Dr. Carrie Foote, an associate Sociology professor at IUPUI, received a Senate Resolution from the state of Indiana in recognition of her community work with Arts for AIDS. Arts for AIDS is an international movement whose mission is advocating for a more accessible health care system in America and destigmatizing HIV and AIDS through art.
Although Dr. Foote does not teach at IUPUC, she has had a positive influence on the campus. Since 2011, IUPUC has partnered with Arts for AIDS, providing space for Arts for AIDS events, financial support, and giving an opportunity for students and faculty to volunteer. Students who attended the AIDS in Society, Music and Social Change, and Research Methods classes have had opportunities in the past to do service learning with Arts for AIDS during their annual AIDS Awareness Day event. Aimee Zoeller, Director of the Sociology Department, has worked closely with Dr. Foote by collaborating and designing the AIDS in Society class taught at IUPUC.
Through the numerous organizations she has worked with, Dr. Foote has been recognized by the senate as the “2019 Arts for AIDS Hero of the Year.” It is through her years of hard work with IUPUI, IUPUC, Arts for AIDS, and other advocacy groups that Dr. Foote was able to receive such a high award. “IUPUC and Arts for AIDS help make Carrie’s work visible.” Said Zoeller.
When Senator J.D. Ford, author of Dr. Foote’s Senate Resolution, first met Dr. Foote he knew that she was passionate and cared deeply about her work. “When we hear about HIV, people do not want to talk about it. Instead they write it off as taboo,” said Senator Ford. “We have good people in our community doing good things, it is our responsibility to uplift them and their work instead of keeping them in the shadows.”
Dr. Foote’s impact in our community is important to commemorate. It was because of the hard work and dedication towards spreading awareness and destigmatizing HIV and AIDS that Dr. Foote was recognized. None of this could have been possible without the contributions from IUPUC students and faculty, as well as Arts for AIDS advocates.
“I was truly honored by the surprising recognition I got for the important work I do for the community,” Said Dr. Foote. “The work I do could never have been done without the amazing support of legislators like Senator Ford, my students and colleagues, my peers living with HIV, and all those in our community, including organizations like Arts for AIDS.”