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November 2009
UD Christmas on Campus to honor memory of founder
The University of Dayton’s annual Christmas on Campus celebration on Tuesday, Dec. 8, will honor the memory of the event’s founder, Ellie Kurtz.
Kurtz, who died earlier this year, served as director of UD’s student union from 1964 to 1994. She started Christmas on Campus for a group of students who simply wanted to get together before heading home for winter break.
The event has evolved in to what is believed to be one of the nation’s largest single-day, on-campus service events, according to university officials.
Kurtz will be recognized during the event’s opening ceremony, according to Jim Cosgrove, a UD student and Christmas on Campus co-coordinator.
“The Christmas on Campus committee also is looking for a more special and permanent way to leave Ellie’s name on Christmas on Campus,” Kurtz said.
This year’s Christmas on Campus theme is “All is Bright.” UD students will escort nearly 800 Dayton-area school children through a winter wonderland of costumed characters, games, dancing, singing, crafts, face-painting and Santa Claus.
The opening ceremony, live Nativity, tree lighting and Santa’s arrival are scheduled for 6 p.m. in Humanities Plaza on the UD campus. Activities in Santa’s Workshop, RecPlex and Kennedy Union will start after the tree lighting and end around 8 p.m.
Christmas on Campus concludes with a candlelight walk at 8:30 p.m. from Humanities Plaza to the Immaculate Conception Chapel, where Mass will be held at 9 p.m. to honor the Feast of the Immaculate Conception.
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TweetOhio gets $950,000 grant to boost higher education productivity
The Lumina Foundation for Education will spend up to $950,000 on a multi-year initiative to consolidate administrative operations across Ohio’s public university and college campuses.
The grant announced Tuesday, Nov. 24, is one of seven awarded nationally. It is part of the foundation’s effort to increase productivity by promoting significant changes in how states fund and deliver higher education.
“The University System of Ohio is committed to using the state’s investment in higher education as efficiently as possible,” said Eric D. Fingerhut, chancellor of the Ohio Board of Regents.
“The grant from the Lumnia Foundation for Education will help the system save money on administrative costs, which will in turn help keep college affordable for our students, both of which are core goals of our ‘Strategic Plan for Higher Education,’ ” Fingerhut said.
The grant, which will extend for up to four years, will focus on combining “back office” functions such as human resources and payroll across the University System of Ohio and expanding joint purchasing to save money that can be directed to graduating more students and holding tuition increases in check, according to the Board of Regents.
System leaders estimate that these initiatives could save hundreds of millions of dollars once implemented, officials said.
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TweetLose weight to graduate, says a Pennsylvania university
A Philadelphia university is requiring students to have a BMI less than 30 to graduate.
I saw this on a college newspaper Website today and although it’s not local it certainly caught my eye.
According to the Lincolnian, the student newspaper for Lincoln University in Philadelphia, students with a BMI over 30 are required to take a physical education class and get that number down before graduation.
As you can guess, there’s a lot of uproar about this.
University officials say they are trying to improve their students’ health.
Students say they’re at Lincoln to get a degree, not a BMI check.
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TweetSinclair’s Parcell named Ohio Professor of the Year
John Parcell, an associate professor of music at Sinclair Community College, has been named the 2009 Ohio Professor of the Year by the Council for Advancement and Support of Education and Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.
Parcell will receive his award today, Thursday, Nov. 19, at a ceremony at the Willard InterContinental Washington in Washington D.C.
“Dr. Parcell is a gifted and award-winning musician and composer, but in the eyes of his students and colleagues, he is first and foremost an exemplary teacher,” said Kathleen Cleary, dean of Sinclair’s liberal arts, communications and social sciences division.
Parcell “creates a welcoming, yet challenging environment that is marked by a spirit of innovation, risk-taking and a palpable desire for excellence,” Cleary said.
Parcell’s awards also include a Certificate of Merit from the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival, and the National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development’s Excellence Award.
Administered by the Council for Advancement and Support of Education and sponsored by the Carnegie Foundation, the Professor of the Year awards recognize professors for their influence on teaching and their commitment to undergraduate students.
The awards are given to four national winners. State-level Professors of the Year are being recognized in 36 states, the District of Columbia and Guam.
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TweetMontgomery County Commissioners appoint Sinclair trustee
Rob Connelly has been appointed by the Montgomery County Commission to serve on the Sinclair Community College board of trustees for a five-year term.
Connelly is the president of Henny Penny Corp., a commercial food service appliance manufacturer based in Eaton. His appointment was announced Wednesday, Nov. 18, by Sinclair officials.
“Rob is a great addition to the Sinclair board,” said Steven Lee Johnson, Sinclair’s president, in a statement. “He has been actively involved in the Dayton community for years and his input will be a true asset.”
Connelly joined Henny Penny in 2005 as vice president of marketing. He was named as company president in October 2007. Connelly previously served in management positions at Hewlett Packard and VeriFone, Inc.
Connelly graduated in 1979 from the University of Kentucky with his bachelor’s degree in business administration with a concentration in marketing. He earned his CFSP (Certified Food Service Professional) in 2007.
Sinclair’s 11-member board of trustees approves plans and internal policy decisions recommended by the college president, administrative officers, faculty, and staff.
Six trustees are appointed by Montgomery County Commissioners, one is appointed by Warren County Commissioners and four are appointed by the Ohio’s governor. Members of the board serve overlapping five-year terms and may be re-appointed.
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TweetUD announces H1N1 clinics for students, public
The University of Dayton has announced two H1N1 immunization clinics for this week, one for UD students and the other for Montgomery County residents in targeted high-risk groups.
The first clinic, from 4-6 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 18, is only for UD students ages 24 or younger. The vaccinations will be given in the UD RecPlex’s MAC gym
Students who wish to receive the vaccine should bring their student ID and wear clothing that allows their upper arm to be easily exposed. Those without a student ID will not be permitted to receive the vaccine.
The second clinic, from 2-6 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 19, is open to the public in all targeted groups. The vaccinations will be given at UD Arena, 1801 Edwin C. Moses Blvd. in Dayton. The university is not sponsoring this clinic.
Targeted groups include pregnant women; people who live with or care for infants under 6 months of age; health care and emergency medical services personnel; people ages 6 months through 24 years; and people ages 25 to 64 who have chronic medical conditions such as lung or heart disease, diabetes or other immuno-compromised conditions.
Both clinics are free while vaccine supplies last.
UD expects to receive additional H1N1 vaccine and will schedule another clinic for students after Thanksgiving.
People wishing to receive the H1N1 vaccine on Thursday at the public clinic must complete a consent form.
For more information on the public clinic, visit the Public Health - Dayton & Montgomery County Web site at www.phdmc.org.
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TweetClark State’s Culp wins national award
Clark State Community College’s Kristin Culp has been named the 2009 Outstanding Fundraising Professional by the Council for Resource Development, an affiliate of the American Association of Community Colleges.
Culp who was recently named Clark State’s vice president for advancement, received the award on Nov. 13.
Culp has a long list of accomplishments since she came on board at Clark State 15 years ago.
I’ll have more information on her contribution to the college in my story for Wednesday’s News-Sun.
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TweetUrbana chosen for NASA exhibit
Urbana University is once again hosting a national exhibit.
Just months after it was chosen to host the Ben Franklin exhibit, the university was chosen as a display site for NASA images of the galactic center region as part of the International Year of Astronomy 2009 celebration.
This year commemorates 400 years since Galileo’s first telescope in 1609.
An all-day celebration will be held Monday, Nov. 23, including the unveiling of the two grand images of the MIlky Way, and presentations from local astronomy experts.
The public is invited to attend and participate in the activities in the Student Center beginning at 4 p.m.
At 4 p.m. in the Moore Room, Urbana University students will lead young visitors through various hands-on activities.
Two programs on Galileo will take place in the Sarah Landess room at 5 p.m.
The director of Boonshoft Museum will discuss Galileo and why his work with the telescope was so important.
The program will include an explanation of the telescope used by Galileo; a model will be on display.
A speaker from the Miami Valley Astronomy Society (MVAS) will follow with a discussion on how we got from Galileo’s ground based telescope to the Hubble Space Telescope.
At 6 p.m. in the lower level of the Student Center outside of the Moore Room, Urbana University President Stephen Jones and Chantelle Rose, Graham High School science teacher and a finalist for the Teacher in Space Program, will unveil the two photograph images taken by the Hubble Space Telescope, the Spitzer Space Telescope, and from the Chandra X-ray Observatory.
Following the unveiling, Robert Hendrix, Urbana University professor emeritus in mathematics and science, will explain the details of the photographs while Rose will talk about the future of the exploration of space and space travel.
Weather permitting, at 6:45 p.m. telescopes will be available for viewing the night sky.
For those not able to attend this celebration, the photographs will be on permanent display in the Urbana University Student Center.
For more information visit the university’s Website.
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TweetSean McDowell to speak at Cedarville
Christian author and speaker Sean McDowell will speak at Cedarville University Nov. 17 and 18.
McDowell, who leads Worldview Ministries, will speak both days from 10 to 10:45 a.m. in the Jeremiah Chapel, Dixon Ministry Center.
Worldview Ministries is an organization “committed to teaching teenagers how to have a biblical worldview in a changing world.”
The event if free and open to the public.
For more information visit Cedarville.edu.
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TweetBus driver sentenced to 10 to 25 years for assault on Witt student
A Columbus man was sentenced to 10 to 25 years in a West Virginia prison, having pleaded guilty to second-degree assault in connection with an April sexual assault of a Wittenberg student.
According to the Intelligencer, Wheeling News-Register, Leonard Braynen Jr. 34, a Bahamian national, could be deported after he serves his prison time.
Braynen was employed by the Columbus-based Urban Express Bus Company and transported the students Friday, April 3, to Oglebay Resort in Wheeling, W.Va.
About 55 students were attending the fraternity-sponsored weekend trip, Wittenberg officials had said.
According to court documents, the student involved told law enforcement officials she had consumed alcohol on the way to the resort and had passed out on the floor in a bedroom of the lodge, where the other students were having a party. She said she awoke later to find a man sexually assaulting her.
Several witnesses told police they saw Braynen leave the darkened bedroom and rejoin the party. Friends of the young woman immediately went in to check on her and found her crying and saying she had been raped.
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TweetCedarville to honor veterans with program and lunch
Cedarville University will hold its 6th annual Veterans Day ceremony at 10 a.m. Tuesday, Nov. 11.
During the ceremony, Alex Mol, a senior chemistry education major at Cedarville, will share the story of Retired Army Air Corps Lt. Col. James B. Cheney’s time as a World War II fighter pilot and POW.
“His story sounds like it’s straight from a Hollywood script,” Matthew Moore, associate professor of communication arts said in a Cedarville release. “But his service, his sacrifice and his patriotism are all very real. He loves this country, and you will love his story.”
The ceremony will also feature musical performances by the university’s Men’s Glee Club, the symphonic band, and Beth Porter, associate professor of music. Michael P. DiCuirci, professor of instrumental music, will direct the ceremony.
Following the chapel service, veterans are also invited to dine for free in the university’s dining hall from 11 a.m. - 2 p.m.
Spouses of veterans and additional guests will need to purchase a meal ticket at the dining hall. Meal tickets cost $5.50 per person
The public is invited, and all military personnel are encouraged to attend in uniform.
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TweetDayton gets $250,000 grant to improve college graduation rates
Dayton is one of seven cities to receive a grant to help boost college graduation rates by improving coordination among colleges, schools and cities.
The $250,000 grant was announced on Monday, Nov. 9, by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the National League of Cities.
The grant is part of a National League of Cities initiative to help officials explore ways in which they can work together to streamline services to low-income adults attending community colleges.
Sinclair Community College will lead the local effort in collaboration with the City of Dayton, Montgomery County and Dayton Public Schools.
“Preparing and connecting our young adults to living wage careers is key to their future success, and to the sustainability and health of the Dayton community,” said Dayton Mayor Rhine McLin in a media release.
The grants will support nine-month collaborative planning efforts in each of the seven cities.
The Gates Foundation will consider investing additional money next year to support the implementation and expansion of the most promising ideas that result from this planning.
The Dayton planning team will use the grant to strengthen partnerships, services, education, training and data systems to assist low-income people ages 16-26 earn post-secondary degrees and certificates, according to Sinclair officials.
“Dayton’s selection in the Communities Learning in Partnership grant program is a clear endorsement of our ability to collaborate,” said Steven Lee Johnson, Sinclair president.
The other cities selected for the grant program are Jacksonville, Fla.; Mesa, Ariz.; New York City; Phoenix, Ariz.; Riverside, Calif.; and San Francisco.
Sinclair in June was announced as one of five institutions to share in more than $4 million in grants from the Gates Foundation to expand remedial education programs that promise to boost graduation rates.
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TweetWright State to host public health care forum
Wright State University experts will address such hot-button health care issues as the H1N1 pandemic and insurance reform today, Nov. 9, at a public health care forum.
The forum, “Your Money, Your Health: A Discussion About Health Care,” will be held from 5:30 to 8 p.m. today in the Student Union atrium on the Wright State campus in Fairborn. The event is free and open to the public.
The panel of health care experts will include:
Stephanie Dopson, health communications specialist and technical specialty unit lead for H1N1 Response, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Gary L. LeRoy, associate dean for Student Affairs and Admissions, Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine.
Leatha Ross, director of Wright State Student Health Services
Hailey Mahan, co-chair, Wright State Student Government Health Care subcommittee.
The panel discussion will be moderated by Wright State medical students Avash Kalra and Lakshman Swamy, hosts and co-founders of Radio Rounds, the nation’s only medical talk show produced entirely by students.
The event also will feature free refreshments and raffle prizes, according to university officials.
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TweetFingerhut to honor Choose Ohio First scholars in Dayton
Eric D. Fingerhut, chancellor of the Ohio Board of Regents, will provide congratulatory remarks on Sunday, Nov. 8, at a reception honoring nearly 600 local scholars of the Choose Ohio First Scholarship Program. The event will be held at 2 p.m. at the Dayton Convention Center.
U.S. Air Force Col. Bradley D. Spacy, commander of the 88th Air Base Wing and Installation at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, will give the keynote address.
The scholars, from the eight institutions that make up the Dayton Regional Collaborative, represent some of Ohio’s most promising students studying in Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics and Medicine (STEM) and STEM education programs, according to the Board of Regents.
“Our future workforce depends on our ability to retain our best and brightest students in Ohio,” Fingerhut said. “This next class of STEM scholars will become the competitive advantage our businesses need in a global marketplace.”
Students chosen to participate in the two-year, $100 million Choose Ohio First Scholarship Program are Ohio residents studying in STEM disciplines, the health care professions or STEM teacher education. Scholarships are awarded in varying amounts, from $1,500 to $4,700 annually, to promising undergraduate and graduate students at Ohio institutions.
Eight area colleges and universities joined together to form the Dayton Regional STEM Collaborative, which was awarded a $3.9 million grant from the Board of Regents for their proposal, “Growing the STEM Pipeline in the Dayton Region — Becoming an International Center of Excellence for Human Effectiveness/Human Performance.”
Wright State University is the lead institution in the Dayton Regional Collaborative. The other schools are Central State University, the University of Dayton, Wittenberg University, and Clark State, Edison, Sinclair and Southern State Community Colleges.
For more information about Choose Ohio First, click here.
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TweetLocal extreme makeover to air Sunday
ABC TV’s Extreme Makeover Home Edition , featuring a Beavercreek family, is expected to air this Sunday at 8 p.m.
Wittenberg University is among dozens of local organizations and businesses that donated time and money to the project to construct a new home for the James Terpenning family.
During the Aug. 6 unveiling of the new house, Wittenberg officials presented four tuition waivers to the family’s children -Josselyn, 6, Jacob and Justin, 2 and Joshua,1. The scholarships, with a current value of $540,000, were the largest educational gifts awarded to date on the program.
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TweetCedarville geology prof presents controversial findings
The Coconio Sandstone at the Grand Canyon was formed in a water, not desert environment, according to research conducted by Cedarville University’s Associate Professor of Geology.
Professor John Whitmore, presented the results of his 10 years of research during last month’s annual meeting of the Geological Society of America.
The Coconino Sandstone is a rock layer near the top of the Grand Canyon. Many geologists believe it was formed in a wind-blown desert environment and the formation’s large sloping cross beds are the remains of ancient desert sand dunes.
Whitmore collected samples of this sandstone for microscopic examination of the sand grains. He found the sandstone contained dolomite ooliths, small ball-like structures that are only formed in marine settings. Other features such as grains of very soft mica were also evident under the microscope.
“We would not expect to see these minerals if this sandstone was formed in a desert,” Whitmore stated in a university release. “The blowing action of sand would quickly destroy these minerals; however they might survive if carried and deposited by water.”
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TweetCentral State to open $9.8 million Natural Sciences Department
Central State University will hold a ribbon-cutting on Thursday, Nov. 5, to open its Natural Sciences Department in the newly completed Center for Education and Natural Sciences.
The event will take place at 11 a.m. on the Central State campus in Wilberforce, Greene County.
The Center for Education and Natural Sciences (CENS) is the first new academic building on the Central State campus in more than 20 years, according to university officials.
Phase I of the project, which houses the 60,000-square-foot College of Education, was completed in the fall of 2006 at a cost of $13.9 million.
Phase II is the Natural Sciences Department, a 40,000-square-foot facility that houses the university’s biology, chemistry and physics areas, as well as a greenhouse. The cost of the new addition was $9.8 million, according to Central State officials.
“The completion of this state of the art Center for Education and Natural Sciences represents continued growth and advancement for the university,” said John W. Garland, Central State president. “Students and faculty have the opportunity to work and learn in one of the premier educational facilities in the state.”
Central State is Ohio’s only public, historically black university. It has record enrollment this fall of 2,436 students, according to university officials.
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TweetUD to hold H1N1 flu clinic for students on Nov. 5
The University of Dayton Health Center has received its first supply of H1N1 flu vaccine for UD students, according to university officials.
This limited supply of vaccine will only be made available on Thursday, Nov. 5, to UD students age 24 and younger who have underlying medical conditions that might put them at high risk for complications from H1N1, also known as swine flu.
Those conditions include asthma, diabetes, heart disease and kidney disease, as well as pregnancy.
An immunization clinic for UD students with underlying medical conditions will be held from 4-6 p.m. Thursday in the MAC gym at the RecPlex.
Students who wish to receive the H1N1 flu vaccine must bring their UD student IDs and wear clothing that allows the upper arm to be easily exposed, according to university officials. Those without a student ID will not be allowed to receive the vaccine.
Students who receive the vaccine will be required to complete a registration form.
The Health Center expects to receive additional doses of the H1N1 vaccine in the near future, and all UD students age 24 and younger will be encouraged to get the vaccine at that time.
UD faculty and staff are instructed to contact their doctors regarding the H1N1 vaccine.
For UD H1N1 flu updates, click here.
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TweetUD to hold ‘Kristallnacht’ vigil on Nov. 9
The University of Dayton will hold a candlelight vigil on Monday, Nov. 9, to remember the night that many historians view as the beginning of the Holocaust.
The public is invited to join UD faculty, staff and students at 9 p.m. Monday at Humanities Plaza for a ceremony to commemorate Kristallnacht — the “Night of Broken Glass.”
On Nov. 9, 1938, the Nazis launched a wave of pogroms — state-sanctioned, anti-Jewish riots — against Germany’s Jews.
Using the pretext of the assassination of a German diplomat in Paris, Joseph Goebbels urged Storm Troopers to stage violent reprisals. The night of rampages resulted in 91 Jewish dead, hundreds injured, and 7,500 businesses and 177 synagogues gutted, according to the Columbia Encyclopedia.
The name Kristallnacht is a reference to the broken glass that resulted from the riots, as countless windows in synagogues and Jewish-owned businesses were shattered.
The riots marked an intensification of Nazi anti-Jewish policy that would culminate in the Holocaust — the systematic, state-sponsored murder of Jews.
“We live in a world where ethnic and racial violence still exists, in places like Darfur, for example,” said Sister Laura Leming, a UD sociology professor.
“As a Catholic university that celebrates diversity and community and commemorates the martyrdom of Marianist priest Jakob Gapp in the Holocaust, it is fitting for us to stand together and say ‘never again,’ ” Leming said.
In the event of heavy rain, the vigil will be held in the Immaculate Conception Chapel on UD’s campus.
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TweetOhio First Lady to visit innovative Wright State class
Ohio First Lady Frances Strickland will visit Wright State University on Thursday, Nov. 5, to observe the pilot class of a program on teaching science and math through music and art.
The class, “Teaching Science through Music and Art,” is the cornerstone of Wright State’s STEAM3 (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, Music, Math and Medicine) program for a limited number of art education, music education and math/science education majors.
The program’s 12 students are learning how to teach science and math classes in Dayton area elementary and secondary schools using music or art as the methodology, according to Wright State officials. The course is taught by a team of instructors from the university’s art, music and math disciplines.
The students also work with area elementary and secondary school teachers, and the lessons they design are presented in the actual classrooms of these teachers.
Frances Strickland, the wife of Gov. Ted Strickland, is an educational psychologist with an interest in education issues, according to Wright State officials.
The STEAM3 program is funded by the late Edgar Hardy, a Wright State founder, chemist and former director of research for the Monsanto Company in Dayton. Hardy reportedly funded STEAM3 to demonstrate his interest in developing a program combining the visual arts, music and science.
Also on Thursday, a lecture on “Art in the Science Institution” will be presented at Wright State by JD Talasek, director of cultural programs for the National Academy of Sciences in Washington D.C. The lecture will be held at 7 p.m. in Wright State’s Schuster Concert Hall. Sponsors of the event include the STEAM3 program.
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