The Shawnee State University (SSU) Board of Trustees will meet Friday, July 13 at 1:15 p.m. in the Selby Board Room located in the Clark Memorial Library on the SSU campus.
            The committees of the Board will meet in the University Center at
SSU as follows:
            * Finance and Facilities – 9 a.m. in the Founder’s Room;
            *Academic and Student Affairs –10:15 a.m. in the Howard/Ketter
Room.

(Article by Monica J. Bradbury, communications specialist)

 

            Furnishing a student residence is an important part of a student’s college life. This task can be difficult for some — especially for exchange students who have restrictions on what they can and cannot bring with them.
            Shawnee State University’s Center for International Programs and Activities has started a lending closet to provide students with necessary household items.
            “It’s amazing what gets thrown away by students at colleges and universities,” said Rita Haider, administrative assistant for the center. “So, we thought — why not take this stuff and save it for our students who come back in the fall.”
            CIPA began collecting household and personal items from students June 15, including pots and pans, stuffed animals, rugs, shelving, cutlery, a toaster, kitchen items, sheets, an ironing board, a vacuum cleaner, mirrors, shelving, plastic ware, a bedside table and an alarm clock.
            “Depending on what country they come from, some exchange students are allowed one suitcase and some are allowed two,” Haider said. “However, they’re bringing all their clothes for all four seasons to get them through for a year.”
            CIPA is taking donations during business hours, Monday-Friday. Contact CIPA at (740) 351-3127.

(Article by Monica J. Bradbury, communications specialist)

 

            Do you have a family history or traditions you want to pass down to future generations?
            Shawnee State University is offering a course, “Writing your culture,” taught by author Lucrecia Guerrero, M.F.A. July 23-27.
           “Anyone who is interested in sharing the stories of their life and experiences who have some experience writing — or none at all — would benefit from this class,” said Ginnie Moore, director of university outreach services at SSU.
            The emphasis will be on cultural differences in life which have helped make unique experiences. This is a writing intensive course that will define and put to use the elements of good story writing and explore the ways in which a person can use personal experience to create a story. Students will learn ways to incorporate their culture into their writing, and will be encouraged to write several short pieces to share with the class.
            “This course offers a wonderful opportunity for writers and aspiring writers to find ways to incorporate insights about their own lives into their writing,” said Michael Field, provost and vice president for academic affairs at SSU.
            Guerrero is the author of a short story collection, Chasing Shadows. Her stories have been published in literary journals such as The Colorado Review and ByLine. She has been nominated for a Pushcart and has been awarded residencies to Hedgebrook, New York Mills and Fundación Valparaíso in Spain. She won a Christopher Isherwood Foundation Fellowship for an excerpt of her recently completed novel, “Tree of Sighs.”
            "I first knew Lucrecia Guerroro through her lovely book, ‘Chasing Shadows,’ which deals with life along the Arizona-Mexico border,” said Jerry Holt, Ph.D., former SSU dean of the college of arts and sciences. “It is a must-read. But then I saw her teach, and I knew she was the ideal choice for ‘Writing Your Culture.’"
           The course is available for graduate or undergraduate credit. For registration information, contact the Office of the Registrar. Participants can also take the class for non-credit through SSU University Outreach Services for a fee of $259. The fee covers instruction and materials, including essays and excerpts of memoirs and fiction. The deadline for registration is July 20.
            The course will be taught at the SSU campus. For more information, contact the University Outreach Services at (740) 351-3274 or the Office of the Registrar at (740) 351-3262.

(Article by Monica J. Bradbury, communications specialist)



 

            The Southern Ohio Performing Arts Association in association with Shawnee State University has announced the exciting lineup of concerts for its upcoming 2007-2008 season at Shawnee State University’s Vern Riffe Center for the Arts.
            “We have an especially strong season this coming year,” said Carl Daehler, D.M.A., executive director of the Vern Riffe Center for the Arts. “The season includes orchestral music, circus arts, vocal performances, Broadway theatre, comedy and dance. The performances are sure to appeal to music and theater lovers of all ages.”
            The 2007-2008 season begins Oct. 18 with a return of the 80-member Columbus Symphony Orchestra, under the direction of Junichi Hirokami and featuring Alexander Kobrin, the 2005 Van Cliburn Gold Medal Winner in a performance of Rachmaninoff’s Concerto No. 2. Ticket prices range from $21-31. This show is included in the fine arts mini series package and is sponsored by National City Bank.
            Cirque des amis, or “Circus of friends,” will perform Oct. 30 at the VRCFA. The Montreal-based Cirque School combines circus arts with feats of daring on the trapeze, nostalgic costumes and a variety of music and dance enlivened by fantastic lighting. Tickets prices for this event range from $29-42. Cirque des amis is included in the Broadway mini series package and is sponsored by the Southern Ohio Medical Center.
            The Ten Tenors, a group from Australia, will perform Nov. 8 bringing a repertoire from Bach to the Bee Gees and selections written by members of the group. Nearly 77 million fans have heard them on four different continents as they perform an evening of unparalleled fusion of artistry, musicianship and comedy. Tickets prices range from $21-31. This performance is included in the fine arts mini series package and is sponsored by OSCO Industries.
            The national tour of “The Producers” will be performed on Jan. 12, 2008, at the VRCFA. Based on Mel Brooks’ 1968 movie, “The Producers” received an amazing 12 Tony Awards. Brooks pokes fun at the world of musical theatre through the hilarious efforts of the main characters to produce the worst Broadway musical ever staged, “Springtime for Hitler.” This national tour production will offer an evening of adult humor and satire with great music and dance numbers as only a Broadway musical from Mel Brooks could deliver. Ticket prices vary from $29-42. “The Producers” is included in the Broadway mini series package and is sponsored by the Southern Ohio Medical Center.
            On Feb. 5, 2008, 4-ISH, an internationally acclaimed dance and skate spectacular created by the world’s leading skaters, disc jockeys and hip-hop dancers will perform at the VRCFA. A must-see by audience members of all ages, this dynamic, young troupe brings talent, energy and skill to the performance, filled with humor, inline skating, acrobatics, martial arts and boxing. Ticket prices range from $24-34. This performance is included in the family pops mini series package and is sponsored by USEC and Time Warner Cable.
            In celebration of Black History Month, Wilberforce University Choir, conducted by Jeremy Winston, will return to the VRCFA Feb. 21, 2008. Winston, holder of the Ray Charles Distinguished Chair of Sacred and Choral Music, is the associate professor of music at Wilberforce University. The ensemble has recorded the soundtrack for the movie, “Amazing Grace,” a biography of abolitionist, William Wilberforce. Ticket prices range from $21-31. This performance is included in the fine arts series package and is sponsored by Anna Margaret Stillwell.
            “The Wilberforce University Choir represents the educational excellence, entertainment value and cultural quality that SOPAA and SSU strive for in their concert series,” Daehler said.
            The Johnny Cash story, one of love and faith, success and struggle, home and family, rowdiness and redemption, will be portrayed during the “Ring of Fire” performance Apr. 1 at the VRCFA. More than 38 songs of the legendary country music singer are included in this national tour production, including “Walk the Line,” “Folsom Prison Blues,” and the title song, “Ring of Fire.” Ticket prices range from $24-34. This performance is included in the family pops mini series package and is sponsored by USEC.
            “Gypsy” will be performed at the VRCFA Apr. 24. This musical tells the tale of vaudeville entertainer Gypsy Rose Lee, her sister, June Haver, and their larger-than-life mother, Mama Rose. The performance includes hits, “Everything’s Coming up Roses,” “Small World” and “Let Me Entertain You.” Ticket prices range from $29-42. This performance is included in the Broadway mini series package and is sponsored by the Southern Ohio Medical Center.
            The last performance of the season will be “1964: The Tribute” on May 8 at the VRCFA. Dick Clark called this “hands down the best Beatles Show out there today.” These four extraordinary musicians don’t only sound like the Beatles, they become “The Beatles.” Audience members will listen to the sound that shook the world four decades ago — the sound that held teens in its grasp for a full generation the world over. They have appeared seven times at Carnegie Hall and numerous times on national television. Rolling Stones Magazine has called them the best Beatles tribute on earth. Ticket prices range from $24-34. This performance is included in the family pops mini series package and is sponsored by USEC.
            Discounts are available for seniors, SSU students, faculty, staff and alumni. For more information or to order tickets, contact the McKinley Box Office at (740) 351-3600 or visit the Web site, http://www.vrcfa.org.
            Performances at the Vern Riffe Center for the Arts are supported in part by grants from the Ohio Arts Council, the Scioto Foundation and gifts made to SOPAA and Shawnee State University’s Development Foundation.

(Article by Monica J. Bradbury, communications specialist)


For Immediate Release PSA-July 2, 2007


 

            The Southern Ohio Agricultural & Community Development Foundation (SOACDF) will offer, for the sixth year, its educational assistance program to eligible Ohio growers and quota owners of burley tobacco. The Ohio Appalachian Center for Higher Education (OACHE) will again administer this $2-million Educational Assistance Program on behalf of the SOACDF. The program supplies tuition assistance for eligible applicants attending accredited institutions of higher education, or for pre-approved specialized training. In addition to degree programs, award recipients may participate in certificate programs and other approved training that will provide them with the skills they need to be competitive in today’s job market.
           Eligible applicants seeking Associates, Bachelors, Masters or other professional degrees may receive up to $3,000 for tuition and fees. Eligible applicants taking coursework toward a non-degree certification, licensure, or training program may receive up to a maximum of $1,000 with a class limit of two for the 2007-08 academic year. The total assistance provided for any family may not exceed $10,000 for the academic year. The application period is open until April 1, 2008 for eligible applicants attending in-state or out-of-state institutions. Because the funds are available on a first-come first-served basis, eligible applicants are encouraged to apply early to avoid the risk of the unavailability of funds.
            All applications for the 2007-08 SOACDF Educational Assistance Program must be certified by the applicant’s FSA and are available at Farm Service Agencies, the SOACDF, the OACHE, the OSU Extension and Soil and Water offices throughout Southern Ohio. On-line applications are available at www.soacdf.net and www.oache.org.
            If you would like to learn more about this beneficial educational program for farmers, contact the OACHE toll-free at 866-466-2243.

(Article by Monica J. Bradbury, communications specialist)

 

            At its meeting held today in the Homer Selby Board Room of the Clark Library, the Shawnee State University Board of Trustees approved a $41.7 million university budget for 2007-08, which includes freezing undergraduate tuition and fees at $5,832, the second lowest in Ohio. In-state graduate tuition will increase 5.2 percent and out-of-state graduate tuition 5.7 percent.
            “By holding down undergraduate tuition, the university budget approved today by the Trustees builds upon our partnership with the state to expand the opportunity for a university education in southern Ohio,” said Board of Trustees Chairman Howard H. Harcha.
            The tuition freeze was subsidized in part by new monies for Ohio public universities included in the recently approved state budget.
            “I very much appreciate the new state support. It represents a clear consensus among state leaders that strategic investment in higher education is key to expanding economic opportunity and driving economic development in Ohio,” said Shawnee State University President Rita Rice Morris. “While the state budget is a very positive step in the right direction, it nonetheless presents Shawnee State with a number of challenges.”
            Morris noted the state budget does not result in an increase in total revenue for Shawnee State.
            “Even with the increased state support, the tuition freeze results in a university budget that projects less revenue than if tuition was permitted to increase at the level previously approved by the legislature,” said Morris.
            The state budget also requires Shawnee State to realize “efficiency” savings of one percent in 2008 and three percent the year after in order to receive the new state support.
            “We have worked hard to keep costs down at Shawnee State. According to the Board of Regents, our expenses per student in 2005 were over $3,000 less than the state average,” said Morris. “The one percent savings required in 2008 will be difficult enough – the three percent we must save in 2009 – about $1 million – will no doubt require we make some difficult decisions.”
           Associate of Technical Study degree
            The Trustees also approved adding an Associate of Technical Study to the over 80 degrees offered at Shawnee State.
            The new ATS degree creates more flexibility for students who bring substantial experience to their studies by providing credit for relevant work experience and courses already taken.
            “The ATS degree will give individuals credit for hard work on the job and in the classroom, and help them to advance their particular interests or career paths,” said Morris.
            The Associate of Technical Study degree will permit students to tailor a degree from other post secondary education, individual life experiences. Along with up to 30 semester credit hours of previous experience students will be required to earn at Shawnee State 18 semester credit hours of supervised course work in their field of study and 12 in general education.
            Having been approved by the Trustees, approval by the Chancellor is anticipated by the end of this year.

            Most kids are excited to be out of school for the summer, less so about beginning classes in the fall. However, 37 high school teens were delighted to spend five weeks on Shawnee State University’s campus June 17 to July 21 during the Upward Bound Math and Science summer program.
            Throughout the week students have the opportunity to take classes in forensic chemistry, water quality and geometry, as well as an assortment of enrichment classes taught by the resident advisors. UBMS staff also teach financial planning, study skills, college life, careers and ACT prep.
            “We have tried to develop a summer curriculum that we feel will help each of these students to become well-rounded individuals,” said Tim Amburgey, project director of educational talent search and upward bound math science at SSU. “Whether it be academic classes, personal development classes, study skills classes or career based classes, we want to offer a wide array of classes that make the summer program both informative and fun. The overall goal, however, remains the same — to get these students into college.”
            Students attending the Upward Bound Math Science, a program funded through a grant administered by the United States Department of Education, are incoming high school sophomores, juniors and seniors. According to Amburgey, students are recruited during the fall of their freshman or sophomore year from school districts including Dawson-Bryant, Ironton, Piketon, Greenup County, West Union, and Ripley-Union-Lewis-Huntington.
            One popular UBMS class is forensic chemistry, taught by Wendi Fleeman, Ph.D., assistant professor of chemistry at SSU. In this course, students saw what it is like to be a C.S.I. investigator.
            “We worked with luminol,” Fleeman said. Luminol is a compound that helps determine the presence of blood. “That’s probably the most exciting thing we’ve done so far. We were also looking at simulated drugs and how we could use the ultraviolet light to determine the presence of illegal substances.”
            “We learned about blood typing yesterday,” said Katy King, sophomore at Ironton High School in Ironton, Ohio. “We added antiserum to blood, which had antibodies in it. If it had a certain effect, it received a plus or minus and according to that it was a certain blood type.”
            “After learning various techniques, such as ink chromatography and blood spatter analysis and typing, students work in groups to solve a murder in which a crime scene is arranged by the professor,” Amburgey said. “Students then present their case in trial fashion to the entire group.”
            Jonathan King, general manager of Scioto County Water District—Water I in Lucasville, Ohio, taught the course on water quality. King was selected by the Ohio Rural Water Association as manager of the year for 2006.
            “We built a water plant and we’re taking sewage and making drinking water,” King said. The class was appropriately titled, “You’re Drinking What?”
            Chesapeake High School senior, Cassie Brown, learned about water composition, contact time and how to treat the water.
            “When people say that water’s too expensive, we learn in this class that it really takes a lot to make water,” Brown said. “It’s pretty reasonable pricing because of the process it goes through.”
            Last year, Brown took the geology course, which also included instruction on water quality. She is interested in studying geology or engineering when she enters college.
            The goal of the UBMS program is to give students the confidence to succeed at college.
            “The program serves low-income and potential first generation college students,” Amburgey said. “UBMS allows students to experience college life and helps them consider the possibility of leaving home and staying at college for an extended period of time.”
            UBMS students also get the opportunity to visit a variety of college campuses, take field trips to museums and experience various cultural events they normally may not have the chance to do at home, Amburgey said. This year, a trip to Washington D.C. was arranged. Additionally, as a retention tool to keep students in the program, UBMS staff take seniors on a final trip, which includes a big city and a national park. This summer seniors will be going to San Francisco and camping in Yosemite National Park.
            Four scholarships are given each year to what UBMS terms “bridge students” — those who have graduated high school and return for one final summer to take a college level class for credit. These students are on campus during the UBMS program until the end of the summer semester.
            According to Amburgey, UBMS has over 170 alumni with a college placement rate around 90 percent, while the average for the region is around 35 percent. UBMS is currently awaiting word regarding funding for its newest grant proposal. If the new proposal is funded, the program will be on campus through 2011.
            For more information, contact UBMS at (740) 351-3439.
 

            Kelly Hatas has been hired as the second Vista volunteer coordinator for next year. Hatas, from Springfield, will join Amy Richardson, AmeriCorps VISTA, Ohio Campus Compact coordinator of community service, in working with students and student organizations
            “I have been wanting to work as the AmeriCORPS VISTA volunteer here since the position’s inception in 2004,” said Hatas, a recent SSU graduate with a bachelor’s degree in international relations. “The new VISTA position focusing on environmental concerns was just an added bonus; I could focus on initiatives that interested me.”
            According to Hatas, her position will concentrate on environmental responsibility and service learning. Environmental initiatives she anticipates include river cleanups, trash pickup days, Adopt-A-Highway and recycling.
            “I hope to develop, implement, and maintain a comprehensive recycling program on campus, move to a more energy efficient campus, plan different service projects, and also I hope to take students on an Alternative Winter Break,” said Hatas.
            Hatas will attend training in Chicago and start her new position on July 16. She was approved for the job by the university and the regional and state AmeriCorps directors.
            “Kelly was chosen as the second coordinator as part of our search process, and was selected because of her strong interest in the environment and in recycling initiatives,” said Jim Settle, vice president of student affairs.
            All VISTAs receive a living allowance, health coverage, leaves of absence, member development, and travel to training.
            For more information concerning community service at SSU, contact Amy Richardson at (740) 351- 3662.

            On July 19, Students of Shawnee State University’s Upward Bound Math Science program presented their analysis of a mock crime scene, arranged by Wendi Fleeman, Ph.D., assistant professor of chemistry at SSU and instructor of UBMS forensics class. Pictured are Mariah Reisinger, a sophomore at Piketon High School, and Lydia Stamper, a junior at Piketon High School, with their crime scene analysis. The Upward Bound Math Science Program is designed to provide students in Appalachian Ohio, Kentucky, and West Virginia with an exciting learning experience in the math and science fields.

            Funded by the Ohio Department of Education, Shawnee State University’s Summer Honors Institute for Gifted Students is designed to stimulate and challenge Ohio’s academically gifted high school students entering their sophomore or junior year. July 26, Harrison Mercer of Wheelersburg, Ohio, a senior majoring in simulation and gaming engineering at SSU, demonstrated a game to SSU Summer Honors students Matt Brehm, a junior at Grove City High School, Mark Strickland, a sophomore at Northwest High School and Kevin Rood, a junior at Coffman High School.