University Calls On Jennings To Fill Interim Post

The university’s Board of Trustees announced on June 7 the appointment of Edward H. Jennings as the university’s interim president. The appointment is effective July 1 and will run until the university’s presidential search committee finds a successor to outgoing president William E. Kirwan. Jennings previously served the university as its 10th president from 1981 to 1990 and more recently as professor of finance in the Fisher College of Business. During Jennings’ first tenure as Ohio State president, the university launched its first major fund-raising campaign, which surpassed its $350 million goal by more than $100 million in private gifts and pledges. Several campus landmarks were constructed during that period, including the Wexner Center for the Arts, the Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute, the Woody Hayes Athletic Center and the Frank Hale Black Cultural Center.

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President Bush Will Speak At Spring Commencement
The White House has confirmed that President Bush will speak to Ohio State’s spring quarter graduates June 14 at Ohio Stadium. Approximately 5,500 graduates will receive their degrees during the ceremony. “Ohio State is honored to have President Bush address our graduates, who are poised to serve the nation as highly educated women and men,” said President Kirwan. “At such an important time in our history, we are gratified that the president has chosen to accept our students’ invitation. I am sure his words and appearance will mean a great deal, and be a memorable experience, for our graduates.” Although he receives many invitations, President Bush will deliver just two commencement speeches this year: The U.S. Military Academy at West Point and Ohio State.

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Physics Breaks Ground On New Research Building
The Department of Physics has broken ground on a state-of-the art Physics Research Building. The 233,739 square-foot building will house the department’s administrative offices, conference space, and faculty offices, as well as 210 laboratory modules. The design features an atrium and adjoining patio space. A highlight of the atrium floor is the Robert Smith Seminar Room, made possible by a gift from Robert and Winifred Smith. Robert is an alumnus of the department and the son of Alpheus Smith, for whom Smith Laboratory is named. View an interactive tour around the building or check out the online web camera for a view of the progress of the two-year construction process. READ MORE >

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Professor Receives Prestigious Heineken Award

An Ohio State researcher who has become famous for his work in using ice cores from drilled remote, mountaintop glaciers to unravel global climate histories for thousands of years is this year’s winner of a prestigious international science prize. Lonnie G. Thompson, professor of geological sciences and researcher with the Byrd Polar Research Center, will receive the 2002 Dr. A.H. Heineken Prize for Environmental Sciences. The prize, one of five awarded each year and given by the royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, comes with a cash award of $150,000. Thompson will receive his award in September during ceremonies in Amsterdam. In announcing the award, the Academy cited Thompson’s “pioneering work in research into ice cores in the polar regions and in the tropics,” adding that the work “ultimately makes it possible to assess the effects of human beings on the earth’s climate, something which has been a source of heated debate among researchers for many years.” READ MORE >

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Demolition Makes Way For University Gateway
President Kirwan and Columbus Mayor Michael Coleman released a wrecking ball this month to begin demolition along two blocks of North High Street to make way for construction of the University Gateway Center. The Gateway Center, which will be built on 7.4 acres in the area of 11th Avenue and High Street, will be a dynamic blend of entertainment, retail, office space, rental housing, and parking to serve one of the nation’s largest collegiate markets. The total investment in the project is likely to be more than $100 million; it will feature approximately 450,000 square feet of space for housing, retail and office uses as well as a 1,200-space parking garage. “The Gateway Project is one of the nation’s largest and most exciting urban redevelopment projects. It represents the university's and the city’s commitment to revitalizing the University District,” Kirwan said.

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Engineer Is One Of World’s ‘Top Young Innovators’

An Ohio State engineer has been named one of the world’s 100 Top Young Innovators by the magazine Technology Review. Derek Hansford, assistant professor of materials science and engineering and biomedical engineering, was honored for his innovative methods for fabricating tiny medical devices out of plastic. Hansford works within the emerging field of nanotechnology, where researchers are developing devices that measure only a few billionths of a meter across. In Hansford’s case, the tiny devices could one day be used for medical treatments —for instance, to deliver drugs to sites of disease inside the body. Such devices must be made from biocompatible materials, including plastic, so Hansford has developed innovative ways of carving tiny structures out of plastic. READ MORE >

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98-Year-Old Is Among Marion Campus Graduates
Among the graduates at Ohio State’s Marion campus commencement ceremony last month was 98-year-old Oliver Hamilton, who received an associate’s degree —82 years after he first started his pursuit. Hamilton had studied engineering at Ohio State from 1920 to 1923 when he left to help provide for his family. He always regretted not finishing college. When he and his brother sold their family business last summer, Hamilton became concerned that his mind might stagnate. An advisor searched university archives and found his transcript, and an academic coordinator worked with him to determine which classes he would need for a degree. Even now, having earned one degree, Hamilton plans on continuing on with classes, making him a true model of lifelong learning.

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Kirwan Elected To Academy Of Arts And Sciences
President Kirwan has been elected to join the 2002 class of Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the nation’s preeminent learned society and research institution. The class of 177 Fellows also includes a U.S. Senator and Representative, three Nobel Prize winners, six Pulitzer Prize winners, three MacArthur Fellows, and six Guggenheim fellows. Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, former Sen. Warren Rudman, violinist Itzhak Perlman, Academy Award winner Anjelica Huston, and Nobel Prize-winning chemist George Olah join Kirwan among this year’s new Fellows.

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Dedication Marks Opening Of Blackwell Inn

The Blackwell Inn at Fisher College officially opened its doors on June 6 with a ribbon-cutting ceremony, reception, and tours. The 151-bed executive residence, known as The Blackwell, will provide quality accommodations for participants in Fisher College’s executive education programs and other university programs, and is open to the general public as well. Roger D. Blackwell, a renowned marketing professor at the Fisher College, and his wife, Tina, gave a gift of $7 million —the largest gift to date made by a current faculty member —to support construction of the upscale facility. READ MORE>

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Alumna Founds Women's Democracy Center
While traveling the world as a Peace Corps volunteer after graduating from Ohio State, Barbara Ferris saw firsthand many of the countries where women are the breadwinners but have no rights. She founded the International Women’s Democracy Center in Washington, D.C., to help women worldwide learn how to run for political office, develop policy and become leaders. “We partner with nongovernmental organizations to help build the capacities of our partners,” Ferris said. “It’s about teaching people to fish.” READ MORE >

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Alumnus Gib Reese Creates Chair In Contract Law
Newark, Ohio, attorney J. Gilbert (Gib) Reese has donated $1.5 million to the Moritz College of Law to create the J. Gilbert Reese Chair in Contract Law, which will enable the college to hire a professor with a national reputation for excellence. Reese, a 1952 graduate of the college, designated his gift to support, in part, the salary of a nationally recognized expert in contract law, noting that this is a subject critical to the education of every single law student. Reese believes that elevating the ranking of the Moritz College of Law is a step toward Ohio State’s goal of becoming a top-ten public university nationally. READ MORE>

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Smith Honored By Jesse Owens Foundation
Robert Smith, one of the all-time great running backs to ever play at Ohio State, was presented with the Jesse Owens Foundation Award for Sportsmanship. The award is given each year to two athletes who have invested in their community and lead through positive example. Olympic track great Jackie Joyner-Kersee also received the award this year. Through a foundation that bears his name, Smith has long provided support —financial and moral —to children battling cancer. READ MORE >

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