Fisher among the Top 25 MBA programs in U.S.

40th worldwide, according to Financial Times rankings

By LAURA BOWERS, Fisher College Media Relations

The London-based Financial Times recently released its 2004 rankings of the top 100 MBA programs worldwide. 

The Fisher College of Business was ranked 40th internationally, down from 39th in 2003.

In addition, Fisher College was ranked 25th among schools in the United States and 8th among public business schools.

The survey also ranked Fisher College in the following categories:

• Career progress: 7th internationally, 2nd in the United States;

• Placement rate: 16th internationally, 5th in the United States;

• Faculty research: 21st internationally, 19th in the United States; and

• International experience: 27th internationally, 6th in the United States. "At a time when many U.S. schools dropped in the Financial Times rankings as a result of lower salaries for graduates, it is satisfying to note that Fisher held its own," said Joseph Alutto, dean of the college. "I'm pleased that our program is consistently ranked among the top 10 public business schools and that our Career Services office is once again recognized for its outstanding efforts."

The Financial Times surveyed business schools and alumni from the class of 2000 and ranked the top 100 schools using the following criteria: salary levels of graduates; program value for money; career progression; aims achieved; placement success; alumni recommendations; diversity among students, faculty and board members; numbers of faculty with doctorates; faculty research; and doctoral programs.

Treatment-related cancer may give survivors double whammy

By MICHELLE GAILIUN, Medical Center Communications

It doesn't happen often, but when it does, it is devastating. A small but significant number of people diagnosed with cancer will develop cancer again during their lifetimes -- not a recurrence, but a secondary cancer resulting from the very treatment that was designed to help them in the first place.

"Secondary cancers are very rare, but they do occur, and we want patients to understand that they are a possible outcome of treatment," said Charles Shapiro, director of breast medical oncology at Ohio State's Comprehensive Cancer Center.

Various studies estimate the incidence of secondary cancers between 1 to 2 percent. Shapiro notes these tumors usually appear long after a patient has completed initial treatment for a primary tumor, sometimes as long as 10 to 20 years later. One of the most serious secondary cancers that can develop is leukemia that can occur as a direct result of radiation or chemotherapy.

"Radiation, chemotherapy and some hormonal treatments are all associated with a higher risk of developing secondary cancer, but at this point, we are not able to clearly identify which patients are most at risk," Shapiro said.

Shapiro and co-author Sister Mary Andrew Matesich recently completed a review of secondary cancers in breast cancer patients that appears in the December 2003 issue of Seminars in Oncology. The authors note that most information about secondary cancer is retrospective and comes from cancer registries and case-control studies. Shapiro notes that these studies are often biased, making it difficult to attribute a direct cause and effect relationship between a second cancer and treatment received decades earlier.

"Still, we know that low-dose ionizing radiation can cause leukemia, breast and thyroid cancers 10 to 20 years after exposure and that patients who receive certain chemotherapeutic agents like cyclophosphomide and the topoisomerase II inhibitors like doxorubicin and epirubicin are also at higher risk of leukemia," Shapiro said. Both classes of chemotherapies can lead to chromosomal changes involved in the development of acute myeloid leukemia or other disorders of the blood called myelodysplastic syndromes.

In addition, the use of tamoxifen, a hormonal therapy often prescribed as an anti-cancer agent for women after initial treatment for breast cancer, also increases a woman's risk of endometrial cancer, and the longer it's used, the greater the risk.

"Despite these findings, we know that the benefit of initial therapy far outweighs any risk associated with developing a fatal second cancer. In addition, many of the second cancers we see today come from outmoded therapies we no longer use," Shapiro said. "Many of the newer approaches in use today should reduce toxicity, and will result in fewer secondary cancers in the future."

Moritz College of Law to offer new master's degree program

Trustees approve M.S.L. degree, expected to be offered by fall 2004

By LIZ CUTLER GATES, Moritz College Communications

The Ohio State Board of Trustees has approved the creation of a Master of the Study of Law (M.S.L.) degree in the university's Michael E. Moritz College of Law. The degree, an alternative to the three-year, full-time program leading to a Juris Doctor degree, will be offered beginning in fall 2004, subject to approval by the American Bar Association's Section of Legal Education and the Ohio Board of Regents. Both approvals are anticipated in early 2004.

The new program will offer a non-professional degree and will provide an education in legal principles and methodology for students and professionals in other disciplines who have no previous legal training and require or could benefit from knowledge of the legal system.

L. Camille Hébert, Carter C. Kissell Professor of Law, has spearheaded the college's effort to implement the new M.S.L. program. She said the program will provide a great opportunity for students who "need to learn about the law, but don't need to be lawyers."

Hébert said the M.S.L. program is targeted at scholars in non-legal academic disciplines and professionals who frequently deal with legal issues.

To gain admission to the program, a student must hold a doctoral degree in a discipline other than law or must have completed a program of study of at least 45 quarter hours or 30 semester hours toward a doctoral degree. These educational requirements could be waived for applicants with extensive background or experience whose work would benefit significantly from legal training and who would contribute significantly to the program.

Hébert cited a legal affairs journalist as an example of a professional who might qualify for such a waiver.

Students admitted to the M.S.L. program will be required to complete 30 semester hours in legal courses offered at the Moritz College. Each student will design his or her individual course of study, in accordance with his or her academic or professional interests, subject to approval by the program's faculty administrator.

M.S.L. students will be permitted to enroll in upper-level elective courses at the Moritz College. In addition, they will be required to complete at least three traditional first-year law courses to gain the necessary foundation for upper-level courses in their particular areas of interest.

Hébert said full-time students will be able to complete the M.S.L. program in one year, while part-time students will have up to four years to complete the program's requirements.

Hébert said she believes the program not only will benefit those who wish to pursue the new master's degree, but will provide a benefit to the college's Juris Doctor (J.D.) students, as well. "For our J.D. students, having people with other (academic and professional) perspectives in the classroom will help (them) realize that other disciplines offer different perspectives" on the issues they are studying and discussing in class, she said.

Allan J. Samansky, the Robert J. Watkins/Procter & Gamble Designated Professor of Law, will direct the M.S.L. program.

Individuals interested in the program should contact Kelly Bott Smith, director of enrollment services, at 292-5992 or bott.15@osu.edu. Information also will be available within a few weeks on the school's Web site, http://moritzlaw.osu.edu.