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Lecture Series

Ryan White and Wm. Yarber Lecture Series

The Rural Center for AIDS/STD Prevention and the Indiana University School of Public Health-Bloomington announced on April 8, 2015 the creation of the Ryan White and William L. Yarber Lecture Series. The lecture series honors the legacy of Ryan White. Invited speakers will be honored with the Ryan White Distinguished Leadership Award. Each video below begins with awarding the recipient of the Ryan White Distinguished Leadership Award and then follows with a lecture by the recipient.

2023 Ceremony

Save the Date: December 6th 2023 for the 2023 presentation of the Ryan White Distinguished Leadership Award.

2022 Cleve Jones

2021 Anthony S. Fauci, MD

Description of the video:

Well, good evening. The Indiana University School of Public Health, Bloomington and the Role Center for aids and STD prevention. Warmly welcome you to tonight's event of the Ryan White Distinguished Leadership Award and the Ryan White William Lee Arbor lecture is my pleasure now to group present to you, Dr. William L. Yarborough, who is the Senior Director and Founder of the Role Center for aids and STD prevention. A provost professor here at the IE School of Public Health. Dr. Jaeger. Thank you, Brandon, you introduced me. I was going to say LOL, I'm Bill Yarborough, Senior Director of the Center for aids, STD prevention and Provost professor. That you said that. So thank you. Aware here this evening who gathered to honor Dr. Anthony S. Foul foul cheat with the 14th Ryan White Distinguished Leadership Award. And what together? We have we have over one hundred, eleven hundred registrants for this event. And so we're pleased that people feel that this is important. Dr. Falcon, you will be joining us at six o'clock this evening. And he and I will chat about his career until 630. As you can imagine, he has a full schedule that even got more full with the emergence of the AMR cron variant. And if you ever watch any of the news, particularly Evening News, You know what I mean? And so a week ago or yesterday, I got a text from his office saying that we hope to be able to honor him a bearing and this event, but things right now are uncertain. So that made a good evening of sleep for me on Sunday evening, but then why woke up on Monday morning? I got a text from them saying that things are ago. And so that was really a great news. And yes, we would like to have more time with him. Yet we realize that even with the demand for his time at this particular moment, he chose to be here tonight. And to me, that illustrates is respect and admiration for Ryan White. So we're most, most fortunate to be able to honor Dr. Fouchier. Denied. Among the other dignitaries present is GD white in there, Ryan's mother, who will present the award to Doctor of algae and will share her experiences. And being Ryan's mother was grateful or GT, or being part of Indiana University and a real Center for aids, STD prevention. And part of this sell inventory. And remember it's event tonight, particularly given that if Ryan was among us today, he would be celebrating his 50th birthday. Now I am delighted to introduce a message sent to us by Interim Provost John as Applegate. Interim Provost Applegate is the Chief Academic Officer of IU Bloomington, and as responsible for almost all facets of the campus operations. He has served as a senior leadership roles at IU since 2007. He's the James Lewis Keller marriage professor of law at the IU Mauer School of Law. This watch the video. Good evening. I'm John Applegate, interim provost of the Indiana University Bloomington campus. And it has a great honor to offer a few words of welcome at the 2021 presentation of the Ryan White Distinguished Leadership Award. Throughout his outstanding and distinguished career, Dr. Anthony Fauci has changed lives through research, better treatments, and as we have all witnessed over the last year and a half, public education, Indiana University fully espouses these pursuits as well. We call them teaching, research and public service. And we to see in them a guiding mission to make the world a better place for people everywhere. Public education, of course, is important in the best of times, as it lays a foundation that enables us to face difficulties. This they are rocks. It is absolutely critical during national and international emergencies. At these times, people urgently need to know how to adjust their behaviors and how to intellectually frame what is occurring. It is also a time to speak truth to power. Dr. Fouchier through his work on the COVID-19 pandemic and is leading work on the HIV and aids pandemic has courageously provided us with context, knowledge, and candor at each step of the way. In a Time Magazine video last year, Dr. Fouchier commented that people are craving clarity, honesty, and the courage to stick up for what's right. He added, we always used to say pandemics occur. They have always occurred and they will occur. And it would be really shameful if we don't learn from what we've been through. This is precisely what we aim to do at Indiana University. Observe new occurrences on Earth patterns, analyze findings, and push entire fields forward through the strict standards set by the scientific method. We aim always to support robust inquiry and to nurture open discussion. The award Dr. Fouchier's receiving tonight is a very special one. We all hold Ryan White Deer in our memories as someone who uniquely brought tremendous compassion. Conversations about HIV and aids in our country. We are honored to have Ryan's mother, Jeannie White, Kinder, with us tonight, and we welcome her as well. Before I conclude, I would like to thank the Rural Center for aids and STD prevention and the Ryan White and William hello Yarborough lecture series for bringing us tonight's conversation. We're immensely grateful to Dr. Bill Garber for establishing this award and for his efforts to bring Dr. Fouchier to be with us tonight. We are grateful also to the IU School of Public Health Bloomington. Thank you all and enjoy the remainder of the program. Thank you, bro, most predict for loops, comments. I'm pleased now to present David Allison, Dean of the School of Public Health Bloomington. Dean Allison is an internationally renowned scientist, also a distinguished professor and Provost professor. During his tenure as dean in our school has become among the top 50 schools of public health in the country. We appreciate his wisdom and the organizing of this event, particularly the suggestion of an original poem about foul that will be shown later in this program. And it's also in the program that you received. Thank you, Alison, for your support of this event. Thank you, professor Ya over Yd is truly a privilege to be here tonight. One regularly says it is a pleasure to be here tonight is a privilege to be here tonight. There's a pleasure and privilege and an honor to introduce our speakers. And when I say those words, I always mean, but never do I mean the more that I mean the night, it is a privilege to be here to stand among giant, giant like Billy Arbor and a giant like Dr. Anthony Fauci who will be joining a suit on and tip my hat to build. Professor Yoder is troublemaker in the very best sense, the word, he is a rebel with a cause. Not a rebel Without a Cause. He is somebody who has contributed to the well-being of others in and outside of our university, who was donated his own personal funds to help establish this work, to establish a professorship who has donated his time and his accurate to pursuing truth. Who has questioned others politely. Like a gentlemen, like a scholar, a question. That's a rebel with the pons. That scholarship at its best. The challenge in the pursuit of light and truth is sealed behind me. You see the word logs. That's part of our University's motto. Lucky. He worried us, light and truth. That is the Latin for light and truth, the motto of our university. It is what we pursue. It is not what we achieve in any one day. It may never be what we achieve in our lifetime is something to which we aspire. But what we achieve is holding ourselves uncompromising to that aspiration, to that proceed to that path. We may sometimes stumble. We may sometimes make mistakes. I stumble and make mistakes. Professor Yarborough may stumble and make mistakes. Even Dr. Fouchier may have stumbled and made a mistake. But what he has not done is ever deviated from the quest to stay on that path. That path of light and truth, lux, a worry to us. In our school, we say it's about knowing. If you look at the background behind Dr. Brandon, how on this tall, you will see our schools while it's about knowing Lux he wearing cost the pursuit of truth. Tonight we are going to honor Dr. Anthony tau G, a stalwart protector of science and truth. We here are the School of Public Health Bloomington as our school focused on science, focused on knowing, on making a difference in the world through light and truth, through evidence, through science, through knowing because conjecture was good. But knowing his back. We are committed to helping others for both the power of knowledge and for the enjoyment of discovery. We are always in pursuit of that truth. Luck. See where he tossed the tie I'm wearing, which I am suspecting that most of you will not be able to see, but I will hold it up anyway, is to show you that I'm all in. This is not a part-time proceed as a full-time pursuit. And my Ty says, Lux, he where he tossed. It says it contains the Hebrew word, the Hebrew letters. And that, which means truth, which is a word placed on the forehead of the Golomb to activate the Golomb to protect his people and women. Dom has activated with the Hebrew word amen. He cannot be stuff. And the only way to stop it is to cross out one of the Hebrew letters so that the word I met becomes met, which means that that is the only way to stop a gown. When he's consumed by truth, he's unstoppable. So we are unstoppable. We are in the fatigable. We are uncompromising in our pursuit of truth. That's what they'll yogurt has instantiated in tonight. And what we are pleased to honor Dr. Fouchier with tonight. You know, Franklin Delano Roosevelt's, another great man. Once said, I asked you to judge me by the enemies I have made. And I know that my friend Billy arbors made nanometer tune goods, UEBA, that I've made an enemy or three, good for me. And I know that Dr. Anthony Fauci has made a few enemies and good for him. When we first announced this event, I received a great deal of email. Most of it was wonderful. Most of it was praising us. One or two items might not have been quite so friendly and warm and wonderful. And one that I got was not for months, no man, but I didn't or I did not know what who asked me if I'd seen some of the things about Dr. Fouchier said, if I've seen these things and we're still going ahead with this meeting. I was a terrible person. I needed to stepped down as dean. I was probably in cahoots with Dr. Faltys and I will be sharing a jail cell with Dr. Fouchier soon, to which I would say I'm very grateful for that because I could imagine that I would learn a great deal sharing a jail cell with Dr. Fouchier is a gentleman and I would sure I would enjoy it, but I would also find it a very good time to learn. If I have to share jail cell with anyone, I can't think of anybody better than 20 Saatchi. So I tip my had to Tony cheap. I might have to Billy Arbor. I tip my hat to Brandon and Amy and Holly. We've put this meeting together. I tip my hat to Jeannie White hinder, and of course to Ryan White's their courage and bravery. It's showing us the courage and bravery are as important values as our commitment to truth and light. And lastly, I will say, thank you to all of you for joining us tonight. It truly is, my honor to be here with you. Thank you. Allison, Ryan White. All that. He wanted to be a typical kid. Having a car, hanging out with his buddies. He wanted his life to be normal, the Fed and have fun and be treated just like other kids. However, his life became anything but normal. When at age 13, he was diagnosed with HIV, contracted through painted blood products that was given for his hemophilia. The diagnosis came at the height of that fear and ignorance surrounding HIV aids. Later he was diagnosed with aids, a disease that few, including the medical community. Understood. Ryan was determined to go to school, yet he was banned from school in COCOMO, Indiana. Despite I'll ensure services from the CDC and the Indiana State Department of Health that he posed no risk to other students. He was spat on, called names and shunned by his classmates and his teachers. Ryan spent to seventh grade at home taking classes over the phone while he's classmate sat in a classroom. Brian says, I was labeled as a troublemaker, my mother as an unfit mother was not welcome anywhere. Ryan and his family went to court fighting not only the angry, fearful school district, that many people in a community. Though Ryan won a court case, his own fight, and just begun. For example, when he was permitted to return to school, nearly 1.5 of the students stayed at home. On one, on more than one occasion. A bullet was fired into the white. In 1987 and family moved to Cicero, Indiana, where he was accepted with open arms at Hamilton Heights High School. Ryan's fight to lead a normal life thrust him and gt into the media spotlight. And during his five year fight to continue to live after being diagnosed with aids, Ryan spoke out against the misconceptions about the disease and call for persons with aids to be treated with compassion. He testified before the President's Commission on aids. And much to his chagrin, riot, a modest and somewhat shy boy, became a celebrity. Ryan faced great difficulties that taught all of us that one person can make a difference. This determination and Degas to encourage great admiration and support around the world. Ryan are Native Son, put a face on the aids epidemic and change the way the world dealt with a devastating disease. Only a few months after his death, his legacy was submitted into the wall. The Ryan White Comprehensive aids Resources Emergency Act of 990, which provides grants to improve the quality and availability of care for individuals and families affected by HIV. One of the many memories of Ryan that Judy has shared, one particularly has stayed with me. Janey, recall that when they left their house, Ryan noticed that her face low. Ryan said with these hand uplifting her jaw. Mother, keep your head high. We have nothing to be ashamed of. Ryan died of aids April 8, 990 at the age of 18 at Riley Hospital in Indianapolis. The sprain before he plan to attend college here at Indiana University. Today would've been Ryan's 50th birthday. Senator Kennedy, set of Ryan. Or an awakening health crisis that could not be ignored. We thank Ryan. Are showing that the battle against aids and not as a guest aids and not against people with aids. We thank Ryan and most of all for helping us to be a more humane and just society, for helping us to reach out to those in need and for helping America be America. We think Ryan White, JD says her memories of her son and their struggles remain fresh in her mind. She says is still therapeutic for her to talk about her son's life. And there are 31 Year sense Ryan died. Genie has remained an advocate for the HIV aids community. And to this day. And he takes her story on the road, inspiring people by sharing Ryan's messages and her story as another, as you will hear tonight. As you will hear awesomer genies words touched the heart of those who will listen. Cheating. We are proud of you and thankful for what you have done and continue to do to carry on Ryan's legacy. Following Genie's presentation, we will view a video of Ryan and then have a moment of silence in memory of Ryan and others who have died of aids. Welcome, Judy, and we look forward to hearing your comments. Your reflections of being the mother, Brian, one, that disease called aids, my life changed overnight. It was not anything I thought I was going to have to worry about. But in 980 for Ryan was diagnosed with a t, was one of the first children and first hemophiliacs to come down with aids. It was a new disease. It was fatal. Very little information on the disease. And so we stall the panic. People believing that maybe kissing tears, sweat and saliva might spread Aedes, mosquitoes and please my transmit aids and people panic. People were very, very scared because it was such a fatal disease. Disease. It was really kind of rough at the very beginning, especially because of all the misconceptions and people being scared. Well, Ryan, he was only supposed to live three to six months to live 5.5 years. So I'm very happy now that we went and thought that bite that we did, that. At same time, I was just trying to keep Ryan alive and looking to the future. It was something that I use. I didn't want him to sit around and think and, you know, am I going to get when am I going to get sick and die? So as a mom, I just wanted him to have hope. I wanted to miracles and cures or something. I. Like somehow some way he's going to beat this though to fight to go to school. He kept bugging me, go on to school and I thought, oh, I don't know, you know, that he kept saying Mom, I want to go back to school and I wanted to keep give him that hope, that hope that, you know, that he's going to live, relay. And the schools kept saying No, they had a school superintendent meeting in. School board announced that they were not going to let him back in school. And that's when it broke over the media. It was all over the place and I said, You know, I'm a let you talk to him. And so Ryan got on the phone with Mr. Bon and Mr. Ron said Ryan White, Do you really want to go to school that Matt and Ryan said Yes. He said it could get ugly. Ryan said I can take it. He said Ryan White, if you really want to go to school that bad, I'm going to get you there. Well, we thought it would take one court hearing. We had all these medical experts on our side, but local doctors testified that they wouldn't let their kids go to school with Ryan and they wouldn't treat Ryan if he'd been a patient or there's so we definitely saw right off the bat how the medical community was very much disarray on what they wanted to put their name too. Ryan said, Yeah, you know, everybody wants to 100% guarantee. See said, You know what? Mom, there is no 100% guarantees in life. But that's when the media circus began. But Ryan start educating people and Mom, I just tagged along. I mean, I, uh, he did so well. I I was just worried to death. Me. I really was I was scare. These these people are just trying to protect their own kids. Like you're trying to protect me. He said If you don't know about set mom, you won't be afraid of it. That's why we have to continue to educate. I think Ryan became a media person, a person an immediate, mostly because of his smile. The media loved Ryan. They saw he had no other motives but just to try to go to school and try to educate people. It was so funny because I I told Dr. Ryan, I said Ryan, I said what about all these people that are saying all these bad things? And he said, You know, mom, once you get aids and she's just trying to use his hemophilia as a way to say how he really got it and said he's done something bad or wrong or he wouldn't have. This is God's punishment for people who do bad things. And so we heard all these remarks and as a mom, I tell you it really it was horrible. It was horrible. And you have your family, Sam, you know what they said about you today. And so to be in the media and such hateful words and see people do, will do anything to, to prove themselves right, whether it's right or wrong. I mean, I think that was the hardest thing as a mom to see the herd. And I think Ryan took it better than I did. And like he like Bill said, I mean, he was always say in mountain, keep your chin up. You have nothing to be ashamed of. I know Ryan, I know, but you know, just see the trauma, turmoil, but also to see the rewards of people Edge me an educated about aids and finally moving to Cicero, it to Indiana where the kids got behind Ryan and the girl three doors down who was distinguish Leadership Award winner to Jove Waymo. You know, she went to school and how kids can make a difference. So, so much about she said, Let's make Ryan White welcome here, Let's get educated. And so they did this mass education. Ryan went to problems, he went to dances. I mean, it would to see how the difference between whether the parents who've got the wrong information and in COCOMO and told the kids and and the bad information. And then just come and see you can to get off at the right information. And they educated themselves and they can't went home and educated their parents. So I think in that in itself has, it shows that people can make a difference if you listen to the facts and listen to the science. And they can make a difference in everybody's lives to, by knowing the truth and getting their truth with the Ryan White Care Act. It was the same thing. I mean, I worked a lot with the gay community. And I tell you, once you see people going through the same thing that you are, you just, you, do, you want to help everybody you want to, you? That is some philosophy I think that everybody needs to do is to be a, b me and want to help everybody else. Because we're all in this together. I mean, you know, the fight is a fight to and we're, but we have to listen to the science and the truth. People say, how can I do this? After losing my son? Losing a child is the worst pain any mother could ever go through. And I it doesn't get easier but you learn to live with it because you have to. I need to celebrate my son's birthday still he's still alive within me. I will always be my son. Had a very front row seat to prejudice heavens, you very much So. Tell me something about. In my case, it was fair. And just because, you know, I for I suppose, but he had something in my by that nobody else had or very few people add. And I think I just because you're different. I mean, I'm surprised you're really have dogs nowadays because they're different. It's amazing how you can accept a dog in your house, but you can't accept someone because of their race, their color, or their religion for what they have in them. And I could comment, post MI means like a rainbow. One. Like this. Yes. This is one thing we just cite today. It's such a privilege, I think, to honor Dr. bow shade because I'd been involved with aids are very, very long time. And he's better life support, I think for people with aids. And I guess it's my greatest honor, relate to be able to give him the Ryan White Distinguished Leadership Award along with you. And just thank you so much for all you've done for everybody. You know, the fight continues and the science continues. I thank you for those comments. They were touching and they also help us understand what it's like to be a mother that he says These kinds of kinds of circumstances. So thank you, Jamie, for all of your comments and for all that you do. As I said, Ryan White has one person made a difference nationally and internationally. Now, fitting that is tonight that we are honoring another individual, Dr. Anthony yes. Fouchier, who has and is doing the same because of his stand fast and unparalleled commitment to the value a necessity of science and truth. The health of the country and the world has improved and millions of lives have been saved. As Director of the Federal National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. Since 1983, he has bad a public health advisor to seven presidents whom he earned the respect of both Democrats and Republicans. Dr. Fauci has been and admired federal leader on HIV aids and other epidemics, such as sars, Ebola, and Zika. Now, he stands at the leading edge of the COVID-19. Pandemic. Has had a prominent role as a scientist, physician, administrator, and as a skilled public health educator. Dr. Fouchier, that he first became publicly known during the beginning of the aids epidemic. Is leadership and scientific studies greatly expanded aids research, treatment and educational programs. And he is one of the most prolific researchers worldwide. For example, he is right, ranked 32nd most cited living researcher. And 20th out of 2.4 million authors in research experimental medicine. He has been awarded the prestigious Medal of Freedom, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and was named among the 100 most influential persons of 2020 by Time Magazine. So we'd like to welcome Dr. Fouchier to to our program this evening and thank you Dr. Fouchier for being here. We know that your schedule is very demanding at this time and we're pleased and honored to present to you the night the Ryan White Distinguished Leadership Award. Before we present that, you and I will have a chat about some of your components of your long illustrious career as a public health servant and a scientist. So I would like to start our conversation. When you've been a public health servant at the National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious disease for a long time, 37 years, right? And so there's gotta be a good story of how you got started. I mean, how did you choose to become both a scientist and a public servant to somebody always dreamed about or something happened in medical school or, you know what, loosely beginning. Well, thank you very much, Dr. Robin. The beginning was really actually my intense desire to be a physician and to take care of individual patients, which is really the driving force of everything have done from the very beginning. It was only after I got to the NIH for my infectious diseases fellowship, which was a combined fellowship in infectious diseases and clinical immunology. That I get very interested in science and clinical investigation and clinical research. And really my career was really completely transformed. In the summer of 1981 when I became aware of the first group of five young gay men who came up with this unusual and unprecedented disease, which a month later, another 26 gay men from Los Angeles, San Francisco, and New York City were identified with a bizarre disease characterized by immune suppression. That was the thing that changed my life because I decided that as successful as my career had been up until that point, I was convinced this was a brand new disease. Since I was trained in both infectious diseases and immunology. And this appeared to be an infectious disease. We didn't know the etiology. It didn't even have a name at that point nor an etiology. But that's when I devoted all of my attention at all of my energies to studying this strange new disease. And I've actually been doing that for the past 40 years because that was in the summer of 1981. And we're now 40 years in a few months past that. So that's how I got started. I didn't plan it that way. Circumstances through themselves in front of me, that really changed the course of what I was doing. Some of it actually did change the trajectory of your career? Absolutely. I was going in a different direction. I was studying the relationship between immune suppression of chemotherapy and susceptibility to infectious diseases. Particularly in people with autoimmune diseases who have been treating with corticosteroids and cytotoxic agents. And that's how I got interested in the relationship between immune suppression and infectious diseases. And so HIV came along, was almost as if I had been trained all of my professional career to study it and that's what I did. So I suspect but when you look back. That was a pivotal moment. The probability you have so many experiences and so many feelings about that. That's something that ends up being a major component of the word dog your whole professional career? It is. Is that particular MMWR report that came out on June the fifth, 1981, followed by a second one on July 3rd, 1981. It was the second one then really convinced me. I thought the first one was a fluke. I thought it was just a one-off that we would never see again. And then when I had 26 men with the same sing, I said, wow, this is a new disease and that's when I decided I would have to study it. What's interesting? You mentioned that on a personal note on that I was happened to have a CDC contract to write a curriculum about STDs. And I can remember traveling in my car hearing that report, talking about report which I called my project offers CDC and said Are you can put in a paragraph. We don't think this'll mouth too much though, right? Yeah. And then after the second one had a different idea so things don't change. So where are you? The agency prepared for something like this? You know, as, as the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. This happened in 1981. Bill and I became director in 1984 in member. And the Institute was not really one of the upfront institutes among the NIH. It was kind of a sleepy Institute in the good sense, but not really up there. We were about seventh and size of the NIH institutes. And one of the reasons I became director and accepted the job is that I didn't think we were prepared enough for emerging infectious diseases. There was not enough attention paid to HIV. And HIV dominated all of my clinical and research activities. I had spent, you know, most of several years personally taking care of persons with HIV at the same time as my lab and I were doing research to delineate the pathogenic mechanisms. So when the opportunity came at a very young age for me to be the director of NIH AID, I accepted it with the sole purpose of expanding our work on HIV, but also expanding our capability to address all infectious diseases, including malaria, tuberculosis, and all the other diseases. Then the actual course throughout your career, I mean, you've been not only HIV and Ebola and Zika, sars and all these others type of infections. And so he's now of course go. And so it was very interesting. We didn't pay much attention to the concept of the transforming emerging infections. And then when HIV came along, it just completely blew that apart. And then since then, we've had pandemic flu. We've had Ebola, we had Zika, we now we have COVID, we had saws. One is truly amazing how many really globally impactful emerging infections have occurred just within the bracket of my own career, my 40 year career. It's just extraordinary. Before that. We had a lot of infectious disease, but none of them will really truly newly emerging diseases that had a global impact the way HIV has. So when HIV became recognized, I mean, after they gave it a name and you want to transmission was not and we were there any models that you could follow? I mean, do you think Go back to 980 for that particular flu, but whereas our models, what, what do we do next? You know, there was not a model for HIV because most of the outbreaks, like we add pandemic flu in 1918. We've got another pandemic in 1957 and another pandemic in 1968. They will all explosive infectious diseases where everything happens within the framework of a year or a season. And then it was over. Whereas with HIV, it was insidious. It started off with individual groups of patients. The first group that we just discussed from the MMWR, we thought it was only gay men incorrectly. And then it became clear that people who received blood transfusions, hemophiliacs, injection drug users. We're all vulnerable to HIV. Then when the virus was discovered and we developed a test for HIV, we realized that we were dealing with the tip of the iceberg in people who are actually clinically ill because they were multi, multi fold more people who are infected or not yet clinically ill. And that's what it became clear that we were dealing with a very unusual outbreak where the majority of people afflicted did not even know they were infected. That's very, very different from influenza, where it occurs in a period of three or four or five months. And when you're sick, you know, you're sick. Whereas with HIV, you could go for a few years without knowing your infected. Until finally your immune system would break down and you would get clinically ill. So we were not prepared for that type of an outbreak. This was completely unique to us in infectious disease. And actually there are a lot of layers to all this. I mean, it had a lot of stigma because of populations, some being impacted more than others. And then course the blood transfusions. And then, you know that the actual name of the disease is a lot of things. I think beyond just the medical bar to social and sexual aspects. I think it made it a little bit more complicated. We'll follow those things happening one after. I mean, how did you make it through those dates? Well, as I've described it, it was very unusual because I was trying to do research at the same time as I was myself and two or three of my colleagues at the NIH, we're taking care of literally a ward full of desperately ill young men. And that was not only time-consuming, it was physically and emotionally draining because you spend all day taking care of individuals. He had no drugs. We didn't even know what the etiologic agent was. An almost all of them were dying within a period of six or eight months or a year from the time we saw them. So I refer to that in my lecturing and in my writing as the dark years of my professional career, but also even to my, my entire life. Because when, when you are completely devoted to studying a particular disease, you kind of enter the world of that disease and to become part of it. So it was very, very difficult. But then when we started to get successes, First drugs, and the first combinations that literally were able to give people a return to normal life. That was it, totally transforming experience. It was very frustrating to know that so many people did not quite make it in time. Or the very successful drugs that could essentially get people to live a normal life. And that was the situation that we all know. The Ryan was in because a lot of friends of mine, very close friends were in that category where when we had the explosion of essentially totally transforming drugs in 990, six, ninety seven, ninety eight. When the triple combinations that people who are involved with severe illness before then did not have the benefit of that. It was just one of those unfortunately tragic situations where I know that if you've been, you Thank you for mentioning the dark years crusade was a question I was going to ask because I have read with it. That's a statement that you've made. And that was when Ashley, what you mean by that? Weren't you conserve the face of the aids epidemic? I mean, how, how did, what did you learn about yourself during all those years of the very dark times of the aids epidemic. Well, it was a very interesting and somewhat paradoxical situation because in the very early years during the Reagan administration, with all the positive things about President Reagan, he was not very proactive in using the bully pulpit of the presidency to call attention to what was needed for HIV aids. So being a scientist and a physician who was very public about what we were doing. I became the face of HIV, but the face of the federal government, which was good news and bad news. The bad news was that the activist community, understandably and appropriately, one that a place at the table to have input into the design of clinical trials and into the approach and the support of research for HIV. So in order to gain the attention of the government, they began attacking me, which in many respects was a good thing because I handled it pretty well. And it got me to reach out to the activists and partner with them to see what we could do to get the community involved in the scientific research and regulatory agenda, which was a whole new paradigm of activism having a positive impact on how a disease was addressed by the federal government. So yes, I became the face of HIV. But I think in the long run, it was very helpful even though I was initially branded as the government person who was not sensitive to the needs of the HIV community. But when they found out that I was really on their side and pulling for the things that they will fill and thought. Then I became somewhat of a hero among the aids activists. So, you know, everything that comes around goes around. And that's how it turned out. Well, I mean, that is one of the most important legacies of your career is I think the response that you, you listen to what activists like ACT UP in other organizations were saying. And you're right, that at least from the right the readings that I am done relative to that era that that you were responded to that as it was sort of novel, not many federal person's bad. And it made a big difference. And think and, and, and the partnership of the federal government and the activist. I'm working together in solving the problem, the problem together at the same time. So what I want to talk about now is this idea of being both a scientist and public health servant. I made you've really experience, I mean, you, you have experience being the Public Health Advisor for seven presidents. And I'm sure through all of that, you experience unique personalities and that you had to be adaptive the way that you responded. And it must have been in continuous, maybe it has been recently. Major challenge itself. For you to be the director for 37 years. You apparently have figured out how to work within the system to continue to do your work. Yet, be true to science. And can you explain it all the things that you've heard to be able to do that. I mean, president after praised it, different philosophies after different philosophies. Yeah, I think I can explain it in a little anecdote story. Because when I first advised President Reagan in 1985, I was getting ready to go into the White House. So my first time to visit with the President, I've done that now about a couple of 1000 times since then, but I was like first time and a very wise person who I knew had been in one of the former administrations and was a good friend of mine, an elderly individual. When I asked him if he had any words of wisdom, formal, he told me one of the best things you can do is when you walk into the White House, make sure you tell yourself, this may be the last time that I'm going to be walking into this place because I might have to tell the president something that is an inconvenient truth that he or she does not want to hear. And if you go by that 10, it you will either get kicked out and never be seen again or they will respect you enough because you're telling the truth. Asked back. And that's exactly what I had done on the first time I ever advised President Reagan. And on the multiple, multiple, multiple times that I've done that with Reagan, Bush, Clinton, Bush obama, and now Trump, and now Biden. So it's works. If you tell the truth and the answer to your question is, never compromise your principles. Never compromise your integrity, and never be afraid to tell it like it is. If the people who you're dealing with have any character and integrity, they will accept what you tell them because they'll know it's based not on political ideation because I am a completely a political person which is necessary to survive and, and advise seven presidents. I don't have enough political affiliation. I never have had a political affiliation. And they know that. So they take you for what you are. And so the fact that you're a scientist, there was one exception to that, but I would like that was okay. Hey, what tribe have you had to read through all those several decades? Have did you have to adjust your style? And they, I mean, I know you have to be faithful to science and truth. But I guess based on whoever is the President, that might take a little bit different style. Yeah, well, it was not only different style. The presidency that a President of the United States and their interaction with me really is dictated by what the circumstances of the public health challenges during that presidency. Let me, for example, with Reagan and with George W Bush, it was dominated by HIV AIDS. And then when we have some equilibrium and we reached a point of good drugs and things were stable when we got into the Clinton administration. Then he was, instead of this very tense interaction with the community, it kind of leveled off. And then we had George W Bush. He didn't. One of the most extraordinary things for HIV in ever was to allow me to put together with him the PEPFAR program, which is for me one of the most important things I've ever been involved with, and I have an eternal gratitude to President George W Bush for allowing me to work with him to develop the PEPFAR program. And then when bush left and Obama came in, President Obama had multiple emerging infections that had nothing to do with HIV. And there was Ebola and Zika and there were all the other things you gotta deal with. So would really, the interaction with the President is really dictated by what the circumstances often the health standpoint. I had nothing to do with President Trump for the first three years of and I said, I never even met him. And then along came COVID. And that's when I was in the White House practically every day. I in right now with President Biden was still dominated by the multiple surging waves of COVID. So a lot of it is out of your control and out of the control of the presidency. It's just what is going on from a public health standpoint. Well, I mean, it's it's very admirable that you have been able to do all that during those several decades to be adaptive to whatever the public health situation is, what would you say? What would you consider to be your greatest challenge in your shorter, like day to day operations as the director? While he was probably during the last administration when I had to maintain the level of scientific integrity. At the same time that there were some unusual things going on. Claims of drugs that work when they didn't work. Claims that the outbreak was going away when you knew it wasn't going away. That that was really quite challenging and a bit uncomfortable because I had to do something I never had to do before. Was that was to be publically contradicting something that the President of the United States said that was not easy to do wrong, was it pleasant? But I had to do it if I was going to maintain my integrity in and my scientific principles that guide me. One last question then. Many people will remember your scientific achievements. But sometimes people will remember more about the kind of person they are, the principles, their character, their values they have. What would you hope that if someone looked back to you and add some reflections about your personality and your values and your principles. What would you hope they would say? Well, I hope that they would realize that I'm a person who has a great deal of strong feeling for humanity. And I utilized my profession and my training as a physician and as a scientist. Despite a lot of challenges that we faced over the last 40 years that I've been doing this, that I tried my best to make a contribution to preserve the health and the safety of individual patients as well as the nation as a whole. And that I did a pretty good job of it. So that's what I would hope people. I think a lot of people will think that really when it comes down to it. And before we give you the Ryan White Award will do something quite unique and something very special. I'd like to introduce Matthew Harris, a third-year medical student pursuing a career in infectious disease at DDA University School of Medicine. He will read to you and original poem called wildlife, which will be displayed on the screen, is touching poem was written specifically for this event. Bye, indiana poem pre-work. Matthew Graham. Thank you for the introduction. Dr. Wang by in memory of mine, presented Anthony as Fouchier me. I only ever survive this long, stumbling through the dark, plagues of disease and eight, falling, falling because only appears end of the long way home environment. I love Matthew gram and the NSA Poet Laureate, December 6th, 2021. And recognition of the Indiana University School of Public Health Bloomington. And I will email Yorkers, wisdom and courage of money that we infectious disease student interest group at the immunity Madison. Or they seem Dr. Fouchier, a suspect, and receiving the right eye, my seamlessness or yay for your leadership and for unsigned and et cetera positions. Thank you. Thank you. Math. And as you, Dr. Fouchier, you will receive a black with that original poem on that onto plaque. Ryan was never able to fulfill his dream of tending the IU School public or Indiana University. But however, to endure his memories of what he stood for, it is enters in Indiana University, real Center for aids, STD prevention has created the Ryan White Distinguished Leadership Award. They've been 13 outstanding individuals, including the first recipient, Jeannie White, gender, Dr. Fouchier, the directors of the Indiana University Role Center for aids STD prevention, unanimously believe it is most fitting that you be the recipient of the four teeth Ryan White, Distinguished Leadership Award. So GD, Could you read part of the plaque to Dr. Fouchier? Any appreciation for your numerous outstanding cocktail patients to HIV and aids prevention. If R be an exemplary Mary mare at the standard of excellence and commitment needed to combat HIV AIDS. Thank you. And gt that was presented on December 6th, 2007, Dr. Fouchier, you are a model of what one person can be, an individual or a singular ambition of improving the health of the country and world. Certainly, you will be remembered for your impactful scientific contributions. But to most people, you will be remembered by your character and values and principles you hold. Despite being criticized, discredited, and harassed. We've always put health issues first and put secondary the political aspects you have advance the scientific agenda, even in the face of extreme pressure. Your personal courage, candor, integrity, empathy, and even human. You are visible champion of the importance of research and truth and the right for people to know. In so many ways. You are a national, international hero. Admiration and respect of view is best reflected by this quote from Martin Luther King. The ultimate measure of a person is not how he stands in a moment of comfort or convenience, but where he stands at times of challenges in controversy. Congratulations again for being named the 43 sapiens. The Ryan White Distinguished Leadership Award. There's the plaque and gt, and I hope to come to DC and December to present it to you in person along with the black for the poem. Thank you very much Phil. So I got Patsy. Thank you Jane. Yeah, I want to thank Poet matthew grey, him and the infectious disease student interest group at the Indiana University School of Medicine. So they're wonderful home. They also want to thank you very much Dr. Jaeger and Jeannie. So you're kind introduction. I am really humbled and deeply grateful to receive the Ryan White Distinguished Leadership Award. It is especially touching because today would have been Ryan's 50th birthday, I believe that's right. It is hard to believe how quickly time has passed since I knew him when he was a young boy. The bravery and depth of compassion, ryan display decades ago as a young boy living with HIV, as left a profound imprint that continues to burn bright into Inspire so many of us. Why sincere gratitude to Genie? The Indiana University School of Public Health, Bloomington, and the rural Center for aids, STD prevention. So this wonderful honor, as you know, Ryan's legacy of humanity lives on in the Ryan White HIV AIDS program, which is now 30 years old. It provides HIV medical care and other essential services to low-income people diagnosed with HIV. And more than half of all the people diagnosed in the United States each year benefit. So this life-saving hearse a program. An astonishing number, more than 88% are virally suppressed. Wisely, Ryan recognize that in addition to the health care, overcoming stigma and inequality are critical to defeating HIV AIDS. This perspective is as true today as it was then. Global COVID-19 pandemic has again made it very plain that to end pandemics, who must end the health inequities and recognize this reality is a first step. However, in this regard, we have much work ahead. And so thank you again. So this award in memory of a truly remarkable young man, Brian, why? Who chose selflessness over self-pity. And in doing so, he became a transformative public health figure. An inspiration to me personally and to so many others. And a beloved embodiment of dignity, empathy, and hope. So. Thank you again for this wonderful graduations again, thank you, Dr. Fouchier. Thank you. That concludes the program. After. Excellent. Thank you so much for joining us, Dr. Bellucci and all participants today. That concludes our special evening. Thank you very much. Thanks. See you. Thank you. Well, sir, Take care. Thanks, folks.

2020 Dr. Joycelyn Elders

Description of the video:

Good evening everyone. I am pleased to welcome you to the awarding of the Ryan White Distinguished Leadership Award and the Ryan White and William Lee Arbor lecture. Our featured speaker this evening, and this year's recipient of the Ryan White Distinguished Leadership Award is Dr. Joyce twin elders. Tonight's lecture is sponsored by the Rural Center for aids and STD prevention and the Ryan White and William L. Yarborough lecture. The goal of this lecture series is to invite the most distinguished public health leaders discuss HIV and aids and sexual health facing Indiana, the nation, and world. And to honor the legacy of Ryan White. My name is Dr. Eric Walsh boo high and I'm the Chair in the Department of Applied Health Science at the IU School of Public Health, Bloomington. I'm especially honored to begin this evening's program. Last year, my first year as the Chair in the Department of Applied Health Science, I attended this event and was thoroughly impressed with the meticulous planning, the notoriety of the guess and Ari's and of course, the outstanding food this year, a year like no other, does not involve food. Sorry folks. But there is no way that a global pandemic is getting in the way of the Ryan White hate. And William Yarborough lecture. Especially with this year's honoree. We're all excited to hear from Dr. elders, who has served as a role model and a public health and sexual health champion for many of us. On a more personal note, it is truly special to honor the person comprising half of the name of this event. Ryan White. Ryan having been born in December of 1971, was only six months older than me. Ryan White was a name I knew well as a young person, having grown up in North Central Florida, that place was not unlike South Georgia, lower Alabama, or even COCOMO or rural Indiana. It was politically, religiously and socially conservative and a place that really struggled when it's community members who are affected by HIV and aids. The stigma and social impacts, not to mention the physical impacts were unreal. However, as Dr. Yarborough will share with you shortly, Ryan White's life became a national story about this very issue. When in 1984 he was diagnosed with HIV, which he contracted through tainted blood products that had been given to him for his hip hemophilia. Ryan is someone who if I had been born in COCOMO or if he had been born in North Central Florida, we would have sat together at school. Ryan and Ryan story is part of why I went into this field, the field of public health. Now, this evening, I'm honored to have some very distinguished guests with us. One of those guess is Dr. Lim Watson. Dr. Watson who formerly served as the Dean of the School of Education here at Indiana University Bloomington, was recently appointed as the Associate Vice President for Diversity equity and Multicultural Affairs. In his new role, Dr. Watson is working to further equity and inclusion throughout the university community. Dr. Watson has a long and distinguished career as a thoughtful leader in educational policy. Additionally, he's a researcher and core faculty member at the Kinsey Institute. He oversees Kinsey's efforts to generate collaborative education, research and fundraising related to LGBTQ plus lives and topics that include youth, mental health. As a part of a partnership between Kinsey and the Trevor Project, the world's largest suicide prevention and crisis intervention organization for LGBTQ plus and questioning youth. We're delighted to have Dr. Watson join us this evening to say a few words. So please join me in welcoming Dr. Lam Watson. Thank you, Eric. I'm delighted. Welcome you to tonight's wonderful. A bad on the behalf of the Vice President for the Office of Diversity Equity and Multicultural Affairs. I was asked to speak briefly about the importance of diversity, equity and inclusion here at Indiana University and how it relates to the elders ability to break barriers and, or field of medicine. As a black female physician. However, I'll like to say first step, but the elders continues to be an example of a dedicated professional who found her purpose in life and lives that purpose every day with every breath she has given. She's not all again, example to women and blacks, to all of us. She has never let where she is from limiter, but has chosen to take what she has given and what's given, and what she learned from her community, family, parents and grandparents, especially grandmother many who encouraged her bother to let her go out into the world to pursue a college education. Dr. Elder's has used all of her gifts, talents, and treasures as a force to change the world and her passion to learn and grow at the college student, she found a role model. And Dr. Jones, the first female African-American Dr. The University of Arkansas. She saw what she could become and becoming the elders. She understood her obligation to give back, to reach back, and to give others a helping hand on their journey, an essence to make the world a better place for all. At Indiana University. We also have made the commitment to create a welcoming community fall as an inspiring anti-racist institution. Denounce all forms of bigotry, hate, and racism. And we believe that every individual's contributions and perspective must be valued and respected. When this happens, we can provide learning experiences that mirror those of Dr. Elder's. That is why the office of the vice president of diversity, equity and Multicultural Affairs plays a significant role in recruiting, retaining, and graduating minority students through various programs across campuses. And in addition to supporting six cultural centers as powerful places for students and faculty to engage and learn. Yet, as we reflect on this year, we do so emit an unprecedented time for higher education protest and to wake of the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis Police and the this proportionate and part of Cobra at night keen on black Americans have renewed critical conversations about structural inequalities and this country. One immediate response of Indiana University, what's creating the pandemic health disparity? Fun to address the COVID-19 pandemics impact on African-American and Hispanic communities. With an investment of $1 million from the Office of the President. The funds focused on a broad range of wellness needs for students on all campuses. Another major effort to address social injustice, diversity and inclusive inclusivity was established by the Racial Justice Research Fund. This fund provides multiple start-up grants, up to $15 thousand for each research proposal by faculty members. On the Bloomington campus. Iu School of Medicine was awarded a $7 million grant also by the Health Resources and Services Administration, to help the school educate medical students to better care for underserved populations. Making the IU School of Medicine a leader and eliminating health care disparities. And addition are IU Police Department work with our faculty staff and students and create an advisory boards to address issues on campus. And then the local communities. And the university continues to review those named buildings and spaces in order to determine how and when renaming of those become possible. And finally, we're moving forward with the Indiana University anti races agenda on all campuses and in all areas to ensure that we address the biases, prejudice, and racism that may exist in a structural, systemic way. A tall order for any university. But, and the words of Dr. Elder's never fear failure because the only thing worse than failure is never trying. So Dr. Elder's will make every attempt to embrace your favorite Greek proper here at Indiana University, which states a society grows great. One of the elders plant trees and whose shade they know they show never sick. We are honored to have you with us this evening. And we certainly will sit and you're shaped tonight. So thank you for being with us. Dr. Watson. Thank you for your comments and for being here with us this evening. Now, before we get started with the award and lecture portion of the program, I'd like to invite the Dean of the IU School of Public Health, Bloomington Distinguished Professor and Provost professor, Dr. David Allison to say a few words. Dr. Allison is in his fourth year as dean of the IU School of Public Health Bloomington. And he continues to move the school forward, emphasizing diversity, collegiality, and scholarly excellence in Allison has forged a successful career in his own right as a teacher, scientist, and researcher, and as an elected fellow of the National Academy of Medicine. In this role, he advises on critical national and international issues in health medicine and policy. We are honored to have the dean with us this evening. Please give Dean David Allison a warm welcome. Thank you, Eric. It's a pleasure to be here. The applause is deafening here on Zoom. This is a strange world we live in and we're all adapting. But it's great to have leaders. And you've heard some good from some good leaders already to look back at. And I am thrilled and honored and quite frankly privileged to be here with you tonight. We have some wonderful people in attendance. You've met some already. Dr. Watson just talked about the idea of planting trees so that others may Basque and their shade and the future. He himself is a tree planter. He also casts a big shadow, is a hard act to follow. So I'm not only sitting in the shade of his tree, but standing in the shadow, perhaps. Penny get thens I believe is with us the county commissioner, doctor will cook, who is the 2019 recipient. Dr. Ed Marshall, who's the former Vice President of Dima. Prior to Vice President James when Bush. Dr. Kristen just Karski, an international leader sexuality research, who is the recipient and the holder of the will email you. Arbor professorship is here. Part of our school, part of our faculty. School leadership. And some of our deans Alliance members are in attendance. I'm grateful for you for attending. And you impress upon me the magnitude of who we are. I sometimes enjoy going for hikes and I enjoy going for hikes in part because this part of nature, I'm there with the big, big trees and I'm in the shade of those trees under the canopy. Regardless of a plant, those trees. It shows me my size. And in those moments I enjoyed being small. I enjoy seeing what's bigger than me. And I'm around surrounded by some big trees tonight. You cast a wonderful shadow, a wonderful canopy of shelter. Thank you for being who you are. We also have Jeannie White Tkinter year. And of course, our honorary Doctor, Joyce and elders. I want to give special thanks to the rural Center for aids and STD prevention and Amy Oakley for their role in these events and activities. Thank you. Thank you for all you do. I only speak briefly about Dr. Elder's because I don't want to steal the thunder of Dr. your arbor and others who will. You already heard some wonderful things about her. But I think we have all witnessed the impressive shadow that she casts. We have all witnessed her rising up. The theme of our School of rising up. Rising up takes courage. Takes courage to say what's on your mind. We throw words around like academic freedom. As though it's our right. As though it's something someone else can guarantee for you. You know what guarantees academic freedom? Courage. The courage to stand up and say what you want to say. You know, guarantees your right to free speech more than the First Amendment. Courage. Because their right to free speech doesn't mean it's free from criticism, doesn't mean you're free from being attacked. When you speak your mind, whether it's true or not. It means there's no law against it. What gives you the real freedom to do it is courage. These are tough times, but they're always tough times. There were tough times back when Joyce then I'll do the general surgeon general. And what she exhibited. In addition to wisdom. In addition to carrying. In addition to the ability to plant trees, others would sit under courage. That as an inspiration for all of us. That is what makes me enjoy feeling small and allows me to aspire to being bigger. Like these great trees like Joyce and elders. Dr. Elder's, I'm so glad to have you here today. I'm so privileged to be part of the ceremony. Thank you for all you do. Thank you for all you have done. You know, Dr. Elder's had the cards to talk about how young people might deal with desire. Kind of the lead for that. But far card, There's a line in the Bible relating to that kind of dealing with desire says, Be not like o1 and spill your seed upon the ground. Well, I want to talk about Billy Arbor, who spreads a seed in a different way. I don't want to say be like Garber and spread your see throughout the world. And that is the seat of purpose. Because what Bill you Arbor does is he makes us want to be bigger. Because he's bigger. Because he shows his purpose. Billy Arbor could keep his own money. Bill you Arbor could just teaches two classes and say, I'm a tenured professor. I teach my two classes a year. Give me my salary, leave me alone. But Bill yogurt doesn't tell ya ever funds the Yarborough endowed professorship that Kristen just casket holds. Bill Yarborough established this award. Bill, your arm reaches out to people of different walks of life. Bill you Arbor has a vision of a bigger world. He has a vision of purpose. Its purpose is not just to get a salary, is purpose is not to advance his career, is purpose is not just to bring in more indirect costs, is purpose is to help others and make the world a better place. This COVID-19 season has been tough. And when we knew it was tough, we asked everybody in our school, we said reach out to at least two other people. We organize the plan. Psych a little flowchart. You reach out to, to those to reach out to 2 and zoom up everybody be reached out to everybody to be touched by somebody else metaphorically. And say, Take courage. Courage is important. You're not alone. We're here with you. And almost everybody in the school said, Wow, that's great. What a great idea. I wanted to do that. I want to help, I'm going to help. I did help. Few people did. Few people said, who might help. I'm very busy. I have other things to do. This is not in my job description. I'm not a counselor. Who am I to help. And you know what Billy Arbor said when he got that message and when he read in The New York Times about people struggling, he said, who might not tell, who am I not to do more. And he wrote to us after New York Times article came out about how many people were struggling, many faculty members were struggling. They had kids, maybe they had other responsibilities. A little bit more advanced in his life. And he said, I could help. Is there's someone is struggling, is there's something some other faculty member needs that I could take on that I would do for them to relieve their burden and let them pursue their research more effective. He didn't say, who am I to help. Said, who might not tell? Bill? You are a big tree. Bill. You make me feel small and the best sense of the word, you make me realize how much I have to aspire to. Thank you Bill, for your leadership. Thank you, Dean Allison. It is my pleasure to now introduce Dr. William L. Yarborough, the benefactor of this lecture. We will be presenting Dr. Elder's with the Ryan White Distinguished Leadership Award. Dr. Yarborough is a Provost professor in the School of Public Health and in the Department of Applied Health Science for a senior director and founder of the Rural Center for aids and STD prevention is also a senior scientist at the Kinsey Institute. As someone said to me Just today, coding former IU President Herman B. Wells, surround yourself with good people and get out of the way. Well, Dr. Yi Arbor exemplifies this approach. Dr. Yi Arbor has authored numerous scientific reports on sexual risk behavior and prevention. And at the request of the federal government, he authored the country's first secondary school aids prevention curriculum. Please join me in welcoming Dr. Yarborough to say a few words about the Ryan White Distinguished Leadership Award. For the presentation of this award, you will be also joined by teeny white gender. Ryan White's mother, who we are so honored and delighted to have joining us this evening. Thank you. Date Alison for those very touching comments. I'd feel very honored to to be a part of the faculty and to be a person and the academy. There's no other jobs I think like it. And your words are re touch him to thank you for those that listen. Thank you, Eric, also for your words. This evening, I would like to welcome the students. I think we probably have students at this wonderful occasion. And we're proud of our students and we thank them for attending this celebration. I also want to introduce the weld reserved recipient of this year's Ryan White Distinguished Leadership Award. Dr. Joshua elders. With Dr. Elder's, please give us a wave. So we could say welcome to this event. As always, a wonderful part of our annual celebration of the Ryan White Award. There's the presence of his mother, Judy White, gender. We're so thankful to have GD with us this evening. And well, you give us a wave, also. Janie. Welcome. I'll talk more about her later. As Dr. Walsh boo high stated, the Ryan White Distinguished Leadership Award is sponsored by the rule Center for aids, STD prevention. For a quarter of a century. Our cap has been a leader in promoting aids, STD prevention and its research, community, leadership, intervention, development, and advocacy for effective public policy. Our cup, our cap as accomplished a lot, but there's more to do. Our cap is committed to responding to HIV and rural communities. A recent article published in The New York Times titled HIV is growing in rural America. States that had many large cities in the US. Public health campaigns have resulted any downward trend of new HIV infections. However, in many rural areas, particularly in the Deep South, the opposite trend is emerging. And, and, and Indiana. We certainly know how HIV and drug addictions can devastate a real community. For example, the suffering we saw in Scott County in 2015. And places far from cities. Conditions that lead to HIV infection continue to intensify. And rural America is prepared for the continuing and emerging HIV crisis. As the, as you may have state and a digital program provided to you. Our cap researchers and educators are conducting numerous scientific studies and holding leadership roles that contribute to addressing the HIV problem. Here in United States and countries throughout the world. The names of these individuals are listed in the program. Along with an impressive list of current are kept projects. As our cap senior directors. I want all of you who are affiliated faculty with faculty with our cap to know that your commitment to discovery and community leadership is admirable, valuable, and necessary. And it makes a difference. It makes our cap and the School of Public Health look real good. Thank you so much. Ryan White. All he wanted to be was a typical kid having a car, hanging out with his prince. He wanted his life to be normal, to Fed and have fun and be treated just like other kids. However, in his lap life came. We can anything but normal. When in 1984, at age 13, he was diagnosed with HIV, which he contracted through tainted blood products that had been given for his unit hemophilia. Later he was diagnosed with aids, the disease that few, including the medical community, understood. Ryan was determined to go to school, yet he was banned from school and COCOMO, Indiana, spite. This assurances from CDC at Indiana State Department of Health that he posed no risk to other students. He was on called names and shunned by his classmates and teachers. You spent to seventh grade at home taking classes over the phone while his classmates set in the classroom. Ryan said that was labeled a troublemaker. My mother an unfit mother, and I was not welcomed anywhere. Ryan and his family went to court fighting over not only the angry, fearful school district that many people in the community. Though Ryan won the case is fight had just begun. For example, when he was permitted to return to school, nearly 1.5 of the students stayed home and he was required to eat with disposable utensils, use separate bathrooms, and I'm not allowed to participate in gym classes. On more than one occasion. A bullet was fired into the white home and their car's tires were slashed. 1987 and family moved to Cicero, Indiana. He was accepted with open arms at Hamilton Heights High School. Rise fight to lead a normal life, throws tamp and gt into the media spotlight. With great courage. He began to speak out against that misconceptions about the disease and call for persons with aids to be treated with compassion. You spoke at schools and fundraisers across the country and testified before the President's Commission on aids. After each appearance is weakly male, of a 1000 letters doubled. As much. To his chagrin. Ryan, a modest and somewhat shy boy, became a celebrity. Ryan faced great difficulties, but he taught all of us one thing, that one person can make a difference. His determination, his dignity and his courage gained admiration and support around the world. Ride our Indiana native son, put a face on the aids epidemic and change the way the world dealt with a devastating disease. Ryan's mother, Jenny said that despite facing death and being treated as an outcast, Ryan never got down about his fate. Jeanie said that no one more than Ryan understood the fear, prejudice, and discrimination separate by people with aids. Although many memories of Ryan that I've heard you talk about, one that she mentioned has stayed with me. In particular. As I previously said, Ryan and his mother faced hate and anger for many community members. Jenny, recall that when they left their house, ride off a notice that her face hello. Ryan said with his hand, lifting her job, mother, keep your head up. We have nothing to be ashamed of. Riaa died April 8, 990 it the age of 18 at Riley Hospital in Indianapolis. The spring before he plan to attend college here at Indiana University. Sunday, December the sixth, Ryan would have been 49 years old. Senator Edward Kennedy said of Ryan for an awakening health crisis that could not be ignored. We thank Ryan. We're showing that the battle against aids is not it gets people with aids. We thank Ryan and for most of all for helping us to become a more humane and just society. For helping us to reach out to those in need. For helping America be America. We think ride white. Now, I want to invite Ryan's mother, GD, to make a few comments. In August of 990, Jeannie joined the lecture circuit, realizing that it is an avenue for educating persons about aids and carrying on Ryan's message of compassion and support persons with aids. She did not claim to be an eloquent speaker. She simply want to share personal thoughts and tragedies of life with Ryan. As you will hear, Jenny's words touch the heart of those who would listen. Following remarks. We'll see a short video. Have a moment of silence. Judy, we need to unmute your sailed QUT tribute to bought a pocket. Theory should be able to the bottom left. She'll is a reading book. Yes. Your works. Okay. Thank you. Male. Hi, Dr. Elders. I wanted to start out by just thanking are you thinking bill, for this great event every year because I have just been truly blessed as a mom. All I ever wanted to be was a mom and a mom that because of a misunderstood disease, my life changed overnight. It was not anything I thought I was going to have to ever worry about her experience. But in 980 for my son, Ryan White was diagnosed with aids? Yes. He was one of the first children, first hemophiliacs to come down. It was a new disease that was fatal. Ryan had his T-cell kind of 25. He was only given three to six months to live. He lived 5.5 years. He lived 5.5 years with aids and he became famous because of his fight to go to school. He just wanted to be a normal kid. He loved school and it gave him something to dream for. It gave him something we would look forward to. Instead of thinking, he won you think about living instead of dying from hasn't way. On April 8th, as Bill said. And tiny. But the week before that, Elton John was always by our side and he was there that last week and a half or Ryan's life. And he was being quite a secretary. He was answering the mail, checking out sisters and everything. The media was camped out at the hospital and everybody was concerned. They were doing nightly news programs on Ryan. And there was a call that came through an outward came came to me and he told me, said, Jeannie, I think this is I call you should take I took the call and it was Senator Kennedy. Senator Kennedy called and said, we're having these first hearings about aids. It's called the Care Act. With your permission, we would like to name it the Ryan White Care Act. He said, Nobody has brought so much attention to this disease and we have people caring about people with aids. Now, not ever realizing how enormous that bill would become. But I said that would be nice, not knowing that I was going to lose my son just a few days later. But after Ryan passed away, I kind of forgot about the bill. And it was about three weeks after Ryan passed away. I get another call from Senator Kennedy. Senator Kennedy said, you know, we'd like for you to come to DC. I said, Oh no. I said Ryan did that, not me. I said, I'm afraid I wouldn't hurt their cause more than help the cause. I said I know nothing about the government, I know nothing about the bill. He said Please think about it. And so I had my few friends from M for our call me. They said Please do this for us. Knew this for us. People living with aids still. And Jerry burn, especially my very good friend of mine. I said teary. I said I just I'm so worried that I will do what I'm supposed to do or I don't want to hurt the cause. He said Think about it. Okay. He said, Please we know about the bill, will have people that know about the bill. And so I thought about it and then I get a call from centered or Hatch. Senator Hatch, hit was the Republican co-sponsor the bill. He said I'm not taking no for an answer. He said I have 25 standard lined up for you. He said, Oh, we want you to do is be a mom. Everybody has them. We're going to approach. This just needs a little differently. We're going to tap, try to take this stigma, discrimination away from this disease and make it everybody's disease. I tell you, I I kept saying no. And he kept saying, just be a mom, just be a mom. Tell your story. Tell the sender versus what it was like to watch your son live and die from aids. While I went to DC and I had a lot of support, I met with senators. I told him my story and the bill was passed on analogous to the 18. And little did I ever realize that 30 years later, this male is helping so many people live with aids. Now. I had been so blessed to have been able to continue Ryan's legacy. It won't replace Ryan by any means. But I am so proud that I have. But I had a son that taught the world to look at everybody for who they are and like a person for who they are. You know, even when I started the Ryan White foundation in 990 and I thought I started it because Phil Donahue Phil Donahue kept encouraging me to he I'd Ryan got so much male and he loved this male. And Bill said at at at the hospital, he said, Can I take some of this mail back home with me? I said What? Yeah. You can. She took a bunch of male he said, You know, most of this male is for kids. I said Yes. I said lot of handicapped kids, a lot of kids in situations just like Ryan, he said, you know, he said, I think we should start a foundation. And we had like hundreds of thousands of letters. Eventually that poured in to the hospital, went to the home and felt wanted those letters answer. He said, You know, let's start a foundation. He goes, I'll pay for all the postage. So they made these little hearts. It says that Ryan White, thanks you from the heart. Just to let people know that their letter was answered. We slipped a little heart and always male. Phil Donahue paid for I tell you, I never would have Bret Thirty years later. Oh, I wanted to say one more thing. It was a bad time to start a foundation to, because of the discrimination still surrounding people on this, because 990 Bush had we had requirements that we could not talk about certain things. We couldn't talk about gay issues, we couldn't talk about real sex, couldn't talk about discrimination. And that, that era, that items that we had to talk about all the time was abstinence only. How can you talk about the aids epidemic right now with doing abstinence-only. So while we did, we tried telling Ryan story, but we interacted with Ryan story with the gay community at how Ryan said, once you have aches, you're just like everybody else who has a, you're fighting. Just stay alive. So we try to incorporate our story to continue the education which is so needed in this day and age, especially within high school kids, especially. So people asked me how I can do what I do after losing my child. I know I'm going to see Ryan someday soon. He's not going to have hemophilia and he's not going to have veins. I have a video I'd like to share with you because it's called Don too soon. And Michael Jackson did it for Ryan. I can remember Michael calling a few days after Ryan passed away and he said, You know, I promised Ryan he could be in my next video. But now that he's gone, he said I can't put him in my video, but would it be all right if I did a video for Ryan? I said, My God, that would be really nice. Microbiota video. He was always a man of his word. He did this video for Ryan and it's called gone too soon. And again, this is for everybody who has died from aids. They've all gone to you soon. Thank you. Trip. Very front row seat to prejudice. Heavens, you very much So. Tell me something about that. In my case, it was fair. And just because, you know, I've I suppose we had something in my body that nobody else had or very few people had. And I think I just because you're different. I mean, I'm surprised we really had dogs nowadays because they're different. It's amazing how you can accept a note in your help educating someone because of their race, their color, or the religion, what they have in them. Pleasing evenings to this spot. Hi. Like us. Let's, Let's have a moment of silence for y and others who have died of aids. Thank you. Ryan was never able to fulfill his dream of tending IU. But the School of Public Health at Bloomington and the real estate it for aids, STD prevention are proud to have been dealt. The ride White Distinguished Leadership Award. The Ryan White and William L. You harbor lecture, the Ryan White legacy Fellowship for MPH students. The Ryan White Distinguished Leadership Award. It was created in 2009 to honor Ryan White, as well as those who have made significant national and international achievements and HIV AIDS prevention. As you can see in the digital program that was sent to you, 12 outstanding individuals have received the award, including the first recipient, Gy gender. Thanks for touching comments tonight. Always great to have you here. Today. We're pleased, delighted to present the Ryan White Distinguished Leadership Award to Dr. Jocelyn Elders. Doctor Elder served as a Surgeon General of the United States from 1934, excuse me, 1983 to 1994. She was the second woman and the second person of color and the first African American to serve in that role. Dr. Elder's was born into a poor farm sharecropping family and a rule segregated part of Arkansas. She was one of eight children, another family who combined work in the cotton fields with their education at a segregated schools 13 miles away. Dr. Elder's graduated as a valedictorian of her high school class and went on to receive a scholarship to attend fill lender Smith College in Arkansas, where she studied biology. From their doctor elders attended the University of Arkansas Medical School, where at 960. She received the medical degree. Following following her term as Surgeon General reached, she returned to the medical school in 995 as a professor of medical technology. For the next 20 years. She published over a 100 academic papers leading to her study of sexual behavior and advocacy on behalf of adolescence. January 1993, President Clinton appointed Dr. Elder's as Surgeon General. Even though she was a controversial choice that delayed to confirmation until September. As Surgeon General, she quickly faced skepticism. Yet continued to raise controversial issues for debate and to advocate. For spectral and reproductive education for a young person. Nevertheless, President Clinton stood by her saying she was misunderstood. And April of Night daddy for Dr. elders who was invited to speak at a United Nations Conference on aids. She was ask it would be appropriate to promote masturbation as a means of preventing young people from engaging in risky forms of sexual behavior. She replied, I think that is part of human sexuality and perhaps which it should be taught. Comment, resolved it and public controversy resulted in the loss of support of the White House. For elders was forced to resign by President Clinton. Today. Today, many of her views are more mainstream. Over the years. Dr. Elder's has received numerous expressions of praise and admiration. For example, four over three quarters of a century, Time Magazine had named Man of the Year. But few exceptions. That was almost always a man. The kind of man who supposedly wielded inputs all over the world. On the 100th anniversary of women's suffrage. This year. Times editors and collaborators revisited each year since 1920, looking for women worldwide whose reach transcended their time. From this time created 100 women of the year project to spotlight women who are often overlooked. To recognize these women. The most influential women of the past century. Time created 89 new magazine covers. Over 600 women were nominated and Dr. Elder's was honored for being on the cover of Time magazine 1994. That cover displayed here read 1994, Jocelyn Elders, challenging public health to booze. You can read more about Dr. Elder's in the digital program. Dr. Elder's the directors of the Indian university real Center for aids STD prevention unanimously believe that it's most fitting that you'd be the recipient of the 2020 Ryan White Distinguished Leadership Award. You join 12 other outstanding individuals, including two former Surgeon General's C Everett Koop and David Satcher. You are truly a public health hero for your advocacy of young people to write, to know about their sexual health. You know what you did. You advocated for what young people want and need to know. Not what many adults like they should or should not know. Despite opposition, you're courageous belief and commitment to educate our youth established a model for all of us and improve the health of many youth. As the cover says, Jocelyn Elders, 990 for challenging public health to Booz. And as you have said, we've tried ignorance for thousands of years. It's time to try education. In Time magazine, they were absolutely right. And recognize you as one of the 100 most influential women worldwide in the past century. Dr. Elder's, we are thankful for you and for what you stand for and honored to present the Ryan White distinguished award to you today. Our admiration for you is best reflected in this paraphrase quote from Martin Luther King Junior. The ultimate measure of a person. Person is not how he or she stands at them well, what of comfort or convenience. But where he or she stands at times of challenges and controversy. And fortunately, Jeannie and I cannot hand that to you in person, but I'm going to mail it tomorrow. In other words, the plaque will be in the mail. Then I'm going to read you what the plaque says. Rural Center for aids, STD prevention, Indiana University presents, present that the Ryan White Distinguished Leadership Award presented to Josh let elders MB. And appreciation for your numerous outstanding contributions to HIV AIDS prevention and for being an exemplary bearer of the standard of x slit and commitment needed to combat HIV AIDS. December the 3rd. 2020, Bloomington, Indiana. We saw now we're blessed to have her presentation. Fear of sexual health knowledge. My journey as Surgeon General of the United States. I don't know if I should press. Oh, thank you very much. Okay. We want to do okay. Yeah. Yeah. I'm I'm never speak to this. But after the wonderful organization and for this wonderful leadership award in honoring you, dark Garber and what you've done. And Guinea, Ghana, gender, winds, mother. As you said it was, you were out there trying to be a leader or aggregate. You is nurturing. You is about trying to make sure that your son could do something that every mother Award First-time to do if you go to sue me something very simple. And just what kind of legacy is turned into just his desire. What if we had sat and listened and so of young people with aids not being able to attend school. So I really don't have an almost speechless I think. Hi, I'm getting my component you together. Let me I am married to a graduate when Indiana University. And he loves to read and do portray cell well, if so will a very short Larry piece. Yes, this this is one of the best age stage I've ever attended, even though it's virtual it or sometimes you. It's just been wonderful. As our elders is a graduate of Indiana University. Thank you very much. Well, given my wife, this award is very distinguish and I like she is on at this point, I'm the human touch. Is the human touch in this world that counts, is the touch your hand. And man. That will mean more to the perishing. So then does breed shelter, a way to go when the night is open and bread will last only a day with the touch of the hand and the sound of the voice will remain in this. So always. Thank you. Thank you. Rabbi. Yet I'm honored to be here with you today, to remember, ran quite in the good deeds he expire, he inspired. And so min, that's when we think about it, is with gender is said. But in August of 1990, I didn't know Alibaba history or months afterward brands that congress enacted the Ryan White congressional or age emergency. Our act, the cares Act. And you know, the cares Act was really even when we were having trouble finding money because of Brian's efforts and because of what was put into a many people who couldn't be treated before being tree. And the cares Act was enacted and it was really even funded and continued, is one of the highest funded care treatment programs and the government today. Thank you, Jamie. Thank you for what you did. Thank you, Ryan. We will ever write a great deal has happened in the last 30 years. To get to the point that we could even imagine. And name HIV aids epidemic. We have learned much about HIV AIDS, the signs, education, prevention, care, treatment, and loss advocacy. That's what it's gotten us. Wang gave us. Enlarge apart. We only have Ryan to bank with advocacy, but we also have a mother who's here with us tonight, Who's energize the hair commitment as a mother? Why and what was best. And bear for some rhyme. Simply wanted to go. Thank you. Swipe. In other, Ryan lived for a short 19 years. He left a legacy of caring and 0 for millions. 0. Then we each thirdly and leave that legacy. Thank you. Cloud. We're looking forward to the end of the HIV AIDS epidemic. We're in the midst of a painting. Covid 19. The CDC says that many of the same systems, organizations and coaches that have been developed by HIV are now apart. They're lifesaving effort to protect vulnerable populations from COVID. 19. Much of what we learn on how to deal with HIV AIDS is now in four minutes. But about how would you handle our new 2020 COVID 19 crisis? Because we've come so far in our fight against HIV AIDS. Manged to me that we can also come from intro of it. As the beginning of the epidemic, there were great many myths we went around, such as, how is it transmitted from one person to another? Remember when we put everybody was wearing gloves. Much of that has been cleared up or time education. And yes. Your advocacy, as I would a prevalence of the messed around age, just like medical and scientific information revealed between fantasy and reality, especially sciences and visit partly due to a core science education. There are many myths go anywhere now is we were, it was magnitude. We had all the myths about we didn't want to make sure we didn't spill sperm. The ground. We missed for regularity of machination. The myths regarding stand, it, detach yourself. The cursor is that women's wear. So we have many myths. Were the prevalence of a myths around aids, despite medical and scientific information, revealed some of the same difficulty telling the difference between fantasy and reality. Especially precise than bow. The greatest problem we had. And I think as I look back on, my end goal is clear. But also the ear gets in the way a good sense what they're talking about, psychosis, mental or moral. If children know about it, that will make them want to have census. And we tell them about it. They'll do it. But we are sexual beings from a bigger barn until her death with deer that doctors and scientists do not have the best interest of our children at art. With the destinations and mass. Now, at this time of COVID 19, with DR. rights are being taken away, we are advised to do healthy things. They prevent disease. Fear comes from ignorance, which is a lack of now. And so we all separate a consequence of our collective. It has taken many decades where we can see light at the end of the tunnel or a 8's. But I still worry about wage to promote condom use. And I think we can agree on wearing masks. How can we come to an agreement on where? This is one that we'll be working on for a long time. We do indeed have a fear of sexual knowledge in this country that has its tentacles very deep inside arrises. Let me tell you about it. In 1994, when I was Surgeon General of the United Nations on World aids Day, delivers a question from the audience about suggested masturbation. Wages depressed, they get the aids epidemic. I answered. I think I've bankers and the low part of normal human sexuality. And the wishes steady, steady. We add the a, b, c, d of aids prevention, a to accident. But as I said, Russ sexual banned from the day we're born until the day we die. So we aren't going to be abstinent. That's not be a human being. They be typo. All right, that's a good thing. I think that, you know, with our body is not capable. But even if we were thankful, not worry about the young people who are not married see use a latex condom. And D. But that was acquired or doing other thing that was masturbation. It was the characters who asked me the question and answer to the best, most scientific way. But I blew out. And I still, if I had to give that answer Yan today, I still give the same answer. I think that it's a normal part of human sexuality and wishes steadier. And I said the only people who feel that. So we, somebody has to teach us about estimation is never flame. A mom picks a diaper upward little baby boy. And the first thing he does is textured genitals. Remember in them even bad straps and parasites to keep trying to keep people from Turkey touch him and felt. So I'm set, we bow for a very long time. We've been very frightened about ignorance and what we don't know about set. Then I remind everybody that every sperm was not meant to be a baby. And I suggested we should study about that. Masturbation was our right here, we just study it. You would have thought that I had suggested with burned down a bomb New York City, and any bar already heard that I was promptly fired. I still think that we should steady. Increase the knowledge. Now, when I'm talking about they knew how to, we don't nobody needs of teachers in our bills that data out. So so I'm just saying that we should have people know that that may be away. Prevent aids. But of course now we've come a long way. We've learned a lot. We know how we have much better ways of reducing the spread of this disease. And we can look forward to the end of being able to completely endless, hopefully by 2030 or leaks reduce reduce it to the transmission 90 percent. And I think we can do that. The point is we can't even think about sexual information and much less studied. Because of our ignorance. The birth of the brightens, an English speaker. Already years ago. Nobody scientists said there is a false notion in our country, posing as a democratic ideal. That says, my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge. Rich tale that we still have a fear of knowledge is a heavy blanket is going to be smothering. It's one pitch to get over it. We see it on TV. If the grocery store demonstrating by people for using to wear mask that's in eruptive. Them to listen, to learn, and very much reason to use common sense. In addition to fear, common sense seems to warn us not to tickle people's strengths, really bad ideas because we could end up triggering your knee, your responses. And then we can catch that foot. Right here are places that's their ideas. I have a wrong. The deeply held and protected, even when these Debye be as a bolt destructive to themselves and others, that can be precious elements. So in order to avoid possible conflict and uncomfortable feelings, we have to avoid talking about sudden that length label as, as radical. So just teaching section of universal health care, feeding the hungry, batting shelter for the homeless. Equity in society in general. And what we get from keeping my mouth shut is what we have now. A system that is not equitable, education or to housing, not equitable, but jobs. Health care, victim, the vitamins are on us. And we could go on and on all were so reluctant, not too rough, vote, not grew up about that. We're not addressing the most urgent problems of our day. And we'll end up with people cannot shelter at home. Because there is, it's not suitable for chapter. The homeless. Homeless. Those who work, that's been done in person. Suddenly unemployed people with insurance is with their employer. Those without insurance, those who are hungry. We haven't provided a map for protection, enough safety nets for people. The job of the government is to protect its people. Anger. You don't want to make anyone uncomfortable or angry that the bid, There are different sources. One source of anger comes from oppression, another comes from change. Our graduates. And we saw with grind, some of both of it was put out. We seem to be so much unwilling to anger someone who doesn't want society to progress. But anger is someone who's a breadth of much but eager to angry someone with our society than to anger someone is pressed. Whereas, how are we saying we're about the oppressed and swallow bear, ender? If that's a swap their custom been doing anger from those who try to deny prior grants. We've seen some of that. And when incurred applied from your being readings, Southerners were angry and didn't want to let the slaves DO free. Even people who didn't have ratings are willing to give them their lives. So bloody war, then we're angry that women could vote. And we still have not passed the Equal Rights Amendment. White people who were angry at desegregation, many who were really fighting marriage, equity. Our government denied justice, The Making of America for our anger from those who were oppressed, including black people, were angry at being straight from wanting to be free. Women who were angry. Thus they wanted boating equity. Black people who were angry, segregation and lack of equity. Lgbtq community was angry and not having marriage, equality. And Native Americans who were seeking justice. But the anger didn't lynch draw its progress Facebook video in many cases. But only because they're both were willing to see others be uncomfortable and even angry or whatever, uh, challenges. As we go into this next section. I've been told that I would, when I was trying to get the legislators, a congress wanted to change the time or the place. But the idea was that nature was not right. Encouraged. Visit some elders. You're not ready for we're called to stand up and speak out because we know it's the right thing to do. I know. Agenda. I said Just stand up and speak out for our son because she thought it was the right thing to do with us. So we don't change our duration. We all know that there were fear and anger thing, right? What's grip us? But nothing will get better. Standard. The reason why so many people didn't have insurance, who didn't have homemade way of being PHI have that because he's dead up and bought for her son. And we all have you to thank Brian to bank because of what we did there and anger and goodness, but nothing will get better. We stand up and step it to change our course and progress and do something better. We can only travel forward in time. We can not go back to normal. Only forward. That's kind of normal that we choose. We're only as healthy as released help. Yeah. We're always happy. It released at the American road in the same boat. Neil deGrasse. Tyson said, you can't use reason. Given this someone out of an argument that they didn't use reason to get into. And we know a while back those on the reasoning in the world, not going to convince people, drop their irrational fears. There is something else that we can do. Education. Education of course. But the other way, reason. There is something much more radical that I don't usually talk about. But I think that that's what we saw and quite happen because the Ryan White Tears out. It's got to have tried care carrying methane thing, beta mothers, empathy. And we can become an empathetic. People. Concern with the education and welfare for our fellow Americans. Love one another. Expand our care. Boundaries. Will include all tell someone loved them. Okay, Let us look for a better future. But our new found 2020 vision has been explored. Suppose we are one people and we know that there will be. Covid. Virus has uncovered a lot of our blindness and given us, give us more money on a patient. And I hope we use that. Wait 120 Bayesian. Provide better healthcare, better education, better hope, and help us to overcome our fears for all of us. Increase our awareness, increase our advocacy, and make it spread out to 0. Let us love Lunar. Listen. So we can lead the defined a leader. We just expressed on, most impressed by that. I think it would be that candidly, there is no way we can, we can lose. Its eyebrow will say my old sayings. Society grows gradient. And plant, and women plant trees under whose shade they know. I'm never said. So. Why we're seeing wish sitting under the shade of a tree? That is Jeannie. I didn't panic in honor of her son. And I hope that we can continue and that we can hopefully eradicate this disease. So no other mother, no other family would have to undergo the pain. We know that we've lost some money. And so I held it. When we look at air, where we're trying to go and what we're trying to accomplish. I think we can just get started of key, love and caring and empathy time with us. Thank you. Thank you. This again, Jim. Thank you, Brian. And you hear sound is helped. All America live and do better and great talk to you. And certainly the Yarborough has been out there by the rule age. I was out there when we couldn't even talk about it. But we can talk about it. We're going to talk about it. We're going to keep talking about it. And I know we're finding that better medicine that it drove. And we've got a new star out in front of us. We're going to keep going. We're going to make it. And thank you. Thank you for all you've done and thank you for your butt, your efforts. And the difference is make it so many, especially young, poor, uneducated, and move. Thank you. Thank you, Josh. Yeah. Thank you for that inspiring and insightful presentation. In the program. I have a lot of quotes and I hadn't planned to read this one, but I think it conceptualizes a lot about you. Or it represents you say I went to Washington not to get a job, but to do that job. I wanted to do something about the problems that I saw out there that were happening in our country. I wanted to do something to make sure that all people had access to healthcare. I wanted to do something to reduce teenage pregnancies. And began to address the needs of adolescents in it so much. You also planted seeds that had grown into trees that will inspire all of us. So thank you for your presentation and lay the rules for aids, STD prevention. That's honored to give you the Ryan White Award. Thank you for being here this evening to all of you. I know the COVID epidemic has presented a lot of challenges this year, but we're so thankful that you are here to share this evening with us and to honor elders, to listen to GD white talk about Ryan, and also to honor the legacy of Ryan White. Have a wonderful evening. Thank you. I guess some of us are still here. I think you found a way to really make this, this kind of it was wonderful. It was really the very best for, you know, I've been to probably 30 World aids Day. This was one of the best. Well, that's very kind of you to say that Dr. Elder's, I mean, certainly are deserving of this recognition. As I said in my introduction, that you're a model for, for a lot of things that can be possible. And you did the right thing. You fought for what kids should know and need to know what other people think, think either not know. So thanks for being part of this. Congratulations. And max1 male. Crank it back in. All right. Thank you. Thank you, everyone. Ogtt or you didn't you got your mute on Genie. Oh, there to the bottom left. That little red thing That's the mute. Oliver as she's looking for that, I'm wondering if you would be willing to share your, your poem with us. That was really wonderful and I would, I would love to see that and or have a copy of it next is neat. Right. Jd? I it says Mu now and that I had an anatomy. You're OK. Now they're beautiful. I can't hear you. Yeah. You're mute. This odd. Sorry. I guess. Oh, wow. Good to have a daughter that is nose all that. Fancy graduate from IU tail. All their fellow. Where I fancy here. Yeah, Let's try IU fan and I'm married tip. Yeah. That's really unique and special. That was needed to hear. I did not know that. Dv, du, master's and a directive degree. Oh, great. You got education? Yeah. Not many people have a director's degree. I have Hua and health. So there's not many of those rows left. Trees than outlets under adapted cousin. Oh, yeah. I had him and statistics course. But anyway. So thank all of you for being here. Good to see you again, JD. Nice seeing you again. Thanks for your talk. And others saying I meet you and we'll see each other again. Yes. It's wonderful that I back that up. I've met Brian it back whenever you have help with our first shot. Relay. K. Well, have a good evening, everybody. You aren't any parallel. Thanks, I make it well, All right. Thank you. Buh-bye. Bye, bye. Did you want to try to get Oliver's name of the poem is how much you were hoping. Oh, I would love, I would love that. Yeah, that was really, really wonderful. I was going to follow up if we all hung up, but you already give it to you again. What's the, what's the EMA that the human touch. The human touch. Thank you. It was beautiful. It was, but it was very loud. Harm your joy. It was really, really good. Eyes. Best one I think I've now and I guess I've really enjoyed everything. Sounds probably I'll send him, but he had a book is called the fruit of the Spirit. Okay. A book of poems. And that's it. Okay. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you very much. It really was a joy to see you, Amy. Thank you. Remind me, Eric, and thank you. Can I break it out? I will let everyone go. I'll go ahead and end this session and then okay. All right. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

2019
Dr. Will Cooke

2018 Gina Wingood and Ralph DiClemente

2017 Susan Thurman

2016 Greg Louganis

2015 World AIDS Day

2010 C. Everett Koop

Description of the video:

My name is Bill Yarborough. I'm the senior director of the Rural Center for aids, STD prevention. This is a joint project of Indiana University, University of Colorado and University of Kentucky. We have established the Ryan White Distinguished Leadership Award. That award was established in 2009. A genie white, under Ryan's mother was the first recipient. And we're here today to present it to C. Everett Koop, MD. Ryan was a 13-year-old, typical Indiana rural youth who contracted HIV from tainted blood products for treatment of his hemophilia. And during this times, afterwards he was harassed, he was isolated that school taunting, and he received a lot of difficulties with public accepting his condition. And throughout all of this, he remained courageous, you remain determined. And Ryan's vision was increase aids awareness. Then also to end discrimination and stigma of persons with HIV AIDS. Throughout all of this difficulty, there was enormous media attention. It actually, he became a hero for many people in the country. Before his death and April the eighth, 990. He became well known and he had in his efforts to increase aids awareness. Soon after his death, the Ryan White the Ryan White Care Act was established. This act was the largest single federal effort to provide resources for persons with HIV aids. Before his death, he spoke to many schools and communities. He had his mother traveled around the country as spokespersons for HIV AIDS, right? Had planned to 10 Indiana University in Bloomington. But he, his death occurred before that. And within a few weeks here, we will be celebrating his 20th, the 20th anniversary of the death of Ryan. His legacy continues on and one way we continue his legacy is to recognize outstanding contributions through this award. In honor of the legacy of Ryan White, the Role Center for aids STD prevention has established the Ryan White Distinguished Leadership Award. And this award is presented for individuals for outstanding contribution and HIV aids. Today we'll be presenting to the doctor. Before we do that, Jeannie White, gender Ryan's mother, has a picture and words to say to Dr. Koop. This picture, doctor, Surgeon, Surgeon General Koop and right. And y and 980 a. And it is such a privilege to see you again. Thank you. Was such a blessing in our lives when you came forth when the political figures were not doing so, acknowledging this disease. And you said Ryan, why this boy should be in school. So I want to thank you, and it's so wonderful to see you again. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for all the people living with HIV and aids today, even you've made a difference in everybody's lives. Thank you. This award is given today to Dr. Koop for his outstanding contributions and HIV AIDS prevention. There are very few people they've done the courageous things that you did in your Surgeon General's report, your pamphlet that went out to almost every household United States. Understanding aids. We admire the courageous efforts that you have and that you did. And that certainly made a big difference in our efforts to control HIV AIDS. Certainly it's an honor for the rural Center for aids STD prevention to present you this award. And I'm going to read what toward says before Genie presents it to you. The Rose Center for aids STD prevention at Indiana University presents to Dr. C. Everett Koop, MD, Dr. science, the Ryan White Leadership Distinguished Leadership Award in appreciation of your numerous outstanding contributions to HIV AIDS prevention and for being the exemplary bear the standard of excellence and commitment needed to combat HIV AIDS. March the 17th, 2010, Hanover, New Hampshire. Genie, could you present that to Dr. Koop? Thank you. Congratulations. Yes. Congratulations. Thank you. Yes. Dr. Koop, you may recall recall in June a second or excuse me, the June the fifth 1981, was that infamous CDC report in the mortality and morbidity weekly report. About five young men in Los Angeles who were diagnosed with a rare pneumonia, pneumocystis pneumonia. And that really brought attention, I think too many people in the country about possibly what might be occurring. And course it was known as aids at that time. But that report came out a few months before you actually sworn in as Surgeon General in November of 81, when you became Surgeon General, did you ever imagined that you would have to face such a major health problem such as aids? No, sir. I never imagined it, but I can tell you if ever there was a disease made for a surge in general, it was aids. And you have to remember on that day that you told about the first report from MMWR? No one ever heard of aids before. We didn't even have a name for aids. The government had no position, but this is very important. The cabinet of the President of the United States had a position, not the president, but the cabinet. And it was this who gets aids, promiscuous women. Homosexual men, IV drug abusers, people were pregnant and shouldn't be, don't they deserve what they get? And that was if you want to say it, the official word that you would get if a member of the Cabinet talk to you about aids? I was the only person in the Public Health Service who had ever seen a case of pneumocystis, Korean ion ammonia. And in my job as a pediatric surgeon where you have to diagnose that and ammonia by an actual lung biopsy? I saw them all the time. Well, you'd think that would give me maybe that much head allowing with these guys. I had I had questions immediately because shortly after that, they came back and reported 20 young men with another disease. And I was the only person that ever saw that. But I raised a question. And this this should be history. I raised a question and I said, I know nothing about what we're talking. But I do know this. You are does cussing a new disease that is contracted by homosexuals. You have one huge load on your hands because of the forced sodomy in prisons. And I said The Public Health Service, as you know, has control of the federal prisoners and we have no preparation whatsoever if there is a connection where, you know, they laughed at that. And a couple of years later, just the people leaving the DC jail had 70 percent positivity for eight. If I'm describing to you something that Sam very chaotic, it was, wow, so that was, that, is that the way you would characterize the federal government's response after that CDC report? Yes. As chaotic. So how were you able then as the deaths of aids mounted, I mean, you were really the highest officials in Washington DC that actually mentioned aids. That first the first person to really tell it. What kind of barriers did you have that? Well, Watson, I believe in filling holes. And when people leave government and there's no bunny appointed to do their job, I stepped in and did it because I've had it. I don't see how when I was a new kid on the block, I didn't even know the rules here. You don't do that, but I did it. And pretty soon people had confidence in what I said and they knew I never lied to them. And I not only told them about how you get aids, but how you don't get aids. Because you will remember this was an era in which people didn't know how you connect, contracted aids and they thought she got it from mosquito laser handles? Yes. Computer keyboards. Mosquitoes for rights. Yeah. And we had we had a wonderful study on hemophiliac, people who had grown up together and who live together. And we found that they shared towels. 6% share toothbrushes, that all sorts of things were shared and there was no contamination and no passage of the disease gave us gave me tremendous authority when I said, it doesn't do it that way. Yeah. So in those early days, in your early years as Surgeon General a bit a lot of times did you feel alone in your voice? Oh, sure. I felt alone and, you know, I I didn't have anybody stand that in the sidelines and go get him, Boy, it right? Yeah. As a matter of fact, I am people in the cabinet were really opposed to me. And I, this is pure speculation. But I bet Ronald Reagan had more requests to fire me than any other member of its government. Well, certainly in all the things that you did in your report, the Surgeon General's report, I think really established the importance of science, what science says about disease transmission. And in this report, you talked about sex education for, for young people. You discuss condoms. I mean, those are really were sort of very unique things at that time. What led you to publish that report? Well, necessity. What really stimulated to do it was, I don't have any money. The Surgeon General has no budget. But France was putting out some kind of propaganda to the people of their country. And then I said, if they can do what we can do it. And as soon as I published that report, you're talking about France copied a big piece of it, and Australia copied a big piece of it. And I said, I went to Congress and I said, ridiculous for something that your Surgeon General wrote is being copied and used to prevent a disease that we know more about. But we haven't gotten enough money to tell people about it. Well, I got money hand over fist from then on and it was used. Well, and that report you're talking about is just as true today as when we wrote it, except for the dosage of drugs. Yeah. Right. Yeah. Wow, that still remains true. And I think it illustrates that, that there's no particular newer ways of transmission that people thought about though. One very strong a12 thought about, well, yeah, of course it right, but I'm not sure I want it. I want to tell you another thing. Where criticize so many times that we didn't move faster every time anybody sent an idea and no matter how cockamamie it was, we tested it. And that's all to the credit of Dr. Tony Fouchier. If somebody wrote in and says, if you take bee's wax and the role it in flower and put it on your screen. It'll keep, keep, keep the disease out. We would try it well, so you test it and say, right, it doesn't work well. And so we know we got rid of mosquitoes and better bugs, months, odds of other things. But the one, the one voice that you could understand and that you could count on being truthful and not lying about it was the voice of the Surgeon General, right? And certainly all of us are very, very proud and pleased that you did. And I think it really set the tone for what the Office of the Surgeon General could do? It did really. Then after that, you came out with this pamphlet called Understanding aids. And that was sent to every American household. It was really the government's first and I guess, only attempt to reach every citizen of this country, as well as the mood of the country or the mood of the administration before you may have mailed that out. I mean, where people H's are worthy worried. Well, France again had sent something and I said, if a country like France that doesn't have nearly the resources we have, nor the experience clinically, nor the experience. Research can do this for their country. We look like Pinker's doing nothing about it. And I said, we should notify every single household in this country. So no one can say, I didn't know. And that's how it came about. And it was a big thing, the unfolded, right? And it also is still everything in its true. So after was published where there wasn't any sort of fall out from that or anything, negative things or how did that how did that change your your role as Surgeon General in any way? Well, it made the role of Surgeon General much more prominent. It also started a spate of very funny cartoons that the country was flooded with cartoons about the Surgeon General's pork. You know, one of them I remember was a rural mailbox and the lady of the house was lying prone in the streets. That's it. Surgeon General must have sent and another letter. But those cartoons played their role. And. There are a lot of them because I have a 101 of them saw the Muslim and a bunch of math to do these reports. And particularly this understanding age, that's one of the things that you're most known for. And I think it took a lot of courage for you, so and it may not have had that much really support among your colleagues. Did you get your strength to do the these kinds of things? Well, you know, I I was raised if you're going to do anything door right. And I think that it's it's that simple. Be honest. And if you're going to do anything, do it right. It keeps you out of trouble, if we would, if we had that go on in our government of a boy, we'd be way ahead. Some people have called you the first celebrity Surgeon General. That you remember that? Abby, do you consider yourself a celebrity Surgeon General? I did that make your job more easy or did it make it more difficult? I don't consider myself a celebrity. But the publicity that sort of hung by these various reports you're talking about made me a very popular speaker. And sometimes I gave four lectures in four different cities on aids and the same day. And I enjoyed it. I enjoyed more than anything. The question and answer periods because that was the time I find what the public had incorrectly believed and I could correct it before hundreds or thousands of people. And if you have to be a celebrity in order to get that done, I take that I certainly don't never sought the role of a celebrity and I I never thought of myself as a celebrity Surgeon General. And but there's no doubt about the fact that nothing succeeds like success. Sure. And if you have a couple reports like that, and you remember the first report that you mentioned was requested in-person by President reagan. So that put a stamp of approval and authority on it. And it, it was very funny that you wouldn't believe how many people in the United States government thought that they ought to sign it. So there is desire, I would say, among of the government people to assume the celebrity role of the Surgeon General. Sure. And one of the best people we ever hadn't government was the The man who was Secretary of HHS? Hhs. Hhs at that time. And as a family practitioner who became three-time governor of Indiana. And he said to this huge group of people who thought they should sign it. He said, You know, when I was a country doctor and I got a consultation from an expert and I didn't take it. I was a fool. He said. So I've had some focus groups. And I said, Who would you like to receive this message from? And he said, it may surprise you that every one of them said they'd like to hear from the Surgeon General. So he said check you are signing this thing. And I said, You know, Dr. Bowen, I think that the buck stops on your desk and I think you ought to sign it. And I said You've been so supportive in getting all these things done. We couldn't have done it without you. He said, I heard my people. They have said Cool, should sign it cooped on the assignments. So that's how I got to say, Yeah, that's great. That's a very nice story, a very interesting one, particularly I'm, you know, that he's a former go to the state where the Rural Center for aids, STD perhaps it has housed and and you know, he's, he's still tend some advances. So thanks for sharing that story. So as you look back Dr. Koop on your career, especially your work and aids prevention area, what are your thoughts? And what would you like to be most remember about in your work to prevent HIV aids? Well, I'll give you the answer. I gave somebody else to that same question. I I enjoyed a very unusual relationship with lots of people. One of them was the press. And the press gave me a farewell party when I retired. That's pretty much unheard of. And one of the senior members of the press corps said, Dr. Koop, how would you like to be remembered? And I said, I would like to be remembered by you in such a way that may be 10 years from now. You right? About me. And you say, you know, even after he left office, he was the health conscience of America. And that's what I tried to be. Thank you, Dr. Koop for your insights. There has been a great interview. I really appreciate you providing the information about what happened when you were Surgeon General. Thanks for all that you did. Certainly role appreciative and congratulations on your award. Thank you, sir.

2010 Jill S. Waibel with Presentation by Jeanne White Ginder

Description of the video:

Welcome to this very special occasion. Today we're gathered to honor our native rule. Who's your son, Ryan White. We're here today to celebrate his legacy, to remember his vision of increased aids awareness and to recommit ourselves to aids prevention. My name is Bill Yarborough. I'm the senior director of the Rural Center for aids STD prevention. Professor of Applied Health Science in the School of hyper health, physical education and recreation. Here on the Bloomington campus. This event is co-sponsored by our cap and also the School of hyper. Before I begin to program today, I would like to introduce some special persons. Note who are here today representing the Bloomington campus. The IOB campus is the dean of students, Dr. Pete Goldsmith. You just hold your applause. I have another introduction here. Thank you. And also actually sitting next to him is Dr. Martin be climate. Dr. climate is the Ryan White professor of pediatrics and a former director of the Ryan White Center for Infectious Diseases at the IU School of Medicine in Indianapolis. We certainly appreciate him being here today as you may or may not know, he was Ryan's position. He was rise doctor, and he's here today and so thank you. Both. Carson's on the program that you'll be hearing fun little bit layer seeing, but I do want to reduce them. Now is Dean Robert Goodman, who's the Dean of the School of Health, has education, recreation. Next to him is Dr. Doug Kirby who will be a speaker for this event today. Dr. Jill label. And also then next to her courses, Jeannie White, gender, Ryan's mother, and they will be under program today. Hi. Ryan White, born December the sixth, 1971, was a typical Indiana Rural teenager when it was discovered that he had contracted HIV through tainted blood products. That was when he was being treated for hemophilia. He was diagnosed with aids, a disease that few understood. He was living in COCOMO, Indiana at that time. And due to widespread fear and ignorance about aids, Ryan was banned from school. Despite assurances from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the United State Department of Health, that he posed no risk to his students. Ryan spent the seventh grade at home taking classes by phone while his classmate sat in the classroom. Ryan and his family went to court fighting not only an angry and fearful school and community. Rand, one court case, but of course the battle had just begun. For example, he was, when he was permitted to return to school, nearly half of the students stayed home. He was required to eat with disposable utensils and use separate bathrooms. Not every winding COCOMO opposed Ryan. For every parent who pull their child out of school, many did not. But yet a vocal minority persisted. A bullet was fired into the white hole in the 1987, the family moved to Cicero, Indiana, another small rural community, just 20 miles away. And there he attended Hamilton Heights High School. There he was accepted with much more open arms, largely because the public became much more knowledgeable about HIV AIDS. And also by the cause of the efforts of Dr. Abel, a student then at Hamilton Heights. With great courage, Riot began to speak out about the misconceptions about the disease and called for persons with aids to be treated with compassion. Eventually, Ryan became a poster boy for the aids crisis. He spoke at schools and fundraisers across the country, even testified before the President's Commission on aids. After each appearance is weakly male, 1000 letters double. Many celebrities such as Elton John, Michael Jackson, John Mellencamp, Bob Knight, Phil Donahue, Dr. Everett Koop befriended Ryan to help publicly destigmatize personal socializing with aids. And much to his chagrin, Ryan, a modest and somewhat shy boy, became a celebrity to. Ryan died of aids April the eighth, 990, 20 years ago from yesterday at the age of 18 at Riley Hospital in Indianapolis, a few months before he has planned attendance here at UB it as an undergraduate student. And we're here today to commemorate the 20th anniversary of Ryan's death. As I have said, a major goal of Ryan was to dispel aids misconceptions, increase aids awareness, educate young people about aids. At the time when Ryan embarked on this crusade, age education, particularly in school, was in its infancy. Many programs were not effective. Mini programs were underdeveloped. But in the past 20 years, maybe things have changed. Age education become much more effective. Largely in part. Because of the pioneering and rigorous scientific work of our first speaker, Dr. Douglas Kirby. We are fortunate to have the world's leading authority on what research says about the most effective approaches of educating young adults about HIV AIDS and sexuality. Just as one indicator of Dr. Kirby impact. The recent Health Care Reform Act signed by President Obama recently. This act for the first time included funding for a more comprehensive approach to sexuality education for youth. And just this week, new Federal Office of Adolescent Health released grant monies of $75 million to replicate evidence-based teen pregnancy prevention programs. That money would not have been available without the work of Dr. Kirby. There are small group there's a small handful of people who have impacted the advancement of effective approach to aids education for youth and for a more comprehensive sexuality education. The leader of this small group is here today to speak with us. Dr. Kirby will present Ryan White and aids education, advancing his vision. Welcome, Doug. Thanks for being here. Thank you Bill, and thank you for that warm welcome. Many people around the country, a great many people around the country were really touched by the courage and the activism of Ryan and his mother. And I was one of those and have been one of those. And consequently, I truly feel privileged to be here today. It's a real honor for me to be part of today's events, recognizing Ryan and his mother and all that they did. I'm also very pleased to be here because of the progress that has been made in some areas, but not in all areas. Back and 990, I remember thinking, what can we hope and expect in the next 20 years? And I remember thinking, should we be trying to develop comprehensive aids education programs, sex education programs? Or was this a futile effort? I recognize it would take a number of years to develop programs, demonstrate there that they were effective and then to get them to be disseminated throughout the country. And surely within five, 10, certainly within 20 years, we'd have a cure for HIV AIDS. And if we didn't have that, certainly we would have a highly effective vaccine. Well, of course, we don't have either of those today and we don't have either of those within sight. We do have antiretroviral drugs that dramatically improve the health of those people who are living with HIV. But we don't have a cure and we don't have a vaccine. And all the indications I say are there, we're not going to have either of those in the foreseeable future. We've made. In contrast to that, I think we've made great strides in terms of reducing stigma and discrimination. There's an enormous amount of stigma and discrimination in 990 before, and there's still too much today. On the other hand, there is less today. Most people do not have the concern that if they touch someone or kiss some minors or share their eating utensils or someone who has HIV that they will become infected. Most people realize that that is not the case. Still though, there is stigma, there is discrimination among some people young and old. And this varies across the country in different communities and different subgroups. When I turn to the fourth goal on reducing sexual risk behaviors and developing programs that do that. They're, quite frankly, I, well, you see the smile already emerging on my face. We've had dramatically more success. Before I talk about the evidence for those programs, I went to have us think about the behaviors that directly impact the transmission of sexually transmitted infection. Typically, what do you think about? If you want to stop STI transmission? What do we need to do? Well, typically we think about we should abstain from sex. We should use condoms if we have sex. Maybe some people think, well, perhaps we also should we do, sorry, number of sexual partners. So that's three different behaviors that might come to people's minds. Well, that's only 1 third of them. They're really nice. These are all nine. And because of time, I'm not going to talk in depth about many of them, but I'll just make a couple comments and talk about some and talk a little more about a couple. Obviously, if people delay having sex or abstain from sex, then they're not going to contract or submit and transmit an STI. Very few STIs have a high probability of transmission during a single act of intercourse. Consequently, that means if you have sex more than once, if you have sex a twice for five times or whatever, that greater frequency of sex means that you're more likely to contract an STI even if you're having sex. Same partner who is infected with some type of STI. So frequency of sex also has an impact and reducing that frequency can reduce STI transmission. Reducing the number of sexual partners can have a large impact. Now if you just think about what happens if you have, if one person has sex with one person and another person has sex with two people, what are the greater chances that the second person will contract and STI anybody. They double, That's right. They will double-check. You have twice as many partners. So that is true and that's true at the individual level. But what happens at the population level when you double number of sexual partners? Do, does the STI rate double? Do the sexual networks double? What we actually see is this, and this is based upon some of the best modeling that has been done throughout the country. Suppose we have a group of people, of young people or any age people who have had, on average 1.7 sexual partners. So that about 40 some percent had one partner, 40-some percent had two partners at about 68 percent had three partners. These, this then would be the size of the largest sexual networks. So the graph you see up there that's composed of individual dots. Those individual dots represent individual people and they're connected in the ways that you see. There'll be a great many who are just pairs and don't, you don't see up there because of space. Might have thousands of just parents are having sex only with each other. This would be the largest sexual networks that would occur. And 2% of all of the people would be in this large a sexual network. Now what happens if we go from 1.7 to 1.9? That's 1.7 to 1.92 tenths of an increase of a partner. That's not much, that's not even one partner. That's two-tenths of one partner. This is what happens. The sexual network dramatically increases. And what we find is that 64 percent of the entire population then becomes involved in that single largest sexual network. And which you can see, well actually you can't see up there, you can see on my screen, but there's a lot, there's a lot of red in there. And let the red means is that those people are connected through multiple pathways. So they'd have condoms are used with one partner to two people may still transmitted, sexually transmitted infection through other pathways. That's a 1.9. If we go up to a higher number, 2 or 3, or 4, then just about everybody will be involved in that. We are all very much aware of the World Wide Web, the World Wide web, you all, and I can connect with other people, billions of people throughout the world. But you're part of another web. Probably many of you are. If you have if you've had sex with one person who in turn had sex with two or three partners. Or if you yourself have had two or three partners. And certainly if you've had sex with more than two or three partners, then you're part of the worldwide sexual web. The worldwide sexual web, which means then that you're part of a sexual network, then involves billions of people who are currently alive. And you, of course, you're also connected to the billions of people who previously lived. That's a large sexual network. And it's through that sexual network that STIs are transmitted. If if most of you in this room have had sex one or more times, certainly if most of you have had sex two or more times, then probably all, all of us for whom that is true are connected sexually through this network. Thank but it's pretty staggering. Some of you might be thinking, Oh my goodness gracious. So what this shows is that size of sexual networks and numbers of partners has a huge impact on the transmission of sexually transmitted infections. Result of that, in the best nationwide study that has been conducted in 2004, they found that 26% of young women, 419 nationwide had a sexually transmitted infection. At that time. That's 26 percent. But wait a minute. This was all 14 to 19-year-olds that included many 14 to 19-year-olds who had never had sex and consequently, he did not have an STI. We look only at those who had ever had sex. We found that 38% of them had had an STI at that time. And that throughout their life, they probably are there certain STIs that clear. The percent that had ever had an STI had increase still further. So the reality is that more than 30, I mean, I'm older than that. Many men it was here in this room are older than that in the STI rates go up. So the reality is probably more than a third of us right now have an STI. It's also true that half of all HIV infections occur among young people younger than 25. So we need to be very conscious of STI, numbers of partners that side of returning to the nine behaviors. So numbers of partners has a huge impact. Concurrency, whether or not you have serial partners versus overlapping your concurrent partners, has a huge impact. Woman has sex with one person and then completely ends that relationship and then moves on to the second person, has sex with that person, then moves on to a third. At that third person infects him. Then he will not affect either of the two previous partners. But suppose I'm having kind of current relationships, sex with this one than this one, than this one, then back to this one and then this one. So if any of those three infect me, then I might infect the other two as well. Concurrency dramatically increases the impact or the spread of STIs, particularly HIV. One of the reasons that HIV rates are so high in Africa is that they have long-term kind current sexual relationships. And it's called the superhighway, just enables HIV to spread very rapidly. Increasing the time between sexual partners has can reduce STI transmission. We look at viral load over time. During the first six to eight weeks, people have a high viral load, which means that there are particularly infectious. After that six to eight weeks it drops down, still can transmit it, but the chances are much, much lower, maybe roughly 40 times lower. So the danger zone is during that first six to eight weeks when you may be 40 times more likely to pass or transmit HIV if you've just become infected. So what does that mean? That means being realistic. If you wait, if you, if you meet someone and really like that person you need and you hold off and don't have sex for six to eight weeks, then the chances that that person will transmit HIV to you declined markedly. Same is true for other STIs bit every STI has a different, different shape. So this leads to that. Somehow undo one more slide in there. Okay, going back to this, when using condoms, of course has an impact being tested and treated for STIs can have an impact being vaccinated for a human papilloma virus that can prevent HPV, which can lead to cervical cancer. And we've had probably more women who have died from cervical cancer than have died from aids so far in this country. So being vaccinated against HPV can be hugely important and being circumcised. If males are circumcised, that reduces HIV transmission from females per male by roughly 65 percent. We have no vaccine that is close to that and will not have a vaccine. But it's close to that for considerable amount of time. Two important questions. What are the effects of sex and HIV education programs on these behaviors? Can we actually change them? Can we design programs that really change those behaviors? And what are the characteristics of the programs that do change behaviors? I'm going to look at all studies, those, but they have to meet certain criteria. They had to have an experimental or quasi-experimental design, an intervention group, the comparison group, they had to collect data beforehand, had to collect data Afterwards. I did look at the change over time and the control group and compare it with the change over time in the intervention group and then compare those two changes. Okay, had to measure impact on behavior be published after 990. Now that's a sleeper because of before 990, that aided 12 years worth of work and found that nothing worked. How many change behavior? 990. Sorry, I just answered that. The answer is none. And 990, we didn't have any studies showing that any programs were effective. They did increase knowledge, but they didn't change behavior. How many change behavior in 2010? Here are the results meeting the criteria I just mentioned. I'm not going to talk only about comprehensive programs. By comprehensive, I mean, they both emphasize that not having sex with safest, but also encourage young people who are having sex to use condoms and contraception to protect themselves against pregnancy and STI. We see that these are studies, not individual youth. 15 of these programs actually delay the initiation of sex. 19 had no impact. Six of them reduce the frequency. 17 had no impact. 11, reduced number of partners, 14 had no impact. So not quite a half bit less than a half of these actually reduced those sexual behaviors that can place young people at risk of sexually transmitted infection. Well Also teen pregnancy. Also very strong evidence that if you talk about sex, to talk about sex and talk about condoms and contraception and where to get them and how to use them, et cetera. As long as you also emphasize that not having sex is the safest approach, you do not increase sexual behavior. How many of you have heard that concern anywhere in your communities? If you talk about sex, that young people will then go out and be more likely to have sex. The evidence is absolutely clear that it's not true. Because the time I'm not going to say much about abstinence programs. Simply acknowledge that the evidence for them so far much weaker. What about the impact of these programs and condom and contraceptive use? There we find that 15 had an impact and increasing condom use close to half but not quite. 980. No impact for increased contraception, close to half for no impact, 100 went in the wrong direction. When you look at lots and lots of studies, you're just bound to find one that goes in the wrong direction. It always happens. Sexual risk-taking. By that I mean the following. These are measures such as 2k, which combined both sexual activity and condom use. A measure such as, how many times have you had sex without condoms? Or how many partners have you had with whom you did not always use condoms? Those kinds of measures we grouped under sexual risk taking, 15 had a positive impact, 11 had no impact. So more than half of them had a positive impact on sexual risk taking. We can ask the question, how many of the comprehensive programs had a positive impact on one or more of these behaviors. And we see the answer is 68%. So about two-thirds of them have a positive impact and one or more. That's dramatically different from 990 when it was 0%. If we're going to ask how many had a positive impact, we need also to ask how many had a negative impact and only when did that was on contraceptive use and that would occur by chance. We can ask how many hadn't positive impact and two or more behaviors. And 34 percent, about a third of them had a positive impact in two or more. Which means, for example, they may have reduced number of partners and also increased condom use. So it then became very important. We recognize that some programs for effective, many of them were, but also some were not effective at changing behavior. So then became very important to try to identify the characteristics of those programs that were effective and distinguish those characteristics that distinguish the effective programs from the ineffective programs. The programs that were effective basically used a logic model approach. They really specified a health goal. Typically reduce in HIV, reducing sexually transmitted diseases less commonly, but sometimes also reducing pregnancy. So they specify that goal. Once they specify that goal, they then specify the behaviors that have an impact upon that. I gave you nine behaviors that might affect sexually transmitted infections. They didn't focus on all nine a few those are new or not widely known and recognized for the specified a set of behaviors that would have an impact on that goal, such as condom use or not having sex. Then used theory, research, personal experience to identify the psychosocial, sexual risk and protective factors which affect of those behaviors. Things like attitudes and values and beliefs and knowledge side of perceptions of risk. Then for each of those factors, they identified multiple activities which would have an impact on those factors. So this is just a partial example of what I'm talking about. On the far right hand side, we have the goal of reducing sexually transmitted infections including HIV. One way to do that, and we saw only one out of nine. But one way to do that is to increase the use of condoms. So there'd be another diagram for another behavior. The variety of factors, risk and protective factors which affect condom use. More than just three on this slide, I'm just including three as illustrations. Improving attitudes for examples that condoms can be sexy. Many people don't think that using condoms because sexually they think it reduces pleasure, etc. So some of the effect of curricula recognize this. And they talked about ways, brainstorm ways to make, make using condoms more sexy, such as having a partner but the condom on. Another factor that had an impact and use of condoms is self-efficacy to insist on Chinese confidence in your ability to tell your partner, we've got to use condoms. One way to do that is to do role-playing and to practice insisting on condom use through those role-plays. Another factor that affects whether or not young people use condoms is their confidence, their self-efficacy to use them properly. And so effective programs do things such as specifying the steps to using condoms properly practice. They pass out condoms and students with practice putting the kingdoms over their fingers because that's after they've checked the date, made sure is right side up all those kinds of things. So the rest of my presentation, which will be fairly short, he's really kind of a bit of an elaboration upon that, upon that basic model that I just talked about. So as I said, the effective programs focused on clear health goals. They talks about the importance of avoiding HIV STIs, perhaps pregnancy, the chances of contracting HIV or STI or becoming pregnancy, becoming pregnant. They focused on those goals. They specified the behaviors, gave clear messages and address situations, talk about each of those. These were the behaviors that the programs focused on. I'm abstaining sex occasionally, but not always, having fewer partners and condom use for the STI programs. First pregnancy, they tended to focus on obtaining and using contraceptives. Wherever the clear messages and the clear message turned out to be incredibly important. For a good many years. It was a very popular concept in this country to use what's called the decision-making approach to sex education. Decision-making approach in which you provided information. You talked about the pros and cons of having sex, pros and cons of using condoms, et cetera, gave decision-making skills, you know, the various principles for, for using cont, sorry, principles for making a good decision. And then somewhat implicitly said, now you decide what is the best choice for you. The programs that did that were not effective at changing behavior. The programs that were effective at changing behavior for programs that gave a very clear message consistently throughout. And all the activities were designed to support that clear message. And the message, typically with some version of, you should always avoid having unprotected sex. Not having sex is the safest approach for variety of reasons, particularly for younger people, meaning junior high, high school. It's the best, best choice. But everyone having sex, you should always use condoms and contraception to protect yourself against pregnancy and STIs. Sometimes they emphasize other values, such as being proud of being responsible, et cetera. But also always made very clear what those men, for example, for high risk women in one situation remaining in control was a value that very much appeal to them. But it wasn't, they didn't just say remaining control, but they said was remaining control. Remaining in control means you don't have sex. If you don't want to have sex, and if you do have sex, you always insist on using condoms. They talked about specific situations that might lead to unwanted or unprotected sex and how to avoid them and get out of them. And situations such as there's a party, there's alcohol, there is an empty room down the hallway, etc. And they then identified the young people, not the educator, but the young people would identify. Ways to avoid those situations or to get out of them. They had they just multiple risk and protective factors. Here's a whole list of them. I'm not gonna go through them because of time. But you can see those of you who've had psychology. They're very consistent with theory, which talks about knowledge, perceptions of risk values, peer norms, self-efficacy intentions, et cetera. Similarly list for those programs that included kingdoms and contraceptive use. As I mentioned, they had multiple activities to change each of these factors. These activities were instructionally sound. They were not doing what I'm doing today. Right now I'm giving a short lecture on all of this. Rather the effective programs are very interactive. Having young people engage in role-plays, discussions between a whole variety of things they actively involved to participants. And they help them personalize the information, help them apply it to their own lives. These are just few examples of some of those activities, discussions, HIV speakers, simulations, role-playing, condom demonstrations, etc. In conclusion, when I think back 20 years, I remember Ryan White and I remember all the things that are happening back then. And he helped motivate many people in this country to develop effective programs. And we have made huge progress is I've just indicated in the last 20 years, about two thirds of all the programs now are effective at reducing sexual risk behavior. And we know the qualities of those effective programs in this area. I think Ryan White would be pleased if he could see that we have done all that has been achieved. Be more pleased if there were less stigma in this country. More pleased if we add a cure or a vaccination with ever been in this one area. I think that he would smile. We still have challenges to overcome, but we've made a huge amount of progress. I want to thank you very much for the opportunity to be here. Thank you, Doug, for those I think, very insightful remarks, but also thank you for all the career that you've had and in helping improve sexuality education. Hundreds and thousands of people around the country in the world are thankful for what you've done, particularly educators, but also the students. So glad you came today. I'd like for GD and Jill to come up here, please. Joe, you stand next to me. He then she's on on your side. Yeah. The Ryan White Distinguished Leadership Award was established in 2009 by our cap. And this award was created to honor Ryan White, but also to honor people who have made significant contributions in HIV prevention in the country. The first three, say a bit, actually, last year's conference, 2009 was Ryan's mother, gene white, gender. She was the first recipient of that award. And this recently a JD. And I traveled to Dartmouth College in New Hampshire to present this award to C. Everett Koop. Who was a surgeon general, who was responsible for the distribution of a 107 million pamphlets to households the United States about HIV prevention. Today we're pleased to present the Ryan White Distinguished Leadership Award to a former student at Indiana University and a graduate, Dr. Jill ESR able jail was a teenage friend of Ryan who was instrumental in his acceptance to Hamilton Hamilton Heights High School. And when Ryan's family moved from COCOMO to Cicero, ryan was about to received a precious gift. And that was you. Joe had said to riot when he moved near to her. Let's make Ryan welcome. As she told Ryan, you can go to school with me and ride in the car. So she and Ryan became friends. Their friendship blossomed. She went with Ryan to the medical appointments and also testified in front of Congress to raise awareness for aids. You may have noticed on the back counter as before he came into the room was a copy they Indiana University Alumni Magazine from September and October. And there's a whole story about the dance marathon. And I'm going to be talking about that in a few minutes. And so we have persons here that represent the idea University Dance Marathon, some of the students and I'd like for you stand at this time, please. Yes. Article a jail said that Ryan had changed her life. She said that Ryan taught her what was important in life is still stand by his death. Jail Stuart, that her name than an IU student wanted to do something in his memory. And so, isn't it interesting how ideas start? What she did decide to start the year Dance Marathon, and the rest is history. According to what it says on their website for the dance marathon. Her and 12 students establish the IU Dance Marathon in February 1991. The first one raised $11 thousand. The last one in 2009 raised over million dollars, actually 1.5 million, I believe for a total of 8.5 million in this tradition has become or this event has become a tradition at IU. It's the largest student run organization when campus. And certainly as you can see from this group here, it's found the hearts of many students, over 350 students every year participate and organizing it. Over 900 dance and they dance all night and for hours and hours. The money raised is directed toward the Ryan White Infectious Disease Center at the IU School of Medicine and the Riley Hospital. They didn't Atlas the Ryan White Professorship, which Dr. claim and codes. Jail is now a dermatologist did Miami, Florida. And she says that Dr. Kleitman inspired her to pursue a career in medicine. Like to give you this. Okay. The directors of the real Center for aids STD prevention have unanimously voted to award the Ryan White Distinguished Leadership Award to Dr. Jill S label. It's more spending that you receive this award because of your courageous efforts and make an Ryan feel welcome and safe at school. Given your friendship with Ryan and given the fact that you found the DI you dance marathon, our cap is most proud of what you've done. Thanking you by bestowing this award upon you. The award says, the real Center for aids STD prevention at Indiana University presents the Ryan White Distinguished Leadership Award to jail ESR able MD, in appreciation for your numerous outstanding contributions to HIV AIDS prevention and for being the exemplary bear or the standard of excellence and commitment needed to combat HIV AIDS. April the 8th, 2010, Indiana University. Congratulations. Good morning. Thank you all so much. That was that was very touching. Special thank you to bill Yarborough who has put this event together into the Role Center for aids and STT mentioned at Indiana University. It's an honor to be here with you all today. And it was really an honor to know Ryan White. He lived his life with grace and selflessly educated the world about this new devastating disease we call aids. Ryan gave a face to aids in this world. And he asked for the compassion and care of those who suffered from aids. But he also asked to give education and forgiveness to those who were ignorant. I still think we have so much to learn for the way he lived. He was successful in all of his endeavors. His efforts helped calm our United States at a time that there was a lot of distress and concern about aids. And obviously the Ryan White Care Act show all if he did on this earth, he could have not have had the success without the love and support of his mother. Jenny loved Ryan unconditionally. She stood by him every day and she went through the hardest journey. I think the mother has to travel. So to Jeannie and Ryan loved IU he really wanted to come to Bloomington. And in his memory and to count helpless other children who suffered like Ryan, the Indiana University Dance Marathon, as you see here, of amazing student leaders. And I know I speak on behalf of many people in here at university. We should be so proud of them. They continue Ryan's legacy. You've heard of the great things they do and continue to do and raise money for for Dr. Climate Center and where Ryan White Infectious Disease Center helps other children. So I think really I want to thank my family. My mom and dad are here. Hamilton Heights, that community. Indiana University, Jeannie, and most importantly, Ryan. I'm honored to receive this award. I dedicated to Ryan's memory and to the continued success of IU Dance Marathon and the children, it will help in the future. Thank you again for sharing. During riots or deal and his fight to stay alive and to educate others. His mother, genie's stood by him. Ryan had a enormous presence and that presence I think continues in his mother. Jenny herself also faced harassment, for example, or her fellow employees at General Motors after finding out her son was infected with HIV, left spiteful, excuse me, fight spiteful, hateful notes on a computer, notes under the glass of her desk and a 100 timecard. When Ryan was banned from school, Jeannie became an activist traveling the country, traveling the world to speak to groups and working with Congress for the creation and continuation of the Ryan White Act. I first met Ryan and Jeannie and indeed atlas in the spring of 1987 to request of CDC, I authored the country's first school age curriculum. And what he Myers then the Commissioner of Health and an assistant search agenda and I introduced that curriculum at a press conference. And they didn't. Atlas and I was honored at both Jeannie and Ryan was there and I I got a chance to visit with them. Now, 23 years later, I'm pleased to be able to renew my friendship with Genie, continue our joint efforts working together to prevent HIV infection and aids. I'm also pleased to announce effective yesterday, the directors of the real Center for aids, STD prevention has appointed Jeannie as a special assistant to the senior, senior director of our cap and we look forward to working with you and glad to have you part of our staff. In the book, Ryan, write my own story authored by Ryan. Ryan quotes his mother saying, Jeanie said, if people refer to me the rest of my life as Ryan White's mother, I'll be proud. In her presentation today, Jeannie, we'll talk about what's like being one of the ray first families facing aids and 980 for how Ryan and his family dealt with educating the public about a disease that was misunderstood. And she will present a mother story watching her son and live a die with aids, wealth and gt. Thanks for being here. My name is Jeannie White, gender and on the mother Ryan, why? But I also have a beautiful daughter who graduate from my YouTube. Her name is Andrea, and Andrea is the apple of my law. I were best friends. She's a school teacher, a sixth grade geography teacher in your material Florida. And she coaches volleyball, soccer. But I am up here really because of two people, centered or Kennedy and Hatch. I am just a mom. I'm a mom. I just well, just like your moms and the moms out here. And Ryan was a kid, just like many of you. But because of a misunderstood disease called aids, my life changed overnight. It was a nightmare at 980 for where my son, Ryan White was diagnosed with aids. He was one of the first children and first-hand hemophiliacs to come down with aids. And that time it was so scary because there was no education on aids and people thought you had to do something bad or wrong to get the disease, otherwise you didn't get it. We've been definitely felt that discrimination because Ryan was treated the same way somehow some way he's done something he shouldn't ever, he wouldn't. I got aids. But our story kind of starts much sooner than that. It starts in me as a mom. The only thing I ever wanted to be in life as a mom and a 970 one, I gave birth to Ryan. I was most excited mother, he was 22 and a half inches long. He weighed six, say he was a skinny thing you ever saw in your life? We had the biggest fee and right away I thought, Oh my gosh, maybe I have my basketball player. As most of you know, Gary, Indiana. We love basketball and we loved IU and we followed IU and that's kind of the first kind of inkling I had that those great big feet that meant maybe and he was going to be tall. However, he was circumcised three days later. And three days later he started to hemorrhage where he was circumcised. He bled for three days. They finally decided that something might be seriously wrong. They shipped him to method is hospital in an ambulance at the time. And they are the results came back that he was a severe hemophilia with less than 1% clotting. I can remember the hematologist calling me and saying, you know, this is very serious, that Ryan will never be able to play contact sports. He said, you know, Ryan will never be able to be in a car accident. He'll he'll bleed faster than what? They will ever be able to put blood into him. They said, you know, he'll never be able to have any major surgeries. And as a mom, that is like, Oh my gosh, I'm just like panicky. But he said we have a new drug for hemophilia. It's not approved yet, But we feel like it will enable hemophiliacs to live almost a normal life. It's going to be a drug called Factor 8. We want permission to give it to your son. And I thought, Oh my gosh, she told me all this devastating news and then you tell me that there's this new drug and I was just like, Oh my gosh, how fortunate. Boy, this is a miracle that there is this new drug coming out. Well, I can remember remember Ryan coming home with a mohawk haircut. He had 21 little pinholes in his head where he had been given factor eight. And we felt like it was a godsend. I worked at General Motors and we had Blue Cross Blue Shield insurance. And it was great insurance and we were one of the fortunate ones that Ryan was able to get Factor 8. Most of the time he had to be put in the hospital to get it to get factory. They would leave him in there for about four or five days just to control his he hemorrhage or so forth. Most of the people with hemophilia, their problem isn't so much outward bleeding as in maybe in joints and in your hip and your legs and your elbows and so forth. That can be very painful. Ryan used to call it likes swelling up in a joint like a quarter of milk into a pint of milk. I mean, it's just a lot of pressure and a lot of pain. Well, when he was three years old, he started getting factor eight in the doctor's office. He got it twice a week whether he needed or not. And that kind of prevented any kind of major problems and Ryan was able to live kind of a normal life, got to do a lot of things that other kids got to do. And then when he was five, they asked me if I would like to learn how to give IVs and maybe he could get it at home. I thought, Oh my gosh, that's going to make our life even easier. I thought that's going to be really cool. So I would pick up boxes of factor. I would pick up 10 to 12 boxes at a time, but you kinda accumulate box is a factor eight at home. And twice a week I would give Ryan IVs. Well, Ryan at when he was about nine years old, he wanted to play little legs so bad. He said Mom, please, please, please can I play Little League? He said Mom, everybody plays a little leg, please. Will you let me play Little League? And I said, Okay Ryan, I said we'll give it a try. We'll see. I said I'll make sure you get your factor in everything and we'll see how it goes. So and played Little League and then he got hit and after the second year he wasn't very good, but at least he was on a team and he felt like he was pretty cool. So he he was that he was that a game and he got hit with a ball in and his knows, not where your MIT supposed to be. I know, but he said, Well, Mom, I don't think I'll play Little League anymore. So I always tried to stress to him how important his education was going to be for him. I did not have to stress very hard. Ryan was just naturally intelligent. He had a great observation of things, a great insight to a lot of things. But when he was nine years old to, he asked his grandparents for a subscription to Time Magazine. And I don't know too many kids that like ten years old that gets a subscription to Time Magazine. But Ryan was very intellectual. He, he like news, he liked anything around him that that challenged him, so to speak. So he dealt with the hemophilia, but I can remember when he was very little. He was about four or five years old. He was in the hospital which he kind of was a lot because of his hemophilia, different instances. But he was at Riley and there he was in a room with a child that had been Burt. And the painful graphs and stuff that they would do on this child, this child cried a lot and Ryan would say, Mom, I'm just thankful all that's wrong with me is my hemophilia. He would see a lot of kids a lot more disadvantage than him. And he would say just Mom, I'm just thankful. I'm just here for my hemophilia. So I think what was about to happen to Ryan? Just another challenge that Ryan felt like he was going to make because when he was 12 years old, he was sick the whole year. He was sick the whole year and I kept taking them to the doctor and they kept saying, Well, there's a lot of colds and flu going around. Well, the end of November, we went to hemophiliac clinic which every hemophiliac use it goes once a year. You're seen by a dentist, you see him via a bone specialists. You're seeing that you're kind of evaluated. And I get a call the 1st through December and they said Are you aware Ryan has had hepatitis within the last year? And I thought, well, that's why he's been so sick. Well, that was the beginning of my nightmare. Re-enter. And 13 on December the sixth, we had a birthday party for him, just like most kids do when they turned 13. It's rather special. And it was just a couple days after that he got off the school bus. He came in the house. He said, Mom, it gotta do somethin. He said, I can't even get off the school bus without being tired. He said we had to run a lab today at school and I couldn't vanish and the teacher got really upset with me. He said, Mom, I don't understand what's wrong with me. It was just a couple of days later. The high fever started. He started running these hundred and two hundred and three fevers. We didn't know what was wrong with him. They put him in the hospital. They diagnosed him with pneumonia in both lungs. They treated him for three days until he was just totally in an almost exhausted. And he said, Mom, why won't they listen to me? There is nothing down there to cough up. They were treating him from bacterial pneumonia and he never got any better. So they transferred by him by ambulance to Riley Children's Hospital where Dr. employment, who is my best friend in the homework, I take a bike, most riot eventually with aids. And even though mom didn't want to quite believe it, mom thought how could her child B with the first children and first hemophiliacs to come down with age level. Did we realize that in 1985 as they started bringing in all hemophiliacs that they found that like 80 percent of them was all going to be infected. But this was just the tip of the iceberg. It was scary at the time. I didn't really want to believe that that's what was wrong with him. And I wanted everything run over again, ran over again. And I thought somehow some way it's going to show that he does have aids. Well, they assured me that Ryan yes. They had hobbies. And I remember what they know everything there was to know about this disease. And I asked Dr. climate and he said, well, there's not a lot of information for me to give you. And he told me about m bar. He told me about an organization in New York that was trying to cope with the disease and deal with the disease. And I remember making this phone call as a strong Christian lady. I can say I was probably one of those homophobic people because I had always believe that homosexuality, homosexuality was wrong until I got involved with this aids epidemic. I call them far. And on the other end of the line was a gentleman by the name of Terry Bern. I had no one I had there was no therapy, there was no consultations for people dealing with aids at the time. And Terry became my best friend in the whole world. Terry told me who was a gay man. He said, anytime you have a question, You call me. Anytime you need somebody to talk to, you, call me. While I spent many hours on the phone talking to Terry Bern, he said, you know, keep in contact with me because we're finding out new in here in New York far sooner than anywhere else. What works and what doesn't work. And I tell you that was my eye-opening for this disease. Ryan was in the hospital for about two months and it was a rough time. At that time, people with aids was only living three to six months and that was if they were lucky if they could overcome what was wrong with him for that hospital visit. We did a lot of praying. We did a lot of praying and I just somehow wonder that somehow I wanted to numerical. And I thought if I believed hard enough and I believe strong enough, someday I would get that miracle. Well, I've come to terms with miracles. Ryan was only supposed to live three to six months and he lived 5.5 years with aids. I think I might've got a miracle, but at the time I could not see it. Brian live a lot longer than what a lot of the other young people did after being diagnosed with this disease in the hospital. It was rough. I can remember Dr. climbing wanting us to talk to Ryan and tell him all about aids and about his condition. And little did I realize that Ryan already knew about aids, but I can remember going in the day after Christmas. I remember going in the day after Christmas and thinking, Oh gosh, wins a good time, while there is no good time. But I met the minister was down there and Andrea was in the room. And I said Ryan, you know, you've been really sick. And he said yes. And I said, Well, they say you have aids. He says, am I going to die? I said, Well, we're all going to die someday. We just don't know when he goes. Let's just pretend I don't have it. I said Brian, we can't really do that because we have to take precautions to keep you from getting sick. Andrea said Mom, that's not what he means. Ryan said, See moms, she knows me better than you. He said I just don't want every time somebody enters a room to talk like poor Ryan, he's Dian. He said, I just want to go ahead and go on with my life. Okay. Well, I tell you I saw a kid grow up very, very fast. I saw a kid mature so much where mom was a nervous wreck. About to have a nervous breakdown and he was the one that kept mom going. It was always positive. He said, You know, mom, he said, I don't want to die either, either. But when the Lord wants me, the Lord will take me. This will just be one step up to it. I seen his faith grow. Finally he was able to leave the hospital. And here at that time you're almost counting the months. But Ryan start eating. Mom kept cooking and he started gaining way. He started really feeling good. And what was so alarming was for mom when she came home from work to see Ryan just sitting there doing nothing, then waiting for Andrea to get home from school was like what a wasted life for Ryan to just set here. You're almost like setting here waiting to die. I want something better for him. So right before spring break in 1985, Ryan called me at work. He said Mom, when you call the school and see if I can go visit, he said they have pizza on Friday and he said I really like the schools pizza. He said If you can sit, that I could maybe this on a Friday because I just like to see some of my friends. I call Mr. Kobe and Mr. Comey said, oh boy, I don't know. He said, call me back after spring break. Call back after spring break. Mr. Comey said, Oh, have you talked to the local board of health? I said no. And he said, well, there's been a lot of problems. He said, but Ryan cannot even come to visit school. He said they're talking about even putting a quarantine sign on your door. Because a lot of restaurants have been complaining about you eating in their restaurants and they're throwing away their dishes and so forth. But you need to hear it from the the Board of Health. At that time as a mom? Yes. I mean, we had been going out. I had not had anything. And I called the the local board of health and they said, No, we're not going to put a quarantine sign, but this is first time anybody has had to deal with this situation. And the guidelines at Indiana State Board of Health is working on some kind of guidelines for restaurants and so forth. Just be very patient with us. We will try our best to let you know as soon as possible after these guidelines are made. Well, then it was a wait period. It was another wait period. And finally, Ryan said, Mom, What would you call the skull and see if maybe I could take the sixth grade over again. He said, you know, he said, I'm kind of smart. He said I think I could pass the tests. He said, I'd really like to be able to stay with my class. And I said, Oh Ryan, I don't know. He goes, Mom, just call and see mate. Surely there's a test or something I can take. So I call him Mr. Coby again and I told Mr. Colby Colby Ryan, We'd like to know if he could take a test that maybe we hit where he could go on with his class. He said, I think it would be better if Ryan took the great over again. I said, Well, he kinda don't want to do that. He said, Well, they're going to vote in July whether to allow Ryan in school for the next year. The school board he said after some education and stuff, scotch pass through and so forth. He said, just be patient with this. While I get a call from CBS Morning News the end of July. Asked me that, are am I aware that's a School Board voted and in the middle of the month not to allow Ryan in school for the next year? I said I had no idea that. And they said, Are you going to fight this? What gosh, I had no idea what we're gonna do. I mean, I had no money and I just felt like this was at an end. But and off I Lafayette attorney Mr. Von call this. He called us and because it was all over the news by then and they wanted to know if we wanted to fight it. I said, You know, I have no money. He said, well, some people have money and some people don't. He said, if Ryan really wants to go to school, I will represent him. I said I'm going to let you talk to Ryan. Mister von got on the phone to Ryan and he said Ryan, he said, You know, it could really get ugly. Ryan said I can take it. He said, I want to go back to school. So they are the core journey began. We thought it would take one court hearing because we had all these medical experts on our side. We had the CDC. We had all these famous infectious disease people that knew about aids. But no, what happened was local doctors testified that they wouldn't let their kids go to school with Ryan and they wouldn't treat Ryan if he had been a patient. There's it's like these people don't know that KM, the conflict between the medical field, even people who did not treat people with aids or did not know anything about aids. They were making remarks that were not true. And the specialists were making their remarks that worse, that were true. They knew how the disease was spread. I could remember the CDC when Ryan was first diagnosed. These, they sent me these 20 pages of things, everything we do and our family and I remember being so scared because I said we're a real affectionate family. I said we hug, we kiss, we share drinks. And they assured me they I'm back in 1985 that no family member had ever come down with aids, and so we were safe. So I soon found out though nobody was educated on aids. The court, we classified Ryan essay in the handicap statue, which at that time we thought was the best way to go. But what happened was they prolonged in the courts and Ryan had to be evaluated. He had to see all these specialists, doctors to say to see if he was fit. He emotionally and able to take allowed the conflict that might be sent his way. And Ryan had to go see all these special doctors. Well, they all came back that this boy was fine. Ryan, after a year, another year of fighting to go to school. Well, finally won the right to go to school, but it became very ugly. It became very ugly in our community. From jokes, people calm, write, fag from trash being dumped in our yard, from my tears. Vn slashed one Friday when I got off work to notes on my time card, like Bill said, a lot other turmoil was against me. I think they felt like it was easier to maybe be against mom. The maybe it was to pick on a young boy because we had all this world support. But our local community, what was the one that was o was full of the negative support. We got a lot of hateful mail. And I use you can always tell which ones they were because they had no return address on them. They were all postmarked though, mostly from COCOMO. And I remember getting a blow to mail and I said Ryan, That's a bad one eye. So let's not open that one now he goes No, no, no, no, mom, he said that's why we have to educate these people. He said You take this stuff too seriously. He said, Let me open it. I said Ryan, really, I'd rather just throw it away. He says No, I'm going to read it to he opened it up. It said, Dear Mrs. why you are such a puke. We are so sick of C and your fat, ugly face on TV. You do not love your child or you would not let your child go to school, kill whether kids and be killed himself, signed a concerned citizen. I said we'll see Ryan. That's what I don't like. And he said, Mom, you didn't you didn't get it. You gotta take it as a joke. We have to educate these people because of that. Well, a few days later, I was beyond the talk of a radio talk show. Lady called and said, I know Jeannie White personally, and I know how that boy got aids. She is such a try she housekeeper. Why I tell you get kind of confused and everything priorities and so forth. I was so upset. Somebody said I was a trashy housekeeper. I knew you couldn't get aids that way that I was so upset. I thought, Oh my gosh, everybody is going to take on the Treasury has keeper. And I thought, oh wait a minute, Jeannie, you got a set your priorities. You can't get upset about stuff like that. But there was a lot of talk. My parents had a hard time. My mom was always calling me what they said about you today, you know what they said about you today. And I said Mom is not true. It's not true. And they're saying Ryan got it from this way. Ryan got aids from that way. Then I'm making excuses. I said Mom, it's not true. It's not true. I can remember Ryan. I was real upset one day when I come home from work. Just a lot of the turmoil that things people were saying and how as moms are when we're mad, you can kinda tell, you know, kinda stay away from that, back away while I was doing dishes and I was just just are so frustrated with everything and Ryan peaked around the corner and he goes, I puke. And I said What did you call me? And he goes, I called you puke. He said, you know, nothing ever gets a laugh out of you anymore. He goes, You know, every time I see you mad, I'm going to call you puke and I don't care who it's in front of it because mom, you got to lighten up. Another thing he has DO always do is I never knew who was my friend. You never could trust hardly anybody. And even when people around us or the media were interviewing Ryan or so forth. And if I was with Ryan, my head always had a tendency to go down and I never realized it. Ryan would reach over and go get that chin up. You don't have anything to be ashamed of. And then I, you know, for for some reason I just I don't know, I had a hard time looking somebody straight in the eye and right, we'd say get to Chennai, get to chin up. And Michael Jackson saw that in a clip one time. And that just that just eta is heart that Ryan was always telling me to keep my chin up. One of the things we were asked to do a win Ryan became quite a media story. Was they were having this first-ever aids benefit, New York and this first server by aids benefit we thought was to such a godsend because Elizabeth Taylor was, Koko was doing the event and they had S Ryan, if he would co-host this event with her. And we thought what a great educational tool because all these people, celebrities don't want to get aids in if, if they'll appear with Ryan Neal showed that you can't get its aids from casual contact. So we flew to New York because of AMD par and Ryan went on Good Morning America and David heart Hartman, ask him who he was looking forward to meeting of his aides business benefit. Ryan said, Oh, meeting Elton John? Definitely. And I was kind of shocked because I thought was a little strange. I mean, he was different. I always like just music that I thought was a little different. And Brian said, I want to meet Elton John. I said Ryan, why didn't you talk about Elizabeth Taylor? And he said, Who is Elizabeth Taylor? I mean, I didn't think to prepare him. I didn't think to talk to him about, you know, oh, you need to plug, you know, I mean, we were all new at this in but we went to the event and Ryan, mayor Koch come over to Ryan and he said, Ryan White, come here and do a press conference with me. And I can tell you this was one proud mom. I just could not believe how he could handle himself. The first big time media. I was just I was just I was so proud of my son. And so with so many other people, including in the media and the slope celebrities, we did not get to me Elton that night. Elton had jet lag and had did not come to the event. But the next day we were in a limo driving to the airport, a furnished by Good Morning America. And the phone rings in the limo. And Ryan, Andrea, and I, we all look at each other like, who even knows who were in here? I mean, you know, you don't know whether to answer or what. I pick it up at. Elton had this British accent that I couldn't understand what he was saying. I had a hard time and I said, But I knew it was Elton John. I knew was Elton John. But he planned to trips for us to meet him. Friendship grew because Ryan went in the hospital. He went in there for a couple months and was very ill. Elton kept calling. He called 23 times a week. He said balloons, he sent gifts, he said Everything. One of them, real small TVs even. But Ryan got but we got to be real good friends because we kept talking to him. And finally Ryan. At that time, we kind of worked when Dr. crime would be better to test by hate to talk in front of Dr. climb because he's the expert, but At that time there was no known drugs and step to treat. So I think we kinda just worked on different experiments, five drugs at a timer for five days or so forth. I think that's what you told me. And finally something worked and Ryan was able to leave the hospital. He stop coughing and vomiting. We flew to LA. We stayed five days without him. And he said, How would you guys like to stay five more days? And we said yes, so we end up really becoming close friends with Elton John. Looking at a person for who they are and liking a person for who they are became relevant in this aids epidemic. At that time, there was a lot of hear about a lot of drugs coming out on the market. And you just do everything you could to learn about this drug or this drug or this dragon? None I'm were to no avail. But I got a call from M far Terry Bern. There was a drug called PHA 23 that they were doing. Trials are testing in New York to see who might be able to be involved in this testing. Terry called me and he asked me to bring your eye into New York and we flew to New York. I mean, we went to Roosevelt Memorial Hospital. They are Ryan went to get his blood work drawn and a gentleman came up to him. He said, You're Ryan, why aren't you? Ryan said, Yes. He said, You know, they found 12 tumors in me. He said I haven't been diagnosed with age yet, but they're pretty sure that's what I have. He said, I want to thank you for all you've done for us, people with aids. The gentleman turn around and walk away and Ryan said, You know, Mom, I'm the only one that really knows what he's going through because we're fighting the same disease. After that moment of meeting that guy, Ryan just felt like this is my job. I've got to do it for everybody. Because once you have age, you're just like everybody else who has age. You're fighting to stay alive. Especially during that time. Yes, our life was a real big roller coaster. It was a lot of bad things. But I try to remember the good things. One of the things I think that nobody can ever take away is Ryan, we were riding in the car one day because I tried to keep Andrey involved in our lives and I tried to keep her in her roller skating competitions and so forth. But we were right in the van and Ryan reached down and he grabbed my hand and I said, What do you want? He said, I don't want anything. I said come on, Ryan, when you're this nice, You want something? He said Son, hold his mother's hand. I said You really don't want anything. He said Mom, I just want to say thank you for always being there for me. I tell you, I tell teenagers, you know, you always think it's going to be somebody older go before you. But to say, I love you is so cheap and say thank you. Please don't be afraid to say that guys, if you think you're too cool, leave a note on your parents pillow or somebody that's close to you. You'll never never, ever be sorry. Because I think that those moments all the time, Ryan said, thank you, mom, nobody can take them away from me. When I was able to go back to school. It was still hard. Nobody really wanted to still acceptor ion, even though he won the right to go back to school. I can remember him call me calling me one day. They had agreed to let him go back to school, three weeks of school left, so that maybe during the summer things could ease up. Ryan, call me from school. He said, Mom, I'm not sure what to do. And I knew that was a problem because Ryan could handle himself with about anything. He said Mom, when I got to school, the outside of my locker locker was marked fag. Other things. He said When I opened up my locker, somebody has been in my locker. He said all my folders in my books have fag and other things on him. He said, Mommy, if I take these things to class, everybody will laugh. I said Ryan, give me the principal. He said Mom, the principles not here, they're at a meeting at another school. I said Ryan, there has to be somebody at that school. He said Mom, there's a secretary. I said Ryan, give me the secretary. The secretary got on the line. I said, You know what, You have five minutes to get him a new locker, a new folder. I'm going to have every media in the country at that school. I said I've never called a press conference in my life and that school has called Minnie. But I'm about to call my very first one. While Ryan calls me back about ten minutes later, he said Mom, everything is cool. He said I got in a locker. He said I got a new folder. He said Really, Mom, everything is okay. I had just had enough. I couldn't take it no more. I thought, no way. Are we going to continue to live like this? Well, because he won the right to go back to school. It created three movie companies that wanted to do the story of his life. We pick the Landsberg company. The Landsberg company was picked because Ryan interviewed Linda himself. He had been interviewed by so much medium. Ryan decided to interview her. He said, Okay, lend or what have you done? And she said, Well, we did Bill about a mental retarded man played by Mickey Rooney. Ryan goes, Oh, I like that movie. They said, we did atom about a little boy who was kidnapped from a serious parking lot. Adam Walsh, rank as, Oh my gosh, I'd like that movie. He said, Linda, I'll tell you what you can do our movie provided I can be on location the whole time you do it and make sure you do it right. Linda Auto says, Ryan White, you got yourself a deal. So we end up doing the movie. We did it, filmed it in states fill North Carolina. And with the upfront movie money that we got for the movie, we decided to try to make our life better. We had no idea where to go, what to do. I looked at this check, $25 thousand. I looked at it for two weeks. I would not cash it, and I had no idea. And finally a girlfriend of Marcia Black ledge call me and she said, You know, we saw a lot of homes up in Cicero. Would you like to go up with me there today? I said, You know, I think I would I went up with her. We looked at a whole bunch of homes. It was the last time we looked at. I had no idea if it could work. The house was 92000 with 25000, I thought just maybe I could swing it working at General Motors. And I thought, I'm going to try to make this work. Well, I tried to get alone, then they wouldn't give me the loan. They said I needed 15 thousand or $10 thousand more and they would give me the loan. I didn't know what to do. I called Elton and I told him the situation and I told him that they want to 35 thousand dollars down. He sent me a check for 15 thousand and I said, Well, why did you send me an extra 5 thousand? He said What, you have to have your electricity turned on, don't you? I thought, well, I don't cost $5 thousand to get your electricity turned on, but it was something that I really wanted to do. We move to Cicero, had no idea what to expect, just hoping and praying that that same thing wouldn't happen to us again. And we first day we moved him, there was five students stopped by the house to say hi to Ryan. I had three friends. What was Betsy Stewart? Deals bother and said If you need anything, call me. Betsy was there too with me to the very him along with jail. But people made such a difference. When we moved, we had nobody come to our house. My hours. It was known as the aids house and COCOMO, but wanted there for life, for ROI for the first time he felt like he had kids fighting it with him. Once we move, the kids wanted to get involved. I can remember three-to-one contact from Sesame Street. They wouldn't do this special. Riot was eventually nominated for an Emmy for this, and even got to go to the Emmy's, but they wanted a class participation. They said notes out. All these kids came back with notes that wanted to participate in this. And this was something rind and never heard of. They had a drawing even to see which kids could be in this because there were so many kids wanting to be in this classroom. And this was just something unheard of. I remember Ryan coming home, he turned 16 and told me he had a job. And I thought, Oh my gosh, who would hire you knowing you have aids, everybody knows what you look like, you know? And I thought, oh my gosh, our life search shows there's so, so much changing. And I said Brian, where are you going to be working out? He said Maori skateboard shop. I said What are you going to do? And he said put skateboards together. And I said how much you're getting paid. He said 350 an hour. I said Ryan, that will barely by your guest to Indianapolis and bag. He said, Mom, you don't get it. I got a job, just like everybody else does. I tell you there were so many small miracles that I've seen Hamilton Heights High School from GEO and Ryan getting goat, getting to go testify before the presidential aids Commission. And I'm just going on Nightline and just see and things that Ryan had people fighting it with him and being, you know, being proud of him for who he was. Those last days, Ryan was making another commitment. See, Ronald Reagan had not ever mentioned the word aids when he was president. And Ronald Reagan, they, they had an Oscar party in California and the Reagan's we're going to be there. And they asked Ryan to do this event with them. It was for kids and oscar party for kids. I told Ryan, I said Ryan, I don't think you're feeling very well. I said you gotta go see Dr. climb and Dr. climb and said, you know, if he wants to go to California, let him go to California. He knew how much Ryan love California. We went to California. We went to the oscar party. And Ryan was just seems to start getting worse. The next night we flew the red-eye. We came home, Ryan when in the hospital. And the rest is kind of the last week and a half of his life was really rough. Soon as I got back to Indiana, Elton heard that that he was not going to be able to see is that Ryan had come back to be in the hospital. So out1 flow to Indiana to be with Ryan at the hospital, to be with our family really. The last weekend week, really, Ryan was put in a coma to help the drugs work, maybe to slow its body down. It was a rough time, but there was so many people, so many warm wishes. One of the things that I felt was so heartfelt, heart hell was I went to India Ryan's room and Elton John was putting posters and everything all over the wall. He was decorating Ryan's room with all the things that were coming in. He said, you know, he said I want when Ryan wakes up to know how much he was loved, he said, I really want that. He bought a stereo for Pitt and Ryan's room so he could have music playing all the time. And he didn't buy any music of his own. He bought Michael Jackson, Huey Lewis and so forth. And it was just such an unselfish act that, that he was there. Another famous person who's been under a lot of controversy. His name is Michael Jackson. Michael is the most misunderstood person on the face of this earth and the sweetest person that almost I've ever met. He called the hospital and he asked me if he could speak to Ryan. I said Michael, he's in a coma, he won't be able to hear you. He said, You know, I just gotta talk to Ryan. He said, Will you please try to see if we can get a line run or something? And I'm thinking, well, if anybody can outrun, can Elton can get it done at the hospital at the any any kind of problems? I shaved it off and got a telephone line, ran to Ryan's room. Michael Jackson called the hospital. Elton John was talking to Mike on the phone. Ellen told Michael, he said, I'll put it up to Ryan's here and you can say what you want to. He did that. I looked over at Elton and he had these tears streaming down his face. I went over and put my arm around him and I said What's the matter? He said, You know, with all the money that's in this room, we can't bring this boy back to life. It was a real realization to Elton because L1 and I'd seen him in all these different predicament with on cocaine, alcoholic drugs on the piano or liquor on the piano? Liquor backstage where no liquor was on stage. I'd seen him and all these various aspects at different times when we knew him. One thing he had he had everything he could ever want, but one thing he did not have was his health. Elton, I entered rehab after Ryan passed away and is free of cocaine. He's not an alcoholic now. He's got he's got light together. He contributes his light the unsaved because of Ryan White. And almost every interview he does, he will say that Michael Jackson came to the funeral a few days after the funeral, myco call me. He asked me just how I was doing. I said I'm doing okay. Michael I said Michael, What made you and Ryan so close? He said, You know, most people don't ever can't get over the all of who I am. So nobody ever x normal around me. He said I knew how Ryan wanted to be treated because that's how he wanted to be treated. And he said trust. He said Jeannie, I can't trust anyone because everybody always wants something from me. He said, You know, I promised Ryan he could be in my next video. But he said now that he's gone, I can't put him in my video. He said, Would you give me the pleasure of doing a video for him? I sit on my call, that would be really cool. Michael did a video for Ryan and it's called gone too soon. It's for everybody who has died of aids because they've gone too soon. But I didn't I don't think Michael knew it, but I think he was writing it for himself too because he's gone too soon. Thank you. Well, this is when you get out there. So thank you. Thank you. Hi, I love and miss you, Ryan White, but I know I'll see you someday soon. And you won't have hemophilia. You won't have aids. Thank you. Thank you for inspiring heart-felt thoughts. Thank you. Now I would like to introduce Robert Goodman, the Dean of the School of Health has good education, recreation to talk about the Ryan White Legacy Scholarship. Thank you, Bill. Thank you. Jenny. Thank you for those heartfelt, painful, yet really wonderfully inspiring story. Certainly another Hoosier of great import who's made so much significance to us all, has meant so much to us. Inspire us all to do the work that we do. We're very proud of his legacy. I'm proud to be here today to be able to represent the school and the rural HIV AIDS center, which is so important to us and as you note, has been inspired by Bryant's legacy. I'm the Dean of the School of hyper. And as we learn more about aids in our awareness of aids has grown. And people have become more tolerant. There's still so much more tolerance that's needed in the world. When I've spoken to gene, a gene is a concern. It's not just the issues with our young people around aids, but other things that are present that require bravery. Things that we see today like bullying that's been in the news recently, and other things that are important to make sure that our children grow up say, and in health. And so all of these things are very important. One of the things that I'm, it's my privilege to announces in hyper have started a scholarship for a master's student who will be studying issues around HIV AIDS communicable diseases. So that we put capable professionals continue to bouquet capable professionals who have the ability to influence and change it much the way that Doug had talked about in terms of education, our awareness of healthy sexual practices, and even more than that, how we treat each other in the world. So the scholarship will be able to support once we've raised the minimum, which is $10 thousand, we have a little over 6 thousand raise now. That will started a modest amount of money, about $4,500 a year to help a student who's working on their master's degree. I know when Jean Genie announce this yesterday, she said.

Ryan White and Wm. Yarber Lecture Series