HR extends benefits open enrollment

This year there are substantial changes in plan design and premium rates for University-sponsored benefits. Because individuals were asked to make enrollment decisions prior to the announcement of the University's salary increases, open enrollment will be extended to July 31 for faculty and staff who want to reconsider their medical, dental, vision and flexible spending account elections.

For details, contact the Human Resources Customer Service Center at 292-1050, e-mail service@hr1.ohr.ohio-state.edu or visit the Web at www.ohr.ohio-state.edu/oe01/home.htm.

Golf tourney raises cancer research funds

The 19th annual Herbert J. Block Memorial Golf Tournament benefiting cancer research at the Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute is set for June 25 at the Winding Hollow Country Club in New Albany. OSU Head Football Coach Jim Tressel is this year's honorary chair.

The tournament -- established in 1983 in memory of Herbert J. Block, who died of cancer in 1981 -- has raised more than $1.2 million for cancer research and education at OSU since its inception.

Participation in the tournament is limited. For details, call Brooke Foody at 293-3744.

Grant expands Latin American collection

The Department of Latin American Studies will apply $60,000 in Title VI funding received over the next three years to enhance the Language and Area Studies collection housed in the Main Library. The money makes it possible for the collection to acquire an additional 600 books, original manuscripts on microfilm, and CDs on topics such as Peruvian history and the classical works of the History of Latin America.

For details, contact Ted Riedinger at 688-8797 or riedinger.4@osu.edu, or John Bennett at 292-8114 or bennett.23@osu.edu.

ICRPH issues call for research proposals

For the 2002-03 academic year, the Institute for Collaborative Research and Public Humanities (ICRPH) invites proposals from faculty members for collaborative research projects in the humanities and related fields. Funding will be available for visiting scholars, outside speakers, release from teaching and other research support.

Projects must involve two (or more) faculty members working together, and preference will be given to projects that cross departmental/disciplinary lines or that undertake innovative modes of cooperative work.

Proposals (four pages maximum in length) should describe the topic to be investigated, the significance of a collaborative approach, and the specific form of collaboration envisioned, and should be accompanied by curriculum vitae. The deadline is Oct. 15.

For details or assistance, contact ICRPH Director Christian Zacher (zacher.1@osu.edu) or Associate Director Rick Livingston (livingston.28@osu.edu).

Fisher College offers new online series

The Fisher College of Business is introducing a new distance learning series, E-Business: Strategies for Competing in a Dot-Com World. The series of nine modules was developed for Fisher College by Roger Blackwell, professor of marketing and nationally recognized speaker and author, in collaboration with KMi, Knowledge Management Interactive.

Offered through the college's Executive Education program, the series' objective is to enable today's busy executives to use electronic media effectively in their marketing efforts.

Simultaneously, a new book by Blackwell and Kristina Stephan, Customers Rule! Why the E-commerce Honeymoon is Over and Where Winning Businesses Go from Here, has been released by Crown/Random House, with a book signing scheduled for 6 to 8 p.m. June 27 at the Barnes & Noble Booksellers, 3280 Tremont Road in Upper Arlington. The book complements the course, offering an inside look at e-commerce successes and failures.

For more information about the course modules, contact Lisa Antolino at 292-7780.

Medical Center opens Spanish health clinic

The University Medical Center is offering a free Spanish language health clinic, La Clinica Latina, to Spanish-speaking Ohioans who do not have health insurance and are in need of health care services. The clinic is open from 4:30 to 8 p.m. the first and third Tuesdays of every month, and is located at the Rardin Family Practice, 2231 N. High St.

For details or to schedule an appointment, call 268-1488.

Volunteers needed for Special Olympics

Volunteers are needed to help the Ohio Union serve meals to participants when Ohio State hosts the Special Olympics Ohio Games on June 22-24. Volunteers will assist the athletes through the meal lines. Help is needed for both mornings and afternoons.

For details, call 292-7924.

OSU is first site for Parkinson's database

The University Medical Center has collaborated with the Muhammad Ali Parkinson Research Center at Barro Neurological Institute in Phoenix to launch a national database to connect Parkinson's disease research centers throughout North America. OSU is the first site, with at least five other centers scheduled to join over the next two years.

The project uses Web-based technology to gather, store and share data about the disease and encourages doctors and researchers to add clinical information about patients willing to participate in the program. The database is expected to save time and research dollars by consolidating the tasks associated with the collection of research data.

For details, call 688-4678.

Newark campus hosts summer concerts

The Summer Concert Series at the Newark campus of Ohio State and Central Ohio Technical College will offer free programs through Labor Day weekend in the Martha Grace Reese Amphitheatre. The series includes an Independence Day Concert and fireworks on July 3 featuring the Land of Legend Philharmonic Orchestra and the Ohio State marching band. Concerts begin at 7 p.m.

For details, call (740) 366-9355.

Disability coverage undergoes changes

Beginning July 1, the University's disability benefits will be administered by a new provider -- Hartford Life. The change will increase coverage to 60 percent (previously 50 percent) of gross monthly income, and decrease the premium cost for the Select-Term Disability Option.

Disability coverage provides income protection when employees are unable to work due to a total disability. The University pays the premium for Long-Term Disability (LTD) coverage for those who have eligible appointments of 50 percent full-time equivalent (FTE) or greater. The benefit provides income after a 90-day waiting period.

Eligible faculty and staff have the option of purchasing Select-Term Disability (STD) coverage through Hartford Life to provide income after a 30-day waiting period -- until Long-Term Disability benefits begin. Select-Term Disability coverage can protect an employee's income in the case of a disability. Those currently enrolled in the STD option will be automatically enrolled in the new plan.

Eligible faculty and staff can enroll in the Select-Term Disability Option during the special open enrollment period through June 30 without providing evidence of insurability. Forms can be found online or in the Disability Booklets sent to eligible faculty and staff.

This is the only STD Option open enrollment period for three years unless employees meet employment or insurability conditions.

Visit the Web at www.ohr.ohio-state.edu/benefits/disability/home.htm for more information. For details on the new disability plans, contact the Human Resources Customer Service Center at 292-1050, (800) 678-6010 or service@hr1.ohr.ohio-state.edu. For specific disability-related questions, or to report an injury, contact Integrated Disability Services at (800) 678-6413 or 292-3439.