Story Ideas for Media 6/23/08
News
Ohio State to offer new nursing degree. The Ohio State University College of Nursing will begin offering a new Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) degree beginning this autumn. Developed in response to the growing complexity of patient-care needs, the new degree is for experienced nurses holding a Master’s degree. It will be offered online as a distance-learning program. The curriculum emphasizes health care and health care system issues for vulnerable populations, management skills, informatics, and quality improvement. The program continues the leadership that Ohio State has provided in the education of advanced practice and doctorally prepared nurses. CONTACT: Sanford Meisel, (614) 292-9551. SEE: http://nursing.osu.edu/about.aspx?page=124
Research
Average shoppers willing to pay more for locally produced food. New research suggests that the average supermarket shopper is willing to pay a premium price for locally produced foods, providing some farmers an attractive option to enter a niche market that could boost their revenues.
The study also showed that shoppers at farm markets are willing to pay almost twice as much extra as retail grocery shoppers for the same locally produced foods. Both kinds of shoppers also will pay more for guaranteed fresh produce and tend to favor buying food produced by small farms over what they perceive as corporate operations, according to the study.
“Our conclusion is that if a farmer wants to consider producing food for local distribution and marketing it locally, there are people who are willing to pay more for it,” said Marvin Batte, a co-author of the study and the Fred N. VanBuren professor of agricultural, environmental and development economics at Ohio State. “We are not saying that we should be producing all of our foods locally, just that this may be a viable, profitable activity for farmers.” CONTACT: Marvin Batte, (614) 292-6406. SEE: http://researchnews.osu.edu/archive/locfood.htm
Events
Buckeye fencing squad headed to White House – June 24. President George W. Bush and his staff at the White House in Washington, D.C., will welcome the national champion Ohio State fencing team on Tuesday (6/24), when the Buckeyes will be honored and photographed with the President.
Hosting the NCAA fencing championships for the first time, Ohio State totaled 185 points during the four-day competition March 13-16 to out-last Notre Dame by nine points. It marked the third national title for the fencing team (1942, 2004) and the 57th overall national team championship for the OSU athletics department.
For head coach Vladimir Nazlymov, it will not be the first time he’s met a head of state. As the head coach of the Soviet Union Military Fencing Team from 1976-90, he met several Soviet heads of state, including Leonid Brezhnev, Boris Yeltsin and Vladimir Putin. Now, as the head coach of the Ohio State fencing team, the 10-time former world champion will lead the Buckeyes to be honored with President Bush. When a White House staffer called Nazlymov to set up the visit, the OSU coach, who speaks broken English, initially misunderstood the request.CONTACT: Tim Stried, (614) 292-0134 or Andrew Schraedly, (614) 292-6861.
U.S. food scraps a big waste; conference explores how to compost them – June 27. A first-ever conference in Ohio will show what to do with wilted lettuce, soggy French fries and rotten tomatoes besides bury them. Food scraps comprise up to 90 percent of the waste from businesses such as restaurants and supermarkets according to the Ohio Compost Association (OCA), which is sponsoring the conference in partnership with Ohio State’s Ohio Composting and Manure Management (OCAMM) Program, Ohio EPA, and ODNR. The conference, “Create a Diversion,” will look at ways to compost America’s 26 million tons a year of food scraps, which together make up the third-biggest part of the U.S. waste stream but see the least recovery. It will be held 8 a.m.-4 p.m., on Friday (6/27) at the Ramada Plaza Hotel and Conference Center, 4900 Sinclair Road (I-71 and Morse Rd.).SEE: http://www.ohiocompost.org/Conference.html. CONTACT: OCA’s Linda Robertson, (330) 241-9382, or Sharon Barnes, (419) 433-5525.
Chadwick Arboretum to Host Tree-Climbing Event – June 28. The state’s best tree climbers will show off their skills on Saturday as Ohio State hosts the 29th Annual Ohio Chapter of the International Society of Arboriculture (ISA) Tree Climbing Championship. The competition, which begins at 7:30 a.m., will be held at the university’s Chadwick Arboretum and Learning Garden, at the northwest corner of Lane Ave. and Fred Taylor Dr. Twenty-four competitors will perform five preliminary events, which test a competitor’s ability to quickly, professionally and safely maneuver in a tree while performing work-related, tree-care tasks. Climbers with the highest scores advance to the International Finals in St. Louis, Mo., next month. Tree climbing competitions are designed to simulate working conditions of arborists who work in this highly specialized field. CONTACT: Ohio Chapter ISA, (614) 771-7494 or http://www.ohiochapterisa.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; Shelly Hoffman; (614) 247-4748; Jim Lynch; (614) 247-4110; or Amy Murray; (614) 292-8385.
