Rate My Professor Vesna Balac

Vesna Balac serves as Department Chair, Assistant Professor, and Assistant Dean in the Radiologic Sciences programs at Indiana University Northwest, where she directs the radiography program and oversees diagnostic medical sonography and radiation therapy initiatives. A registered radiologic technologist with credentials R.T.(R)(MR), she earned her Ed.D. in Instructional Systems Technology from Indiana University Bloomington in 2019, a master’s degree in adult education, and a B.S. in radiologic sciences from Indiana University Northwest. Her professional journey began as an immigrant from Bosnia in the early 1990s, enrolling at IU Northwest as an adult learner while balancing two jobs—one as a radiographer at Community Hospital in Munster and another in local business. She transitioned to academia by teaching an MRI course at IU Northwest, securing a full-time faculty position shortly thereafter, and was promoted to department chair in 2017, marking a full-circle achievement in the program she once graduated from.

Balac’s academic interests center on radiography education, digital image analysis, problem-based learning, and instructional technology in healthcare. Her influential contributions include co-authoring the textbook Principles of Radiographic Imaging: An Art and a Science (6th edition, 2020) with Richard R. Carlton and Arlene M. Adler, widely used in programs across the United States, Canada, and internationally. Notable peer-reviewed publications feature “Optimizing Contrast Resolution in Digital Chest Radiography by Varying Copper Filtration and kVp” (Radiologic Technology, 2023), “Design and Implementation of a Problem-Based Learning Module in a Clinical Radiography Course to Foster Image Critique Skills: An Evaluative Case Study” (Interdisciplinary Journal of Problem-based Learning, 2023), “Establishing Standardized Terminology for Digital Image Analysis: A Pilot Study” (Radiologic Technology, 2020), and “Continuing The Discussion on Standardizing Digital Radiography Terminology” (Radiologic Technology, 2021). She serves on the Editorial Review Board for Radiologic Technology, the American Society of Radiologic Technologists’ journal, presents at national conferences, and received the Indiana University Trustees’ Teaching Award for the 2023–24 academic year, underscoring her impact on radiologic sciences pedagogy and practice.