It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Ruth Walker, a former Health Information Management (HIM) faculty member at the IU School of Informatics and Computing at IUPUI, on Thursday, September 14, 2017. We extend condolences to her family and friends, including her colleagues at IUPUI, students, and alumni.
Find details of Walker’s funeral service.
“Ruth was a guiding presence who made a significant impact on our school, the HIM program, and our students—both inside and outside the classroom,” said Executive Associate Dean Mathew Palakal. “She will be deeply missed.”
Ruth was a graduate of IUPUI, having received her B.S. in Health Information Administration in 1977. She was with the school for nine years and served as the professional practice coordinator and as a faculty sponsor of the student group, HIA Connections. She was also highly engaged with the School of Informatics and Computing Faculty Council and served as president of the Indiana Health Information Management Association.
She supported the school through philanthropic efforts that included the establishment of a scholarship in the name of her good friend and colleague, Danita Forgey, a former HIM program director. Danita, in turn, recently established the Ruth Walker Scholarship in Health Information Management.
Ruth continued to attend HIM alumni events and cared greatly about the school, which she mentioned often in her conversations. Lisa DesNoyers, HIM program director, said, “I will never forget Ruth saying that graduating from and teaching in this program was not only an honor but made her a part of something much bigger than herself. She was a large part of the HIM legacy at IU and did amazing things for the program, literally until her final days. She hoped that students would learn about our rich history and know they were going on to do big things.”
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