Story Ideas for Media 9/8/08

News

“Scarlet, Gray & Green” sustainability program collects 13 tons of recyclables at YSU football game. With more than 13 tons of recyclables collected in Ohio Stadium during the 2008 football home opener vs. Youngstown State, Ohio State’s “Scarlet, Gray & Green” sustainability campaign has totaled more than 132 tons in the span of just nine home games the last two seasons.
The program exceeded expectations in its inaugural year in 2007 by amassing 119 tons, including 81 tons inside Ohio Stadium. For the YSU game, upwards of 11 tons were collected inside the Horseshoe, putting the program on pace to top the 100-ton mark when the tonnage from the OU game is tallied.
While all waste is collected together in Ohio Stadium and sorted, fans have contributed to the success outside the ‘Shoe. Around the stadium perimeter, fans deposited 2.66 tons of recyclables. CONTACT:
Ohio State Athletics (614) 292-6861.

Officials will name professor selected to conduct search for extra-solar planets – Sept. 9. Last October, an anonymous donor left $20 million to Ohio State to support the exploration of outer space. One of the initiatives supported by the gift is an endowed chair in the College of Biological, Mathematical and Physical Sciences. The Thomas Jefferson Chair will concentrate on the search for extra-solar planets with the potential to support life. Dean Matthew Platz will announce the name of the professor who will hold the Jefferson Chair tomorrow morning during a faculty gathering (9/9) in the Department of Astronomy. Media interested in learning more should meet at 10:30 a.m. in 4055B McPherson Lab, 140 W. 18th Ave. CONTACT: Sandi Rutkowski, (614)292-4759.

Experts

Ohio State expert: Palin unusual because her path to politics not led by a man. Sarah Palin, the Republican nominee for vice president, is different from many female leaders around the world in at least one respect – her political career does not follow that of a male relative, according to an expert on women in global politics.
“Many female leaders around the world had a family connection to a politically powerful male,” said Pamela Paxton, associate professor of sociology and political science at Ohio State University. “In many countries with traditional cultures, women are easily seen as ‘stand-ins’ for their father or husband,” said Paxton, who is co-author of the book Women, Politics, and Power: A Global Perspective (Pine Forge Press, 2007) with Melanie Hughes, a former Ohio State doctoral student now at the University of Pittsburgh. Often, women leaders achieve power when their male relative dies, is martyred, or otherwise is forced to leave office.
While the United States is “somewhat traditional” in its culture compared to other countries, Paxton said she was surprised that the first female who was a strong contender for president in the United States followed the worldwide model by having a husband who was in politics first. CONTACT: Pamela Paxton or Melanie Hughes, (614) 688-8266 or (412) 383-9488.

Events

Ohio State “green” transportation initiatives on display – Sept. 10. Solar and alternative-fuel vehicles are two of the campus “green” initiatives that will be on display at a campus Green Fair from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. on Wednesday (9/10) in the Chadwick Arboretum Learning Gardens, in front of Howlett Hall, 2001 Fyffe Ct. The sustainability initiatives, designed to relieve the campus parking crunch and reduce energy consumption, include solar powered Pay-n-Display machines (there are 22 solar-powered machines on campus), biodiesel-powered campus busses, idling guidelines for university vehicles, alternative fuel vehicles, Zipcar vehicle sharing, and MORPC-OSU vanpooling. CONTACT: http://www.tp.osu.edu/scarletgraygreen/GreenFair.shtml

New Ohio State faculty to become “Roads Scholars” on two-day road trip – Sept. 16-17.
Nearly 70 new Ohio State professors and administrators will take a two-day road trip (Sept. 16-17) as part of an annual effort to provide new faculty with a first-hand look at Ohio State’s partnerships across the state. Roads Scholars stops include Honda to see how current collaborations are benefitting both partners, and Procter & Gamble to talk about research initiatives and learn about how the changing economy will impact graduates. The group also plans to visit the university’s Marion campus, the Farm Science Review, Princeton High School in Cincinnati, a health clinic in Franklin County and the new Ohio State Urban Arts Space in downtown Columbus. Ohio State President Gordon Gee first initiated the Road Scholars Tours in 1997, and since then, more than 600 new faculty have traveled to all parts of the state to better understand how its partnerships have helped make this state a better place to work and live. CONTACT: Sandra Kerka, (614) 247-4429.

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;