By E. Gordon Gee

Two years since my return to Ohio State, I have become convinced that this is — without question — the university’s unmatched moment of potential. Our time to push forward strategically, aggressively and creatively. Our time to fulfill our great promise.

Because this university is exceptionally strong, wonderfully complex and truly comprehensive, we have a limitless capacity to do good in the world: To feed the hungry; to cure disease and solve the most vexing problems in global health; to bring joy and enrichment to others through arts and culture; to help emerging democracies establish sound foundations; to educate students fully prepared for leadership in a global context; and, through realizing our potential in those areas, to help create a strong future for our state and our nation.

That is neither presidential posturing nor wishful thinking. After three decades of leading universities, I have acquired some perspective on higher education. And I know the markers of exceptional quality. Ohio State is a place of vast intellectual capital, enormous imagination and manifest vitality. We are blessed with unparalleled support from elected officials, alumni and friends. Taken together, our resources at this moment are without peer.

A few days after returning to Ohio State in October 2007, I outlined six strategic priorities that guide my decision-making and those of our senior administrative team. Succeeding in those areas requires us to create the environment — the campus culture — that enables us to match our great human expertise to the great human needs in our communities.

But making real, tangible and enduring progress against those priorities requires the university to function in new ways.

This university is a massive enterprise, and we must use that to our great advantage. We must determine how to be both big and entrepreneurial in approaching our work.

Our task today is to make the changes necessary, in ourselves and in the university’s academic and administrative structures, which enable us to achieve the eminence that is within our grasp.

That means simplifying our processes, realigning our efforts and changing the ways we interact with one another.

Together, we must create a high-performance culture that values collaboration, tolerates risk and rewards shared success.

We must think and act as a unified, integrated and cohesive institution. Shed old habits and mindsets that do not move us or our students forward. Nurture the best in ourselves and in one another. Seek partners across the institution and outside of it. And act quickly when opportunities arise. We must move from being risk-averse to risk-tolerant. Well-calculated gambles that incorporate strategic direction will produce results that are otherwise unattainable.

Whether we are faculty members, admissions counselors, veterinary technicians or nurses, we must be mindful of two things: First, making a career at this university is not a job — it is a calling; and second, our work is of first-order importance. Abraham Lincoln signed the law creating our land-grant institutions during the darkest hours of the Civil War because he understood that higher education was the key to improving lives, enhancing communities and sustaining our democracy. Those noble purposes form the core of our daily activities.

Each day, I approach my work with a mix of passion and impatience that stems from seeing the institution’s exceptional potential.

I am fully committed to assuring that we realize our aspirations, and I am grateful for your partnership in that effort.

By Jeff McCallister

Just days after he returned for his second term as president of Ohio State two years ago, Gordon Gee set down his vision of the path that would take the university, in his words, “from excellence to eminence.”

From their first utterance to a gathering of faculty leaders, Gee’s six imperatives have taken hold at the university; from colleges that use them as they create their own specific strategic plans, to individuals who have them posted on their office walls for a source of daily inspiration.

“Those imperatives are precisely what we ought to be doing, in the near and far terms,” Gee said. “I measure everything we do against those and I want to get everyone else to do the same. They are at 10,000 feet, and what we are working on each day is to develop very specific strategies to make them happen.”

Those specific strategies, created in consultation with the Board of Trustees and faculty, staff and student leaders — and fully incorporating the Academic Plan that’s been in place since 2000 — have helped form a set of thematic goals that make the imperatives more concrete, definable and measurable.

The thematic goals, including the strategies and tangible action needed to attain them, form a Strategic Roadmap to success, and that is how Gee himself is to be judged on his performance as president by the board.

“We have to always remind ourselves that we do not simply have a job, we have a calling, and that calling is to make a difference in others’ lives,” Gee said. “We have to be tenacious in pursuit of the greatness of the institution.”

• One University

We must create a sense of “One University” where everyone is driven by a shared common vision, supports trans-institutional execution and is aligned by a strategic planning process and one integrated Master Plan.

The Board of Trustees already has noted the progress in this area by way of the completion of a clearinghouse for university policies, the establishment and funding of two collaborative Centers for Innovation and three Innovation Groups and realigning the governance of the Medical Center.

• Students First with Academic Excellence and Access

We will develop and execute strategies to consider needs of “Students First” in all that we do; move Ohio State rapidly into the academic front ranks of American public universities; promote full diversity; and facilitate university system-wide strategies for positive student outcomes and higher education access for all qualified Ohio citizens.

The quick and decisive movement toward the conversion to a semester calendar is part of that, and success in the area also shows in the across-the-board improvement in numerous national rankings, high student retention rates and the ever-improving quality of the freshman classes being admitted.

• Faculty, Staff Talent and Culture

We will assemble a diverse and talented leadership team that will recruit, support and retain world-class faculty and staff while creating a high-performance culture driven by our Institutional Principles and high standards of ethics and compliance.

The transformation to a high performance culture continues across the university. A Faculty Talent workgroup has been appointed and recommendations made, and new ways to measure the competitiveness of faculty compensation have been created. Also, Trustees have approved a plan to modernize the university’s Classified Civil Service rules, and the first set of those changes has been implemented.

• Research Prominence

We must support and encourage innovative, ground breaking within-discipline and across-discipline research contributing the quality of life in Ohio and beyond, thereby also enhancing our world wide reputation to one of consistently recognized excellence.

Much work is being carried out to develop research pipelines and partnerships, including the establishment of the Industry Liaison Office, master planning for SciTech and expanded partnership with Battelle — a partnership typified by the recruitment of Battelle’s CEO, Jeff Wadsworth, to head the realigned Medical Center Board. The university also is developing stronger relationships with the Department of Energy and the Department of Defense.

• Outreach and Collaboration

We will develop public and public-private partnerships focused on economic development for our communities, the University, and the State of Ohio, while also developing ventures that establish our international leadership.

Two of the most recent outreach efforts outreach efforts typify this goal — a $12.9 million partnership to prepare teachers to be successful in high-need areas for the Columbus City Schools; and the hiring of an internationally recognized expert on internationalization of higher education who now has preliminary plans to open International gateways in China, Brazil and India, with several others in the works.

• Operating and Financial Soundness and Simplicity

We will move the University to a more robust financial position with new levels of productivity and higher return-on-investment using transparent, simple and flexible systems, thereby attaining a high level of financial responsibility and stability.

Operating margins, days of cash on hand and other metrics have stayed at or better than target ranges; the university reported $94 million in savings from improved operating efficiencies last year; the University has maintained its AA2 credit rating; and fundraising has been consistent. Numerous offices have implemented simplification procedures in advance of University-wide implementation.

The university also is making substantial progress on its fund-raising efforts, even in the turbulent economic times. The inaugural Pelotonia event was a rousing success, putting more than $4.5 million directly into the hands of researchers at The James.

Gee said the progress that’s been made toward reaching his imperatives has been laudable, but is only the beginning.

“I believe the times are really quite remarkable — people see this as a moment of real challenge, and it is. But I also view it as a moment of real opportunity,” Gee said. “One only needs to read the newspapers to understand that there is a massive process of change and challenge going on out there. But this time of great change enables us to act and think differently, to make difficult choices for the long-term good of our institutions.”

Today’s issue of onCampus takes a close look at the university’s transformation from Excellence to Eminence.

Because “We have limitless capacity to do good in the world,” President Gordon Gee makes a personal case for making the change: From Excellence to Eminence

Nearly everyone on campus knows about President Gee’s six Strategic Imperatives for moving from Excellence to Eminence. onCampus explores how to succeed in each of them: How We’ll Get There

Successful corporate transformation is much more than making superficial changes, and the same goes in higher education. One Fisher College of Business expert highlights some common factors in true transformation: Real Transformation Takes Dedication, Hard Work

By Jeff McCallister

In the mid 1960s during the height of the space race, President Lyndon Johnson visited a rocket test center where he met a man and asked him what he did there.

The man, a janitor, told Johnson, “I’m helping put a man on the moon.”

Having that clear, elevating goal permeate the entire organization was a significant factor that contributed to Neil Armstrong’s historic first steps on the moon, according to Tony Rucci, senior lecturer of management and human resources in the Fisher College of Business — and it’s one of the things that must happen here if the university is to move from excellence to eminence.

Rucci has had a front-row seat for some of the most notable such efforts corporate America has seen. Before coming to Ohio State in 2006, he spent 25 years as an executive officer with three Fortune 100 companies: Baxter International, Sears Roebuck and Co. and Cardinal Health.

In fact, he led the transformation effort that brought Sears back from the brink of bankruptcy.

“Anyone can make changes and call themselves transformed; true transformation connotes a permanent change in the mindset and cultural values of an organization,” Rucci said. “When I read Dr. Gee’s six strategic imperatives, it’s clear that it’s about real transformation.”

Rucci said there are certain things that are absolutely essential to successful transformation efforts, and a clear, elevating goal is first on his list.

“In essence, there must be a certain amount of dissatisfaction with the current state of things,” he said. “Then leadership must be able to have a goal to point to, to say, ‘this is where we need to go,’ and be able to give everyone in the organization the sense that they are helping work toward that goal.”

Other factors in successful transformation efforts:

• Effective communication. As much as possible and at every level of the organization as is possible. “You can’t have too much,” Rucci said. “In my experience, when you think you’ve intellectually laid out your most superb communications plan, then triple it. Only then will you be even remotely close to the amount needed to affect large-scale change. When leadership is sick and tired of hearing themselves talk about it, that’s still not enough.”

• Leadership. “Leaders must sponsor the change,” he said. “President Gee and the senior leadership must be out there and visible, talking about it relentlessly everywhere they go. And this is critical, and I think one of the things he has going for him: The people you’re talking to must trust you and your intentions, and trust that all of our leaders, as a group, are committed to that change. If someone stands up and delivers the party line without conviction, people can smell that.”

• Accountability. “If no one feels accountable for affecting the dimensions of change, it just won’t happen,” Rucci said. “People know which of their leaders are committed to change and which ones are along for the ride. You can’t afford not to have every single leader committed to the changes that are taking place.”

• Simplicity. “Big organizations have a tendency to overcomplicate things, and that happens in the extreme here at Ohio State,” he said. “But that’s the thing I really like about the six imperatives: They pass the one-sheet-of-paper test. People at every level of the organization can see those six goals, and they get it. It’s not written by some Harvard MBA, it’s basic language that everyone can understand and be able to see themselves contributing to.

“The other thing is, President Gee set down those goals from the very start and has steadfastly championed them ever since,” he said. “Sometimes these things can have a flavor-of-the-month quality to them, but these really seem to have stuck.”

What are the basics of the recent energy policy proposals in Congress?
There are two energy bills moving through Congress right now: The American Clean Energy and Security Act in the House of Representatives (cosponsored by Waxman-Markey) and the Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act in the Senate (sponsored by Boxer-Kerry). The meat of both energy policy proposals is a Cap and Trade program for carbon dioxide emissions — a principal greenhouse gas to which climate change is attributed — in the US. Cap and Trade is a program for capping total carbon dioxide emission and creating a market for carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions among potential polluters. Regulators decide the total amount of CO2 society desires (the Cap) and then allocates permits or allowances to emitters totaling that amount. These allowances are fully marketable commodities (the Trade).

What are the potential economic impacts of a national CO2 Cap and Trade system?
There is no way around the reality that a Cap and Trade system (or any CO2 reduction regulation for that matter) will raise carbon-intensive energy prices and this rise in energy prices will trickle through in some way to most end products. As with the production of any final product, raising the price of an essential input — which in this case, CO2 can be thought of as an essential input into the production of energy and most other final products — will raise the price of the final products. This is not necessarily a bad thing, as the new prices will, if designed correctly, reflect the full social cost of energy production, including the costs of climate change.
Preliminary results from National Science Foundation-funded research that I have been involved in with Professors Bhavik Bakshi and Prem Goel indicates that a carbon allowance price of $.05 per kilogram of carbon — a carbon price consistent with the price increase expected under either the House or Senate version of the Cap and Trade program — will result in a 15 percent increase in the price of coal-fired electricity and a 10 percent increase in the price of petroleum-fired electricity.

Why should Ohio care?
The three sectors most impacted by a carbon pricing scheme, manufacturing, transportation and coal fired electricity, constitute 24 percent of Ohio’s GDP. Comparing that to the national average for these three of 17 percent, it is clear that Ohio is heavily invested in impacted sectors relative to other states. Ohio is currently among the nation’s least invested states in renewable energy production. A strong case can be made for carbon allowances to be allocated in such a way that the resulting redistribution of revenues from energy production results in increased investment in renewable energy production in Ohio, thereby reducing the economic burden.

The Food Innovation Center: Foods for Global Security, Safety, and Health Promotion will focus efforts around four themes: Designing foods for health, ensuring food safety, advancing biomedical nutrition in disease prevention and health promotion and examining global food strategy and policy. It involves more than 80 faculty members from 12 colleges.

They’re taking on a tremendous challenge, said Ken Lee, professor of food science and technology and project director of the new center.

“Feeding the rapidly growing world population — a projected 8 billion by 2025 — will require a 40 percent increase in the world food supply,” Lee said. “At the same time, we are wasting 40 percent of the current supply due to challenges in economics, safety, health, nutrition, security, technology and food policy. But it’s this kind of mission-oriented research that can tackle these issues. This center will allow faculty at Ohio State to do what we are uniquely good at, in a way that improves quality of life.”

Steve Clinton, another principal investigator of the center and a professor of internal medicine, said the center capitalizes on Ohio State’s strong and diverse academic programs.

“You can count on a few fingers the number of academic institutions that have colleges of agriculture, business, public health and veterinary medicine, integrated programs in human nutrition and food science, as well as a comprehensive cancer center, on one single campus,” said Clinton, who also leads the Molecular Carcinogenesis and Chemoprevention program within Ohio State’s Comprehensive Cancer Center — James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute. “The new Food Innovation Center is exactly the mechanism that can propel us to academic prominence in this field and contribute solutions to critical global challenges in food and nutrition.”

The center is one of two new Centers for Innovation strategically funded by the university as a way to boost interdisciplinary efforts to improve the quality of the human condition. Funded jointly by the Office of Academic Affairs and Office of Research, each new center will receive $750,000 a year for a five-year period. It is expected that centers will become self-sufficient in five years.

Lee, who also is the director of the College of Food, Agricultural and Environmental Sciences’ Center for Food Safety and Agrosecurity, recently met with Howard Goldstein, professor of human development and family science. Goldstein leads the only other new Center for Innovation, the OSU International Poverty Solutions Collaborative.

“There very well could be some synergies between the two centers,” Lee said. “We’re both interested in health and well-being, and food and poverty issues have similar challenges.”

Lee envisions that the Centers for Innovation will make major contributions toward Ohio State becoming the “One University” — not a separated set of programs and activities — that is the first of President Gordon Gee’s strategic imperatives.

“Having renowned food experts within walking distance of each other is a rare gift that this center allows us to build upon,” Lee said. “Large-scale collaboration works when people value each other.”

Besides the College of Food, Agricultural and Environmental Sciences and the Comprehensive Cancer Center, other entities involved in the Food Innovation Center are the College of Biological Sciences; the College of Education and Human Ecology; the College of Engineering; the Fisher College of Business; the John Glenn School of Public Affairs; The Moritz College of Law; the College of Medicine; the College of Optometry; the College of Pharmacy; the College of Public Health; and the College of Veterinary Medicine.

More information on Ohio State’s Centers for Innovation is available at research.osu.edu/innovation.

Books

Graham Walden, University Libraries, Focus Groups, Volume II. A Selective Annotated Bibliography: Medical and Health Sciences (Scarecrow Press, 2009).

Elizabeth Weiser, English, edited Engaging Audience: Writing in an Age of New Literacies (Chicago: NCTE Press, 2009).

Grants
Kevin Evans, Allied Medicine, and Carolyn Sommerich, Integrated Systems Engineering and Allied Medicine, received a $2,500 GE Healthcare Excellence in Sonography Award for their proposal, “Utilizing a HCU System to Investigate Ergonomic Injury among Autoworkers.”

Winston Ho, Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering and Materials Science and Engineering, received a $205,558 National Science Foundation Chemical, Bioengineering, Environmental and Transport Systems grant for “Liquid Membranes in Nanopores with Strip Dispersion for Antibiotic Recovery.”

Ethan Kubatko, Civil and Environmental Engineering and Geodetic Science, received a $223,849 National Science Foundation Division of Mathematical Sciences grant for “Collaborative Research: Computational Methods for Coupled Wave, Current, Sediment Transport and Morphological Evolution.”

Giorgio Rizzoni, Mechanical Engineering and Center for Automotive Research, and Ümit Özgüner, Electrical and Computer Engineering, received a $49,965 National Science Foundation grant funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act for a workshop, “The Future of Intelligent Transportation Systems and its Implication with Regard to Mobility and Sustainability.”

Keith Warren, Social Work, and more than 20 faculty including David Woods, Engineering, Virginia Folcik, Internal Medicine, Ian Hamilton, Evolution, Ecology and Organismal Biology and Mathematics, and Mark Moritz, Anthropology, form the newly created Innovation Group, “Complexity in Human, Natural and Engineered Systems,” and will receive $20,000 per year for a three-year period and is part of what will be a multi-year, $16.7 million investment by the university in research that tackles global issues.

David Woods, Integrated Systems Engineering; Industrial, Interior and Visual Communication Design; Anesthesiology; and Speech and Hearing, along with Sharon Schweikhart, Health Services Management and Policy, and Michael Smith, Cognitive Systems Engineering Lab, received a $75,000 Google Research Award to study “Public Health Records and Coordination of Distributed Care in Emergency Medical Systems” to discover ways to get added value from public health records so they are more beneficial at point-of-care.

Presentations
Gary Allread, Integrated Systems Engineering, spoke on “Proving the Case: Cost-Justifying an Ergonomics Intervention” at the 2009 Ohio Safety Congress, Columbus, March 31-April 2.

Morris Beja, English, “Iconic and Filmic Joyce,” plenary address at the International Association for the Study of Irish Literature-Japan conference at Shiga University, Hikone, Japan, Oct. 11.

Steven Glaser, Music, composed and recorded the music for “A Bridge Life,” a documentary about Hurricane Katrina shown at the Newport Film Festival, California, April 23-30.

Claudio Gonzalez-Vega, Economics, was the keynote speaker and lectured on “The Impact of the Crisis on Financial Inclusion,” at the Congress of the Latin American Bankers Association, Mexico City, Mexico, April 23.

Margarita Mazo, Music, presented a paper, “Igor Stravinsky Performing the Self and Les Noces’ Shifting and Conceptualization,” at the symposium “Between Neoclassisim and Surrealism: Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes in the Context of the Russian-French Connections, 1900s-1920s,” at the Harriman Institute, Columbia University, New York, N.Y., April 25.

Koritha Mitchell, English, was an invited panelist for “Quest for Diversity: What Awaits Faculty of Color at Predominantly White Universities,” at A Callaloo Symposium, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, Oct. 5.

Robert Rapp, Materials Science and Engineering, gave invited lectures “Hot Corrosion of Materials,” “Thermodynamics of Complex Fused Salt Solutions,” and “Interfacial Dynamics in Scaling Reactions,” at Isfahan University of Technology, Iran, May.

Publications
Franco Barchiesi, African American & African Studies, “Hybrid Social Citizenship and the Normative Centrality of Wage Labor in Post-Apartheid South Africa,” Mediations, Vol. 24, No. 1, pp. 53-67.

Terry Barrett, Art Education, “Interactive Touring in Art Museums: Constructing Meanings and Creating Communities of Understanding,” Visual Arts Research, Vol. 34, No. 2.

Bharat Bhushan, Mechanical Engineering, “Role of Lubricants, Scanning Velocity, and Environment on Adhesion, Friction and Wear of Pt-Ir coated Probes for Atomic Force Microscopy Probe-based Ferroelectric Recording Technology,” Journal of Physics: Condensed Matter, Vol. 20, No. 32, p. 13 with K. Kwak; “Effect of Ethnicity and Treatments on In Situ Tensile Response and Morphological Changes of Human Hair Characterized by Atomic Force Microscopy,” Acta Materialia, Vol. 56, No. 14, pp. 3585-97, with I. Seshadri; and “Effect of Rubbing Load on Nanoscale Charging Characteristics of Human Hair Characterized by AFM Based Kelvin Probe,” Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, Vol. 325, No. 2, pp. 580-87, with I. Seshadri.

Frank Donoghue, English, “Why Academic Freedom Doesn’t Matter,” Special Issue of The South Atlantic Quarterly: Academic Freedom, Vol. 108, No. 4, pp. 601-21.

Michelle Herman, English, “Foreign Excellent,” New Ohio Review, Vol. 6, pp. 114-29.

Amanda Nahlik and William Mitsch, Environment and Natural Resources, “The Effect of River Pulsing on Sedimentation and Nutrients in Created Riparian Wetlands,” Journal of Environmental Quality, Vol. 37, No. 4, pp. 634-43.

Danielle Pyun, East Asian Languages and Literatures, reviewed Teaching Chinese, Japanese and Korean Heritage Language Students: Curriculum Needs, Materials and Assessment, in The Modern Language Journal, Vol. 93, No. 2, pp. 319-21.

Doug Sutton-Ramspeck, English, “The End of Self,” Freefall: Canada’s Magazine of Exquisite Writing, Vol. 19, No. 2, p. 57; “Field Guide in Winter,” San Pedro River Review, Vol. 1, No. 2; “Louisiana Wife,” The Midwest Quarterly, Vol. 51, No. 1, pp. 63-4; “Mudbank” and “The River,” Manorborn, Vol. 7, No. 1, pp. 123-4; and “Napoleon Writes Again to Josephine,” The South Carolina Review, Vol. 42, No. 1, p. 144.

Kevin Tavin, Art Education, “The Chiasma of Art Education: Finnish and US Approaches to Teaching Visual Culture,” published in the Finnish art education journal Stylus: Taidekasvatuslehti Perustettu Vionna, Vol. 1.

Robyn Warhol-Down, English, “Academics Anonymous: A Meditation on Anonymity, Power and Powerlessness,” Symploke, Vol. 16, Nos. 1-2.

Recognition
Maurice Eastridge, Animal Sciences, received the Outstanding Service to Students award at the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences annual recognition banquet, given by the CFAES Student Council to recognize a faculty or staff member who shows outstanding support to students and their activities.

Ryan Irwin, History, won the 2009-10 SHAFR Dissertation Completion Fellowship from the Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations.

Soonok Kim, Plant Pathology, was awarded a “Eukaryotic Cell Outstanding Young Investigator Award” sponsored by the American Society of Microbiology for her research poster presentation with Thomas Mitchell, Plant Pathology, and collaborators from Seoul National University and North Carolina State University, “Using ChIP-chip to Characterize Ca++/calcineurin Transcription Factor Binding Sites in Magnaporthe oryzae,” at the 25th Fungal Genetics Conference, Asilomar, Calif., March 17-22.

Dorothy Noyes, English, has been awarded the 2009 Siddens Award for Distinguished Faculty Advising by the Council of Graduate Students.

Mohammad Samimy, Mechanical Engineering, was elected a Fellow of the American Physical Society for his outstanding contributions to the physical understanding and control of high-speed and high Reynolds number free shear flows through his development and use of novel control techniques and advanced laser-based flow diagnostics.

Service
Simone Drake, African American & African Studies, was an invited participant at the National Women’s Studies Association’s Ford Foundation-funded “Women of Color: Theory, Scholarship and Activism” institute held at Spelman College, Atlanta, Ga., June 14-17.

Robert Gillespie, Music, was clinician and adjudicator for Disney in Tampa, Fla., and for the American String Teachers Association at its national conference in March.

Patrick Osmer, Astronomy, participated in the assessment review process for the Giant Segmented Mirror Telescope project, Pasadena, Calif., April 27-May 2, organized by the National Optical Astronomy Observatory on behalf of the National Science Foundation.

Get ready for a raucous time — a rare 1960s-style soul show featuring five groups (and one backing band) — when Numero’s Eccentric Soul Revue comes to the historic Lincoln Theatre at 8 p.m. Nov. 9. Presented by the Wexner Center, the show features national headliners, two Columbus acts and a tribute to local music pioneer Bill Moss. Tickets, which are $23, can be reserved for this soul and R&B cavalcade at the Wex ticket office (292-3535) or online at wexarts.org.

Dance
Nov. 5-7, MFA Concert #1: Fox/Hanlon, 8 p.m., Sullivant Theatre, Sullivant Hall, 1813 N. High St., admission, 292-7977.

Events
Nov. 5, University Libraries Read Aloud Program, Sandra Alexander will read from The Pact: Three Young Men Make a Promise and Fulfill a Dream also showing scenes from Durand Alexander’s indie film “Grandpa’s House,” 3-4 p.m., Thompson Library, ground floor northwest, opposite to the Berry Café, 1858 Neil Ave., library.osu.edu/blogs/readaloud.

Nov. 6, Flu Immunizations, Medical Center select locations, 9-11:30 a.m., Room 325, first floor, 660 Ackerman Road, registration required, osuhealthplan.com/wellness.

Nov. 7, Department of African American and African Studies Community Extension Center, Fourth Annual Black Veteran’s Day Salute, African American women who served in the U.S. Armed Forces will be honored, Col. Dolores Helen Hampton will be the keynote speaker, 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m., Community Extension Center, 905 Mount Vernon Ave., free and open to the public, registration requested, 292-3922 or jones.3371@osu.edu.

Nov. 11, Veteran’s Day, no classes, offices closed, 292-9051.

Nov. 12, University Libraries Read Aloud Program, Jeannetta Holliman, Rodyn Douglas and Chiquita Mullins Lee will read from a piece they wrote collaboratively called Twelve, 3-4 p.m., Thompson Library, ground floor northwest, opposite to the Berry Café, 1858 Neil Ave., library.osu.edu/blogs/readaloud.

Nov. 13, Flu Immunizations, 8 a.m.-noon, Physics Research Building, 1080 Smith Seminar Room, 191 W. Woodruff Ave., registration required, osuhealthplan.com/wellness.

Nov. 13, Biometric Health Screenings, spouses and domestic partners welcome, 8 a.m.-noon, Physics Research Building, 1080 Smith Seminar Room, 191 W. Woodruff Ave., registration required, yourplanforhealth.com.

Nov. 14, Wooster’s Secrest Arboretum 2009 Events, “Bird Walk,” 9-11 a.m., meet at Seaman Orientation Plaza on Williams Road, pre-registration encouraged, free, secrest.osu.edu.

Nov. 18, OSU Urban Arts Space, Nov. Book Club, Nicole Eggert discusses In Pursuit of the Common Good: Twenty-Five Years of Improving the World, One Bottle of Salad Dressing at a Time by Paul Newman and A.E. Hotchner, noon-1 p.m., OSU Urban Arts Space, 50 W. Town St., free, 292-8861.

Exhibits
Through Nov. 6, New Works Exhibition: Ed Valentine and Amy Youngs, Hopkins Hall Gallery + Corridor, 128 N. Oval Mall, free, 292-5072.

Through Nov. 15, Ohio State Newark Earthworks Day Art Exhibit, “Pilgrimage Through the Centuries,” LeFevre Art Gallery, 1179 University Drive, free and open to public, newark.osu.edu or (740) 364-9584.

Through Nov. 19, Department of Art Faculty Exhibition, “Black, White and Re(a)d All Over,” Hopkins Hall Gallery + Corridor,
128 N. Oval Mall, free, 292-5072.

Through Dec. 12, “The Monuments of Columbus,” OSU Urban Arts Space, 50 W. Town St., free, 292-8861.

Through Dec. 18, Group exhibition featuring watercolors, oils, pastels and bronze and ceramic sculpture by Elaine Freeman, Judith Hazen, Anastasia Horowitz and Rebecca Taft, opening reception 6-8 p.m. Nov. 6, Faculty Club, ohiostatefacultyclub.com or 292-2262.

Through Dec. 18, “Works by Neighborhood Design Center: Proposing New Possibilities,” OSU Urban Arts Space, 50 W. Town St., free, 292-8861.

Through Feb. 6, “Tactile Color,” artwork of SallyB, OSU Urban Arts Space, 50 W. Town St., free, 292-8861.

Nov. 9-19, New Works Exhibition: Tony Mendoza and Richard Harned, Hopkins Hall Gallery + Corridor, 128 N. Oval Mall, free, 292-5072.

Nov. 17-Jan. 15, “Jaroslav Malina: Paintings and Designs,” OSU Urban Arts Space, 50 W. Town St., free, 292-8861.

Film
Nov. 10, Ohio State Lima, Honoring Veteran’s Day with the documentary film “Alive Day Memories: Home from Iraq,” 12:30, 4 and 7:30 p.m., Galvin Hall Gameroom, 4240 Campus Drive, lima.osu.edu/communications/events.php.

Lectures
Nov. 5, Department of History and Medical Heritage Center, seventh annual John C. Burnham Lecture in Medical History, “What Does the FDA Do? Regulation, Drug Markets and Medical Practice, 1906-2009,” Harry Marks, Johns Hopkins University, 4 p.m., Prior Health Sciences Library, 5th floor, 376 W. 10th Ave., 293-8264 or cph.osu.edu.

Nov. 5, Department of Statistics and Biostatistics Colloquium Series, Aleksandra Slavkovic, Penn State University, 3:30 p.m., 170 Eighteenth Avenue Building, 292-5194.

Nov. 5, President and Provost’s 2009-10 Diversity Lecture and Cultural Arts Series, “Ending Domination: Diversity Matters,” 4:30 p.m., Saxbe Auditorium, Drinko Hall, 55 W. 12th Ave., osu.edu/diversity or hr.osu.edu/worklife/education/aspx.

Nov. 5, Ohio State Lima, Margaret Peterson Haddix presents a discussion on her Shadow Children series, 12:30 p.m., Martha Farmer Theatre for the Performing Arts, 4240 Campus Drive, lima.osu.edu/communications/events.php.

Nov. 6, Department of Anthropology, “Ethnography, History and Complexity: The Explanation of Illegal Drug Epidemics,” Michael Agar, University of Maryland, 9:30-10:30 a.m., 162 Hopkins Hall, 247-7426 or anthropology.osu.edu/faculty/pages/Moritz.php.

Nov. 6, Department of Anthropology, “What if We Called it ‘Qualia’-tative and Already Knew That Methods Were Mixed?” Michael Agar, University of Maryland, 2-3:30 p.m., 010 Page Hall, 1810 College Road, 247-7426 or anthropology.osu.edu/faculty/pages/Moritz.php.

Nov. 6, Center for Folklore Studies, Alumnus Book Lunch, “After the Dissertation is Done: Publication 101,” Mickey Weems, noon, 308 Dulles Hall, 230 W. 17th Ave., 292-1639.

Nov. 10, College of Public Health, 2009 Health Care Disparities and Diversity Leadership Lecture Series, “The Role of Diversity in Personalized Healthcare at OSUMC,” Niccole Chandler, OSUMC, 12:30-2 p.m., 1187 Graves Hall, 333 W. 10th Ave., 293-8264 or cph.osu.edu.

Nov. 10, Humanities Institute, Neighborhood Institute Working Group, “Ohio State’s Neighborhood Agenda,” Douglas Aschenbach and Stephen Sterrett, Campus Partners, 3:30 p.m., Knight House, 104 E. 15th Ave., staley.3@osu.edu.

Nov. 12, Department of Statistics and Biostatistics Colloquium Series, Cecile Ane, University of Wisconsin, 3:30 p.m., 170 Eighteenth Avenue Building, 292-5194.

Nov. 17, Physics Department 2009-10 Colloquium, “Let’s go Skating … and do some Physics on the Ice,” Charlotte Elster, Ohio University, 3:45 p.m. reception, 4 p.m. colloquia, 1080 Physics Research Building, 91 W. Woodruff Ave., 292-5713.

Nov. 18, Knowlton School of Architecture, Autumn 2009 Baumer Lecture Series: Territory, “Informality in African Cities,” Garth Myers, University of Kansas, 5:30 p.m., Knowlton Hall Auditorium, 275 W. Woodruff Ave., free and open to public, knowlton.osu.edu or 292-1012.

Nov. 18, Department of Greek and Latin, “Demeter, Myth and the Polyvalance of Ritual,” Sarah Johnston, 4:30 p.m., 448 University Hall, 292-6693.

Meetings
Nov. 5, Veterans Lunch Series, free and open to all Ohio State faculty, staff, alumni and students, 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m., Rooms A-D, Faculty Club, reservation required, contact forrest.73@osu.edu or 292-7047.

Nov. 10, Lunch and Learn, “Pelvic Floor and Goldilocks,” noon-1 p.m., Agricultural Administration Building Auditorium, 2120 Fyffe Road, registration required, osuhealthplan.com/wellness/program.asp or 292-1894.

Nov. 12, Ohio State Faculty and Staff Photographic Society, “Hidden Promise: A Retrospective of X-Ray Art,” Tennyson Williams, 5:15 p.m., Rooms A, B and C, Faculty Club, non-members welcome, reservation required, 292-2262.

Nov. 12, Health Benefits Choices Forum for New Hires, noon-1 p.m., Office of Human Resources, Suite 430, Room 421, 1590 N. High St., hr.osu.edu/benefits or 292-1050.

Nov. 12, Lunch and Learn, “Is It Carpal Tunnel?” noon-1 p.m., 4054 McPherson Lab, 140 W. 18th Ave., registration required, osuhealthplan.com/wellness/program.asp or 292-1894.

Nov. 18, Retirement Choices Forum for New Faculty and Staff, noon-1 p.m., Office of Human Resources, Suite 430, Room 421,
1590 N. High St., hr.osu.edu/benefits/retirementbenefits or 292-1050.

Nov. 18, Lunch and Learn, “Are You at Risk for Diabetes? Do You Have Diabetes?” noon-1 p.m., 150 Younkin Success Center, 1640 Neil Ave., registration required, osuhealthplan.com/wellness/program.asp or 292-1894.

Music
Nov. 6, Jazz Ensemble, 8 p.m., Weigel Auditorium, 1866 College Road, admission, 247-7036.

Nov. 8, OSU Marching Band Concert, 3 p.m., Veterans Memorial Stadium, 300 W. Broad St., admission, 247-7036.

Nov. 8, Jazz Lab Ensemble, 8 p.m., Weigel Auditorium, 1866 College Road, admission, 247-7036.

Nov. 9, Tim Cummiskey on jazz guitar, 8 p.m., Weigel Auditorium, 1866 College Road, admission, 247-7036.

Nov. 12, Ohio State Marion, Five Nights on Campus Performing Arts Series, pianist Andrea Anderson, 7:30 p.m., Morrill Hall Auditorium, 1465 Mt. Vernon Ave., free, osumarion.ihostsol.net.

Nov. 15, Chorale and Women’s Glee Club, 3 p.m., Weigel Auditorium, 1866 College Road, admission, 247-7036.

Nov. 15, Guest/Faculty Series: Fred Hersch on piano, 8 p.m., Weigel Auditorium, 1866 College Road, admission, 247-7036.

Nov. 16, Faculty Series: Scarlet Winds, 8 p.m., Weigel Auditorium, 1866 College Road, admission, 247-7036.

Nov. 18, Symphonic Band, 8 p.m., Weigel Auditorium, 1866 College Road, admission, 247-7036.

Nominations, Grants and Awards

Apply for SBS Diversity Postdoctoral Fellowships
The Social and Behavioral Sciences announce the SBS Diversity Postdoctoral Fellowship Program for 2010 to support promising scholars committed to diversity and prepare them to enter tenure-track faculty positions.

Fellows will be affiliated with one of the eight academic units of SBS: Anthropology, economics, geography, communication, political science, psychology, sociology and speech and hearing science. Up to three fellowships will be awarded and appointments will begin September 2010. Submit applications to sbspostcods@polisci.osu.edu. Contact Kathleen McGraw at mcgraw.36@osu.edu for more information.

Theater
Nov. 5-8, 12-13, 19-21, Department of Theatre, “Palmer Park,” 7:30 p.m. Nov. 5-7, 12-13 and 19-21, 3 p.m. Nov. 8, Roy Bowen Theatre, Drake Performance and Event Center, 1849 Cannon Drive, admission, 292-2295.

Nov. 8, 10, 13, 15, Department of Theatre Special Performances, Staged Readings, “The Persians,” 6 p.m. Nov. 8 and 15, Drake Performance and Event Center, 1849 Cannon Drive, 8 p.m., Nov. 10, Mount Hall Studio Theatre, 1050 Carmack Road, 3:30 p.m., Nov. 13, Faculty Club, 181 S. Oval Drive, free, 292-2295.

Nov. 12-14, 19-21, Ohio State Newark Department of Theatre, “Painting Churches” by Tina Howe, 8 p.m., Black Box Theater, LeFevre Hall, 1179 University Drive, admission, williams.1343@osu.edu or (740) 366-9474.

Nov. 12-13, 15, 19-21, Department of Theatre, “Summer and Smoke,” 7:30 p.m. Nov. 12-13 and 19-21, 3 p.m. Nov. 15, Thurber Theatre, Drake Performance and Event Center, 1849 Cannon Drive, admission, 292-2295.

Training
Nov. 5, Management Advancement for the Public Service, “Solving Performance Problems,” 8:30 a.m.-4 p.m., Fawcett Center, 2400 Olentangy River Road, admission for non-members, registration required, glennschool.osu.edu or 292-3242.

Nov. 6, Office of Research, “Being a PI at OSU: Roles and Responsibilities,”10 a.m.-noon, 1960 Kenny Road, registration required, research.osu.edu/ortec.

Nov. 6, College of Social Work Training, “Sex Offender Re-Entry,” 9 a.m.-12:15 p.m., 115 Stillman Hall, 1947 College Road, earn
3 CEU/clock hours, open to the public, for description and registration visit csw.osu.edu/trainingforprofessionals/trainingcalendar/090626.

Nov. 9-10, Financial Training and Documentation, “Accounting at OSU,” 12:30-4:30 p.m. both days, 231 Mount Hall, 1050 Carmack Road, registration required, oit.ohio-state.edu/hrfin/trainingregistration.html.

Nov. 10, Office of Research, “Electronic PA-005 Training,” 10:30-11:30 a.m., 1960 Kenny Road, registration required, research.osu.edu/ortec.

Nov. 10, Office of Research, “American Heart Association: Peer Reviewer Panel Discussion,” 10-11:30 a.m., Davis Heart and Lung Research Institute, 473 W. 12th Ave., registration required, research.osu.edu/ortec.

Nov. 10, Management Advancement for the Public Service, “Introduction to Grant Writing and Grant Research,” 8:30 a.m.-
4 p.m., Fawcett Center, 2400 Olentangy River Road, admission for non-members, registration required, glennschool.osu.edu or 292-3242.

Nov. 12, Financial Training and Documentation, “Tax Obligations and Compliance at OSU,” 1-4:30 p.m., 231 Mount Hall, 1050 Carmack Road, registration required, oit.ohio-state.edu/hrfin/trainingregistration.html.

Nov. 12, Office of Research, “Cayuse424 Introduction,” 2:30-4 p.m., 1960 Kenny Road, registration required, research.osu.edu/ortec.

Nov. 13, Office of Research, “Orientation to Research Administration at The Ohio State University,” 8:30 a.m.-noon, 1960 Kenny Road, registration required, research.osu.edu/ortec.

Nov. 13, College of Social Work Training, “Role Playing Ethical Dilemmas in Social Work Practice and Supervision,” 9 a.m.-4 p.m.,
115 Stillman Hall, 1947 College Road, earn 6 CEU/clock hours, open to the public, for description and registration visit csw.osu.edu/trainingforprofessionals/trainingcalendar/091113.

Nov. 16, College of Social Work Training, “Tools for Supervisors: How to Build Employee Initiative, Responsibility and Accountability,” 9 a.m.-4:15 p.m., Goodwill Columbus Workforce Development, Training Room 3, 1331 Edgehill Road, Grandview Heights, earn 6 CEU/clock hours, open to the public, for description and registration visit csw.osu.edu/trainingforprofessionals/trainingcalendar/091116.

Nov. 17, University Center for the Advancement of Teaching, Events on Teaching, “Cross-Cultural Misunderstandings in Plagiarism and Academic Integrity,” 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m., 150 Younkin Success Center, 1640 Neil Ave., registration required,
ucat.osu.edu/participate/ftad_events/registration.html or 292-3644.

Nov. 17, University Center for the Advancement of Teaching, Events on Teaching, “Integrating International Perspectives: How and Why,” 2:30-4 p.m., 150 Younkin Success Center, 1640 Neil Ave., registration required, ucat.osu.edu/participate/ftad_events/registration.html or 292-3644.

Nov. 17, Human Resources Training, “Manage Timekeeping,” 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m., 191 Mount Hall, 1050 Carmack Road, registration required, oit.osu.edu/hrfin/hrschedule/html.

Nov. 17, Management Advancement for the Public Service, “Time Management Strategies to Improve Productivity,” 8:30 a.m.-4 p.m., Fawcett Center, 2400 Olentangy River Road, admission for non-members, registration required, glennschool.osu.edu or 292-3242.

Nov. 17-18, Financial Training and Documentation, “Using General Ledger Reports,” 8:30 a.m.-3 p.m. Nov. 17 and 8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.

Nov. 18, 231 Mount Hall, 1050 Carmack Road, registration required, oit.ohio-state.edu/hrfin/trainingregistration.html.

Nov. 18, Office of Research, “PI Portal Overview,” 10:30-11:30 a.m., 1960 Kenny Road, registration required, research.osu.edu/ortec.

Nov. 18, OIT Administrative Systems Reporting Training, “Using eReports Portal ­– Human Resources,” 1-5 p.m., 191 Mount Hall, 1050 Carmack Road, registration required, oit.osu.edu/hrfin/trainingregistration.html.

Nov. 18, Management Advancement for the Public Service, “Attitude and Accountability,” 8:30 a.m.-4 p.m., Fawcett Center, 2400 Olentangy River Road, admission for non-members, registration required, glennschool.osu.edu or 292-3242.

Wexner
Through Nov. 30, The Box, “In the Air” (Liza Johnson, 2009), Mon.-Wed. 9 a.m.-6 p.m., Thu.-Fri. 9 a.m.-8 p.m., Sat. 10 a.m.-8 p.m., Sun. 11 a.m.-6 p.m., The Box is located across from the Wexner Center Store, free, 292-3535.

Through Jan. 3, onView, “Susan Philipsz: the Shortest Shadow,” Wexner Center Galleries, admission (free to visitors the first Sunday of the month and every Thursday after 4 p.m.), 292-3535.

Through Jan. 3, onView, “Luc Tuymans,” Wexner Center Galleries, admission (free to visitors the first Sunday of the month and every Thursday after 4 p.m.), 292-3535.

Through Jan. 3, onView, “Harry Shearer: The Silent Echo Chamber,” Wexner Center Galleries, admission (free to visitors the first Sunday of the month and every Thursday after 4 p.m.), 292-3535.

Nov. 5, New Documentary, “American Casino” (Andrew and Leslie Cockburn, 2009), 7 p.m., Film/Video Theater, admission, 292-3535.

Nov. 5, GenWex Presents, Drink It In: Luc Tuymans, 7 p.m., admission, advance registration required, wexarts.org, 292-3535.

Nov. 6, Visiting Filmmakers: Robert Beavers, 7 p.m., Film/Video Theater, admission, 292-3535.

Nov. 7, GenWex Presents: Eccentric Soul Brunch, 11 a.m.-4 p.m., Tip Top Kitchen and Cocktails, 73 E. Gay St., 292-3535.

Nov. 7, Wexner Center Gala 2009, 7 p.m., registration required, contact egounaris@wexarts.org (292-0444) or ckoenig@wexarts.org (291-9802).

Nov. 9, Special Events: The Fall of the Berlin Wall, “Mission to Moscow” (Michael Curtiz, 1943) and “The Last Bolshevik” (Chris Marker, 1993), 7 p.m., Film/Video Theater, admission, 292-3535.

Nov. 9, Next @ Wex, “Numero’s Eccentric Soul Review,” 8 p.m., Lincoln Theatre, 769 E. Long St., $23 admission, 292-3535.

Nov. 10, Cosponsored Events: Cultural Heritage at Risk, “Art and Book Theft: Past, Present, Future,” 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m., Film/Video Theater, $20 admission, registration required, wexarts.org.

Nov. 10, Lambert Family Lecture, “A Conversation with Luc Tuymans and T.J. Clark,” 7 p.m., Film/Video Theater, free, 292-3535.

Nov. 12, Gallery Talk, Catharina Manchanda on Harry Shearer and Christopher Bedford on Susan Philipsz, 12:30 p.m., meet at the Patron Services Desk, free, 292-3535.

Nov. 12, Film Studies Lecture, Thomas Doherty, 3:30 p.m., Film/Video Theater, free, 292-3535.

Nov. 12, Visiting Filmmakers, Marie Losier, 7 p.m., Film/Video Theater, admission, 292-3535.

Nov. 13, Critics Choice, Fred Andrle introduces “Seconds” (John Frankenheimer, 1966), 7 p.m., Film/Video Theater, admission, 292-3535.

Nov. 17, Artists’ Talk, Richard Harned and Tony Mendoza, 4 p.m., Film/Video Theater, free, 292-3535.

Nov. 17-21, onStage, “England,” Tim Crouch, 8 p.m. Nov. 17-18, 9 p.m. Nov. 19-21, Wexner Center Galleries, admission, 292-3535.

Nov. 18, Contemporary Screen: International Animation Festival, “The Best of the Ottawa,” 7 p.m., Film/Video Theater, admission, 292-3535.

Workshops
Nov. 5, OHRC Workshop/Brownbag, “Family Violence and Relationship Abuse Awareness Training,” 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m., Office of Human Resources, Room 425, Suite 430, 1590 N. High St., registration required, hr.osu.edu/ohrc/learningdevelopment.

OSU Leadership Center hosts Kick It In and Spark Your Team workshop
Nov. 10
The OSU Leadership Center is hosting Fran Kick, creator of KICK IT IN®, along with Mark Henson, sparkspace™ founder and chief imagination officer, for a workshop designed to inspire your teams to work at their best, get better at what they do and have fun in the process. The event is from 9 a.m.-noon. Registration is $75 per person and includes a year’s membership in the OSU Leadership Center Library. For more information, e-mail lobley.82@osu.edu, call 292-3114 or visit leadershipcenter.osu.edu.

Nov. 18, University Faculty and Staff Assistance Program, “Stress Management for Diabetics,” 5-6:15 p.m., Managed Health Care Systems, Suite 580, 700 Ackerman Road, free, registration required, borelli.3@osu.edu or 292-1709.

Doug Dangler administers the OSU CSTW Writing Center and Digital Media and Writing programs, as well as hosting and producing Writers Talk, a tv, radio and Internet show about writing.

What are your five favorite books and why?
100 Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Hypnotic and seductive. You accept without question that good people float off into the wind.

Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
Crazed, unreliable narrator with a lifetime’s worth of puzzles and false clues.

Beloved by Toni Morrison
Stunning and moving.

Slapstick by Kurt Vonnegut
I have not laughed harder at anything else.

Angela’s Ashes by Frank McCourt
Tragic, funny, unforgettable. Plus, another opportunity to read a book and use an accent.

Who is your favorite character (villain or hero) in literature?
Villain: Humbert Humbert.
Hero: Oddly, this one is much harder. Maybe the Stainless Steel Rat?

What is the last book you’ve bought?
Something for my kids or for Writers Talk. I plan to buy Andrew Hudgins’ Shut Up, You’re Fine for my more easily offended relatives this year.

What “important book” have you not read?
Moby Dick. Sorry, my wife waded through it and her description turned me off. I feel special guilt because a former adviser of mine specialized in Melville. Shh, don’t tell Dr. R.

What book would you most want your kids to read? What would you want them NOT to read?
When they are older, I want them to read Kurt Vonnegut novels. His humanistic take on the madness and beauty of life is priceless. I would not want them to read most of the political trash on bestseller lists.

What classic novel was a disappointment?
I’ll probably have my doctorate revoked for this but I was bored silly by George Eliot’s Middlemarch.

What genre of literature do you prefer to read?
I usually read fiction, but I’ll read almost anything, and with the guests on Writers Talk, I do read anything now. The story and the writing are what pulls me in.

What magazines do you subscribe to?
New Yorker for the cartoons (oh, and the writing) and Newsweek so I know just how bad the world is getting.

To nominate an Ohio State faculty or staff person for a future Booktalk column, e-mail harris.587@osu.edu.

Pregnant women with significant symptoms of depression tend to have a stronger biological reaction to the seasonal flu vaccine than do women with lower depression levels, according to a new study.

The finding provides an argument in favor of flu vaccination during pregnancy, researchers say, because it suggests that the immune systems in depressed pregnant women are not functioning typically. That could affect symptom severity among women who become infected with influenza.

Previous studies have established a link between some preterm births and gestational high blood pressure cases and infection or inflammation. Avoiding the flu with a safe vaccine might be one way to lower the chances of complications, according to researchers.
An internal inflammatory response to vaccination is not uncommon — it’s an essential part of the process the immune system initiates to prepare for a successful fight against an actual infection. But it’s also expected to be a weak and brief response.

“Inflammatory responses to vaccination do no harm, are mild and typically go away within a few days. But an extended inflammatory response to vaccination, such as the one seen in women with the most depressive symptoms, isn’t expected and it serves as a way to estimate how somebody might respond to an actual infection or illness,” said Lisa Christian, an assistant professor of psychiatry at Ohio State University and lead author of the research.

Despite public health recommendations that pregnant women get seasonal flu shots, only an estimated 12 percent to 13 percent of pregnant women in the United States have done so in recent years, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

“It will be interesting to see how that might change this year,” said Christian, in light of CDC recommendations that pregnant women receive both seasonal and H1N1 flu vaccinations.

Christian’s study appears online and is scheduled for print publication later in the journal Brain, Behavior and Immunity.

She and colleagues also recently published a study in the same journal indicating that pregnant women experiencing depressive symptoms and certain stressors had higher levels of inflammatory markers in their blood than did pregnant women with lower depression and stress levels.

Though this mind-body connection is well established in people with chronic stress, Christian said few studies have examined the effects of depression and stress during pregnancy. Research has shown that pregnancy suppresses certain functions of the immune system to prevent rejection of the fetus and to protect the fetus from inflammation that accompanies fevers and other illnesses.

“Our basic starting question was, do those same relationships between depression and immune function hold during pregnancy?” said Christian, also an investigator in Ohio State’s Institute for Behavioral Medicine Research. “And these studies suggest that they do. We see immune dysregulation during pregnancy due to stress and depression.”

In the flu vaccine study, 22 pregnant women completed questionnaires about their depressive symptoms and gave blood samples before they received a seasonal influenza shot. Between six and nine days later, a second round of blood samples was collected.

Researchers assessed the women’s depressive symptoms using the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale, a series of 20 questions about physical, emotional and cognitive symptoms. The women were classified in three groups: Having either no or minimal depression; mild or moderate depressive symptoms; and significant depressive symptoms. A diagnosis of depression can be made only after an interview with a doctor.

The scientists analyzed the post-vaccination blood samples for the presence of macrophage migration inhibitory factor, or MIF, a protein that promotes inflammation by suppressing other substances in the blood that fight inflammation.

A week after receiving the flu shots, the women with the highest scores on the depression scale had about twice as much MIF in their blood as did women reporting minimal symptoms.

“The more depressive symptoms the women had, the more MIF they had after vaccination,” Christian said. “In the context of an actual illness, the response would be expected to be much more robust and more extended. And then we might have concerns about whether women who show an exaggerated inflammatory response would be more susceptible to complications.”

The next step will be to follow more women, for longer, to see if psychological factors during pregnancy can be linked directly to birth outcomes.

This work was supported by the National Institutes of Health, American Psychological Association awards, the American Psychological Foundation/Council of Graduate Departments of Psychology Scholarship Program, Ohio State’s Department of Women Studies, the Coca-Cola Critical Difference for Women Grant Program, an OSU Alumni Grant for Graduate Research and Scholarship, and Ohio State’s Center for Clinical and Translational Science (formerly the General Clinical Research Center).

Faculty, staff encouraged to register for H1N1 vaccine

The H1N1 vaccine is being dispensed to the university on a weekly basis. It is anticipated that there will be enough vaccine for all who wish to receive it, but registration is required.

A telephone-based registration system has been established, and those interested in the vaccine should call 514-H1N1 (514-4161). If using an Ohio State campus telephone, use the five-digit dialing by calling 4-4161. A BuckID or Employee ID is needed to register for the vaccine, which will be free at campus-area clinic locations. As a part of the registration process, employees will receive an e-mail notification when it is their turn to receive the vaccine.

The registration system also identifies high-risk populations who will receive first priority when initial shipments of the H1N1 vaccine arrive. The following categories have been identified as high-risk and will be inoculated first:

• Pregnant, live with or care for a child under 6 months of age.
• A healthcare worker, including health professional students.
• 17 or younger and have an underlying long-term health problem.
• 24 or younger.
• Between the ages of 25 and 64 and have an underlying long-term health problem.

The university is working to secure the H1N1 vaccine but cannot predict when it will have a sufficient supply to vaccinate anyone who wishes to receive it. H1N1 vaccines also are being distributed through public health departments, and high-risk employees may be able to receive the vaccine sooner by contacting these departments.

Visit columbuspandemicflu.org or call 211 for information about local clinics in the Columbus area. In other counties, contact the local city or county board of health (healthguideusa.org/ohio_county_health_departments.htm).