Fund for Education Abroad Works to Increase Number & Diversity of American Undergraduates Studying Abroad

From UC International:

 The Fund for Education Abroad (FEA) is a non-profit organization dedicated to increasing the number and diversity of American undergraduate students studying abroad.  We work to reduce financial restrictions for these students and were able to award twelve scholarships for the 2012-2013 academic year. 

 

We are now looking for students who are planning to study during the 2013-2014 academic year.  Hoping to reach more students, we have altered our award period, which now includes Summer 2013, Fall 2013, and Spring 2014.  Our deadline has been moved as well, and this year we are accepting applications beginning November 15, 2012 through January 18, 2013.  We hope that this application period is more accessible to students who may not begin considering study abroad over a year ahead of time. 

Application details can be found here:  http://www.fundforeducationabroad.org 

For questions or further information, contact FEA's Program Manager, Beth Lokken.  She can be reached via phone (202-340-7340) or email (blokken@fundforeducationabroad.org).

Nominate Bearcats for the Marian Spencer Diversity Ambassador Award - Deadline Jan 31st!

Marian Spencer Diversity Ambassador Award

Please consider nominating someone for the Marian Spencer Diversity Ambassador Award to showcase current campus affiliated individuals and groups whose diversity initiatives have positively impacted the university.

Eligibility requirements, procedures and the nomination form are now available. 

Nomination deadline is January 31, 2013.

Tad Miller won the first student Marian Spencer Diversity Ambassador Award for, among other things, his leadership in RAPP!  Rachel Berman and Rebecca Lehman have also been recognized with this award for their service with RAPP.

Crosstown Help Out: A Joint Service Day between UC & Xavier - Jan 21st/MLK Day!

2013 Crosstown Helpout
Monday, January 21st
8:15AM to 3:00PM
Starting at Stratford Heights - 2634 Stratford Ave, Cincinnati OH 45219

The Crosstown Helpout will be a joint service day between the University of Cincinnati and Xavier University. Students from both campuses will be meeting together at Stratford Heights Pavilion, and then groups will be breaking out to different service sites around the city to work on projects. It will be a collaborative event to promote closer affiliation between the two schools in the spirit of community.

To register: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/helpout
**Make sure to do this instead of just RSVPing to the Facebook event!

The event will be on January 21, 2013 (MLK Day). Registration will begin at 8:15am with a light breakfast. Buses will be provided to transport students from Stratford Heights Pavilion to their service site and buses will return to UC around 3:00pm. A boxed lunch will be provided at the service site.

First, Do No Harm: Reducing Disparities for LGBTQQ Populations in California - Free Download!

From Jessica Pettitt:

On behalf of Project Staff, I am excited to announce that after 2 years of your hard work and dedication—and the participation of thousands of LGBTQ Californians—the final report is ready for public release!

Now with your help, First, Do No Harm: Reducing Disparities for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer and Questioning Populations in California, can be distributed statewide and have a meaningful impact on the lives of LGBTQ Californians.

To download the report, please go to

http://goo.gl/GnJVs

Please forward the report or link to your colleagues, family and friends.  Please post the link on your personal or professional social networks, as well as on any agency or program websites.  Please encourage your professional and/or personal connections to do the same.

On-Line Spring Semester Course: Foundations of Service Learning and Civic Engagement

From the UC Center for Service-Learning & Civic Engagement:

A new online course is being offered this spring semester: Foundations of Service Learning and Civic Engagement (SLCE2019).

SLCE2019 (call number 706542, Division of Professional Practice and Experiential Learning) will cover the history, philosophy, and foundations of Service Learning and Civic Engagement. In this class, students will learn how to connect their passions and skill sets to the service of others and will have the opportunity to network with some of the most gifted servant leaders in the world. In addition to interacting with a very wide range of people, both locally and globally, students will:

• Participate in "hands-on learning" by working alongside fellow student-leaders
• Create an electronic portfolio to showcase their learning, service, and work
• Build their professional network by working with community servants and civic leaders
• Learn about leveraging social networks for the service of others

Click HERE and/or email SL@uc.edu for more detailed information.

Second Annual Greater Cincinnati Anti-Bullying Summit - February 12th!

From GLSEN Greater Cincinnati:

Join GLSEN Greater Cincinnati, the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, the Council on Child Abuse, the Human Rights Campaign, Talbert House & the YWCA of Greater Cincinnati as we host the second annual anti-bullying summit:     Improving School Outcomes. Preventing bullying, harrassment & intimidation against students who are(or are percieved to be) gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender. February 12th, 2013 Learn effective strategies to prevent bullying, harassment & intimidation and improve school climate, student mental health outcomes & academic performance. Keynotes Include: U.S. Department of Education Research and Policy for Bullying Prevention Initiatives (Dr. Deb Tempkin) Ohio Attorney General’s Office (Jennifer Brumby, Esq.) Human Rights Campaign (Kim Westheimer) Other presentations will include: Creating Safe Spaces by Shawn Jeffers of GLSEN Greater Cincinnati. The summit is free and includes Breakfast and Lunch. Attendees will be granted 5 CEUs. Location: The Red Cross 2111 Dana Ave Cincinnati Ohio 45207 9am-3:30pm February 12th, 2013 RSVP via email or call 513-361-2159. Space is limited. The summit is for all school leaders, councillors, educators and service providers. If you know someone who would benefit from attending, please pass this email along and encourage them to RSVP.

U of Iowa Will Ask

From Inside Higher Ed:

U. of Iowa Will Ask

December 12, 2012 - 3:00am 

By Scott Jaschik

 

The University of Iowa is today announcing the addition of an optional question on sexual orientation, and a transgender choice under gender, as part of an effort to make its undergraduate application one that sends a welcoming signal to all students -- and to gather information about the institution's success at attracting and retaining students who aren't straight.

To date, only Elmhurst College has such questions on an undergraduate application (although some colleges include gay/straight alliances among the list of student groups in which a prospective applicant may express interest). But Iowa will be the first public institution to add the question to its application about student identity, not interest. While colleges routinely ask about applicants' racial and ethnic background, among other topics, they have until now shied away from asking about sexual orientation, even as some gay rights advocates have pushed them to do so. (One private graduate school, the Adler School of Professional Psychology, asks applicants “Would you consider yourself a member of the LGBTQ -- lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered, queer -- community?”)

Advocates see Iowa's move as significant, given that it is a flagship university. "This is a huge deal in that it shows any campus that it can do the same thing," said Shane Windmeyer, executive director of Campus Pride, which promotes the interests of gay and lesbian students in the college admissions process and once enrolled.

"Journey of the Universe" A Film Screening at Grailville - Jan 27th!

From Grailville:

Journey of the Universe:

A Film Screening

Sunday, January 27, 2013

4:00 pm - 5:00 pm  

Grailville continues its inquiry into the meeting of science and spirituality with Journey of the Universe, an award winning documentary by cosmologist Brian Swimme and scholar Mary Evelyn Tucker that considers the human connection to Earth and Cosmos and the 13.7 Billion year journey that brought us here. Through their engaging and thoughtful observations we will encounter anew the profound role we play in this intricate web of life.

Following the screening a 9-part study and discussion series will follow on Sundays at 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm from February 3 - April 28.

This event is free and open to the public. Reservations are required. For more information or to register, click here or contact (513) 683-2340. 

Teach for American Deadline Approaching - Jan 11th!

From Teach for America:

TEACH FOR AMERICA DEADLINE APPROACHING – JANUARY 11^TH!

Join the movement that fellow Bearcats like Alan Hagerty, Mario Shaw, Michael Linger, and Kaitlin Dauner, among others joined last year. Only 1 in 12 students from low-income communities will graduate from college. You can be a part of a movement to change this. Join fellow Bearcats – from all academic majors – in the fight to ensure ALL students have the opportunity to attend the University of Cincinnati.

Teach For America enlists and trains a diverse corps of leaders who commit to teach for two years in urban and rural public schools and become lifelong advocates in the effort to expand educational opportunity. Our teachers use their numerous skills and experiences from their varied work, leadership, and academic backgrounds to effect change in their classroom and help break the cycle of inequity that prevents students from fulfilling their potential. This opportunity is full salary ($30,000 – 50,000),has health benefits, offers transitional grants, AmeriCorps education grants and student loan forbearance.

Sign up here, www.teachforamerica.org/apply to ask questions, learn more, or apply. The next application deadline is January 11 at 11:59pm ET. {Resume, letter of intent, and online application is all that’s required by Jan 11^th!}

Qualifications:

Must have a minimum of a bachelor’s degree by June 2013

Cumulative GPA at or above 2.5

Be a U.S. Citizen/Permanent Resident

For a full list of qualities we look for in candidates, please go here: http://www.teachforamerica.org/why-teach-for-america/who-we-look-for

If you have questions, email UC alumnus, Sonya Forg at sonya.forg@teachforamerica.org, or campus coordinator, Jody McGraw, mcgrawjy@mail.uc.edu

 

South China Internship Program - Deadline Jan 14th!

From UC International:

South China Internship Program:  Deadline: January 14, 2013

 

Under a new grant from Ford Foundation, the Hong Kong America Center– a non-profit consortium of Hong Kong universities–is announcing the South China Internship Program (SCI) a national competition for 20 American undergraduates to participate in a low-cost, high-quality "tandem internships". The twenty American undergraduates will team-up with twenty same-age Chinese university students to spend eight weeks together in summer 2013 as interns in companies and NGOs in the booming Pearl River Delta of south China. 

 

The intern teams will work together in small teams on joint projects for their company hosts. Inspired by the 100,000 Strong Initiative, HKAC is looking for young Americans with strong academics and high motivation to explore their career potential involving China. Some knowledge of Chinese language is preferred. International Offices in American universities are urged to convey this information to eligible undergraduate students. The deadline for applications is January 14, 2013.

 

Online poster, application form and full program information is at: www.cuhk.edu.hk/hkac/scip.html. Prospective applicants may contact Mr. Ray Tran of the HKAC at: raytran@eservices.cuhk.edu.hk.

GLSEN Greater Cincinnati Youth Group Celebrates Its First Year!

From GLSEN Greater Cincinnati:

Youth Group is one year old this month!

It brings us much joy to say that GLSEN Greater Cincinnati Youth Group has been up and running for one year. It's been an exciting and rewarding process to get Youth Group off the ground and this year has been full of success, support, and the creation of a safe space for LGBTQ youth and their allies. 

It has been a very special opportunity and privilege to witness the youth we serve grow as individuals, gain confidence, find social networks, and work through difficult life situations together. Throughout the year we've fostered an open and welcoming space for them to call their own. We've offered a wide range of programming ranging from “what does the Bible say about LGBTQ people” to a “transgender coming out panel.” We participated in GLSEN events like prom and walking in the Pride parade. 

Over the year the youth have reached out and offered their friendship to new group members embodying true acceptance. It has become evident throughout this year that safe spaces, like Youth Group, for LGBTQ youth and their allies are a vital resource that the Greater Cincinnati area needs. We look forward to the continued success and growth of Youth Group for many years to come!

Anne Delano Steinert and Kyle Holsinger-Johnson
Youth Group Co-Facilitators

Youth Group so far has:

Served almost 100 different youth,
averaged about 15 youth per meeting,
and served youth from more than 20 different schools in the area

Youth Group meets every Sunday at Mt. Auburn Presbyterian, 103 Wm. Howard Taft Road, from 3:00-5:30pm. It's open to all high school age youth.

 

Notes from the UC Campus Safety Summit

From President Ono:

Earlier this week [late November] I hosted a Campus Safety Summit here at UC.  Local law enforcement officials, including Cincinnati’s Chief of Police and the Captains of Police Districts Four and Five, and representatives from city government and the Uptown Consortium joined UC’s senior leadership, including the Chief of Public Safety and the Chair of the Board of Trustees, for a candid conversation on how we, working together, can improve our ability to prevent crime and promote safety both on campus and in the surrounding communities.  To ensure that student perspectives remain front and center, we were joined by the President of the Undergraduate Student Government, the President and Vice President of the Graduate Student Government and a representative from the Student Safety Board.

Perhaps our biggest lesson learned from the Campus Safety Summit is that communication, coordination and long-term planning are essential.  Thus I have secured commitments from each participant to elevate this group to a standing committee (the President’s Campus Safety Committee) that will meet regularly for the foreseeable future.  All of us agree that the safety of our campus community is a pressing priority that requires our highest level of attention, engagement and collaboration.

Several promising ideas and initiatives emerged from this first meeting.  Here are a few concrete examples.

• Starting on January 1, 2013, UCPD will increase the number of officers on patrol by 30%.

• UCPD and CPD will collaborate with the Uptown Consortium and the University of Cincinnati Institute of Crime Science (ICS) to standardize the collection, analysis and dissemination of crime data.  This will enable us to develop more and better data-driven solutions to safety and security.

• UC’s Advisory Committee on Public Safety (ACOPS) and the Student Safety Board will work with CPD to develop a “Students on Patrol” program modeled on the “Citizens on Patrol” program.  

• CPD is exploring the feasibility of reassigning district boundaries within and around UC to improve efficiency and effectiveness.

• Student orientation will now include a joint presentation by UCPD and CPD on how students can best protect themselves and promote safety. 

• UCPD and CPD will enhance and expand its educational outreach to international students.

• CPD and the City will generate a cost estimate for increasing lighting, signage and other environmental assets in certain neighborhoods. 

• UCPD will study the impact of using of a mobile substation to increase its presence and vis Labels ibility in targeted areas.

• The Student Safety Board will develop a proposal to expand the Bearcat Transportation System to include designated routes to and from popular student destinations.

• UCPD, CPD, ACOPS and the Student Safety Board will work together to design and implement a robust social media strategy for promoting safety.

• The President’s Campus Safety Committee will engage UC’s criminal justice faculty—who have built one of the most widely recognized and respected programs in the world—in the planning process.  

Although we made significant progress, by no means is our work done.  Campus safety remains a top priority for my administration. 

In closing, let me be clear in saying that good ideas and initiatives will get us only so far.  Equally important is for each of us to take reasonable steps to promote safety.  That means being acutely aware of our surroundings at all times; proactive in our reporting of suspicious behavior; and increasingly knowledgeable of the safety-related resources, service and programs at our disposal.  Clearly, UC’s setting within an urban environment will not change; however, we can, wherever possible, positively influence our surrounding communities by being aware and proactive.

Please join me in thanking our public safety department and local law enforcement for their steadfast commitment to keeping our campus community safe and secure.  With all of us working together, I am confident that we can build an even better UC.

From Engineering to Entertainment? It's No Joke for UC's "Funny Indian"

From the UC Alumni Association:

From Engineering to Entertainment? It’s No Joke for UC’s ‘Funny Indian’

Rajiv Satyal

“Enroll in UC’s College of Engineering and Applied Science and you, too, can someday be a world-touring standup comedy act!”

UC probably won’t be altering its engineering student recruitment pitch anytime soon. Rajiv Satyal, CEAS ’00, aka “The Funny Indian,” is more of an outlier than a typical example of where engineering degrees might lead. And yet, perhaps his story speaks to the essence of the UC experience.

A Cincinnati native born to Indian parents, Rajiv originally started college at Case Western Reserve in Cleveland but missed the fuller student experience that he knew existed back home. “I found it at UC — it felt more real,” he said. “I got involved in Student Senate, became president of the engineering honors society, and took part in the nation’s first co-op program, working at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and Johnson & Johnson.”

Like so many of his Bearcat peers, Rajiv traces a key turning point to the vision of a faculty member. He asked the late Dr. Monte Pool if he could take a co-op quarter off to intern on Capitol Hill.

“Approaching his office, I was physically shaking,” Rajiv recalled. “He was as much a student’s teacher as you could imagine, but also such a hard-core engineer. Well, he thought my missing ten weeks of co-oping was ... a swell idea. He said something like, ‘You’ll further enhance your leadership skills and bring some cross-pollination to this department. I think it’s exactly what we need.’ Imagine my pleasant shock. But it was this embrace of the real world that I found so refreshing at UC.”

It was one of a series of developments that ultimately let Rajiv be Rajiv. Two years into his materials engineering studies at UC, he knew something else was in store for him. “I liked it, but I didn’t love it, and people told me my personality was more suited to business. I like to think I have the brain of an engineer but the ... heart of a marketer? If marketers have hearts, even. Ha.”

Rajiv started with Procter & Gamble, progressing from purchasing to media to marketing before finally giving way to the entrepreneur and comedian that had been clamoring to get out. He’d done his first standup sets as a UC student, even opening for Dave Chappelle at Zimmer Auditorium in 2000. Once he decided to go “all in” and pursue his dream in California, he knew he could draw on the breadth of his UC experiences — people, opportunities, abilities.

So far, so good. Among many other things, Rajiv has co-founded the world-touring Make Chai Not War, a Hindu/Muslim show that played seven Indian cities in 2012, sponsored by the U.S. State Department. He has spoken to audiences from Fortune 500 companies to NFL players on innovation, diversity and personal branding. He does standup at over 40 colleges annually and all of L.A.’s major comedy clubs. And he has garnered more than 2 million YouTube views, performed on three continents, and been featured in a variety of major media.

“I still have friendships from UC who I’m guessing will be lifelong,” Rajiv said. “I enjoy going back to speak and perform. My UC education is valued by world-class companies, and I highly recommend UC whenever people ask me. But mostly I treasure the network of family, friends and acquaintances I’ve built along the way. I can’t do it without their support, and though I’ve lived in LA for six years, my heart is still in Cincinnati — and yes, I have one.”

Rajiv Satyal can be found and followed at funnyindian.com, on Facebook and Twitter.

 

Winter Day of Quiet at Grailville - Jan 26th!

From Grailville:

Winter Day of Quiet

Saturday, January 26, 2013

10:00 am - 3:00 pm  

 

Experience Grailville as a space of quiet prayer and reflection. During this self-directed day, Grailville will provide quiet space and a simple contemplative framework for participants. Grailville is the perfect place to enjoy a day of rest and renewal. While you are here we encourage you to take advantage of our hiking trails, outdoor labyrinth and peaceful environment.

 

For those who wish to also participate in  Mandalas for the New Year, may attend our Winter Day of Quiet for just $15.  

 

The fee is $20, which includes lunch. Reservations are required. Some scholarships may be available. For more information or to register, click here or contact (513) 683-2340. 

UC's New President Tweets the Word Out - and Discusses the Bamboo Ceiling

From the Chronicle of Higher Education:

U. of Cincinnati's New President Tweets the Word Out

U. of Cincinnati

Santa Jeremy Ono

Enlarge Image

By Peter Monaghan

Santa Jeremy Ono, who last month was named president of the University of Cincinnati, brings an infectious enthusiasm to the job.

"I really believe in the power of positive thinking," he says. That approach, which has been used by large multinational companies, can also work for a university community, he says.

"Santa's optimism is certainly contagious," says Richard A. Miller, chair of the Faculty Senate. "The general sense I get from the faculty is that people are quite happy to have him as president."
Mr. Ono arrived at Cincinnati in 2010 as senior vice president for academic affairs and provost. He had been senior vice provost for undergraduate academic affairs at Emory University and a professor of ophthalmology in the medical school there.

At Cincinnati he led the development of an academic master plan aligned to the 42,000-student institution's seven-year strategic plan. This past August he agreed to become interim president following the sudden resignation of Gregory H. Williams. "I'm not a new person here at all," says Mr. Ono. "Everybody knows who I am. I'm quite an extroverted, gregarious guy."

The trustees chose Mr. Ono unanimously, citing his accessibility to all university constituencies. "My job is to make sure that everyone is on the same wavelength," Mr. Ono says.

Nursing Students Help People Experiencing Homelessness "Winterize"

From UC HealthNews:
Nursing Students Help Homeless 'Winterize' for Pending Weather

When temperatures drop, we reach for the simple things: hats, gloves, scarves, socks and the like. When you’re homeless, however, the simple things can be far out of reach.

On Nov. 16, UC nursing students extended a helping hand by distributing much-needed winter items to Cincinnati’s homeless at the second annual "Winterize Yourself” event, a program developed in partnership with the college’s nursing student government and the local administration of a national organization called Health Care for the Homeless.

For the 2012 event students, faculty and staff collected nearly 2,000 cold weather accessories in a friendly competition between faculty/staff and students. As in 2011, the student donations far exceeded their competitors, but at the event, which this year was held at Our Daily Bread soup kitchen and ministry in Over-the-Rhine, everyone joined together to promote relevant health care education and assistance to the homeless.

Student representatives from the BSN, RN to BSN and MSN programs also assisted faculty with health care screenings such as blood pressure checks and administering flu vaccines.

"The students who participated in the event were thrilled, and touched by the response of those who attended,” says faculty coordinator Rebecca Lee, PhD, who also serves on the board of directors of Cincinnati Health Network (CHN), a private, nonprofit organization established in 1986 to coordinate local service and programs for medically underserved and vulnerable population groups throughout Greater Cincinnati.

Lee, and senior BSN nursing student Michael Winter, president of the college’s nursing tribunal, which is the undergraduate student governing body, oversaw the college’s 2011 participation and stepped up to take the lead again in 2012.

"I am incredibly proud of the selflessness and generosity that our students, faculty, and staff demonstrate each year and of the leadership that the tribunal executive board represents. Community service has always been at the forefront of my belief system and I am highly impressed with the impact students have stated this event had on them.”

After witnessing an elderly woman cry upon receiving a pair of socks, Kaitlin Caponi, who is studying to be a family nurse practitioner, was moved to think about homelessness in an entirely different context: "It hit me that a pack of socks costs like 10 dollars and I don’t even think twice about buying socks … but a pair of socks was all this woman wanted, and when she got them it was as if she hit the lottery.

"It was truly heartwarming,” says Caponi.

It’s a sentiment echoed by UC East BSN student Erica Rossignol, who knows American Sign Language and provided care to a woman who was deaf.

Rossignol says that the woman hadn’t been able to communicate with anyone in so long that she kept signing over and over again, "Thank you.”  

Having delivered over 100 gift bags with the collected items, Lee says "the attendees and organizers were overwhelmed at the generosity of the students, faculty and staff.”   

 

UC Update from President Ono

From President Ono in November:   In the weeks since the Board of Trustees unanimously appointed me as the University of Cincinnati’s 28th President, I have been touched by the outpouring of good wishes. This is a very special time for me professionally and personally, and I remain thankful that my parents, my wife Wendy, and my two daughters, Juliana, 14, and Sarah, 8, were at my side to share in the announcement events last month. Students first UC has a long and successful history of providing a transformative educational experience for our students. I take that responsibility very seriously, and students must always remain at the center of our decisions. Last June, we awarded over 8,760 degrees – a 24-year record. This fall, our enrollment of 42,000 remains close to last year’s record-breaker, and the caliber of our incoming freshman class is higher than ever. Having opened the new Veteran’s Center earlier this month, we strive to better serve those students who have in turn given so much in service to our nation. UC also has added pioneering new certificate programs in innovation and service learning, as well as a new Office of Undergraduate Research, Scholarly Activity and Creative Practice. Our new UC Forward program of interdisciplinary studio courses tackling real-world problems has expanded its offerings and appointed a full-time director. All of this makes our university’s renowned offerings in real-world education even stronger for our students and puts us closer to our goal of providing 100% of UC graduates with real-world experience before they reach Commencement. World-class research, innovation UC faculty continue to make a profound difference in lives all around the world. The American Heart Association awarded Joseph Broderick, our Albert Barnes Voorheis Chair of Neurology, its Clinical Research Prize “for exemplary contributions to advances in stroke treatment … that have changed medical practice as we know it.” Pompeii archaeologist Steven Ellis won the prestigious Rome Prize. Criminal Justice Professor Robin Engel provided consultation on gang violence to the Prime Minister of England while her colleagues in the criminal justice department provided expertise to governments in Scotland and Singapore. We are raising the bar on research and innovation with our newly-established UC Research Institute (UCRI), a new Technology Commercialization Accelerator and expanded investments in faculty entrepreneurship. In addition, a $3.7 million award from the National Science Foundation will allow UC to become a national model for recruitment, retention and advancement of female faculty in the STEM disciplines (science, technology, engineering, math and medicine). This remains a critical need as already one-third of our STEM faculty at UC are nearing retirement age, and we must take steps to prepare the next generation. Building on our momentum One of my first priorities is assembling the leadership team to keep our trajectory rising. I have appointed both Ryan Hays and William Ball to permanent positions. The search for a Provost has begun, and in the interim we have tremendous leadership from Lawrence Johnson, long-time dean of the College of Education, Criminal Justice, and Human Services. We will systematically look at other interim positions to solidify a plan for filling those as appropriate. UC stands at the brink of a new era of progress as our UC2019 momentum moves us forward to even greater prominence as a major research university and one of the finest institutions of student learning in our nation. The UC2019 Academic Master Plan, developed under my leadership as Provost and unveiled in May, has gained a strong foothold with an initial long-term investment of $10 million for student and faculty initiatives as well as services that support our academic mission. Steps to place UC on a path to even greater excellence have already begun. We are mobilizing committees and task forces to focus on “three pillars” critically important to our future: our financial success, our research enterprise, and alumni and donor relations. A 20-member Task Force called 1UC is focusing on the latter and will provide advice on taking our alumni and donor efforts to the next level. More reasons for Bearcat Pride The coming months promise even more excitement and opportunities for Bearcat pride as we expect to reach and even surpass our Proudly Cincinnati campaign goal of $1 billion, the largest fundraising goal in UC history. When we do hit the $1 billion mark, we will join an elite set of only 1% of public universities who have reached such a goal in a single campaign. We also expect great news in the months ahead when our soon-to-be-released NCAA academic performance rate data will show our student-athletes collectively achieving at all-time bests. We are also coming off one of our greatest years of competitive success, based on our highest-ever finish in the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) Directors’ Cup, which is an aggregate ranking of on-field and on-court performance for every intercollegiate athletic program. Sharing our UC pride remains one of my favorite activities. I draw energy from meeting with the university’s greatest achievement – our alumni – and I have begun to visit with our graduates all across the nation. I look forward to completing a 10-city tour within my first year in office. I promise you that I will work tirelessly to make our Bearcat Nation proud. As Thanksgiving Day approaches on Thursday, I remain profoundly grateful to work at such a great university, and I wish you a Happy Thanksgiving. Go Bearcats!

Nominate a Bearcat for UC Alumni Association Distinguished Alumni Awards - Deadline Jan 18th!

From the UC Alumni Association:

As our partner at UC, we join you in striving to achieve at the highest levels and celebrating excellence in our midst. For the UC Alumni Association, that includes honoring our outstanding alumni locally and globally.

 

To that end, we will hold our Annual UC Distinguished Alumni Celebration on Thursday evening, June 13, 2013, where the UC Alumni Association’s top alumni awards will be presented. This includes our premier honor, the William Howard Taft Medal for Notable Achievement.  The Taft Medal hails career accomplishment as well as awards recognizing distinguished service to UC, outstanding young alumni, and commitment to diversity and equality-related causes. We hope that you will consider nominating a distinguished alum from your college or unit to be considered for one of our four prestigious awards.  You can find more information on each award on our nomination form here. 

 

Please note, nominations are due by January 18, 2013. Please let me know if you have any questions or suggestions.

 

Thank you!

 

Best,

 

Teresa

 

Teresa Horton

Program Director

University of Cincinnati Alumni Association

 

 

LGBTQ Center Resource Packet Making Party - Dec 28th!

From the UC LGBTQ Center:

Resource Packet Making Party
Friday, December 28th
11:00AM to  5:00PM
UC LGBTQ Center - 5th Floor Steger Student Life Center

Looking for a few good volunteers to help make Safe Zone 101 Resource Packets. We will provide pizza, popcorn, drinks, and a movie after the job is finished. Come hang out and help the LGBTQ Center so we can keep fighting the good fight. :)

UC Grad Student's Award-Winning Thesis Focuses on Walking Tours in Cincinnati

From UC News:

Grad Student’s Award-Winning Thesis Focuses on Walking Tours in Cincinnati

Art education graduate student and photographer Chris Luessen integrated student- and community-developed urban walking tours of Cincinnati into his recent thesis, which is the first-ever winner of UC’s Robert L. Russell Research Award.

Date: 11/29/2012
By: M.B. Reilly
Phone: (513) 556-1824
Photos By: Provided by Chris Luessen

As a fine art photographer, recent University of Cincinnati College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning (DAAP) graduate Chris Luessen often walked the city’s urban neighborhoods capturing shots of both objects, traces and architecture.

Chris Luessen on Orchard Street in Over-the-Rhine.

In order to share the experience of walking and seeing – the finding of visual gems, Luessen created a template and asked undergraduate students and community members to create walking tours of their favorite neighborhoods and locales. In all, he collected 25 such tours, and then, ultimately selected ten of those to include in his recent (2012) art education graduate thesis. The community- and student-developed walking tours ultimately included in his thesis and screen printed into a self-contained booklet included Brighton (off of Central Parkway), Burnet Woods, Clifton’s Ludlow Business District, Downtown Cincinnati, Mt. Airy, Northside, Over-the-Rhine in the area bordered by Liberty and 15th streets and several other areas.

Luessen’s thesis effort, titled “Locating an Other City: Critical Engagement and Every Day Intervention through Art Education,” recently won him DAAP’s first-ever Robert L. Russell Research Award, named after long-time art education faculty member Robert Russell. Luessen received the award this fall, before an audience consisting of this year’s new master’s of art education students.

Community- and student-developed walking tours collected by Luessen.

He said, “It meant a lot that the faculty valued the work I had done and was doing. It was certainly a reward for choosing a program as challenging as that housed in DAAP.”

Luessen’s community-based art was, in part, inspired by DAAP’s Art in the Market program, which guides local teens in the creating of public art in Over-the-Rhine. However, he was also motivated by “my own urban explorations. I wanted to share the experience of walking in the city.”

He displayed all 25 walking tour submissions and distributed all 100 collected tour booklets during his thesis exhibit at DAAPWorks.

“I’ve had some feedback that people are using the walking tours. The one walking tour of Mt. Airy, titled ‘Mt. Airy Twin Tunnels and Magic Fall,’ included a hidden swimming hole. One user of the walking tours took photos that he sent me once he located the spot. He even told me how his dog loved swimming there,” stated Luessen, who is currently the art teacher at St. Antoninus Elementary School in Western Hills, as well as a volunteer at Literacy Center West in Price Hill.

He will soon participate in an experimental walking tour set for Dec. 1 in Over-the-Rhine, starting at Findlay Market: “Administrators of the online group called Over-the-Rhine Matters and myself are set to sponsor at-least one walking event, sort of like a walking tour of Over-the-Rhine but without a guide or set destination. Everyone involved will be invited to engage with their surroundings and share the experience through map making, sketching, taking photos or creatively sharing the experience via any other form.”

For more information, check out the OTR Matters Facebook page at facebook.com/otrmatters

One user of the walking tour booklet took this photo in Mt. Airy Forest.

UC Turner Scholar Strives to Build a Better Understanding of Latino Cultures

From UC News:

UC Freshman/Turner Scholar Strives To Build A Better Understanding Of Latino Cultures

Tiffany Simons is constantly stretching for – and achieving – her goals.

Date: 11/19/2012
By: Dawn Fuller
Phone: (513) 556-1823

High school seniors who are seeking scholarship consideration from UC must send their complete admission application (including high school transcript and official test scores) by Dec. 1.
University of Cincinnati freshman Tiffany Simons of Springdale, Ohio, is not letting any injury slow her down, despite using a motorized scooter to navigate campus during fall semester. The 18-year-old Darwin T. Turner Scholar – an e-media (College-Conservatory of Music) and Spanish (McMicken College of Arts and Sciences) major – is truly taking the campus by storm, according to her Turner Scholar advisors.

Tiffany Simons

UC’s Office of Ethnic Programs and Services directs the Darwin T. Turner Scholarship Program to promote academic success, foster diversity and build future leaders.

Simons is an outstanding example in her pursuit of scholarship and leadership. Her physical setback is due to a muscle injury that developed over time from dancing, intense workouts and lifting. She says it was further aggravated after tryouts for the Indianapolis Colts cheerleading squad, as well as the UC Dhadak International Dance Team. “I was selected for the dance team, but had to sit out because of the muscle injury,” she says.

Simons also says she is a rather exceptional example of multiculturalism. “I think I represent every culture but Asian.” It was her interest in identifying with her Latino heritage and her Hispanic friends in high school that led to her pursuit of perfecting her Spanish and educating others about the culture.

Simons’ passion for building bridges of understanding of Latino cultures evolved into her website, Qué Hay De Nuevo (What’s New).  She also belongs to the UC student organizations, Latinos En Accion and Club Hispano. She hopes to become a bilingual broadcast journalist.

The Darwin T. Turner scholarship is named in honor of a UC alumnus who later became one of the greatest scholars in African-American literature. In 1947 and at age 16, Darwin T. Turner became the youngest person ever to graduate from the University of Cincinnati when he earned a bachelor’s degree in English. He earned his master’s degree in English in 1949.

The Darwin T. Turner Scholars Program was founded at the university in 1976. Turner scholars are expected to participate in activities under the Office of Ethnic Programs and Services to improve their intellectual, personal and professional development.

“One of our recent service-related Turner activities was participating in the BRIDGES Walk for a Just Community,” says Simons. The annual walk downtown is a celebration to promote diversity, inclusion and social justice. 

“It’s not just a scholarship program,” says Simons. “Every week, we get together to get resume tips and talk about how we’re doing in school. The staff in Ethnic Programs and Services is our backbone. They’re someone to turn to if we need to talk. As a Turner Scholar, we make the commitment to visit the office at least once a week.”

“We call ourselves the Turner Family, and we provide programs for leadership, networking and professionalism – anything we can do to get the student acclimated to college and on the path to success,” says program director Brandi Elliott.

“Tiffany has truly embraced the Darwin T. Turner Scholarship program,” says Elliott. “She’s a self-starter and is so creative – just full of life and energy. I’m looking forward to seeing what she’ll accomplish at UC over the next four years.”

Elliott is a 2001 graduate from the Turner Scholars Program. She earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology (A&S) and then achieved a master’s degree from UC in mental health counseling, before earning her doctorate in urban educational leadership from the UC College of Education, Criminal Justice, and Human Services (CECH).

Simons also lives in Darwin T. Turner Hall, which was dedicated on campus in 2002. It was the newest residence hall to be constructed on campus since 1971.

Video: We Are Turner (Produced by Tiffany Simons)

Qualifying Criteria for the Darwin T. Turner Scholars Program

UC Freshman and Transfer Student Scholarships

Proudly Cincinnati – Supporting Student Scholarships

Service Learning Opportunities in Morroco Summer 2013!

From the Center for Service-Learning and Civic Engagement:

Experiential Learning Abroad Programs (ELAP), a division of International Studies Abroad (ISA) is pleased to announce new internship and service learning placements in Meknès, Morocco beginning Summer 2013. The following placements are available in Meknès: 

*Association for the Protection of the Moroccan Family 
*Center for Disabilities 
*Medical Clinic 
*Women's Rights Association 
*Youth Development 

Participating in an ELAP program offers students a first hand view into the social structures of the local community and gives them the opportunity to contribute to community development. These projects facilitate understanding of the local culture by recognizing the challenges faced by various communities and making a positive impact while abroad. 

Please visit the ELAP website: http://www.myelap.com for more information on these programs or contact the UC ISA Global Ambassador Liza Callis at callisza@gmail.com for questions about other study abroad options, including alternative spring break opportunities.

 

A Look Back at UC in 2012 - A Message from President Ono

Message from President Ono

As 2012 comes to a close, the University of Cincinnati can look back on the past year with a deep sense of pride. UC just keeps getting better and better, and I want to thank all of you for the hard work and tremendous support that makes our rise possible. With UC’s unique capacity to be innovative and creative, I know that the coming year promises even greater strides. Please have a safe and joyous holiday and a very Happy New Year! 

Welcome Our "New" RAPPORT Facilitator - Jojo Azevedo!

Over the last several years, we tried many staff structures to support and sustain the growth of RAPP's programming through its work in intensives, RAPPORT, and outreach.  For 2012-13, we're harnessing the talent of outstanding student leaders by having three student workers - Brice Mickey and Jamieson Williams have been introduced as the first two-thirds of these.

Beginning this January, Jamieson will be transitioning to the Accelerating Racial Justice (ARJ) student worker and Jojo Azevedo will be coming on board to work with reshaping RAPPORT.

Jojo is a familiar face in RAPP!  He is a senior in Communication and just returned from a semester-long study abroad in Japan.  He is an alum of RAPP XXIV, Peer Leader with RAPP XXVI, student Facilitator with RAPP XXVII, worked on the committee that created ARJ and its curricula, served as student Facilitator for the pilot run of ARJ 2012, and has been in the Social Justice League since it began in 2010.  Not to mention his work as a recruitment leader, his commercial  and other creative videos for RAPP, his volunteering at the 25 Year Reunion, his emphasis on community building, and general work to keep the RAPP Office open and accessible have greatly benefited RAPP.

In other words, his contributions to RAPP are great and he is an ideal person to help reshape our impact through RAPPORT!  Welcome back, Jojo!

Jojo smiling in the RAPP Office!

Recognizing Participation: RAPP XXVIII Stays Strong a Whole Semester!

As the first RAPP group to come together under semesters, RAPP XXVIII had an even larger challenge for attendance in that they had more meetings under the timeline of a semester than a quarter.  Whereas previous groups in recent years had four meetings and one retreat each quarter, this group had six meetings, one retreat, and an orientation in its first semester (they have six meetings, two retreats, and a banquet ahead for spring semester).

With that in mind, there were many chances for "life happens" to make it impossible for a member to make it to a meeting.  Given the time demands The RAPP Commitment makes on already full schedules of students, I think it's important to take time to recognize the folks who were able to uphold it this time around.

Here are the folks currently in RAPP XXVIII who have had perfect attendance all fall semester 2012:

Abbey Falcone
Aditi Naik
Anthony Foster
Bridget Parhman
Gabby Russell
Kahvah Yisrael
Kalilah Montgomery
Leah Baccus
Lindy Zeff
Marq White
Maya Whyte
Monique Walker
Nathaniel Bell
Oge Okoh
Owen Riley
Rebekah Clinger
Sabria Berry
Sarah Seiger
Shawnee Haslon
Thia Jackson

Our Peer Leaders make a lesser time commitment in terms of meetings, but all three have exceeded this commitment (in so many ways beyond the time!).  Many thanks to Farooq Alkhateeb, Kristin Myers-Young, and Tina Lu for their great work!  Our student Facilitator, Brice Mickey, has also well exceeded his expected commitment - countless thanks are due!

Marq, Rachel, Emma, Iman, & Aditi show part of the RAPP XXVIII handsign!