January 14, 2000

This and every University Relations news release is available at www.osu.edu

STUDENTS HONOR MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. WITH DAY OF SERVICE--Jan. 17. Ohio State students will celebrate the life and accomplishments of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. during the second annual Martin Luther King: Serving the Legacy service program. Students will help prepare and deliver meals for the homeless and needy in the campus area. Spaghetti dinners will be served at Hillel (46 E. 16th Ave.) and Project Open Hand (in the basement of the 16th Avenue Methodist Church). Student will then deliver meals and eat with the homeless at Friends of the Homeless and RebeccaÕs Place shelters. The event, from 10:30 a.m.-3 p.m., is sponsored by the Office of Student Activities; Hillel; Ethnic Student Services; Student, Gender, and Sexuality Student Services; Off Campus Student Services; and the Hale Center

CONTACT: Heather Brandon, Student Activities, 292-4995.

--In addition to the spaghetti dinner at Project Open Hand, the Office of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Student Services will present Out with your Clothing from 10 a.m.-3 p.m.

CONTACT: Elizabeth Warren, Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Student Services, 292-6200.

EFFORT AIMS TO BUILD LIBRARY--Jan. 17. The OSU AmeriCorps Literacy Program will honor Dr. King with a READ-A-THON in support of the ChildrenÕs Hospital Reach Out and Read Program. Students will read stories to children and collect new and gently used books to build the ChildrenÕs Hospital Half-Pint Library. AmeriCorps volunteers will collect books from noon-3 p.m. at Half-Price Books, 1375 W. Lane Ave.; ChildrenÕs Hospital Primary Care Center; ChildrenÕs Hospital East Central Close to Home, 899 E. Broad St.; ChildrenÕs Hospital Whitehall Close To Home, 579 S. Yearling Rd.; and Whetstone Library, 3909 N. High St.

CONTACT: Courtney Velker, College of Education, 292-9688.

FACULTY EXPERTS DISCUSS MINORITY AND SOCIO-ECONOMIC HEALTH ISSUES--Jan. 18-19. Do race or socio-economic status play a role in a personÕs health? ItÕs a question that will be discussed during a teleconference, Race, Class & Health, Jan. 19 from 1:30 p.m.-3:30 p.m. in the Ohio Union Conference Theatre, 1739 N. High St. The live, interactive satellite teleconference will bring together community activists and higher education and public health leaders from around the country to discuss minority and socio-economic health issues.

Two Ohio State University professors, who believe there is a strong correlation between low socio-economic status and health, will be available Tuesday and Wednesday for interviews on these issues. Moon Chen, professor of health behavior and health promotion, is currently evaluating the effectiveness of health promotion and disease prevention interventions for minority populations. A member of the Institute of MedicineÕs committee on the "Unequal Burden of Cancer," he will be available in his office, 293-3908, for media calls on Tuesday (1/18) from 1 to 3 p.m. Deborah Parris, professor of molecular virology, immunology and medical genetics, is assistant director of WomenÕs and Minority Health Issues in the Comprehensive Cancer Center, which monitors the appropriate inclusion of women and minorities in clinical trials. She will be available in her office, 292-0735, for interviews on Wednesday (1/19) from 1:30 p.m. to 3 p.m.

CONTACT: Moon Chen, College of Medicine and Public Health, 293-3908, and Deborah Parris, College of Medicine and Public Health, 292-0735. For questions about the teleconference, call Carmen Alvarez Breckenridge, coordinator of Hispanic Student Services, 292-2917.

BI OUR SIDE IS THEME OF AWARENESS WEEK--Jan. 17-29. Bi Our Side is the theme of Ohio State's Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex & Ally Awareness Week 2000, Jan. 17-29. The two-week program focuses on issues that surround bisexuality and how it enriches and challenges the community. Two keynote speakers will be featured: Writer and activist Robyn Ochs, who will lead a fireside chat concerning bisexuality issues from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. Jan. 25 in the Ohio Union Main Lounge South; and former Major League Baseball umpire Dave Pallone, author of the 1990 best-selling autobiography Behind the Mask: My Double Life in Baseball, with a speech titled "Who's Really on First" at 7:30 p.m. Jan. 26 in the Ohio Union Conference Theatre. For a complete calendar or more information, call the Office of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Student Services, 292-6200.

CONTACT: Chad McCoury or Sile Singleton, Student Gender and Sexuality Services, 292-6200.

PRESIDENT KIRWAN ADDRESSES ATHENS GROUP--Jan. 19. Ohio State University President William Kirwan will discuss the impact of research universities on Ohio and OhioÕs economy in a speech to Athens Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday (1/19) at 6 p.m. at the Ohio University Inn in Athens.

CONTACT: Alan Geiger, Ohio University, 740-593-7804.

HUNGARIAN TRANSPORTATION DELEGATION VISITS CAMPUS--Jan. 20. Ohio State will host a group of Hungarian transportation officials on Thursday (1/20) as part of an eight-day visit to learn more about OhioÕs transportation industry. The Hungarian officials will meet with faculty and administrators in the College of Engineering, as well as officials from the Ohio Department of Transportation and the Ohio Local Technical Assistance Program (LTAP). The delegation represents the Technical and Information Services on National Roads within the Hungarian Ministry of Transport, Communications, and Water Management. Columbus was chosen as a stop for the delegation in part because of the success of the Ohio LTAP Center, which provides training, technical assistance, advice, and other transportation technology resources to OhioÕs local governments. LTAP centers are established in all 50 states, and the Ohio LTAP Center is recognized as one of the top three centers in the nation.

CONTACT: Michelle Von Ville, Civil and Environmental Engineering and Geodetic Science, 292-4815.

SCHOOL VIOLENCE EXPERT GIVES LECTURE--Jan. 21. Author Deborah Prothrow-Stith will present the 2000 Karlsberger Lecture, Deadly Consequences: Violence as a Crisis of Public Health, at 4 p.m., Jan. 21, in the Fawcett Center Auditorium, 2400 Olentangy River Rd. Prothrow-Stith, professor and director of the Division of Public Health at Harvard University, is the author of Deadly Consequences. She says the rise in violence is a public health issue, not one of law and order. Tickets are not required, but seating is limited. The College of Education and the Columbus Education Association sponsor the annual event in honor of the late Penny Chapdelaine Karlsberger, an Ohio State alumna.

CONTACT: James Azzaro, College of Education, 688-4582 or azzaro.1@osu.edu.

UNIVERSITY HONORS FIRST AFRICAN-AMERICAN ASTRONAUT--Jan. 21. The Department of Chemistry will honor the memory of Robert H. Lawrence, Jr., by naming a lecture hall for him. Lawrence, who earned his Ph.D. in chemistry at Ohio State in 1965, is recognized as the nationÕs first African-American astronaut.

Lawrence died in the 1967 crash of an F-104 Starfighter crash at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. His flight maneuvers data contributed to the later development of the NASA's space shuttles. A plaque naming 1000 McPherson the Major Robert H. Lawrence, Jr. Lecture Hall will be unveiled at a 4 p.m. dedication ceremony in the newly renovated building, located at 140 W. 18th Ave.

CONTACT: Melissa Weber, College of Mathematical and Physical Sciences, 292-2254.

GLENN INSTITUTE PRESENTS DORIS KEARNS GOODWINÑJan. 26. Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Doris Kearns Goodwin will deliver a free public address at 3:30 p.m., Jan. 26, at Mershon Auditorium, 1871 N. High St. GoodwinÕs visit is sponsored by The Ohio State UniversityÕs John Glenn Institute for Public Service and Public Policy. In her Ohio State talk, Shared Memories: The Lessons of History, Kearns Goodwin will discuss her experiences in writing biographies of Presidents Franklin Roosevelt, Lyndon Johnson, and John Kennedy, as well as the process of writing her own memoir. Kearns Goodwin received the 1995 Pulitzer Prize for No Ordinary Time: Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt: The Home Front During World War II. There are no tickets for the presentation. Doors will open at 2:30 p.m.

CONTACT: The John Glenn Institute for Public Service and Public Policy, 292-4545.

The person listed as the contact for each item will have the best information about the story. Call on our media relations staff for assistance with these or other Ohio State news stories--Amy Murray, 292-8385; Melinda Sadar, 292-8298; and Karissa Shivley, 292-8295.

*Compiled by Amy Murray, University Relations, (Murray-Goedde.1@osu.edu).