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Ohio
State\'s news, experts and events give you more on the news

News

Ripon College to honor Ohio State president at commencement – May 16.
Ohio State President Karen A. Holbrook will receive one of four honorary degrees from Ripon College and give the commencement address at the institution\'s 138th ceremony at 1:30 p.m. on Sunday (5/16) on the lawn of Harwood Memorial Union. After earning her degree in zoology from the University of Wisconsin, Holbrook taught biology at Ripon College for three years before going on to earn her doctorate in biological structure from the University of Washington School of Medicine.
The commencement theme is “Science and Technology in the 21st Century.” At the graduation ceremony for more than 230 students, additional honorary degrees will be given to Amory B. Lovins, chief executive officer of the Rocky Mountain Institute in Snowmass, Colo.; Don Bogdanske, biology teacher at Ripon, Wis., High School; and Robert D. Clingan, chemistry teacher at West Bend, Wis., West High School. Contact: Liz Cook, University Relations, (614) 292-7276.

Projects on Ohio State’s campus will have an impact on traffic this week.
Motorists and pedestrians should plan for extra time, or an alternate route around these locations:
·12th Avenue restrictions – Traffic reduced to one-way, eastbound between Neil Avenue and University Hospital’s loading dock through June 4. Motorists should use King Avenue as detour.
·Magruder Road closure – Magruder Road is scheduled to close the week of May 10. When this happens, it will close all traffic and restrict access to 18th Avenue.
·Lincoln and Morrill Towers east bridge/walkway project – Bridges and sidewalks on east side of towers will be replaced.
·Knowlton and Hitchcock halls – Pedestrian traffic between the two buildings will be affected as new trees and shrubs are planted.
·9th Avenue restricted – Reduced to one lane each direction. West entrance to 9th Avenue garage is closed.
For more information, see http://constructionawareness.osu.edu/ Contact: Amy Murray, University Relations, (614) 292-8385.

Experts

Ohio State law professor can discuss legal battle surrounding Terri Schiavo
An Ohio State law professor can discuss the legal battle surrounding Terri Schiavo, the Florida woman whose family has been engaged in a protracted legal case over her right to die. Last week, a judge ruled the Florida law that has been used to keep her alive violated the state constitution, including its privacy provision. An appeal to the judge’s ruling by Gov. Jeb Bush is now being considered. Marc Spindelman, assistant professor in the Moritz College of Law, is a nationally known expert in bioethics. He says the district court’s opinion goes to some lengths to explain how the Florida law at issue in the case violates the constitutional right to privacy, which includes a right to die. Contact: Marc Spindelman, Moritz College of Law, (614) 292-9913.

Research

Study: Program helps African-American, poor children close literacy achievement gap
A specialized one-to-one teaching intervention helped the lowest-achieving African-American and disadvantaged children in first grade to close much of the literacy achievement gap with their peers, according to a new study. Researchers at Ohio State found that the intervention, called Reading Recovery, helped African-American and poor children who were the lowest achieving to reach average reading levels for first-graders within 16 to 20 weeks. “Intervening early with systematic, one-to-one teaching can help children having the greatest difficulty learning to read,” said Emily Rodgers, co-author of the study and assistant professor of education at Ohio State. “That includes minority and poor children, who often are victims of the achievement gap.” For more information, see http://researchnews.osu.edu/archive/readreco.htm Contact: Emily Rodgers, College of Education, (614) 292-9288; or Jeff Grabmeier, University Relations, (614) 292-8457.

Events

Children visit Ohio State to learn importance of healthy lifestyles – May 11.
Approximately 80 kids from four Columbus-area schools will team up with Ohio State students for “Eating Well, Moving More and Feeling the Beat,” from 4 to 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday (5/11) at the Ohio Union, 1739 N. High St. and Sullivant Hall, 1813 N. High St. Along with receiving a healthy meal, kids from Weinland Park Elementary , Broadleigh Community of Promise, Vision and Hope and Fair Alternative Elementary will view a short dance performance and participate in activities including drumming, dancing and disc jockeying. The after school program will give kids the opportunity to interact with students on a college campus while learning the importance of healthy eating and physical activity. Contact: Jessica Sherrick, University Relations, (614) 292-9185.

Ohio State panel of experts to discuss the U.S. occupation of Iraq – May 11.
Ohio State experts will discuss various aspects of the U.S. invasion and occupation in Iraq during a forum that is open to the public. The forum, titled “The United States and Iraq: Why We’re There, Where We’re Going,” is set for 7 p.m. Tuesday (5/11) in Room 100 Independence Hall, 1923 Neil Avenue. The Ohio State experts are: Richard Herrmann, director of the Mershon Center and political science professor, who will address broad issues of the U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq; Mary Ellen O’Connell, professor in the Moritz College of Law, who will discuss international law; and Sabra Webber, professor in the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures, who will talk about the invasion and occupation from the Iraqi perspective. History Professor Mark Grimsley is the moderator. Contact: Julie Rojewski, Mershon Center, (614) 292-7539; or Shannon Wingard, University Relations, (614) 247-6821.

College of Nursing lecture to focus on gaining public support for nursing – May 12.
Bernice Buresh, co-author of “From Silence to Voice: What Nurses Know and Must Communicate to the Public,” will discuss gaining public support for nursing for the College of Nursing’s 4th annual Edna Fritz Lecture. The event is at 4 p.m. on Wednesday (5/12) in the Fawcett Center Auditorium, 2400 Olentangy River Road. For more than a decade, Buresh, a former correspondent and bureau chief for Newsweek and a reporter for the Milwaukee Sentinel, has been writing about nursing, healthcare and the necessity of making contemporary nursing visible to the media and understood by the public. She is currently a visiting scholar at the University of Massachuessets Graduate School of Nursing and serves on the board of directors of the Center for Nursing Advocacy. For more information, see
http://nursing.osu.edu/events/Fritz.htm Contact: Sharon Hatem, College of Nursing, hatem.15@osu.edu.

Ohio State students to compete in Denman Undergraduate Research Forum – May 12.
Ohio State undergraduate students will participate in the Richard J. and Martha D. Denman Undergraduate Research Forum from noon to 4 p.m. Wednesday (5/12) at St. John Arena. In its ninth year, the forum will showcase the work of students in all undergraduate research areas. Cash prizes will be awarded in each of the final research categories and published in Ohio State’s “Journal of Undergraduate Research Scholarship.” The forum is funded through a major gift from long-time university supporters Richard and Martha Denman. Contact: Shannon Wingard, University Relations, (614) 247-6821.

Symposium to examine ‘Role of Wildland Fire in Ohio’ – May 14.
Fires in fields and forests once were thought to be harmful and in need of prevention -- always. But now more scientists accept wildfires as simply a natural process, one that people can put to use, as they did long ago, to change and even improve certain lands. The best ways to do that -- to “prescribe” controlled, beneficial wildland fires -- is one of the topics of an upcoming conference. “The Role of Wildland Fire in Ohio Landscapes,” a symposium for land managers, conservationists, public officials and the general public, is from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Friday (5/14) at the Fawcett Center, 2400 Olentangy River Road. For more information, see http://fusion.ag.ohio-state.edu/news/story.asp?storyid=1302 Contact:Kurt Knebusch, College of Food, Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, (330) 263-3776.

OSU Harding Hospital conference covers spirituality, therapy – May 17.
OSU Harding Hospital will host Dr. Ana-Maria Rizzuto, author of “The Birth of the Living God,” as the presenter for its annual Psychotherapy and Human Behavior Conference on Monday (5/17) on Ohio State’s campus. Rizzuto is a training and supervising analyst at the Psychoanalytic Institute of New England, East, and was a lecturer at Harvard Divinity School, Harvard University. Rizzuto’s daylong presentation will address the development of the representation of God in a person’s life using psychoanalytic concepts; how beliefs in God may develop over the entire life span; and how conceptual understanding of religious belief may be used in the psychotherapeutic process. The conference runs from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Fawcett Center, 2400 Olentangy River Road. Registration is $95. Call Mary Ann Reed at 614-293-9484 for more information or see http://medicalcenter.osu.edu/mediaroom/article.cfm?ID=1646 Contact: Emily Caldwell, Medical Center Communications, (614) 293-3737.
The person listed as Contact will have the best information about the story. Call on our media relations staff for help with any Ohio State story – Elizabeth Conlisk, (614) 292-3040; Liz Cook, (614) 292-7276; Amy Murray, (614) 292-8385, and Shannon Wingard, (614) 247-6821.

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