Story Ideas for Media 10/3/12

News

Ohio State launches $2.5 billion fundraising effort with gala event and special concert for students. Oct. 4. The Ohio State University will launch But for Ohio State: The Campaign for The Ohio State University, with a special celebration at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 4, in the Ohio Union, 1739 N. High St.

Through the campaign, Ohio State intends to raise $2.5 billion. The campaign, which will sustain and advance Ohio State as an institution that changes lives, is the largest fundraising endeavor in the university’s history.

Approximately 700 friends of the university are expected to attend the kick-off of Ohio State’s fundraising campaign. The event will feature prominent alumni from across the nation, highlighting their stories about how Ohio State helped them become leaders in their field and address issues impacting the world.

As part of the celebration, a free outdoor concert will be held on the Oval for students, faculty, alumni and staff of the university featuring O.A.R. (Of a Revolution), a rock band whose members are Ohio State alumni. Pre-concert programming begins at 8 p.m. and will include special guests and The Ohio State Marching Band. The concert will begin at 9:30 p.m. CONTACT: Gayle Saunders, (614) 292-5962, < href="mailto:saunders.372@osu.edu">saunders.372@osu.edu.

Political conversation follows Presidential debates – Oct. 3. The first debate between President Barack Obama and Governor Mitt Romney, televised live from Denver, Colorado, will focus on domestic policy. The debate can be viewed on the giant television screen in Saxbe Auditorium at Ohio State’s Moritz College of Law, 55 West 12th Avenue at High St.

Following the debate, from 9 to 11:30 p.m., there will be a discussion with Ohio State scholars Paul Beck (professor emeritus, political science); Edward Foley (professor, law); and David Stebenne (professor, history and law). The event is sponsored by The Ohio State University’s Humanities Institute and Moritz College of Law. SEE: http://huminst.osu.edu

Ohio State to power campus with wind energy from Ohio wind farm. The Ohio State University has signed a letter of intent with Iberdrola Renewables to purchase 50 megawatts (MW) of wind energy capacity from the Blue Creek Wind Farm, located in Van Wert and Paulding counties in Ohio. The purchase of clean, renewable wind energy capacity equates to approximately 25 percent of the entire Columbus campus electricity load, and is one of the single largest purchases of actual renewable energy by any university in the country.
The agreement helps Ohio State take a big step toward becoming a “carbon neutral university,” a commitment the university has been working toward since President Gee signed the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment in 2008. The university continues to develop and implement plans to achieve its sustainability goals, including the creation of a campus culture that embraces sustainability. CONTACT: Gina Langen, (614) 688-4423. SEE: http://www.osu.edu/news/newsitem3521

Research

Omega-3 Supplements May Slow A Biological Effect of Aging. Taking enough omega-3 fatty acid supplements to change the balance of oils in the diet could slow a key biological process linked to aging, new research suggests.

The study showed that most overweight but healthy middle-aged and older adults who took omega-3 supplements for four months altered a ratio of their fatty acid consumption in a way that helped preserve tiny segments of DNA in their white blood cells.

These segments, called telomeres, are known to shorten over time in many types of cells as a consequence of aging. In the study, lengthening of telomeres in immune system cells was more prevalent in people who substantially improved the ratio of omega-3s to other fatty acids in their diet.

Omega-3 supplementation also reduced oxidative stress, caused by excessive free radicals in the blood, by about 15 percent compared to effects seen in the placebo group.

"The telomere finding is provocative in that it suggests the possibility that a nutritional supplement might actually make a difference in aging," said Jan Kiecolt-Glaser, professor of psychiatry and psychology at Ohio State and led author of the study. CONTACT: Emily Caldwell, (614) 292-8310; Caldwell.151@osu.edu. SEE: http://researchnews.osu.edu/archive/omega3aging.htm

Study: An Apple a Day Lowers Level of Blood Chemical Linked to Hardening of the Arteries. Eating an apple a day might in fact help keep the cardiologist away, new research suggests.

In a study of healthy, middle-aged adults, consumption of one apple a day for four weeks lowered by 40 percent blood levels of a substance linked to hardening of the arteries.

The study was led by Robert DiSilvestro, professor of human nutrition at Ohio State University.

Taking capsules containing polyphenols, a type of antioxidant found in apples, had a similar, but not as large, effect.

The study, funded by an apple industry group, found that the apples lowered blood levels of oxidized LDL - low-density lipoprotein, the "bad" cholesterol. When LDL cholesterol interacts with free radicals to become oxidized, the cholesterol is more likely to promote inflammation and can cause tissue damage.

"When LDL becomes oxidized, it takes on a form that begins atherosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries," said DiSilvestro. "We got a tremendous effect against LDL being oxidized with just one apple a day for four weeks." SEE: http://researchnews.osu.edu/archive/appleaday.htm

Events

Ohio State celebrates 100 years of Homecoming – through Oct. 6. An event-filled week will mark homecoming at Ohio State this week, carrying on a tradition that began in 1912, when a professor invited alumni to gather prior to a football game.

"This is a historic moment in Ohio State history. People 100 years from now will say it was the best ever," said Luke Cheng, one of the student chairs for the Homecoming Parade.

The homecoming parade and pep rally takes place on Friday, October 5. Pre-Parade festivities begin at 5:30pm and the parade starts at 6:30 p.m. beginning at Ohio Stadium and ending at the Ohio Union.

Following the parade, there is a pep rally in the Ohio Union featuring President Gee, Archie Griffin, football players and the 2012 Homecoming Court. Throughout the weekend, various alumni reunions will take place. SEE: www.homecoming.osu.edu. CONTACT: Hannah Beardsley, student co-chair, Beardsley.24@osu.edu.

GE French Door Refrigerator TV Commercial "Celebrity" to visit campus – Oct. 5. As part of homecoming, Justin Berger (Mechanical Engineering ’08) will speak about his product design team experience for GE's French Door Refrigerator and the commercial that he appears in that's been airing on TV since spring. Berger will meet with mechanical engineering students at 11:30 a.m. on Friday, Oct. 5 in E100 Scott Lab, 201 W. 19th Ave. SEE: http://mae.osu.edu/events/2012/10/meet-justin-berger-me-08

Ohio State legend Jesse Owens to be inducted into Ohio Civil Rights Commission Hall of Fame – Oct. 4. The Ohio Civil Rights Commission Hall of Fame will induct Ohio State legend Jesse Owens to the agency’s 4th Annual Ohio Civil Rights Hall of Fame in a ceremony that begins at 10 a.m. on Thursday, Oct. 4 in the Ohio Statehouse atrium. Other honorees include James G. Jackson, Rev. Damon Lynch, Jr., William L Mallory, Sr., Richard Maxwell, Rev. Dr. Otis Moss, Jr., and the Ohio Tuskegee Airmen. CONTACT: Brandi Martin, (614) 644-0244 or Brandi.Martin@civ.ohio.gov.

Presidential Symposium: The Idea of a University in Time of Crisis – Oct. 5. Ohio State President E. Gordon Gee; Joan Leitzel, former president, University of New Hampshire; James B. Milliken, president, University of Nebraska; and Harvey Perlman, chancellor, University of Nebraska-Lincoln discuss the challenges facing the modern university, its current tensions, the practices that have sustained it, and the changes it needs to address. The panel will be moderated by Fred Andrle, Humanities Institute associate and former host of WOSU’s Open Line. Friday, October 5, 2012 - 3:30 – 5 p.m., Wexner Center Film/Video Theatre, 1871 N. High St. CONTACT: goldberg@osu.edu. SEE: http://artsandsciences.osu.edu/events/presidential-symposium-the-idea-of-a-university-in-time-of-crisis

Start your "creative engines" – Oct. 8. In a special event focusing on innovation and creativity, Sergio Marchionne, chairman and CEO of Chrysler Group LLC and CEO of Fiat S.p.A., and Ohio State alum John C Jay, of global advertising agency Wieden+Kennedy, will be in conversation on at 7 p.m. on Monday, October 8, in the Wexner Center’s Mershon Auditorium, 1871 N. High St.

Marchionne is the current toast of the automotive industry, credited with turning Chrysler Group and Fiat around. Jay is co-global creative director for Wieden+Kennedy, the agency that developed the "Imported from Detroit" Super Bowl ad campaigns for Chrysler that made a worldwide splash.

In this event, titled Creative Engines: A Conversation with Sergio Marchionne and John C Jay, they will appear onstage together for the first time to discuss topics that include the powerful impact of innovative design and bold creative practice on successful businesses and, by extension, the American economy, reshaping a brand, and more. CONTACT: Karen Simonian, (614) 292-9923 or ksimonian@wexarts.org, or Jennifer Wray, (614) 247-6241 or jwray@wexarts.org

The person listed as the CONTACT will have the most current information about the story. Call on our media relations staff for help with any Ohio State story: Liz Cook, (614) 292-7276 or cook.17@osu.edu; Jim Lynch, (614) 247-4110 or lynch.270@osu.edu; or Amy Murray, (614) 292-8385 or murray-goedde.1@osu.edu