onCampus redesign set for Sept. 27 issue

Following the publication of our annual resource Guide later this month, onCampus will experience a transformation -- of both look and feel.

For the first time since 1992, the newspaper will undergo a substantive redesign. The first redesigned issue will be mailed to all faculty and staff on Sept. 27, and will appear in the usual select spots throughout campus. The redesign marks more than three decades of onCampus at Ohio State.

The new format will allow for bolder use of photographs and graphics, and will incorporate new type styles and sizes that conform with emerging University visual identity guidelines. The design results in a cleaner, more polished look, and the subtle type changes are intended to be friendlier to the reading eye.

Much of the content you have come to expect from onCampus -- highlights of faculty, staff and institutional accomplishments; coverage of issues and actions affecting faculty and staff; communications from the central administration; and other stories that foster pride in and appreciation for Ohio State -- will remain. But some of it will be rearranged.

On page two, readers will find a table of contents to guide them to the regular and popular sections of the newspaper: Memos, Calendar, In Ink, Trustees, and Faculty & Staff. Memos will move from page two to the back of the newspaper, more closely linking those news notices with the Calendar listings. They will be replaced on page two by continuations of stories that begin on page one.

In addition, the Research section will be renamed Discoveries, and will hold a spot on page five in recognition of the importance of research to our institutional success.

Paid advertisements will continue to appear throughout the publication, and three new ad sizes have been introduced this year. See our Web site, www.osu.edu/oncampus, for full descriptions of ad sizes, policies and rates.

A new feature will rely on faculty, staff and administrative participation. Beginning with the redesign, onCampus will feature a Forum page on which guest columns and letters to the editor will be published. The exchange of opinions and ideas will focus on topics of broad interest to the University community. A policies box prominently placed on the page will set the ground rules for publication of submissions -- first and foremost, personal attacks will not be published, and the editorial staff reserves the right to reject any letter and to edit letters for publication.

We invite your input now for our first issue. Letters should be no more than 300 words, and columns should not exceed 750 words. Letters may be sent by fax to 292-1861, via e-mail to oncampus@osu.edu, or through campus mail to onCampus, 1125 Kinnear Road. Columns must be submitted electronically. All faxed and mailed submissions must be signed and include a telephone number; all authors will be contacted to verify the submissions' origin.

The deadline for the first Forum page is Sept. 17.

We hope you enjoy the improvements to onCampus. I'd like to take this opportunity to thank Mary Meyers of University Marketing Communications for her work on the new design.

-- Emily Caldwell

Cartoon festival features virtuoso cartoonists

The spotlight will be on virtuoso cartoonists for this year's Festival of Cartoon Art, held at Ohio State Sept. 28-29. The festival will welcome more than a dozen world-renowned cartoonists to lead discussions on artistic virtuosity, and will include two exhibitions -- one showing the work of 19 historic cartoonists and the other displaying Calvin and Hobbes strips by Bill Watterson.

Defining a virtuoso can be a subjective task, said Lucy Shelton Caswell, curator of Ohio State's Cartoon Research Library, which has sponsored the triennial festival since 1983. "One is reminded of Justice Potter Stuart's 1964 opinion about pornography -- 'I know it when I see it.' There are, however, undisputed leaders in the field. We hope that this examination of genius will spark debate that results in an increased understanding and appreciation of cartoon art," Caswell said.

Scheduled speakers come from a variety of backgrounds within the cartoon art field. They include: Lynn Johnston, author of the comic strip For Better or For Worse, syndicated in more than 2,000 papers worldwide; editorial cartoonist Patrick Oliphant, who has been nationally and internationally syndicated since 1965 and is the winner of numerous awards, including the 1965 Pulitzer Prize and the Premio Satira Politica of Italy; and Jeff Smith, who founded Cartoon Books in 1991 to publish his comic, Bone, the epic adventure of Fone Bone and his friends.

Other speakers include Mad magazine cartoonist Sergio Aragones; Lynda Barry, creator of the nationally syndicated comic strip Ernie Pook's Comeek; Jim Borgman, co-creator of the syndicated strip Zits; The New Yorker and Playboy cartoonist Eldon Dedini; The Spirit creator Will Eisner; Ben Katchor, creator of the comic strips Julius Knipl Real Estate Photographer and The Cardboard Valise; Rick Kirkman, creator of the syndicated strip Baby Blues; David Levine, contributing caricaturist for the New York Review of Books; former New Yorker cartoon editor Lee Lorenz; Patrick McDonnell, co-author of Krazy Kat: The Art of George Herriman; Roy Peterson, editorial cartoonist for the Vancouver Sun and Maclean's and a six-time winner of the National Newspaper Award; Trina Robbins, founding member of Wimmen's Comix Collective; Jerry Scott, co-creator of Baby Blues with Kirkman and Zits with Borgman; and Rebecca Zurier, associate professor of history of art at the University of Michigan.

In early 2000, the Cartoon Research Library solicited nominations for virtuoso cartoonists from scholars, professionals and collectors, resulting in about 100 nominations. The list formed the basis for the exhibit Historic Virtuoso Cartoonists, featured at the Columbus Cultural Arts Center, 139 W. Main St., through Sept. 30. The show includes original art and tear sheets by 19 cartoonists, all deceased, including Thomas Nast, James Thurber, Milton Caniff, Walt Kelly and Charles M. Schulz.

Calvin and Hobbes: Sunday Pages 1985-1995 is the first exhibition devoted to Bill Watterson's popular comic strip. Thirty-six original Sunday comic strips selected by Watterson and lent by him from his personal collection will be on display in the Cartoon Research Library through Jan. 15, 2002. Watterson will not be making any public appearances. Admission to both exhibits is free.

Caswell said the festival attracts a mix of people, from professional cartoonists to students, with at least 29 states and three countries represented this year. Most events will be held in the Ohio Union Conference Theatre. Pre-registration is required; admission is $100 for the general public and $25 for students and senior citizens.

For additional information, contact the library at 292-0538 or cartoons@osu.edu, or visit www.lib.ohio-state.edu/OSU_profile/cgaweb/fca2001.htm.

Charity Drive sets $760,000 goal

In January, Kam Sigafoos hopes to see central Ohio health and human services agencies be $760,000 richer than they are now, thanks to efforts on the part of Ohio State's faculty, staff, students and retirees.

"I can say the community looks to us for leadership," said Sigafoos, chair of the 2001 Community Charitable Drive and associate executive director of University Hospitals. "This is Ohio State's opportunity to support the community that supports us."

Bucks for Charity 2001 will officially kick off Sept. 17 and continue through Nov. 16. The annual drive raises funds for a variety of purposes, including food banks, literacy initiatives, homeless shelters and environmental efforts.

Several changes are in store for this year's drive, including using a new method to identify and recognize the generosity of donors.

"We have decided to join an effort which began last year through United Way of Central Ohio," said Ned Cullom, program manager of special events for the Office of Human Resources. "The new Leaders Circle is a way to recognize significant giving by individuals at all income levels."

Instead of honoring only individuals who give at the $750 level or higher, as in previous years, Leaders Circle membership is determined on a graduated scale. Depending upon their salary level, faculty and staff will be asked to donate between half of 1 percent to 2 percent of their annual salaries to qualify. Participants will be eligible for a prize drawing at the drive's midpoint, and will be invited to a Leaders Circle Celebration, an annual community event with local and national entertainment at Nationwide Arena.

Also new this year is the addition of a ninth federation, Earth Share of Ohio, a consortium of environmental and conservation charities. The other federations represented this year are: the Black United Fund of Ohio; Community Health Charities of Ohio; Greater Columbus Community Shares; The United Negro College Fund; and United Way of Central Ohio and Delaware, Fairfield and Union counties. The federations serve as umbrella organizations for several independent member agencies representing a wide range of health and human services.

"In my 25 years at the University, I've heard all kinds of reasons for not donating," Sigafoos said. "The old argument of 'My favorite charity isn't here' no longer works. There's virtually no one who can't find some worthy cause in this long list of organizations."

A donor guide lists all eligible organizations and their member agencies and will be distributed by fund-raising coordinators in every department and college throughout the Columbus campus. Donors also have the option of designating funds to other tax-exempt health and human service agencies. Gifts can be made through payroll deductions or one-time gifts. All donations are tax deductible.

For more information, call 292-0641 or contact your unit's coordinator.

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