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WELCOME TO OSUToday, the latest news and information for faculty and staff of The Ohio State University for Monday, July 21. The deadline for submissions is noon the prior business day.

Headline news

OHIO STATE NAMED TO 'GREAT COLLEGES TO WORK FOR' LIST

Ohio State has been named one of the top employers according to The Chronicle of Higher Education's inaugural 2008 "Great Colleges to Work For" survey. The university was recognized as a top-five employer in five of the publication's survey categories, including compensation and benefits, confidence in senior leaders, health insurance, housing assistance programs and life insurance. The university recently initiated a survey of all of its employees with the goal of identifying areas for further workplace improvements. The Chronicle is touting its survey as academe's version of Fortune magazine's "100 Best Companies to Work For" list. Read more >

$10.9 MILLION NCI GRANT FOR STUDIES OF VIRUS CANCER MODELS

A team of researchers from Ohio State’s Comprehensive Cancer Center and the College of Veterinary Medicine have received a $10.9 million, five-year grant from the National Cancer Institute to further their studies of retrovirus-associated cancer. Principal investigator Michael Lairmore, professor and chair of the Department of Veterinary Biosciences, associate director for basic research at the OSUCCC, and a member of the OSUCCC’s Viral Oncogenesis Program, leads the team. The new grant follows a previous five-year, $8.9 million NCI grant received in 2003 for studies investigating how some retroviruses cause white blood cells, called lymphocytes, to proliferate, leading to cancer. Contact: Darrell.Ward@osumc.edu or 293-3737. Read more >

DEPARTMENT OF ATHLETICS RECEIVES DIVERSITY AWARD

Ohio State's Department of Athletics was honored recently with the Diversity in Athletics Award in the category of Overall Excellence in Diversity. Director of Athletics Gene Smith accepted the award at the 43rd annual National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics Convention in Dallas. Award criteria include diversity strategy, gender diversity of departmental employees, racial diversity of departmental employees, value and attitudinal diversity of departmental employees, graduation of African-American female and male student-athletes, and gender equity compliance. Read more >

ONCAMPUS SHINES STAFF SPOTLIGHT ON DUKE MORGAN

Duke Morgan, who works in University Libraries and has been at OSU for 22 years, is featured in the latest Topspot staff profile in the Thursday (7/16) issue of onCampus. Find out what Morgan likes about working at Ohio State, honors he is most proud of, and what he would do if he were university president for a day. Read more >

STUDENTS WHO USE CLICKERS SCORE BETTER ON PHYSICS TESTS

Hand-held electronic devices called clickers are helping college students learn physics, according to a series of research studies led by Bill Reay, OSU professor of physics. Ohio State students who used the devices to answer multiple-choice questions during physics lectures earned final examination scores that were around 10 percent higher - the equivalent of a full-letter grade - than students who didn't. The clickers also appear to level the playing field between male and female students. Read more >

WOSU TV TO AIR CONVERSATION ON EDUCATION WITH GOV. STRICKLAND

WOSU TV will air the first of 12 “Conversations on Education” with Gov. Ted Strickland on Tuesday (7/22), live from 4:30-6 p.m. on WOSU’s digital channel WOSU OHIO and at 10 p.m. on WOSU TV. The program will broadcast from the WOSU@COSI digital media center in downtown Columbus. Strickland’s “Conversations on Education” are being held in every region of Ohio and will focus on the six principals for education reform he laid out in his State of the State address in February. All 12 sessions will broadcast live or be taped for later broadcast by Ohio’s public television stations. Read more >

BIO-BASED COMPOSITE MATERIALS FOCUS OF JULY 23 FORUM

Join scientists and industry leaders on campus Wednesday (7/23) as they present new developments in the area of bio-based composite materials and engage in discussions that will guide the future development of these critical resources. Organized by Ohio State’s Ohio BioProducts Innovation Center and industry coalition PolymerOhio, the Bio-based Composite Materials Emerging Technology Forum will be held from 8:30 a.m.-3 p.m. at the Nationwide and Ohio Farm Bureau 4-H Center. Registration is $80 per person for PolymerOhio members and $120 for non-members. Register online (click on Upcoming Events).

NEW COMMUNITY EXPLORES LEARNING TECHNOLOGIES AT OSU

Interested in learning more about what other colleges are doing with learning technologies at OSU? Attend the inaugural meeting of Exploring Learning Technologies, a new group focused on building community through identifying, sharing, and discussing learning technologies and how they are implemented into practice. The summer quarter meeting is scheduled from 3-4 p.m. Monday (7/28) in 143 PAES. RSVPs are encouraged. Contact: Anand Khurma, khurma.1@osu.edu or 292-1464

SOHNGEN TO PRESENT JULY 24 STONE LAB LECTURE

Brent Sohngen, professor of Agricultural, Environmental and Development Economics, will present the next Stone Lab lecture on Thursday (7/24). He will deliver “Threats, Impacts, Adaptation, and Opportunities for the Great Lakes Related to Climate Change” from 7:45-9 p.m. The public is welcome and a Put-in-Bay water taxi is available from the Boardwalk Restaurant dock at 7:15 p.m. A short tour of Gibraltar Island will be provided. Lectures are also broadcast live into 333D Kottman Hall on the Columbus campus. Contact: reutter.1@osu.edu.
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OFFICE HOURS FOR HELP WITH IRB SUBMISSIONS

The Office of Responsible Research Practices holds office hours to help researchers prepare IRB submissions and exemption requests. These sessions are intended to help student and faculty researchers navigate IRB forms, policies, and review procedures. The next session for biomedical/cancer researchers will be held from 2-4 p.m. Wednesday (8/6) in 652 Fry Hall. Subsequent office hours are posted online at (click on Assistance for Students/Researchers). Contact: prestage.2@osu.edu

SECTION OF OLENTANGY BIKE TRAIL CLOSED FOR CONSTRUCTION

A section of the Olentangy Bike Trail between John Herrick Drive and Drake Union will be closed today (7/21)-Thursday (8/21) for construction north of the Lincoln Tower basketball court. Users of the trail are advised to follow signs to detour around the closure. Contact: Bo Zhang, zhang.403@osu.edu or 292-0707

CELINE DION CONCERT TICKETS AVAILABLE

A limited number of seats have just been released for the Celine Dion Taking Chances World Tour 2008 performance set for Monday (9/22) at Value City Arena. Tickets can be purchased at the box office, all ticketmaster locations, online at ticketmaster.com, or charge by phone at 431-3600. Read more >

COLUMBUS FIRE DEPARTMENT TRAINING IN BROWN HALL JULY 23

The Columbus Fire Department (Station 7), will be using Brown Hall for training purposes from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Wednesday (7/23). Service vehicles will be parked behind the vacant building. Campus Police, Public Safety and Transportation and Parking have been notified of the training, which is a joint effort between OSU Fire Prevention and Emergency Services and the Columbus Fire Department. Contact: Chuck Scheerle, 732-6141