Story Ideas for Media 7-10-06

News

Ohio State to invest $100 million in ten high-impact areas - Ohio State has targeted some of society's most pressing challenges with a major investment of university resources in programs with a potential for a significant impact in their fields. The university will reallocate some $50 million in central funds over the next five years to support 10 high-impact programs chosen for the Targeted Investment in Excellence (TIE) program. These funds will be matched by the participating colleges for a total investment of $100 million. The top-ranked proposal, the Climate, Water and Carbon Program, will address such critical issues as climate change, the availability of enough fresh water to maintain the world's population, and the impact of fossil fuel combustion on the earth's atmosphere. The program will bring together faculty experts from five academic areas. Another TIE program with the potential to improve - and perhaps save - the lives of citizens is the Public Health Preparedness Program, a collaborative effort by researchers in six colleges. Other initiatives include the Center for Clean, Sustainable Energy, the Mathematical Biosciences Institute, the Center for Cosmology and Astro-Particle Physics, the Advanced Materials Initiative, the Population and Health Initiative, Translational Plant Sciences, the Music Industry Program, and the Micro-RNA Project. CONTACT: Shelly Hoffman, (614) 247-4748.

Research

Survey of Ohio animal shelters says dogs fare better than cats - According to a new survey of animal shelters across Ohio, the outlook for sheltered dogs has improved considerably in the last decade. But conditions have deteriorated for cats.
Animal shelters reported that, since 1996, the number of dogs they received decreased by about 16 percent, while the number of cats taken in increased by nearly 20 percent. And while the number of dogs euthanized decreased by 39 percent, the number of cats that were put to sleep increased by nearly 14 percent.
"We saw a dramatic drop in the number of dogs euthanized, which we didn't expect to see," said Linda Lord, the study's lead author and a research fellow in veterinary preventive medicine at Ohio State University. "But the survey showed that we are losing ground with cats."
They compared the answers to those of a similar study of shelters that they did in 1996.
CONTACT: Linda Lord, (614) 292-1206; Lord.19@osu.edu SEE: http://researchnews.osu.edu/archive/anishelt.htm

Events

Supporting minority scholars is focus of OSU Crime and Justice Research Institute - through July 26. The Ohio State University's Criminal Justice Research Center (CJRC) is hosting the first-of-its-kind pilot program designed to support the advancement of minority scholars engaged in the academic study of race, crime and justice. The Crime and Justice Research Summer Research Institute: Broadening Perspectives & Participation takes place July 10-26 at Ohio State and throughout the Columbus community. Organized by Ohio State sociology professors Lauren Krivo and Ruth Peterson and funded by the National Science Foundation, the Institute's goals are threefold: to broaden participation of young minority scholars in crime and criminal justice research, to advance the professional development of young minority scholars pursuing tenure in the field of crime and criminal justice, and to expand further the understanding of how and why race, ethnicity, crime and criminal justice are related. CONTACT: Liz Alcalde, (614) 247-4462.

Luncheon honors nurses for excellence in patient care - July 13. Twenty-six area nurses will be honored at a luncheon on Thursday (7/13) as The Ohio State University College of Nursing and the Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute host the 2006 Cameos of Caring Summer Awardees Luncheon.
The luncheon, which will be held from noon to 1:30 p.m. at the Longaberger Alumni House, 2200 Olentangy River Road, provides an opportunity for the 26 honorees to be recognized for their excellence in patient care. During the luncheon, each awardee will be interviewed for a video about why they chose the nursing profession. The video will be shown at the Cameos of Caring Awards Gala, a black-tie event to be held October 14 at the Columbus Convention Center.
Media are invited to cover the event and interview the award-winning nurses, as well as members of their hospital's administration. CONTACT: Michelle Compston, (614) 292-8900.

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