Story Ideas for Media 4-18-11

News

Bloom-watch begins at Ohio State greenhouse. The world's largest, rarest, smelliest, and infrequently blooming plant, the titan arum is on its way to doing just that in the Ohio State Biological Sciences greenhouse. Greenhouse coordinator Joan Leonard has nurtured the plant for nine years, coaxing it from a seed into a 47-pound plant that is about to bloom. The plant, named "Woody" for legendary football coach Wayne Woodrow Hayes, is the first grown from seed to bloom in Ohio. In the 75 years since the first titan bloomed at the New York Botanical Garden in 1937, fewer than 100 titans have bloomed in cultivation. In fact, only 33 institutions in the United States have been able to coax a bloom.
How soon will it bloom? Likely mid-May. Track its progress: http://artsandsciences.osu.edu/news/live-titan-watch-from-the-biological-sciences-greenhouse CONTACT: Sandi Rutkowski, rutkowski.1@osu.edu, (614) 292-4759.

Ohio fish farms rising fast: $50 million impact, new jobs. Two years ago, Dave Lemke lost his job so netted a new one – fish farmer. Today the Wayne County man works in a small but fast-growing industry in Ohio whose jobs have doubled in the past 10 years and whose economic impact has more than tripled in that time – to nearly $50 million. And he credits Ohio State, and specifically its Ohio Center for Aquaculture Research and Development or OCARD, as a key to his success. SEE: http://extension.osu.edu/news-releases/archives/2011/april/ohio-fish-farms-rising-fast-50m-impact-new-jobs

Ohio State and Ohio Department of Education partner to create executive training program for Ohio school principals. Principals from across Ohio gathered at The Ohio State University on Thursday and Friday (4/14-15), to begin learning about executive management and leadership at Ohio State’s new Executive Principals Leadership Academy, an innovative program designed to help principals revitalize their schools and school communities and enhance the teaching and learning environment for teachers and students.
The Academy was born of a partnership between Ohio State and the Ohio Department of Education through a two-year, $3 million grant funded through a portion of Ohio's "Race to the Top" school improvement grant and other federal money designed to spur deep and substantial change in Ohio’s education system. CONTACT: Phil Saken, The Ohio State University (614) 247-0090 or saken.2@osu.edu,or Patrick Gallaway, Ohio Department of Education (614) 728-5959. SEE: http://www.osu.edu/news/newsitem3101

Research

Television 'Breakups' cause some viewers distress, lead to more media use. Even temporary "breakups" can be distressing for some people - at least when it comes to their favorite television programs.
A new study examined how college-aged television viewers reacted when their favorite shows went off the air or were replaced with reruns as a result of the television writers' strike of 2007-08.
The results revealed the important role television plays in the lives of some viewers - particularly those who use television for companionship and those who feel they have a strong "relationship" with their favorite TV characters.
TV viewers basically replaced the time they normally spent watching their favorite shows with other media activities, such as watching TV reruns and using the internet, rather than spending more time with friends or exercising, according to the study.
"Some people believe TV isolates people and takes them away from more social activities, but our results suggest that may not be the case," said Emily Moyer-Gusé, assistant professor of communication at Ohio State University and co-author of the study. CONTACT: Jeff Grabmeier, (614) 292-8457; Grabmeier.1@osu.edu SEE: http://researchnews.osu.edu/archive/tvrelate.htm

Events

Ohio State honors Buckeye and Olympic track and field legend Jesse Owens – April 21-24. Ohio State celebrates the 75th anniversary of Jesse Owens' stellar performance in the 1936 Olympics in Germany with a series of events in conjunction with Ohio State's spring football game and the Jesse Owens Track Classic.
Owens will be honored at a statue unveiling at 1:30 p.m. Thursday (4/21) at Owens Memorial Stadium followed by a scholarship dinner, hosted by comedian Bill Cosby, at 7 p.m. at the Ohio Union. Proceeds will benefit the Ruth and Jesse Owens Scholars program and the Ohio State men’s and women’s track and field programs. "The Jesse Owens Spring Game honoring America’s finest" will be played at 1:30 pm Saturday (4/23) in Ohio Stadium. The football team will wear custom-painted helmets with commemorative decals saluting the 75th anniversary of Owens' Olympic achievement and military men and women. The Ohio State lacrosse game, "Showdown in the Shoe," vs. Fairfield University will begin the day’s events at 11 a.m.
The 2011 Jesse Owens Track and Field Classic will also begin Saturday at 6 p.m. and continue Sunday (4/24) at 10:30 a.m. CONTACT: Liz Cook, (614) 292-7276.

Ohio State Social Work students volunteer to serve lunch to hungry kids – April 18-22. Spring break may be a welcomed respite for school-aged kids, but it may also place an extra burden on families already struggling to make ends meet. During spring break, many kids miss out on the free- and reduced-price lunch programs at school – and their families may not be able to budget for the additional expense of lunch while they're home. To remedy the situation, students at Ohio State's College of Social Work are volunteering for a project that provides free lunches to kids during the week of April 18-22 at the city's Barnett Recreation Center. For more information about the project or to talk to a student about why they’re volunteering, CONTACT: Frankie Jones-Harris, jones-harris.1@osu.edu, (614) 292-3540 or (614) 330-2206.

Global Gallery opens student-run store – April 21-23. The Global Gallery, Columbus, is opening a student-run store on the ground floor of Campbell Hall, 1787 Neil Ave. The grand opening Wednesday-Friday, April 21-23, will be the first test for 25 interns and a graduate student who operate the non-profit store Monday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Global Gallery sells Fair Trade clothing, accessories, jewelry, tea, snacks, chocolate and coffee. Connie De Jong, Global Gallery executive director, is teaching the students through the Department of Consumer Sciences' Fashion and Retail Studies program. CONTACT: Gemma McLuckie, 614-292-4658 or mcluckie.1@osu.edu.

Scarlet, Gray, & Pink: A Walk for Stefanie Spielman – April 23. Members of the Ohio State and Columbus communities are invited to participate in a one-mile walk to celebrate the life of Stefanie Spielman and continue to fight breast cancer. The walk begins at 10 a.m. on Saturday (4/23) at the Ohio Union. Registration begins at 9:30 a.m. or is available online at www.pink.osu.edu. All proceeds of the event will go toward the Stefanie Spielman Fund for Breast Cancer Research at OSU Comprehensive Cancer Center Hospital and Solve Research Institute. CONTACT: Jody Poth, (614) 247-8049, Poth.20@osu.edu SEE: www.pink.osu.edu

U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown to lecture – April 25. Senator Sherrod Brown will deliver the annual Goldberg Lecture at 4 p.m. Monday at Ohio State’s Faculty Club, 181 S. Oval Dr. Each year, the university’s Harvey Goldberg Center for Excellence in Teaching invites a distinguished lecturer to present their views on what constitutes "excellence in teaching." SEE: http://history.osu.edu/node/282

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; Shelly Hoffman, (614) 247-4748 or hoffman.511@osu.edu; Jim Lynch, (614) 247-4110 or lynch.270@osu.edu; or Amy Murray, (614) 292-8385 or murray-goedde.1@osu.edu