Academic and Career Development

University College

Phone:

317-278-2067

Email:

mpcooper@iupui.edu

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Department:

Academic and Career Development

Campus:

IUPUI

Education:

• Master of Arts in Educational Psychology and Counseling, Eastern Kentucky University
• Bachelor of Science in Psychology (with a minor in piano), Campbellsville College (now University)
• Associate of Fine Arts in Music and Piano, Lindsey Wilson College

Professional Experience:

• How long in ACD: I began in ACD on October 26, 1992.
• What do you like about the work you do?:
  • The opportunity to make a difference for students every single day I come to the office.
  • My wonderful colleagues—I’ve had many over the years, so I’ve built an extensive network of contacts.
  • I have been able to grow personally and professionally over the course of my time here.

• Past jobs/experiences:
  • Educational counselor for a TRIO program in Louisville, Kentucky, serving first-generation college students ages 19+
  • Mental health counselor and case manager
  • Residence life assistant director
  • Accompanist for freshman vocal students in a music department
  • Pianist/organist/keyboardist for hire

Advice to students: Study hard and make getting good grades a priority, but not the only priority. Look beyond the classroom and get engaged in a student organization, RISE program, or leadership development opportunity. Your contributions to IUPUI help make our campus a better one. We need your stories, your experiences, and your ideas as we move into our second 50 years of operation.

If you could be any major in your cluster, what would it be? Why?: Organizational leadership—for the flexibility to develop leadership and human resources management skills (particularly talent development, which would have been the area of business I would have gone into had I not been bitten by the higher education bug), plus the opportunity to add an outside minor of my choice (and mine, of course, would be music).

Biography: I hail from the Lake Cumberland region of south central Kentucky.  After graduate school, I moved to the Louisville area, where I worked for a few years before marrying Eric Cooper and moving to Indianapolis with him. When I am not at the office, you will usually find me reading a book, playing my baby grand piano, or training for yet another half marathon on our suburban trail. I also brought a bunch of Kentucky cookbooks with me when I moved here, and according to my IUPUI coworkers, I make some pretty amazing bourbon balls every December! My husband, Eric, is a scientist at a local pharmaceutical company. Our daughter, Courtney, is a recent college graduate working as a marketing campaign director for a local financial institution. We have a very spoiled Bengal cat named Cocoa who has been our mostly benevolent household boss since 2005. My husband and I were both first-generation college students who ended up leaving rural hometowns for the big city. I have had an amazing journey, and I am looking forward to what comes next.