Non-institutionalized adults ages 50 years and older account for $860 billion in health care costs each year; yet 4 in 5 of the most costly chronic conditions for this age group can be prevented or managed with physical activity. Non-institutionalized adults are people not living in institutions such as correctional facilities, long-term care hospitals, or nursing homes and who are not on active duty in the Armed Forces.

  Being physically active helps older adults maintain the ability to live independently and reduces the risk of falling and fracturing bones. Active older adults also have a reduced risk of moderate or severe limitations and are less likely to suffer from falls. Being physically active can also improve mental health and delay dementia and cognitive decline.

  Everyone, including federal, state, and local governments, transportation engineers and community planning professionals, and community organizations can play a role in helping communities offer design enhancements and healthy lifestyle programs to create a culture that supports physical activity.

  CDC is working with state health departments to increase physical activity by increasing the number of communities that have pedestrian and bike-friendly master transportation plans.

  CDC is committed to helping adults of all physical ability levels become or remain physically active, including those with chronic conditions such as arthritis and diabetes. CDC recommends several proven programs that can help people with chronic conditions be active and experience the benefits of physical activity despite physical limitations.

By the Numbers: National Singles Week

The Buckeye Singles Council started "National Singles Week" in Ohio in the 1980s to celebrate single life and recognize singles and their contributions to society. The week is now widely observed during the third full week of September (Sept. 18-24 in 2016) as "Unmarried and Single Americans Week," an acknowledgment that many unmarried Americans do not identify with the word "single" because they are parents, have partners or are widowed. In this edition of Facts for Features, unmarried people include those who were never married, widowed or divorced, unless otherwise noted.

Single Life

109 million: The number of unmarried people in America 18 and older in 2015. This group made up 45 percent of all U.S. residents 18 and older.                                                
Source: America's Families and Living Arrangements: 2015, Table A1
www.census.gov/hhes/families/data/cps2015A.html

53%: The percentage of unmarried U.S. residents 18 and older who were women in 2015; 47 percent were men.
Source: America's Families and Living Arrangements: 2015, Table A1
www.census.gov/hhes/families/data/cps2015A.html

63%: The percentage of unmarried U.S. residents 18 and older in 2015 who had never been married. Another 24 percent were divorced and 13 percent were widowed.
Source: America's Families and Living Arrangements: 2015, Table A1
www.census.gov/hhes/families/data/cps2015A.html

19 million: The number of unmarried U.S. residents 65 and older in 2015. These seniors made up 18 percent of all unmarried people 18 and older. 

88: The number of unmarried men 18 and older for every 100 unmarried women in the United States in 2015.
Source: America's Families and Living Arrangements: 2015, Table A1
www.census.gov/hhes/families/data/cps2015A.html

59 million: The number of households maintained by unmarried men and women in 2015. These households comprised 47 percent of households nationwide. 
Source: America's Families and Living Arrangements: 2015, Table H1
www.census.gov/hhes/families/data/cps2015A.html

35 million: The number of people who lived alone in 2015. They comprised 28 percent of all households, up from 17 percent in 1970.
Source: America's Families and Living Arrangements: 2015, Table H-1, America's Families and Living Arrangements: 1960 to Present, Table HH-4
www.census.gov/hhes/families/data/cps2015H.html

Parenting

36%: The percentage of women age 15 to 50 with a birth in the last 12 months, as of 2014, who were widowed, divorced or never married.

Source: 2014 American Community Survey, Table B13002
http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ACS/14_5YR/B13002

39%: The percentage of opposite-sex, unmarried-partner couples in 2015 that lived with at least one biological child of either partner.
Source: America's Families and Living Arrangements: 2015, Table UC3
www.census.gov/hhes/families/data/cps2015UC.htmlhttp://www.census.gov/hhes/families/files/cps2013/tabUC3-all.xls

788,730: The number of unmarried grandparents who were responsible for most of the basic care of a co-resident grandchild in 2014; 30 percent of coresident grandparents responsible for their grandchildren were unmarried.
Source: 2014 American Community Survey, Table B10057
http://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=ACS_14_1YR_B10057&prodType=table

Unmarried Couples

7 million: The number of unmarried-partner households in 2014. Of this number, 448,271 were same-sex households.

Source: 2014 American Community Survey Table, B11009
http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ACS/14_1YR/B11009

Voters

39%: The percentage of voters in the 2012 presidential election who were unmarried, compared with 24 percent of voters in the 1972 presidential election.
Source: Voting and Registration in the Election of 2012, Table 9, and Characteristics of New Voters: 1972
www.census.gov/hhes/www/socdemo/voting/publications/p20/2012/tables.html 
www.census.gov/topics/public-sector/voting/data/tables.1972.html

35%: The percentage of voters in the 2014 November congressional election who were unmarried.
Source: Voting and Registration in the Election of 2014, Table 9
www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/demo/voting-and-registration/p20-577.html

Education

87%: The percentage of unmarried people 25 and older in 2015 who had completed high school or more education.
Source: Educational Attainment in the United States: 2015, Table 2
www.census.gov/hhes/socdemo/education/data/cps/2015/tables.html

27%: The percentage of unmarried people 25 and older in 2015 with a bachelor's degree or more education.
Source: Educational Attainment in the United States: 2015, Table 2

Family meal an important part of schooling

As families send their children back to school, some parents are forgetting the most important school supply: the family meal. 

A recent consumer survey of American grocery shoppers, conducted by the Food Marketing Institute (FMI) and Rodale Inc., underscores the infrequency of family meals in the United States and the critical need for more. The findings revealed that only 57 percent of parents eat dinner with their children every night.

"We already know the many benefits of family meals," said Sue Borra, RD, executive director of the FMI Foundation. "Just as notebooks and art supplies prepare our children for school, so does the family meal. Academic research shows that kids and teens who eat meals with their family four or more times a week earn better test scores and perform better in school."

However, 71 percent of parents in the survey say in their "ideal" world they would want to eat with their children every night. Borra added, "With such busy lives, it's easy to understand how American households struggle to make family meals a reality." 

The good news is that the survey also identified solutions. For parents who did not eat dinner with their children nightly, the top-two recommendations were not surprising: 

1) Serve more meals their kids enjoy (47 percent);

2) Ensure that everyone is home at dinner time (42 percent). 

Parents also are looking to their grocery stores to provide solutions. The top three requests were: 

1) Provide more kid-friendly recipes in store;

2) Display foods together than can be combined for an easy meal;

3) Provide more ready-to-eat foods that kids like.

Food retailers are responding – not only with individual offerings at a local level, but as an industry, too. To help American families achieve the goal of one more meal at home each week, the food retailer industry has developed a website, www.NationalFamilyMealsMonth.org. It is filled with tools, tips, and meal-planning ideas to make it easier for families to have one more meal together per week – not just during National Family Meals Month, but all year long. 

The website also includes links to numerous partners – primarily food retailers and manufacturers – also committed to helping consumers achieve their increased family meals goal. In short, families can find support from their favorite local supermarket and food brands.

The FMI Foundation also is encouraging Americans to join the National Family Meals Month movement by pledging to one more breakfast, lunch or dinner at home per week. Shoppers can post pledge photos, mealtime pictures, favorite recipes and shopping tips or even post a selfie wearing a favorite oven mitt with the hashtag #FamilyMealsMonth.

A copy of the study is available here http://www.fmi.org/industry-topics/health-wellness or by contactinghgarlich@fmi.org

Established in 1996, the FMI Foundation seeks to ensure continued quality and efficiency in the food retailing system and is operated for charitable, educational and scientific purposes. To help support the role of food retailing, the FMI Foundation focuses on research and education in the areas of food safety, nutrition and health.