Fall semester brings new calendar, new majors and new programs to Ohio State
The Ohio State University kicks off the 2012 academic year with new programs, trends and majors for its students. The new semester begins Aug. 22, 2012.
Student offerings include a number of new academic programs, events and initiatives, as well as new facilities. Highlights include new majors in sustainability, public health, and air transportation, as well as additional study abroad opportunities and enhanced resources to enrich the student experience.
New majors and minors
New major in social sciences air transportation. The College of Arts and Sciences, in collaboration with Ohio State’s Center for Aviation Studies, has launched the new Social Sciences Air Transportation Major. The core of the new BA program includes an introduction to the transportation industry, the science of physical conditions, aircraft and flight, as well as an introduction to the social, economic and political considerations that help to explain the regulations and other measures of industry structure. CONTACT: Rick McClish, undergraduate advisor, Department of Geography, mcclish.10@osu.edu, or Professor Becky Mansfield, mansfield.32@osu.edu.
New major in sustainability. Beginning this fall, undergraduate students at Ohio State University with an interest in sustainability can put their passion into practice by choosing a new sustainability major. The new Environment, Economy, Development and Sustainability (EEDS) major (http://eeds.osu.edu) is being offered jointly by the Department of Agricultural, Environmental, and Development Economics (AEDE) and the School of Environment and Natural Resources. Both are part of Ohio State's College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences.
The major provides students interested in the business, economic and social aspects of sustainability with the tools necessary for a career in the public, private or nonprofit sectors. SEE: http://eeds.osu.edu.
New major in public health. This fall marks the debut of Ohio State’s Bachelor of Science in Public Health (BSPH), the first undergraduate major in the College of Public Health. The BSPH focuses on public health issues in the US and internationally. The program will expand learners’ knowledge and comprehension of issues affecting humans worldwide. BSPH students will select one of two interdisciplinary specializations: Public Health Sociology and Environmental Public Health. Graduates will be qualified for early career, entry-level positions in public health agencies and other public or private organizations. However, the major will also prepare students for graduate programs in any health sciences discipline.
The new degree program was developed in response to an increased need and demand for highly educated and trained public health professionals. (The Association of Schools of Public Health reports that by 2020, 250,000 more public health workers will be needed; and 23 percent of the current workforce – almost 110,000 workers – are eligible to retire this year.) CONTACT: Christine O’Malley, College of Public Health, (614) 247-4325.
New major in neuroscience. The College of Arts and Sciences and the College of Medicine has launched the new Neuroscience Major, involving faculty from psychology, biology, genetics, chemistry/biochemistry, statistics, computer science, engineering and mathematics. Undergraduates will be taught by top experts in their fields and be able to work in one of 68 neuroscience research labs – producing ground-breaking work on brain imaging, Alzheimer’s Disease, schizophrenia, drug addiction, Parkinson’s Disease, brain cancer, multiple sclerosis, spinal cord injury and sensory processing. CONTACT: Charlie Campbell, campbell.601@osu.edu.
New associate degree in renewable energy.Beginning in the fall, students in Ohio State’s Agricultural Technical Institute at Wooster can enroll in a new renewable energy associate of science degree. There are two specializations – solar/wind energy and bioenergy. The degree allows students to complete approximately 50 percent of the requirements for a Bachelor of Science degree in agriculture at Ohio State. SEE: http://ati.osu.edu/majors/renewable_energy.shtml
New major in religious studies. As religion continues to be a major force shaping cultural, political and ethical debates around the world, the Department of Comparative Studies has established a new major in religious studies for autumn 2012 to provide students an opportunity to examine all the world’s religions from a variety of theoretical and comparative perspectives. They will have an opportunity to study religion through the insights of literary studies, ethnography, historiography, social analysis and cultural comparison. The new major draws on expertise from comparative studies, Greek and Latin, history, history of art, women’s studies and many other programs. CONTACT: Professor Thomas Kasulis, kasulis.1@osu.edu.
New minor in oral Jewish history. The Melton Center for Jewish Studies announces a first of its kind new minor in Oral Jewish History, starting fall semester. Oral history is a tremendously powerful and important tool in today’s world of Jewish Studies. Projects such as Steven Spielberg’s Shoah Foundation Institute Visual History project seek to preserve the memories and testimonies of Europe’s last Jewish survivors. Others are using oral history recordings to learn from elderly Jews about the generation of European immigrants to the United States and the lives of Jews in Palestine during the British Mandate and the early State of Israel. CONTACT: Lori Fireman, fireman.2@osu.edu, (614) 292-0700.
Creating an outstanding academic experience
Medical students will use new curriculum. The new College of Medicine class of 2016 is the first to learn under the college’s new curriculum. The way students are taught in medical school curriculum has not changed in 100 years. This new curriculum is innovative by adapting to new changes in medicine, patient care and policy in order to shape the physician of the future.
Students gain hands-on experience early in the program through a longitudinal, practice-based clinical service that offers opportunities to apply classroom knowledge to actual patient situations.
The curriculum is unique to the Ohio State University College of Medicine. There may be pieces and concepts throughout this curriculum that are being used by other institutions throughout the country, however, the combination of a competency-based curriculum with early clinical experiences and individualized learning is not being implemented on this scale at any other institution. SEE: http://medicine.osu.edu/students/lsi_curriculum/pages/index.aspx.
The U.S. and European World War II academic study tour program (spring 2013). The Department of History’s new five-course WWII study-tour program beginning spring, 2013, puts Ohio State in the vanguard of such programs nationally. http://history.osu.edu/courses/wwii-study-tour The use of World War II battlefields as history teaching tools has never before been conceived on such a comprehensive scale: a semester-long, four-course program, followed by a three-week tour of battle sites, cemeteries, memorials, monuments and museums in London, Normandy, Paris and Berlin. SEE: https://artsandsciences.osu.edu/news/historys-european-wwii-tour-for-alumni-friends-showcases-new-undergraduate-program CONTACT: Professor David Steigerwald, Steigerwald.2@osu.edu.
New Archaeological field school in Italy. The Department of Anthropology and the University of Pisa have established the Field School in Medieval Archaeology and Bioarchaeology at Badia Pozzeveri (Lucca, Italy). Students will be trained by experts from Ohio State and the University of Pisa in archaeological and bioarchaeological field methods. Due to its religious and historical importance, this site is particularly interesting because it will allow students of archaeology and anthropology to reconstruct the biocultural complexity in the region surrounding Lucca in the Middle Ages, shedding light on monastic subsistence, interregional trade and pilgrimage dynamics. CONTACT: Giuseppe Vercellotti, vercellotti.2@osu.edu. SEE:http://www.fieldschoolpozzeveri.org/
College of Social Work uses novel approach to design semester curriculum. Recent changes to social work accrediting standards and the semester conversion prompted the College of Social Work to envision a new curriculum. The direction was clear: The curriculum should be informed by the practice community and others with knowledge of current issues and guided by best practices in the field. As a result, the college held sessions with practitioners, faculty, students and staff to identify themes and priorities for the semester curriculum design. The result: A new, extremely dynamic curriculum. Graduates of the College of Social Work will be better prepared to provide leadership and scholarship in ways that fulfill the college’s mission to “Embrace difference. Seek justice. Be the change.” CONTACT: Frankie Jones-Harris, jones-harris.1@osu.edu, (614) 292-3540 or (614) 330-2206.
College of Social Work embraces technology, provides iPads for faculty and staff. This fall semester, the College of Social Work is putting instructors to the test in their newest learning technology project, part of the university’s new Digital First plan. iPads were provided to faculty and staff college-wide in February, along with collaborative training sessions. Teaching, research, community practice and productivity are the focus areas for the initiative. Cultural and pedagogical changes are already present at this early stage in the project. From online course development to interdepartmental community growth and work in the field, faculty and staff are heavily invested into using iPads as an innovative resource to benefit their students. This College of Social Work project is part of the larger university plan to embrace technology as part of the learning experience. Read more and view video at http://ocio.osu.edu/blog/community/2012/03/22/social-work-embraces-technology-provides-ipads-for-faculty-and-staff. CONTACT: Frankie Jones-Harris, jones-harris.1@osu.edu, (614) 292-3540 or (614) 330-2206.
Wexner Center installs 4K digital production. In July, the Wexner Center began installing new digital projection equipment in its Film/Video Theater, enabling it to show a variety of high-definition, digital formats. With installation complete, the Wexner Center is one of only a few theaters in the country that can play a variety of HD formats in 4K as well as the full range of film formats, including 8mm, 16mm, 35mm and 70mm. The first 4K presentation will be on Sept. 1 with the screening of Sony’s recent 4K restoration of The Guns of Navarone (1961). CONTACT: Karen Simonian, ksimonian@wexarts.org or (614) 292-9923.
Exploring the culture of Brazil. This fall, the Wexner Center launches Via Brasil, its multidisciplinary, four-year initiative focusing on the vibrant culture of Brazil and supported in part by a nearly $800,000 grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. This focus on Brazil complements and supports Ohio State’s overarching international strategies, including the university’s program of establishing international Global Gateway offices in key parts of the world, including one in São Paulo, Brazil, which will open in 2014. Since receiving the grant, center curators and educators have been engaged in advance planning with Brazilian artists, curators and critics, as well as with Ohio State colleagues whose teaching or research connects with Brazilian culture. The Wexner Center’s Brazil programs will come to full fruition in 2014, with two major exhibitions, a film series, a concentration of performing arts and education events, and a book publication planned for that year. In the meantime, the project will launch in September with a visit by filmmaker Kleber Mendonça Filho on September 13 to kick off an ongoing monthly series of Brazilian films, a concert by São Paulo Underground on September 23, and a video by Pablo Lobato screening in the Box throughout the month. CONTACT: Karen Simonian, ksimonian@wexarts.org or (614) 292-9923.
OSU Airport’s Aviation Explorer Post Growing in Popularity. Last year, 35 students participated in the Aviation Exploring program. Explorers meet once or twice a month to learn about the many facets of the aviation industry. Participants have the opportunity to learn from certificated flight instructors, airport managers, aviation and aerospace engineers, and other aviation professionals in the Central Ohio area as they progress toward their Career Achievement Award. Activities that students can participate in include: simulator lessons; introductory flights; facility tours; ground courses; and demonstrations.
There will be an open house for people interested in the Aviation Exploring program for 2012/13 on September 26 from 6:30-8:30 p.m. in Hangar 1 at the OSU Airport, 2160 West Case Road,
Columbus. For more information about Aviation Explorer Post 2009, please contact Jonathon Denison, jdenison@osuairport.org.
Programs and Resources
May Session brings new opportunities to study abroad. With the addition of May Session, Ohio State students can spend four weeks studying abroad in the newly designed Global May programs. These study abroad programs are specifically intended for first and second year students of any major and focus on the history, culture, current events and major issues of one specific region. Global May programs are led by Ohio State faculty and instruction is in English. Students can go to Brazil, England, China, Mexico, Hungary or Uganda. CONTACT: Maureen Miller, Office of International Affairs, at (614) 307-0062 or miller.4468@osu.edu.
Ohio State expands resources for military and veteran students, earns national recognition. This year, more than 2,000 military & veteran students, and their family members, are expected to attend The Ohio State University – reflecting a national trend of the increase in college attendance through the Post-911 GI Bill. To better serve this group of students, Ohio State is launching the new Office of Military and Veterans Services. The goal of the office is to assist students with accessing their educational benefits and the university academic resources they need for success. Specific programs, such as military & veteran orientations, focused academic counseling, and the education of faculty & staff on military student issues, will be hallmarks of this new effort. Additionally, this office will partner with external agencies / resources such as the local Veterans Administration and the State Department of Veterans Services to ease the transition from military member to civilian and college student.
Ohio State’s military and veterans programs continue to earn national recognition. For example, the university is one of the initial 50 universities nationwide to sign the “Got Your 6” pledge in cooperation with the Tillman Foundation, the National Student Veterans of America (Ohio State’s chapter is “Vets4Vets”), and Operation College Promise. With this pledge, the university articulated its dedication to enhancing resources, programs and policies to support our student veteran populations. Similarly, Ohio State has been named by G.I. Jobs magazine as one of the nation’s top “Military Friendly Schools” for three years running, 2010-2012 (ranking the university in the top 15% nationally). That designation is expected again this year. CONTACT: Mike Carrell, carrell.8@osu.edu.
Ohio State debuts a new way to connect students with careers. Buckeye Careers is a university-wide initiative designed to support students’ academic success, professional development and career exploration, with a strong focus on connecting them to internship and employment opportunities with local, national and global organizations, as well as applying to graduate school.
For undergraduate, graduate and professional students, it works in collaboration with all university career services to offer a customized approach for resources and services - from selecting a major to identifying an internship, to searching for employment opportunities and starting a career. For employers, Buckeye Careers offers a single portal for communicating job opportunities directly to Ohio State students. For more information, visit www.careers.osu.edu.
New buildings and renovations
Olentangy River transformation set to begin. A first step in the implementation of one the defining recommendations of the One University Framework Plan ,will begin in late August when the city of Columbus mobilizes to remove the 5th Avenue Dam in the Olentangy River. The city has notified Ohio State that work may ramp up quickly and could include the first phase of the dam removal by August 24. Small sections of the dam will be removed in two phases to gradually lower the water level and minimize any potential downstream impacts. The second section of dam removal and water lowering will occur about one week after the first.
The dam removal and river restoration project area runs along the river throughout campus, from approximately 5th Avenue to just north of Lane Avenue. While it’s not completely clear what will be revealed as water levels are lowered, you should expect to see significantly more of the exposed river bed. In line with environmental requirements and coordination efforts for access to the river corridor, the actual restoration efforts will be occurring throughout the next two years, but you likely will not notice these efforts until the summer of 2013.
Ohio State is contributing $2 million to the $6.9 million project for the restoration of the river corridor, which is expected to become one of our university’s most iconic spaces during the next 100 years. Information about the project and its environmental benefits and history is available on the city’s website. Ohio State will be working closely with the city to understand the timing and will provide details about the project and updates along the way through go43210.osu.edu.
Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering and Chemistry Building. The new Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering and Chemistry Building (CBEC) is slated for completion in 2014. https://chemistry.osu.edu/cbec The 235,000 square-foot building, located in the heart of Ohio State’s science and engineering neighborhood, will accommodate 42 faculty members and their research teams in spaces designed to promote comprehensive, interdisciplinary research at the interface of chemical science and engineering. CONTACT: Professor Susan Olesik, olesik.1@osu.edu
Planetarium. When Ohio State’s Planetarium re-opens to the public in late fall, 2012, it will be a true 21st Century facility, providing incredible star shows made possible by its new Spitz SciDome XD, the latest in digital projection technology. http://planetarium.osu.edu The XD uses two projectors to display more than 6.5 million pixels onto the planetarium dome. Ohio State’s Planetarium is one of only four institutions in the nation to install this state-of-the-art equipment. Visitors will be able to see the night sky from anywhere on Earth, planetary surfaces and the solar system, the latest images and movies from NASA spacecraft, and how the skies looked millions of years ago--and will look millions of years in the future. CONTACT: Associate Professor Jennifer Johnson, Johnson.3064@osu.edu. SEE: https://artsandsciences.osu.edu/news/eye-on-the-sky-the-department-of-astronomy%E2%80%99s-planetarium-getting-major-facelift
Renovated Sullivant Hall to open in 2013. Sullivant Hall, home of the Department of Dance and the Music/Dance Library, is currently undergoing a major transformation to create more visibility and better spaces for students. For the Department of Dance, the crown jewel of the building will be a state-of-the-art, flexible performance space in the center of the building on the third floor. The roof is being raised to provide natural light during the day and a dynamic black box performance space at night. Four newly designed studios on the west end of the building will be added above three current studios on the second floor.
Sullivant Hall will also be the new home for the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library and Museum, the departments of dance and art education and the Advanced Computing Center for the Arts and Design.
Ohio State alumnus and entertainment industry leader, Lawrence Barnett, committed $6 million to the College of Arts and Sciences to support the extensive renovations in Sullivant Hall and to establish the multi-disciplinary Lawrence and Isabel Barnett Center for Integrated Arts and Enterprise there. CONTACT: Susan Petry, Department of Dance, petry.37@osu.edu.
Hopkins Hall renovation nearly complete. Hopkins Hall is undergoing a complete, two-year, two-phase renovation that is expected to be completed in autumn 2012. On the outside, the brick exterior of the 52-year-old building has been replaced with walls of glass. On the inside, the entire structure has been reconfigured to create brightly lit and more effective use of space for artists, all with a nod to sustainability and energy efficiency. The most noticeable interior improvement is the abundance of natural light, thanks to self-supporting glass “curtain walls” that encase two entire facades of the building.
In addition, Hopkins Hall is going green. The building will seek a Silver LEED Certification. CONTACT: Sergio Soave, chair, Department of Art, soave.1@osu.edu.
Events
Ohio State hosts international environmental conference. More than 1,500 delegates from 75 countries will visit Columbus and Ohio State for EcoSummit 2012 Sept. 30-Oct. 5. The weeklong EcoSummit brings together the world's most respected minds in ecological science to discuss restoring the planet's ecosystems. It is the first time the EcoSummit has been held in North America. In addition to the academic conference, delegates will participate in mid-conference field trips to central-Ohio ecological sites. http://www.ecosummit2012.org/.
Wexner Center offers arts lineup. The Wexner Center for the Arts offers campus and the Columbus community national shows, including:
*Annie Liebovitz exhibition. September 22 to December 30, the Wexner Center for the Arts, 1871 N. High St., will devote the entirety of its gallery space to Annie Leibovitz, a major presentation of the photographer’s work. The exhibition features more than 200 photographs, including portraits of several artists. The bulk of the exhibition will consist of works from Leibovitz’s “Master Set,” an authoritative edition of 156 images she personally chose in the spring of 2009. The Wexner Center is the first institution to have the opportunity to exhibit the Master Set as a whole. The presentation will be augmented by recent work from Leibovitz’s “Pilgrimage” project, a series of photographs of interiors, landscapes, and talismanic objects attached to historical figures—Abraham Lincoln, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Emily Dickinson, Georgia O’Keeffe, and Elvis Presley, among others.
*Bebe Miller Company world premiere and exhibition. This fall, The Ohio State University’s Wexner Center for the Arts and Urban Arts Space offer points of entry into the work of choreographer Bebe Miller, faculty member in the Department of Dance and artistic director of the Bebe Miller Company. Miller was recently named one of America’s most vital and productive performing artists in the first class of Doris Duke Artists, sharing a total of $5.775 million awarded in a new initiative of the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation. The Wexner Center will host the world premiere of Bebe Miller Company’s next major work, A History, September 27–30, 2012. The exhibition Bebe Miller: Tracing History, which complements the performance, will be on view August 23–September 29, 2012 at Urban Arts Space.
Wexner Center hosts garden market each Thursday. The Wexner Center’s chef’s garden, which provides Heirloom café with locally, sustainably grown fare is in full bloom, with vegetables and herbs ready for harvest. The garden supplies food and serves as an educational tool for the campus community on sustainable agricultural practices. In addition to the garden, the Wexner Center will host The Market at 15th & High every Thursday from August 23 through October 25. CONTACT: Karen Simonian, ksimonian@wexarts.org or (614) 292-9923.
SAFECON 2013 will compete at OSU Airport. The Ohio State University Airport will host the National Intercollegiate Flying Association’s National Safety and Flight Evaluation Conference from May 13th to May 18th, 2013. The conference is attended by more than 30 university flight teams from across the nation that compete for spots at regional competitions in the fall of 2012. Students will compete in a variety of competitions including computer-tested academic events, landing events, flight planning, and long-distance flight navigation competitions. There will also be events and displays that will be available to the general public related to all areas of the aviation industry. CONTACT: Jonathan Denison, (614) 292-7509 or jdenison@osuairport.org.
