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RAISING THE BAR
School of Law graduates continue to excel on the Ohio Bar Exam — placing first among overall test takers on the February exam.
According to figures released by the Ohio Supreme Court, UA law graduates had the highest passage rate in all three categories — overall test takers, first-time takers and repeat takers.
In overall performance, UA law graduates had a 73 percent passage rate, compared to a 52 percent passage rate statewide. Of the graduates taking the bar exam for the first time, 86 percent of the UA graduates passed, compared to 67 percent statewide.
“We are very happy for these graduates,” says Richard Aynes, dean of the School of Law. “They worked hard and did well on a difficult exam.”
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REGENTS AWARD $175,000 TO NANOTECHNOLOGY PROPOSAL
Nanotechnology — structures in the scale of one billionth of a meter — could have giant implications for Ohio’s economic growth through a newly funded research project.
The Ohio Board of Regents has awarded a $175,000 Doctoral Program Incentive Fund grant to a University proposal titled “Polymer-Based Nanotechnologies.”
The goal of the project is to establish and consolidate an interdisciplinary effort involving collaborations among researchers in UA’s College of Polymer Science and Polymer Engineering, College of Engineering and the departments of applied mathematics, chemistry and physics. The program will incorporate molecular and materials modeling; precisely designed and synthesized macromolecular structures; self-assembled molecular surfaces; and controlled processing of nanostructured, hetero-phase polymer materials.
Project leaders are Ernst von Meerwall, associate dean of the College of Polymer Science and Polymer Engineering, and distinguished professor of chemistry, physics and polymer science; William Brittain, professor of polymer science; Lloyd Goettler, chair of the Department of Polymer Engineering; and Wayne Mattice, the Alex Schulman Professor of Polymer Science. More than 20 UA researchers will work on the project.
Collaborating institutions include the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory and Case Western Reserve University.
“The nanotechnologies developed can serve a variety of applications,” according to von Meerwall, “including storage and display of digital data; methods for rapid selection of reaction pathways for pharmaceuticals and biochemicals; chemical sensors; controlled drug delivery systems; and lightweight, high-performance materials for transportation and aerospace uses.”
The economic development impact of the project likely will be substantial, von Meerwall adds.
“While there is at present almost no Ohio nanotechnology market, the vast polymer market — some 1,500 companies — will incorporate many nanotechnologies in the future,” von Meerwall says. “Even companies in commodity markets, such as the automotive industry, will benefit from new nanotechnology.”
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UA’S WOMEN OF ACHIEVEMENT
Two of the University’s own are among a select group of women being recognized by the Summit County YWCA on June 7 at its annual Women of Achievement Awards luncheon at St. Joseph’s Family Center in Akron.
Kathleen Endres, a professor of communication, will be honored as a Woman of Achievement. Donna Hrko, director of UA’s Women in Engineering Program for the past two years, is being saluted as a Woman of Professional Excellence.
The Women of Achievement and Women of Professional Excellence Awards were established to recognize women’s career or volunteer achievements as well as their leadership in the community. Area businesses, organizations and members of the community nominated the honorees.
Endres, who joined UA in 1987, has become one of the area’s best-known historians. She is the author of “Rosie the Rubberworker: The Women of the Rubber Factories in Akron During World War II” as well as “History of the YWCA of Summit County.” Additionally she is the editor of two books on women’s magazines.
Through UA’s Women’s Studies Program, Endres organized the Sojourner Truth Celebration held in Akron in mid-2001. The event received an Award of Achievement from Northern Ohio Live magazine. The YWCA also honored Endres last fall during its 100th anniversary celebration when 108 outstanding area women were recognized for their accomplishments and contributions to their communities.
In her role, Hrko has initiated several new programs, including a Summer (Engineering) Camp for Girls, a Women in Engineering Advisory Council, Alumni Spotlight Projects, Peer and Professional Mentoring Projects and Career Seminars.
Hrko also just received the Pioneer Award from UA’s Pierian Chapter of Mortar Board, a national honorary for senior students. The award is given annually to recognize a woman who, through leadership, scholarship or service, contributes to the advancement of women within the University.
Prior to joining UA, Hrko had a 12-year career as a civilian employee of the Army Corps of Engineers and served as project engineer for the Detroit Medical Center.
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ARTS AND SCIENCES COLLEAGUES HONORED
Buchtel College of Arts and Sciences award winners for 2002 are, left to right, Maria Zanetta, Michael Graham, Judith Palagallo, Richard Stephens, Deborah Okonieski and Pamela Hoover.
Roger Creel, dean of the Buchtel College of Arts and Sciences, honored six recipients of the college’s annual Faculty and Staff Awards on April 18 during festivities in the Martin University Center Library.
The recipients, and their awards, are — Michael Graham, associate professor of history, Service Award; Pamela Hoover, administrative assistant in the Department of Theoretical and Applied Mathematics and the Department of Computer Science, Staff Recognition Award; Deborah Okonieski, senior lecturer in mathematics, Part-time Teaching Award; Judith Palagallo, professor of mathematics, Teaching Award; Richard Stephens, professor of sociology and director of the Institute for Health and Social Policy, Research Award; and Maria Zanetta, associate professor of modern languages, Early Career Research Award.
These awards, initiated during the 1995-96 academic year, recognize exemplary efforts of arts and sciences personnel. Candidates are first nominated in writing. Their nominations are reviewed and approved by a committee of past award recipients that follow established criteria for the recognition of excellence in teaching, research and staff achievement.
Each award carries two monetary gifts — one for its recipient and another for his/her college department — and a plaque engraved with the honoree's name.
Graham was recognized for his efforts as director of Humanities in the Western Tradition. He is responsible for course design, multi-media presentations and the 30 full- and part-time faculty that teach the required course to more than 1,000 students each semester.
Pamela Hoover was lauded for her work as the mathematics and computer science unit became separate departments. Her efforts in the areas of purchasing, budget management and student record-keeping helped make for a smooth transition.
Deborah Okonieski was honored as a dedicated and conscientious teacher who has become a mentor to new part-time faculty, as well as to her students.
Judith Palagallo was recognized as a dedicated teacher and a longtime adviser for graduate students in the mathematics division. For the past four years, she has pioneered a mentorship program for women in mathematics.
Richard Stephens has received more than $30 million in external funding for his research during his 30 years as a sociologist. He has served on federal grant review committees for the National Institute on Drug Abuse and the National Institute on Mental Health, and is currently the elected chair of the Alcohol and Drugs Section of the American Sociological Association.
Maria Zanetta, has established herself as an outstanding teacher and scholar who is credited with an “exceptional ability” to make the complex comprehensible and to inspire students with her enthusiasm and love of her subject.
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INSTITUTE ESTABLISHES TEACHING AWARDS
Three faculty members were honored on April 19 when a new set of University of Akron awards were presented at “Celebrating Excellence in Teaching and Learning at The University of Akron.” The one-day conference was hosted by the Institute for Teaching and Learning.
Receiving recognition were David McConnell, professor of geology, Outstanding Teacher/Scholar; Elizabeth Rhoades, instructor of English, Outstanding Part-Time Faculty; Laura McCrea, Outstanding Graduate Assistant/Doctoral Level; and Matthew Lautzenheiser, Outstanding Graduate Assistant/Master’s Level.
The day of workshops and panel discussions was hosted at Gardner Student Center. Keynote speaker for the noon luncheon was Maryellen Weimer, a noted faculty development expert and higher education researcher who has joint faculty appointments at Penn State University and Penn State Berks.
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LIFE EXPERIENCES COUNT TOWARD DEGREES
The Board of Trustees has approved a recommendation for individual academic departments at the University to evaluate and offer credit for formal educational programs that students might receive from non-university organizations.
The departments now will be able to evaluate and provide credit for courses and formal education programs offered by businesses, labor unions, professional and voluntary associations, schools, training suppliers and government agencies.
“This change is based on the idea that it is sound educational practice for colleges and universities to grant academic credit for high-quality education courses conducted by a variety of organizations, provided that the courses are appropriate to an individual’s degree program,” says Terry Hickey, senior vice president and provost.
Acceptance of any non-university education will be based on the American Council on Education’s College Credit Recommendation Service, and will be at the discretion of each University department, adds Hickey.
Forty-one other institutions accredited by the American Council on Education have similar programs in place.
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UA PRESS ADDS TO ITS CATALOG
The spring publishing season has been a busy one for The University of Akron Press — which has just added three new titles to its catalog.
“The Once and Future Union” by Bruce Meyer traces the history of the United Rubber Workers from its controversial beginning to its present incarnation as a part of the United Steelworkers of America.
Meyer, the managing editor of one of the rubber industry’s leading trade publications, Rubber & Plastics News, interviewed members and former members of the URW to give the union’s 60-year history life and dimension.
And just in time for Ohio's bicentennial celebration in 2003, the press has published a comprehensive collection of poems on the Buckeye State titled “I Have My Own Song For It: Modern Poems of Ohio.”
The 221-page collection of poems was edited by one of UA’s own — Elton Glaser, distinguished professor of English emeritus, and William Greenway, a professor of English at Youngstown State University. Their anthology is the first extensive collection since 1911 of poems written about Ohio. It features the work of 85 poets, including Hart Crane, James Wright and Rita Dove.
Henry Addington, one of Britain's most misunderstood prime ministers, is the subject of the third new release.
“Henry Addington, Prime Minister, 1801-1804: Peace, War, and Parliamentary Politics,” by Charles Fedorak, demonstrates that, contrary to the view of his opponents and many historians, Addington was an astute and effective prime minister who successfully handled a series of military, diplomatic, economic and social crises.
Addington became prime minister while England was involved in the Napoleonic Wars. He negotiated the short-lived Peace of Amiens with France in 1802. Although he held the prime minister's office only three years, he remained a cabinet minister for 14 of the succeeding 20 years, serving under four other prime ministers.
Fedorak is the director of the information and privacy branch of the ministry of education for the government of British Columbia.
For more information about these or the more than 50 books in The University of Akron Press catalog, call ext. 5342.
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FLYING HIGH NOTHING NEW FOR THESE STUDENTS
Members of the UA chapter of the Society of Automotive Engineers have another win beneath their wings with a first place in the Open Class 2002 SAE Aero Design East competition in April. This is the 12th time Akron SAE teams have garnered a first-place aero design award since they began competing in 1990.
The 2002 competition, held in Titusville, Fla., hosted two events — Open Class and Regular Class. The goal of the competition is to build a radio-controlled aircraft that lifts the most weight. Planes in the Open Class are of unlimited size with engines restricted to a total displacement of two cubic inches.
Five of the 38 national and international participating universities competed in Open Class. The UA plane lifted approximately 40 lbs. and won its event posting the highest overall score, receiving first place for Engineering Design Excellence and a $1,000 prize. The team also won the awards for Best Design and Maximum Weight Lifted in the Open Class.
In Regular Class, where UA placed 11th, planes are restricted to a single, standard engine and a 1,200 square-inch platform area.
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ARMY NURSE CORPS RECOGNIZES PROFESSOR
Christine Wynd’s career achievements just continue to grow.
The UA professor of nursing and retired colonel in the U.S. Army Reserve Nurse Corps is the recipient of the Phyllis J. Verhonick Research Excellence Award from the Army Nurse Corps. Wynd also
will become director of the college’s Joint Ph.D. in Nursing Program
on June 1.
The research award honored Wynd for her paper, “Factors Associated with Regular Testicular Self-Examination in Adult Males.” She accepted the award at the 12th Biennial Phyllis J. Verhonick Nursing Research Course, held in San Antonio, Texas, where she also presented the paper.
Wynd, who joined UA in 1995, has held teaching positions with the Naval Regional Medical Center in San Diego, the Army’s 112th Medical Brigade, The Ohio State University College of Nursing and Case Western Reserve University School of Nursing. She also has been a director and clinical researcher for The Cleveland Clinic Foundation.
Currently president of the Delta Omega Chapter of Sigma Theta Tau International National Honor Society, Wynd’s many community activities include chairing the Summit County Tobacco Prevention Coalition and serving as a member of the American Red Cross Disaster Team.
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HISTORY ACADEMY HONORS BOUCHARD
The Ohio Academy of History has awarded Constance Bouchard its Outstanding Publication Award. The award was presented at the organization’s annual meeting on April 20 and recognized the best book of 2001 written by a history professor in the state.
The publication, “Those of My Blood,” focuses on medieval family structure. The book, published by the University of Pennsylvania Press, clarifies the complex meanings of medieval family structure and family consciousness. It also shows the many ways negotiations of power within the noble family can help explain early medieval politics.
Bouchard, who joined the University in 1990, has penned eight scholarly books and numerous articles. Last year she was selected as a fellow of the Medieval Academy of America.
Bouchard has received several awards and honors, including a National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowship for Independent Research, the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowship and the 1997 University of Akron Outstanding Researcher Award.
This fall, Bouchard will attend the School of Historical Studies at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, N.J. Her latest book, “Every Valley Shall Be Exalted,” explores the tension between opposites in 12th-century thought and will be published by the end of the year.
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READ TAKES ON ADDITIONAL ROLE WITH FOUNDATION
Roger Read, president of The University of Akron Foundation Board of Trustees, has been named chair of its investment committee as well. The committee oversees the management of the foundation’s assets and develops long-range strategy and policies for investments. Read has been a member of the foundation board since October 1998.
Read, who retired from Harwick Standard Distribution as chairman and CEO in April 1995 after 28 years with the company, is a member of FirstMerit Bank’s board of directors. He also is a trustee of the Mary S. and David S. Corbin Foundation, Leadership Akron, Akron Automobile Club and the Center for Nonprofit Excellence.
Long involved with UA, Read is a past chairman of the College of Business Administration Advancement Council and a past recipient of the Dr. Frank L. Simonetti Distinguished Business Alumni Award (1989) and the Alumni Honor Award. He also is a former member of the Alumni Council.
Read and his wife, Judy, established a scholarship in 1995 for the benefit of students in the Buchtel College of Arts and Sciences. In 1997, their son, Scott, and his wife, Kimberly, established at scholarship at UA in the Reads’ honor.
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RETIRED FACULTY ASSUME NEW ROLES
Kleidon & Associates, an advertising agency, and Kleidon Publishing, Inc., both based in Akron, have close ties to the University. Dennis Kleidon, a professor emeritus of art who retired in 1997, and Rose Kleidon, a professor emeritus of the Community and Technical College who retired in 1996, are the owners.
The first book from the publishing company’s Red Sky Books Division is titled “Pass/Fail: 32 Stories About Teaching, From Inspiring to Hilarious.” It is an anthology of fiction, nonfiction and poetry written by teachers. The works were collected through a national juried competition.
The authors share their unique perspectives to give readers the inside view of every sort of crisis in education, from violence and racism to a simple failure to connect.
“This is a laugh-and-cry book, but it also is filled with insight and substance,” says Rose Kleidon.
Joining her in choosing the selections for the book were four other professors with UA ties — Robert Dial and Sally Slocum, associate professors emeritus of English; James Switzer, professor emeritus of the Community and Technical College; and Sheldon Wrice, associate professor of associate studies.
“Pass/Fail” is available through local bookstores.
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LAW STUDENT HONORED FOR HER WORDS
Newly graduated law student Nicole Endejann was recognized by the New York Intellectual Property Law Association at its annual meeting on May 22 in New York. She was presented with a plaque and $500 check in recognition of her second-place finish in the 2002 Conner Writing Competition.
Her contest entry, dealing with the antitrust implications and liabilities of settlements between generic and brand pharmaceutical manufacturing companies, is titled “Becoming Immune to Innovation?: Extending Noerr-Pennington Immunity to Settlements Between Brand and Generic Drug Manufacturers.”
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PUMPER TRUCK DONATED TO FIRE TRAINING CENTER
The University of Akron’s Training Center for Fire and Hazardous Materials now has its first fire truck, thanks to a donation by the Barberton Fire Department.
The donated truck is being put into service immediately for training exercises by local fire departments, private industry and students in UA’s fire protection program, says David Hoover, director of UA’s fire protection and emergency management programs.
“This new addition is a fabulous resource,” adds Philip McLean, the center’s director, of the Pierce pumper truck. “It will give the fire training center great exposure as it conducts training both regionally and nationally.”
The center, which has been in operation for more than 15 years, offers training to municipal fire departments regionally and industrial classes on-site at companies nationwide. Its clients include Ford Motor Co., Chrysler Corp., McDermott Technologies Inc., Day-Glo Color Corp., Commercial Alloys and Hayes Lemmerz International Inc. The center offers classes nationally through a partnership with McNamee Industrial Services, based in Ann Arbor, Mich.
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THEY CAME, THEY SAW, THEY CONQUERED
They traveled far to be the best — to Washington, D.C., via ancient Rome, to be exact. A team of surveying and mapping students from UA’s Community and Technical College used skills gained from long hours of research on the ancient world to conquer a national competition focusing on surveying techniques of the Roman empire.
The eight-member team took first-place honors in the National Society of Professional Surveyors' inaugural Surveying Student Competition, which was held in April as part of the American Congress on Surveying and Mapping’s annual meeting.
UA’s competitors included Texas A&M University at Corpus Christi, New Mexico State University and Southern Polytechic State University in Georgia.
In preparation for the contest, students researched and built authentic reproductions of Roman surveying instruments. During the competition, the teams demonstrated the methods the Romans used to build the empire’s vast network of roads and aqueducts, according to Thomas “Mike” Besch, surveying and mapping program director.
Points were given for authenticity of equipment reproduction, and for speed and accuracy in surveying the placement of stakes for one or more structures.
“We dominated in every way — in costumes, equipment, originality, and speed and accuracy,” Besch says. “One program director told me that The University of Akron has set the standard for this new type of competition.”
Besch says team members are already anticipating the 2003 contest, where the theme will be “Lewis and Clark's 1803 Voyage of Discovery.”
“We definitely will be attending next year to defend our title,” he says.
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WZIP-FM STILL TOP-RATED
UA’s student-operated station, WZIP-FM radio, remained among the Top 10 radio stations for the Akron metropolitan area during the winter ratings period.
Arbitron, the international media and marketing research firm, showed that the listener audience for WZIP increased by 11 percent during the winter ratings period (Jan. 3 through March 27) from the fall ratings period.
WZIP, 88.1 on the FM dial, averaged 59,100 listeners per week during the winter rating period. It is a noncommercial radio station operated through the College of Fine and Applied Arts.
The station ranked second among 36 radio stations for listeners ages 18 to 24, third among 36 radio stations for listeners ages 12 to 17 and 10th among 36 radio stations for listeners ages 25 to 34.
WZIP plays a “Rhythm Radio” format that includes a high-energy, Top 40 mix of contemporary rock, contemporary urban and dance music that appeals to young people. The format was initiated in spring 2001, and includes news, sports, information and entertainment.
The format has placed WZIP at the top of the Arbitron ratings for the Akron metropolitan area during four consecutive ratings periods. The area includes Summit and Portage counties.
“We are reaching our target audience with music, information and entertainment that they appreciate, and they’re telling their friends,” says Tom Beck, general manager of WZIP-FM.
“We reach 16,500 listeners between the ages of 12 and 17 and 19,000 listeners between the ages of 18 and 24 each week with messages about The University of Akron and how important it is to stay in school,” adds Beck. “We feel we are having a positive impact on the youths and young adults in the Akron metropolitan area.”
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