· Ohio State is bowl bound
· College to help improve dental care among kids
· OSU highlights geological society conference
· OSU awarded $8 million to fight lung cancer
· Alumni Association presents annual honors
· Half-time ceremony honors faculty, staff
· University reducing its reliance on state funds
· Legislature recognizes retiring optometry dean
· NIH taps OSU for muscular dystrophy initiative
· OSU well represented at neuroscience conference
· Squad advances to national cheerleading event
· University leads efforts on celebratory rioting
· NCAA certifies university's athletics program

Bridging the gap The Lane Avenue bridge opened to motorists on November 17, after being closed for nearly a year and a half. The six-lane, cable-stayed bridge over the Olentangy River provides a dramatic entrance to the north side of campus and great relief to commuters.

Ohio State is bowl bound

Although we don't have confirmation of a bowl appearance at this time, Ohio State is certain of an invitation, to be announced on Dec. 7. Of course, faculty, staff, students, donors, and alumni are provided opportunities to participate in tours and special packages. We have developed a web site to help guide you to complete tour, ticket, and merchandise information. On Monday, Dec. 8, the site will be live and ready to help you. READ MORE >

College to help improve dental care among kids

The College of Dentistry has been awarded a grant to provide dental treatment and oral hygiene education to children attending the Columbus Public Schools. The grant, awarded by the Osteopathic Heritage Foundation, will help provide onsite dental care at various elementary schools. Canise Bean, assistant professor of dentistry and director of the OHIO Project, a statewide oral health care outreach initiative, said that access to dental care remains the No. 1 unmet health care need in Ohio.

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OSU highlights geological society conference

Among the news stories emerging from last month's Geological Society of America meeting in Seattle are three Ohio State projects: one that explains a Antarctic feature that has puzzled scientists for decades; one that offers unprecedented insight into how a famous toxic waste site became contaminated; and another that details the first fossil evidence of silk spinning in an extinct arachnid species. Read about the university research online. READ MORE >

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OSU awarded $8 million to fight lung cancer

A large team of doctors and researchers in the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center (OSUCCC) has been awarded $8 million to launch a massive effort to better prevent, detect and treat lung cancer. The award is expected to attract an additional $13.5 million from the project's commercial partners, an investment designed to position Ohio as an international leader in innovative strategies and technologies in fighting the world's deadliest malignancy. READ MORE >

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Alumni Association presents annual honors

The Ohio State University Alumni Association presented its top honors last month at the annual Alumni Awards Program. Pioneering cancer researcher Dr. Moses Judah Folkman, who received a bachelor of science degree in biological sciences from Ohio State in 1953 is the 2003 recipient of the OSU Alumni Association's highest honor for alumni -- the Alumni Medalist Award -- which recognizes outstanding national and international professional achievement. Folkman, professor of pediatric surgery and professor of anatomy and cell biology at Harvard Medical School and director of the Surgical Research Laboratory at Children's Hospital in Boston, is hailed internationally for blazing new trails in cancer research. READ MORE >

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Half-time ceremony honors faculty, staff

Ohio State football players shared the spotlight and the football field with honored members of the university during Faculty and Staff Recognition Day last month. During halftime of the Ohio State-Purdue University football game, the university saluted faculty and staff who received major awards and honors in 2003 for their excellence in service, teaching, diversity enhancement and scholarship. READ MORE >

University reducing its reliance on state funds

Ohio State will continue to explore ways to diversify its financial resources and behave more entrepreneurially in order to reduce its reliance on state funds, which are becoming less predictable and less stable, said William J. Shkurti, senior vice president for business and finance. Shkurti said that summer and fall quarter enrollment figures were strong, with total enrollment up 0.4 percent. At the same time, the state budget picture continues to be somewhat uncertain. READ MORE >

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Legislature recognizes retiring optometry dean

John P. Schoessler, dean of optometry, was recognized by state Sen. Robert F. Spada with a special Teaching Excellence and Service Resolution last month. The resolution recognizes Schoessler for his commitment to teaching excellence and service to Ohio State, the College of Optometry, and the profession during the last 36 years. Under his leadership, the College of Optometry has remained the leading graduate-professional optometry program in the United States. Schoessler will retire on Dec. 31. Schoessler received his Doctor of Optometry degree in 1966 and the M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in physiological optics in 1968 and 1971 from Ohio State. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Optometry and a member of the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology

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NIH taps OSU for muscular dystrophy initiative

Neurologists at the University Medical Center will make progress toward further studies of gene therapy as a potential treatment for muscular dystrophy as part of a national initiative to combat the group of genetic diseases that result in muscle weakness and wasting. Three sites have been named by the National Institutes of Health as designated research centers for muscular dystrophy. Medical Center researchers will focus on research, bringing findings directly to patients in order to implement new treatments for muscular dystrophy. READ MORE >

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OSU well represented at neuroscience conference

Ohio State faculty and students participated in more than 80 presentations during the Society for Neuroscience meeting in New Orleans this month. The presented research covered a variety of topics, including how visual ../ can cause false memories, genes that may contribute to age-related problems and how the build up of free radicals may contribute to Alzheimer's disease. Read about the research online. READ MORE >

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Squad advances to national cheerleading event

The Ohio State cheerleaders will travel to Walt Disney World on Jan. 16-19, as the Buckeyes compete for the 2004 College Cheerleading National Championship. Ohio State recently won the Northeast Region competition to qualify for the national competition for the 15th time in the last 17 years. Ohio State finished seventh in the nation at the 2003 competition and placed sixth in 2002. The national competition will be televised by ESPN and aired at a later date.

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University leads efforts on celebratory rioting

Ohio State is helping to lead an effort to address the national issue of celebratory riots on college campuses. Along with the University of Minnesota and the U.S. Department of Justice, the university co-sponsored a meeting last month of university and city officials from around the nation who have experienced celebratory rioting. The conference served as an opportunity for participants from institutions of higher education, city government, law enforcement, and researchers to discuss, brainstorm and devise positive solutions to take back to the campus communities. READ MORE >

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NCAA certifies university's athletics program

NCAA officials have notified President Holbrook that the university's athletics program has been re-certified, indicating that the program operates "in substantial conformity with principles adopted by the association's Division I membership." Holbrook received the letter last month following action taken by the NCAA Division I Committee on Athletics Certification during its October meeting. The certification follows the university's self-study, in which four committees broadly representative of faculty, staff, students and the community comprehensively reviewed the athletic operation's overall integrity and compliance. The process also included a visit from a peer-review team made up of representatives from other colleges, universities and conference offices. The university first was certified in 1996 following a similar process. READ MORE >

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