The Institute for Human-Animal Connection (IHAC) is advancing awareness and understanding of the interrelationships among people, other animals and the environment. Keep up with the latest news about IHAC and our work related to human-animal-environment interactions.
What's New at IHAC
2024-2026 Research Fellowship - Accepting Applications Now!
Apply today for a unique research training opportunity at the University of Denver's Institute for Human-Animal Connection! It’s a two-year, hybrid position at the institute that will focus on our growing trauma research portfolio. The goal of this position is to provide the Research Fellow with robust training in social science research with a focus on the Human-Animal Interaction field in preparation for a career in research. The fellow will primarily focus on examining the impacts of pairing service dogs with military veterans experiencing PTSD, staying current on best practices in conducting trauma-informed research, and exploring pet dogs’ impacts on their humans’ stress responses. This role includes substantial exposure to project management, grant writing, and networking.
An ideal candidate will have a Master’s degree or Spring 2024 anticipated Master’s degree in a relevant field or equivalent experience, in addition to experience working in the social and/or biological sciences as well as experience in quantitative and/or qualitative work. Applications are due March 31, 2024 for a July 2024 start.
Upcoming Animals and Human Health certificate cohort!
We are currently accepting applications for our popular Animals and Human Health certificate program. The program starts June 3, and will run until January 2025, with breaks in between each course. All of our programs are designed for working professionals. Coursework is completed online, with feedback and guidance from an experienced instructor, currently working in the field of human-animal interactions and interventions.
You will develop practical skills and expertise in human-animal interactions (HAI), and come away from our program with the skills to create and implement a high-quality HAI program, tailored to your profession and setting. Come join us for the next cohort!
Adam Clark is a Licensed Clinical Social Work (LCSW) graduate from the University of Denver Graduate School of Social Work where he received his Animal-Assisted Social Work (AASW) Certification through the Institute for Human-Animal Connection and specialized in Family Systems work. After graduating Adam focused his career on grief and loss, with a specialization in understanding pet loss and its effect on human-animal relationships.
At the Institute for Human–Animal Connection, American Humane Endowed Chair Kevin Morris is working to improve animal and human welfare through more rigorous research.
Jennifer Dietrich uses the comprehensive knowledge and experiences she gained in the Equine-Assisted Mental Health Practitioner Certificate in her work as a school counselor and in private practice.
After completing the Animals and Human Health and Canine-Assisted Intervention Specialist certificate programs, Lauren Kruger now works for New Ground, a New York nonprofit organization that provides intensive social work services to veterans experiencing homelessness.
The Animals and Human Health certificate enhanced Lynn Belkin's understanding of all aspects of animal well-being. She feels more aware of dog stress signals, and is able to evaluate these signs effectively and respond accordingly.
Colorado's First GentlemanMarlon Reis and the Institute for Human-Animal Connection share a commitment to advancing animal welfare and elevating awareness and understanding of the value of healthy human-animal-environment relationships.
The Equine-Assisted Mental Health Practitioner certificate helped equine-assisted practitioner Natalie Norrell achieve competency in understanding equine behavior, and learn the equitation science approach to working with the horses.
Dimensions of Humane Communities Online Lecture Series
With human behavior at the center of the most pressing issues facing humanity, other animals and the environment, the Institute for Human-Animal Connection (IHAC) aims to reflect, explore and discuss how human change mechanisms at the individual, community and organizational levels are needed to create sustainable improvements for all. IHAC’s Dimensions of Humane Communities webinar series features natural and social science-informed education, research and advocacy efforts that work toward a more compassionate and humane world, one community at a time.This online lecture series will feature events with experts in each of the Institute for Human-Animal Connection’s three core areas: Therapeutic Human-Animal Interactions, Animals & Communities, and Conservation Social Work.
Why Access to Pet Resources is a Social Justice Issue
Amanda Arrington, Senior Director of the groundbreaking Pets for Life (PFL) program at the Humane Society of the United States, discusses how pet ownership crosses all geographic, racial, ethnic and socio-economic boundaries, but access to information and services does not. Institutional bias and systemic inequity can have a negative impact on pets and there is a great need to understand and deepen the connection between animal welfare and social, racial, and economic justice. Recorded Wednesday May 6, 2020.
View anytime! Discounts still apply and upon registration, you will receive a link to view this important event.
Sarah Schmidt, the founder and president of The Big Fix Uganda’s Comfort Dog Project and Meg Daley Olmert, Director of Research for the Warrior Canine Connection will present the first One Health animal assisted therapy model fighting cruelty and despair in Northern Uganda. The Big Fix Uganda—a non-profit , based in Port Townsend, WA--operates the only veterinarian hospital in Northern Uganda. Recorded Wednesday May 20, 2020.
View anytime! Discounts still apply and upon registration, you will receive a link to view this important event.
The Missed Opportunities of Shying Away from Public Policy Engagement
Vince Wong serves as Director of Collective Impact for the Michelson Found Animals Foundation talks about how public policy engagement is a long, drawn-out process that we tend to shy away for myriad reasons – time, resources, attention, anxiety, exhaustion, fear, inexperience – just to name a few. But to effect long-term and sustainable change, you need multiple stakeholders – corporate, nonprofit, community, philanthropy, and yes even government – from diverse areas to all come together on collective action that actually makes a difference. Recorded on Wednesday June 3, 2020.
View anytime! Discounts still apply and upon registration, you will receive a link to view this important event.
Traditional Stories of the Relationship between the Arikara (Sahnish) and the Animal World
The Arikara, or more accurately “Sahnish,” are a northern Great Plains tribe currently living on the Ft. Berthold Indian Reservation in central North Dakota, USA. In this session, Dr. Michael Yellow Bird (Arikara) will share a series of short teaching stories of the relationship between the Arikara people and the animal world. The stories are intended to nurture participant’s understanding of the important connection between humans and animals and how renewing this tradition can help restore this relationship.
View anytime! Discounts still apply and upon registration, you will receive a link to view this important event.
Educating Human Children about Animal and Other Alterity: A critical foundation for moving toward a plant-based and more compassionate society
Maneesha Deckha, professor and Lansdowne Chair in Law at the University of Victoria, argues that any advocacy or policy agenda directed at transitioning to plant-based societies should include education that combats the anthropocentric, gendered and colonial cultural messaging human children typically receive. Deckha will discuss how this cultural messaging can be delivered through a critical iteration of humane education focused on cultivating empathy and disrupting the Othering/dominating messages children receive and internalize about animals, the earth’s “resources” and human Others. Recorded Wednesday July 1, 2020.
The need for humane education has never been greater
Dr. Sarah Bexell, Clinical Associate Professor at the University of Denver's Graduate School of Social Work and Director of Humane Education at IHAC, believes that humane education is needed now more than ever before. In this session, Dr. Bexell will talk about humane education as a comprehensive and needed methodology that equips learners with the tools to think critically to identify impactful solutions to the interconnected global challenges of violations of human rights and well-being, the protection of other species, and mass environmental degradation. Recorded Wednesday July 15, 2020.
View Anytime! Discounts still apply and upon registration, you will receive a link to view this important event.
This conference highlights the latest research, best practices and future directions of human-animal-environment interactions and inspires attendees to rethink human relationships with other animals.
This public lecture series features natural and social science-informed education, research and advocacy work to create a more compassionate and humane world, one community at a time.