Dr. Jean Marie Place, Associate Professor of Public Health, currently co-leading a Ball State study abroad in Puebla, Mexico through the BSU-in program.

Faculty Expertise – Dr. Place’s research interests center in maternal and child health. She has led research studies ranging from maternal substance use disorder to infant mortality to infertility to postpartum depression, both in the United States and in Mexico. She has international consulting experience with the World Bank, Save the Children, UNICEF, and the National Institutes of Public Health in Mexico.

Teaching Strategies -Dr. Place is an expert at teaching through discussion. You can generally find her facilitating an engaging classroom discussion through current events, readings, or personal stories. She co-authored a textbook that teaches public health principles through narrative accounts of public health practitioners working in the field. She has also done many immersive learning projects in the Muncie community, largely focusing on engaging students in substance use programming in the community and on campus.

Student Impact – Students generally comment how useful Dr. Place’s classes are to their success in the internship. Because she uses immersive learning to get students into the community and do hands-on projects, her students leave their class feeling more prepared to do public health work. Notably, she engaged her students in advocacy around bringing Narcan/Naloxone to Ball State’s campus.  She was successful in getting President Mearns to approve student access to Narcan/Naloxone.

Community Engagement – Dr. Place co-founded the Addictions Coalition of Delaware County (ACDC) in 2020 and has organized 5 community conferences on substance use disorder. The conferences have attracted over 250 community members to Ball State’s campus. She is well-recognized for writing grants alongside community partners, for the benefit of the Muncie community