This April, IU Club Sports and the Swim Club at IU formally changed their annual advisor award to “The Bill Ramos Club Sport Advisor of the Year” in honor of SPH-B Health & Wellness Design interim chair and Associate Professor, Bill Ramos.
A true Hoosier hailing from Gary, Indiana, Ramos has been on faculty with SPH-B since 2000, spending the last 26 years as the faculty advisor, instructor, swim coach, and mentor to countless students, athletes, and colleagues. As a member of the American Red Cross Scientific Advisory Council, in 2023 Ramos helped aid in the rollout of the inaugural U.S. National Water Safety Action Plan, and recently acted as emcee for the screening of the award-winning documentary of When Everyone Swims (produced and directed by Jerald Harkness) held at IU Cinema to kick off National Water Safety Month.
“The turnout was fantastic,” says Ramos, who appears in the film, along with Olympic medalist and fellow Hoosier Lilly King and SPH-B graduate Tiffany Monique Quash. “About 80 percent of people in attendance were folks in the community who have the same passion for water safety, but we also opened up an opportunity for others to hear the message and think about it.”
Additionally, Ramos was pleased that people reacted during the screening with appropriate applause and enthusiasm, and overall, the screening “exceeded” expectations.
“I didn’t know the vibe in the room would be so great, which made me less nervous as one of the hosts for the event,” says Ramos. “As a member of the Bloomington community for the last 30 years or so, I’m very proud of the aquatics community and the investment in it.”
Additionally, Ramos also received the Outstanding Faculty Member Award from the Indiana University Student Government this month for “his unwavering dedication to students, both inside and outside the classroom.”
During a recent interview with Indiana Fox 59 News, Ramos stressed the importance of “rethink, re-engage, and revisit” water safety tips and individual resources this month, such as contacting local parks and recreation departments for safe places to swim as well as swim lessons and other aquatics programs. According to The American Red Cross, an estimated 4,000 die from unintentional drowning, and is the number one cause for death in children aged 1 to 4 years, although dangerous locations vary by age. For instance, for children younger than five, many fatalities occur in privately owned pools and hot tubs, while those 5 to 17 years old are at a higher risk of drowning in a natural body of water.
Ramos encourages parents and caregivers to take the free online Water Safety Course provided by the American Red Cross to brush up on drowning prevention strategies and to create a personalized action plan before heading out on the water this summer. The American Red Cross and Indiana Swimming, Inc. also held events and workshops around Indiana and nationwide for International Water Safety Day, which was held on May 15, and will continue to do so for World Drowning Prevention Day coming up on July 25.
“For those who maybe have moved away from it, the water is a beautiful place, and for those who aren’t engaging or have never engaged, the water is a beautiful place, and we want to encourage the public to find a way to safely use it,” says Ramos. “Get out there and enjoy!”
Read more of how SPH-B faculty, staff, and students are making a mark both locally and nationwide at go.iu.edu/48bx.