COLUMBUS - The Ohio State University Board of Trustees on Friday (6/2) moved forward with recommendations made in May by the board's Student Health Insurance Committee, including offering students a "medical only" insurance plan option at lower premium rates and setting minimum six- and five-credit-hour eligibility requirements for undergraduate students and graduate students seeking coverage.

Trustees also approved retaining Koster Insurance Agency as the 2000-2001 underwriter and administrator of the commercially insured PPO portion of the plan. While the majority of the benefits and services available remain the same as during the 1999-2000 year, some benefits and service changes include lowering the dependent eligibility age to 18; limiting off-quarter eligibility to one off quarter; increasing the annual out-of-pocket limit for non-network services to $4,000; and offering an improved dental benefit package.

The Ohio State Student Health Insurance Program is totally financed by student premiums. Premium rates are calculated on a quarter/semester basis with more than 50,000 policies sold in the 1999-2000 plan year. The comprehensive plan offers four enrollment categories with the "student only" category comprising 94% of plan participants.

Board hears report on undergraduate research forum

Undergraduate research is the pursuit of independent knowledge, Keith Alley, interim vice president for research, told trustees Friday (6/2). It allows students to go beyond the books and into their own independent learning, he said.

"By conducting research as an undergraduate, students demonstrate their ability to be self-starters and self-motivators by setting their own deadlines, working with a faculty advisor and making presentations," Alley said. "Undergraduate research also gives faculty and students the opportunity to work together outside the classroom, opening up a whole new side of the university to the students."

Undergraduates at Ohio State observe firsthand the enthusiasm and reward of conducting research, which was reflected in their poster presentations at the Richard J. and Martha D. Denman Undergraduate Research Forum at Ohio State on May 18. This year approximately 133 students competed in the forum, held annually since 1995. Forty-two students were awarded a total of $10,500 for their work. At this year's forum, Robert Siston, a fourth-year mechanical engineering major from STRONGSVILLE, earned first place for his project "The Biomechanical Analysis of a Galloping Dog."

"There are numerous benefits to being involved with research," Siston said. "It offers a chance at career exploration. Is this really something you would like to be doing in grad school? Or perhaps this kind of further education does not appeal to you. You also can develop a deeper appreciation and understanding for material you covered in class, or you can research something, as in my case, that is not offered in the standard undergraduate curriculum. Plus, you get to know professors on a different level."

If he hadn't conducted his research, Siston said, he may never have been accepted to Stanford University, where he will pursue a Ph.D. in biomechanical engineering.

"Ohio State does not offer an undergrad degree in biomedical engineering, so my research in this area was key to my acceptance to Stanford," he said. "In addition, it gave me great freedom in my choice of graduate schools -- MIT, Georgia Tech, UC Berkeley or Stanford. There's no doubt that I would do it again."

Two other award recipients also spoke to the trustees about their research. Demicha Sparks, a senior microbiology major from COLUMBUS, won first place in the health sciences division for "Determining if there is a gene dosage effect on the reactivation of the Epstein-Barr virus." Jessica Keating, a third-year art history major from PERRYSBURG, won second place in performing and visual arts for "The Archeological Memory of Giorgio de Chirico."

Daniel M. Farrell, interim associate provost for Honors and Scholars curricula, told the board that the Denman Award winners prove that undergraduate students at Ohio State have the same opportunities for undergraduate research that smaller, more elite universities offer. "We want to extend more honors research opportunities to more students at the beginning of their college careers," he said. "It's better for the students, better for the university, and it certainly enhances Ohio State's academic reputation."

Students didn't have to look very far to find something interesting to do spring quarter, Tracy Stuck, director of student activities, told members of the trustees' Student Affairs Committee. There was Greek Week, the African American Heritage Festival, the Buckeye World Tour and student award dinners -- just to name a few, she said.

"Each spring, Ohio State comes alive with activity. The warm weather seems to draw students out of hiding," Stuck said. "And this year was no exception. Thousands of students participated in events held across campus. There was something for everyone."

The Buckeye World Tour is one of only two truly international festivals in the city, said Mike Penner, coordinator of intramural sports. All continents, except Australia and Antarctica, are represented, and this year between 2,500 and 3,000 people attended the May 6 event held at Fred Beekman Park at the corner of Lane Avenue and Kenny Road.

"We hope the event, which featured food and sports from around the globe, an African cellist and a wheelchair olympics, will somehow bridge the gap between international students and American students," Penner said. "We want to attract the international population to activities, programs and facilities that we think they may not participate in or visit otherwise. At the same time, we want those students to showcase their cultures to the rest of the university and the Columbus community."

This year's Buckeye World Tour was organized, coordinated and supervised by more than 125 students from 30 different Ohio State departments and organizations, he said.

Greek Week activities, which included the Greek Games, the "Tug," and The Greek Week Variety Show and Awards, raised $4,466 for "Kids 'N Kamp," a camp for children with cancer that provides support to those children and their families.

Senior receives Student Recognition Award

Trustees presented a student recognition award to Abra Kravitz, a senior comparative studies and East Asian studies major, from YOUNGSTOWN. Kravitz is this year's outstanding undergraduate student in the College of Humanities and serves on the college's executive committee, diversity committee and the Asian-American studies committee. She also is a member of the dean's student advisory committee and has taken an active role in Career Night, Welcome Week, Baccalaureate, the writing of the College of Humanities' Student Advising Manual and the high school essay competition.

As an undergraduate researcher, Kravitz has received numerous awards and has given presentations at the National Conference on Undergraduate Research in Montana and Ohio State's College of Humanities Research Colloquium. Kravitz is a member of Phi Kappa Phi and Phi Beta Kappa, and received an Outstanding Senior Award and the Kaplan Humanitarian Award at the Leadership Awards Dinner in May. She was linked into Sphinx Senior Honorary in April. She was a member of the women's varsity crew team in 1996-97 and this fall will be a member of Homecoming Court.

Kravitz also volunteered through the Cultural Understanding Reading Program, which brings university students and 8th graders from inner-city schools together to read and discuss literature. She also volunteered for five weeks at a leper colony in northern India. Kravitz is a candidate for graduation with honors in the liberal arts and with distinction in comparative studies and plans to graduate Autumn Quarter 2000.

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(LO)