While excitement is already building for UT’s Sept. 19 football battle against Ohio State University in Cleveland, one UT team has already tasted sweet victory over the Buckeyes in Cleveland.

Bringing home third place from the Minority MBA Case Competition V were, from left, Uyi Eguasa, team adviser Dr. Ainsworth Bailey, Gaurav Mehta and Jonathan Johnson, who posed for a photo along with David Chatfield, director of the UT MBA and EMBA programs.

It happened in early March at the Minority MBA Case Competition V sponsored by Key Bank. UT College of Business Administration MBA students Uyi Eguasa, Gaurav Mehta and Jonathan Johnson not only bested the OSU team in the early round competition, but also won over Rice University, the State University of New York-Buffalo, the University of Texas-Dallas and Yale University.

Advancing to the final, the UT team placed third overall behind the University of Washington and Indiana University, which came in first and second, respectively, and ahead of Carnegie Mellon, which placed fourth. A total of 21 schools from across the United States were invited to participate.

“Ohio State beat us last year, so this is payback,” said Dr. Ainsworth Bailey, UT professor of marketing and team adviser. “We were very excited to beat these schools and it means a lot to us.”

Bailey said the MBA students are given a business case to address three weeks before the competition and need to prepare a solution. For this competition, Key Bank was looking for ideas about how to increase its market share of express small business accounts.

“Our team had to prepare and present a marketing communications strategy and recommendations to build and retain these clients. They conduct research and work on solutions, and we pay attention to their presentation skills,” Bailey explained. “A number of College of Business faculty members contributed to the effort, including Dr. Sylvia Long-Tolbert, who devoted a lot of time working with the team on the case, Dr. Andrew Solocha, Dr. Linda Bowyer and Dr. Bashar Gammoh.”

At the competition, the students gave a 20-minute presentation to Key Bank executives, then fielded questions for about 10 minutes.

“Advantages to the students include they have a good item for their resumé, they meet people at Key Bank, and they can interact with their peers,” Bailey said.

Another victory for the UT team: Eguasa received an individual award for best Q&A in the preliminary round.

“We’ve participated in this competition for five years, and this is the best we’ve done,” Bailey said, adding, “I like to take students to competition. I use to be a high school tennis coach and was in charge of quiz bowl teams. I enjoy the competition.”

“We applaud the fantastic effort of the students and congratulate them on this national achievement,” said Dr. Thomas Gutteridge, dean of the UT College of Business Administration. “This entire competition reflects on the high caliber of our MBA program, the quality of our students, and the fact that we have a dedicated faculty interested and willing to participate in these endeavors.”

Kent

Senior guard Tyrone Kent capped off his final game as a Rocket in Savage Arena with a dunk in the closing seconds. Now he will have one more chance to represent The University of Toledo by dunking on a national stage.

Kent is one of 24 seniors who has been selected to participate in ESPN’s 21st Annual State Farm College Basketball Slam-Dunk and Three-Point Shooting Contest at the Palace of Auburn Hills. The event will air Thursday, April 2, from 9 to 11 p.m.

“This is a great opportunity for Tyrone, and we’re glad he was chosen to represent our program,” Toledo Head Coach Gene Cross said. “He possesses a lot of athletic ability, and this will give him a chance to display those skills in front of a national TV audience.”

A Chicago native, Kent earned second-team All-Mid-American Conference honors in the 2008-09 campaign and will be one of eight individuals competing in the slam-dunk portion of the event. Also scheduled to participate in the dunk contest are Central Florida’s Jermaine Taylor, New Mexico’s Tony Danridge and Charlotte’s Charlie Coley III.

The men’s three-point shooting contest is slated to feature Northwestern’s Craig Moore, Rhode Island’s Jimmy Baron, Oakland’s Erik Kangas, Creighton’s Booker Woodfox, Grinnell’s John Grotberg, West Virginia’s Alex Ruoff and Miami’s Jack McClinton.

The women’s shooting contest features Furman’s Melissa Liebschwager, Iowa’s Kristi Smith, Georgetown’s Karee Howlette and Central Michigan’s Angel Chan.

Tickets can be purchased through ticketmaster.com. General admission tickets start at $10 with a $5 cost for students and children.

In honor of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, the UT Office of Multicultural Student Services will host a number of activities to celebrate the people of Asian and Pacific Islander descent in the United States.

While Asian Pacific American Heritage Month is celebrated in May, UT will hold most of its events in April before the semester ends so more students can participate, according to Nina Grant, senior director of the Multicultural Student Services Office.

Two art exhibits can be viewed Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the Multicultural Student Services Office, located in Student Union Room 2500 on Main Campus. “The Far East at Home” features works by members of the Chinese Association of Greater Toledo, and “Visiting China” showcases photographs by Agnes L. Barnes. Works will be on display through July 31.

Events to take place on Main Campus are:

Tuesday, March 31

• Multicultural Jeopardy featuring Asian and Asian American trivia from noon to 1 p.m. in the Student Union South Lounge.

• The film “Ke Kulana He Mahu: Remembering a Sense of Place” will screen at 7 p.m. in Memorial Field House Room 2100.  This documentary examines the relationship between the gay and transgendered communities among Hawaii’s indigenous people, the Kanaka Maoli. RSVP on Facebook

Thursday, April 2

• “Surf Culture Series: Can a Rocket Ride a Wave?” from 6 to 8 p.m. in Parks Tower Game Room.  This weekly series includes films about surfing and surf shops and presents a slideshow about the Samoan culture as it relates to surfing. RSVP on Facebook

Saturday, April 4

• International Student Dinner from 6:30 to 10:30 p.m. in the Student Union Auditorium. This dinner will provide international cuisine and a fashion show with participants dressed in attire from their home countries. For ticket information, contact Susan Cuffee at 419.530.2261 or susancuffee@utoledo.edu. RSVP on Facebook

Monday, April 6

• Asia Forum featuring “Whale Rider” from 3 to 4:40 p.m. in Student Union Room 2500. This film is about love, rejection and triumph as a young Maori girl tries to fulfill a destiny that her grandfather will not recognize. RSVP on Facebook

Thursday, April 9

• Asian Pacific American Heritage Month Celebration Reception from 2 to 4 p.m. in Student Union Room 2500. This reception will recognize the achievements of Asians and Asian Pacific Americans by featuring an art exhibition, music, performances, food and origami.

• “Surf Culture Series: Can a Rocket Ride a Wave?” from 6 to 8 p.m. in Parks Tower Game Room.

Saturday, April 11

• Asian American Immigration, Equal Opportunities and Civil Rights Panel from 2 to 4 p.m. in Student Union Room 3020. RSVP on Facebook

Wednesday, April 15

• Asia Forum featuring “Better Luck Tomorrow” at noon in the Student Union South Lounge.  This crime-drama film is about Asian American overachievers who become bored with their lives and enter a world of petty crime.

• “Surf Culture Series: Can a Rocket Ride a Wave?” from 6 to 8 p.m. in Parks Tower Game Room.

Tuesday, April 21

• Asia Forum featuring “Who Killed Vincent Chin?” at noon in Student Union Room 2500. This documentary tells the story of a Chinese American beaten to death in the Detroit enclave of Highland Park by a Chrysler plant superintendent. After the film, a discussion will be led by Dr. Yueh-Ting Lee, UT professor and associate vice president of analysis and assessment.

Saturday, April 25

• “Surf Culture Series: Can a Rocket Ride a Wave?” from 6 to 8 p.m. in Parks Tower Game Room.

For more information on these events, contact the Office of Multicultural Student Services at 419.530.2261.

Gabrielle Davis, James R. Findlay and Dr. Richard Ruppert received Jefferson Awards earlier this month in honor of their community work.

They will be the city of Toledo’s nominees for the national award. Their names will be sent to the American Institute for Public Services, and one will be invited to the National Jefferson Awards dinner in Washington, D.C.

Davis

Davis, UT clinical professor of law, is the director of the College of Law’s Domestic Violence Clinic, which offers legal assistance to low-income and minority victims of intimate partner violence. She has secured civil protection orders, provided pro bono legal representation in court, conducted safety planning and advocacy, and led a number of community and court-based research projects.

In 2006, Davis and the Domestic Violence Clinic received a $197,446 grant from the U.S. Department of Justice to conduct a yearlong study on domestic violence-related deaths in the region. The research revealed deaths from domestic violence tripled in northwest Ohio from 2003 to 2006, and domestic violence was the No. 1 cause of local murders in 2007.

Her published research has been cited in journals, law texts and government reports. Her grant proposals have raised funds to maintain operations at the Domestic Violence Clinic and research victim access to the local court system.

As a member of various boards, Davis has provided leadership to other anti-violence initiatives, including the Bethany House in Lucas County, the Cocoon Shelter in Wood County and the Take Back the Night Collective.

Findlay

Findlay is the founder of Findlay Family Limited Partnership and Ad Sensations, and the co-founder of Impact Products, Canberra Corp. and Fresh Products. He graduated from UT’s College of Business Administration in 1948 with a bachelor’s degree in industrial management. He received an honorary doctorate from UT in 2002.

The well-known philanthropist co-chaired a capital campaign that raised $3 million for the Flower Hospital Hickman Cancer Center, and he has supported dozens of local organizations, including Hospice of Northwest Ohio, Big Brothers and Big Sisters, Mom’s House, United Way and the Toledo Museum of Art.

Findlay is a longtime supporter of UT, particularly in the areas of athletics and the College of Business Administration. He and his late wife, Celia Koontz Findlay, created endowed scholarships for UT business and education students.

His University affiliations have included former member and chair of the UT Foundation Board of Trustees, former member and president of the UT Alumni Association, advisory committee member and chairman emeritus for the UT Center for Family Business, board member of the UT National Center for Parents, and member and past president of UT Downtown Coaches.

Findlay is a past recipient of the UT Alumni Association’s Gold “T” Award as well as the Blue “T” Award, Pacemaker of the Year Award, Mayor’s Community Award and Entrepreneur of the Year Award.

Dr. Richard D. Ruppert, right, and David W. Benfer, then MCO Hospital executive director, held a ceremonial ribbon that Pearl Yaekel, an x-ray technician and senior MCO employee, cut to officially dedicate the teaching hospital, today UT Medical Center, on Nov. 30, 1979.

Ruppert, a native of Franklin, Ohio, served as the third president of the former Medical College of Ohio from 1977 until his retirement in 1993, the longest tenure of any MCO president. Before that, he was vice chancellor for health affairs of the Ohio Board of Regents.

He is credited with completing the MCO campus master plan of buildings and with growing and strengthening the college’s health education, research and patient-care programs.

A past president of the Ohio Society of Internal Medicine, Ruppert later served as president of the 26,000-member American Society of Internal Medicine.

In 1993, MCO named its $11 million outpatient facility after him, and he received an honorary degree of science that year from Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine in Rootstown. He was awarded an honorary degree from MCO in 1998.

Ruppert did not confine his interests to medicine and medical education. He was a leader in civic activities in Toledo. In 1991, he was chairman of the United Way of Greater Toledo fund drive and was a member of the Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority from 1989 to 1999. He served as president of the Ohio Historical Society from 2006 to 2008. And he supervised development of the International Park Rotary Trail along the Maumee River and led the charge to raise state and private funds to build the Fort Meigs Visitor Center.

Two of the city of Toledo’s finalists for the Jefferson Award were from UT: Dr. Richard Baron, assistant professor of psychiatry, and Dr. David Krol, associate professor and chair of pediatrics.

Two voice students from the UT Department of Music won first prizes at the Great Lakes Regional Auditions of the National Association of Teachers of Singing held at Youngstown State University in early March.

Barbara Rondelli Perry posed for a photo with her students Sam Mason, left, and Dusty Selman, who took first place honors in their respective categories at the Great Lakes Regional Auditions of the National Association of Teachers of Singing.

Sam Mason, tenor, and Dusty Selman, baritone, were both first-place winners in their respective categories. Mason also received the Jon Vickers Award as the most promising student in first- and second-year undergraduate studies. The honor is named after one of the great Canadian opera tenors.

At the competition, Mason sang “En fermant les yeux” from Jules Massenet’s opera, “Manon,” Samuel Barber’s “Sure on This Shining Night,” and “Heavenly Grass” from Paul Bowles’ “The Blue Mountain Ballads.”

Selman sang “Cangiò d’ aspetto” from Handel’s “Admeto,” “Im wunderschönen Monat Mai” from Robert Schumann’s “Dichterliebe,” and Roger Quilter’s “Go, Lovely Rose.”

Mason and Selman study with Barbara Rondelli Perry, UT professor of music. Robert Ballinger, UT lecturer in music, served as the coach/accompanist for the five UT students who participated in the competition.

“The University wants to be known for excellent programs regionally, nationally and internationally,” Rondelli Perry said. “Sam and Dusty certainly placed the University’s voice program at the top of the list in their categories for this region that consists of three states and a Canadian province.”

The Great Lakes Region includes contestants from Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, and Ontario, Canada, from colleges, universities and individual professional voice teachers.

There were seven contestants in Mason’s category, and eight in Selman’s category.

Mason is a freshman studying vocal music education. He started his music education at Owens Community College under the direction of UT Music Department alumna Jodi Jobuck. After two years of study at Owens, Mason transferred to The University of Toledo, where he began studying with Rondelli Perry. He was the first student ever to perform a recital at Owens Community College and is also a recipient of the Dorothy MacKenzie Price Music Scholarship.

Selman is a junior majoring in music education. A native of Iowa, he went to Iowa State University, where he studied voice under the direction of James Tener. During his second year of study, he transferred to Northwest Missouri State University and studied voice with Dr. Stephen Town. Since arriving at UT in 2008, he has studied with Rondelli Perry. He is the recipient of the Lempert Talent Scholarship and was the first-place winner of the 2009 UT Concerto & Aria Competition.

“I have no hesitancy in stating the pride that I have in my students who year after year win prestigious awards in competition with other students from major universities with programs far beyond our enrollments and facilities,” Rondelli Perry said.

Also competing at the event were Brittoney Roane in the third-year college women category, Hillarie Meiring in the first-year college women category, and Dr. Craig Black, UT associate professor of health professions, in the advanced men and women category. All three study with Rondelli Perry.

Travel and competition expenses were covered by the Richard R. and Barbara R. Perry Program Excellence Fund.

Dr. Isabel Escobar has heard the stories — and has long admired Izabel Moletta, the woman she called “vovó” (“grandma”).

Dr. Isabel Escobar posed for a photo with engineering doctoral student Tilak Gullinkala, who is testing a membrane filter he developed for a project funded by the U.S. Department of Interior’s Bureau of Reclamation.

“My grandfather supported and encouraged her to pursue an education, so she would leave my aunt, who was a baby, with my grandfather, and she would take a train about an hour ride each way to go to another city so that she could get an education degree,” the UT associate professor of environmental engineering said. “And she ended up becoming the principal at the school where my grandfather was a math teacher.

“So my aunt and my mom have the same feeling toward education: You are going to school. There was never a question.”

After graduating from high school, Escobar left her home in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to attend the University of Central Florida in Orlando. She earned bachelor of science, master of science and doctoral degrees in environmental engineering in 1995, 1996 and 2000, respectively.

“I’ve always had a lot of support from my family to get an education and to value education. Your education is something that nobody will ever take away from you. You’ve earned it,” Escobar said. “They would always say money can come and go, a title can come and go, a position, a job, but your education comes and then you have it. My education is the most precious thing I have.”

It’s no wonder she does her part to make education more available. Escobar is involved with Gear Up and Toledo Excel, programs that help prepare middle and high school students for college, and she holds workshops for rural teachers to help put together science lessons for area migrant youth taking summer classes.

“I would love to live in a world where everyone has the choice and the ability to obtain a higher education,” she said.

Escobar also serves as the faculty adviser for the UT student chapter of the Society of Women Engineers and is the coordinator of the Catharine S. Eberly Center for Women’s Women in STEMM Excelling (WISE) mentor program that pairs incoming undergraduate female students pursuing science, technology, engineering, math or medicine with women who have experience in those fields.

“For women and minorities, it goes back to trying to be a mentor so they know they’re not the first person going through what they’re going through. You only learn this by forming a community,” she explained. “Just knowing there’s someone similar to you that’s gone through the same problem — it doesn’t make the problem go away, but it helps you breathe through it.”

And Escobar knows what it’s like to work in a male-dominated field.

“There are less than 20 percent women in engineering. Now some engineering majors have more than others,” she said. “For instance, here at UT, the incoming bioengineering class is 50 percent women. Chemical engineering, the environmental side, they all tend to have a higher percentage of women and that’s because quite often women can see how they can help a community, they feel they can help people in these fields.”

As a researcher, Escobar focuses on improving membrane filtration of water to make it drinkable. She has received more than $1 million in awards for her work.

For her outreach efforts and work in the classroom and in the lab, Escobar received the 2009 YWCA Milestone Award in education last week.

“It was very moving to me,” Escobar said of the honor. “Just knowing someone was noticing what I was doing and what I’m doing is big enough to make an impact; it still touches me so much.”

May

Dr. Willie E. May, director of the Chemical Science and Technology Laboratory at the National Institute of Standards and Technology, will give a talk at 4 p.m. Tuesday, March 31, in Bowman-Oddy Laboratories Room 1045 on Main Campus.

He will speak on “Chemical Metrology and Its Impact on Innovation, Trade and Quality of Life.”

As director of the Chemical Science and Technology Laboratory, May oversees a staff of more than 300 and an annual budget of about $85 million. The lab is one of nine technical operational units within the National Institute of Standards and Technology in Gaithersburg, Md.

The institute is a non-regulatory federal agency within the U.S. Department of Commerce. Its mission is to promote U.S. innovation and industrial competitiveness by advancing measurement science, standards and technology in ways that enhance economic security and improve the quality of life. May is director of the laboratory that addresses customer needs in chemistry, chemical engineering and the biosciences.

May will visit UT as part of the Chemistry Department’s Program for Academic Excellence Seminar Series.

“The Chemistry Program for Academic Excellence is a provost-funded award to bring leaders of the global scientific community to The University of Toledo in order to provide opportunity for students, faculty and community leaders to interact with nationally and internationally known scientists and decision-makers and at the same time enhance the visibility of the outstanding scientific research programs on campus,” said Dr. Jon Kirchhoff, UT associate professor of chemistry.

While at the University, May also will meet with faculty members and tour facilities.

For more information on this free, public talk, contact Kirchhoff at 419.530.1515 or jon.kirchhoff@utoledo.edu.

Tucker

For composer Christopher Tucker, it’s all about the melody.

“Melody is what listeners attach themselves to when they experience a piece of music,” he said. “If the piece gives you a sense of longing after you’ve left a performance or a movie, it’s the melody that you’re going to continue to whistle as you leave.”

Tucker hopes there’s a lot of whistling and humming after the premiere of “A Feather in the Morning Air” during the 32nd annual Festival of New Music Thursday, April 2, at 8 p.m. in Doermann Theater on Main Campus.

“The piece was originally composed for 10 winds, inspired by the music of Percy Grainger and elements in nature,” he said. “My intention in the piece was to take my own style of composing, my own melodies and also Percy Grainger’s, not so much his original melodies but one melody in particular he loved to use was ‘Danny Boy,’ what he called an Irish tune from County Derry. That melody also takes some of his style, his techniques, and I fused it into my own.

“It will be an honor and a thrill to hear it played by the UT Symphony Orchestra with all the instruments.”

UT’s Concert Chorale, Orchestra, and Symphonic Band and Wind ensembles will perform Tucker’s “Ceremonial Fanfare,” “Twilight in the Wilderness” and “Americans Lost” during the concert.

Tucker, who lives in Rockwall, Texas, is the director of artistic administration and a founder of the Lone Star Wind Orchestra. He has received commissions from more than 30 schools and arts organizations. His music has been performed across the country and in Japan, Germany and England.

In 2006, he released Twilight in the Wilderness, a disc featuring compositions for wind ensemble. A follow-up, Spirit Legend, came out in 2008.

“Not only were these commercial CDs, but they were a means of getting my music out so interested colleagues and band directors that look to perform those kinds of works could hear them,” Tucker said.

While at UT, the 32-year-old composer will give a talk Thursday, April 2, at 1 p.m. in the Center for Performing Arts Recital Hall on Main Campus.

The Festival of New Music will begin Tuesday, March 31, with a concert featuring percussion and electronic media compositions from the UT Electronic Music Studio and the premiere of an original song for voice and piano by UT student Sarah Modene featuring UT freshman Sam Mason, tenor and a first-prize winner at the recent Great Lakes Regional Auditions of the National Association of Teachers of Singing. The event will start at 8 p.m. in the Center for Performing Arts Recital Hall.

Chamber music will be featured Wednesday, April 1, at 8 p.m. in the Center for Performing Arts Recital Hall. Auditions were held mid-March and participants were chosen based on performance ability and their choice of contemporary literature. Students taking the stage will be Jane Anosike, Emily Corey, Jason Heidelberg, Hillarie Meihring, Juan Montoya and Ensemble, and Bethany Riegsecker.

For more information on these free, public events, contact the UT Music Department at 419.530.2448 or visit www.utoledo.edu/as/music.

A brown-bag lunch to discuss assessment will be held Wednesday, April 8, from noon to 1 p.m. in Student Union Room 2592 on Main Campus.

Discussion topics will include the connections between educational practices and learning outcomes as well as accomplishments and goals for the future.

According to Dr. Ron Opp, associate professor of educational leadership and chair of the University Assessment Committee, “The assessment forum is the kickoff event of a series of workshops to be sponsored by the professional development subcommittee of the University Assessment Committee to help faculty and student life staff understand the recent history of assessment initiatives at the University, and to become more aware of the services provided by various University offices to support their assessment initiatives.”

Panel speakers and their topics will be:

• Opp, “Assessment History Overview”;

• Dr. Marcia King Blandford, assistant vice provost, “Higher Learning Commission and Ohio Board of Regents Perspective”;

• Dr. Bin Ning, director of institutional research, “Institutional Research Resources”; and

• Dr. Karen Rhoda, associate dean of distance learning, “Assessment Tools and the Selection Process.”

RSVP to Christine Keller at 419.530.2075 or christine.keller@utoledo.edu by Wednesday, April 1.

UT College of Nursing officials are very encouraged following a site visit Friday from the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE), the national accrediting body for baccalaureate and master’s level nursing education.

“The exit report from the team leader and members of the CCNE accreditation team was very positive and highlighted that the UT College of Nursing has provided evidence that all four standards are in compliance with the standards set by the CCNE,” said Dr. Timothy Gaspar, dean of the College of Nursing.

Gaspar emphasized that it will be several weeks before the college receives the formal CCNE report, which will identify the college’s strengths, any needed changes, and the potential length of the new accredited period. Programs can be accredited for as long as 10 years, depending on the results of the accreditation process.

“I’m very proud of the teamwork and leadership of the College of Nursing,” said Dr. Jeffrey P. Gold, provost, executive vice president for health affairs and College of Medicine dean. “Their dedication to excellence and university-quality patient care bodes very well as we await the final report from the CCNE.”

CCNE members were at UT March 24-27 and conducted a thorough review of the college, Gaspar said.

“They took an exhaustive look through the materials we provided them, they interviewed undergraduate and graduate students in all of our nursing programs, and they met with various clinical agencies and community members with whom the college regularly interacts,” Gaspar said.

Gaspar said the CCNE was particularly impressed with the quality and depth of nursing students’ responses during interviews.

“This college has been preparing for this site visit for more than a year, and hopefully we’ll find in a few weeks that all the work was well worth it,” he said, adding special thanks to Dr. Jeri Milstead, who led the preparation process prior to her retirement as dean of the college and Gaspar’s appointment last summer.

“CCNE accreditation is critical both to nursing students who are looking to continue their education at either the doctoral or master’s level as well as to the public,” Gaspar said. “This process provides assurances of the excellence and high quality of care nursing students from UT will provide.

“Whether you’re a patient at UT Medical Center or across the country, nurses from CCNE-accredited programs can be directly tied to more accurate assessment — particularly in high-risk patients where the clinical symptoms may be more subtle — fewer errors, higher quality overall patient care, and an ability to proactively anticipate problems and address them,” he said.