Hal Holbrook appears at benefit

An influential performer for some 57 years, Hal Holbrook will talk about his career in films, television, on the stage and as Mark Twain at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 28 at the Southern Theatre.

Ohio State's Institute for Collaborative Research and Public Humanities and the Ohio Humanities Council are hosting "An Evening with Hal Holbrook" to benefit the 2000 Ohio Chautauqua, also co-sponsored by the council and the Humanities Institute. Nineteenth-century chautauquas, which featured famous thinkers, politicians and artists, owe much of their current revival to Holbrook and his popular impersonation of Twain, himself a fixture on the original chautauqua circuit.

Holbrook's Mark Twain characterization grew out of an honors project when he was a student at Denison University in Granville. He and his first wife, Ruby, created a two-person show, playing characters from Shakespeare to Twain on the school assembly circuit.

Hal Holbrook

Holbrook turned to Shakespeare at Stratford, Conn., then Lincoln in Abe Lincoln In Illinois off-Broadway. He later starred in several Broadway plays and toured nationally in Death of a Salesman. His characterization of Twain on Broadway won him a Tony Award, a Drama Critic's Circle Award and a 90-minute CBS special of Mark Twain Tonight!, which was nominated for an Emmy Award.

This year marks the 46th consecutive year Holbrook's one-man show Mark Twain Tonight! has toured the country.

In 1979, Ohio State recognized Holbrook's achievements with an Honorary Doctor of Humanities degree. He has received similar recognition from the University of Hartford, Ursinus College, Kenyon College and Denison.

Tickets for "An Evening with Hal Holbrook" are on sale at the Southern Theatre Box Office, the Wexner Center or any Ticketmaster outlet. Reserved seating is $20, and patron seating, which includes a post-performance gathering with Holbrook, is $75. Group ticket sales are available.

University Relations offers OSUToday

The Office of University Relations last week began a new service for University employees. OSUToday is an e-mail service that will provide timely news updates and other useful information to faculty and staff via their University e-mail accounts.

The communications also will be used for urgent news and messages from the administration and as a way to better engage faculty and staff with the campus. Each brief news item will have a link to a Web page for the full story or to a contact person who can provide more information.

These employee communications will take the place of individual mass e-mailings and are expected to help reduce the demands on the University's e-mail system. OSUToday e-mails will be sent every Monday and Thursday during the academic year.

For more information, contact OSUToday at osutoday@osu.edu.

Humanities center is roundtable topic

Diane Birchbichler, director of the Foreign Language Center, and Galal Walker, director of the National East Asian Language Resource Center, will be the guest speakers at the Outreach and Engagement Roundtable on March 7 in the Terrace Room of the Ohio Union. They will discuss the World Media and Culture Center, a new outreach and engagement component of the College of Humanities.

The roundtable is an opportunity for faculty, staff and students to learn about community outreach and engagement efforts led by colleagues within the University. Networking will begin at 11:30 a.m., with the program being held from noon to 1 p.m. Participants should bring their own lunch, but beverages will be provided. Register in advance by e-mailing Tracie Stanley, stanley.119@osu.edu.

Course on higher education launched

Faculty are encouraged to inform graduate students from across campus about a class titled "Policy and Leadership in American Higher Education: An Interdisciplinary Approach," being taught spring quarter by a trio of experts in the field.

The faculty for the class are former Ohio State Provost and Interim President Richard Sisson, who now holds the Board of Trustees Chair in Comparative Politics and is a professor of political science; Gerald Reagan, professor of educational policy and leadership and secretary of University Senate; and Elaine Hairston, visiting professor of educational policy and leadership and chancellor emerita of the Ohio Board of Regents.

The course is an introduction to major policy issues facing American higher education, including the character of the university community, its values and organization within campus-based and broader systemic contexts, and faculty roles within it.

It is intended to prepare students interested in the academic life for their careers as professors and for understanding major issues of academic leadership "to assist in as complete a way as possible the education of new generations of college and university faculty," Sisson said. The course also is designed to be of interest to anyone concerned with issues of leadership, management and change in complex organizations.

A series of public lectures and panels of distinguished leaders and thinkers organized in collaboration with the John Glenn Institute for Public Service and Public Policy will be part of the course structure. President Kirwan will deliver a lecture about the future character of the American university.

Sisson said he and his colleagues plan to offer the course on a regular basis.

This is an interdepartmental and interdisciplinary course. It is listed for registration under Political Science 899, Public Policy and Management 899, and Educational Policy and Leadership 899.

Diebold president to speak at Gerlach

Bob Mahoney, president of Diebold Inc., will speak at a luncheon to be held at 12:15 p.m. March 9 in 365 Gerlach Hall in the Fisher College of Business. Mahoney will discuss how a mid-sized company built a global infrastructure through direct operations, subsidiaries, joint ventures and distributorships, plus the hurdles that lie ahead.

The event, open to the University and business communities, is sponsored by the college's Center for International Business Education and Research. A box lunch will be provided. Call 292-0845 or e-mail ryan.164@osu.edu for reservations.

Lunch series focuses on natural products

There will be a free educational session about Alternative Therapies and Natural Products for Women at noon March 1 in room 122 of the Main Library. Kristin Casper and Bella Mehta, clinical assistant professors in the College of Pharmacy, are the presenters.

Call the OSU Women's Resource Line, 293-7575, for reservations.

International Studies announces grants

The Office of International Studies is announcing deadlines for three grants for faculty and students.

The Interdisciplinary Lectures, Seminars and Conferences on International Themes program offers grants of up to $5,000 to support interdisciplinary lectures, seminars or conferences on topics relevant to areas of the world outside the United States (but not excluding the U.S. as a case for comparative study). Eligibility is contingent upon the commitment of partial matching funds from other Ohio State or extramural sources.

The Faculty International Travel Grants program has grants available to faculty who are proposing to: collaborate with foreign scholars in preparing a research grant proposal; participate in a faculty exchange program; develop agreements linking Ohio State to major foreign institutions; or complete a manuscript jointly authored with a foreign-based scholar.

The Graduate Student International Dissertation/MA Thesis Research Travel Grant is intended to support pre-dissertation preliminary research; doctoral dissertation research; and research necessary to complete a master's thesis (for students in units where a master's degree is typically the terminal degree). For information or materials, contact Frank Spaulding, 688-4464 or spaulding.1@osu.edu.

March events affect traffic, parking

Transportation and Parking Services is anticipating heavier than normal traffic and parking conditions on campus with the approach of the annual state high school sports tournaments and winter commencement. The events, locations and parking limitations are:

• Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA) Boys' State Wrestling Tournament, Jerome Schottenstein Center: March 2-4, 9 a.m.-10 p.m. All Scarlet and Gray parking lots, located adjacent to the Schottenstein Center, will be reserved for OHSAA and disability parking passes.

• OHSAA Girls' State Basketball Tournament, Schottenstein Center: March 16-17, 2-11 p.m.; March 18, 11 a.m.-10:30 p.m. All Scarlet and Gray parking lots, adjacent to the Schottenstein Center, will be reserved for OHSAA and disability parking passes, as well as those attending the tournament.

• Ohio State Winter Commencement, St. John Arena: March 17, 9:30-11:30 a.m.

• OHSAA Boys' State Basketball Tournament, Schottenstein Center: March 23-25, 11 a.m.-11 p.m. All Scarlet and Gray parking lots adjacent to the Schottenstein Center will be reserved for OHSAA and disability parking passes. In addition, the North Riverbank parking lot, located on the southeast corner of Lane Avenue and Olentangy River Road, will be reserved for campers and buses.

Transportation and Parking is also expecting heavy pedestrian traffic and minimal available parking around the St. John Arena, Olentangy River Road, stadium and Schottenstein Center areas. To assist in reducing inconvenience, the office recommends that employees and students arrive on campus early for work, classes or appointments, and stay parked for the entire day.

Abstracts needed for Research Forum

The University Honors and Scholars Center and the Office of Research are calling for abstracts for the Undergraduate Research Forum, to be held from noon until 5:30 p.m. May 18 in the Ohio Union Ballrooms.

Students enrolled in any undergraduate degree program at Ohio State are invited to participate, provided they are engaged in supervised research projects in the area of their majors. Students selected by faculty judges for first through third prizes, along with their advisers, will receive cash awards.

Final presentations, which may be in the form of poster presentations, videotape, multimedia presentations, performance or other formats, will represent all undergraduate research areas. Entries can be submitted to the Office of Research between March 31 and April 14.

For more information, contact the Office of Research, 292-1211 or myers.29@osu.edu, or visit its Web site at http://research.rf.ohio-state.edu/student/denmanundergrad.html.

Urban affairs proposals sought

The Committee on Urban Affairs is requesting research proposals relating to issues and problems that apply to Ohio's urban areas. There will be two distinct competitions: a general request for proposals on a wide variety of urban topics similar to the process followed in previous years, and a request for proposals that pertain to research projects drawn from three specified topical areas.

Proposals in a general area should be directed toward either the enhancement of knowledge and understanding of significant urban issues and/or a solution to current urban problems. The committee will make awards of up to $20,000.

Proposals in a focused area will be funded through the new Universitywide Initiative in Urban and Regional Analysis, with funds set aside for one or more research projects. Areas of focus are urban regions: growth and governance; urban inequalities and issues of race; and urban education and employment. The committee will make at least one award of up to $40,000.

Proposals should be submitted by April 3 to W. Randy Smith, Committee on Urban Affairs, 203 Bricker Hall. For more information, contact Smith, 292-5881 or smith.70@osu.edu.

Women in Science Day 2000 is April 7

Ohio State will host more than 300 middle and high school girls on campus April 7. The girls will attend workshops presented by women faculty and staff throughout the campus.

New this year is the presentation of MIZ WIZARD by historian Jane Curry at 1 p.m. in the Ohio Union West Ballroom. The program will feature impersonations of women scientists representing the 17th-20th centuries.

Presenters, volunteers and escorts for the students while on campus are needed. Contact Raquel Diaz-Sprague, 268-1488 or diaz-sprague.1@osu.edu, or Sujata Gamage, 292-1311 or gamage.1@osu.edu.

Meeting planned on honors education

The University Honors Faculty Advisory Council is inviting all Ohio State faculty to attend a public meeting at 4 p.m. March 7 in the Grand Lounge of the Faculty Club to discuss the status of honors education at the University.

Faculty who have been involved in or who would like to be involved in honors teaching and research mentoring are particularly encouraged to attend.

Those planning to attend are asked to send an e-mail note to Karrie Mills, mills.284@osu.edu.