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FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE Contact: SSU
Professor to Give Lecture Thursday About Anthrax
Dr.
Eugene Burns, a microbiology professor in the Department of Natural
Sciences at Shawnee State University, will give a lecture about
anthrax at 4 p.m. on Thursday, October 25 in the Flohr Lecture Hall
located in the Clark Memorial Library on the SSU campus in
Portsmouth. Anthrax,
which is dominating the headlines these days, can cause a deadly
disease in humans. Terrorists are attempting to spread the deadly
agent through the mail. Gary
Gemmer, chair of the Department of Natural Sciences at SSU, said the
Department is sponsoring this lecture through a grant from the
Shawnee State University Development Foundation. “This
is an opportunity for area residents to learn more about this
microbiological agent and the effects it has on humans,” he said. For
more information, call the Department at (740) 351-3456. #
# # FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE Contact:
Blanchard Promoted
At SSU Jerry
Blanchard of Russell was recently promoted to project director of
the 21st Century Community Learning Centers at Shawnee
State University. The
Centers are 36 school sites located throughout a three-county area,
providing approximately 6,000 students in the “After-School
Mall” a variety of free, fun-filled educational activities.
The
mission of the 21st Century Community Learning Centers is
to provide a safe and drug-free before/after school environment with
recreational, cultural, and academically enriched experiences
involving parents and the community.
Blanchard
said that each 21st CCLC program is funded for a
three-year period. “We
hope to extend the grant in the future to include more sites for an
additional three-year period,” he said.
Blanchard, who worked in the Russell School District for 29 years,
was principal of Russell High School for 11 years (1982-1993).
During the four years preceding his retirement from the
Russell Schools, he was the technology coordinator and handled
extended school services at the county office.
He also coordinated the school district's intern program.
Ginnie
Moore, director of the Office of University Outreach Services at SSU, said the 21st Century Community Learning Centers
initiative in southern Ohio is enjoying the benefit of Blanchard's
years of experience as an educational leader. “We
are fortunate to have him with us.
We are very proud of the 21st Century Community
Learning Centers program and the great job Jerry is doing.”
Blanchard
said his position with the 21st Century Community
Learning Center at SSU has allowed him to extend his career in
education and experience the trend in education for the 21st
century. “This
program through the Office of University Outreach Services at SSU
has given me the opportunity to participate in a quality program to
provide students in southern Ohio an enriched academic environment
to enhance their future success,” he said.
“The state of Ohio is fortunate to have many dedicated
educators who are willing to extend their workday and make a
difference in the lives of these students.”
# # #. FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE Contact: SSU Board of
Trustees The
Shawnee State University Board of Trustees will meet Friday, The
committees of the Board will meet in the University Center at SSU as
follows: ·
Finance and Facilities—9:15 a.m. in the Ketter Room; ·
Quality of University Life—9:45 a.m. in the Howard
Room; · Academic Affairs—10 a.m. in the Founders’ Room.
FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE Contact: SHAWNEE STATE
UNIVERSITY BOARD OF TRUSTEES
At its October 12 meeting, the Shawnee State University Board
of Trustees:
·
Approved
the waiving of lab fees for non-credit classes for senior citizens,
effective winter quarter 2002; ·
Approved
the direction of an administrative review of Board Policy 4.54,
Administrative Development Policy, and the continued funding of the
policy contingent upon the President consulting with the University
Administrative Assembly and recommending a new tuition reimbursement
policy consistent with the resolution, the University’s core
mission, and the practices of peer institutions not later than the
Board meeting in February 2002; ·
Approved
the submission of an Early English Composition Assessment Program
and Supplemental Funding Student Support Services Grant proposals.
Approved the submission of the Ohio Appalachian Education
Opportunity Center (EOC) and Educational Talent Search (ETS) Grant
renewals; ·
Approved
the establishment of a part-time, temporary administrative position
in the Department of Teacher Education to support the TERC grant;
and ·
Approved
personnel action items. The next meeting of the
Shawnee State University Board of Trustees will be December 13 at 4
p.m., in the Selby Board Room of the Clark Memorial Library on the
campus of Shawnee State University. The
next meeting of the executive committee of the SSU Board of Trustees
will be November 13 at 4 p.m. in the Founders’ Room located in the
University Center on the SSU campus. ### FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE Contact:
George Clayton, chairman of the Shawnee State University Board of Trustees, administers the oath of office to Suzanne Brumfield, SSU's new student member of the BOT, at the Board's October 12 meeting. Brumfield, an occupational therapy junior from Portsmouth, will serve a term through June 2003. # # # FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE Contact: SSU CHEERLEADERS EXCEL AT CAMP The Shawnee State University
cheerleaders and mascot recently attended the UCA College Spirit
Camp at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville and were very
successful during their time there.
The group learned new cheers and
stunts, and participated in several evaluations and competitions
judged by the UCA staff. They
were rewarded for their hard work by bringing home one
"Excellent" ribbon, three "Superior" ribbons, a
fourth place trophy for "Sideline Cheer" competition, the
"Leadership" trophy for their division, and the trophy for
"Most Improved Mascot". Coach Amy Reed was pleased with her
squad's performance. "Cheer camp is a very intense,
grueling three days with the competitions held at the end when the
cheerleaders are all tired and sore.
Our cheerleaders really pulled together when it counted and
they were rewarded for it by being able bring home trophies and
ribbons,” she said. “The
Bear also spent many hours in uniform learning new skills to add
spirit and fun to the games. Anyone
who comes to our games this year will really enjoy the entertainment
he will add to the game atmosphere."
The campus and Portsmouth communities will have their first chance to see the 2001 squad perform at the annual "Moonlight Madness,” held each fall to spotlight SSU's fall sports teams and kick off the basketball season. This year’s event will be November 15 at 7 p.m. in the gymnasium of the Rhodes Athletic Center on the SSU campus.
Front: Sheena Wallace - Ironton, OH
FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE Contact: Children's Learning Center's "2nd Birthday Party Members
of the media are invited to the Shawnee State University Children's
Learning Center's (CLC) "2nd Birthday Party," Thursday,
October 18, from 10 a.m. to noon at the CLC located at the corner of
Third and Union streets on the SSU campus in Portsmouth. This
event will serve as the celebration for the second anniversary of
the CLC's opening. Shawnee
State University's interim president Dr. Michael Field will unveil a
beautiful wall of tiles containing the names of the many individuals
who gave money to the facility, in addition to artwork containing a
children's theme. Children
who are enrolled in the CLC, donors whose names will appear on the
tiles, local school district administrators, parents of the many
children who are enrolled at the early childhood facility, early
childhood teachers, agency personnel, and members of the community
will be in attendance. This
event will provide many great photo and video opportunities, illustrating
an important element in our society-the educating of children ages
three to five years of age, interacting with their teachers,
parents, donors, and members of the community. The
majority of children at the CLC are the children of SSU students.
This is mainly for what the facility was designed.
However, others include the children of faculty, staff, and
members of the community. The facility also serves as a lab school for the
SSU Department of Teacher Education.
Ohio's new early childhood license for teachers requires that
teacher education students' field hours must be with certified
teachers. Because only
some preschools require their teachers to be certified, the number
of potential field sites is limited.
The Children's Learning Center has an experienced director
and three certified teachers, allowing the University to house its
own field site that meets the state's criteria. For
more information about the event, please send me an e-mail message
or give me a call. I
hope to see you on October 18!
#
# # FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE Contact: Enrollment Up at SSU; Statewide Budget Cuts Inevitable
There
was good news and bad news from Shawnee State University’s interim
president Dr. Michael Field as he addressed the institution’s
faculty, administrators, staff, and students Thursday afternoon at
the University’s quarterly convocation. The
good news is that SSU has experienced a healthy increase in
enrollment over last year. The
bad news reflects continuing budget woes at the statewide level that
translate to a 6 percent budget cut at SSU and a comprehensive
hiring freeze. Fall
headcount enrollment at SSU is 3,364, up 84 students or 2.6 percent.
Overall Full Time Equivalent (FTE) enrollment is 2,879, up
103 students or 3.7 percent. Subsidy eligible FTE, probably the most significant figure,
is up approximately 3.9 percent or 96 FTE students.
The University’s student population has also seen a shift
in the time of day the majority of its students attend classes.
“SSU has become a more traditional university in that 85.5 percent
of our students attend classes during the day,” Field said.
“When you consider this and the fact that for the last two
years we have seen more students receive baccalaureate degrees than
associate degrees at SSU’s commencement, it is clear SSU has
become a traditional university.” In
addition, Bob Trusz, SSU’s director of admission, said SSU has
seen an increase in total new students, those seeking degrees, those
direct from high school, and transfer students.
The average ACT composite scores of students attending the
University has increased during the last two years, from 18.8 in the
fall of 1999, to 19.0 last fall, and finally 19.6 this fall.
Field discussed Governor Bob Taft’s Executive Order
(2001-22T) that was issued on Tuesday, ordering the Executive
Branch, and all state agencies, departments, offices, institutions,
boards, and commissions of the executive branch that have General
Revenue Fund appropriations, to cut their budgets back, limit the
hiring of or the filling of vacancies to essential employees, and to
take other appropriate steps to reduce expenditures.
The order is expected to remain in effect until June 30,
2002.
Shawnee State University’s special supplement was
previously cut $523,000 each year of the current biennium.
Now the University faces a retroactive cut of 6 percent of
state appropriation, due to Ohio’s budget problems.
“This will translate to an additional budget cut for us of
approximately $900,000 this year and also next year,” Field said.
“The cut may well be greater.
Cuts in higher education amount to half of the entire state
agency cut.”
On top of this, Field said the decision made in the DeRolph
case (K-12 funding issue) might bring even greater cuts to higher
education in Ohio.
To counter the state budget cuts, Field said SSU has declared
a comprehensive hiring freeze.
The exceptions are grant-funded positions, appropriate use of
adjunct instructors, and positions that are determined to be
absolutely essential. Field
said he and SSU’s vice presidents are reviewing other possible
cost-saving measures.
“We will certainly be looking to the University’s
governance and committee structure to review and make
recommendations about a whole range of possible steps,” Field
said. “We will do
everything possible to avoid any layoffs.
In fact, we are looking at a number of other ways to handle
this.”
Field said University personnel must move ahead together,
with a spirit of cooperation and recognition of shared
responsibility for the health of the University.
“The budget challenge is really very serious.
These problems call for everyone to contribute their good
judgment, common sense, and intelligence to finding solutions,” he
said.
Field added that the University has recognized that the
budget problems it faces due to the statewide budget problems are
immediate and serious, and called for both immediate steps to reduce
spending and a longer-term plan to close the gap between revenue and
expenditures.
“Shawnee State University has weathered tough budget times
before. We have a
positive enrollment picture, a talented and dedicated faculty and
staff, and great students. If we can work together and move ahead together, we will be
fine,” he said. “It
is my intention that the difficult, budget decisions we face will be
made together.” # # #
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: SSU Dental Hygiene
Program One hundred percent of the
graduates in the class of 2001 from the Shawnee State University
Department of Dental Hygiene successfully completed the National
Board Dental Hygiene Examination.
In addition, the average score for the clinical portion of
the Northeast Regional Board’s Dental Hygiene Examination was 99
percent. Nancy Murray, program director and
assistant professor of dental hygiene, said this is an outstanding
accomplishment, and the faculty and staff are very proud of this
class. “Our
passing rate, as far as the national boards go, is very good.
The class average was 99 percent on clinical examinations
this year. We always
score high but this class did exceptionally well,” Murray said. Murray believes the success the
department has experienced is a combination of two things—a
reflection on the quality of students who are enrolled in the
program and the quality of instruction they receive at Shawnee State
University. “We are probably one of the few
schools that provides close, individualized attention.
We are very accessible to our students.
And that’s well received by them,” she said. One such student was Amanda Johnson
of Beaver, Ohio, a June 2001, graduate of the SSU Dental Hygiene
program. Johnson, who
works as a dental hygienist at Ohio Dental Family Center in Columbus
(a facility that features three dentists, an orthodontist, and an
oral surgeon), said she believes the SSU program is the best around.
“I have not attended another
school. However, I have
heard things from other hygienists and people who have attended
other schools, and heard about the other programs.
I think the SSU program is one of the best.
I think it definitely prepared me for my job,” Johnson
said. Graduating June 15, going through
an interview July 2, and beginning work in her new position on July
17, Johnson has been working hard in an office that stays very busy.
“We have three dentists here, and
I always have a patient. I
am always going from patient to patient.
I felt prepared from my first day here.
I never felt I was getting into something that I wasn’t
sure about. I felt like
I was very prepared. Another
thing I felt prepared for were boards.
I had all of the information I needed to know,” she said.
“I think I speak for the rest of my class.
We were all prepared very well.”
Johnson credits the dental hygiene
faculty members for ensuring their students are prepared overall. “The teacher’s are great and
were very helpful to us. They
are always willing to answer a question.
They take time out of whatever they are doing to help you. There have been plenty of times we have interrupted their
lunch and they stopped eating to help us,” she said.
The program has a full class this fall, and is admitting
students for fall quarter 2002.
Prospective students who are interested in the SSU Dental
Hygiene program should be good in math, science, and have a solid
background in biology, chemistry, and algebra.
The program requires a minimum of 480 clinical hours working
on patients.
The Department begins looking at applications shortly after
the April 1 deadline, and usually has the next class in place by
early May. A wide-variety of students is accepted into the program.
“There are students straight out
of high school; however if they’ve had a year of college
courses—including biology and algebra—and they do well on those
courses, they will score higher as far as the ratio that is needed
for admission is concerned,” Murray said. While the program admits students
right out of high school, it has graduated many non-traditional
students, including a grandmother who was 48 years old. “She had spent several years as a
waitress, obtained her GED, and later in life completed our program.
So our student population is very diverse, probably mostly
commuter students. The
majority of students in the program come from northern Ohio,
southern Ohio, Kentucky, and West Virginia.
Many students are married and have children,” Murray said.
The program has an excellent placement rate.
Typically, all graduates have found jobs in the dental
hygiene field within a few months after graduation, and a great
percentage of students have a position lined up before graduation.
To find out more about the dental hygiene program at SSU,
call the Office of Admission at (800) 959-2SSU (2778). # # # FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE Contact:
Dr.
Dan Evans (right), dean of Ohio University Southern Campus in ### FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE Contact: (Article by Michael Butcher; Photographer/Communications Specialist--SSU SSU's
Waller Conservatory Holds Open House PORTSMOUTH,
Ohio--The Waller Conservatory at Shawnee State University is The
greenhouse has many tropical plants and over 150 species of orchids.
"Everyone
is welcome to stop by and see SSU's very own greenhouse," Banks For more information, call (740) 351-3673. #
# # FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE Contact: SSU Middle East Expert To Speak on Afghanistan Lorentz Set To Address
Status of U.S. Military Action
A
Shawnee State University professor who spent a substantial amount of
time living and working in the Middle East will speak on Afghanistan
and the military action the United States is taking there, on
Thursday. Dr.
John H. Lorentz, professor of history and director of the Center for
International Programs and Activities at Shawnee State University,
will give a presentation titled Afghanistan: A Legacy of Neglect,
on Thursday at 7 p.m. in the Flohr Lecture Hall in the Clark
Memorial Library on the SSU campus in Portsmouth.
Lorentz,
a Peace Corps Volunteer in Iran during the 60s and a consultant on
the Middle East during his entire career, was the executive director
(during the mid 1980s) of American Aid for Afghans (AAFA), Inc., a
non-profit organization founded in 1980 to raise funds to support
the freedom fighters in Afghanistan.
AAFA was the first American aid group benefiting the people of
Afghanistan established after the Soviet Invasion.
Over the years this organization delivered medical supplies,
winter clothing, blankets, boots, and food to Afghanistan. Their boot projects were recognized worldwide as an important
contribution to the Afghan resistance.
American Aid for Afghans, Inc. also supported Radio Free
Kabul through a network of portable radio transmitters and helped
send teams of American doctors and nurses inside Afghanistan. “Our
program provided warm winter clothing and other humanitarian
supplies to the freedom fighters inside Afghanistan.
The contributions we received were an important part of the
valiant struggle to create a Free Afghanistan,” Lorentz said. Despite
the efforts of American Aid for Afghans and many other
organizations, the Afghans were desperately short of basic
necessities in the mid 80s, and increasingly so in the area of food.
Lorentz said that at that time, little attention had been
paid to food shortages inside Afghanistan, which hindered freedom
fighter operations. The
shortages built slowly resulting from the Soviet policy of
terrorizing civilians and systematically depopulating the
countryside. “The
problem was becoming a crisis situation.
I traveled to Pakistan where I was bombarded by Afghans with
requests for food assistance. As
a consequence, AAFA mounted a campaign for food.
While in Pakistan I purchased and delivered clothing items
for the Afghan freedom fighters with funds that individuals
contributed to our organization,” he said. The
Soviets had methodically destroyed the agricultural system of
Afghanistan. This was
the primary tool by which they hoped to accomplish their aims. “Farm
lands were scourged, irrigation systems destroyed, and over 4
million people were driven from their lands.
The results were devastating.
Those who remained on their land needed help in
re-cultivating to feed themselves and the Freedom Fighters who
relied on the local population for their food.
The shortage was severe,” he said. AAFA
worked toward the redevelopment of Afghan agriculture.
Where there was a degree of security, Lorentz and his
organization rebuilt irrigation systems, and supplied seed,
fertilizers, tools, and pesticides. “This
enabled those who had survived those many years of Soviet aggression
to continue to resist,” he said. Through
meetings with individual commanders, visits to training camps, and
coordination with their political representatives, Lorentz
determined where the need was greatest and the best means to ensure
that goods went inside Afghanistan. “I
then went into local bazaars with commanders and their
representatives and let them bargain for the goods.
In this manner, we ensured that the items were appropriate to
the needs and that we received rock-bottom prices,” he said. In
the face of overwhelming odds, the Afghans, at the time Lorentz was
working to help them, had fought for over six years against Russian
occupation and showed no signs of weakening in will.
The rest is history. Lorentz’s
presentation Thursday will focus on Islam as a religion, and the
misperceptions associated with it. “There’s
so much misperception on this.
I feel a need to at least say something about that.
I’ll basically address the question, are the Taliban or
Osama bin Laden really representative of an Islamic view.” Lorentz
will also discuss the recent history of Afghanistan. “Where
does Osama Bin Laden come from?
I knew that name when I was working with the Afghans.
But he was a minor player at that time.
What happened? How
did he turn from what was a minor player into the Osama bin Laden we
know today? I will
discuss these an many other aspects of the United States war on
terrorism,” he said. For
more information about the presentation, call the SSU Department of
Social Sciences at (740) 351-3234. #
# # FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE Contact: Article by Erica Fulton; Communications Specialist-SSU Office of Communications)
PORTSMOUTH, Ohio – Shawnee State University professor
of history and director of the Center for International Programs and
Activities (CIPA), Dr. John H. Lorentz, spoke to an attentive
audience Thursday evening on a topic he has first-hand knowledge
of—the situation in Afghanistan and the people there who are
suffering because of neglect.
Lorentz who spent a substantial amount of time working and
living in the Middle East is an expert on Afghanistan history and
people. The present
situation in Afghanistan and events of September 11, led him to
address the issues Americans should understand in a lecture
entitled, Afghanistan: A Legacy of Neglect.
Lorentz, during a two-hour presentation, addressed the
United States’ role in the formation of the Taliban, how Osama Bin
Laden came to power, the state of the Afghan people, his predictions
for the war, and most importantly, what he believes needs to happen
for the United States to leave a positive mark on the Afghan people.
Lorentz stated that one key point to understand about
Afghanistan is that it is not and has not been a nation state in the
Western sense of the word, and instead is, “essentially a loose
federation of ethnic and tribal groups each of which are autonomous
into themselves and resent any kind of interference in terms of
their own affairs. That in times of peace and where there has not
been external forces in play, have been able to come into some...way
in which they have been able to achieve a balance power where there
was some autonomy but there was still a government called the
Government of Afghanistan. And whenever that balance was upset and that happened quite
frequently there was internal strife and the equivalent of civil
war.”
However, more importantly to understand is, according to
Lorentz, “Whenever there has been an outside interference or
intervention in some these competing tribal groups come together to
form something that is quite formidable in terms of the resistance
to external interference. That
is exactly what happened to the Soviet Union.”
Of course, this is also the situation where the United States came
into play in Afghanistan in that the U.S. sent military assistance,
unofficially and without any humanitarian relief, to aid in the
resistance to the Soviets. However,
when the Soviets withdrew so did the Americans leaving the Afghan
people to continue their cycle of civil war in a desperate land
ravaged by warfare. As
a result, when the Taliban, which means “religious students,”
rose up to offer a sense of order and an incorruptibility that the
Americans thought would help with the oil and drug situation, they
were a supported and came into power.
As
we now know, when the Taliban, who were always an Islamic
fundamentalist group, gained that power they began changing and
ignoring the needs of the people and cutting women out of society.
They fired all women teachers and doctors, forbid women to
become educated, ordered the full veil, and instituted as Lorentz
said, “ the disenfranchisement of women.”
The Taliban
also helped in supporting Osama Bin Laden’s rise to power and
formation of a terrorist organization in part because of Bin
Laden’s financial clout. But,
according to Lorentz, “He was a relatively minor player when I was
there.” Bin
Laden, who was in Afghanistan at the same time as Lorentz, was
actually a Saudi Arabian native who traveled to Afghanistan to help
in the resistance against the Soviets.
Bin Laden became the dangerous figure he is today after he
offered to organize a military to intervene in what became the Gulf
War. As we know, the
Saudi government rejected Bin Laden’s request and instead turned
to the United States for help.
According to
Lorentz, “Bin Laden saw this as a sacrilege of a holy area and
thought there was no need to bring in the United States when Muslims
could handle it.” Of
course, after the Gulf War the United States still has some 20,000
troops in Saudi Arabia and this is Bin Laden’s number one
complaint. “Bin
Laden is not saying you don’t have the right to exist.
It is not a clash of civilizations, that’s not what this is
all about. What he is
really saying is get out of Saudi Arabia and let us handle our own
situation,” Lorentz explained. Of course, Bin
Laden’s message of hate and disdain for the Americans and their
involvement with the Middle East was never more apparent than on
September 11, which of course, has led to the bombing of
Afghanistan. So, what
now? Lorentz
predicted, “In my opinion, the bombing will be effective in
bringing down the Taliban but there is much more going on.”
The Afghanistan people are in need of a government that
represents them, but they will not, Lorentz warned, look favorably
on a government the United States sets up for them.
“The
Afghanistan people need to follow their own person weight,” he
said. “Lots of
Taliban supporters are on the edge,” and according to Lorentz,
this is a good thing because when the Taliban falls, the Afghani
people will be able to rebuild without extensive U.S. intervention. Again, this goes back to the Afghani history that outside
interference must be avoided or else risk the people banding
together to keep those forces out. “That’s
why we don’t want ground troops,” Lorentz explained. Of
course, the issue of terrorism is still primary on the U.S. agenda,
but Lorentz believes that the answer to that problem is “extensive
humanitarian efforts.” He believes that terrorism in Afghanistan and in other areas
is a result of powerlessness and despair of the people, who are
starving and dying. “Afghanistan
is the most devastated inhabited place on earth,” Lorentz
emphasized. He added
that if the United States respects the Afghani people by providing
humanitarian relief and engage the situation “in an intelligent
sense and not a reactive sense” we can leave a positive mark on
the people and also help prevent further uprisings of terrorist
groups once we address the current situation.
Lorentz, a Peace Corps Volunteer
in Iran during the 60s was the executive director during the mid
1980s of American Aid for Afghans (AAFA), Inc., a non-profit
organization founded in 1980 to raise funds to support the freedom
fighters in Afghanistan. AAFA was the first American aid group
benefiting the people of Afghanistan established after the Soviet
Invasion. Over the years this organization delivered medical
supplies, winter clothing, blankets, boots, and food to Afghanistan.
Their boot projects were recognized worldwide as an important
contribution to the Afghan resistance. American Aid for
Afghans, Inc. also supported Radio Free Kabul through a network of
portable radio transmitters and helped send teams of American
doctors and nurses inside Afghanistan. # # # FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE Contact: (Shawnee
State University is one of the major sponsors of this special
presentation. However, media contacts should be directed to:) Julia Marlowe Drama to P
On
Saturday, October 20, Portsmouth Murals, Inc. will "bring the
floodwall murals to life" at the Vern Riffe Center for the Arts
through the premiere of the one-person drama, Julia Marlowe. "We
are very pleased to be able to present this program," said
Robert L. Morton, Portsmouth Murals, Inc. president. "This is a
unique opportunity for those interested in history, arts and
drama." Julia
Marlowe, written by Jerry Holt, Ph.D., Dean of Arts and Sciences at The
drama will star Barbara Calarese who is a resident artist with The
Human Portsmouth, Tickets
for the production will go on sale Oct. 3 through the McKinley Box "This
educational and cultural event is through the cooperation of the Portsmouth
Murals, Inc. is a non-profit organization dedicated to the ### FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE Contact: (Article
by Erica Fulton; Communications Specialist-SSU Office of
Communications)
Scholarship Created to Memorialize Beth Popham
PORTSMOUTH, Ohio – Two years ago this month, the life of Beth
Popham, an aspiring student studying at Shawnee State University
(SSU) to become a teacher, was tragically taken in a car accident.
To honor her memory, Miss Popham’s family has created a
memorial scholarship in her name.
Originally, Mrs. Faye Popham, Beth’s mother, and her two
sisters, Missy Malone and Cristy Wallingford, managed the
scholarship themselves, but it became too much to administer.
As a result, they donated the scholarship money to the SSU
Development Foundation to be awarded as the Beth Popham Memorial
Scholarship. Mrs.
Popham explained that her daughter, Beth, received scholarships to
come to SSU and it would have been difficult to manage college costs
without them.
“We appreciated everything,” Faye Popham said.
The Popham family hopes to help other students in the same
way. Miss Popham is remembered as a giving person and a
scholarship is a perfect way to
Ambra Knoche, Miss Popham’s best friend and a student at
SSU, remembers her friend’s personality the most. “She was very unselfish in that
she always thought of everyone else and their feelings before
herself. I feel that
anything to help others remember her would be great,” Knoche said.
The SSU Beth Popham Memorial Scholarship for $500 will be
awarded for the first time for the 2002-2003 academic year to a
middle-income student with a minimum grade point average of 3.5.
The scholarship fund currently has enough money to award for
three years, but donations can be made to the SSU Development
Foundation to keep the memorial scholarship going after the initial
funds are depleted.
For more information about the scholarship, contact the SSU
Office of Financial Aid at (740) 351-4243.
To make contributions to the scholarship fund, contact the
SSU Office of Development at (740) 351-3284.
### FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE Contact: Article by Erica Fulton; Communications Specialist-SSU Office of Communications)
The PASS (Prevent Addiction to Smoking and Snuff) program discourages tobacco use by children. Developed by Mary Ann Canter, associate professor of respiratory therapy at SSU (shown above with respiratory therapy students administering breathing tests to local elementary students), the PASS program, in its third year of existence, has shown over 550 elementary school students ho the respiratory system works and the harmful effects smoking and smokeless tobacco use can have on human beings. PASS is a collaborative effort between SSU and Southern Ohio Medical Center.) SSU
Respiratory Therapy Students Take Lessons in Caring
PORTSMOUTH,
Ohio – Shawnee State University’s (SSU) Respiratory Therapy
students and faculty may be a secret of the health care community
because many people are not familiar with the profession, but they
certainly should be no strangers to the local community.
The Respiratory Therapy students and faculty at SSU are
champions of community service and devote countless hours to serving
the general public.
Students
in the two-year associate degree program are encouraged by their
professors to get involved with the community and learn to better
themselves by helping others.
Don
Thomas, chair of the respiratory therapy department, explained, “I
think everyone should try to return something to their community,
especially people in health care.
So much is about taking care of patients and I think we have
to move our focus to include the public in general.”
Part
of that move includes students working at free health fairs and
other community events, where they test the blood oxygen levels,
blood pressure, and breathing of participants. One such event will
be held on Thursday, October 25 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the
Kroger’s Community Room in Portsmouth.
The event is part of National Respiratory Care Week, October
21 through 27, which is dedicated to the celebration of the
profession. Mayor Greg
Bauer is scheduled to attend at noon to present the Proclamation of
Respiratory Care Week in the city of Portsmouth.
Refreshments will be provided as well as information about
both the respiratory care profession and SSU’s Respiratory Therapy
Program. Elevator
access is available for those who may not be able to climb the
stairs to the Community Room.
Respiratory
therapists care for patients of all ages and work in a variety of
health care settings to include, but not limited to, acute care,
long-term care, emergency rooms, doctors’ offices, and sleep
disorder labs. Therapists
also take care of patients in their homes.
The majority of therapists choose to work in the hospital
setting where they deliver oxygen and breathing treatments to
patients who need respiratory care, however, there are a growing
variety of specialty areas into which they might want to work.
A therapist may choose to specialize in selected areas such
as pulmonary diagnostic testing to assist the physician with
identifying those patients with respiratory diseases or disorders. Others
enjoy working in critical care units and emergency rooms where they
provide mechanical ventilation and other therapies to patients who
have trouble breathing on their own.
Another area of specialization is the Neonatal Intensive Care
Unit where mechanical ventilation and therapy are administered to
critically ill infants. Patients with chronic lung disease often
benefit from pulmonary rehabilitation where therapists work with and
teach the patient techniques to help improve breathing and overall
quality of life.
Mary
Ann Canter, associate professor of respiratory therapy, said, “We
do an awful lot that people aren’t aware of.”
But
aside from preparing students in SSU’s top-notch program, faculty
members create opportunities outside the classroom or clinical
experiences for students to help the community.
For instance, Canter developed the PASS (Prevent
Addiction
to Smoking
and Snuff)
Program, a tobacco use prevention program for children in elementary
schools, to teach them the dangers of smokeless tobacco and
cigarettes. The Program is offered in conjunction with the Community
Relations department at Southern Ohio Medical Center (SOMC). During
the first phase of the PASS Program, SSU’s respiratory therapy
students go into area schools to interact and share information with
third-graders about the health hazards of cigarettes and smokeless
tobacco. Later, when
the same school children enter the sixth grade, SSU students will
talk with them again and focus the interaction on peer resistance
skills.
Thomas
and Canter are proud of the program and the disease prevention
aspect it brings both to the community and students.
“Hopefully
it will have a strong impact. Kids
are under so much pressure,” Thomas added.
Of
course, children aren’t the only people in the community served by
the Respiratory Therapy Program.
The Student Respiratory Therapy Organization (SRTO2)
is active with Hillview Retirement Center’s assisted living unit. Each year the students adopt residents of the center and
decorate their Christmas tree, sing carols to and purchase gifts for
the residents.
Canter
noted, “It is very popular with both the residents and
students.”
All
of the service events are designed to teach students how much of a
helping career they are entering and it seems to be working.
First-year student Emily Bailey, when asked why she chose
respiratory therapy answered, “I think it will be neat to help
people.” Another
first-year student, Anne Griffin, mentioned that it is important to
her “to help relatives who have breathing disorders.”
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