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Diversity agenda gets double-boost from Board of Trustees

October 29, 2010

by Jeff McCallister

For the entirety of her professional life, Valerie Lee has been active in advancing what she refers to as a “diversity agenda.”

She’s been a trailblazer and an advocate, a pioneer and an activist.

Early in her career, for example, she was the first African American woman to be granted tenure as a professor at Denison University. A bit later on, she was the first woman and the first African American to chair Ohio State’s Department of English.

In addition, she chaired the University Diversity Council for several years, chaired the University Senate’s Faculty Compensation and Benefits Committee and served on the senate’s Diversity Committee, as well as more than 50 other university committees during her academic career.

Lee also is a past president of the national Association of Departments of English, where she was also part of a committee charged with finding ways to recruit more faculty of color into that group’s membership.

So when Mac Stewart, Ohio State’s long-time vice provost for Minority Affairs retired last March, she was a natural choice to lead that office as interim vice provost.

And now the Board of Trustees has taken the recommendation of President Gordon Gee and Provost Joe Alutto and removed the “interim” tag from Lee’s title. Along with changing the name of the office to the Office of Diversity and Inclusion, the move sets the stage for Ohio State to step to the forefront of national discussions about diversity. Read more: Name change better reflect’s office’s work Continue reading ‘Diversity agenda gets double-boost from Board of Trustees’

Name change will better reflect office’s work

October 29, 2010

Valerie Lee said that changing the name of the former Office of Minority Affairs is an important part of advancing the diversity agenda at Ohio State.

The OMA was established (propelled by student protests) in 1970 to support minority students, faculty and staff.

Now the Board of Trustees decided the time has come to recognize, officially, that the business of that office has long since become far more expansive than the old name implied.

As far back as 10 years ago, former vice provost Mac Stewart began work to lay the groundwork for the name change - meeting with student advisory groups and other interested parties to make the case.

Having a keen understanding of the complexities of diversity in the 21st century, Lee pressed forward with the name change when she took over as interim upon Stewart’s retirement last April. Read more: Lee, always a trailblazer, chosen to advance diversity agenda

A name change can be difficult for some constituents, Lee said, because with 40 years of history behind it, people’s memories of the university go back to a time when, for example, students of color couldn’t live in the same residence halls as white students.

“Over the years, the Office of Minority Affairs was there for many of these people when many other units weren’t,” Lee said. “So some fear losing the warmth of that connection.”

But at the same time, Lee said the name of the office no longer fits with what it is, what it does, or what it can become. Most of Ohio State’s institutional peers have long since made similar name changes to their respective offices that do similar work.

“We want to be in a position to help set the national agenda for discussions about diversity and inclusion, but we have a name that limits that conversation,” she said. “I care a lot about language; language and words matter, so I would want the name of the unit to be in sync with its ongoing mission.

“Many young people of this current generation of students, the Millennials, don’t see themselves as minorities,” Lee said. “With YouTube, Facebook, the Internet in general, their world is so much smaller and more inclusive than it was for previous generations.”

And the term “minority” in itself is a word that carries some baggage. “It served its purpose in the 60s and 70s, but if you look at it today, there’s no getting around that it’s negatively nuanced.”  “Difference,” Lee said, “is not a deficit-it’s a dividend.”

Allan Yates, MD

October 27, 2010

Allan J. Yates, MD, PhD, emeritus professor of pathology and the founder and first director of the Integrated Biomedical Science Graduate Program (IBGP) and Medical Scientist Program (MSP), died Aug. 4 while on vacation in the Arctic.

A memorial service is planned at 4 p.m. Nov. 15 in the Davis Heart and Lung Research Institute Auditorium, Room 170 with remarks from Charlotte Yates, professional colleagues and students whose lives were enriched by Dr. Yates. Music will be performed by the OSU medical student a capella group UltraSound, and a reception will follow.

Dr. Yates had a longstanding interest and active participation in both graduate education and biomedical research. Although “semi-retired” three years ago, he continued to use his vast experiences to advise many faculty and students at OSU. He became the director of the IBGP in 2000 and made the theme of the IBGP “The Biology of Human Disease.” Dr. Yates became the Director of the MD-PhD program (now called the Medical Scientist Program) in 2001. In 2003, Dr. Yates was appointed Associate Dean for Graduate Education for the OSU College of Medicine.

Until Allan “semi-retired” in 2007, he devoted his time from 1999 almost exclusively to the IBGP and MSP. The day before he left for the Arctic, he attended the orientation picnic that was held for the new 2010 incoming class. He just could not pass up the opportunity to meet the new recruits before he left on his trip. His parting words were “Let’s get together when I get back to discuss a few more ideas I have for the IBGP!”

He tirelessly helped students. He was a modest man who did not need the limelight or praise to do his job well. Dr. Yates encouraged graduate students to do what they loved to do the most, solve problems. It was his unique vision of an interdisciplinary graduate program focused on the “Biology of Human Disease” that made the difference in focusing the long-range goals for many students today. Dr. Yates had a vision of what he wanted the IBGP and MSP to be and what he needed to do to make it a reality. All of his program graduates wanted to become the best scientists possible, to make a difference in science, and to make the world a healthier place in which to live. It was Dr. Yates and his dedication to the IBGP/MSP that helped these students get started to learn how to make their vision a reality.

As an interdisciplinary researcher, Dr. Yates worked to shape a vision of a better tomorrow for our science, our trainees, and for all of us. If he were still here, he would continue to find solutions to increase funding of interdisciplinary research and to continue our search for ways to keep translational research attractive to everyone, especially the lay public. Because of Dr. Yates’ commitment to interdisciplinary research, our trainees will face fewer obstacles and more possibilities.

Dr. Yates was active in the scientific and graduate education arenas. At OSU he maintained an active research program with extramural funding for 28 years — 25 years of which he has received continuous funding from NIH. He published more than 160 peer-reviewed papers and 16 book chapters and co-edited three books. His basic research was on the glycolipid composition and function of normal and diseased nervous cells and tissues, and his translational studies were on glycolipids as diagnostic and prognostic indicators.

He was a diagnostic neuropathologist in several clinical studies on the treatment of human gliomas with the Children’s Cancer Group (now the Children’s Oncology Group). He was the co-founder of Molecular and Chemical Neuropathology and Deputy Chief Editor of this journal for 17 years. Dr. Yates served as dissertation advisor for 13 students who received PhDs. Six of his students won a total of 10 awards for their dissertation research. He was also the advisor of six students who received the MS degree. He also trained 16 postdoctoral fellows and was the research advisor for 23 medical students. Dr. Yates served on the numerous advisory committees, PhD candidacy examinations, and PhD dissertation defense committees. He was also the outside reader for two PhD theses for the University of Calcutta and one for Cairo University. Dr. Yates actively participated in five funded Training Program Grants, but, most importantly, Dr. Yates was the director of the first training grant awarded by the NIH to the IBGP.

Dr. Yates was director of the Division of Neuropathology since 1982. He was director of the Division of Research and Graduate Education for the Department of Pathology (1993-97) and was vice-chair for research and graduate education in 1997. He was director of the Pathology Graduate Program (1993-2000) and as such was heavily involved in recruiting and curricular issues. He was the director for clinical neuropathology training at OSU (1984-94). He was a faculty member of the Neuroscience Graduate Program since 1986, and was a member of the Neuroscience Curriculum Committee (1986-90).

He became the director of the IBGP in 2000, and as such, he became the chair of the Graduate Studies Committee, the Recruiting Committee, and the Admissions Committee. He coordinated several IBGP courses and made the theme of the IBGP “The Biology of Human Disease.” Dr. Yates was also the Director of the MD-PhD program (now called the Medical Scientist Program-MSP) from 2001 until 2008. He was a member of the Executive Committee of the School of Biomedical Sciences, representing both the IBGP and the Department of Pathology. He was a member of the Health Sciences Education Committee, the Committee of Education Deans, the Research and Graduate Council, and the Graduate Associate and Fellowship Committee. He was also the director of the Neuro-Oncology Program for the OSU Comprehensive Cancer Center (1982-97). Dr. Yates was a member of the AAMC Graduate Research Education and Teaching (GREAT) Group since 2002 and was the President of this group in 2008. Dr. Yates was also elected to the Steering Committee of the National Association of MD-PhD Directors. He contributed to the organization of several scientific meetings at the local, national and international levels. In 2003, Dr. Yates was appointed Associate Dean for Graduate Education for the OSU College of Medicine.

Written by:
Virginia M. Sanders, Ph.D.
Professor, Molecular Virology, Immunology & Medical Genetics
Director, Integrated Biomedical Science Graduate Program
Director, DISCOVERY PREP

University icon inducted into Ohio Civil Rights Hall of Fame

October 20, 2010

Frank Hale has spent his life modeling the inspirational power of education

by Adam King

Ohio State Professor Emeritus Frank Hale Jr. was among the 250,000 people in Washington, DC, in 1963 who stood transfixed as Martin Luther King Jr. stepped in front of the Lincoln Memorial and delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech. Continue reading ‘University icon inducted into Ohio Civil Rights Hall of Fame’

Diamond anniversary marks decades of service

October 20, 2010

Essay contest, reunion celebrate 75 years of Ohio Staters Inc.

By Julia Harris

On the next football Saturday at the ’Shoe, as you settle your hindquarters into a comfy Ohio State seat cushion, consider this: Versions of that scarlet-and-gray pillow — sold by service-minded members of the Ohio Staters Inc. — have been softening the seats of Buckeyes fans for more than 50 years. Continue reading ‘Diamond anniversary marks decades of service’

Osmer: NRC rankings a useful tool for students, programs

October 20, 2010

By Jeff McCallister

The National Research Council released its long-awaited assessment of research doctoral programs late last month, including ratings of 66 of Ohio State’s 90 doctoral programs.

If the goal was to put together a quick, tidy little document that a casual onlooker could use to easily see which university’s program is better than another’s, the NRC failed.

But, as Pat Osmer, vice provost for graduate education and dean of the Graduate School, stresses, that was not the goal.

The NRC assessment uses a complex methodology and statistical analysis to measure what NRC considers to be indicators of program quality, and rather than simply listing programs in numerical order, the report gives each program five ratings: Two overall measures and one each for research activity, diversity of the academic environment and student support and outcomes.

Osmer and Julie Carpenter-Hubin, director of Institutional Research and a national leader in this effort, have been poring over the data and the rankings to get a sense of the overall picture of Ohio State doctoral programs.

“Graduate programs around the country have been waiting for four years for these rankings, and they give a massive amount of data that spell out differences among programs,” Osmer said. “It’s not like a football poll where you can see who’s No. 1 and who’s No. 14, and that might seem to go against all human nature.

“But the genuine goal of the exercise was to put out this enormous amount of information in a way that will be valuable to students as they try to decide where to continue their studies, or to individual programs to see how they compare to their peers.”

The NRC report and database evaluate 4,838 programs in 62 fields at 212 institutions. It can be downloaded from nap.edu/rdp.

Though the NRC rankings are not without their controversy, Osmer said they give Ohio State an opportunity to build upon its own doctoral assessments that came out in 2008 using much of the same data used by the NRC.

“Ohio State is now recognized nationally as a leader in doctoral program assessment,” Osmer said. “We developed our own procedure for assessing our own programs using our own goals and priorities. We gave significant weight, for example, to a doctoral program’s ability to identify strategic directions going forward and to student progress and placements.”

In essence, Ohio State because of its own assessments, has a two-year head start in figuring out some of the uses of the NRC’s data.

“Since 2008, we’ve made significant progress. We established ongoing doctoral assessment, tied it to college priorities and increased Ohio State’s competitiveness by increasing stipend levels for doctoral programs in the top two tiers. We deactivated five programs and catalyzed the reorganization of two colleges (engineering and biological sciences). We identified life and environmental sciences as areas of strength at Ohio State and are working to provide more support and visibility to them.”

Using data from the 2005-06 academic year, the NRC based the ratings on 20 variables including measures of faculty research activity, student support and outcomes, and faculty and student demographics. Ohio State participated in the data collection process by providing data about its programs, faculty and students to the NRC in 2006-07. Many Ohio State faculty members completed a survey conducted in spring 2007. Some data were also developed directly by the NRC, including data on publications, citations and grants.

Each rated program received two different overall measures — one based on faculty opinions of the relative importance of the various program factors (dubbed S-rankings, for Survey), and one based on a regression analysis linking reputational scores to the program factors (R-rankings).

Also, instead of the usual single-number ranking, each of the five NRC ratings is being reported in a range of rankings representing the middle 90 percent. For example, a program could have a rating between 5 (5 percent) and 13 (95 percent). The range means that 10 percent of the time, the rating might fall outside the range. The range is intended to reflect the inherent differences among raters, statistical uncertainty and variability in year-to-year data.

“The NRC’s methodology and results are complex,” Osmer said. “Our challenge as faculty members is to figure out how to use the NRC’s enormous dataset as part of our ongoing focus on high-quality doctoral education.”

NRC data

The assessment provides data on the following characteristics for participating PhD programs.

• Publications per faculty member.
• Citations per publication.
• Percent faculty with grants.
• Awards per faculty member.
• Percent interdisciplinary faculty.
• Percent non-Asian minority faculty.
• Percent female faculty.
• Average GRE scores.
• Percent first-year students with full support.
• Percent first-year students with external funding.
• Percent non-Asian minority students.
• Percent female students.
• Percent international students.
• Average PhDs, 2002-06.
• Average completion percentage.
• Median time to degree.
• n Percent students with academic plans.
• Student work space.
• Student health insurance.
• Number of student activities offered.

The data were collected from institutions for academic year 2005-06 through questionnaires distributed to faculty, administrators and students, as well as from public sources.

If you build it … we will come

October 20, 2010

Wexner Center teams with NYC theater company to bring Steinbeck adaptation to Ohio State

By Julia Harris

A family loses their home, livelihood and security in uncertain economic times. They pick up and move to a new place in search of a new start, only to find the same problems waiting for them. Continue reading ‘If you build it … we will come’

Changing health care

October 20, 2010

OSU’s medical plans increase benefits; premiums rise slightly

By Adam King

Recent legislation at the federal and state levels is bringing some new changes to Ohio State’s health plans beginning in 2011.

Employee parents whose children were ineligible to be on their plans this year will want to re-examine that eligibility during the Office of Human Resources’ Open Enrollment Oct. 25-Nov. 5. This is the period to elect health, dental or vision coverage; terminate short-term disability coverage and set up a new or renew a current flexible spending account.

The federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act allows adult children to be covered on their parent’s insurance up to age 26 (from the previous limit of up to age 23). And Ohio House Bill 1 goes a step further: Adult children may be covered up to age 28 if they meet certain requirements.

Under the federal provision, adult children who fit into one of the eligible relationship categories and have not reached their 26th birthday can be covered under their parent’s plan through Ohio State if they are not eligible to enroll in another employer-sponsored health plan (other than a parent’s plan).

Under the state provision, if an adult child has not reached his or her 28th birthday, is an Ohio resident or attends an accredited institution of higher education, is unmarried, is not eligible to enroll in a health plan provided by his/her employer, and is not eligible for Medicare or Medicaid, he or she also may be covered under Ohio State’s plan through his or her parent.

Jody Gilkerson, health and welfare benefits manager in the Office of Human Resources, said the extension of coverage for adult children is one of the biggest changes in the new laws. She said both the federal and state provisions allow existing plans to begin coverage with the start of the first plan year after the effective date — in OSU’s case, that means the eligibility changes for adult children will go into effect Jan. 1.

“The university continues to review changes brought about by federal health care reform,” Gilkerson said.

Employees who are enrolling or re-enrolling adult children onto their plan actually have until Nov. 29 to complete the process. All other health care elections must be completed by the close of Open Enrollment, Nov. 5.

While federal and state laws have driven the adult child coverage provisions, other changes in the health plans are part of the university’s desire to maintain a healthy workforce.

That’s why those employees who take the Personal Health Assessment by Nov. 30 will increase their 2011 medical premium annual savings to $360 a year from the $240 they could save during 2010. Even though there is a premium increase for 2011, employees who take the PHA have the opportunity to see less of a per-month increase than those who don’t take the PHA.

For instance, an employee with family coverage under Prime Care Advantage paid $190.04 in 2010 if they took the PHA and $210.04 without taking it. In 2011, that same coverage will cost $203.88 with the PHA and $233.88 without. Those employees who take the PHA by Nov. 30 will be able to realize the entire $360 premium reduction in 2011; but of course, those who take it after that date will also see their premium decrease once their PHA has been processed.

“The university is proud to share that during the period from 2008-11, we have been able to maintain Prime Care Advantage premium contribution increases for those who took the PHA to an average of less than 3 percent per year as compared with other plans in the external market, which have passed on an average increase of nearly 6 percent per year during that same period of time,” said Pam Doseck, OHR’s director of benefits.

There are some other changes to note. The prescription drug plan will see an increase in the copay for generic drugs to $8 from $5 for a 30-day supply purchased at retail and to $17 from $12 for up to a 90-day supply via mail order. Also, Health Care Flexible Spending Accounts will no longer be able to reimburse for over-the-counter medications and supplies bought after Jan. 1 without a prescription due to changes in the federal law.

But with the higher premiums also come enhanced benefits, including free flu vaccines at participating local network pharmacies. In addition, the University Faculty & Staff Assistance Program will be offering enhanced services effective April 2011 by partnering with an outside vendor, IMPACT Solutions. A more detailed explanation of these benefits will be provided next year prior to the effective date.

Tearing down walls — figuratively, at least

October 20, 2010

Yearlong conversation seems just what Gee called for in his latest address to faculty

By Jeff McCallister

When President Gordon Gee first broached the subject of civil discourse — and Ohio State’s potential role in leading it — in his semiannual speech to faculty last May, plans already were under way to make the vision a reality.

Continue reading ‘Tearing down walls — figuratively, at least’

Semiconductor could turn heat into computing power

October 20, 2010

By Pam Frost Gorder, Research Communications

Computers might one day recycle part of their own waste heat, using a material being studied by researchers at Ohio State.

The material is a semiconductor called gallium manganese arsenide. In the early online edition of Nature Materials, researchers describe the detection of an effect that converts heat into a quantum mechanical phenomenon known as spin in a semiconductor. Continue reading ‘Semiconductor could turn heat into computing power’

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