THEATER ARTIST JULIE TAYMOR FEATURED IN MAJOR RETROSPECTIVE AT THE WEXNER CENTER--Sept. 18-Jan. 2. Launching its 10th anniversary season, the Wexner Center will present a major exhibition of the work of artist Julie Taymor, the pioneering director of a host of stunning stage and film productions, including Disney’s The Lion King. Julie Taymor: Playing with Fire, on exhibit Sept. 18-Jan. 2, will examine the trajectory of Taymor’s creative imagination over the past 25 years—from her roots in Indonesian theater through her many notable productions in the non-profit theater world to her recent triumph as a Tony Award-winning director on Broadway. Taymor’s multiple talents— designer of costumes, sets, masks, and puppets, and director of theater, opera and film—make her an especially fitting subject for the multidisciplinary Wexner Center.
CONTACT: Karen Simonian, Wexner Center, 292-9923 or 292-0330.

STUDENTS EXPLORE CAMPUS DURING WELCOME WEEK--Sept. 19-26. Nearly 50,000 students return to campus beginning Sunday (9/19) as Ohio State begins a new academic year. Welcome Week activities introduce faculty, staff and school traditions to new and returning students to Ohio State. Welcome Week activities start on Sept. 19 with move-in day. The Buckeye Prize Patrol will travel around campus, showering lucky students with prizes as they move into their residence halls. Here are a few highlights. For the complete Welcome Week schedule, visit its Web site at http://www.osu.edu/welcomeweek/index.html
SUNDAY (9/19) Residence Hall Move-In-9 a.m. to 11 p.m. See the logistical feat that has amazed thousands of OSU families as students arrive in Columbus and move into residence halls. Opening Welcome Leaders (OWLs) have trained long and hard to prepare themselves for carrying incoming students’ lava lamps and luggage up to their rooms. For information, call 292-8266. Officials strongly discourage motorists from driving through the campus area on Sunday. Many streets will be closed or restricted and officers will be controlling traffic at major intersections.
MONDAY (9/20) Community Commitment-9 a.m.-2 p.m. on the South Oval. Join more than 1,500 Ohio State and Columbus community members in this nationally recognized day of doing good. Registration begins on the South Oval at 9 a.m.; COTA buses will then depart for more than 40 community locations. After completing their service, participants will return for free T-shirts, lunch, and a post-service reflection at the Ohio Union Ballrooms.
Vice President Williams Softball Challenge-6 p.m. at the Women’s Varsity Softball Field, next to the Woody Hayes Athletic Facility. What began as an innocent game of softball has become the ultimate grudge match, pitting David Williams II, vice president for student and urban/community affairs, and his squad of faculty, staff and trustees against a team of students.
TUESDAY (9/21) President’s Convocation, 10:30-11:30 a.m. at St. John Arena. The President's Convocation is a celebration of the traditions that are a part of life at Ohio State.
The convocation is followed by the President’s Picnic and Buckeye Bash, noon-2:30 p.m. on the Oval. Students will follow the Ohio State Marching Band to the Oval and join President Kirwan for a picnic. There will be over 20 vendors with free food, music, balloons, prizes and entertainment.
Student Involvement Fair, noon-4 p.m. on the Oval. More than 500 student organizations, clubs, community service agencies, campus offices, and local and national businesses will show students all there is to do outside of the classroom at Ohio State. The event will feature prizes, music and entertainment, and hundreds of displays and exhibitions.
Wexner Center Student Party, 12-6 p.m. at Wexner Center plaza and galleries. The New Basics Brass Band will bring its earth-quaking jazz and funk to the plaza for a free concert, free food, a free T-shirt giveaway and other surprise prizes. Come inside and discover the finest contemporary art anywhere, like the multimedia exhibition of costumes, masks, puppets and Julie Taymor: Playing with Fire.
WEDNESDAY (9/22) CLASSES BEGIN. Students eat pizza and then vote to determine the “Preferred Pizza of Ohio State Students” at the 3rd Annual Pi Sigma Epsilon Welcome Week Pizza Challenge, 7-10 p.m. in Larkins Hall Exhibition Gym. Bizarre Bazaar, 8-11 p.m. in the 3rd Floor Lounge of the Ohio Union. Student Gender and Sexuality Services and the Welcome Week Steering Committee present this second annual social gathering with music, food, performances, activities, prizes, and loads of information.
THURSDAY (9/23) “Making College Count” with Patrick O’Brien, 6-7 p.m. in 131 Hitchcock Hall. It’s a program based on the book Making College Count, on how to succeed in and after college. Featured on MSNBC, Amazon.com, CNN Financial News, and USA Today Weekend, the program is built on seven years of research among educators, corporate and executive recruiters, company presidents, and students across the nation.
28th Annual Minority Graduate and Professional Student Orientation and Reception, 7-9:30 p.m. at the Holiday Inn on the Lane. As a part of this great Ohio State tradition, the featured speaker will be James A. Hefner, president of Tennessee State University. Registration begins at 6:30 p.m.
Scarlet Fever Pep Rally, 8 p.m. at St. John Arena, introduces students to Ohio State traditions including Brutus Buckeye, the marching band, sports teams and cheerleaders. Prizes galore will be given away, including scholarships, free room and board packages, airline tickets, OSU athletic events tickets, food and much more.
FRIDAY (9/23) OSU Street Fair, 4-8 p.m. on 15th Avenue between High Street and Pearl Alley. A section of 15th Avenue will be closed from noon-10 p.m. for the Street Fair, which offers students a chance to dance in the streets to some hot Latino tunes. In addition to some interactive games provided by Sega Gameworks, funky live bands, and exhibitions by several groups of student performers, the University-wide Council of Hispanic Organizations (UCHO) and the Organization of Hispanic Students in Engineering and Architecture (OHSEA) will offer Latin dance lessons, so you too can be en fuego on the dance floor.
The Second City, the Chicago-based comedy troupe that launched careers for many well-known comedians, performs at 7:30 p.m. at Mershon Auditorium. The event is free to Ohio State students.
University Honors & Scholars Center will hold its annual open house from 4-6 p.m. at Kuhn Honors & Scholars House, 220 W. 12th Ave.
SATURDAY (9/25) Commuter Student Pre-Game Tailgate Cookout, 10 a.m. until game time (Ohio State vs. University of Cincinnati) at Off-Campus and Commuter Student Services, 104 E. 15th Ave.
CONTACT: Matt Couch, Student Activities, 292-8763.

THE BEST WAY TO A STUDENT’S HEART INVOLVES FREE FOOD--Sept. 19- 26. Welcome Week offers students enough free food to feed them for a week. The biggest smorgasbord is the President’s Picnic/Buckeye Bash on Tuesday (9/21) on the Oval at noon. Here is an abbreviated list of free meals:
Sunday (9/19), pizza at St. John Arena at 3 p.m.
Monday (9/20), breakfast food at Blackburn House; pizza for Community Commitment participants, a cook-out at 4 p.m. at the south area residence halls and ice cream at Baker Hall at 7 p.m.
Tuesday (9/21), the President’s Picnic/Buckeye Bash from noon to 2:30 p.m. on the Oval is a free food feeding frenzy. There’s more free food at the Wexner Center’s open house from noon to 6 p.m. At 7 p.m., there’s ice cream at Barrett Hall and a barbecue at the Student Christian Fellowship house. At 8 p.m., Mack Hall has ice cream, Baker Hall has snacks and Lincoln Tower is throwing a House Party with free food.
Wednesday (9/22), stop for refreshments in the west campus parking lot 7 a.m.-3 p.m., bagels and orange juice in 12 academic buildings at 8 a.m., and refreshments at noon at the Hale Black Cultural Center. There’s ice cream at Hillel at 6 p.m., pizza at Larkins at 7 p.m. and a spread catered by the Ohio Union in the third floor lounge at 8 p.m.
Thursday (9/23), more refreshments in the west campus parking lot from 7 a.m.-3 p.m., ethnic food at the Ohio Union at noon, a picnic at Drackett Tower and Neilwood Gables at 4 p.m., and a cookout at Hillel at 6 p.m.
Friday (9/24), there’s free pizza at the Math Building at 11 a.m., a picnic at Mirror Lake Hollow at 5 p.m. and a Shabbat dinner at Hillel at 6:30 p.m.
Saturday (9/25), there’s a cookout at Off-Campus and Commuter Student Services at 10 a.m.
Sunday (9/26), there’s free food at Taylor Tower at 4 p.m. and at Morrill Tower at 5 p.m.
CONTACT: Matt Couch, Student Affairs, 292-8763.

FARM SCIENCE REVIEW CELEBRATES 37th YEAR--Sept. 21-23. Join more than 140,000 visitors Tuesday-Thursday for this three-day outdoor agricultural trade show. In addition to crop demonstrations, there will be over 600 commercial exhibitors representing about 4,000 equipment lines. And there are dozens of educational displays from Ohio State, government agencies and private industry.
CONTACT: Suzanne Steele, 292-9637 or at the review site, 740-852- 7821.

OHIO WILL MAKE E-COMMERCE HISTORY--Sept. 21. Ohio will become the first state to benchmark its readiness for the new 21st century economy as government, industry, education and business leaders announce the kickoff of ECom-Ohio at a news conference at 11 a.m. on Tuesday (9/21) in the Ohio Statehouse Atrium. ECom-Ohio will assess Ohio’s readiness for global electronic commerce, examining issues ranging from adequacy of network infrastructure to how Ohio citizens’ demand for e-services is increasing. The Governor’s Office, the Ohio Board of Regents, the Ohio Supercomputer Center, and leaders from major Ohio industries and universities will participate in the announcement.
CONTACT: Stacy Wood, Ohio Supercomputer Center, 292-6067; swood@osc.edu

The person listed as the contact for each item will have the best information about the story. Call on our news services staff for assistance with these or other Ohio State news stories--Amy Murray, 292-8385; Ruth Gerstner, 292-8424; Emily Caldwell, 292-8309; and Karissa Shivley, 292-8295.
*Compiled by Amy Murray, University Communications, (Murray- Goedde.1@osu.edu).