Wartburg College is collecting gloves of all kinds as part of the celebration of the inauguration of Rebecca Neiduski, the college’s 18th president.

Neiduski, a certified hand therapist, became president July 1, and will be inaugurated Oct. 14 at 2:30 p.m. in Neumann Auditorium. All types of gloves — winter, sports, safety, etc. — are being collected at drop-off locations in the Wartburg-Waverly Sports & Wellness Center, near the Info Desk in the Saemann Student Center and outside the Konditorei on the Wartburg campus. Additional collection points are at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church and School, the Waverly Public Library and the Waverly Chamber of Commerce. Student leaders also will collect gloves and cash or check donations during Wartburg’s home football games on Oct. 1 and 15.

Monetary donations also are accepted at www.wartburg.edu/inauguration.

The college has partnered with the United Way to deliver the gloves locally, and some will be distributed at locations served by students participating in the college’s student-run Service Trips program.

“It’s seems only fitting that President Neiduski would incorporate her commitment to service and her passion for protecting hands into her inauguration celebration,” said Kristin Teig Torres, Wartburg’s director of community engagement. “I hope that the Waverly community will support her in this effort, which in turn will help so many in our area and beyond.”

Neiduski served as the dean of the School of Health Science at Elon University before coming to Wartburg. As a hand therapist, Neiduski is an international expert in flexor tendon rehabilitation. She has offered many lectures, courses and keynote addresses on best practices for this complex diagnosis and has authored multiple peer-reviewed publications and book chapters.

She also is known for her commitment to global health equity, including both sustainable humanitarian work and education of health care providers around the world. She has been honored with both the Nathalie Barr Lectureship Award and the Paull Brand Award for Professional Excellence from the American Society of Hand Therapists.

Neiduski also sits on the board of directors for the Guatemala Healing Hands Foundation. The organization completes significant fundraising so that its highly specialized team of surgeons, therapists, anesthesiologists, nurses and volunteers can provide comprehensive training and education to providers and students and screen more than 200 children with traumatic injuries and congenital limb differences in Guatemala. Neiduski will make her 19th trip with the organization this fall.