TRUSTEES

The Ohio State Board of Trustees held its monthly meeting on Oct. 5 in room 550 of the Prior Health Sciences Library. Ohio State is governed by a board of 11 trustees (including two nonvoting student members) who are responsible for oversight of academic programs, budgets and general administration, and employment of faculty and staff. The governor annually appoints one voting member to a nine-year term and one nonvoting student member to a two-year term.

Undergraduate Research Forum continues to broaden its scope

A six-year-old undergraduate research forum at Ohio State is continuing to broaden its scope.

Longtime University supporters and alumni Richard and Martha Denman began sponsoring the Richard J. and Martha D. Denman Undergraduate Research Forum six years ago at Ohio State to give students a venue to showcase their research and to teach them to become"self-motivators."

Richard Denman, a member of The Ohio State University Foundation Board of Directors, told the Board of Trustees on Oct. 5 about the"amazing quality" of student presentations at the undergraduate forum. During the meeting, the trustees also learned about Ohio State's freshman research seminars, the characteristics of this year's freshman class and the opening of classes.

Throughout the years, the undergraduate research forum has attracted the best and brightest undergraduate students at Ohio State. The forum, designed as a central University showcase for undergraduate research, has grown from about 70 student participants in its first year to more than 150 undergraduates last year.

Keith Alley, senior associate vice president for research, reported that the best undergraduate research projects in the Denman Research Forum were published in the inaugural edition of Ohio State's Journal of Undergraduate Research Scholarship. The journal, designed and managed by a student editorial board with support from faculty members, soon will be available on Ohio State's Web site.

The Journal of Undergraduate Research Scholarship has three main objectives that coincide with Ohio State's Academic Plan, Alley said. Its goal is to encourage undergraduate students to take part in future research projects; to provide Web-based documentation of the students' projects; and to promote the University's efforts to encourage undergraduate research.

"Originally, we wanted to get students interested in the questions of research," Alley said."Now we are starting to build other things around the undergraduate research forum."

The freshman research seminar is another undergraduate initiative that complements the University's Denman Research Forum and its Academic Plan, said Kay Halasek, associate provost and director of University Honors and Scholars.

Halasek said the 12 freshman research seminars, set to begin in winter and spring quarters, are inquiry-based models of learning for honors and scholars students that connect with the daily lives of the students and the community. In the past, undergraduate students were not offered this experience until their latter years at the University. By introducing the students to research at the start of their college career, Halasek said,"the seminars will fundamentally change the students' experiences in every other class."

Among the 12 research seminar topics are the Life and Times: Levels of Analysis and Social Behavior in Daily Life; an Introduction to Research in Behavioral Neuroscience and Health Psychology; and Global Climate and Environmental Change: Individuals Matter. Halasek said the experience students gain from these seminars would better prepare them for any avenue they pursue in the future.

During their meeting, the trustees also learned about highlights from this year's Welcome Week and the freshman class characteristics. Richard Hollingsworth, associate vice president for student affairs, said more than 4,000 students arrived on campus during Welcome Week's Residence Hall Move-In Day and were assisted by 1,300 student Opening Welcome Leaders and 530 staff members. At this year's convocation, about 5,000 students were officially welcomed to the University, and between 13,000 and 15,000 attended the Student Involvement Fair, which represented 400 student organizations. On the day before classes began, about 1,100 students volunteered at 65 local agencies as a part of Ohio State's Community Commitment Day, which is believed to be the largest service project on a college campus.

Martha Garland, vice provost and dean for undergraduate studies, told the trustees that this year's freshman class is the brightest and most diverse class in the University's history. For the sixth consecutive year, Ohio State's freshman class ranks higher in terms of school performance, test scores and other indicators of academic quality. Among the highlights are a greater percentage of incoming freshmen who are National Merit Scholars, more who are class valedictorians, more in the top 10 percent of their high school class and a higher- than-ever average ACT score.

Lease agreement presented

Trustees heard a report on the planned lease of and option to purchase the J. Leonard Camera Center, located on the east side of Kenny Road just south of Blankenship Hall. The center is currently owned by the Bureau of Workers Compensation, and is surrounded by several Ohio State facilities.

The University has been leasing approximately 52,000 square feet in the Camera Center for six years to provide space for medical clinics and other uses, including the ARMS project. It now has an opportunity to lease the entire facility to support University Medical Center services for five years with two five-year renewals. No purchase action is being sought at this time.

The Medical Center is planning $3 million to $8 million in improvements to the facilities, with all costs to be covered by the Medical Center through lease payments. The Medical Center will use the facilities primarily for Hospitals-based entities that may include Orthopaedics, the Center for Wellness, Sports Medicine, University Reference Labs, the Pain Clinic, Plastic Surgery, Urology, General Surgery, Neurology-Parkinsons and MS, Sleep Diagnostics, Dermatology, Ophthalmology and other clinic services.

Relocation of these programs will provide additional revenues and operating efficiencies for the Medical Center and improved access to services for patients.

Life Sciences building named

Trustees approved the naming of Ohio State's Life Sciences Research Building, which will be located at 318 W. 12th Ave., as The Stanley J. Aronoff Laboratory in honor of Aronoff, who earned a reputation as a committed champion of higher education during his career in the General Assembly. Aronoff served in the Ohio General Assembly for 36 years, including three terms in the House of Representatives and eight terms in the Ohio Senate. Aronoff was the president of the Ohio Senate from 1989 to 1996.

Endowed funds accepted

A new named endowed chair was approved by the Board of Trustees. In addition, trustees accepted nine new named endowed funds, which, combined with the endowed chair, represent more than $2 million in gifts to the University.

The Frederick P. Zuspan, M.D., Chair, funded at $1.3 million, will provide support for the faculty chair in the fields of obstetrics and gynecology in the College of Medicine and Public Health. The chair was established with gifts from Zuspan and his colleagues and friends, and the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

The endowed chair recognizes Zuspan, professor and chair emeritus of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

Trustees also accepted 246 research grants and contracts totaling more than $23 million awarded to the Ohio State University Research Foundation, and also approved personnel appointments, among other business.

Other named endowed funds established by the board include the following:

• The George E. Large Memorial Fund, $149,063.

• The Friends of The Ohio State University Endowed Merit Scholarship Fund, $100,000.

• Ohio Nursery Landscape Horticulture Program Endowment Fund, $100,000.

• The Alan G. and Marie Loofbourrow Memorial Fund in the College of Engineering, $99,387.

• The Thomas and Ann Nordholt Hunnicutt Scholarship Fund, $61,439.

• The Robert Stewart LEAD Endowment Fund, $40,000.

• The Chrisha L. Siebert Fund in Theatre Technology and Design (Chrisha's Fund), $30,000.

• The Kraig A. Tallman Memorial Scholarship Fund in Cheerleading, $29,045.

• The Mark J. Cohen and Rose Marie McDaniel Endowment Fund, $25,866.

Eng named to professorship

Charis Eng, associate professor of internal medicine, has been named to The William C. and Joan E. Davis Cancer Research Professorship, effective Oct. 1 through June 30, 2005. Eng received his B.A., Ph.D. and M.D. degrees from the University of Chicago and conducted postdoctoral study in cancer genetics at the University of Cambridge (U.K.). He joined the Ohio State faculty in 1999.