The University of Toledo

The UT Police Department will conduct several active shooter exercises in the Ottawa East residence hall on Main Campus during the first week of January.

The training sessions are scheduled for Monday, Jan. 4, at 7 a.m., Tuesday, Jan. 5, at 11 p.m. and Friday, Jan. 8, at 3 p.m.

The exercises will place officers in a scenario where they are the first responders to an active shooter situation. The officers will have to complete several missions designed to train them on how to safely respond to incidences of active shooters on campus; these will include the formulation of a tactical plan, examination of the best methods to communicate with fellow officers in an emergency, elimination of the threat, and management of the scene using an incident command center.

A debriefing will follow each exercise.

The sessions will last approximately 90 minutes; no ammunition will be used.

Bjorkman

Each issue of Ohio Magazine is about the people, places and trends that define the rich culture of the Buckeye State.

In a special section of the December issue titled “Excellence in Education,” Ohio Magazine featured some of the most memorable educators from some of the state’s top colleges and universities, including four professors from The University of Toledo.

Goel

The UT educators included in the section were all named Distinguished University Professors last spring. They are:

• Dr. Karen Bjorkman, professor and interim chair of physics and astronomy. The section stated, “Karen S. Bjorkman is an observational astronomer who does research in the area of circumstellar disks, as well as teaching astronomy and astrophysics classes. She is actively involved in efforts to provide mentoring for young women in science and to increase the representation of women in science.”

Kaderavek

• Dr. Vijay Goel, endowed chair and McMaster-Gardner professor of orthopedic bioengineering in the College of Engineering and the College of Medicine, and co-director of the Engineering Center for Orthopedic Research Excellence. “Vijay K. Goel has been instrumental in the development, implementation and assessment of the Department of Bioengineering’s subtract in orthopedic biomechanics, including teaching and research labs,” the article stated. “He also incorporates findings of basic and applied research in orthopedics into his classroom teaching.”

Viola

• Dr. Joan Kaderavek, professor of early childhood, physical and special education. “Joan N. Kaderavek is a nationally recognized scholar in early literacy and language development,” the special section stated. “She trains professionals to identify young children who are at risk for reading problems during the preschool years so that children avoid a lifetime of academic failure.”

• Dr. Ronald Viola, professor of chemistry. “Colleagues in the National Academy of Sciences attest to Ronald Viola’s reputation as a world-class scientist with expertise in the biosynthesis of several essential amino acids, their implications in the development of therapeutic agents, and the pathogenesis of disorders of amino acid metabolism,” according to the section.

Three University of Toledo College of Business Administration undergraduate students were among the participants in the 2009 KeyBank Undergraduate Student Leadership and Creativity Symposium held fall semester at Ohio State University.

And by the end of the event, one UT student was among the winners.

“The students, Ryanico Reyna, Savannah Tilman and Jordan Johnson, were selected by their GPA and an essay explaining why they wanted to participate in the symposium,” explained Dr. Terribeth Gordon-Moore, associate dean of the UT College of Business Administration. “They attended workshops on leadership, creativity and use of Excel in the business world.”

Other schools with students participating included the University of Cincinnati, University of North Carolina, University of Minnesota, University of Wisconsin and University of Washington.

Students were placed into groups of six, given a case to explore, and had to prepare a presentation for a panel of KeyBank judges.

Reyna, a junior majoring in professional sales and marketing, said, “We were to uncover issues that were making an exclusive restaurant in Spain lose profits. The judging panel gave each group two hours to prepare, then each group made a 20-minute presentation with our unique recommendations that would generate more profits for this restaurant.”

Reyna’s team won the competition, resulting in each team member receiving a $1,000 scholarship.

“Personally, I was very proud of myself,” Reyna said, “knowing that students from all over the country were competing at a high level. I felt I was among the elite in the country. All six of us had unique ideas that made our team more diverse and successful. It feels very rewarding being on the winning team.”

He added, “I enjoyed every moment of this symposium. I feel my experience with the KeyBank competition gave me more of an understanding of the special skills needed to obtain high-caliber leadership ability.”

“Congratulations to Ryanico Reyna for being a member of the winning team and receiving a $1,000 scholarship,” Gordon-Moore added.

At the Association of Rehabilitation Nurses 35th Annual Educational Conference, Dr. Linda Pierce, UT professor of nursing, took on a new role: president-elect.

As an active member of the association for more than 20 years, Pierce will be able to include president to her list of accomplishments when she takes over the top spot in 2010.

Pierce has held multiple leadership positions prior to this election; she served on task forces and committees of the Rehabilitation Nursing Foundation, which is the arm of the association that funds research in rehabilitation nursing practice.

She also served as chair of the Rehabilitation Nursing Foundation Board of Trustees from 2006 until 2008 and has served on the Association of Rehabilitation Nurses’ Board of Directors since 2003.

Pierce said she is delighted at the opportunity to serve her colleagues and is looking forward to what the future holds for the association.

“The future of the Association of Rehabilitation Nurses lies in the strategic plan and its big hairy audacious goal: to reshape health care by integrating rehabilitation nursing concepts into care for all people.”

The goal of the association is to reshape health care by integrating rehabilitation nursing concepts into the care for all people with objectives targeted at leadership, research, government relations and professional development.

Pierce holds a doctor of philosophy in nursing from Wayne State University and master of science and bachelor of science degrees in nursing from the University of Akron.

Christine Smallman sees a silver lining in this year’s UT Community Charitable Campaign as final donations continue through the end of the month.

“We expect to reach $200,000 in faculty and staff pledges, which is phenomenal given the economic conditions for both our region and our own organization,” Smallman, senior marketing manager, co-chair of this year’s campaign and incoming chair of the 2010 campaign, said during a recent breakfast recognition event. “I’ve seen janitors pledge a quarter per paycheck just to be able to give, which is really what the campaign is about.”

UT set an ambitious goal of $250,000 and held several fundraisers, including an online auction, football game collection and bake sales. Benefactors of UT’s donations praised the tally that fell just short of the overall goal.

“To reach $200,000 in these challenging conditions is just incredible,” said Bill Kitson, president and chief executive officer of United Way of Greater Toledo. “You showed tremendous generosity even though it isn’t a great time for anyone to be giving.”

Dr. Linda French, professor and chair of family medicine and this year’s campaign chair, thanked members of the committee who planned the various fundraisers.

“They brought new ideas and new energy that will be a tremendous resource for Chris as she plans the UT Community Charitable Campaign in 2010,” French said. “We just couldn’t have been as successful as we were without their hard work and dedication.”

UT’s committee members were Kelly Andrews, Department of Intercollegiate Athletics; Sally Berglund, Office of Alumni Affairs; Kim Harvey, University Communications; Sandra Manton, Office of the Vice President for Finance; Cindy Reinsel, Department of Pediatrics; Dorothy Spurlock, Office of Research and Sponsored Programs; Jennifer Reynolds, Department of Family Medicine; Susan Young, Department of Family Medicine; and Krystal Weaver, Student Government.

The campaign has been extended through the end of December in correlation with the traditional holiday season of giving. Donations may be made in lump sums or smaller portions deducted directly from paychecks. Credit cards, cash and checks also will be accepted.

To explore various means of pledging, click here or contact your department head for paper pledge forms.

Faculty and staff will be paid Thursday, Dec. 31, rather than on the regularly scheduled Friday, Jan. 1, pay date.

This pay also will mark the first date that paper checks will be distributed on Scott Park Campus.

Paper checks now will be available from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. in the Payroll Office on the second floor of the Learning Resource Center.

Because of the early distribution, slightly more income will be reported to the Internal Revenue Service for calendar year 2009. However, the early pay will not affect the amount of income each faculty and staff member receives in 2010, regardless of whether the person is paid on the academic calendar (19 pay periods) or the fiscal calendar (26 pay periods).

Dec. 31 income will be reported as 2010 pay for purposes of Ohio Public Employees Retirement System and State Teachers Retirement System of Ohio since it is based on the pay-end date.

Main Campus employees are encouraged to participate in free health screens the week of Jan. 4 at the Main Campus Medical Center.

The screens, which include height, weight, body mass index, glucose, cholesterol and blood pressure, are part of a proactive health initiative enacted in the last Communications Workers of America contract. CWA members were guaranteed an incentive for their participation, but UT has decided to extend the initiative to faculty and staff based on Main Campus.

“With many New Year’s resolutions relating to improving health, this is a great opportunity for Main Campus employees to get valuable baseline information,” said Bill Logie, vice president for human resources and campus safety. “Hourly employees will be given adequate release time during their shifts. We’re really trying to make this convenient so as many employees as possible can participate.”

Screens will take place Monday, Jan. 4, through Friday, Jan. 8, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Main Campus Medical Center. To ensure minimal wait times, participants should call 419.383.2348 (BFIT) to schedule appointments.

Logie is hopeful the screens will be offered on Health Science Campus in the future.

Laura Miller, senior director of benefits and human resource information systems in Human Resources, noted that the screens are beneficial to the University and employees since both share in rising health-care costs.

“Our Main Campus work force is approximately 10 years older than our Health Science work force,” Miller said, adding as the work force ages, certain health risks, including those for cardiac disease, diabetes and other conditions, tend to increase.

“Costs for our Main Campus employees rose about 10 percent this year, while costs for the Health Science work force actually decreased by about 11 percent,” she said.

Health knowledge acquired from the screens will help employees make informed decisions about their care and provide solid baselines for risk factors that can lead to future medical problems.

“High blood pressure, diabetes and high cholesterol are among the biggest risk factors for cardiac disease,” said Dr. Jeffrey P. Gold, Health Science Campus provost, executive vice president for health affairs and dean of the College of Medicine, who was instrumental in helping HR plan the screens. “These screens will be very quick and very simple, but the information employees will take with them is crucial in identifying key risk factors and steps to reduce these health risks.”

He added that illnesses such as diabetes, cardiac disease and stroke are highly preventable with the advent of simple lifestyle changes, such as healthier dietary choices, exercise and stress management.

The screens will take 10 to 15 minutes per person and include one needle poke for both blood-based tests. Fasting for 12 hours before the screen will yield more accurate results, but is not necessary.

Immediate test results will be available. Educational staff, including nursing personnel and dietitians, will be on-site to answer questions and facilitate follow-up counseling.

Employees who plan to attend during their shifts should work with their supervisors to keep scheduling conflicts minimal.

The Division of External Affairs earned several Crystal Awards during a reception held last month.

Departments that contributed to the awards include the Center for Creative Instruction, Health-Care Marketing, University Marketing and University Communications. The Department of Intercollegiate Athletics lent its prose to an award, as well.

UT earned Crystal Awards for the following projects:

• 2009 Art on the Mall Poster, poster category;

• UT Medical Center Why Hospitals Should Fly Invite, invitations category;

• Seed Money/UT Guarantee Direct Mail Package, direct mail campaign category;

• UT Rockets Football Tickets, digital media category; and

• Coach Beckman Web Site, nonprofit Web site, under $10,000 category.

UT also was the recipient of several Merit Awards of Achievement for the following projects: “Let’s Bring Our Boys Out!” for single feature story; Spring 2009 Toledo Alumni Magazine, annual report/magazine; 2009 NCAA Division 1 Men’s Golf Championships Poster, poster category; UT Virtual Campus Tours, student media category; and WXUT Web site, nonprofit Web site, under $10,000 category.

“Just looking at the array of awards we earned says a lot about the diverse talents of our division,” said Lawrence J. Burns, UT vice president for external affairs and interim vice president for equity and diversity. “The trend toward interactive communications challenges us to explore new and innovative methods of getting the word out. Every member of our team continues to push the envelope of creativity with award-winning results.”

The Crystal Awards, sponsored by the Toledo chapter of the Association for Women in Communication, honor communications professionals in northwest Ohio and southeast Michigan for excellence in advertising, collateral materials, design, digital media, industry self-promotion, photography, public relations, TV/radio, and writing for news or public relations.

Hundreds of University of Toledo students became alumni Saturday, Dec. 19, as UT held its fall commencement ceremony in Savage Arena.

President Lloyd Jacobs and Board of Trustees Chair Olivia Summons placed a hood on Dr. David Eaglesham, vice president of technology and chief technical officer at First Solar, who received an honorary doctorate in science from Dr. Rosemary Haggett, Main Campus provost and executive vice president for academic affairs, during commencement.

More than 800 students and nearly 5,000 family and friends listened to Dr. David Eaglesham, vice president of technology and chief technical officer at First Solar, acknowledge the short-term difficult economy. But it was at a similar point in history that marked the transformation of the economy and the rise of the United States.

Eaglesham pointed out that five of the 10 richest people (adjusted for inflation) in the last 4,000 years were American industrialists born in the late 1830s or early 1840s.

“These guys belonged to a generation that had an extraordinary opportunity handed to them. The industrial revolution was remaking the world, and they just happened to be there,” Eaglesham said referring to John D. Rockefeller, Andrew Carnegie, Andrew Mellon, Henry Ford and William Vanderbilt.

According to Eaglesham, a new culture of industrial revolution is taking place — emphasized by solar and alternative energy — and students graduating from college today will be right in the middle of it.

“So the generations in this room are like Carnegie’s generation. The world is going to change around you. Our industries, our transportation, our health care and our educational infrastructure are all going to change. You will get to be the generation that will re-shape the energy sector. And travel. And heating. And construction. And waste management. And medicine. And the entire manufacturing sector,” he said.

“Now that is a great time to graduate.”

Prior to Eaglesham’s address, UT President Lloyd Jacobs spoke about culture and thanked UT’s faculty for the central role they play in preparing students for that change.

“The faculty of a great university are among its culture carriers,” Jacobs said. “Their utterances, writings and blogs constitute the media by which knowledge is transmitted, research findings are communicated, and the community is elevated. I am deeply grateful to our faculty for the civility and grace they display in carrying out this responsibility.”

Eaglesham echoed the president, reminding students they learned much more than facts in college.

“But remember, your experience here at The University of Toledo has taught you more than facts. The most important thing you have learned in your time here is how to learn,” he said.

Using Single Incision Laparoscopic Surgery, UT surgeons are able to keep skin flawless by making incisions inside the belly button.

UT Matters is a partnership with The Blade and Buckeye CableSystem to bring the community health science education and the latest news about how University faculty, staff and students are changing Toledo and how the community can be a part of it.

This month UT Matters focuses on the surgical techniques that have advanced immensely as surgery has gone from being open to minimally invasive.

The University of Toledo Medical Center is the first facility in northwest Ohio to introduce the most recent evolution of minimally invasive surgery, Single Incision Laparoscopic Surgery. Among the many benefits, it provides patients with no visible scarring. The procedure requires a single incision inside the belly button. The opening is typically 1.5 to 2.5 centimeters long — between the size of a paper staple and the diameter of a quarter. Because of the location and size of the incision, the small scar isn’t visible.

To learn more about Single Incision Laparoscopic Surgery at UT Medical Center, call 877.451.2299 or visit UTMatters.com.