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WELCOME TO OSUToday, the latest news and information for faculty and staff of The Ohio State University for Thursday, Dec. 20. The deadline for submissions is noon the prior business day.

Headline news

WEILER NAMED SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT FOR DEVELOPMENT

Ohio State President E. Gordon Gee on Wednesday (12/19) announced that Peter Weiler has been named senior vice president for University Development. He joins Ohio State from Penn State University, where he currently serves as vice president for development and alumni relations. In his new position, Weiler will oversee Ohio State’s development organization and all fundraising efforts and initiatives, including the development activity across all colleges and units, and will serve as president of the The Ohio State University Foundation. He also will be responsible for planning and leading a major universitywide fundraising campaign, to be announced at a future date. Read more >

CAMPUSWIDE EFFORT NETS THREE TONS OF FOOD FOR MID-OHIO FOODBANK

Ann Salimbene, an assistant dean of the Graduate School, had taken a box of food and supplies to the Mid-Ohio FoodBank in early December and was horrified to see the pantry’s depleted shelves. What followed was a simple, grass-roots effort within the university that netted 5,989 pounds of food, more than $1,750 in cash and checks, and at least 15 grocery store gift cards in only one week. Salimbene said it was likely the food bank would find more monetary donations once all the boxes were unloaded and catalogued. Read more >

OSU, BLUE JACKETS REACH OUT TO LOCAL CZECH, RUSSIAN, UKRAINIAN COMMUNITIES

The Columbus Blue Jackets, with an assist from Ohio State’s Foreign Language Center, the Department of Slavic and East European Languages, and the Center for Slavic and East European Studies, will score a hat trick with local children Saturday (12/22) at a small holiday celebration to be held in Czech, Russian and Ukrainian. Coach Ken Hitchcock along with Blue Jackets superstars Sergei Fedorov (Russia), Rostislav Klesla (Czech Republic) and Nikolai Zherdev (Ukraine) will welcome local Czech-, Russian- and Ukrainian-speaking school children in Hagerty Hall’s Crane Café, located in the World Media and Culture Center. To learn more about the Slavic Center and its activities, visit http://slaviccenter.osu.edu.

CENTRAL E-MAIL SYSTEM MAINTENANCE DEC. 22-23

In a continuing effort to improve Ohio State's central e-mail system, OIT will be servicing the e-mail system this weekend and e-mail services will not be available from 7 a.m. Saturday (12/22)-7 a.m. Sunday (12/23). If you access your e-mail through OSU's central system, which includes Webmail, OSU POP, and IMAP, those services will not be available during the maintenance. All e-mail that is received during the maintenance window will be queued and delivered after the system is restored. There will be no service interruption for those who forward their lastname.#@osu.edu e-mail to another service provider for reading prior to the outage. Go to acctmgt.service.ohio-state.edu to change delivery. For assistance, e-mail 8help@osu.edu or call 688-HELP. Read more >

NEW REQUIREMENTS FOR REGISTERING CLINICAL TRIALS

A recently enacted law expands the scope of clinical trials that must be registered and increases the data posting requirements on ClinTrials.gov. Principal investigators must determine whether they are obligated to register their trials. The first deadline for registration is Wednesday (12/26). Read more >

CAMPUS BLOOD DRIVES SCHEDULED FOR DEC. 27

Due to the winter weather, the American Red Cross is experiencing a blood supply shortage. Blood donors of all types are needed to replenish the supply. Campus blood drives are scheduled for Thursday (12/27), from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. at the OSU Medical Center and 8:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. at the OSU Martha Morehouse Medical Plaza on Kenny Road. Donate in December and enter to win a travel package to the BCS Championship game or win a $2,000 AAA vacation giveaway. Schedule your appointment online at www.givelife.org (sponsor code: buckeyes) or call (800) GIVE-LIFE.

YOUR OPINION SOUGHT FOR ONCAMPUS’ ONLINE POLL

Should the BCS ranking system be overhauled? Express your opinion through the onCampus poll, located on the onCampus Web site, and see how your vote compares with others in the OSU community. New questions are posted every other week. Have an issue you'd like to get feedback on? Submit your ideas for future poll questions to oncampus@osu.edu.

SUPERCOMPUTING AT THE OSC WORKSHOP JAN. 4

The Ohio Supercomputer Center on West Campus is hosting a workshop, Supercomputing at the Ohio Supercomputer Center, from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Friday (1/4/08) at OSC. The workshop provides an overview of OSC’s supercomputing and related resources offered to Ohio academic researchers and their collaborators. To register, write trn-contact@osc.edu or call 292-0890.

INTERNATIONAL NEW YEAR'S EVE PARTY AT RPAC DEC. 31

The university community, friends and family are invited to the Office of International Affairs’ annual New Year's Eve Party starting at 9 p.m. Monday (12/31) at RPAC. Admission is free. Complimentary parking is available at Neil Avenue and Tuttle Park Place garages. Activities include swimming, basketball, table tennis, badminton, foosball, air hockey, pool and select fitness equipment. The celebration includes music from around the world, dancing and a countdown broadcast from Time Square. Free refreshments, hats and noisemakers. Make free international telephone calls to family and friends around the world. Read More >

2008 DISTINGUISHED STAFF AWARD NOMINATIONS SOUGHT

Human Resources is accepting nominations for the Distinguished Staff Award. The awards will honor 12 staff members for their outstanding leadership and accomplishments in service to the university at an awards luncheon ceremony in June. Nominations are due Friday (1/18/08). For a nomination form and additional information, visit http://hr.osu.edu/special/dsa or call 292-4341.

2008 DISTINGUISHED DIVERSITY ENHANCEMENT AWARD NOMINATIONS SOUGHT

The University Senate Diversity Committee, in partnership with Human Resources, is accepting nominations for the 2008 Distinguished Diversity Enhancement Award. The annual awards program will recognize up to five units or individuals that have demonstrated a significant commitment to enhancing diversity at Ohio State and exceeding expectations in implementing the Diversity Action Plan. Nominations are due Friday (12/28). For a nomination form and details, visit http://hr.osu.edu/special/ddea or call 292-4341.

CLASSES AND WORKSHOPS POSTED ON ONCAMPUS BULLETIN BOARD

Offering a class or workshop that may be of interest to faculty and staff? Post it on the Classes/Workshops category on the onCampus Bulletin Board, where faculty and staff can post or view a wide range of opportunities. All you need to do is register using your OSU Internet ID (name.#) and create a password.

SERVICE-LEARNING GRANTS, WORKSHOP AVAILABLE

A Service-Learning Grants Workshop is scheduled for 3:30-4:30 p.m. Friday (1/11/08) in 400 Stillman Hall. Register online. The Service-Learning Initiative grants support development or enhancement of service-learning courses and collaborative university/community projects that address community goals. Learn more about the grants at http://service-learning.osu.edu. The request for proposals is available online. The deadline is Friday (2/29/08).