Commencement Weekend 2013 Links

Internet technology pioneer and 1961 Ohio Wesleyan University graduate George H. Conrades borrowed some advice from another successful OWU alumnus when Conrades delivered the keynote address May 12 at Ohio Wesleyan’s 169^th commencement ceremony.

“Our far-sighted alum, Branch Rickey says to Jackie Robinson in the movie ’42’ – in response to Robinson’s question, ‘How do you want me to act?’ – ‘Show the world you’re a fine man and a great baseball player.’ ”

This means, Conrades told the graduates, that you “show up, on time, dressed to play. That you’ve done your homework and worked hard at getting the facts. That you are eager to pursue common ground, to get things done together with infectious energy, passion, courage, and confidence. Show up, on time, dressed to play. That’s all that’s expected of you, whatever you exist to be.”

The Ohio Wesleyan Class of 2013 included 381 spring, summer, and fall graduates, with 64 cum laude, 34 magna cum laude, and 19 summa cum laude honorees. The class also included three graduates with perfect 4.0 grade point averages – Victoria Anne Schlaudt of Holland, Mich.; Bradley Paul Turnwald of Ottoville, Ohio; and Colleen Elizabeth Waickman of Akron, Ohio.

“As soon-to-be leaders in our society, you have a critical role to play,” said Conrades, the former chief executive officer and current chairman of Massachusetts-based Akamai Technologies Inc. “Less than a third of Americans have a college degree – and you have one of the best. As leaders, you can make things better not only by showing the way (the ‘what’) but by helping to get us there (the ‘how.’) …

“I am actually pretty optimistic about you and your generation,” Conrades said. “You see value in one another. You are much more open to new ideas from all over the world than my generation. You have eagerly embraced the opportunity to turn theory into practice with international experiences here at Ohio Wesleyan. You live in a hyperconnected world with instant access to vast amounts of information – a world that promises more transformational change every day. …”

At Ohio Wesleyan, Conrades majored in physics and mathematics. He later earned his Master of Business Administration (M.B.A.) from the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business and then spent 31 years with IBM, serving in senior management roles in the United States and abroad. In 1998, he became involved with Akamai, an Internet technology company that helps enterprises provide secure, high-performing cloud connections to their customers on any device, anywhere. He and his wife, Patricia “Patsy” Belt Conrades, Class of 1963, both are Ohio Wesleyan Life Trustees.

In addition to Conrades, Zeke Brechtel, Ohio Wesleyan’s 2013 senior class president, also spoke before the crowd of graduates, families, and friends gathered for the outdoor ceremony in OWU’s Phillips Glen. Brechtel, a physics major and mathematics minor from Arvada, Colo., encouraged his fellow classmates to avoid becoming overly cynical or complacent.

“We can have the courage to hope,” Brechtel said. “We can have the courage to be true to ourselves and true to the realities of the world in which we live. We can admit that there are unprecedented environmental and economic challenges that our generation will face. The world needs change, and to my fellow seniors, we are the ones who are going to bring it. …

“We have the capacity, in our lifetimes, to become the next great generation,” Brechtel said. “We have the capacity to work together to leave this world in better shape than it was delivered to us.”

Ohio Wesleyan President Rock Jones, Ph.D., also addressed the graduates, reminding the seniors that, as freshmen, each was given a live Chinese Bamboo shoot. At that time, he shared the parable of the bamboo tree, noting that it takes each tree four years to break ground after planting. During that time, the trees work unseen to build the strong, fibrous root structure needed to support them.

“Today, your roots at OWU run more deeply than you could have imagined four years ago,” Jones said. “Now it is time for your branches to spread. … You are ready, and the world is waiting. Congratulations and Godspeed.”

Before concluding the 2013commencement ceremony, Jones also encouraged the new graduates to share their knowledge and compassion with a world in need.

“If, here at Ohio Wesleyan, you have found freedom, take it with you into the world,” Jones said, sharing traditional OWU graduation wishes. “If, here at Ohio Wesleyan, you have found peace, go and share it with others. If, here at Ohio Wesleyan, you have found some portion of truth, go and seek it all the more. If, here at Ohio Wesleyan, you have dreamed dreams, help one another, and those dreams may be fulfilled. If, here at Ohio Wesleyan, you have known love, give some back to a bruised and hurting world.”

During the commencement ceremony, the university also recognized five outstanding faculty members:

• Thomas L. Burns, M.A., part-time associate professor of English and physics-astronomy, received the Daniel E. Anderson Campus and Community Conscience Award.
• Vicki G. DiLillo, Ph.D., associate professor of psychology, was awarded the Libuse L. Reed Endowed Professorship for 2013-2014 and 2014-2015.
• Donald G. Lateiner, Ph.D., professor of humanities-classics, earned the Welch Award for Scholarly or Artistic Achievement.
• Richelle D. Schrock, Ph.D., assistant professor of women’s and gender studies, received the Sherwood Dodge Shankland Award for the Encouragement of Teachers.
• Richard L. Leavy, Ph.D., professor of psychology, earned the Bishop Herbert Welch Meritorious Teaching Award.

It’s hats off to Ohio Wesleyan University’s Class of 2013! The university celebrated its 169th commencement ceremony May 12. (Photo by Sara Blake)

Social Media Coverage of the 2013 Ohio Wesleyan University Commencement

Zeke Brechtel, Ohio Wesleyan University’s 2013 senior class president, speaks at the May 12 commencement celebration. ‘We have the capacity, in our lifetimes, to become the next great generation,’ sayd Brechtel, a physics major and mathematics minor. (Photo by Sara Blake)

DELAWARE, Ohio – Internet technology pioneer and 1961 Ohio Wesleyan University graduate George H. Conrades borrowed some advice from another successful OWU alumnus when Conrades delivered the keynote address May 12 at Ohio Wesleyan’s 169thcommencement ceremony.

“Our far-sighted alum, Branch Rickey says to Jackie Robinson in the movie ’42’ – in response to Robinson’s question, ‘How do you want me to act?’ – ‘Show the world you’re a fine man and a great baseball player.’ ”

This means, Conrades told the graduates, that you “show up, on time, dressed to play. That you’ve done your homework and worked hard at getting the facts. That you are eager to pursue common ground, to get things done together with infectious energy, passion, courage, and confidence. Show up, on time, dressed to play. That’s all that’s expected of you, whatever you exist to be.”

The Ohio Wesleyan Class of 2013 included 381 spring, summer, and fall graduates, with 64 cum laude, 34 magna cum laude, and 19 summa cum laude honorees. The class also included three graduates with perfect 4.0 grade point averages – Victoria Anne Schlaudt of Holland, Mich.; Bradley Paul Turnwald of Ottoville, Ohio; and Colleen Elizabeth Waickman of Akron, Ohio.

“As soon-to-be leaders in our society, you have a critical role to play,” said Conrades, the former chief executive officer and current chairman of Massachusetts-based Akamai Technologies Inc. “Less than a third of Americans have a college degree – and you have one of the best. As leaders, you can make things better not only by showing the way (the ‘what’) but by helping to get us there (the ‘how.’) …

“I am actually pretty optimistic about you and your generation,” Conrades said. “You see value in one another. You are much more open to new ideas from all over the world than my generation. You have eagerly embraced the opportunity to turn theory into practice with international experiences here at Ohio Wesleyan. You live in a hyperconnected world with instant access to vast amounts of information – a world that promises more transformational change every day. …”

At Ohio Wesleyan, Conrades majored in physics and mathematics. He later earned his Master of Business Administration (M.B.A.) from the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business and then spent 31 years with IBM, serving in senior management roles in the United States and abroad. In 1998, he became involved with Akamai, an Internet technology company that helps enterprises provide secure, high-performing cloud connections to their customers on any device, anywhere. He and his wife, Patricia “Patsy” Belt Conrades, Class of 1963, both are Ohio Wesleyan Life Trustees.

In addition to Conrades, Zeke Brechtel, Ohio Wesleyan’s 2013 senior class president, also spoke before the crowd of graduates, families, and friends gathered for the outdoor ceremony in OWU’s Phillips Glen. Brechtel, a physics major and mathematics minor from Arvada, Colo., encouraged his fellow classmates to avoid becoming overly cynical or complacent.

“We can have the courage to hope,” Brechtel said. “We can have the courage to be true to ourselves and true to the realities of the world in which we live. We can admit that there are unprecedented environmental and economic challenges that our generation will face. The world needs change, and to my fellow seniors, we are the ones who are going to bring it. …

“We have the capacity, in our lifetimes, to become the next great generation,” Brechtel said. “We have the capacity to work together to leave this world in better shape than it was delivered to us.”

Ohio Wesleyan President Rock Jones, Ph.D., also addressed the graduates, reminding the seniors that, as freshmen, each was given a live Chinese Bamboo shoot. At that time, he shared the parable of the bamboo tree, noting that it takes each tree four years to break ground after planting. During that time, the trees work unseen to build the strong, fibrous root structure needed to support them.

“Today, your roots at OWU run more deeply than you could have imagined four years ago,” Jones said. “Now it is time for your branches to spread. … You are ready, and the world is waiting. Congratulations and Godspeed.”

Before concluding the 2013commencement ceremony, Jones also encouraged the new graduates to share their knowledge and compassion with a world in need.

“If, here at Ohio Wesleyan, you have found freedom, take it with you into the world,” Jones said, sharing traditional OWU graduation wishes. “If, here at Ohio Wesleyan, you have found peace, go and share it with others. If, here at Ohio Wesleyan, you have found some portion of truth, go and seek it all the more. If, here at Ohio Wesleyan, you have dreamed dreams, help one another, and those dreams may be fulfilled. If, here at Ohio Wesleyan, you have known love, give some back to a bruised and hurting world.”

During the commencement ceremony, the university also recognized five outstanding faculty members:

• Thomas L. Burns, M.A., part-time associate professor of English and physics-astronomy, received the Daniel E. Anderson Campus and Community Conscience Award.
• Vicki G. DiLillo, Ph.D., associate professor of psychology, was awarded the Libuse L. Reed Endowed Professorship for 2013-2014 and 2014-2015.
• Donald G. Lateiner, Ph.D., professor of humanities-classics, earned the Welch Award for Scholarly or Artistic Achievement.
• Richelle D. Schrock, Ph.D., assistant professor of women’s and gender studies, received the Sherwood Dodge Shankland Award for the Encouragement of Teachers.
• Richard L. Leavy, Ph.D., professor of psychology, earned the Bishop Herbert Welch Meritorious Teaching Award.

Ohio Wesleyan’s commencement ceremony was streamed live and will be archived for additional viewing at StreamOWU.

Founded in 1842, Ohio Wesleyan University is one of the nation’s premier small, private universities. Ohio Wesleyan offers more than 90 undergraduate majors, sequences, and courses of study, and 23 NCAA Division III varsity sports. OWU combines an internationally focused curriculum with off-campus learning and leadership opportunities that connect classroom theory with real-world practice. Located in Delaware, Ohio, OWU’s 1,850 students represent 41 states and 45 countries. The university is featured in the book “Colleges That Change Lives,” listed on the 2013 President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll with Distinction, and included on the “best colleges” lists of U.S. News & World Report and The Princeton Review. Learn more at www.owu.edu.

Louis A. Simpson ’58

DELAWARE, OHIO – Louis A. Simpson is investing in his college alma mater and its faculty – contributing $2 million to Ohio Wesleyan University to benefit the school’s Woltemade Center for Economics, Business and Entrepreneurship.

Simpson, a 1958 Ohio Wesleyan alumnus, managed the portfolio for GEICO, a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., for more than 30 years before founding his own investment-advisory firm, SQ Advisors LLC.

“The economics program at OWU gave me a solid grounding to pursue a career in investments,” said Simpson, who majored in economics and accounting at Ohio Wesleyan. He also holds a master’s degree from Princeton University.

His gift to Ohio Wesleyan will create The Louis A. Simpson ’58 Endowed Faculty Director of The Woltemade Center for Economics, Business and Entrepreneurship – supporting a new generation of economics faculty leaders such as those he recalls so fondly in OWU professors Blaine E. Grimes and Norman H. Leonard.

Established in 1985, the Woltemade Center works to enhance teaching, learning, research, and community service at Ohio Wesleyan, with its primary focus on the Department of Economics and the fields of economics, finance, marketing, management, entrepreneurship, accounting, and international business.

The center is named in honor of the late Uwe J. Woltemade, Ph.D., an Ohio Wesleyan economics faculty member from 1965 to1995. Grants and gifts from the Cleveland Foundation, the Ford Motor Co. Fund, alumni, and friends also were used to help establish the facility.

The Woltemade Center provides opportunities for students to become Corns Business and Entrepreneurial Scholars and Economics Management Fellows, to complete meaningful internships through the Blaine E. Grimes Summer Grant Program, to collaborate with faculty on research projects through the Norman Leonard Endowed Student Research Grant Fund, to participate in the Burton D. Morgan Student Paper Competition, to be nominated for the Woltemade Prize, and to be selected for the Joann P. Harvey Accounting Award. The center also assists a number of student organizations, including the OWU Marketing Group and the university’s Investment Club.

Simpson’s endowment will provide permanent support to endow the faculty director of the center, who also is a senior member of the economics faculty. The current director is Alice E. Simon, Ph.D., who joined the university in 1985 and whose areas of teaching include monetary and fiscal policy, labor economics, consumer economics, and economic principles.

“This gift supports a program quite unique for liberal arts universities,” said Simon, who also serves as the James Heisler Professor of Economics. “The integration of economics with business and entrepreneurship represents the best of theory into practice. Ensuring that economics department faculty can continue to influence the leaders of tomorrow alongside alumni is a formula for continued success.

“The Woltemade Center and the Department of Economics are grateful to be recognized by this endowment, which applauds both academic excellence and practical applications,” continued Simon, whose interests include consumer sovereignty and information search behaviors. “I feel honored to be the first center director to be named.”

Ohio Wesleyan President Rock Jones, Ph.D., said Simpson’s gift recognizes the significant and continuing return on investment that comes from supporting a rigorous, interdisciplinary liberal arts education for students and, especially, the faculty members who are dedicated to educating future generations of national and world leaders.

“Lou Simpson is proof of the power of education,” Jones said. “He is iconic in the world of high finance, and Ohio Wesleyan is proud to call him one of our own. We are honored that he sees the tremendous value of The Woltemade Center for Economics, Business and Entrepreneurship and is supporting it with a $2 million gift. He previously served as an instructor of economics at Princeton, making his endowment of the faculty directorship even more personal and more significant.”

Prior to founding SQ Advisors, Simpson served from 1993 to 2010 as president and chief executive officer of capital operations for GEICO, a subsidiary of Warren E. Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway. Simpson joined GEICO in 1979, coming from Western Asset Management, a subsidiary of California-based Western Bancorporation.

In October, Simpson will add another honor to his impressive curriculum vitae when he is awarded an honorary doctoral degree from Ohio Wesleyan. He also will speak on campus Oct. 3, delivering the university’s 2013 Robert L. Milligan Leaders in Business Lecture Series.

Learn more about giving to the university.

Founded in 1842, Ohio Wesleyan University is one of the nation’s premier small, private universities. Ohio Wesleyan offers more than 90 undergraduate majors, sequences, and courses of study, and 23 NCAA Division III varsity sports. OWU combines an internationally focused curriculum with off-campus learning and leadership opportunities that connect classroom theory with real-world practice. Located in Delaware, Ohio, OWU’s 1,850 students represent 41 states and 45 countries. The university is featured in the book “Colleges That Change Lives,” listed on the 2013 President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll with Distinction, and included on the “best colleges” lists of U.S. News & World Report and The Princeton Review. Learn more at www.owu.edu.

Robert Olmstead

DELAWARE, Ohio – It’s one for the books this week for Ohio Wesleyan University’s Robert Olmstead. Make that two.

Olmstead, a professor of English and director of OWU’s Creative Writing Program, is noted in The New York Times’ May 19 “Paperback Row” for his acclaimed novel, “The Coldest Night.”

After the novel’s release, Mike Peed of The New York Times wrote that Olmstead’s elegant writing “makes you wonder if Olmstead was meant to be a poet. But Olmstead is a novelist, and a very good one.”

The OWU faculty member also is among 10 Ohio authors being featured May 11 at the seventh annual Ohioana Book Festival, where it will announced that “The Coldest Night” is a finalist for the 2013 Ohioana Book Award in the category of fiction. Winners will be announced in late August or early September.

The festival, presented by the Ohioana Library, will be held from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Fort Hayes Metropolitan Education Center, 546 Jack Gibbs Blvd., Columbus. Admission is free.

“The Coldest Night” is part of a trilogy by Olmstead that also includes “Far Bright Star” and “Coal Black Horse,” which earned a Chicago Tribune Heartland Prize for Fiction. “Far Bright Star” was named one of the Top Ten Westerns of the Decade by Booklist, the magazine of the American Library Association, and “The Coldest Night” was a 2012 Publishers Weekly pick for best books of the year.

Founded in 1842, Ohio Wesleyan University is one of the nation’s premier small, private universities. Ohio Wesleyan offers more than 90 undergraduate majors, sequences, and courses of study, and 23 NCAA Division III varsity sports. OWU combines an internationally focused curriculum with off-campus learning and leadership opportunities that connect classroom theory with real-world practice. Located in Delaware, Ohio, OWU’s 1,850 students represent 41 states and 45 countries. The university is featured in the book “Colleges That Change Lives,” listed on the 2013 President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll with Distinction, and included on the “best colleges” lists of U.S. News & World Report and The Princeton Review. Learn more at www.owu.edu.

Bradley P. Turnwald ’13

Ohio Wesleyan University senior Bradley P. Turnwald has earned a three-year Stanford University Graduate Fellowship in the California-based college’s biomedical science doctoral program. The fellowship is valued at more than $220,000.

Turnwald, of Ottoville, Ohio, will begin his graduate career in the laboratory of H. Craig Heller, Ph.D., who studies circadian rhythm, sleep, memory, and physiology. Turnwald earned one of only 100 Fellowships awarded annually by Stanford to incoming doctoral students across all disciplines.

In his area of study, biology, only 50 of 600 applicants were admitted, and Turnwald earned one of just five Graduate Fellowships awarded in the discipline. After earning his doctorate, he expects to conduct postdoctoral research for a few years and then apply for academic faculty positions.

Turnwald credits his OWU experience with helping him to define his dreams and then to take significant steps toward achieving them.

“Dr. Dave Markwardt [professor of zoology] has been my long-time mentor here at OWU and has helped me in all-things science,” Turnwald says.

“OWU has definitely become my home over the last four years,” he notes. “I think the quality of people we have here from the top of the administration down through the faculty, staff, and students allow for maximum personal and academic growth. I love the passion I see from people on campus.

“Whether it’s about clubs, academics, athletics, or social issues, people here are excited about what they are doing and believe they can change the world for the better,” he says. “There is an attitude that everything is possible at OWU and I really believe it’s true.”

When he visited Stanford, Turnwald says, he was excited by the energy of the campus and the scientific community, and he is confident he is ready for the many challenges ahead.

“I know that I am prepared to begin graduate school at Stanford because of the outstanding faculty that have mentored me in the sciences,” Turnwald says. “I’ve had fantastic instruction in my courses here to complement my research experiences at the [Houston] Texas Medical Center and the headquarters of European Molecular Biology Laboratories in Heidelberg, Germany.”

As an OWU junior, Turnwald also earned academic recognition when he was named a 2012-2013 Goldwater Scholar by the Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation.

He earned the Goldwater Scholarship for research conducted in Texas under the direction of 1961 OWU alumnus Herbert L. DuPont, M.D., director of the Center for Infectious Diseases at the University of Texas School of Public Health.

Congratulations, Brad, on your latest success. You are an inspiration to us all!

‘College Hunt, USA’ students Shashank Sharma (second from left) and Cuckoo Gupta receive a tour of the OWU campus from student tour guide Kelsey Ullom ’14 as crew members from India’s Channel V film the event. (Photo by Cole Hatcher)

They say a good magician never reveals his secrets. But this one is just too good to keep.

At one point during the five-day filming of the Indian reality TV show, “College Hunt, USA,” director Sakshi Khanna shared her latest request and then added imploringly, “You can do it. You’re Magic Johnson.”

A few frantic telephone calls, text messages, and office visits later, and “Magic Johnson” had scored again.

The secret behind this successful spell doesn’t involve trickery, sleight of hand, or even smoke and mirrors. It involves teamwork, collegiality, and collaboration – hallmarks of the Ohio Wesleyan University culture.

The University learned in mid-March that it was one of three schools in the nation selected by the U.S. Consulate General Mumbai and India’s Channel V television network to host “College Hunt, USA.” The three-part reality TV series will share information about pursuing undergraduate degrees in the United States with the network’s potential 25 million viewers.

Work began immediately to prepare for the two prospective students and eight-person crew who would arrive just a few weeks later. The prospective students would live on campus with OWU student hosts, and the crew would stay at a nearby hotel.

After a visit to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, “College Hunt, USA” arrived at Port Columbus International Airport at 11:25 p.m. April 22. Much had changed since the previous video and telephone planning conferences as the series began to take shape. At 2:30 a.m., the first sit-down meeting concluded and, at 4:30 a.m., OWU email and voice-mail boxes all over campus were filled with updates and urgent requests for assistance. No surprise, OWU came through.

“When we left Nebraska, we didn’t know how Ohio Wesleyan could top our experience,” said Asif Ismail, U.S. location manager for the film crew. “Now, we can’t image how [the State University of New York at Geneseo – the final stop on the ‘College Hunt’] will be able to top Ohio Wesleyan.”

So many people pulled together to make a lasting impression on prospective students Cuckoo Gupta and Shashank Sharma and the Channel V crew. This includes overnight OWU student hosts Kat Pickens ’14 and Kyle Hendershot ’14, as well as Perkins Observatory’s dynamic duo of Tom Burns and Don Stevens, who kindly kept “the place for space” open till 10:30 p.m. just for filming.

And when an early-morning air mattress incident created a need for extra lodgings, OWU student Sanaa Hazratjee ’14 quickly came to the rescue. She brushed off a thank-you note with typical OWU aplomb: “[A]s a member of the OWU family, it was only my duty to help out as much as was in my power to, of course!”

OWU students – and fluent Hindi speakers – Sriharsha Masabathula ’13, Krina Patel ’14, and Erica Shah ’16 also were on hand to help answer questions and explain their OWU experiences to the inquisitive visitors.

The friendliness of the campus community and the beauty of its many historic buildings weren’t lost on OWU’s guests. Cuckoo enthusiastically told a reporter that she loved the energy of the university as well as its architecture, which reminded her of castles.

“I feel like a princess here,” she said, beaming with happiness.

Now that’s magic.

Read more about “College Hunt, USA”. The series is expected to begin airing on Channel V in June.

Photos by Cole Hatcher, Taylor Rivkin ’14, Mark Schmitter ’12, and Sara Stuntz.

Catherine Cardwell, OWU’s director of libraries (right) is shown here presenting Kassel Galaty ’13 with a plaque and top prize for her research paper. (Photo by John Holliger)

It’s not terribly surprising that history and pre-medicine double major Kassel Galaty ’13 became fascinated by nineteenth-century epidemiologist Dr. William Budd’s advocacy of the germ theory of disease.

She pored over his letters and publications as most history aficionados would do. Galaty’s science and pre-med background, however, helped her to understand the important relationship between the rise of germ theory and development of epidemiology.

“Because Budd and others began to study disease in a new way, they were able to see the patterns and draw evidence-based conclusions that had not been previously possible,” says Galaty, whose research culminating in a paper titled “The Infected Man Has Been Altogether Lost Sight Of” took top honors at Ohio Wesleyan’s annual Celebration of Scholarship held on April 24 in the Bayley Room of Beeghly Library. Galaty won the Libraries Research Award, which includes a $500 prize and a plaque, for her exceptional work.

In presenting the award, Catherine Cardwell, OWU’s director of libraries, noted that Kassel’s paper “clearly demonstrates the academic values inherent in a liberal education, specifically connecting ideas that cross disciplinary boundaries. The author’s prose is artful and engaging; her argument well-constructed; [and] her use of primary and secondary sources expert.

“This year,” Cardwell continues, “the judges decided to do something a bit unusual. Confronted with such strong papers, [they] … [awarded] a second place or runner-up. … The judges agreed that the second-place paper was an excellent example of a work that tied theory to practice and that expertly articulated the results of an individual student project, the very kind of experience OWU provides to students.” Triple major—pre-med, neuroscience, and psychology—Megan Cook wrote about “Physiological and Psychosocial Effects of the Inclusiveness of Physicians’ Language on Heterosexual and Queer College Women.”

The judges this year included OWU librarians and faculty members Richard Edwards, Sally Livingston, David Markwardt, Alper Yalçinkaya, James Stull, Ben Daigle, Deborah Peoples, Jillian Maruskin, and Peter Szabo.

“We received 19 [student] submissions from all corners of the University,” says Cardwell, who coordinates the annual Celebration of Scholarship program that brings together the campus community for the purpose of recognizing all faculty and staff members who published a book or article, created a musical score or sound recording, exhibited art work, or produced a play with an imprint date during the past year.

The READ posters, which feature pictures of faculty members holding a favorite book, are popular attractions in Beeghly Library. This year’s group includes several additions: Michael Flamm, History; Nancy Gamso, Music; and Danielle Hamill, Zoology.

“The READ posters are the libraries’ opportunity to honor Ohio Wesleyan faculty and their contributions, in particular, to the Libraries and Ohio Wesleyan, and more broadly, their contributions to their scholarly or creative communities,” explains Cardwell. “The faculty highlighted in the READ posters truly bring the libraries and our collections to life for their students and demonstrate the kind of engagement we hope to impart to our students.”

During the Celebration of Scholarship program, Cardwell also recognized more than 40 faculty members for their significant contributions to students’ learning; their academic papers, publications, and other scholarly or creative work accomplished during the past year; and librarian Joy Gao, for compiling the online bibliography. Those faculty members recognized were: Mark Allison, English; Ellen Arnold, History; Harry Bahrick, Psychology; Melinda Baker, Psychology; Jeremy Baskes, History; Andrew Brandt, Psychology; Sarah Bunnell, Psychology; Ramon Carreno, Zoology; Ji Young Choi, Politics and Government; Theodore Cohen, Sociology and Anthropology; Michael Flamm, History; James Franklin, Politics and Government; Lee Fratantuono, Humanities-Classics; Robert Gitter, Economics; Gerald Goldstein, Botany-Microbiology; Lynda Hall, Psychology; Shala Hankison, Zoology; Robert Haring-Kaye, Physics and Astronomy; Robert Harmon, Physics and Astronomy; Frank Hobbs, Fine Arts; Craig Jackson, Mathematics and Computer Science; David Johnson, Botany-Microbiology; Sean Kay, Politics and Government; Scott Kelly, Zoology; Don Lateiner, Humanities-Classics; Sally Livingston, Humanities-Classics; Zackariah Long, English; Gulimina Mahamuti, Music; David Markwardt, Zoology; Jillian Maruskin, Libraries; Andrew Meyer, Economics; Blake Michael, Religion; Mark Mitton-Fry, Chemistry; Glenda Nieto-Cuebas, Modern Foreign Languages; Tami Panhuis, Zoology; James Peoples, Sociology and Anthropology; Sally Perret, Modern Foreign Languages; Juan Amando Rojas, Modern Foreign Languages; Goran Skosples, Economics; Caroline Stark, Humanities-Classics; David Walker, Geology-Geography; Chris Wolverton, Botany-Microbiology; Ching-Hsuan Wu, Modern Foreign Languages; and Jennifer Yates, Psychology.

“It is gratifying to see the remarkable scholarly and creative productivity of our faculty,” says OWU president Rock Jones. “Such activity is important, both for the disciplines represented and for the intellectual vitality of the OWU community. I also commend the students who submitted papers for consideration this year. I was impressed by the range of topics and the depths of research and analysis reflected in their work.”

In addition, Caldwell updated those attending the recognition program on several projects, including the two-year 2010 Mellon Next Generation Library Grant. An impressive 13 faculty-librarian projects listing can be seen online. The digitized The Transcript—dating back to 1874—has been completed as part of the grant.

“Almost as soon as we wrapped up the 2010 grant, we received another Mellon Grant focusing on digital scholarships with other libraries in the Five College of Ohio, Inc.” says Cardwell. The grant will provide more opportunities to involve students in research and scholarly projects with faculty and librarians, and to connect theory to practice.

James Lloyd ’92. (Photo courtesy of the Olmstead Falls City Schools district)

The Olmsted Falls (Ohio) Board of Education votes unanimously to appoint 1992 OWU alumnus as the district’s next superintendent of schools.

Read the complete Olmstead Falls Board of Education Parent Update.

Click here to see more OWU in the News coverage.

Megan Fris ’13 has been an active volunteer at the Community Garden. (Photo courtesy of Megan Fris ’13)

Ohio Wesleyan senior Megan Fris recently has received the Ohio Branch of the American Society for Microbiology (OBASM) 2013 Career Workshops Award, and recent graduate Rachel Fleming Pritchard ’08 was awarded this honor as well.

Fris is a microbiology major and Pritchard, previously a microbiology major at OWU, is now a Ph.D. candidate at Miami University. Both Pritchard and Fris were students of Laura Tuhela-Reuning, botany-microbiology professor at Ohio Wesleyan. Funds from this award will allow them to attend two microbiology career workshops at the 2013 national American Society for Microbiology meeting in Denver, Colorado on May 18.

“The workshops will include lectures as well as a speed network-like segment that will enable us to meet prospective employers,” says Fris, who has been a three-year resident of Treehouse, one of OWU’s Small Living Units focused on environmental sustainability issues.

Fris has held a Student Assistantship Program (StAP) position enabling her to work with the University’s scanning electron microscope, helping students and faculty use the microscope—what Fris calls a “big deal” when it comes to making this sophisticated piece of equipment available to undergraduate students. Her professional interests involve clinical microbiology or environmental studies that will allow her to work both in and outside of the lab.

“It was a competitive award,” says Tuhela-Reuning. “Both Megan and Rachel are excellent microbiologists and are good ambassadors for OWU.”

Zeke Brechtel, president of the Ohio Wesleyan Class of 2013, will speak May 12 during the university’s 169th commencement ceremony. (Photo by John Holliger)

DELAWARE, Ohio – Members of the Ohio Wesleyan University Class of 2013 will gather together with family and friends at 1 p.m. Sunday, May 12, to celebrate their graduation and to hear words of inspiration and advice from 1961 OWU alumnus George H. Conrades. The ceremony will be held in Phillips Glen outside of Phillips Hall, 50 S. Henry St., Delaware.

Conrades is the former chief executive officer and current chairman of Massachusetts-based Akamai Technologies Inc., which helps businesses to provide customers with secure, high-performing cloud connections. In addition, he and his wife, Patricia “Patsy” Belt Conrades, Class of 1963, are both Ohio Wesleyan Life Trustees. They are the parents of Ohio Wesleyan alumnae Laura Conrades Wilson, Class of 1988, and Anna Conrades, Class of 2003.

During the commencement ceremony, graduates and their guests also will hear from Zeke Brechtel, Ohio Wesleyan’s 2013 senior class president. Brechtel is a physics major and mathematics minor from Arvada, Colo.

In the event of thunderstorms, Ohio Wesleyan’s 2013 commencement ceremony will move indoors to Gordon Field House, 105 S. Sandusky St. Overflow seating will be available in the Benes Rooms at Hamilton-Williams Campus Center, 40 Rowland Ave. The final commencement location will be posted online May 12 on the Ohio Wesleyan homepage.

Before they turn their tassels, members of the Class of 2013 also will celebrate with a baccalaureate service at 8 p.m. Saturday, May 11, in Gray Chapel in University Hall, 61 S. Sandusky St. The theme of the evening will be “Worlds within the World,” exemplifying the different members of the class and the many ways in which these individuals have learned from each other during their shared OWU journey.

Both Ohio Wesleyan’s commencement ceremony and baccalaureate service will be streamed live online and archived afterward at StreamOWU.

Founded in 1842, Ohio Wesleyan University is one of the nation’s premier small, private universities. Ohio Wesleyan offers more than 90 undergraduate majors, sequences, and courses of study, and 23 NCAA Division III varsity sports. OWU combines an internationally focused curriculum with off-campus learning and leadership opportunities that connect classroom theory with real-world practice. Located in Delaware, Ohio, OWU’s 1,850 students represent 41 states and 45 countries. The university is featured in the book “Colleges That Change Lives,” listed on the 2013 President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll with Distinction, and included on the “best colleges” lists of U.S. News & World Report and The Princeton Review. Learn more at www.owu.edu.

(Photo by Vjeran Lisjak, courtesy of stock.xchng)

DELAWARE, Ohio – Students in Ohio Wesleyan University’s “Geographies of the Global Economy” course will screen and discuss five films they produced examining Delaware’s economic and geographic issues during a free public event at 7 p.m. May 7 at the Strand Theater, 28 E. Winter St., Delaware.

Each documentary, created as part of Ohio Wesleyan assistant professor David Walker’s Geography 345 class, is between 20 minutes and 25 minutes long. The documentaries address the following issues:

• Downtown Delaware: Changing Socio-Spatial Patterns of Production and Consumption. Is the downtown experiencing gentrification? The owners and investors of downtown Delaware businesses employ particular cultural signs to attract desired clientele. What are the socio-spatial impacts of this form of investment, economic production, and consumption? Produced by Rebecca Sufrin of Pittsburgh; Jaquleen Cole of Lakenheath, England; and Margaret Somerville of New Albany, Ohio.
• The Latinoficación of Delaware: Is Atzlan Moving North? With the burgeoning of the Latino migrant population in Delaware, what are the socio-spatial impacts of Latino-owned sites of economic activity in Delaware, Columbus, and Central Ohio? Produced by Hannah Sampson of Kent, Ohio; Kelsey Casperson of Chicago; Mira Singhal of Pittsburgh; and Meg Dill of West Hartford, Conn.
• There Goes the Downtown: How Many Wal-Marts can Delaware Support? The impact of big-box stores on retail businesses is significant. What is the socio-spatial impact of such stores in Delaware? Produced by Gisele Miller of Galena, Ohio; John Reierson of Delaware, Ohio; and Samuel Keen of Evergreen, Colo.
• The Economies of Transportation Geography: The Kroger Distribution Center. There a lot of cookies and snacks in Delaware. Why is there a Kroger distribution center in Delaware? What incentives did the state, county, and city offer the grocery-retail company? What are the impacts on the employment structures, roadways, and environment? How did zoning impact the company’s decision to locate in Delaware? Produced by Eric Easley of Columbus; Chris Henchey of Melrose, Mass.; and Silas Jolliff of Cardington, Ohio.
• Light Manufacturing on the West Side: From Mass Production to Just-In-Time Manufacturing. The west side of Delaware is the city’s center of manufacturing. Because of global shifts in economic trade and regulation, Delaware’s manufacturing sector has experienced many changes in the last 30 years. What is the impact of the changes? Produced by Reed Callahan of Cincinnati; Arthur Taylor of Hong Kong; and Katarina Klemensichova of Bratislava, Slovakia.

Founded in 1842, Ohio Wesleyan University is one of the nation’s premier small, private universities. Ohio Wesleyan offers more than 90 undergraduate majors, sequences, and courses of study, and 23 NCAA Division III varsity sports. OWU combines an internationally focused curriculum with off-campus learning and leadership opportunities that connect classroom theory with real-world practice. Located in Delaware, Ohio, OWU’s 1,850 students represent 41 states and 45 countries. The university is featured in the book “Colleges That Change Lives,” listed on the 2013 President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll with Distinction, and included on the “best colleges” lists of U.S. News & World Report and The Princeton Review. Learn more at www.owu.edu.

The Top Ten Award winners at the ninth annual Dale J. Bruce Scholar-Athlete Awards Dinner. (Photo by Mark Schmitter ’12)

Ohio Wesleyan University junior Tamra Londot (Utica) won the highest honor at the ninth annual Dale J. Bruce Scholar-Athlete Awards Dinner, held on Thursday in the Benes Rooms of the Hamilton-Williams Campus Center on the Ohio Wesleyan campus.

Londot, a member of the volleyball, women’s basketball, and softball teams, received the Presidential Award, recognizing the University’s top athlete and person. The top honor awarded by the Ohio Wesleyan athletics department, the Presidential Award is based on athletics ability and achievement, academic excellence, character, leadership, activities and inspiration.

Receiving Top Ten Awards were junior Sean Anthony (Coldwater), senior Zach Bott (Dublin/Coffman), senior Jessie Huschart (Columbus/Hilliard Davidson), senior Emily Johnson (Johnstown/Johnstown-Monroe), senior Erika Reese (Hilliard/Davidson), senior Brandon Sega (Columbus/Upper Arlington), senior Tyler Sheetz (Eighty Four, Pa./Peters Township), senior  Ben Steele (Delaware/Hayes), senior Brittany Vickers (Newark/Utica), and freshman Jessica Ward (Delaware/Hayes).

The Top Ten Award is voted upon by the Ohio Wesleyan Athletics Council and is based upon the student-athlete’s impact upon their family, their team, the University and the Delaware community.  Anthony is a member of the men’s swimming team, Bott is a member of the baseball team, Huschart is a member of the women’s soccer team, Johnson is a member of the women’s cross country and track & field teams, Reese is a member of the softball team, Sega is a member of the baseball team, Sheetz is a member of the football team, Steele is a member of the football and baseball teams, Vickers is a member of the volleyball team, and Ward is a member of the women’s swimming team.

The Dr. Jay Martin Award, honoring the top male senior student-athlete, went to senior Andy Winters (Columbus/Bishop Watterson), a member of the men’s basketball team.

The Nan Carney-DeBord Award, recognizing the top female senior student-athlete, went to senior Emily Amburgey (Germantown/Preble Shawnee), a member of the women’s track & field team.

The Dr. Richard Gordin Award, recognizing the highest cumulative grade point average among senior male student-athletes, went to senior Brad Turnwald (Fort Jennings/Ottoville).

The Mary Parker Award, recognizing the highest cumulative grade point average among senior female student-athletes, went to Vickers.

Also recognized were Ohio Wesleyan’s top 50 student-athletes by cumulative grade point average. They were: sophomore Sam Abbott (Sun Prairie, Wis.), senior Megan Bachelder (Mount Gilead), junior Sarah Bechtel (Bellefontaine), sophomore Colton Bloecher (Lewis Center/Olentangy Orange), sophomore Colleen Bodee (Flossmoor, Ill./Homewood-Flossmoor), senior Jake Bonnell (Export, Pa./Franklin Regional), sophomore Calvin Cagney (Indialantic, Fla./Melbourne), junior Kay Cantwell (Louisville, Ky./Atherton), senior Molly Curry (Holliston, Mass.), sophomore Olivia DeMeio (Tallmadge), senior James DiBiasio (Westlake), sophomore Landon Erb (Hilliard/Darby), junior Jennifer Erichsen (Farmington Hills, Mich./North Farmington), junior Mason Espinosa (Cookeville, Tenn.), sophomore Kevin Ford (Westerville/North), sophomore Nick Fowler (Bethesda, Md./Johnson), junior Olivia Gillison (Philadelphia, Pa./Friends Central), junior Meg Greff (Hopkinton, Mass.), sophomore Kevin Herman (Stow/Stow-Munroe Falls), Huschart, senior Silas Jolliff (Cardington/Cardington-Lincoln), senior Nathan Kafity (Huron/Lake Ridge Academy), sophomore Ryan Kaplan (Alliance/Marlington), sophomore Alexa Katrinchak (Elyria/Midview), and senior Jane Lehman (Amherst/Steele).

Also, sophomore Whitney Lonnemann (Cincinnati/Mariemont), senior Nicole Lourette (Mechanicsville, Md./Chopticon), sophomore Abbie Love (Bainbridge Island, Wash./Bainbridge), sophomore Emma Markey (Indianapolis, Ind./North Central), senior Matt Martin (New Brighton, Pa./Riverside), sophomore Kevin McCarley (Columbus/Upper Arlington), junior Ian McCaslin (Prospect, Ky./Saint Xavier), sophomore Tommy Minkler (Oakton, Va./Landon School), sophomore Jonathan Overstreet (Centerville), sophomore John Peranzi (Rehoboth, Mass./Dighton-Rehoboth), sophomore Joyce Petersen (Avon/St. Joseph Academy), sophomore Kristie Prendergast (Westlake), Reese, junior Elizabeth Riggio (Itasca, Ill./Lake Park), sophomore Hannah Sampson (Kent/Roosevelt), Sheetz, sophomore Elizabeth Simmons (Columbus/School for Girls), sophomore Matt Sommi (Knoxville, Tenn./Christian Academy of Knoxville), sophomore Sarah Stachowiak (Westlake), junior Jon Stegner (Powell/Olentangy Liberty), sophomore Karli Sturgill (Lagrange/Keystone), senior Will Thieman (Columbus/Upper Arlington), Turnwald, Vickers, and sophomore Alexandra Webb (Tipp City/Tippecanoe).

A pair of new awards, the James DiBiasio Sportsmanship Award and the Mackenzie Conway Sportsmanship Award, went to Steele and Reese respectively.

The Bob Strimer Director’s Cup, awarded to the Ohio Wesleyan team with the highest cumulative grade point average, went to the women’s cross country team.

The evening’s festivities also included the presentation of the Town-Gown Award, given by the Ohio Wesleyan athletic department in recognition of longstanding relationships with and outstanding support of Ohio Wesleyan student-athletes and athletic programs. The award was presented to Domino’s Pizza.

The Alumni Recognition Award was presented to Bob Morrill.

The Dale J. Bruce Scholar-Athlete Awards Dinner is named in honor of Dale Bruce ’52, an All-America football end at Ohio Wesleyan who has been a longtime supporter of Battling Bishop athletics.

Olivia Judson, Ph.D.

DELAWARE, Ohio – Evolutionary biologist Olivia Judson, Ph.D., author of “Dr. Tatiana’s Sex Advice to All Creation: The Definitive Guide to the Evolutionary Biology of Sex,” will speak April 25 at Ohio Wesleyan University.

Judson, a research fellow in biology at Imperial College London, will discuss “Earth on Life: How Living Beings Have Made the Planet What it is Today,” at 7:30 p.m. April 25 in the Mulligan Hub of Ohio Wesleyan’s Stuyvesant Hall, 223 W. William St., Delaware. Her presentation is free and open to the public.

During her career, Judson has written for publications such as The Economist, The New York Times, The Guardian, and The Daily Telegraph. Her Ohio Wesleyan visit is sponsored by the Women in Science (WinS) student organization, the OWU Science Lecture Series, the Women’s House small-living unit, and the Department of Women’s and Gender Studies.

Founded in 1842, Ohio Wesleyan University is one of the nation’s premier small, private universities. Ohio Wesleyan offers more than 90 undergraduate majors, sequences, and courses of study, and 23 NCAA Division III varsity sports. OWU combines an internationally focused curriculum with off-campus learning and leadership opportunities that connect classroom theory with real-world practice. Located in Delaware, Ohio, OWU’s 1,850 students represent 41 states and 45 countries. The university is featured in the book “Colleges That Change Lives,” listed on the 2013 President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll with Distinction, and included on the “best colleges” lists of U.S. News & World Report and The Princeton Review. Learn more at www.owu.edu.

Reverend Robert Hill, dean of Marsh Chapel, greets a crowd of hundreds gathered for Tuesday night’s candlelight vigil honoring the dead and wounded in the bomb attacks near the Boston Marathon finish line. (Photo by Cydney Scott)

Numerous OWU alumni living in the Boston area as well as the community of Boston University, led by Reverend Robert Allan Hill ’76, Chaplain and Dean of Boston University’s Marsh Chapel, came together to open their hearts and homes to the families and victims of Monday’s horrific explosions that occurred toward the end of the Boston Marathon. Reverend Hill comforted the university family and concerned friends outside of Boston University, encouraging everyone to “live with faith and courage in the days ahead.” Read more about how the BU community is coming together to stay strong and “keep the faith.”

Let the games begin! (Photo by Alex Crump ’13)

On Wednesday, April 17, the Science Center hosted Riverfest, a Spring Event sponsored by the American Landscape course connections. This course connections network, as summarized on its home page, “examines the changing American landscape in reality and imagination.” Professors Lynette Carpenter, Nancy Gamso, Frank Hobbs, David Johnson, Jeff Nilan, Nancy Murray, Karen Poremski, Barbara Terzian, and David Walker were all in attendance.  Gamso had selected a playlist rich in classical Jazz and Blues with the addition of some traditional Bluegrass-themed hits. Participants included students taking the American Landscape course connection itself, students who were taking a class offered by a professor involved in the course connections, students who had happened by and got caught up in the excitement and a bevy of faculty and staff who wanted to see more of what their colleagues had been working on.

Chartwells, Ohio Wesleyan’s designated catering service, supplied a wonderful set up with some popular New Orleans’s dishes. There were sandwiches, called muffulettas, which are known for their delicious olive-spread. There were virgin daiquiris and hurricanes, styled after the ever popular drinks that are readily consumed on the hot afternoons in New Orleans. And the best of all were the beignets. Styled after the famous Café Du Monde (an actual café in New Orleans) the powdered sugar covered pastries were hard to turn down. A mixed-berry syrup had been prepared to drizzle over the doughnut-like dessert.

Groups met to search for locations on the tape-created river. (Photo by Alex Crump ’13)

Once the participants had eaten their fill of the native foods, the games began. The first step was to form a group of about five and, after having been given a map of the Mississippi River with select spot labeled and some fact sheets, search for the locations on the tape-created river that corresponded with the numbers indicated on the sheets. The students taped these sheets to the ground and then recollected. From here out the competition began. Each team was given a question sheet and had to find the correct answers by scoring the fact sheets that were all around the atrium. Questions included topics such as, “What is the derivation of the name, “Mississippi?” and “What kind of river craft is depicted in a famous painting by John Caleb Bingham?” The team that completed their sheet first received authentic Mardi Gras masks as a reward.

T-shirts including each department included in the American Landscape course connection were designed by Nilan and supplied to each participant. Included departments are:  English, Music, History, Geology/Geography, Fine Arts, Religion, and Botany-Microbiology. Though the course connection is not specific to New Orleans, the professors heading this connection visited New Orleans over Spring Break and wanted to share with OWU students their recently-obtained experiences. Murray described some of the designated stops along the way, such as some amazing art museums and crawfish and rice farms. She went on to explain some of the most common crops found there. “New Orleans is famous for its production of rice, cotton, and pecans. It also has great conditions for banana growth and it is very common for people there to grow them in their courtyards!”

She and the other professors were also impressed by the rich Cajun culture that they experienced there.  Gamso taught some modern Cajun dance moves to the eager crowd awaiting instruction. The students picked up the moves pretty quickly, hopping from one foot to the next in rapid succession, keeping in tandem to the rhythmic blues playing on around them.

This was a great experience for not only students taking the course connection, but also for anyone interested in the diverse and historic nature of the Mississippi River and the spectacular cities that lie alongside it.

Danielle Bernert ’13, Greece, Archaeological Dig.

With topics ranging from ethnographic research on Kosrae Island to studying pueblos and landscapes of the American Southwest, OWU’s most-recently-awarded Theory-to-Practice grants continue to enable student to link academic theory with real-world experiences. Here are our additional 2013 recipients:

“Public Health Internship in Alabama,” submitted by student, Nora Gumanow ’14. She will conduct focus groups with adolescent girls, coding qualitative data. This will take place for several weeks in May and June, in the context of her current research designed to investigate risky behaviors—especially lack of birth control—among adolescents in Birmingham.

“A Unique Model for Land Conservation and Preservation in Karukinka, Chile,” submitted by students “ Melissa Guziak ’13, Owen Kelling ’16, and Samuel Sonnega ’14. They will travel to Tierra Del Fuego, Chile for nine days in January 2014 with staff member William Hayes to visit the newly-founded Karukinka National Park. There they will interview officials with the Wildlife Conservation Society to learn about their model for land conservation and preservation.

“Equine Veterinary Medicine: A Close-Up Experience with Horses,” submitted by student, Mary Helfrich ’14. She will gain hands-on experience with horses in the Ohio area in early July and August, becoming familiar with their behaviors in sickness and good health situations, also learning how to administer vaccines and diagnose and treat horses.

“Transatlantic Food Practices: A Comparative Analysis between Barcelona Spain, and Columbus, Ohio,” submitted by students, Sarah Jilbert ’14, Hayden Barnes ’14, with Professor David Walker. They will conduct an analysis of food cultures and practices in Barcelona, Spain and Columbus (OH) in mid-May, and also will evaluate the health and environmental issues related to these practices.

“From Jane Rose to Savita Halappanaver: Examining Reproductive Rights Policy in the U.S. and Ireland,” submitted by students Kate Lewis-Larkin ’13 and Katalyn Kuivilla ’14. For 10 days in June, they will do a comparative study of public policies and debates surrounding reproductive rights in Ireland and the U.S.

“Tin House Workshop,” submitted by student, Alyssa Long ’16. For a week in mid-July, she will attend a creative writing workshop in Oregon, featuring intensive creative writing seminars, peer critiques, panels, and readings given by elite faculty and students in the program. The focus is on honing students’ manuscripts to make them more real, vivid, and publishable.

“Mediterranean House Gecko Research and Herpetology Conference,” submitted by student, Madeline Miguel ’14. She will be part of a research team that will focus on the Mediterranean House Gecko to see if it can evolve adaptations based on physiological and morphological tests. Traveling to California and New Mexico in mid- June for a duration of two months, she will also attend a Herpetology Conference.

“Pueblos and Landscapes of the American Southwest: Reframing the Views of 19th Century Photographers,” submitted by professors Jeff Nilan, Bernard Derr, and several students. They will travel to New Mexico for a week in June, using the NGL Mellon grant archive created last spring (“Photographs of the American Southwest, 1870s to early 1900s) as a logistical framework. They will record changes occurring in the subjects and views more than a century later.

“Christian Perspectives and Social Identity,” submitted by students, Thomas Owings ’13, Andrew Barnhardt ’16, Haley Cook ’14, and Joe Kirincic ’16. They will travel to West Virginia, Alabama, and Illinois at the end of July, to study the mechanisms of religious narrative in domestic, low-Church Protestant denominations and their impact on social identity.

“Ethnographic Research on Kosrae Island, Federated States of Micronesia,” submitted by Professor Jim Peoples and students Haley Beffel ’14, Erika Nininger ’14, and Samuel Sonnega ’14. They will travel to Micronesia at the end of July for two weeks to interview people about their use of communications media, their attitudes and plans for future emigration, their feelings about the recent presence of other Christian denominations on the island, and their food preferences and knowledge of farming and food processing practices.

“Understanding Social Business Models,” submitted by student, Dung Pham ’14. He traveled to Singapore in March to learn about how to scale up a business and transform it into a successful enterprise.

“The Unending War: Exploring and Addressing the Relational Remnants of War between Vietnam and the U.S.”, submitted by student Hoa Pham ’16 and Chaplain Jon Powers. They will travel to Vietnam for two weeks in May to study the painful issue of Agent Orange and the gap in trust between our nations that was enlarged by the unjust verdict in 2005.

“Harnas Wildlife,” submitted by student Julie Stark ’15. She will volunteer at an animal sanctuary, Harnas, in Africa, for three weeks, beginning in early May. The sanctuary specializes in caring for wild animals that suffer from such diseases as AIDS, epilepsy, and other ailments.

“Documenting African Christianity in Uganda,” submitted by Professor Emmanuel Twesigye and students Ryan Lenfest ’15 and Jennifer Sollmann ’14. They will travel to Uganda for three weeks in mid-May to witness, experience, and document how religion, history, culture, politics, and ethics are celebrated as transformative positive forces in Africa.

“Understanding the Indigenous People of the Mountainous Tamang Region of Nepal,” submitted by students Rachel Vinciguerra ’14 and Eleanor Feely ’14. They will travel to Nepal for two weeks in late June to study how sustainable tourism practices have been implemented by the Holiday Mountain Treks and Expedition Company and how the first novel published in English in Nepal has been received by Kathmandu and the mountain cultures (Tamang).

“Carrying Words Across Borders,” submitted by student, Caroline Williams ’16. She will attend workshops in poetry, fiction, and non-fiction as well as literary walks and other excursions and readings with Portuguese and North American writers as she travels to Portugal in late June for two weeks.

“Examining the Relationship between Environmental Policy, Geology, and Sustainability in Ipoh, Malaysia,” submitted by student, Elaine Young ’14. She will spend three weeks in December and January 2014 in Malaysia, investigating the interactions between global environmental policy implementation, sustainability, resource management, and geology.

The Georgia group consisted of: (left to right) Raina Graham ’16, Camille Mullins-Lemieux ’16, Mark Mandych ’15, Cora Munroe ’13, Claudia Bauman ’16, Holly Sobole ’16, Jamie Zackavitch (instructor), Luke Steffen ’15, Lili Fikter ’15. (Photo courtesy of William Hayes)

“Real time” leadership and decision making. These are accurate descriptors of Ohio Wesleyan’s annual Spring Break Wilderness Trek program, now in its 12^th year.

And the 2013 trips—backpacking and kayaking in the Georgia Sea Islands and rock climbing and service in Joshua Tree National Park and Los Angeles—did not disappoint the 17 OWU students who participated, according to William Hayes, associate chaplain and Director of Wilderness Ministry.

The theme of the Georgia group was “Identity and Rest,” enabling them to learn about the wildlife (alligators, birds, dolphins, and armadillos), outdoor living skills, and how to incorporate solitude and reflection into their daily lives. No cell phones, computers, i-Pads were to be found.

“It was a time for me to unplug from my world and just exist,” says Cora Munroe ’14, who co-led the group of eight. She was responsible for all of the team meetings leading up to the trip, which taught her more about responsibility and self-confidence. “When I didn’t know a certain wilderness skill, I looked to my co-leader for guidance, which reminded me about the importance of humility,” she admits. As someone who likes having schedules, she realized something else. “Dealing with unplanned mishaps [on the trip] helped me see that I can survive just fine if things don’t follow my plan,” says Munroe. A little spontaneity can be good.”

The “California Nine” consisted of: (back row, left to right) Alyson Michael ’13, Challen Brown ’14, Justin Bellassai ’14, Ellen Hughes ’16, William Hayes, Ashley Taylor ’13, Haley Figlestahler ’13; (front row, left to right) Makenna Huff ’14, Alexa Katrinchak ’14, Sarah Foster ’13. (Photo courtesy of William Hayes)

Leading the “California Nine,” Hayes and the students explored the park, wildlife and did rock climbing, also making time each day for reflection. Then, they headed to the city to serve with an urban outreach group, World Impact. Following the group’s theme, “Head, Heart, and Hands,” students worked with a food pantry near Skid Row, also discussing how faith connects on so many levels.

For co-leader Makenna Huff ’14, it was a time for learning practical organizational and discussion tools. “I became a lot more self-confident,” she says, adding that her shyness diminished  as she had a chance to take charge and move outside her comfort zone. “In that uncomfortable state, I had to recognize and rely on my own skills. I think having stronger self-condidence is practically the definition of good leadership. That sense of security in myself hasn’t left yet, so I know this is more than a phase.”

Justin Giarrusso ’13.

Ohio Wesleyan senior Justin Giarrusso is finishing up his studies at OWU with a flourish, as he recently was selected as one of three winners in the Manhattan Choral Ensemble’s Choral Composition Contest. The Ensemble will perform Giarrusso’s winning composition, “Central Park at Dusk,” on May 18 in Mary Flagler Cary Hall at the DiMenna Center for Classical Music in Manhattan. His work for a capella mixed choir sets the poem of the same name by Sara Teasdale to music—a poem that Giarrusso read and knew immediately that it was perfect for his Manhattan movement.

“I set it to music while revising at the same time, which was a process that took three weeks,” says the music theory major, whose long-time interest in music composition blossomed at OWU. His work with music professors Jennifer Jolley and Clint Needham have, says Giarrusso, “been able to act as a springboard for my interest in composition become my profession.” Working on the composition since January as he took instruction from Jolley, his three-minute long choral piece is part of an “in progress cycle” of choral movements about the five boroughs of New York City, called “Five Boroughs, One City.”Jolley is happy that her student’s first a capella work in being premiered in New York City and adds that through his choral piece, Giarrusso is artistically representing his identity as a person having family ties to New York.

“He self-identifies as being a ‘New Yorker at heart,’ “she says, adding that Giarrusso is artistically returning to the city by presenting his music that celebrates the history and childhood memories of New York City in the place that inspired him.

“It was a tremendous honor to have my composition selected for performance,” Giarrusso says. “In fact, it took a minute for it to sink in that I actually had won!”

For all who are interested, there will be a preview performance of Justin’s work and another movement of the cycle at 8 p.m. on Tuesday, April 23 in Jemison Auditorium of Sanborn Hall.

Kassel Galaty ’13

The Ohio Foundation of Independent Colleges’ annual Evening of Excellence program on April 10 in Columbus (OH) was complemented by an excellent presentation by OWU student researcher Kassel Galaty ’13, whose project entitled “The Infected Man Has Altogether Been Lost Sight Of” also was displayed at the center of the reception area of the Westin Hotel’s Grand Ballroom for all who attended the program to see.

Galaty, a history and pre-medicine double major with chemistry and zoology minors, has studied the work of Dr. William Budd, a nineteenth-century epidemiologist who was an early advocate of the germ theory of disease. She explains that by reading his publications and letters, it was clear that “one of the most important factors leading to the rise of the germ theory was the development of epidemiology.”

Because Budd and others began to study diseases in a new way, “they were able to see patterns and draw evidence-based conclusions that had not been previously possible,” says Galaty.

She was invited by OWU President Rock Jones and Gordon Brollier, president of OFIC to attend the program.

“I felt really honored to have been asked to present my research,” says Galaty, who admits to being a little nervous at first. “But everyone I spoke with was so kind and interested in my work, that by the night’s end, I had a great deal more confidence in both myself and in my ability to convey the value of my research.

Paul Dean, Ph.D.

Watching cool videos online? It may sound like the way a college student kills time. But for Dr. Paul Dean, OWU assistant professor of sociology and anthropology, it’s an important part of the way students can learn.

Dean is one of the founders of the The Sociological Cinema, a website that compiles interesting videos for use in the sociology classroom. Rooted in the idea that pop culture and video can be useful tools for illustrating sociological concepts and theories, The Sociological Cinema is the combined effort of Dean and two of his graduate school classmates at the University of Maryland.

“We knew that video was an engaging way to communicate with students,” Dean says. “But it was time-consuming to locate relevant videos.” As a solution to that problem, The Sociological Cinema aggregates and tags videos based on their themes, making it easy for instructors to locate helpful content.

According to Dean, short videos like those featured on the The Sociological Cinema are the wave of the future when it comes to classroom media. “It used to be that feature-length films were common in the classroom, but shorter clips are more effective now,” he comments. Dean says shorter videos can serve as a supplement to lecture, rather than a replacement, and students respond well to them. “There’s aesthetic involved,” he adds. “Video taps into experiences that resonate more strongly than just hearing someone explain a concept.”

This emotional connection is especially important in the sociology classroom, Dean says. For example, in a Race and Ethnicity class, video testimonials introduce students to the experiences of different racial groups. Race is a difficult concept for many Americans to discuss, and while some students may not feel comfortable sharing their experiences in class, video is a way to tap into this part of social life. Dean also teaches a class centered on the HBO TV series The Wire, a drama focusing on the Baltimore drug scene.  “The Wire is one of the most sociological shows I’ve ever seen, and teaching through its lens is a very effective way to introduce relevant sociological ideas,” he says.

Dean’s passion for instruction through video is important, as he and two co-founders of The Sociological Cinema manage all of the content that is found on the site. “Fifty percent of the content you’ll see on the site originates with our team, and the other half is recommended to us through the site and through Facebook,” he explains.

The Sociological Cinema team doesn’t plan to slow down anytime soon. With several upcoming presentations (not to mention a Facebook page boasting over 36,000 likes), they are considering next steps for the site, including ways to link more faculty to videos, collaboration with other faculty, academic publications, and more. “It’s important to me to be able to leverage technology to assess and encourage learning,” Dean says. “And of course, it’s a lot of fun.”

Reitumetse Obakeng Mabokela ’92. (Photo courtesy of Michigan State University)

Funding from USAID in the shape of a $25 million grant, is enabling Professor Reitumetse Obakeng Mabokela ’92, “Reitu,” and her colleagues at Michigan State University to establish the Global Center for Food Systems Innovation (GCFSI). The work of the Center will be focused on the geographic regions of East Africa, West Africa, and South Asia.

“We are one of seven innovation labs funded by USAID,” explains Mabokela, Professor of Higher Education in the Department of Educational Administration, and Assistant Dean for International Studies in the College of Education at MSU, and Co-director of the Global Center for Food Systems Innovation.

A native of South Africa, Mabokela received her bachelor of arts degree in economics from OWU, her master’s in labor and industrial relations from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and her Ph.D. in educational policy studies, also from that university.

As Mabokela explains, her research focuses on understanding experiences of marginalized populations, aiming to inform and influence institutional policies affecting these groups within institutions of higher education. More specifically, her research involves examining these interrelated themes: organizational change and culture in higher education; gender in higher education; higher education in transitional societies; and studying these education issues in South Africa, Namibia, Ghana, Egypt, and more recently, in Pakistan. Mabokela also has authored, co-authored, or edited seven books.

“The $25 million we received will enable us for the next five years, to develop and implement the research work of the Center/Innovation Lab,” she says.

Branch B. Rickey and Bob DiBiasio discuss the state of baseball today and the Branch Rickey-Jackie Robinson legacy during an April 12 roundtable at Ohio Wesleyan. OWU Athletics Director Roger Ingles (left) serves as moderator. (Photo by Mark Schmitter ’12)

Ohio Wesleyan alumnus and Major League Baseball executive Branch Rickey’s selection of Jackie Robinson to break professional baseball’s color barrier, was careful and intentional, says Rickey’s grandson, Branch B. Rickey. The 1967 OWU graduate spoke at a roundtable discussion last Friday at Ohio Wesleyan in Phillips Hall.

Rickey, OWU graduate and president of Minor League Baseball’s Pacific Coast League, joined fellow alumnus Bob DiBiasio ‘77, senior vice-president for public affairs of the Cleveland Indians, and OWU athletic director Roger Ingles to talk about the “Great Mahatma’s” legacy as depicted in the new film “42: The True Story of an American Legend,” starring Harrison Ford and Chadwick Boseman.

Rickey said his grandfather “was looking for an athlete that could excel, who would set an example, and who would not strike back.” He found such a player in Robinson, who accomplished more than he is usually credited with.

“Jackie did not break a barrier,” Rickey said. “He shattered a myth. He went from not being allowed to participate—and this, I think is representative of myths in society on so many fronts…—but he went from not participating to excelling. He didn’t just put on a uniform and sit on the bench. He went from not participating to being Rookie of the Year.”

While Robinson received much harassment when he was signed, Rickey said his grandfather also received threats, but his wife hid the intimidating letters before he saw them. Rickey said his female relatives told him about the incidents years later.

“Those letters were not going to impede her any more than she was going to let them worry him,” he said.

While Robinson faced most of the public difficulty, Rickey said he feels his grandfather deserves “some piece of the pie” for mentoring him.

“This transcended a business relationship—this became a partnership,” he said. “…(T)his is such a classic example that has been handed down as an example to me as interfacing between people that don’t have anything in common and forge that common ground.”

Rickey said his grandfather often told the story of black OWU baseball player Charles Thomas being denied his own room at a hotel. The elder Rickey said he found Thomas in their shared room saying, “If I could just rub this color off, I’m as good as any man.” Rickey said that image stuck with him.

“When you’re hearing that as a six-year-old, seven-year-old, eight-year-old, it makes a very deep impression,” he said.

DiBiasio said the Indians’ Larry Doby, another black player who signed a major-league contract in 1947, faced “a little bit more unique” situation than Robinson, who had played in the minor leagues and signed with the Dodgers when he was 27, while Doby was given a big league chance more quickly at age 22.

”There was a two-year drumroll for Jackie Robinson, and Larry Doby just showed up,” DiBiasio said.

According to DiBiasio, Cleveland was a ready home for an integrated team, since the Negro Leagues had a strong presence there. Rickey said Brooklyn was also fertile ground because it was a “melting pot” for African-Americans, immigrants and other marginalized populations.

Rickey and DiBiasio said both the elder Rickey and Indians general manager Bill Veeck, who signed Doby, challenged baseball’s status quo. Many owners were opposed to integrate the game because they thought challenging its cultural traditions would be bad for business.

“No one wanted to risk the ongoing strength of our franchise for an experiment,” Rickey said.

DiBiasio and Rickey both spoke about their continued relationship with Ohio Wesleyan. DiBiasio said his connection to the University is important to him because his time as a student prepared him well for the professional world.

“The foundation of a 35-year career started here, so if the phone rings you have to pick it up, out of a sense of duty,” he said.

The discussion ended with a question from the audience about how the elder Rickey would feel about the continued racism in professional sports. Rickey said “42” serves as a reminder of the struggle for racial equality.

“I think it’s going to take everybody that is of good heart and good character to continue to work on this, and no problems—society has never solved all its problems,” he said. “They just continue to reoccur in different shape or form, and I think that’s why education is so important…I think that would be my grandfather’s attitude—he would never quit working on it.”

Branch B. Rickey shares a moment with the brothers of Delta Tau Delta. The men met Rickey at the Strand Theatre on April 12 — the day ’42′ opened nationally. (Photo by Steve Leibrand)

Read more about the OWU and Delaware celebration of the Rickey-Robinson legacy and debut of the feature film, “42”.

Brittany Vickers ’13

Columbus Dispatch writer Terry Mikesell interviews student Brittany Vickers ’13 with OWU’s Mary Howard and Chuck Della Lana about Ohio Wesleyan’s Ethnographic and Documentary Film and Filmmaking Class.

The class will screen its documentaries at 7 p.m. April 19 at Delaware’s Strand Theatre.

Read the full Dispatch article: “Ohio Wesleyan film festival: College students learn recipe for inspirational filmmaking.”

Click here to see more OWU in the News coverage.

(Image courtesy of The Princeton Review)

DELAWARE, Ohio – Ohio Wesleyan University is one of the 322 most environmentally responsible colleges in the United States and Canada, according to The Princeton Review’s new “Guide to 322 Green Colleges.”

The Princeton Review chose schools for its fourth annual green guide based on a 50-question survey conducted in 2012 at hundreds of four-year colleges. The company then analyzed the resulting data about the schools’ course offerings, campus infrastructure, activities, and career preparation to measure overall commitment to the environment and to sustainability. The free downloadable guidebook is available at www.princetonreview.com/green-guide or www.centerforgreenschools.org/greenguide.

According to the guide, “OWU is taking its environmental mission seriously.” And it deems “impressive” Ohio Wesleyan’s LEED® Silver Certified Meek Aquatics and Recreation Center, which opened in 2010. The natatorium uses a geothermal heating-and-cooling system that features a “whopping 90 geothermal wells, reaching down to a depth of 240 feet, help to moderate the facility’s temperature.”

Since the survey was completed, Ohio Wesleyan also has received LEED Silver Certification for Stuyvesant Hall, its oldest residential facility. The building underwent a complete renovation in 2011-2012 and now incorporates energy-efficient heating, cooling, and lighting systems as well as environmentally friendly building materials. Before work began, plans for the building were certified by the Ohio Historic Preservation Office and the National Park Service as meeting the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation.

Robert Franek, senior vice president/publisher, The Princeton Review, said, “We are truly pleased to recommend Ohio Wesleyan along with all of the fine schools in this book to the many students seeking colleges that practice and promote environmentally-responsible choices and practices.”

Franek said recent survey findings indicate significant interest among college applicants in attending “green” schools. “Among 9,955 college applicants who participated in our 2013 ‘College Hopes & Worries Survey,’ ” he said, “62 percent said having information about a school’s commitment to the environment would influence their decision to apply to or attend the school.”

The Princeton Review created its “Guide to 322 Green Colleges” in partnership with the Center for Green Schools at the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), with support from United Technologies Corp., founding sponsor of the Center for Green Schools.

Rachel Gutter, director of the Center for Green Schools at USGBC, said: “Selecting a four-year college is a big choice. When we learned that the majority of prospective college students factor a school’s commitment to sustainability into their selection criteria, we wanted to ensure we were providing the best information. We’re thrilled to team up with The Princeton Review for the fourth year to offer a guide to help make our future college students’ choices a little easier.”

Learn more about the new “Guide to 322 Green Colleges,” including how schools were chosen for inclusion. at www.princetonreview.com/green.aspx. Learn more about Ohio Wesleyan’s commitment to environmental issues.

Founded in 1842, Ohio Wesleyan University is one of the nation’s premier small, private universities. Ohio Wesleyan offers more than 90 undergraduate majors, sequences, and courses of study, and 23 NCAA Division III varsity sports. OWU combines an internationally focused curriculum with off-campus learning and leadership opportunities that connect classroom theory with real-world practice. Located in Delaware, Ohio, OWU’s 1,850 students represent 41 states and 45 countries. The university is featured in the book “Colleges That Change Lives,” listed on the 2013 President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll with Distinction, and included on the “best colleges” lists of U.S. News & World Report and The Princeton Review. Learn more at www.owu.edu.

(Image courtesy of U.S. Consulate General Mumbai and Channel V)

DELAWARE, Ohio – Ohio Wesleyan has been chosen as one of three universities in the United States to host a weeklong visit from “College Hunt, USA,” a reality television show produced jointly by the U.S. Consulate General Mumbai and Channel V, an international TV network owned by Star TV and Fox International Channels.

The three-part reality TV show is projected to reach 25 million young adults in India, with a goal of sharing information about pursuing college degrees in the United States. “College Hunt, USA” will film at Ohio Wesleyan between April 23 and April 26. Other schools selected to host the program following a competitive bid process begun in October are the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and State University of New York at Geneseo.

During their Delaware, Ohio, visit, two prospective Indian students will spend a week at Ohio Wesleyan, learning first-hand what it would be like to attend the private, nationally acclaimed, liberal arts university. While at Ohio Wesleyan, the reality TV stars will interact with OWU’s 1,850-member student body, which includes students from 45 countries and nearly every U.S. state.

“Ohio Wesleyan seeks to prepare our students for global citizenship and leadership,” said President Rock Jones, Ph.D. “About 10 percent of our students come to Ohio Wesleyan from other countries because of the international scope of our curriculum and the intercontinental feel of our campus. We are excited to welcome the prospective students of ‘College Hunt, USA’ to OWU. We believe they will find the educational and leadership opportunities available here to be second-to-none.”

While on campus, the reality TV show stars – one male and one female – will interact with current OWU students, visit classrooms, meet with professors, interview with admission counselors, and learn whether they are eligible for admission to Ohio Wesleyan – all with cameras rolling. The resulting 30-minute OWU episode will air on Channel V in June.

Ohio Wesleyan has been welcoming students from India since the 19th Century. The university currently has 11 students from India on its 200-acre, residential campus.

In 2010, Ohio Wesleyan was one of 10 U.S. colleges and universities selected to take part in a new international initiative to increase the number of academic partnerships among higher education institutions in the United States and India. The International Academic Partners Program is overseen by the Institute of International Education, a nonprofit organization that works to create study and training programs for students, educators, and professionals worldwide. The Institute’s programs include the prestigious Fulbright Program and Gilman Scholarships, administered for the U.S. Department of State.

As part of the initiative, a contingent of Ohio Wesleyan students, administrators, and faculty traveled to India in spring 2012 to participate in a joint study at Lady Shri Ram College for Women in New Delhi. Together, the group explored the topic, “Gandhi Today: Perspectives and Possibilities.” The Ohio Wesleyan group blogged about its experience.

Learn more about Ohio Wesleyan’s curriculum, campus, and admission process at http://choose.owu.edu.

Founded in 1842, Ohio Wesleyan University is one of the nation’s premier small, private universities. Ohio Wesleyan offers more than 90 undergraduate majors, sequences, and courses of study, and 23 NCAA Division III varsity sports. OWU combines an internationally focused curriculum with off-campus learning and leadership opportunities that connect classroom theory with real-world practice. Located in Delaware, Ohio, OWU’s 1,850 students represent 41 states and 45 countries. The university is featured in the book “Colleges That Change Lives,” listed on the 2013 President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll with Distinction, and included on the “best colleges” lists of U.S. News & World Report and The Princeton Review. Learn more at www.owu.edu.

Serena Connolly, Ph.D. (Photo courtesy of Rutgers School of Arts and Sciences)

DELAWARE, Ohio – Ohio Wesleyan University’s Classics Club is sponsoring a presentation by Serena Connolly, Ph.D., associate professor of classics at Rutgers University. Connolly will discuss “Romans and Friends in the Distichs of Cato” when she speaks at 11 a.m. April 17 in the Phillips Hall Auditorium,  50 S. Henry St., Delaware.

Connolly is a noted expert on Roman law, and her research interests include Roman history, especially late Roman social, political, and legal history, as well as non-elite Latin literature. She has published “Lives Behind the Laws: The World of the Codex Hermogenianus” (Indiana, 2010) and numerous articles on Roman Republican literature.

She earned her Bachelor’s Degree from Cambridge University and her doctorate from Yale University. She previously has been a member of the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton University. She has received the Mellon Fellowship for Assistant Professors at the School of the Historical Studies.

For more information, contact Ohio Wesleyan faculty members Lee Fratantuono, Ph.D., at lmfratan@owu.edu or Caroline Stark, Ph.D., at cgstark@owu.edu.

Learn more about classics at Ohio Wesleyan University.

Founded in 1842, Ohio Wesleyan University is one of the nation’s premier small, private universities. Ohio Wesleyan offers more than 90 undergraduate majors, sequences, and courses of study, and 23 NCAA Division III varsity sports. OWU combines an internationally focused curriculum with off-campus learning and leadership opportunities that connect classroom theory with real-world practice. Located in Delaware, Ohio, OWU’s 1,850 students represent 41 states and 45 countries. The university is featured in the book “Colleges That Change Lives,” listed on the 2013 President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll with Distinction, and included on the “best colleges” lists of U.S. News & World Report and The Princeton Review. Learn more at www.owu.edu.

Jan W. Baran ’70. (Photo courtesy of Wiley Rein LLP)

DELAWARE, Ohio – Ohio Wesleyan University today announced the receipt of a significant gift to create an endowed fund to support students planning to pursue post-graduate fellowships after earning their OWU diplomas.

The gift comes from Washington, D.C., lawyer Jan W. Baran, a 1970 OWU graduate, and his wife, Kathryn K. Baran. Income from the new endowment will be used to award grants to honors students identified as having a high probability of success in their efforts to earn post-graduate fellowships.

“Historically, more than 50 percent of Ohio Wesleyan graduates pursue advanced degrees – including master’s degrees, doctoral degrees, and law degrees – within five years of their OWU commencement,” said President Rock Jones, Ph.D. “The Jan W. Baran ’70 and Kathryn K. Baran Endowed Fund for Encouragement of Post-Graduate Fellowships is intended to help students with their higher-education aspirations. We are grateful to Jan and Kathryn for their vision in endowing this fund.”

To apply for Baran funding, eligible Ohio Wesleyan students will propose a travel-learning opportunity or individual experience that connects theory to practice. Such opportunities must enhance their OWU experience and strengthen their candidacy for post­graduate fellowships.

Grant recipients will be recognized as Baran Fellows, Jones said. By accepting endowment support, Baran Fellows make a good faith commitment to complete an application for a post-graduate fellowship. Because Ohio Wesleyan students majoring in the natural sciences already have similar opportunities provided by the university’s Summer Science Research Program, only students outside of the natural sciences will be eligible to become Baran Fellows.

“Ohio Wesleyan provided the foundation that launched me into law school and qualified me for a generous scholarship,” Jan Baran said. “With this gift, Kathryn and I hope to promote similar opportunities for current and future OWU students.”

At Ohio Wesleyan, Jan Baran majored in English, played varsity men’s lacrosse, and was elected president of the student body. He later earned his law degree from Nashville-based Vanderbilt University as a Patrick Wilson Scholar in Law. He is a senior partner at Wiley Rein LLP, where he heads the Election Law and Government Ethics group. Kathryn Baran, also an attorney, works in the Washington office of New York-based Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP. The Barans have four adult children and reside in Virginia.

Read more about Ohio Wesleyan’s curriculum. Learn about giving to the university.

Founded in 1842, Ohio Wesleyan University is one of the nation’s premier small, private universities. Ohio Wesleyan offers more than 90 undergraduate majors, sequences, and courses of study, and 23 NCAA Division III varsity sports. OWU combines an internationally focused curriculum with off-campus learning and leadership opportunities that connect classroom theory with real-world practice. Located in Delaware, Ohio, OWU’s 1,850 students represent 41 states and 45 countries. The university is featured in the book “Colleges That Change Lives,” listed on the 2013 President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll with Distinction, and included on the “best colleges” lists of U.S. News & World Report and The Princeton Review. Learn more at www.owu.edu.

Through May 12 – “Marks Made,” graduating senior art exhibition, in the Richard M. Ross Art Museum, 60 S. Sandusky St., Delaware. The museum is open Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Thursday from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.; and Sunday from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. The museum is handicap-accessible and admission is always free. Call (740) 368-3606 for more information.

Through Sept. 21 – “Homecoming,” prints by Sherry Smith Bell, OWU Class of 1963, in Mowry Alumni Center, 16 Rowland Ave., Delaware. Gallery hours are 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. weekdays. An artist’s reception will be held from 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. May 18 at the alumni center.

4 p.m. May 1 – OWU Baseball versus Muskingum, at Littick Field, 199 S. Henry St., Delaware. Learn more at BattlingBishops.com.

1 p.m. May 2 – OWU Baseball versus Capital, at Littick Field, 199 S. Henry St., Delaware. Learn more at BattlingBishops.com.

8 p.m. May 3, 10, 17, 24, and 31 – Evening programs at Ohio Wesleyan’s Perkins Observatory, 3199 Columbus Pike (U.S. 23), Delaware. Content varies based on sky conditions, but may include a planetarium show, observatory tours, and star gazing with the 32-inch Schottland Telescope. Advance tickets are $8 for adults, and $6 for children and senior citizens. Reserve tickets by calling (740) 363-1257.

May 4-May 5 – OWU Men’s and Women’s Golf hosts the NCAC Invitational, at Oakhaven Golf Club, 2871 Columbus Pike (U.S. 23), north of Delaware. Learn more at BattlingBishops.com.

1 p.m. May 12 – 169^th Annual Commencement Ceremony, in Phillips Glen, outside of Phillips Hall, 50 S. Henry St., Delaware. Ohio Wesleyan alumnus and Internet technology pioneer George H. Conrades, Class of 1961, will deliver the keynote address. The event also will be streamed live online at StreamOWU.

May 13-May 14 – OWU Men’s and Women’s Track & Field hosts the Ron Althoff Invitational, at George Gauthier Track, 45 S. Henry St., Delaware. Learn more at BattlingBishops.com.

May 17-July 3 – “Unexpected,” the Quilt Surface Design Symposium Invitational, an exhibition of fine art quilts by students and teachers of the Quilt Surface Design Symposium, at the Richard M. Ross Art Museum, 60 S. Sandusky St., Delaware. Summer hours for the museum are Sunday, Tuesday, and Wednesday from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.; and Thursday from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. The museum will be closed Monday, Friday, and Saturday, but groups are invited to call for special arrangements. The museum is handicap-accessible and admission is always free. Call (740) 368-3606 for more information.

May 27-Sept. 20 – Photographs by Jessi Walker, in Gallery 2001 in Beeghly Library, 43 Rowland Ave., Delaware. Gallery hours coincide with library hours.

Founded in 1842, Ohio Wesleyan University is one of the nation’s premier small, private universities. Ohio Wesleyan offers more than 90 undergraduate majors, sequences, and courses of study, and 23 NCAA Division III varsity sports. OWU combines an internationally focused curriculum with off-campus learning and leadership opportunities that connect classroom theory with real-world practice. Located in Delaware, Ohio, OWU’s 1,822 students represent 41 states and 45 countries. The university is featured in the book “Colleges That Change Lives,” listed on the 2013 President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll with Distinction, and included on the “best colleges” lists of U.S. News & World Report and The Princeton Review. Learn more at www.owu.edu.