The University of Toledo

Toledo’s thrilling 3-2 victory over No. 12 Michigan in the Rocket Classic Saturday night caught the attention of coaches across the country. The Rockets received 13 votes and are ranked No. 37 in this week’s American Volleyball Coaches Association’s poll.

UT rallied from a 13-7 deficit in the fourth set against the Wolverines (who now are ranked No. 19) to even the match at 2-2 and send the contest to a climactic fifth set. The Rockets had three match points with a 14-11 lead in the fifth set, but Michigan rallied to score four straight points and take a 15-14 advantage. The Rockets didn’t falter though as they closed out the match on kills from sophomore Bethany Irwin, freshman Becca Reidy and a block from Irwin and Reidy to win the tournament.

Tournament MVP and junior Kassie Kadera dished out 45 assists in addition to collecting 10 digs to lead the Rockets to the historic win.

Freshman Lauren Rafdal paced the Rockets with 13 kills and five blocks, while senior Katie Westerfeld collected a match-high 30 digs. Rafdal and Westerfeld were each named to the all-tournament team.

Freshman Dakota Harkins also played a big part in the victory with a team-best .333 attack percentage, 10 kills and five blocks.

The Rockets will face two other opponents in the coming weeks that also are receiving votes. UT will host No. 30 Michigan State in its next home match Friday, Sept. 17, in addition to meeting No. 40 Wisconsin at the Milwaukee Invitational Saturday, Sept. 11.

Toledo returns to action this weekend with a trip to Tuscaloosa, Ala., for the Bama Bash Sept. 3 and 4. The Rockets will battle the host Crimson Tide as well as the University of Alabama at Birmingham Friday at noon and 5 p.m. Central Time, respectively. UT will wrap up the tournament against Furman Saturday at 11 a.m. Central Time.

There’ll be a heat wave sweeping across Centennial Mall when Martha Reeves and the Vandellas take the stage for Music Fest at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 2.

The Motown trio burned up the charts during the 1960s with hits that included “Dancing in the Street,” “Heat Wave,” “Jimmy Mack” and “Nowhere to Run.”

“Motown made 30 superstar acts,” Reeves said. “We were all taught to have proper attire, to present ourselves to kings and queens, lords and ladies.”

Reeves and the Vandellas are regarded as music royalty. The ladies received the Pioneer Award from the Rhythm & Blues Foundation in 1993. Reeves and all singers in the Vandellas became the second all-female group inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995. And in 2003, they were inducted to the Vocal Group Hall of Fame.

“I was given a hint of how our music still has an effect,” Reeves said during a phone interview from her Detroit home. “A friend was in Paris and he was walking along and they had music over a loud speaker and all of a sudden there I was with ‘Dancing in the Street.’ And he said the people were swaying and dancing, it seemed everybody got a little happier and a little friendlier at that moment, and that’s what the Motown music does.”

Growing up in the Motor City, music was a religious experience for Reeves. As a child, she and her siblings won a church talent contest. Then she saw Della Reese sing.

“[Reese] stood up and did a cappella, she sang ‘Amazing Grace’ and she shook the rafters,” Reeves recalled. “This beautiful woman with this big, beautiful voice — it touched me and made me want to be a singer, powerful like her.”

After being invited to Motown Records for an audition that didn’t happen in 1962, Reeves began working at Hitsville, USA, in the artists and repertoire department. When she and her group The Del-Phis filled in for Mary Wells during a recording session, Motown founder Berry Gordy liked what he heard — but asked them to change their name.

“I came up with Van Dyke Street, which I lived near, and Della Reese who was my idol,” Reeves said. “It turned out Vandellas, and they liked it. And in a month, we had a recording, and then about nine months later, we all left for our first Motown Revue. It was eight acts and a 12-piece band on a broken-down Trailways [bus] with no toilet.”

The singer was quick to credit the “genius jazz cats” who played the music.

“[The musicians] were given chord shift sheets and they had the imagination and creativity to come up with those fabulous baselines. They learned to play together so well until they were literally referred to as the Funk Brothers,” she said. “It was basic jazz and music that made you happy; it made you feel good. It was magic.”

And she mentioned the songwriters.

“We were getting songs from Holland-Dozier-Holland, ‘Come and Get These Memories’ being the first song they wrote as a writing team,” she said. “And then later there was ‘(Love Was Like a) Heat Wave,’ we had ‘Jimmy Mack,’ we had ‘Love Makes You Do Foolish Things,’ we had ‘Quicksand,’ ‘Live Wire,’ ‘Spellbound.’ And The Supremes told Berry they wanted songs like Martha & the Vandellas.”

Of course, it was Gordy who made it all work.

“Most of the songs were initially judged by clergymen, Berry’s friends from the Ford Motor Co., people he had been in the military with, people he had boxed with,” Reeves said. “He would have them come and sit in a meeting and he would ask them, ‘Would you choose this record or would you choose a hot dog?’”

While serving on Detroit City Council from 2005 to 2009, Reeves had West Grand Boulevard given a second name, Berry Gordy Jr. Boulevard, to honor the music mogul and the site of Hitsville.

When she travels down I-75 for the Toledo show, she’ll be accompanied by her sisters, Lois and Delphine, as the Vandellas.

“I live for the moment that the light goes up, I’ve got my costume on, my dancing shoes on and the band’s all set, we’ve rehearsed and got as close to the Motown sound as possible, the emcee going out and saying, ‘Ladies and gentlemen’ and calling our names, and then we’re applauded and welcomed to a stage for a music that everybody loves and everybody can celebrate — it’s the joy of my life,” Reeves said.

“Someone asked me when was I going to retire. I can’t imagine,” she said and laughed. “I’m going to sing as long as I’m able; I’m going to dance as long as I can. And age 69 feels real good.”

Dr. Robert Ghrist is working to make the scientific and engineering communities more aware of the power of mathematics.

“I am evangelical in my belief that topology — the study of abstract spaces and their properties — is an ideal mathematical discipline for contemporary problems in science and engineering,” he said. “Topological results, being based not on precise distances or displacements but rather upon global features, tend to be very robust and insensitive to noise and various errors, a useful feature for real-world problems.”

Ghrist is the Andrea Mitchell University Professor of Mathematics and Electrical/Systems Engineering at the University of Pennsylvania. He is the principal investigator on a four-year, $8 million study for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency on sensors, topology and planning.

In 2004, the researcher received a National Science Foundation Presidential Early Career Award in Science and Engineering. For his work on homological methods for sensor networks, Scientific American magazine named him to the “SciAm Top 50” for research innovation.

His love for mathematics began at UT.

“I was slowly drawn to mathematics for reasons primarily aesthetic,” Ghrist said. “Mathematics is beautiful in a way that is hard to grasp quickly, unlike music or painting, whose beauties are easily recognized.”

The 1991 UT College of Engineering valedictorian continued his studies at Cornell University, where he received a PhD in applied mathematics in 1995. He will return to Main Campus to give three talks about his work:

• “Calculi for Sensor Networks” Thursday, Sept. 2, at 3:30 p.m. in Nitschke Hall Room 1027. Ghrist will discuss a new mathematical calculus for sensor network data that could be used to collect information.

• “Donut Mugs and Glazed Coffee: Why Topology Counts” Thursday, Sept. 2, at 7:30 p.m. in Memorial Field House Room 2100. Ghrist will cover the many uses for algebraic topology — from robotics to sensor networks. This event is sponsored by the Mathematics Department, Delta X Math Student Interest Organization and Pi Mu Epsilon National Mathematics Honor Society, the Ohio Gamma Chapter.

• “Sheaves and Data” Friday, Sept. 3, at 3 p.m. in University Hall Room 4010. At the Department of Mathematics Colloquium, Ghrist will talk about sheaves, a sophisticated tool for solving mathematical jigsaw puzzles, and how they can be applied to problems in networks and data management.

For more information on these free, public events, contact Dr. Ivie Stein Jr., UT professor of mathematics, at ivie.stein@utoledo.edu or 419.530.2568 or 419.530.2232.

Northwest Ohio’s Latino community will celebrate the 21st annual Diamante Awards Friday, Sept. 10, at 6 p.m. in the Toledo Hilton Ballroom on The University of Toledo’s Health Science Campus.

Those interested in attending and helping contribute to the program’s scholarship funds may purchase seats by Thursday, Sept. 2, by contacting the UT Office of Special Events at 419.530.2200 or specialevents@utoledo.edu.

Those purchasing seats in advance can buy them for $75 per person or $125 for two. Students with a valid ID can purchase seats for $25 in advance. At the door, seats will cost $85 per person or $150 for two. Student seats at the door will be $30 with a valid ID.

Honored with Diamante Awards this year will be:

Corporate/Community Agency – ProMedica Health System

From conducting health fairs in the migrant communities of Fremont, Fostoria, Risingsun and Bettsville, Ohio, to sponsoring the Cesar Chavez Awards, the Sofia Quintero Scholarship and the Diamante Awards and helping local Latino organizations throughout the region, ProMedica is a strong presence in the Latino community.

Friend of the Latino Community — State Sen. Teresa Fedor

A University of Toledo alumna, Fedor is serving her second term in the Ohio Senate representing the 11th Senate District. Fedor has been recognized for her work as a legislator by many organizations and most recently was named “Legislative Advocate” by the Ohio Commission of Hispanic/Latino Affairs for her commitment to Latino issues.

Latino/Latina Adult Leadership — Elaina Hernandez

Hernandez is a 24-year veteran of Mexican Folkloric Dance. She has studied under Carlos Vega of Mexico, Rene Cardoza of Chicago, Samuel Cortez of Chicago and Placido Lopez Guerrero of Mexico. Hernandez has been directing and choreographing for nearly 20 years; in 1996, she founded El Corazon de Mexico, The Heart of Mexico, which teaches the history and culture of Mexico through folkloric dance, promoting leadership skills, education and self-awareness to all members.

Youth Leadership — Lauryn Vargas

Vargas is a student at Bowling Green State University and is a cabinet member of the Latino Student Union (LSU) and helps plan many events. As an LSU member, Vargas has become part of the student recruitment committee to show Latino students around campus and encourage them to attend BGSU. She is also involved in off-campus activities, including attending meetings and conferences for the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, shadowing Lucas County Auditor Anita Lopez, attending the 2010 Hispanic Leadership Conference in Lorain, Ohio, and organizing students for the 2011 Cesar Chavez blood drive.

Latino Adult Professional — Dr. Ruben P. Viramontez Anguiano

Viramontez Anguiano is associate professor of human development, family studies and early childhood education in the School of Family and Consumer Sciences, which is part of the College of Education and Human Development at Bowling Green State University. He is a certified family life educator and has served as an advocate for Latino families for 15 years. He serves on the Board of Directors of Adelante Inc., the Latino Resource Center in Toledo, and the Children’s Resource Center in Bowling Green. Viramontez Anguiano has worked for many years with the Perrysburg Heights Community Association and the Ohio Migrant Education Center.

In addition to the award winners, 2010 scholarship recipients have been named:

UT Diamante Image Latino Scholarship
• Jocelyn Cruz
• Ilario Estrada
• Cristina Cortez

BGSU Diamante Foundation Scholarship
• Michelle Bologna
• Joel Guzman
• Jadelynn Maldonado
• Cassandra Rodriguez
• Jessica Phelps
• Maria Santiago
• Joshua Velazquez

Lourdes General Diamante Scholarship
• Trina Craft
• Mallory Guerrero

Owens Community College Foundation Diamante Latino Scholarship
• Tabitha Mixon

PNC Bank Diamante Scholarship
• Elisea O’Donnell, Lourdes College
• Lindsey Farias, Owens Community College
• Maria Cristina Galindo, UT

Owens Corning Diamante Latino Scholarship
• Jennifer Pioch, Lourdes College
• Belinda King, Owens Community College
• Emanuel Marrero, UT

Spanish American Organization Scholarship
• Maite Barrios, Owens Community College
• Tabitha Mixon, Owens Community College

Since the program’s inception, more than 100 individuals and organizations have received Diamante scholarships and awards for their achievements and contributions. Winners are chosen based on recognition of exemplary leadership and achievements within the Latino community or community at large; demonstrated excellence in their fields; dedication and commitment in an ethical and inclusive fashion; and modeling qualities and behaviors of a mentor for youth and the community.

The annual Diamante Awards comprises BGSU, Lourdes College, Owens Community College and UT and was originally founded by the Northwest Ohio Latino advocacy organization IMAGE.

For more information, contact the UT Office of Special Events at 419.530.2200 or specialevents@utoledo.edu.

The University of Toledo Main Campus Medical Center has extended its hours to better meet the needs of students.

The Main Campus Medical Center is now open for students until 8:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday and until 5 p.m. Friday. The center previously closed at 5 p.m. every day.

The medical center continues to open at 8:15 a.m. Monday through Thursday and 9 a.m. Friday.

“We added the additional hours to better meet the needs of students,” said Bonnie Heatwole, clinic manager. “If students have classes, we can offer an alternative to daytime appointments.”

The clinic provides a variety of services, including acute care to treat sore throat, earache, and vomiting, for example, as well as women’s and men’s health care, allergy injections, and mental health services. For a complete list of services, see the Main Campus Medical Center website, www.utoledo.edu/healthservices/student/index.html.

Faculty and staff also are able to use the Main Campus Medical Center through the Employee Clinic, which is open Monday through Friday from 8:15 a.m. to 5 p.m.

University Health Services on Health Science Campus remains open 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

“We are privileged to be of assistance in helping students be successful in their academic endeavors by providing quality medical service on campus,” Heatwole said.

A new auditorium and classroom complex in The University of Toledo’s Howard L. Collier Building will provide opportunities for large classes to learn in an advanced communications technology setting.

The 500-seat auditorium is the centerpiece of the $4.8 million renovation project and is now the largest classroom on the UT Health Science Campus. The auditorium can be split into two separate 250-seat lecture halls for maximum efficiency and utilization.

The project also included the addition of a 100-seat modern classroom adjacent to the auditorium, two 40-seat classrooms, and student lounge areas on the second floor.

A dedication and ribbon-cutting ceremony will be held at 10 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 1, to celebrate this new 25,000-square-foot addition to the Collier Building. The dedication ceremony will take place in Room 1050 (the 100-seat classroom), followed by a quick tour of the new auditorium in use by a University pharmacy class.

“As we continue to grow in our nursing, pharmacy and other health-care programs, The University of Toledo is committed to providing the best learning environment for our students to receive a high-quality education,” said Dr. Jeffrey P. Gold, chancellor, executive vice president of biosciences and health affairs, and dean of the College of Medicine. “This renovation project creates state-of-the-art classrooms needed to train future health-care professionals.”

The technology in the Collier Building addition will provide unmatched opportunities for teaching and learning, said Dr. Tim Gaspar, dean of the College of Nursing. Distance-learning capabilities through digital technology as well as the ability to use the simulation equipment through a wireless environment will be excellent tools in the classroom, he said.

“It incorporates the highest level of instructional technology that is currently available,” Gaspar said. “We are bringing the lab into the classroom in a way we have never been able to before.”

A fact-finder’s report issued in regard to contract negotiations between The University of Toledo and one of its bargaining units, the American Federation of State, County and Federal Employees (AFSCME), has been rejected by the University’s Board of Trustees.

In a vote of 8-0, the board rejected the recommendations of the fact-finder.

“AFSCME members are valued and important colleagues who are essential to our mission of improving the human condition,” said UT President Lloyd Jacobs.

“We had great hopes that this process would bring us one step closer to bringing these lengthy negotiations to a close,” Jacobs said, following the board’s action. “Unfortunately, we are left with a report that lacks clarity and fails to provide a blueprint to reconcile our differences. We sincerely look forward to continuing the dialogue as we continue to bargain in good faith.

“It is a well-known fact that these are challenging times for hospitals and higher education,” Jacobs added. “Only by putting aside our differences and finding a mutually beneficial agreement can we hope to fulfill our mission of improving the human condition.

“Now more than ever, our patients are seeking the highest quality health care and safety standards,” Jacobs said. “We must arrive at an agreement that enables us to continue forward with our mission of improving the human condition without sacrificing the promise that only university-quality care can deliver.”

The administration and the bargaining unit, which represents approximately 1,800 workers on the University’s Health Science Campus, have been operating without a contract since Sept. 30, 2009.

The University of Toledo is working with the Friends of Pakistan organization to assist the country facing a terrible natural disaster.

More than 1,700 lives have been lost and 20 million people are homeless due to the massive flooding disaster in Pakistan.

The floods also have destroyed most of the cotton crop, which is the country’s largest export, and much of the rural and some urban areas remain under water.

“It’s a humanitarian issue and we need to get involved,” said Dr. Imran Ali, UT professor of neurology and director of the Comprehensive Epilepsy Program. “There were 20 million people affected by this disaster, and the problem is likely to continue to worsen as famine and waterborne diseases affect those who survived the initial disaster.”

The United Nations has said that the number of people suffering from the massive floods could exceed the combined total from the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, the 2005 Kashmir earthquake and the 2010 Haiti earthquake.

Ali, who is a Pakistani-American, is serving on a flood relief committee with Friends of Pakistan to gather support to help the country. The organization, which is comprised of Pakistani expatriates in Toledo and their friends, is accepting tax-exempt donations.

All donations will be channeled through charitable organizations registered in the United States, and every penny donated will be spent on flood relief, Imran said.

Along with the University, Friends of Pakistan is receiving support from The Blade, United Muslims Association of Toledo, WGTE Public Media and other local organizations.

Those interested in making a donation can do so through the Islamic Center of Greater Toledo — Flood Relief, 25877 Scheider Road, Perrysburg, OH 43551. Please e-mail pakistanflood2010@yahoo.com for any additional information.

The University of Toledo Department of Art will host a series of events exploring the relationships between light and landscape as a catalyst for works of art.

The series will include a group exhibition of invited artists, artists’ lectures, and a workshop for UT art students.

Works by Sage Dawson, Ivan Fortushniak and Charles Matson Lume are on display in the Center for the Visual Arts Gallery on the University’s Toledo Museum of Art Campus through Sunday, Oct. 3. “The Light and Landscape Group Exhibition” can be seen Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.

In her new body of work, “Excavations,” Dawson constructs large-scale, mixed-media prints to “map” urban sites and territories in an unexpected light. She is an adjunct faculty member at Missouri State University and Drury University in Springfield, Mo.

Fortushniak said, “My work investigates the corrosion of historical landscape paintings and our manipulation of the environment through traditional and contemporary painting.” The assistant professor of painting at Indiana University of Pennsylvania added, “Every painting provides an opportunity to create a unique impression of our environment while informing the viewer about a turbulent past.”

Lume will create a site-specific installation in the Center for the Visual Arts to engage its unique play of light. He is an associate professor of art at the University of Wisconsin-Stout.

Lume will give a lecture Thursday, Sept. 2, at 7 p.m., and Dawson will give a lecture Friday, Sept. 24, at 6 p.m. in the Center for the Visual Arts Haigh Auditorium. Receptions will follow both talks.

For more information on the free, public exhibition or lectures, go to www.utoledo.edu/as/art.

Be bold and wear gold in the Glass Bowl! See you at the game when Toledo takes on the Arizona Wildcats Friday, Sept. 3. Kickoff will be at 8 p.m.

“The Arizona game is a huge game for our program, our University and our community,” said Head Coach Tim Beckman.

The game will be televised on ESPN. It will be the first time a school from the Pacific-10 Conference will visit a Mid-American Conference (MAC) school in football.

“We’re looking forward to hosting Arizona on national TV in the opening weekend of college football, as well as playing programs from around the country like Boise State, Purdue and Wyoming,” Beckman said. “I also think it’s a big plus that we could have as many as four regular season games on national TV.”
In addition to Arizona, the home schedule highlights include a Homecoming match-up vs. Wyoming Saturday, Oct. 2, and a battle with rival Bowling Green Wednesday, Nov. 17 (ESPN2 or ESPNU). Big non-conference games on the road include Purdue Sept. 25 and Boise State Oct. 9.
“Seven schools on our schedule played in bowl games last year, so it is clearly one of the most difficult schedules in the history of our program,” Beckman said. “But I know our players and coaches are excited for the challenge. The non-conference schedule will really give us a chance to measure our progress as a football team.”
The bowl teams on Toledo’s schedule are Boise State (14-0 in 2009), Arizona (8-5), Wyoming (7-6), Central Michigan (12-2), Ohio (9-5), Northern Illinois (7-6) and Bowling Green (7-6).
Toledo, coming off a 5-7 season in Beckman’s first year as head coach, was picked to finish in fourth place in the MAC West Division this year.

The Rockets return 14 starters from last year’s squad, but need to fill the quarterback and running back slots. Sophomore Austin Dantin and junior Morgan Williams are the leading candidates at those two spots but are being challenged in the preseason. Senior linebacker Archie Donald leads a defense that returns six starters.

Sophomore Eric Page recently was named to the 2010 watch lists for the Biletnikoff Award, which is presented annually in December to the nation’s top college receiver, and the inaugural Paul Hornung Award, which will honor the most versatile player in college football. Page led all freshman receivers in the country last year with 82 receptions and 1,159 receiving yards.

Students with a valid ID are admitted free to all home games. Half-price tickets are available for faculty and staff; call 419.530.GOLD (4653).