Endowed chair emphasizes teaching, advising

A recent gift of $1.5 million to the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences has established an endowed chair to emphasize teaching and advising.

The gift, from William H."Bill" Price II of Cody, Wyo., and Longboat Key, Fla., was made in memory of his father, the late Sanford G."Sandy" Price (B.S., agriculture, 1919), and his aunt, the late Isabelle Price Barbee (B.S., home economics, 1919).

"We are very grateful for Mr. Price's generous gift to establish the Price Chair," said President Brit Kirwan."The Price Chair will foster interdisciplinary collaboration and the exploration of connections between the theory and practice of teaching and learning. By focusing on teaching, advising and learning, the faculty member appointed to this prestigious position will greatly enrich the learning experience of our students."

The gift establishes the Sanford G. Price and Isabelle Price Barbee Chair in Teaching, Advising, and Learning in the college. Annual income from the fund will support the work of the faculty member appointed to the chair by the vice president for agricultural administration, a post held by Bobby D. Moser, who also serves as dean of the college and vice president for outreach and engagement. Once appointed, the Price chairholder will:

• Focus on improving the quality of teaching and advising through leadership in research, teaching and advising.

• Study the ever-evolving nature of undergraduate students and their learning preferences and processes.

• Determine and implement the best practices for teaching and advising and disseminate them to college and University faculty, to foster constant improvement in learning and a greater emphasis on advising students.

• Provide and encourage attendance at master teacher and adviser workshops for college and University faculty charged with disseminating new knowledge and skills, building a strong network to assist in research on learning, teaching and advising.

"The addition of this endowed chair to the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences will allow us to build upon a longstanding tradition of excellence in teaching and advising and move to the next level," Moser said."Importantly, Mr. Price's gift will benefit teachers and advisers throughout the college and beyond, through a number of programs that will be open to faculty members from across the University. The chairholder will work with colleagues, as well as the Office of Faculty and TA Development, to improve student learning in a number of ways, including a stronger emphasis on advising."

Sandy Price was an advocate for higher education and Ohio State, helping with recruitment of students (including student-athletes) and advising deans (particularly in agriculture and nursing) on ways to recruit and support students. His sister had a longtime interest in the Audubon Club and the Easter Seals organization, and was involved with the American Red Cross. She was a generous supporter of Ohio State during her lifetime.

"My dad used to say that education was more important than monetary things because it is something that cannot be taken away from you," Bill Price said."Through the establishment of this chair in honor of my father and my aunt, I want the ultimate impact to be on the youth, who are the future of our country. I want to impact the teaching and advising of young teachers and students, and for our faculty at Ohio State to be up to date on learning, teaching and advising theories. If our outstanding faculty are superior teachers who understand the learning process, our young people will be inspired and will become better citizens and professionals."

Bill Price's history of support for Ohio State has included gifts to the Department of Athletics, in addition to a number of gifts to the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences.

Technology, learning accelerated with new facility in Lima

A new technology center and learning resource has propelled distance learning and personalized tutoring to new levels at Ohio State Lima and, at the same time, is making life easier for faculty and students.

The facility opened autumn quarter after three years in development. More than $1 million went into the renovation of the third floor of Galvin Hall to create the OSU Learning Center and the Technology Services Center, said Steve Higgins, coordinator of the Learning Center.

Phillip Heath, a recently retired associate dean, was instrumental in getting the plan off the ground."He was able to see the advantages of merging high-tech with high-touch," Higgins said -- referring to distance learning and personal tutorial assistance, respectively. He also envisioned both centers assisting not just students struggling academically but those already accomplished who seek an even higher standard.

At the Learning Center, students receive free and personalized tutoring in all mathematics and statistics classes and foreign language, and guidance in all types of writing assignments across the curriculum. The centralization of Learning Center services -- previously housed in several different locations -- has made it easier for students to find help. Higgins said there were 4,000 visits by students autumn quarter, involving 500 individual students -- approximately a third of OSU-Lima's total enrollment.

"That, in effect, tripled the number of visitors we had a year prior to that in our old center," Higgins said.

To accommodate the demand, 30 to 35 work-study students have been enlisted and trained to provide tutoring. Three professional staff/faculty members with offices in the center work alongside the tutors.

The Learning Center has also made life easier for faculty by proctoring 222 make-up exams autumn quarter for instructors in 19 departments. Enclosed booths, including one with a computer specially equipped for students with disabilities, provide distraction-free environments for make-up exams, as well as for those students who wish to take advantage of the University's Credit by Examination Program.

The new facility is providing learning services for students with disabilities, including notetakers, scribes, extended exam times and taped textbooks, and soon will expand services to include supplementary instruction in chemistry and physics.

Meanwhile, the Technology Services Center has brought distance learning at Lima to the head of the class. While distance learning has been evolving at Lima for about eight years, until now only one video conferencing course could be conducted at a time.

"With the new facility, we can take virtually any classroom on the third floor and turn it into a distance learning classroom," said Lynn Trinko, coordinator of educational/media technology at Ohio State Lima.

Previously, distance learning consisted of courses being transmitted from Columbus to Lima, but now the doors are swinging both ways with coursework and faculty being shared from campus to campus."Not only are we receiving classes from Columbus, but we are also teaching courses to other regional campuses," Trinko said.

For example, when Debbie Brown, coordinator of agricultural programs at OSU Lima, convened class sessions in Ag Interdisciplinary 200 this quarter, she was teaching to students on several campuses simultaneously through video conferencing. Students were able to actively participate in discussions, regardless of their location.

The Technology Services Center offers expanded computer services, including a 40-station computer lab, a 20-station computer lab, a 20-station computer classroom, and a physically secure and environmentally controlled space for campus servers that was not available before, said Jim Kerr, coordinator of the Technology Services Center.

A multipurpose classroom within the center includes the services of an educational technology specialist and support staff to explore and develop new instructional materials and delivery systems. The classroom also serves as the site for education media courses, faculty and staff technology training, and other technology-based instruction, and will play a key training role during a campuswide rollout of software upgrades.

April is Hispanic Awareness Month

The offices of Hispanic Student Services and Ethnic Student Services, along with the Multicultural Center, will host the 24th Annual Hispanic Awareness Month Celebration throughout April at Ohio State. For complete event information, visit www.osu.edu/ethnicstudents/hss. The month's events include:

April 1Ð14

• Student Art Exhibit, Exposures Gallery, second floor Ohio Union. Reception 7:30-9 p.m. April 4.

April 2

• 24th Annual Celebration of Hispanic Awareness Month Opening Event, 4-6 p.m., Faculty Club.

April 4

• Norma Cantu: A Reading, 6-7:30 p.m., Multicultural Center, 436 Ohio Union.

April 5

• Latin and Luso America: Multiple Identities and Multiple Issues, 12:30-2 p.m., Founders Auditorium, Ohio State Newark. A panel will explore the multiplicity of ethnicities and/or cultures within Latin and Luso American countries.

• Hispanic/Latino/African-American Mixer, 5-10 p.m., Frank W. Hale Jr. Black Cultural Center.

April 8

• Muslim Art in Spain: The Golden Caliphate, 3:30 p.m., 220B Cunz Hall.

• Proxima Estacion: Esperanza, 6:30-8:30 p.m., Multicultural Center. Latin American students will lead a dialogue concerning social, economic and political issues affecting countries in Latin America.

April 9

• Latino Migration Story Project 2002, April 9-30, Bricker Hall; Art show opening and reception, 5-7 p.m., Bricker Hall.

• Public meeting of the Ohio Commission on Hispanic/Latino Affairs, 9:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m., Multicultural Center.

April 10

• Latin and Luso America: Multiple Identities and Multiple Issues, 12:30 p.m., Multicultural Center. (See April 5.)

• Muslim Art in the Land of the Christians: The Magnificent Mudejar, 3:30 p.m., 220B Cunz Hall.

• Film: La vida es silbar/Life is to Whistle, 7:30 p.m., 100 Independence Hall.

April 12

• Live by the Pen, Die by the Sword: Scribe Capture and Sacrifice in Ancient Maya Society, 12:30 p.m., Multicultural Center, featuring Kevin Johnston, assistant professor of anthropology.

April 13

• The Latin Rhythms of Puerto Rico, 1 p.m., Baker West Performance Space, and 3 p.m., Morrill Tower. PACO, Puerto Rican & Caribbean Organization of Dayton, will perform.

April 15

• Proxima Estacion: Esperanza, 6:30-8:30 p.m., Multicultural Center.

April 16

• Hermanas y Hermanos Somos: Sisters and Brothers Forever!, 12:30-1:30 p.m., Multicultural Center.

• Latin America in Caricature: Attitudes about Latin America in the 20th Century U.S. Popular Press, 3:30 p.m., Multicultural Center.

• Chiapas: What's Going On?, 6 p.m., Multicultural Center.

April 17

• SHADES Film: Corpus: A Home Movie for Selena, 6 p.m., Multicultural Center.

April 18

• Forgotten Black Communities: The Black Diaspora in Latin America, 3:30 p.m., Multicultural Center.

• Vamos a Conocer a Los Mayas, 6:30 p.m., Hillel Center, 46 E. 16th Ave. Photo exhibition and discussion about Yaxunah, Mexico, and the Mayan community.

• El entrecejo/the brow, 8 p.m., first floor Ohio Union. A solo movement theatre piece about Frido Kahlo by Angeles Romero.

• La Noche Latina/Late Night @the Ohio Union, 9 p.m.-1 a.m., East and West Ballrooms and Food Court area, Ohio Union. The evening includes performances, games, live music and children's activities.

April 19

• Wexner Center Film: La Cienaga, 7 p.m., Film/Video Theater.

April 20

• The First Annual Ohio Latin Americanist Conference, 9 a.m.-5 p.m., Hyatt Regency Columbus, 350 N. High St. For details, call 688-4285 or e-mail clas@osu.edu.

April 22

• Lalo Lopez Alcaraz: Latino USA -- A Cartoon History, 7 p.m., Rhodes Hall Auditorium.

April 23

• Who is that ÒIÓ that Speaks Today?, 1:30 p.m., Multicultural Center, presented by Ileana Rodriguez, professor of Spanish and Portuguese.

• The Return of the Repressed: Mexico's Dirty War and the Discourse of the Transition, 3:30 p.m., Multicultural Center, featuring Ignacio Corona, assistant professor of Spanish and Portuguese.

• Proxima Estacion: Esperanza, 6:30-8:30 p.m., Multicultural Center.

• Focus On Latinas: Tortilla Soup -- The Movie, 7:30 p.m., Multicultural Center.

April 24

• Film: Maria Antonia, 7:30 p.m., 100 Independence Hall.

April 25

• The Trans-Latino Ohio Women Writing Workshop: A Reading, 3:30 p.m., Multicultural Center.

• Proxima Estacion: Esperanza, 6:30-8:30 p.m., Multicultural Center.

April 27

• Servicio a la Comunidad, 10 a.m.-2 p.m., Ohio Union. Buses will leave the Ohio Union at 10 a.m. to go to Lincoln Park West Apartments for a community outreach event. Call Hispanic Student Services at 688-8449 to register.

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