By Kevin Fitzsimons James Sheedy, left, with Sandy Anderson, clinical instructor, in the new Computer Eye Clinic.

Clinic seeks to relieve patients of computer-related vision problems

James Sheedy has a vision -- one that he hopes will help the vision of thousands of computer users.

Sheedy, who returned to Ohio State last fall after a 19-year absence, will direct the College of Optometry's Computer Eye Clinic, which opened April 1.

The clinic will focus primarily on Computer Vision Syndrome (CVS) -- a collective term for the symptoms associated with using a computer for hours on end.

"Working at a computer is a visually demanding task, and there are only going to be more jobs requiring workers to sit in front of a computer every day," said Sheedy, who is also an associate professor of optometry.

"Optometrists need to take into consideration a patient's work environment, such as where he sits in relation to his computer and how bright the lighting in his office is."

Nearly 15 percent of all patients seeing an optometrist complain of CVS symptoms, while as many as 90 percent of all computer users experience such symptoms at some point, Sheedy said. Symptoms include eyestrain, headaches, blurred vision, and even neck and back pain. Treatment for CVS runs nearly $2 billion annually.

Sheedy, who founded the Computer Eye Clinic at the University of California, Berkeley, in 1985, discussed CVS at Ohio State's Institute for Ergonomics' winter lecture series. He said that while optometrists may have a difficult time diagnosing a patient as having CVS, the good news is that, once diagnosed, the problem usually can be corrected.

CVS problems are difficult to diagnose for two reasons: A visually demanding task may aggravate marginal vision problems, and workplace factors such as lighting and monitor placement can also contribute to the problem.

Many of the patients Sheedy sees are presbyopic -- their eyes have lost the ability to focus on nearby objects and, as a result, they need bifocals. "Presbyopia is the most common reason for needing computer glasses," he said.

"Some patients require special computer glasses -- glasses with a different design or prescription from those required for normal vision needs," he said. "Computer glasses let the eyes focus at a close distance."

But computer glasses aren't a necessity for everyone with CVS-type symptoms. Sheedy suggests adjusting the lighting in a room, for starters. Ideally, overhead lights, desk lamps and computer monitors should have equal luminance -- or brightness. Try the visor test: While looking at the computer screen, use one hand as a visor to shield the eyes from overhead lights or bright light coming through a window.

"If you're more comfortable when bright lights are blocked from your field of vision, then the lights are a source of glare that may contribu
o your symptoms," Sheedy said. He suggests wearing a visor to block excess light.

He also advises folks to blink more. When relaxed, humans blink about 22 times a minute. Reading text on a computer screen cuts that figure by more than a third -- to seven times per minute. Blinking less means reduced moisture on the eyeball, which may cause dry eye problems. "Simply remembering to blink may help remedy dry eyes," Sheedy said. "In other cases, we give patients eye drops."

Finally, adjusting monitor height may provide some relief. The middle of the screen should be four to nine inches below eye level, as most people have a natural tendency to look down when reading. The same holds true for reference documents set off to the side of the monitor.

More information on CVS is posted on www.doctorergo.com, a Web site created by Sheedy. For more information about the Computer Eye Clinic, call 292-2020.

Karen Bell named dean of OSU's College of the Arts

Executive Vice President and Provost Edward J. Ray has recommended to President Brit Kirwan the appointment of Karen A. Bell as dean of Ohio State's College of the Arts. The Board of Trustees approved a five-year appointment -- effective May 1 through June 30, 2007 -- on April 5. The board also approved her promotion to professor, also effective May 1.

Bell, a well-known choreographer and performer, has served as interim dean of the college since Aug. 1. She replaced Judith S. Koroscik, who left the University last year to become dean of the College of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning at the University of Cincinnati.

Karen Bell, former chair of the Department of Dance, has been serving as interim arts dean since August.

"I find Karen's strong credentials and her outstanding record of accomplishment as a highly respected administrator and artist impressive, and her intelligence, integrity and personal skills should serve her well as she guides the college forward," Ray said.

"After conducting a national search, I concluded that Karen was the one best qualified and prepared to lead the college's continued path toward even greater excellence. Her organizational skills, coupled with her understanding of the University, make her an ideal leader of the college."

Before becoming interim dean, Bell had chaired the Department of Dance -- one of the leading dance departments in the country -- since 1995, including one year as acting chair. She also served as associate dean of the College of the Arts from 1992 to 1996 and was responsible for the college's undergraduate academic programs. She joined the Ohio State faculty in 1980.

She has been a visiting assistant professor at Cornell University and, prior to coming to Ohio State, taught at Cornell, Wells College, Elmira College and the State University of New York at Potsdam. She holds a master of fine arts in dance from Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, N.Y., and a bachelor's in sociology from SUNY Potsdam.

Bell's research interests and creative activity are in the areas of performance and choreography. Her most recent dance theater piece examined the themes of self-image, motherhood, divorce and work, through a common focus of aging.

Nationally, she serves on the National Association for Schools of Dance as an evaluator of other programs around the country, and is one of four who serves on the association's Commission on Accreditation.

"Becoming dean of the College of the Arts is a true honor," Bell said. "I look forward to working together with our extraordinary faculty, staff and students to continue to enhance our college's position as a leader in arts, scholarship, performance and education."

Ohio State creates program to help fight terrorism

Ohio State recently announced formation of a new multi-disciplinary research program designed to assist federal and state officials in better understanding the causes of international terrorism and finding appropriate solutions. The program will focus on both policy issues as well as the development of new technologies designed to protect Americans against the possibility of future terrorist attacks.

The new research initiative will be called the Program for International and Homeland Security and will be headed by recently retired Air Force Maj. Gen. Todd I. Stewart. Stewart was formerly director of plans and programs for the Air Force Materiel Command Headquarters at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton. Stewart comes to Ohio State after a 34-year career in the military. His appointment was approved by the Board of Trustees April 5.

Todd Stewart

In announcing Stewart's appointment, President Brit Kirwan said that the University is uniquely positioned to launch such a program because of its broad scope of disciplines, overall research capabilities and significant experience in conducting multi-disciplinary research.

"We are one of the largest and most comprehensive research universities in the country," Kirwan said. "This program will capitalize on Ohio State's extraordinary breadth of research expertise and allow us to apply that expertise to the creation and development of new and innovative approaches for understanding and fighting terrorism."

The new program also represents a collaboration with the Battelle Memorial Institute, Kirwan said. "The University will focus on its basic research capabilities, while Battelle will offer its expertise on the application and commercialization of our research efforts."

Stewart said his role initially will be to facilitate the process of identifying research efforts within the University that could influence national and international security and connect them with outside development entities such as Battelle. "Our goal," he said, "will be to pursue research that will enable us to better understand the sources of terrorism and solutions for how it can be stopped."

Stewart said that he wants to reach out to potential research partners, to funding agencies, businesses and industry, professional and scientific societies, and other organizations that would be likely active partners, developing a network that would work in close collaboration with Ohio State.

"The program that Todd Stewart will lead holds great promise for effectively addressing many of the nation's security problems," said C. Bradley Moore, vice president for research. "It also meshes perfectly with the institution's Academic Plan to build multidisciplinary research programs that attack some of the major problems facing our society." Administratively, the new program director will report to Moore.

Stewart earned his bachelor's degree in civil engineering from Michigan Technological University, his master's degree in engineering administration from Southern Methodist University and his doctorate in management from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

He is also a graduate of both the Air Force's Air War College and the Air Command and Staff College. He has held positions as graduate instructor, and assistant and associate professor of management at the Air Force Institute of Technology, where he developed and taught at least 10 separate graduate courses.

He is the author of at least 18 scholarly papers focusing on research in management and in civil engineering. In 1993, he was selected to receive the Newman Medal, an award given by the Society of American Military Engineers for the most outstanding contribution to Air Force engineering.

In his last military assignment at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Stewart directed strategic planning and resource programming for an organization of 85,000 people, operating in eight business areas, at 13 U.S. locations and 400 locations worldwide, with annual revenues exceeding $35 billion.

Race and Ethnicity Institute director to join Ohio State in January

The Board of Trustees has appointed john a. powell as director of Ohio State's new Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity in the Americas, effective Jan. 15, 2003, through June 30, 2006.

Executive Vice President and Provost Edward J. Ray recommended the appointment to President Brit Kirwan. powell also was appointed to the Gregory H. Williams Chair in Civil Rights and Civil Liberties in the Moritz College of Law.

powell, who does not capitalize his name, currently serves as executive director of the Institute on Race and Poverty at the University of Minnesota and as Earl R. Larson Chair in Civil Rights and Civil Liberties at Minnesota's law school.

"Professor powell is a nationally known scholar whose work explores such important issues as the intersections of race and poverty, race and housing policy, and the use of racial categories," Ray said. "Professor powell founded the Institute of Race and Poverty at the University of Minnesota. Under his leadership, the institute has studied and published reports on racial profiling, housing discrimination, and the relationship among housing, education and segregation.

"We are very pleased that Professor powell will join us next year to lead our new institute. The institute will be unique and an exceptional addition to Ohio State's academic programs, and it will benefit enormously from the leadership of john powell."

The Office of Academic Affairs conducted a national search for the director position, seeking individuals who were recognized internationally for their scholarship and leadership in the fields of race and ethnicity.

The institute is a key component of the University's Academic Plan and is being established to position Ohio State as an international research leader in the interdisciplinary field of race and ethnicity studies. The institute will encourage cutting-edge scholarship and will enhance Ohio State's effort to recruit and retain outstanding minority faculty members, an important priority of the Diversity Action Plan.

"The Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity in the Americas will help us establish the University as a leader in an emerging interdisciplinary field with significant opportunities for both academic recognition and external funding," Kirwan said. "In addition, it will encourage scholarship in a field of overwhelming social, political and cultural importance, advancing outreach on local, national and global scales. And it will enable us to build a more diverse faculty by playing a role in the recruitment and retention of top minority scholars."