Category: Campus
Board to vote on leasing Gateway space
The Board of Trustees will decide Thursday whether to approve a decision to lease space in the South Campus Gateway for University Communications, which will ultimately cost the university millions of dollars. OSU officials would like to move the Office of University Communications, which houses personnel from Marketing Communications, Research Communications and Internal Communications, from the Kinnear Road Center to a space in the Gateway. Over the initial leasing period of 10 years, the proposal estimates the cost to be about $2.5 million. The plant, operation and maintenance fee that University Communications pays at Kinnear is $125,622.28, said Lynn Readey, associate vice president of OSU’s Facilities Operations and Development. The… Read more
How cops caught Libby, Felicity
On April 21, two cows escaped on the Ohio State campus while being unloaded at the OSU Veterinary Hospital. After a two-hour chase, OSU police finally caught the rambunctious cows, after firing four bullets into one of them. Travis Dennison and his family purchased Libby, 11, and Felicity, 12, about four years ago to breed, Dennison said. On their family farm, they own about 40 Belted Galloway beef cows, like Libby and Felicity. Libby is the one police shot — and she’s three to four months pregnant. She became aggressive, so police decided they might have to use deadly force. Dennison was at Vivian Hall with the police and knew… Read more
Tom Brokaw talks of Woody Hayes interview, service
Broadcast journalist Tom Brokaw gave members of the Ohio Chamber of Commerce a look into a journalist’s point of view when he spoke at the chamber’s annual meeting. Brokaw spoke to approximately 300 attendees at the Capitol Theatre, part of the Vern Riffe Center for Government and the Arts, in downtown Columbus. Host of the NBC Nightly News for more than 22 years, Brokaw reported on such events as the fall of the Berlin Wall and the September 11 attacks. He has interviewed every president since Lyndon B. Johnson, and his 1998 book “The Greatest Generation” was a best-seller. Emphasizing the importance of recognition and remembrance, Brokaw told a story… Read more
Student smokes competition with award-winning invention
When Trevis Kurz looked around at his surroundings last March, he knew he was representing Ohio State to people from all over the world. The commotion was incredible, the excitement was infectious and the competition seemed insurmountable. “There were 50,000 people,” Kurz said. “It was total chaos, I didn’t know what was going on that first day.” Kurz is not a five-star recruit on the men’s basketball team. He is a third-year in industrial design who placed first at the 2010 International Home + Housewares Show in Chicago March 14 to 16. Kurz, a transfer student from Toledo, won first place alongside a student from the University of Illinois in… Read more
Jackets player hitting the books, not the puck
Missing the playoffs for the eighth time in the Blue Jackets’ brief nine-year history was a disappointment the team, but R.J. Umberger is using his break to head back to school. With time off, the former Buckeye All-American is back at Ohio State in pursuit of the college degree he began working toward nearly 10 years ago. “This is something I set out to do at the beginning, and I like to see things completed,” Umberger said. “There is always life after hockey, and it helps me prepare for that.” The 27-year-old marketing major is no stranger to taking classes in the off-season. He managed to take online classes four… Read more
U.S. presidential adviser to speak at Spring Commencement
David Gergen, editor-at-large at U.S. News & World Report and a past adviser to four presidents, will be this year’s Spring Commencement speaker. “We are deeply honored to have David Gergen address our graduates,” Ohio State President E. Gordon Gee said in a press release. “No fewer than four presidents have depended upon his wise political analysis, broad historical understanding, and superb common sense. Without question, his insights at this time of great challenge and opportunity will enrich and enliven our Commencement ceremony.” Gergen spent time working for former presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford, and then became the director of communications for former President Ronald Reagan. He later served… Read more
Flash mob dancers didn’t stop believing
Unknowing students and visitors at the Ohio Union were bombarded May 3 by a mob of Ohio State students and staff members — a flash mob, that is. Dancing to the tune of Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believing,” about 70 OSU students and staff members, including President E. Gordon Gee, Brutus Buckeye and Tracy Stuck, director of the Union, shocked the crowd with a surprise choreographed routine. Last week’s ambush had been kept a secret since the idea came up in December, said dancer Matt Fenstermaker. “We practiced one to two times a week and more as it got closer,” said Fenstermaker, a second-year in art education. “It all started with… Read more
Trustees to vote on tuition hike
Two proposed tuition increases are expected to be made official Thursday when the Ohio State Board of Trustees votes at its May meeting. If passed, tuition would increase 3.5 percent Summer quarter, followed by another 3.5 percent increase Autumn quarter, meaning annual tuition would increase 7 percent, to $8,994, by autumn 2010. Factoring in other mandatory fees, such as the new Union fee, annual costs would be $9,420 for Ohio residents. University officials say the increase is necessary because of a decrease in funding from the state. “The university held off as long as possible in increasing tuition for our students and their families,” said Jim Lynch, director of Media… Read more
Background checks in ‘state of evolution’
There are gaps in the background check process for Ohio State students and employees, administration and Human Resources officials said. Those gaps, which could apply to some students and most faculty, will be addressed in a discussion about campus safety at a Board of Trustees meeting Thursday. Background checks are used to “lower the odds” of violence on campus, said Martha Garland, vice president for Student Life, who will lead the discussion at the meeting. “But even perfect background checks don’t guarantee that someone won’t … do something terrible,” Garland said. The board discussion was prompted by the workplace shooting in March, she said, when a third-shift custodial worker shot… Read more
