UC Blue Ash professor featured on national news

Maria Ortiz, an associate professor of Spanish at the University of Cincinnati Blue Ash College, was recently featured on the PBS Newshour for her ongoing community service as a volunteer for the Alzheimer’s Association of Greater Cincinnati.

Professor Ortiz was part of a feature on caregivers around the U.S. and how they are coping with the pandemic. The segment focused on those who provide support to loved ones, or who work for or volunteer for non-profit organizations in their community.

Ortiz focuses much of her community service work with the Mosaic Advisory Council of the Alzheimer’s Association of Greater Cincinnati. She began volunteering with the local chapter seven years ago, shortly before the disease took the life of her father, Herbert Ortiz, in 2014. In the clip from the interview with PBS, Ortiz talks about her father and what she hopes to accomplish through volunteering. The piece aired across the nation on October 19.

“It was so nice to see my father ‘make it’ on the national news. Never in a lifetime would he have imagined that happening. I hope that by sharing his story we can help others who are in similar situations,” she said.

Ortiz, who is a native of Puerto Rico, was contacted by PBS after she was featured in a media outreach campaign by the local chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association during Hispanic Heritage Month (observed from September 15 – October 15) to raise awareness about the impact of Alzheimer’s on the Hispanic/Latino community in the U.S. It’s expected to see the number of people over the age of 65 quadruple by 2060. She was interviewed by WCPO-TV and a feature that highlighted her father’s story appeared in the Clermont Sun.

In the classroom, Ortiz is beloved by her students and respected by colleagues for her innovative teaching methods, encouraging personality, and dedication to providing meaningful learning experiences. She is a recipient of UC’s 2020 Cohen Award for Excellence in Teaching.