Toledo’s Barry Church is among the 12 semifinalists for the Jim Thorpe Award, given annually to the nation’s best college defensive back.

Defensive back Barry Church, right, has 82 tackles so far this season.

He has earned first-team All-Mid-American Conference (MAC) honors in each of his three seasons as a Rocket, and has a chance to become just the second player in UT history to earn first-team all-league honors in four consecutive seasons; the other was Nick Kaczur, now a starting offensive lineman with the New England Patriots. Church also is on the Bronco Nagurski Award watch list as the nation’s top defensive player.

Church is eighth in the MAC in tackles (82) this season, with 7.5 tackles for loss, one interception and three blocked kicks. He blocked the potential game-winning field goal with 37 seconds left in a 20-19 win over Northern Illinois Oct. 17. He was named fourth-team All-America on Phil Steele’s mid-season All-America team.

The Jim Thorpe Award list will be narrowed again Monday, Nov. 23, to three finalists who will be invited to the nationally telecast Home Depot ESPNU College Football Awards Show Thursday, Dec. 10. The winner will be announced on the show, and the official presentation will be at a banquet in Oklahoma City Feb. 9.

The 2009 award marks the 24th presentation of the trophy, first won in 1986 by Baylor’s Thomas Everett. Last year’s winner was Ohio State University’s Malcolm Jenkins, who now is playing for the New Orleans Saints.

Jim Thorpe Award winners are selected for performance on the field, athletic ability and character. The 2009 semifinalists are:

• Javier Arenas, senior, Alabama;

• Eric Berry, junior, Tennessee;

• Church;

• Perrish Cox, senior, Oklahoma State;

• Joe Haden, junior, Florida;

• Brandon Harris, sophomore, Miami (Florida);

• Taylor Mays, senior, USC;

• Tyler Sash, sophomore, Iowa;

• Darrell Stuckey, senior, Kansas;

• Earl Thomas, sophomore, Texas;

• Alterraun Verner, senior, UCLA; and

• Kyle Wilson, senior, Boise State.

The screening committee was allowed only 12 candidates on the semifinalist list, but determined five additional outstanding players deserved recognition and were given honorable mention status. They are Kam Chancellor, senior, Virginia Tech; Ras-I Dowling, junior, Virginia; Brian Jackson, senior, Oklahoma; Rahim Moore, sophomore, UCLA; and DeAndre McDaniel, junior, Clemson

The Jim Thorpe Award is a member of the National College Football Awards Association, which was founded in 1997 as a coalition of the major collegiate football awards to protect, preserve and enhance the integrity, influence and prestige of the game’s predominant awards. The association encourages professionalism and the highest standards for the administration of its member awards and the selection of their candidates and recipients.

UT safety Mark Singer picked off a pass when the Rockets played Ohio State in September.

UT sophomore safety Mark Singer was named ESPN The Magazine second-team Academic All-District IV by the College Sports Information Directors of America Nov. 5.

Singer has a 3.70 GPA and is undecided upon his major. He has played in all nine games as a backup this season, making 13 tackles. His sole interception this season came against Ohio State Sept. 19.

He was one of five Rockets nominated for Academic All-America. The others were senior linebacker Beau Brudzinski (finance major, 3.521 GPA), sophomore long snapper Colin McHugh (pre-finance major, 3.969 GPA), sophomore Malcolm Riley (undecided, 3.469 GPA), and sophomore Mike VanDerMeulen (pre-business, 3.339 GPA).

To be nominated for Academic All-America, student-athletes must have at least sophomore eligibility standing, have at least a 3.30 grade-point average, be starters or significant contributors, and have played in at least half of their team’s games. A College Sports Information Directors of America committee will then select the Academic All-America teams from the players on the first-team academic all-district teams.

Due to an increasing number of students showing up to classes and the Student Medical Center with flu-like symptoms, the Faculty Senate passed a resolution last week suspending the institution’s attendance policy for the rest of the academic year.

The Faculty Senate previously had passed a resolution encouraging faculty to relax their attendance policies.

“We want to send a strong message to students that they should not go to class if they have flu-like symptoms,” said John Barrett, associate professor of law and president of Faculty Senate. “We respect the faculty’s ability to run their classes as they see fit. However, given the severity of the potential risk to our student-age population, it is imperative that we do everything possible to break the cycle of transmission. As such, Faculty Senate thought this was the best course of action.”

The full resolution is as follows: “[The Faculty Senate] resolved, that The University of Toledo’s mandatory attendance policy be suspended from this day forward through the current academic year for students with influenza-like symptoms without the need for documentation, provided that the faculty may require that they be notified of the student’s intent to miss class due to illness.”

Despite any illness, students are reminded they are still responsible for contacting their professors at the beginning of an illness, not after the fact, and for completing all course work and exams.

The University also continues to fight the transmission of the virus by holding vaccination clinics. This week, students and others in high-risk categories can receive the H1N1 nasal mist vaccine Wednesday, Nov. 4, from noon to 6 p.m. in the Crossings dining area and Thursday, Nov. 5, from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. in Student Union Room 2579.

Unfortunately, many people give up on the dream of going to college at a young age because they don’t think their family would ever be able to afford it.

Lawrence J. Burns talked about the new Scholarly Savings Account Program during a press conference in Memorial Field House.

The University of Toledo has developed an innovative new program that reinforces the concept that college can be a reality for students willing to work for it.

UT’s new Scholarly Savings Account Program will make annual deposits of $2,000 into individual student scholarship accounts beginning with the successful completion of the eighth grade and for completion of each successful year of high school. The first deposits will be made in June 2010.

Upon graduation from high school, a student may have accumulated a maximum of $10,000 through the Scholarly Savings Program that can be used toward tuition at UT. The scholarship funds will then be disbursed in annual increments of $2,500 for each of four years of attendance at the University.

UT’s requirements for students are that they graduate high school with a minimum 3.0 grade-point average and meet core curriculum criteria for regular admission to the University.

“I believe this provides a road map for students and families beginning at a young age to make higher education a reality,” said Lawrence J. Burns, vice president for external affairs and interim vice president for equity and diversity. “It’s a powerful message to be able to say, ‘Here is money on the table; if you work hard in school, it’s yours.’”

For students to be eligible, their school districts must sign a participation agreement with UT, including the development of its own requirements and an annual tracking process. The program is open to all school districts, including parochial schools.

Besides providing scholarship dollars, the Scholarly Savings Account Program aims to give school districts leverage to require students to do things such as take the necessary college prep courses, participate in activities and meet attendance requirements.

UT officials believe that this will result in improved high school graduation rates and better prepare students for the rigor of a UT education.

Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland announced Wednesday that The University of Toledo has been named a Center of Excellence in Advanced Renewable Energy and the Environment.

The center will tap UT’s academic and research strengths to address the need for new clean-energy technologies and a better understanding of complex environmental systems necessary for solving global challenges.

UT’s Center of Excellence in Advanced Renewable Energy and the Environment’s core areas of research and technology development will be focused around solar, biomass energy, wind, energy storage, conversion and management, and environmental and ecosystems. These efforts will support local industrial growth in companies that are expanding their products to become competitive in the global markets.

Strickland will visit and tour UT’s Clean and Alternative Energy Incubator Thursday, Oct. 29. He is expected to talk about the future of alternative energy in Ohio.

During the last decade, UT has invested heavily in faculty and research infrastructure in the area of alternative energy and recently created a School of Solar and Advanced Renewable Energy and dedicated the Scott Park Campus of Energy and Innovation.

The Centers of Excellence, as outlined in the state’s 10-year Strategic Plan for Higher Education, will position the University System of Ohio to be a magnet for talent and a leader in innovation and entrepreneurial activity by developing distinct missions for each institution that are recognized by students, faculty and business leaders, while eliminating unnecessary competition for resources, students and faculty in the state.

In all, the state named nine Centers of Excellence focused in different areas of advanced energy at eight universities throughout Ohio. The centers are expected to help the state meet the requirements of Senate Bill 221, an energy reform bill signed by the governor last year. The bill mandates that 25 percent of all Ohio’s electricity production come from advanced energy sources by 2025. The bill also aims to ensure predictability of affordable energy prices and attract new jobs to the state.

The Main Campus Medical Center has been dealing with a long and steady stream of students that are not feeling well in recent days.

Dr. Christopher Halasy, medical director and chief of medicine of the Main Campus Medical Center, said since more than a dozen students have tested positive for influenza A in the past week, it can be assumed that if students have a cough and/or a sore throat and a fever, they likely have influenza A and H1N1. Therefore, the Medical Center is no longer testing for the virus unless the patient has a chronic condition and is at higher risk of complications.

The Student Medical Center also is reminding students that unless they are pregnant or have a chronic condition, such as diabetes or asthma, they should not need to seek care at the center. However, students who still feel they need to be seen should make an appointment.

“It is critical that people isolate themselves when they get sick to prevent the spread of the flu,” Halasy said. “For the majority of students, there’s not much we can do other than recommend that they take Motrin or Tylenol, not aspirin, for fever and aches, get rest, keep up their fluids and self-isolate.”

If students get sick, they should stay home or in their residence hall rooms away from others until it’s been 24 hours since they’ve had a fever.

In addition to exposing others to flu by visiting the Medical Center, the large volume of students also is causing access issues, which may impede those at high risk of flu complications from being seen and getting treatment.

“Many of the students that we’re seeing just have colds and are apprehensive about H1N1,” Halasy said.

The University’s Faculty Senate has endorsed a relaxed attendance policy related to H1N1 illnesses, and on Friday Dr. Rosemary Haggett, Main Campus provost and executive vice president for academic affairs, underscored the importance of faculty cooperation in preventing the spread of disease.

“I am asking that faculty refrain from asking students for a doctor’s note if they’re sick with the flu,” Haggett said. “One, the Medical Center is not providing notes for the flu, and two, it is contrary to our message that encourages students to remain isolated. Further, faculty play a critical role in letting students know about their relaxed attendance policy and encouraging students to not attend class if they have the flu.”

Students should, however, contact their professors and inform them that they are sick and will be absent. That communication remains the student’s responsibility, and it should take place at the front end of an illness, not after the fact.

As part of the constant effort to prevent the spread of the H1N1 flu virus, UT recently installed 354 new hand-sanitizing stations around the University.

In addition to the existing dispensers in each restroom on Main, Scott Park and Health Science campuses, the installations were made in residence halls, academic buildings and Apple Tree Nursery School.

Along with the sanitizer, The University of Toledo Medical Center and its clinics have placed masks, gloves and tissues at each entrance.

“The best way to prevent the spread of disease at UT is for everyone to practice good hand hygiene and to cover his or her nose and mouth when sneezing,” said Sandy Hensley, infection control practitioner.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the definition of influenza-like illness is fever of 100 degrees or higher, plus either cough or sore throat. That’s why the University has made more than 1,000 disposable thermometers available for students at the front desks of residence halls.

“If you think about it, packing a thermometer probably wasn’t on the list for most students when they moved in this fall, so we thought this would be helpful,” said Dr. Mike Valigosky, director of Safety and Health.

If students do have flu-like symptoms, a limited supply of H1N1 kits that include a mask, gloves, thermometer and hand sanitizer also are available in residence halls. Residents concerned about the health of a roommate may request a kit, which includes instructions on how to properly care for a sick person.

The University has received a limited allotment of H1N1 vaccine, and it will be offered first to health-care workers and then to other at-risk groups on campus. To register for the H1N1 vaccine, visit https://h1n1vaccine.odh.ohio.gov. Further information about the vaccination schedule will be forthcoming.

Due to a shortage of the seasonal flu vaccine, it will not be available this year at the Student Medical Center on Main Campus. However, a limited number of seasonal flu vaccinations will be available for people in high-risk categories at the Well-O-Ween Health Fair Friday, Oct. 30, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Student Recreation Center.

For the latest information on H1N1-related information at UT, visit www.utoledo.edu/fluprep.

Each year more than 4,000 professional medical physicists from around the world gather for the American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM) Conference to present research and attend workshops and review courses. This summer, UT medical physics students Nicholas Sperling, Bhoj Gautam, Ian Gordon and Xiance Jin attended the conference in Anaheim, Calif., to present their research.

From left, PhD candidate Nicholas Sperling; Toledo Radiation Oncology Physician Group members Dr. John Feldmeier, professor and chair of radiation oncology, Dr. Ishmael Parsai, professor and director of the graduate medical physics program and chief of medical physics, and Dr. Faheem Ahmad; and PhD candidates Xiance Jin and Bhoj Gautam

Dr. Ishmael Parsai, professor and director of the graduate medical physics program and chief of medical physics in the Radiation Oncology Department, also attended the conference as both a mentor to the students and a professional in his field.

The four students received financial support from the Toledo Radiation Oncology Physician Group to attend this conference and meet other medical physicists from around the world.

The group presented six abstracts with supporting materials at the conference, and all six were published in the June issue of the Journal of Medical Physics. Their presentations covered a wide range of medical topics related to an advanced radiation detector system technology (patented at UT), a new treatment modality for prostate cancer (another UT patent), a novel technique in treating superficial cancer lesions using the high dose rate Iridium-192 source, radiation dosimetry, and treatment technology, among others.

In addition to his attendance at the conference, Parsai was one of two U.S. delegates sponsored by the AAPM to attend the World Congress in Medical Physics in August in Munich, Germany. Parsai’s work in advancing the global education of medical physicists was recognized, and he was presented with a plaque in one of the plenary sessions.

As the ninth-year editor of the Medical Physics World, the official bulletin of the International Organization for Medical Physics, Parsai was among more than 5,000 participants from around the world to attend this congress.

Medical Physics World is produced at UT and reaches 18,500 members in 82 countries worldwide.

Beginning with the Northern Illinois game Saturday, Oct. 17, radio broadcasts of Toledo Rockets football games on the Rocket Sports Radio Network presented by The University of Toledo will be streamed live on UT’s official Athletics Web site, www.UTRockets.com.

Radio broadcasts of the UT football games previously were not carried live on the Web site this season due to technical issues that have been resolved.

The Rocket Sports Radio Network team of Mark Beier (play-by-play), Tom Duncan (color) and Jim Heller (sideline) will call the action. In addition to being available on the Internet, the Rocket Sports Radio Network consists of flagship station WSPD (1370 AM in Toledo), WKNR (850 AM in Cleveland) and WDTW (1310 AM in Detroit).

The games will be carried for free as part of the Web site’s “RocketVision” feature. “RocketVision” also carries live video broadcasts of Rocket football, basketball and volleyball games on a subscription basis.

UT President Lloyd Jacobs and Dr. Jeffrey Gold, Health Science Campus provost, executive vice president for health affairs and dean of the College of Medicine, informed employees yesterday afternoon that The University of Toledo Medical Center had begun layoffs of a number of UTMC employees. The letter pointed to the direct effects of the economic recession on the health-care delivery system across the country and in our region, and the need to maintain “frontline” health care.

The letter stated, “The University of Toledo Medical Center, consistent with our mission and core values, is doing its part to help those in need of health care. However, the same market forces are also requiring us, and other hospitals, to make some hard choices.”

The exact number of people affected by the layoffs is not clear yet due to the ongoing position changes.

Jacobs and Gold wrote that the decision to reduce hospital-operating expenses through layoffs was a very difficult one. “However, given the ongoing economic situation, we must continue to find ways to achieve more with fewer resources. These friends and colleagues deserve our gratitude for making UTMC a better place to work and learn, and for having helped improve the human condition. We will do everything we can to treat them fairly during this unfortunate transition. It is our hope to have many if not all rejoin our family when conditions permit.”

The letter concluded with an assurance that UTMC will remain firm in its goals and its commitment to patients, as well as appreciation for the continued support and cooperation of all employees during these difficult times.