Distinguished Lecturer Cecchetti to discuss Federal Reserve and Sept. 11

The terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, created both human tragedy and financial crisis. But the work of the people at the Federal Reserve Board contained the financial fallout, according to Stephen G. Cecchetti, professor of economics. Cecchetti will explain what the Federal Reserve did to ensure that the U.S. banking system ran smoothly following the attacks during his University Distinguished Lecture at 4 p.m. Jan. 22 in the Wexner Center Film/Video Theater. His lecture is titled “Behind the Scenes on September 11: How the Federal Reserve Made Sure that Cash Machines and Credit Cards Kept Working.”

The free, public lecture will be followed by a reception.

Cecchetti will discuss how, while interest rate changes get the headlines, they aren’t the focus of the daily work of the 20,000 Federal Reserve employees. They spend their time making sure that the financial system works smoothly and that when people want to buy things, transactions are completed without a hitch.

Stephen G. Cecchetti

Cecchetti refers to the financial system as the nation’s economic plumbing, finding that just like the plumbing in homes and offices, when it works nobody notices. But like a water main break, a financial crisis is something that everyone notices.

The day-to-day job of the people who work for the Federal Reserve is to keep our financial plumbing working, Cecchetti said. They make sure that money can flow quickly and easily to where people want it to go.

From August 1997 to September 1999, Cecchetti served as executive vice president and director of research of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, as well as associate economist of the Federal Open Market Committee, where he provided advice on interest rate policy and helped to ensure the stability of the world financial system.

The University Distinguished Lecture Series was inaugurated in 1996 as one of the University’s highest honors for a senior faculty member. The lectureship is awarded in recognition of outstanding academic achievement, particularly, but not exclusively, in research, scholarship, or creative activity. The President’s and Provost’s Advisory Committee reviews nominations and recommends candidates to the president and provost for final selection.

The Office of Academic Affairs presents an award of $5,000 to the University Distinguished Lecturer to designate for a purpose that promotes the academic goals of the individual’s college and/or of the University. Cecchetti has designated that his award should be used to support the Mershon Center’s program on political economy.

Byars, Warren to deliver diversity lectures

Patti Wilson Byars, author of Separate Fountains, a young adult novel exploring bigotry, and Mervyn A. Warren, an expert on the life and preaching of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., will speak at 9 a.m. Jan. 14 and at 10 a.m. Jan. 15, respectively, as part of the President and Provost’s Diversity Lecture Series. Both lectures will be in the Conference Theater of the Ohio Union.

In her lecture “Separate Fountains: From Memoirs to Published Story,” Wilson Byars, currently an adjunct instructor of education at Florida State University, will share details from her memoirs of growing up in a segregated community in Jonesboro, Ga.

Provost and professor of preaching at Oakwood College in Huntsville, Ala., Warren spent more than three decades researching the life and work of King for his book, King Came Preaching, published in 2001 by the InterVarsity Press.

The lectures, which are free and open to the public, are a component of Ohio State’s Diversity Action Plan.

For details, contact Frank Hale Jr. at 688-4255, or visit the Web at www.osu.edu/diversity/buffer2.htm.

Service learning Web site workshop is Jan. 10

Faculty involved in community-based scholarship and incorporating service-learning in courses are invited to an interactive training session on use of the Ohio State Community Connection database, from 3-4:30 p.m. Jan. 10 at the Educational Learning Laboratory, 250 Younkin Success Center.

“The Community Connection: A User-friendly Tool to Facilitate Service Placement and Tracking in Service-Learning Courses” is designed to help teach faculty to use the new database to view postings by community partners of service needs and projects; link service sites with service-learning courses; and track and report student service hours by site/course.

Grief support group begins winter session

The winter session of Pathways, an adult grief support group, will meet weekly for six weeks through Feb. 13. Sessions will be held from 6-7:30 p.m. Thursdays, at Griswold-Worthington Senior Center, 777 N. High St.

The group is open to anyone who has experienced the loss of a loved one. There is no cost to participate, but registration is required. The group will be co-facilitated by Jill Staufenberg and Marge Cutler, staff members at The James.

To register or for details, contact Marge Cutler at 293-6850.

Wellness/Prevention Center hosts open house

An open house for the newly renovated OSU Center for Wellness and Prevention (CWP) will be from 9 a.m.-noon Jan. 25. Located at OSU Outpatient Services, 2050 Kenny Road, Suite 1010, CWP is a health and fitness resource for all Ohio State and OSU Medical Center employees, faculty, staff and physicians. Fitness and weight management information, tours of the facility and refreshments will be available during the open house.

Discounted membership rates are available to OSU/OSUMC faculty, staff and physicians. For membership information, call 293-2800.

Construction prompts bus stop changes 

Ongoing construction on the Woody Hayes Bridge has resulted in temporary changes in the following Campus Area Bus Service bus stops:

The Ag. West bus stop has been moved to the west, closer to Fyffe Road and will continue to be serviced by all applicable routes. The St. John West bus stop has been moved east of the St. John Arena Loop on Woody Hayes Drive and will not be serviced by Campus Loop North.

These changes are expected to be in place until mid-2004 (the estimated construction project completion date).

For more information, visit the Web at www.tp.ohio-state.edu/cabs/index.shtml.

Women’s health focus of AFPW luncheon

The Jan. 14 luncheon meeting of the Association of Faculty and Professional Women will feature a presentation by Marialice Bennett, clinical associate professor in the College of Pharmacy, titled “Women’s Health Matters.” Reservations are required by Jan. 10, and guests are welcome.

A mini-wellness and health clinic offered by the University Faculty & Staff Wellness Program, “Start the Year Right: Know Your Numbers,” also will be available to luncheon attendees.

Both events will be held from 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. in the Faculty Club Grand Lounge.

Faculty and staff members may complete a health risk assessment before the luncheon through the program’s Web site at www.osumhcs.com/wellness/program.asp.

For details, contact AFPW membership chairs Pam Park-Curry at 292-8616 or Peg Steele at 292-1900, or visit the Web at http://afpw.osu.edu.

Mershon Center is seeking grant proposals

The Mershon Center is requesting proposals for its annual faculty grant competition. The Mershon Center strives to advance the scholarly study and intellectual understanding of national security in a global context and requests proposals from those faculty members interested in working in areas that address this theme. The competition deadline is Jan. 31.

For details and proposal submission guidelines, contact Julie W. Rojewski, Mershon Center public relations coordinator, at 292-7529 or 292-5743 (fax), or visit the Web at www.mershon.ohio-state.edu.

Millett to address libraries fund-raiser

Allan Millett, the Raymond E. Mason Jr. Professor of Military History, will discuss “Their War for Korea” at 7:15 p.m. Jan. 21 at the Blackwell. The lecture is the second in the OSU Authors Present series featuring a top-rated authority on Ohio State’s faculty. A reception at6 p.m. and dinner at 6:30 p.m. precede the lecture.

Millett, a specialist in the history of American military policy and institutions, will draw insight from his eight trips to Korea and past work as a Fulbright Distinguished Professor at the Korean National Defense University. His most recent book takes a detailed look at the Korean War.

The series is sponsored by the Friends of the OSU Libraries, with proceeds to benefit the renovation of the University’s William Oxley Thompson Memorial Library.

For details or ticket purchases, call 292-3387.

Lecture to focus on electronic publishing

University Libraries is presenting “Electronic Publishing: New Models for Scholarly Communication,” Jan. 15 from 9:30-11:30 a.m. in the Faculty Club Grand Lounge. This is the third lecture in the Creating Change: The Impact of Technology and Economics on Scholarly Communication series.

Sponsors of the event are University Libraries, the Ohio State Council on Libraries and Information Technology, and the Battelle Endowment for Technology & Human Affairs.

Keynote speakers Kevin Guthrie and Rick Johnson will set the stage for new electronic publishing models they have conceived and implemented. This will be followed by a panel discussion -- moderated by Joseph J. Branin, director of University Libraries -- of Ohio State faculty who are addressing these issues as presidents of societies and editors of peer reviewed journals.

This is a free event and open to the public. For details, visit the Web at www.lib.ohio-state.edu/scholarcom/.

Those planning to attend who wish to confirm accessibility or request accommodations for persons with disabilities should contact Pat McCandless at 292-7089.

Wellness Program offers fitness sessions

The University Faculty & Staff Wellness Program has a variety of Lunch and Learn lectures and events scheduled for winter quarter. Sessions are free, unless otherwise noted, and run from noon-1 p.m.

Events, dates and locations scheduled for January and February are:

• Arthritis Answers, Jan. 28, 159 Heart and Lung Institute. Nick Turkas, director of programs and services for the Arthritis Foundation, Central Ohio Chapter, will discuss common forms of arthritis and ways to manage the disease.

• Valentine’s Luncheon, Feb. 11, Faculty Club Grand Lounge. Anton Thurn, Faculty Club chef will prepare a special Valentine cuisine. The cost is $8.95 per person.

• Prevention and Early Signs of Heart Attack and Stroke, Feb. 18, 122 Main Library.

• High Blood Pressure -- Are You At Risk?, Feb. 27, 122 Main Library.

For details or registration, visit www.osumhcs.com/signup/lunchsignup.asp.

Ohio Union hosts GLBT conference

The 11th Annual Midwest Bisexual, Lesbian, Gay, Transgender and Ally Student Conference will be Feb. 14-16 at the Ohio Union. Speakers and performers include RuPaul, Dar Williams, Toshi Reagon, Susie Bright, Suzanne Westenhoefer, H.I.S. Kings and Moises Kaufman.

For registration or details, visit the Web at http://multiculturalcenter.osu.edu/glbtss.

Kirwan to speak at Sixth Annual Lena Bailey Lecture

Former Ohio State President Brit Kirwan, now chancellor with the University System of Maryland, will return to Ohio State to deliver the Sixth Annual Lena C. Bailey Lecture on Leadership at 3:30 p.m., Jan. 23 in 200 Campbell Hall. The yearly lecture commemorates the life and service to Ohio State of Dean Bailey, who served on the faculty of the College of Human Ecology starting in 1961 and was dean from 1984 until her retirement in 1992. A reception will follow the lecture, both of which are open to the public. Call 292-6612 for more details.