Official Reports on Ohio State Diversity Issues

The Ohio State University Diversity Updates

Diversity Update - Winter 2002
(Prepared By The Office Of University Relations)

Faculty/Staff Recruitment and Retention

1. Dr. Oliver McGee is the new chair and professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Geodetic Science in the College of Engineering. An expert in structural engineering and transportation, McGee returned to Ohio State to chair the department where he was once a faculty member. McGee recently served in the U.S. Department of Transportation as a Senior Policy Analyst in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, and at MIT's departments of Aeronautics and Astronautics, and Civil and Environmental Engineering. A former drum major for Ohio State's Marching Band in 1980, McGee graduated from Ohio State in 1981 with a bachelor's degree in civil engineering. He received an M.S. degree in civil engineering in 1983, and a Ph.D. in engineering mechanics in 1988 from the University of Arizona.

2. Robert L. Solomon II was selected to serve as assistant dean for admissions and financial aid and director of minority affairs for the Michael E. Moritz College of Law. He earned his J.D., with honors, from Ohio State in 1988 and his B.A. in 1985 from David Lipscomb College. Solomon previously served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney with the Department of Justice, and has also been employed as an adjunct professor with the university since 1995. In his new role, he will be responsible for recruiting law students, designing recruitment and outreach programs, counseling students, and coordinating minority affairs concerns within the college.

3. Dr. Leon McDougle was named assistant dean for diversity and cultural affairs for the College of Medicine and Public Health. In this new position, he will provide leadership in the development and implementation of programs designed to recruit and prepare multicultural students for careers in medicine. Additionally, he will be instrumental in developing programs to retain multicultural physicians to serve as mentors and role models for medical students, residents, and fellows. A 1989 graduate of Ohio State's College of Medicine, McDougle most recently served four years as clinical assistant professor of family medicine at the University of Michigan Medical Center's Department of Family Medicine. He practiced at the urban residency site, which provided health care services in a lower socioeconomic and multicultural community in Ypsilanti, Michigan. McDougle is a diplomat of the American Board of Family Practice and a fellow of the American Academy of Family Physicians.

4. Valerie Lee and Gifford Weary have been appointed as chairs of the Departments of English and Psychology, respectively. Lee is the current chair for the department of Women's Studies and will begin her four-year appointment in October. Weary, currently a professor in the department of Psychology, will begin her appointment July 1, pending Board of Trustee approval. Lee's appointment was approved at the last Board meeting.

Student Recruitment and Retention

1. Ohio Eminent Scholar and Professor Dr. Noel Mayo joined the College of the Arts in 1989, at a time when there were no minority students in the Department of Industrial, Interior, and Visual Communication Design. With college funds that resulted from the Eminent Scholar competition, Mayo created recruitment and retention programs for minority students, and eventually recruited and sponsored Ohio State's first African-American industrial design graduate student. Today, the department routinely admits both MA and MFA minority students, and graduates of the department are now teaching at universities like Princeton, Carnegie-Mellon, Virginia, and Georgia Tech. Additionally, Mayo has developed a resource network of minority designers around the United States that has been significant in the hiring of other minority faculty members into Ohio State.

2. Jeffrey M. Reutter, director of the Ohio Sea Grant College Program, made a presentation/recruiting visit to the St. Stevens Community House in February and spoke to 30-40 high schools students in the Upward Bound Program, which is sponsored by the Office of Minority Affairs. Reutter hopes to attract a number of academically strong, minority high-school students to Stone Laboratory this summer, where they can receive college credits for participating in such courses as Aquatic Biology, Insect Biology, and the Study of Birds.

3. According to a recent national survey and an Office of International Education report, Ohio State ranks third nationally among public research institutions in terms of international students enrolled, and seventh among all research institutions. Within the Big Ten, Ohio State ranks second behind only Purdue. The autumn quarter 2001 enrollment of 4,313 students represents 8.9 percent of the total student body at Ohio State. The international student population is active in the campus community through participation in the various international student organizations and nationality clubs.

4. The Office of Minority Affairs Career and Job Fair Student Association held its 29th annual career and job fair in January in the Ohio Union. The fair was for undergraduate, graduate, and professional candidates, with a special emphasis on minority career seekers. More than 100 companies recruited at the fair and, last year, over 1,600 students connected with possible employers at the event.

5. Data published by the Higher Education and National Affairs American Council on Education indicates that Ohio State is ranked fourth in terms of doctoral degrees awarded to African Americans. The data, collected from 1995 to 1999, include all disciplines. Nova Southeastern University is first, followed by Howard University, the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, Ohio State, and the University of Maryland-College Park.

Academic Programs

1. The Board of Trustees approved a proposal from the Council on Academic Affairs (CAA) to establish a Ph.D. program in Women's Studies. Pending approval from the Ohio Board of Regents, the program will be offered for the first time in autumn quarter 2002. In submitting the proposal, CAA noted that the program would support the university's goal of increasing attention to diversity in the student body and curriculum, and would also establish the first Women's Studies Ph.D. program in Ohio. Based on data from similar programs in the country, Women's Studies expects to receive 50 to 60 applications per year and intends to admit four to five students per year.

Leadership Recognition

1. Deborah A. Ballam, professor of finance, and Sherri Geldin, director of the Wexner Center for the Arts, were among the seven local women selected by the YWCA as their 2002 Women of Achievement award winners. Honorees were selected by a panel of community leaders and will be inducted into the Academy of Women of Achievement at an April 11 luncheon at the Greater Columbus Convention Center. Ballam and Geldin were selected for their extraordinary work in opening doors for women and minorities in the workplace and in the community.

2. Jacqueline Jones Royster, Professor and Associate Dean of the College of Humanities, won the Modern Language Association's Mina P. Shaughnessy Award for her book, "Traces of a Stream: Literacy and Social Change Among African American Women."

3. Ken Lee, chair of Food Science and Technology, delivered the autumn quarter commencement address to more than 1,700 graduates. Lee told those in attendance they have an opportunity and a responsibility to make a difference in the changed world in which we now live - especially when it comes to continuing to value diversity. In addition to calling on graduates not to perpetuate prejudices accompanying the war against terrorism, Lee noted that those educated at Ohio State will make contributions of all kinds: implementing ideas in the workplace, improving the human condition and enhancing society as a whole.

4. Apple Computer recognized R. Brian Stone, assistant professor of industrial, interior, and visual communication design, as one of the top educational leaders in the country. Stone will serve a one-year term as an Apple Distinguished Educator (ADE) in the area of design. The ADE program recognizes educators in both K-12 and higher education who integrate technology into their curriculum in highly innovative ways.

5. The Industry and Technology Council of Central Ohio named Umit Ozkan, associate dean for research in the College of Engineering, "Outstanding Woman in Technology.

Awareness

1. The Office of University Relations developed a weekly radio broadcast to showcase the university's diversity initiatives. Called the Ohio State Diversity Bulletin, the two-minute segments air twice a day on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays on WSMZ Radio (103 FM). Tami Smith, an Ohio State junior majoring in journalism, is the broadcast anchor. Z-103, a radio station with special appeal to an African-American audience, will air the segments during two popular programs: The Tom Joyner Show in the morning and adjacent to Tavis Smiley in the afternoon.

Training/Education

1. The office of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender (GLBT) Student Services received funds to develop and carry out an education program for university colleges and departments in order to increase awareness of GLBT issues and to foster a more inclusive and welcoming climate for members of the GLBT community. The program, known as H.E.R.O. (Heterosexism Education and Reduction Orientation), was developed by the staff of GLBT Student Services and is now being promoted throughout the university.

Access

1. The final version of the university's new Web Access Policy, a revision of the university's policies on accessible web design, was released in February. Standards in the new policy are based on emerging national standards for accessible web design and are firmly rooted in state and federal civil rights legislation. The revisions have been drafted to guide the university in providing information in accessible formats for individuals with disabilities.

2. The University Medical Center recently announced four partnerships they have formed with the University District: the Asian Health Initiative, La Clinica Latina, Holy Name Family Health Center, and the Secure and Friendly Environment (SAFE) project. The Asian Health Initiative is a partnership with Asian American Community Services, the Asian American Community Service Council, and Southeast Asian Ministries. It established a free clinic that is open part-time and averages 13 patients each night. Staffed by volunteers, La Clinica Latina is a free clinic in partnership with Family Practice, Latino Health Alliance, and Saint Vincent Family Services. Holy Name Family Health Center is a partnership with Catholic Social Services that provides eight hours of service per week to community residents. Secure and Friendly Environment (SAFE) is a project addressing anxiety disorders in partnership with Hubbard and Pilgrim Elementary Schools, and Columbus Public Schools.

Minority Purchases

1. The University Purchasing Department, in conjunction with the Chamber of Commerce, the United Way, the South Central Minority Business Council, and a number of private and public sector businesses are engaged in a business dialog group examining "What about race makes it easier or harder to do business in Central Ohio? What could be done to make a difference?" Sponsored by the Kettering Foundation, the group will identify two or three problems, and then develop possible community solutions.

2. Purchasing has also retained a consultant - Corners of Success, Inc. - to help develop a new list of historically underutilized minority suppliers who may be able to provide goods and services in a number of commodity areas. This list will potentially expand the university's supplier base.

The Ohio State University Diversity Updates

Winter 2003 | Spring 2003 (PDF) | Summer 2003 (PDF) | Autumn 2003 (PDF)

Winter 2002 | Spring 2002 | Summer 2002 | Autumn 2002

Autumn 2001

Autumn 2000

top of page