9/15/98
OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY PREPARES FOR 1998-99 ACADEMIC YEAR
COLUMBUS -- From new programs and academic degrees to new
buildings and initiatives, many changes are in store for more
than 48,500 new and returning students to The Ohio State
University as the 128th academic year begins Sept. 23.
Although official figures will not be available for several
weeks, the Office of Admissions and Financial Aid anticipates a
larger number of students will be enrolled at the Columbus campus
than last year’s 48,278 total. Of these students, between 6,100
and 6,200 will be new, first-quarter freshmen.
Another 6,000 students will be arriving at Ohio State’s
other campuses at Lima, Mansfield, Marion and Newark, and at the
Agricultural Technical Institute in Wooster.
Some highlights of the new academic year follow.
IN THE COLLEGES
The College of the Arts has been awarded Academic Enrichment
Funds to support New Media Technologies in the Arts instructional
staff, equipment and software upgrades, and new faculty for a
joint position in the Department of Dance and the Advanced
Computing Center for the Arts and Design. New media technologies
have become an important aspect of the college’s academic
programming, with alumni working throughout the media technology
field from computer animation and special effects to universities
and conventional businesses. Karen Bell, 292-7977.
The Department of Art will host Colorprint U.S.A.: Spanning
the States in ‘98, a national exhibition of original prints on
view in Hopkins Hall Gallery from Nov. 8-Dec. 3. Artists
representing each of the 50 states will be on display. Lois
Foreman Wernet, director of communications, 292-8835.
The College of Biological Sciences will again send a plant
experiment into outer space as part of an experiment to study the
effect of an electrical field on plant growth in the absence of
gravity. This experiment is the first selected to be aboard the
First International Space Station and is funded by the Japanese
Space Agency and NASA.
The Department of Zoology has been renamed the Department of
Evolution, Ecology and Organismal Biology to reflect the changing
nature of biology and interests of faculty conducting research in
these areas.
Ground-breaking for the new Life Sciences Research Building
is scheduled for 1999. The building will house faculty from the
departments of Plant Biology, Entomology, and Evolution, Ecology
and Organismal Biology. Sandi Rutkowski, director of
communications, 292-4759.
The new Max M. Fisher College of Business has completed
Phase I of the complex, which includes Fisher and Gerlach halls.
The 370,000-square-foot complex is the largest multi-building
project ever undertaken by Ohio State. When completed, it will
feature a state-of-the-art computer network, satellite uplink
capabilities, video on demand and nearly 3,000 computer ports.
The $120 million total cost supports five academic buildings and
a separately funded executive residence. Phase II will open in
the fall of 1999 and will include Schoenbaum and Pfahl halls and
a business resource center. Melissa Lamb Peale, director of
marketing and communications, 292-8022.
In the College of Education, the Interprofessional
Commission and the Campus Collaborative are planning a working
conference Dec. 3-4 for persons involved in urban university and
community partnerships in Ohio. Professionals from urban areas
will share and explore ways to strengthen their work. Hal Lawson
and Katherine Briar-Lawson, professors of education and social
work at the University of Utah will lead the conference. Gemma
McLuckie, director of communications, 292-4658.
Some 15 pre-education undergraduate students in the Colleges
of the Arts and Sciences will participate in a one-year research
and development seminar, “Technology in Education,” to create a
Web-supported undergraduate course on technology in education
that will be part of the undergraduate education minor offered by
the College of Education. Some 40 graduate students are
currently enrolled in a Web-based graduate course on professional
development for educators. Keith Hall, 292-7836.
Freshman admission into the College of Engineering is 1,200
students for autumn quarter, up from 1,050 students in 1997 and
914 in 1996. The college will hold its engineering career expo
from noon to 5 p.m. Oct. 8 at French Field House. The job fair
will feature representatives from some 235 companies, and 2,000
students are expected to participate. Approximately half of the
companies have opted to stay an extra day and have on-campus
interviews. The College of Engineering Student Activities Fair will
be held on Oct. 16 in Smith Park from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Rain location
is the lobby of Hitchcock Hall. Information on engineering professional
societies and fraternal organizations will be available, as well as
members of the engineering student project team and their designs.
Katie McQuaid, 292-4565.
The Institute for Ergonomics will hold an open house Oct. 16
beginning at 11 a.m. in Baker Systems, 1971 Neil Ave. Consumer
advocate Ralph Nader will give a presentation on “Human-Centered
Design and Ergonomics” at 1:45 p.m. in Independence Hall, 1923
Neil Ave. The institute is working to consolidate efforts of
faculty who are working to find safer, productive ways for people
to work. Katie McQuaid, 292-4565.
The Graduate School will hold a university-wide orientation
for new graduate students Sunday (9/20) from noon to 4 p.m. in
University Hall, 230 N. Oval Mall. President Kirwan will give an
introductory address, and Susan Huntington, vice provost and dean
of the graduate school, will hold a briefing session on a range
of university services and resources.
A Graduate and Professional School Expo will be held Oct. 27
from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Ohio Union West Ballroom, 1739 N.
High St., to allow students the opportunity to meet with some 100
graduate and professional school representatives from Ohio State
and nationwide. Admissions and test preparation techniques will
be examined, and current Ohio State graduate and professional
students will discuss their experiences at Ohio State. Leila
Gardner, 292-5995.
In the College of Humanities, the Center for the Study of
Teaching and Writing received an academic enrichment award of
$100,000 to support writing and the instruction of writing. The
center provides consulting, tutoring and support services and
community outreach programs.
The Division of Comparative Studies now offers a major in
comparative studies in the areas of literature, folklore,
religious studies, science studies, and a minor in Asian American
studies.
The Max Kade German House enters its third year of providing
residency for nine undergraduate students and one graduate
student director. Students speak German, attend German language
lectures and view films, videos and German television. The Max
Kade Foundation sponsors the house and provides travel grants to
undergraduates who participate in the summer program in Dresden,
Germany. Bernd Fischer, 292-6985.
A grant received in the Department of Human Nutrition and
Food Management in the College of Human Ecology will allow
researchers to focus on how the levels of antioxidants zinc,
copper and vitamin E in the body affect health and disease
status. Robert DiSilvestro, professor, 292-6848.
The Department of Consumer and Textile Sciences has formed a
new partnership with Lincoln Financial Advisors to create a
financial management program for students to prepare for careers
as professional financial planners. Students will cover money
management basics, mutual funds and retirement planning.
Jonathan Fox, 292-4561.
The Historic Costume and Textiles Collection will host an
Oct. 8 black tie gala opening of the collection’s newest
exhibition: Scaasi: The Joy of Dressing Up. The event features
dinner or dessert, the exhibition opening and a meeting with
Arnold Scaasi, the New York couture designer. Gayle Stege,
curator, 292-3090.
In the College of Law, students who earn 15 hours of credit
in specified courses and complete an externship will be awarded a
certificate in dispute resolution when they receive their Juris
Doctor Degree. Dispute resolution provides a method for private
parties, businesses and public agencies to reach a decision that
satisfies everyone. Mediation and arbitration is also
accomplished with lawyers serving as a neutral third party.
A symposium on the Implications of Welfare Reform for
Children will be held March 12 & 13, 1999. Katherine H. Federle,
director of the Children's Rights Clinic, is organizing the
conference. Liz Cutler Gates, director of communications, 292-
0283.
A new Master of Science Entry Level Degree Program has been
added in the College of Nursing to support the growing demand for
high-quality advanced practice nurses by allowing students with
undergraduate degrees in non-nursing disciplines to complete a
graduate degree in nursing in three years of full-time study.
The goal of the program is to prepare graduates for advanced
practice nursing in private practices, clinics, hospitals,
managed care organizations and governmental agencies.
Nursing faculty members will provide health screening,
consultation, and information to faculty and staff as part of
Ohio State’s Faculty and Staff Wellness Program. The program will
provide health promotion and primary prevention with a focus on
cardiovascular risk reduction. Sharon Hatem, alumni projects
coordinator, 292-0596.
A new degree program in the College of Pharmacy, the entry-
level Doctor of Pharmacy degree, will begin with 50 students
autumn quarter. The program reflects the new standard of
pharmaceutical care in the profession that places emphasis on
assuring positive outcomes for medication therapy.
Construction of a building addition has been completed on
the southwest corner of Parks Hall. It includes a model
pharmacy, which will serve as an extension of the Pharmaceutical
Care Clinic located in the Medical Center’s outpatient clinic
building. Kenneth Hale, assistant dean, 292-2266.
A survey of Ohio’s spiders is under way at The Ohio State
University-Marion campus. The first such research conducted
since 1924, the research hopes to determine which species exist
in the state, how common certain spiders are and where they are
found. So far 516 species have been identified, up from 306
reported in 1924. Rich Bradley, professor, (740) 389-6786.
Construction began on a 10,500-square-foot building that
will house maintenance offices and equipment, provide a new
shipping and receiving center and create additional storage
space. The cost is $1.2 million and is scheduled for completion
in spring 1999. Don Lair, business office, (740) 389-6786.
At The Ohio State University-Mansfield campus, Campus
Village Apartments, a new 98-unit student apartment complex is
complete. The complex features fully furnished, two- and five-
bedroom units with computer and telephone hook-ups in each
privately secured bedroom and a lighted pathway between the
apartments and academic buildings.
The Bromfield Library, shared by Ohio State Mansfield and
North Central Technical College, is under renovation. The
circulation desk will be moved to a more central location, and
areas will be redesigned to allow for an increase in library
offerings. The work is expected to be done by November. Rodger
C. Smith, public relations, (419) 755-4215.
FACULTY, STAFF, STUDENTS AND COMMUNITY SERVICES
Campus Partners is completing a year-long study of
implementation measures to improve the vitality of High Street in
the University District. These measures are currently being
reviewed by the University Area Commission and other neighborhood
entities and may be taken to Columbus City Council late this
fall. The proposed measures include:
- Establishment of a parking authority to create and manage
parking facilities, as well as other circulation and parking
improvements;
- Adoption of development standards and design guidelines to
enhance the urban character of High Street;
- Formation of a special improvement district (also known as
a “business improvement district”) to provide a higher level of
“clean and safe” services for the area around High Street;
- Identification of potential sites for private investment
in new or renovated buildings;
- Development of the area around 11th Avenue and High Street
as the University Gateway Center, a major redevelopment project
with retail, entertainment, office space, mixed-income rental
housing and a parking structure.
Campus Partners has issued a “request for qualifications” to
identify private developers with the experience to develop the
University Gateway Center. Campus Partners currently owns about
one-third of the 7.5 acres to be assembled for the project. Steve
Sterrett, community relations director, 294-7300.
The Ohio State University Libraries provides the full text
of more than 1,400 academic journals. New issues are added
regularly. Publishers included are American Chemical Society,
American Institute of Physics, American Physical Institute,
Institute of Physics, Project Muse (Johns Hopkins University
Press), JSTOR (Historical backfiles of academic societies), and
the Elsevier and Academic Press titles provided through OhioLINK.
Additional journal publishers and titles are added regularly.
The full text of these journals may be reached through the
Libraries Homepage: http://www.lib.ohio-state.edu. Gay N.
Dannelly, assistant director for collections, 292-6151.
The Education, Human Ecology, Psychology and Social Work
Library has moved into the Undergraduate Library in Sullivant
Hall, 1813 N. High St. It will offer 24 public computers with
access to the Ohio State and OhioLINK catalogs, and expanded
hours seven days a week, closing Sunday through Thursday at
midnight.
The University Registrar has expanded its on-line
registration service to help students avoid lines and phone calls
by using their personal computers to review the Master Schedule
and Course Offerings, check on their course requests and wait-
list status, view grades and approved schedule, and evaluate
their degree progress. Students can check these services at
WWW.ureg.ohio-state.edu. Students may also request an advising
report or a degree audit. Information is available regarding
how to order transcripts and clear holds. Faculty may access an
advising report or a degree audit for a specific student, request
a room, view final exam schedules, or find information about
downloading class rosters and uploading grades. Connie M.
Goodman, 292-7685.
Students can shorten the time it takes to graduate by taking
advantage of the Credit by Examination program administered by
the university registrar. With approval by the appropriate
academic unit, students may earn up to 45 quarter hours of
examination credit. Beth Venter, assistant to the registrar,
292-5684.
The Jerome Schottenstein Center will open Oct. 28 and serve
as the new home for Ohio State basketball and hockey, as well as
host site for concerts, family shows and touring productions.
Located on the northwest corner of Lane Avenue and Olentangy
River Road, the 21,000 seat building will also serve as a
learning laboratory for Ohio State students to learn facility
management, entertainment business and leadership skills. The
total cost for the building is $105 million.
A new walkway has been built in the Chadwick Arboretum to
accommodate the increased foot traffic resulting from the Jerome
Schottenstein Center. Janet Oberliesen, 292-4678.
The University Bookstore on Millikin Road will have extended
hours the first week of classes, opening one half-hour earlier to
better serve students. The temporary daily hours are Monday-
Thursday from 7:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 5
p.m. Robert Carlson, director, 292-2991.
The Division of Traffic, Parking and Transportation will
offer faster, more efficient service on the Columbus campus, with
clocks at three bus stops that provide arrival times of the
buses.
A celebration will be held at the west campus parking lots
Sept. 23-24 from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. to welcome students who elect
to park on west campus and ride the bus to and from classes.
Staff will issue parking permits, answer questions and provide
assistance. Beth Kelley, associate director, 292-9944.
The new Lane Avenue Park is nearing completion and will open
to students, faculty and staff in the spring of 1999. The 40
acre recreational and intramural sports complex on the southwest
corner of Lane Avenue and Kenny Road is a three-tiered park with
three lakes and will be home to 20 recreational activities. The
total cost for the project is $3.2 million. Work began on the
park in May 1997 to allow a summer growing period for the grass.
The park has already been awarded a merit award from the American
Society of Landscape Architects. Bruce Maurer, associate
director of recreational sports, 292-7671.
EVENTS
The annual Farm Science Review will be held Sept. 22-24 at
the Molly Caren Agricultural Center, 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,
292-2011.
The Parent Association will host its annual Parents’ Weekend
Oct. 23-25, when students and their families can go to classes
together, tour campus and have Sunday brunch with President
Kirwan. Parents can tour Ohio Stadium, search campus for “Hidden
Treasures,” or enjoy an evening of swing with dance lessons and
Big Band music by the Ohio State Student band. Bill Wahl,
director, Parent Association, 292-9135.
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. 24 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 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. This effort gives everyone
a chance to participate in the partnership and to gain a better
sense of community. Tracy Turner, University Communications,
688-3682.
Students will celebrate Homecoming week Oct. 14-17 with the
theme “Show me the Buckeyes.” Homecoming festivities begin Oct.
14 at 11 a.m. with a shed building project on the Oval for
Habitat for Humanity. Other activities during the week include
Buckeye Blast Oct. 15 from 8 to 10:30 p.m. in St. John Arena
featuring the Ohio State Marching Band, cheerleaders and Brutus
Buckeye; and a pre-game spirit tunnel and parade Oct. 17 on North
High Street; followed by the football game between Ohio State and
Minnesota. Student Activities, 292-8763.
The Office of Minority Affairs will host a Welcoming
Celebration for the fifth group of Young Scholars Program
freshmen Sept. 22 from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Holiday Inn on the
Lane, 328 W. Lane Ave. Several campus dignitaries will be on
hand to welcome the scholars and their parents.
The Young Scholars Program prepares first generation need-
based Ohio minority students for a college education and offers
financial aid to those who choose Ohio State. 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.
In 1994, 93 Young Scholars enrolled in Ohio State, 180 in
1995, 181 in 1996, and 190 in 1997. With this fifth entering
class of 82 students, there will be 397 Young Scholars at Ohio
State. Students are chosen in the sixth grade, based on a
written essay, grades and a standardized test by a committee of
educators in their hometowns: Akron, Canton, Cincinnati,
Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton, Lorain, Toledo and Youngstown.
Floyd Hodoh, public relations coordinator, Young Scholars
Program, 688-3739.
Tickets are available now for the Department of Theatre’s
1998-99 season. The season opens Oct. 8 with a special pre-
season performance of The Tempest by William Shakespeare. The
plays continue with The Bacchae of Euripides: A Communion Rite,
based on the Greek tragedy which pits ecstatic religious
possession against a bloodless, repressed authoritarianism; Lost
in Yonkers, by Neil Simon; Feral Music, a new vision of notions
of language, creativity and crass human greed; The Misanthrope, a
story of the struggles of Alceste to live a life of integrity in
Los Angeles; Breaking the Current, a solo performance of mime and
movement; The Love of the Nightingale, based on the Greek myth of
Philomele and Tereus; Angels in America - Part One: Millennium
Approaches, an epic that deals with issues of the coming century;
Female Parts: One Woman Plays, a series of monologues about
women’s role in society; and Fen, a story about a gang of women
landworkers. After Thursday performances, the cast and director
will be on hand for discussions with the audience. For ticket
information, call the theater box office at 292-2295 during
business hours.
The Wexner Center for the Arts has announced its schedule of
exhibits and programs for the coming year. Open exhibits are Body
Mecanique: Artistic Explorations of Digital Realms, a series of
works that examines the relationship between the human body and
recent technological developments in the digital and electronic
media; On the Table: A Succession of Collections 3, which
explores the shift from heavily ornamented to more abstract forms
in 20th-century American design through a focused selection of
tables and place settings; David Reed Paintings: Motion Pictures,
paintings by one of the most highly regarded abstract painters;
Rirkrit Tiravanija, conceptual installation art; Willem de
Kooning: Drawing Seeing/Seeing Drawing, a view of his working
process and reinvention of mark making; and Self-taught Artists
of the 20th Century: An American Anthology, works by Grandma
Moses, Horace Pippin, Martin Ramirez, Morris Hirshfield and
others.
The exhibits and the regularly scheduled Thursday walk-in
tours are free, as are most lectures. There are admission
charges for films and most performances, but a membership program
offers significant discounts and parking privileges for those who
join. Membership levels begin at $40.
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 curricula.
Darnell Lautt, Wexner Center, 292-0330.
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Written by Tracy Turner, University Communications, (614) 688-
3682.