Story Ideas for Media 9/22/03
September 22, 2003
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Ohio State’s news, experts and events give you more on the news
News
Joint M.D./J.D. program at Ohio State offers accelerated degree track
Ohio State’s Michael E. Moritz College of Law and the College of Medicine and Public Health have established a joint M.D./J.D. degree program offering an accelerated degree track for students interested in studying both medicine and law. The program allows candidates to graduate with both degrees in six years. If pursued separately, the degrees would take seven years to complete. Contact: Liz Cutler Gates, Moritz College of Law, (614) 292-0283.
Experts
Ohio State experts can discuss Bush’s address to the United Nations
President Bush is expected to defend the United States’ invasion of Iraq to the United Nations on Tuesday. According to news reports, Bush will say that he was right to order the invasion of Iraq even without the organization’s explicit approval. Rick Herrmann, director of the Mershon Center and professor of political science, who is an expert on politics and American foreign policy in the Middle East, can discuss the issue with media. He is available at (614) 292-9843. Contact: Shannon Wingard, University Relations, (614) 247-6821.
Research
Religion helps shape wealth of Americans, Ohio State study finds
A new national study shows that religious affiliation plays a powerful role in how much wealth Americans accumulate, with Jews amassing the most wealth and conservative Protestants the least. Mainline Protestants and Catholics fall in between and are about average with the rest of the population in terms of overall wealth. The effect of religion is robust, even after taking into account inheritances, levels of education and other factors affecting wealth that may be associated with particular religious denominations, said Lisa Keister, author of the study and associate professor of sociology. For more information, see http://researchnews.osu.edu/archive/relgwlth.htm Contact: Lisa Keister, Department of Sociology, (614) 688-8685; or Jeff Grabmeier, University Relations, (614) 292-8457.
Ohio State, Louisiana State team up to help save struggling Mississippi watershed
A new partnership between Ohio State and Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge aims to help researchers get to the root of what causes hypoxia in the Gulf of Mexico. Each spring, the rush of nitrogen and other chemicals that flow into the Mississippi River watershed ultimately turn more than 7,000 square miles of the Gulf of Mexico into a “dead zone,” a condition known as hypoxia. Creating wetlands in the Midwest would help decrease this runoff, said William Mitsch, director of the Olentangy River Wetland Park (http://swamp.osu.edu) and a professor of natural resources at Ohio State. Mitsch is leading Ohio State’s participation in the partnership. For more information, see http://researchnews.osu.edu/archive/collab.htm Contact: William Mitsch, Ohio State, (614) 292-9774; or John Day, Louisiana State University, (225) 578-6508.
Service
Students to volunteer for one of nation’s largest campus service projects
Approximately 1,500 students are taking part in one of the nation’s largest campus service projects at the seventh annual Community Commitment, from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday (9/23) at 95 sites around Columbus. Thirty-five student organizations with approximately 1,100 members are among the volunteers for the Welcome Week event. For the first time, more than 50 faculty and staff are participating in the traditional student event. Volunteer sites include retirement facilities, elementary schools and area parks. Media can cover the event from 10:30 a.m. to noon at either Tuttle Park, where 10 to 20 volunteers will clean trails and remove plants for Columbus Parks and Recreation, or the Columbus Literacy Council, where 10 to 20 scholars in the Tomorrow’s Teachers program will work with adults learning to read. Last year, students volunteered 26,000 hours through Ohio Union and Student Activities programs, including Community Commitment. Contact: Shannon Wingard, University Relations, (614) 247-6821.
Events
Ohio State’s Welcome Week kicks off new school year – Sept. 21–28.
A Scarlet Fever pep rally featuring Brutus Buckeye and a campus-wide community service project are just two of the more than 120 events scheduled during Welcome Week 2003 this week (9/21-9/28) on Ohio State’s Columbus campus. Welcome Week combines traditional events, such as Convocation, Community Commitment day and the Scarlet Fever pep rally, and new events like Creating a World of Difference, which celebrates the cultural traditions at Ohio State. Highlights of Welcome Week 2003 include:
·Scarlet Fever pep rally, 6 to 7:30 p.m., on Tuesday (9/23) in the Ohio Stadium;
·All-Campus/On-Campus Student Job Fair, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., on Thursday (9/25) in the Ohio Union;
·Creating a World of Difference, 4 to 7 p.m. on Thursday (9/25) at the Wexner Center Plaza.
For a complete Welcome Week schedule, see http://www.ohiounion.com/welcomeweek/
Contact: Shannon Wingard, University Relations, (614) 247-6821, or Jessica Sherrick, University Relations, (614) 292-9185.
Historical marker will commemorate Ohio State professor – Sept. 23.
Ohio State’s Department of History will dedicate an historical marker commemorating Wilbur H. Siebert, professor of history at Ohio State from 1893 to 1935. The marker is sponsored by the Ohio Bicentennial Commission as part of the celebration of Ohio’s statehood. The dedication ceremony, featuring university and community dignitaries, will begin at 3 p.m. Tuesday (9/23) on the east lawn of Dulles Hall, 230 W. 17th Ave. Recognized as the world’s foremost authority on the Underground Railroad, Siebert organized one of the most extensive historical collections on the Underground Railroad in the United States. He lived from 1866 to 1961. Contact: Amy Murray, University Relations, (614) 292-8385.
Campus locator services help new students find classes on first day – Sept. 24.
Volunteers for Campus Locator Services will be donning bright yellow T-shirts as they direct new students to their classes on their first day from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Wednesday (9/24) on the Oval. Regularly scheduled classes are in session from Sept. 25 to Dec. 5. Contact: Shannon Wingard, University Relations, (614) 247-6821.
Ohio residents over 60 to sign up for free courses on a noncredit basis – Sept. 25, 26.
Each year, hundreds of senior Ohio residents take courses for free on a noncredit basis through Ohio State’s Program 60, an outreach program of the Office of Continuing Education. Ohio seniors began taking courses in 1974 through the outreach program, created by former university President Harold Enarson. Since then, thousands of area residents – nearly 200 each quarter – have taken advantage of learning from Ohio State’s experts. While freshman and returning students begin classes on Sept. 24, Program 60 participants will sign up for classes on Sept. 25-26 to ensure space availability for registered university undergraduates. Contact: Karen Austin, Office of Continuing Education, (614) 688-3310, or Shannon Wingard, University Relations, (614) 247-6821.
Ohio State South Centers at Piketon to harvest shrimp, host cook off – Sept. 26.
Ohio State South Centers at Piketon will be harvesting its one-acre, freshwater shrimp pond from 9 a.m. to noon on Friday, Sept. 26. Later in the day, organizations will compete for the “Golden Shrimp” trophy at the 5 p.m. shrimp cook off. Each organization should receive between 10 to 30 pounds of tails, depending on how many are harvested. For directions, see http://southcenters.osu.edu for directions. Contact: Ohio State South Centers at Piketon, (740) 289-2071.
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.
