Nationwide and Ohio Farm Bureau 4-H Center to be built on campus

Ground was broken Sept. 7 for a new Nationwide and Ohio Farm Bureau 4-H Center to be built on the campus of Ohio State. The facility is named in recognition of a recent challenge grant totaling $3 million from the Nationwide Foundation and the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation. Through this grant, these two donors will contribute $1 for every $2 raised by the University to support construction of the new 4-H facility.

"We are thrilled to continue our longstanding support of Ohio State, while at the same time pay tribute to an agribusiness heritage and a 75-year partnership with the Ohio Farm Bureau," said Stephen A. Rish, Nationwide Foundation president.

The facility, which will be located on Lane Avenue, west of the Jerome Schottenstein Center and east of state Route 315, will serve as a youth development center and a training center for volunteer leaders. Currently, more than 286,000 youth and more than 25,000 volunteers are involved in Ohio 4-H programs.

New OSU President Karen Holbrook praised the 4-H program's contribution to the development of youth in rural, urban and suburban areas as she addressed the crowd gathered for the Sept. 7 dedication ceremony.   By Jodi Miller

"This marvelous new facility will showcase the role 4-H has as Ohio State's primary youth outreach organization," added Bobby Moser, dean of the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences and vice president for agricultural administration and University outreach.

Together, Nationwide and the Farm Bureau have made gifts and pledges that total nearly half of what we need to build this new facility," added Jeff King, assistant director of Ohio State University Extension in charge of 4-H youth development. "Both have a long history of support for Ohio 4-H and related programs. I'm glad we're able to pay tribute to these partners by naming the new facility in their honor."

Thus far, $8.3 million of a $12 million private fund-raising goal has been raised for the new 4-H facility, the first of its kind on a land-grant university campus. Architectural plans are being drawn now and construction will begin as soon as the fund-raising goal is reached.

Featuring office space for Ohio State faculty and staff to conduct research, teaching and service relating to youth development, the Nationwide and Ohio Farm Bureau 4-H Center will include space for hands-on programs with youths and the adults who work with them, whether it's through 4-H or with sports teams, Boys and Girls Clubs, after-school programs, Boy and Girl Scouts, and other youth organizations. It also will feature technological links to Ohio's 88 counties and worldwide, and indoor and outdoor educational facilities are planned. "When 4-H members and their families come to the center, I think they will feel an even stronger tie to Ohio State -- they'll realize they're part of something much bigger than what's going on in their own county," King said.

In the United States, 4-H has become the largest youth organization in the world, with more than six million members in this country alone. In Ohio, 4-H is part of OSU Extension under the umbrella of the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences, and serves as the University's youth outreach program. This connection provides 4-H members with the latest research-based information, distributed through a network of county OSU Extension faculty and 4-H volunteers.

Across the nation, 2002 marks 4-H's centennial year. The organization traces its roots to the advent of boys' and girls' clubs that formed throughout the nation at the turn of the century, including a January 1902 meeting of a Boys' and Girls' Agricultural Experiment Club in Clark County, Ohio, attended by approximately 85 children, ages 10-15.

Reinicke selected as work/life program director

The Office of Human Resources recently announced Gabrielle Reinicke as the Program Director -- Work/Life. In this newly-created position, Reinicke will be responsible for ensuring that the University's policies, practices and services provide a supportive environment for productive work, for diverse personal needs and ambitions, and for community involvement.

The program director will serve as the University's consultant on work/life issues, and will assist with strategic, policy and development issues.

Reinicke will coordinate, implement and manage work/life projects, ensure coordinated communication on work/life issues, and establish tools and learning opportunities. Following the work of the Staff Commission on Work/Life and Professional Development, and the SRI Committee on being a Family-Friendly Employer, an action plan was developed and approved by University leadership. A key aspect of that plan was to name a full-time leader for this important workforce strategy. The Office of Human Resources has created this position from its own existing funding base.

"Gabrielle has served Ohio State for 18 years, and her combination of human resources experience and work/life expertise makes her uniquely qualified for the job," said Associate Vice President for Human Resources Larry M. Lewellen. "Gabrielle is highly respected by her colleagues for her talent and her leadership approach. She has a Ôbusiness' sense as well as an appreciation of human needs, and she has worked with a large number of departments at the University. We are pleased she will have a chance to continue to make a positive impact on work/life at Ohio State."

Reinicke has held a variety of positions within the Office of Human Resources, including senior human resource consultant, director of HRIS integration, director of consulting services and assistant director of compensation and classification. She also is certified as a senior professional of human resources through SHRM. She also has lent her time and skills to campus-wide organizations and efforts, serving as the OHR liaison to USAC, and recently as co-chair of the President's Commission on Staff Development and Work/Life.

"This position is very exciting for me," Reinicke said. "It is about integrating work/life supports into the way we conduct business at the University. As the staff work/life survey showed, the outcome for us will be a committed workforce that will help Ohio State reach its academic and business goals."

University adds to legal staff

Associate counsel to work on select contracts, claims

Virginia M. Trethewey, general counsel and executive assistant to the president, announced on Aug. 12 the appointment of Anneliese Bohm as an associate legal counsel. Bohm replaces Steven J. McDonald, who left the University in June to become the general counsel at the Rhode Island School of Design in Providence.

Trethewey said Bohm's training in business and contract law will add to the University's expertise in a key area.

"Every unit in the University has some involvement with contracts and multi-party transactions," Trethewey said. "Anneliese's experience will strengthen the services we can provide to colleges and support units."

Anneliese Bohm

Bohm joins the University from Baker & Hostetler, where she had been an associate since 1999 in the areas of business, real estate and securities law. Her experience also includes work with the New York State Supreme Court.

At the University, Bohm will work on select contracts as well as administrative claims, and will provide legal counsel to University Libraries, the John Glenn Institute for Public Service and Public Policy, the Wexner Center for the Arts and the WOSU stations. She also will work with Purchasing and Transportation and Parking Services.

A 1999 graduate of the Fordham University School of Law, Bohm earned a bachelor's degree in English from Bucknell University in 1995.

Bohm is a member of The Wellington School Board of Trustees and is chair of its alumni association. Additionally, she serves as a trustee to Opera Columbus and is a museum associate of the Columbus Museum of Art.

International appeal

Ohio State benefitting from attracting one of the nation's largest foreign student bodies

Like many students at Ohio State, undergraduate German Trejo knew a higher education was the key to opening the door to his dreams. But unlike most students, Trejo traveled thousands of miles from Mexico to pursue that dream in the United States.

Trejo, and more than 4,000 other international students at Ohio State, make up one of the nation's largest foreign student bodies at a public research institution. According to the Institute of International Education, Ohio State ranks third for its enrollment of foreign undergraduate, graduate and professional students.

The data, compiled for the 1999-00 academic year, ranks Ohio State as second in the Big Ten conference and seventh nationally for attracting international students to the Columbus campus.

John Greisberger, director of the Office of International Education, says foreign students gain as much from the experience as does the University.

"The reputations of our faculty members and academic departments attract international students to Ohio State," Greisberger said. "Our faculty and students benefit from that international perspective as well. Having this perspective -- no matter what the field of study -- is essential in this day and age."

Greisberger said the experiences of the students have helped Ohio State with recruitment efforts.

"Ohio State is an appealing university for international students," he said. "Word of mouth is the primary way that overseas students hear about Ohio State. It's a real mushrooming effect."

In autumn quarter 2001, Ohio State enrolled 4,313 international students from about 130 countries. Marie Taris, director of graduate, international and professional admissions, said this is the largest enrollment of foreign students in the history of Ohio State, and accounts for 8.9 percent of the total student body.

To enroll at Ohio State, Taris said international students are admitted based on three general criteria: academic performance and test scores; proficiency with English reading, writing and listening skills; and sufficient financial resources.

Undergraduate students from foreign countries -- which make up the smallest population of Ohio State's international community -- are now required to take the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) that is offered in many countries around the world. Taris said the requirements may be waived if the country doesn't offer the SAT.

Taris also said that graduate students -- who make up the largest population -- have been required to take the Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) for years. However, they are not required to show proof of financial resources because they generally take fellowships or associateships at Ohio State to fund their education.

In light of recent safety pre-cautions in the United States, Taris said the number of international students at Ohio State may decline in the future, since international students are finding it more difficult to get a student visa.

"The general concern about safety and the supposed threat posed by international students probably will impact our enrollment of international students next year," Taris said. "But this issue will affect every university in the country."

Greisberger said international students benefit the state of Ohio as well as the University community.

According to the Association of International Educators, Ohio hosted more than 18,000 international students during the 2000-01 academic year who made a net contribution to the state economy of more than $353 million from tuition, fees and living expenses. Foreign students attending Ohio State contributed the most of all colleges and universities in the state, at nearly $82 million.

During the 1999-2000 academic year, the Institute of International Education also ranked Ohio State ninth among research institutions at attracting foreign visiting scholars and 12th for sending students to study abroad.

"The University values diversity, and these international students bring their prospective and their experiences to the classroom," Greisberger said. "Ohio State students can have an international experience on campus through their involvement with foreign students."

Education journal celebrates 40 years

In 1962, Theory Into Practice was founded by the College of Education at Ohio State.

The journal's first editor was the eminent educational scholar, Egon Guba. The opening page of the inaugural issue stated the journal's mission -- both then and now: Committed to the point of view that there is an integral relationship between theory and practice for the administrator, teacher, [and] board member in the public schools.

"These 179 issues have brought together some of the most articulate and thoughtful educational theorists and practitioners to discuss topics ranging from technology to teacher education, from school reform to nonverbal communication, from child and adolescent development to curriculum theory," said Anita Woolfolk Hoy, editor of TIP and a professor of Educational Policy and Leadership.

Initially, TIP was published five times a year; however, beginning with Volume 19 in 1980, TIP published four issues a year (including a 25th-anniversary issue in 1987).

The themes for Volumes 1 through 40 shows that TIP has been at the forefront of educational inquiry, Hoy said. The first issue was devoted to "Teaching Machines and Language Laboratories," subsequently publishing four other issues on technology in teaching and learning. Also during its first year, TIP targeted the "Dilemma of Year-Round School Operation," a topic that could have been drawn from current research journals.

In its second volume, an issue on "Education and Human Dignity" featured articles on the development of racial bias in young children and the meaning of stereotypes.

"TIP has been a strong voice for diversity and dignity in education," Hoy said. She estimated that well over one-third of all TIP issues address diversity in teaching and learning.

To celebrate its anniversary, TIP introduced a new look. The covers of the four 40th-anniversary issues carry the names of each contributor to TIP since 1962 -- a veritable Who's Who of education. The journal also is adding some new features, such as article abstracts, book reviews and a list of additional classroom resources related to each issue's theme.

In addition, the journal has a new Web site, www.coe.ohio-state.edu/TIP.

Nationally recognized for excellence in the field of educational journalism by the Educational Press Association of America, Theory Into Practice is a frequent winner of the Distinguished Achievement Award in the Learned Article category.

"Theory Into Practice is a great tool for teachers, education researchers, students and professors because it provides a forum for different perspectives on issues in education that are just as relevant today as they were 40 years ago," Hoy said. "The College of Education is proud of the journal's long history, and looks forward to publishing another 40 years of thought-provoking educational literature that represents the highest quality and excellence in a field of inquiry."

The Theory Into Practice editorial staff includes associate editors Mary O'Sullivan, professor of physical activity and educational services, and David Fernie, professor of teaching and learning, managing editor Ava M. Stinnett, and editorial assistant Susan E. Gabel.

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