96-09-16 Back to School News Tips OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY PREPARES FOR 1996-97 ACADEMIC YEAR COLUMBUS -- As the changing of the leaves marks the beginning of a new academic year, some 49,000 students will begin autumn quarter classes Sept. 25 at The Ohio State University. Although official figures will not be available for several weeks, the Office of Admissions and Financial Aid anticipates a similar number of students will be enrolled at the Columbus campus as last year when the total was 48,676. Of these, about 6,000 will be new, first-quarter freshmen. Another 6,100 students will be arriving at Ohio State's campuses at Lima, Mansfield, Marion and Newark, and at the Agricultural Technical Institute in Wooster. Total university enrollment will be about 54,800. The freshman class will include some 520 University Scholars, students who graduated in the top 3 percent of their high school classes. This is an increase over last year, when 406 University Scholars were enrolled. Some highlights of the new academic year follow. IN THE COLLEGES In the College of the Arts, the Department of Art Education is part of a national consortium that has received a $4.3 million challenge grant from the Annenberg Foundation to place arts education at the core of elementary and secondary school reform. The grant will provide funds for schools in six regional areas nationwide to demonstrate how an education in the arts will improve student achievement. The School of Music has received academic enrichment funds from the Office of Academic Affairs to enhance research and teaching programs in music cognition, the study of perception, comprehension and performance of music. In the Department of History of Art, a project to encourage an active learning environment through the use of CD-ROM technology is under way with funds received from the Fund for the Improvement of Post- Secondary Education. Lois Foreman Wernet, director of communications, 292-8835. In response to recommendations on enhancing academic advising from the Committee on the Undergraduate Experience, the Colleges of the Arts and Sciences, under the leadership of the new Executive Dean Kermit L. Hall, is going to be much more directly involved in the oversight of the advising service unit. Serving as the undergraduate dean is Martha M. Garland, associate dean of humanities and one of the co-chairs of CUE. With expanded funding from the Office of Academic Affairs, the colleges have hired three additional academic counselors and are making various service improvements for students. In order to integrate each student's program more fully with respect to the relationship between general education courses and the major program, counselors will work more directly with the colleges in which their students are enrolled. Martha Garland, Arts and Sciences, 292-9184. The College of Education will hold a conference for public school teachers and administrators, community leaders and university faculty on Oct. 26. at the Ramada University Hotel. The conference will focus on partnerships in education and issues such as technology, funding, international teaching, cooperative learning and collaborative development of school-to-work curricula. Nancy Swearengin, administrative assistant, 292-2743. The College of Engineering will hold its annual activities fair Oct. 4 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Information on engineering professional societies and fraternal organizations will be available. Members of the engineering student project team will display their designs. The college will hold its engineering career expo Oct. 17 with representatives from some 100 major companies and 1,500 students expected to participate. An interactive videoconferencing system will be available for employers to interview candidates during the expo. Judy Kauffeld, communications director, 292-9615. In the College of Humanities, the Department of Classics and the Modern Greek Program have merged to form the Department of Greek and Latin. The department is one of few programs nationwide that offers a major graduate program in classics that is connected with a modern Greek program offering studies in Greek language and culture from its beginning to the present. William Batstone, department chair, 292-2673. The College of Human Ecology will premiere an exhibition of the Historic Costume and Textiles Collection, Fashioning the Future, Oct. 26 with a reception and dinner for supporters of the collection. The exhibit and a lecture series will open to the public in November. A body image task force formed in the Department of Consumer and Textile Sciences, will use education, research and outreach to encourage healthy behaviors related to body image. The universitywide task force will focus on risky behaviors practiced by individuals, including eating disorders, obsessive exercise or weight training, substance abuse and other compulsive behaviors. Nancy Rudd, associate professor, 292-4385. "Partners for Diversity," a project of the Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge, the Toledo Public Schools, Gibsonburg Schools, Ohio State University Extension and the School of Natural Resources, will sponsor a two-day workshop Sept. 27-28 at the Ottawa Wildlife Refuge for Toledo area science teachers. The focus will be "Water Quality Analysis and Wetland Ecology." This project aims to encourage minority high school students to consider a career in natural resources and environmental science. The School of Natural Resources has also added a new soil science curriculum for undergraduates at the Columbus Campus. Mary Jacobs, administrative secretary, 292-8522. Ten students in the College of Nursing will take part in a pilot accelerated program beginning autumn quarter. The students will enroll in theory, clinical and supportive nursing courses totaling at least 35 credit hours per quarter. The college will evaluate the program for continuation in the next academic year. An interactive classroom, intended to enhance students' educational experiences through the use of multimedia and communications curricula, will open in the college autumn quarter. The 20-workstation classroom network includes an electronic overhead, interactive whiteboard and data projector. Instructor and student sessions can be projected to the class. This will enable instructors to include video and still images in examination and course packets, as well as enhance statistical instruction, CD-ROM based supplemental courseware, computer orientation for incoming students, on-line testing and faculty- development courseware. Douglas Brownfield, computer specialist, 292-8199. Renovations in the College of Pharmacy include the addition of a model pharmacy in Parks Hall. The pharmcay will be a major teaching site in the professional educational programs and focus on prescription, self-care and clinical management. The college will hold its annual open-house recruitment program Oct. 19. It will include presentations on admissions, curriculum and pharmacy careers, as well as facility tours and demonstrations. Kenneth Hale, assistant dean, 292-2266. In the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Barbara Andersen, a professor of psychology, has received a five-year grant of $3.8 million from the National Institute of Mental Health to study psychological intervention for women with breast cancer. This augments an $800,000 grant from the U.S. Army Medical Research and Materials Command to study stress and immunity in breast cancer. Barbara Andersen, 292-4236. A new academic program, the survey research unit, has been formed and will serve as the focus for interdisciplinary academic studies regarding survey methods. Paul Lavrakas, director of survey research, 292-1061 The Prior Health Sciences Library will move from its temporary home in the Jesse Owens Recreation Center South on Oct. 9 back to its renovated permanent location at 376 W. 10th Ave., which opens Oct. 21. New features include: 20 public computers that access library resources; seven conference rooms for group study and meetings; journals from 1960 to present and books from 1970 to present available on-site; a consumer health collection to provide library materials to the community, and a medical heritage collection containing archives of prominent physicians. Susan Kroll, Prior Health Sciences Library, 292-9810. At the Mansfield campus, the new $1.5 million John B. Conard Learning Center will open during winter quarter. The facility will feature a distance learning room for two-way video instruction from the Columbus campus and other remote locations. Rodger C. Smith, public relations, (419) 755-4011. A new $7.1 million library and classroom building opens on the Marion campus autumn quarter. The facility offers computer- based classrooms for English and mathematics, expanded study areas, a general computer laboratory and a research room. The George Alber Enterprise Center continues to provide educational, research, and resource expertise to facilitate economic growth. The center incorporates academic credit and continuing education course credit options in lifelong learning needs of the community. Lori Stevenson, public relations, (614) 292-9133. FACULTY, STAFF, STUDENT, AND COMMUNITY SERVICES In-line skating, hip-hop aerobics and yoga are three new fitness programs offered by the Department of Recreation and Intramural Sports beginning autumn quarter at Larkins Hall. In addition, several new intramural sports programs are being offered, including a basketball league for players less than 6 feet tall, darts, card games, table tennis and horseshoes. A feasibility study was begun over the summer to identify the facilities necessary to address the comprehensive recreational, educational and athletic program needs that will lead to the increased quality of student life on campus. Lisa Rothkopf, Liz Davis, or Diane Jensen, recreation and intramural sports, 292-7671. The university telecommunications system UNITS will provide a cable TV campus information channel, which will allow university departments and student organizations to advertise events, share information and highlight services. The channel will be available to all undergraduate and graduate students living in university housing. Lisa Baker, UNITS, 292-8040. The University Bookstore on Millikin Road will have special extended hours the first week of classes and will open one half- hour earlier throughout the year to better serve students. The new daily hours are Monday-Thursday from 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Robert Carlson, director, 292- 2991. The Division of Traffic and Parking has established new bus routes that provide faster, more efficient service on the Columbus campus, and installed new clocks at three bus stops that show arrival times of the buses. A celebration will be held at the West Campus parking lots Sept. 25-26 to welcome students who elect to park on West Campus and ride the bus to and from classes. Staff armed with "ask me" buttons will answer questions and provide assistance. Helen DeSantis, business management, 292-4135. Scarlet and Gray tortilla chips have made their way to Ohio grocers, along with a full line of "Brutus Buckeye's All- American Party Supplies." The Brutus line will feature tortilla chips and salsa, potato chips, pretzels, popcorn, barbecue sauce and a gourmet style root beer in a collector's series commemorative bottle from Columbus micro-brewer Hoster's Brewing Company. Anne Chasser, director of the office of Trademark and Licensing Services, 292-1562. EVENTS The Wexner Center for the Arts has announced its schedule of exhibits and programs for the coming year. Open exhibits are Hall of Mirrors: Art and Film Since 1945, punctuated by the mini film festival of the Library of Congress' National Film Registry Tour; Evidence, which brings together the work of eight international photographers who explore architecture and the built environment; and the new Theatrical Impulse series, which will bring to the center a variety of programs ranging from solo performances to plays to dance theater works by artists from around the world. The exhibits and the regularly scheduled Thursday and Saturday walk-in tours are free, as are most lectures. There are admission charges for film and most performances, but a membership program offers significant discounts and parking privileges for those who join. Membership levels begin at $46. Special exhibition tours can be arranged for groups of eight or more by contacting the Wexner Center's education department, which also is offering Teachers at the Center, a series of monthly workshops for teachers to offer innovative ways of introducing the art of our time into classroom curriculum. Darnell Lautt, Wexner Center, 292-0330. The Office of Minority Affairs will host a Welcoming Celebration for the third group of Young Scholars Program freshmen and their parents on Sept. 22 from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the Frank W. Hale Black Jr. Black Cultural Center. The Young Scholars Program gives first generation college- bound Ohio minority students a college education at little or no cost to the students. The goal of the program is to increase the number of underrepresented minority students at the college level with particular emphasis on African American, Latino American, Native American, and Appalachian students. Funding for the program comes from Ohio State, grants and other sources, including private donors. In 1994, 93 Young Scholars enrolled in Ohio State, and 180 Young Scholars entered in 1995. With this third entering class of 180 students, there will be 453 Young Scholars at Ohio State. Students are chosen in the sixth grade by a committee of educators in their hometowns based on a written essay, grades, and a standardized test. The participating cities are: Akron, Canton, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton, Lorain, Toledo and Youngstown. Charles Hancock, director of Young Scholars Program, 292-4884. High on Pride is a cooperative project among the university, the city of Columbus, the campus area neighborhood associations and the local property owners to clean up the neighborhood east of the Columbus campus. On Oct. 19 volunteers will clean streets, sidewalks, alleys and other public spaces in the area bounded by High Street on the west, Norwich Avenue on the north, the Conrail tracks on the east, and Ninth Avenue on the south. Volunteers are being sought from among Ohio State students, faculty and staff and from the neighborhood residents and property owners. They will pick up litter, remove bulk trash, sweep streets, collect recyclables and remove dead brush in two- hour shifts from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Volunteers are invited to enjoy food and music at a celebration to be held on the plaza in front of the Wexner Center for the Arts beginning at 9 a.m. High on Pride University Clean Up is part of Ohio State's ongoing effort to improve the safety and livability of the neighborhoods surrounding the campus. It gives everyone a chance to participate in the partnership and to gain a better sense of community. To volunteer, call the High on Pride line at 688-DIRT (688-3478). Tracy Turner, University Communications, 688-3682. The annual Farm Science Review will be held Sept. 17 to 19 at the Molly Caren Agricultural Cnter, located 30 miles west of Columbus on U.S. 40 near London. From 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day, visitors can see displays by some 600 agricultural exhibitors, and attend some of the more than 100 educational demonstrations and presentations. The educational programs feature information on everything from cancer prevention, stress reduction, and healthy eating tips to fruit trees, flowers and farm safety. Suzanne Steel, College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences, 292-9637. Tickets are available now for the Department of Theatre's 1996-97 season. The seven-production season opens Oct.30 with Steven Dietz's surreal docu-drama God's Country. The plays continue with The Importance of Being Earnest, about two men- about-town, each feigning to be someone he is not; A Kind of Alaska, the story of a woman who has lost her identity; Family Voices, the saga of a young man who tries to break free of the restraints of his abusive parents; Ah Wilderness, a nostalgic look at the lives of a newspaper publisher and his family on Independence day 1906; Wedding Band, an interracial love story; and the Merry Wives of Windsor, a classic tale of a man in search of love. After Thursday performances, the cast and director will be on hand for discussions with the audience. For ticket information, call the box office at 292-2295 during business hours. Students will celebrate Homecoming Week Oct. 6-12 with a Mardi Gras, Buckeye Style. Festivities begin with a 5k Run for Funds to benefit the American Red Cross. Other activities during the week include Fat Tuesday aerobics on the Oval, a homecoming concert with Blessed Union of Souls, a parade with alumni Butch Reynolds and Erin Moriarty as grand marshals, a pep rally, a masquerade ball, and the Oct. 12 football game between Ohio State and Wisconsin. Brenda Fields, 292-2324. # Written by Tracy Turner, University Communications, (614) 688- 3682. [Submitted by: Von Reid-Vargas (ereid@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu) Mon, 16 Sep 1996 13:06:51 -0400] All documents are the responsibility of their originator.