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uA Newsletter for Alumni and Friends of Buchtel College of Arts and Sciences

BUCHTEL COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES

I M PA C TF A L L 2 0 1 1

BCAS I M P A C T – F A L L 2 0 1 1

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BCAS I M P A C TF A L L 2 0 1 1

Published by Buchtel College of Arts and SciencesThe University of Akron

Chand Midha is a Fellow of the American

Statistical Association and an elected member

of the International Statistical Institute. A former

chair of the Department of Statistics and faculty

member since 1983, Midha also serves the

University as the associate provost for academic

and financial affairs.

D E A N ’ S M E S S A G E

Africa; family dynamics; the intersection of gender and power on fertility decision making; and the experiences of Africans and other black immigrants within the U.S. His paper, “Transformations in the African Family: A Note on Migration, HIV/AIDS and Family Poverty Alleviation Efforts in Sub-Saharan Africa,” was one of 12 submitted for the meeting. In addition, he also served as a moderator for a session on a regional overview of anti-poverty policies on families in Africa, Latin America and Asia.

Baffour Takyi, professor of sociology, participated in a United Nations Expert Group Meeting on the structure of families over the summer at the U.N. headquarters in New York.

Sociology professor participates in U.N. group meeting

Takyi joined 12 other experts from across the globe and 13 representatives from international organizations, U.N. offices, agencies and civil society organizations for the meeting. The recommendations and papers stemming from the meeting will be used in the 2011 Report of the Secretary- General, “The Preparations for and Observance of the 20th Anniversary of the International Year of the Family.” Takyi’s research focuses on areas such as demographic and health outcomes in

During the week of Oct. 10, the University will celebrate China Week, an opportunity for students, faculty, staff and the community to explore China’s culture, politics, economics and history. Supporting China Week programming are six faculty members from the Buchtel College of Arts and Sciences.

Michael Sheng, professor and chair of the Department of History, will deliver an evening keynote: “China and the U.S.: Past, Present and Future.” Faculty leading other China Week programs include Wei Zheng and Jana Russ, Department of English; Gang Zhao, Department of History; Bill Lyons, Confucius Institute; and Juan Xi, Department of Sociology.

For a full schedule of China Week activities, visit www.uakron.edu/ci.

Faculty lend expertise to China Week 2011

Baffour Takyi

For more information, contact:

The University of AkronBuchtel College of Arts and Sciences Dean’s OfficeAkron, OH 44325-1901

Phone: 330-972-7880Fax: 330-972-7222

www.uakron.edu/bcas

This has proven to be an eventful year for the college. Last November, when I accepted the position of dean, I made the commitment that our college would continue to serve as a University leader by enhancing opportunities for campus and civic engagement, supporting a globalized curriculum and increasing interdisciplinary research.

This commitment has proven all the more meaningful with the significant changes we are undergoing. Early this year, Provost Mike Sherman suggested the convergence of the Buchtel College of Arts and Sciences with the College of Creative and Professional Arts, including the schools of Art; Communication; Music; and Dance, Theatre, and Arts Administration.

The faculties of both colleges and the UA Board of Trustees approved the convergence this past spring. The faculties and staff of both colleges have been integral in the process and are working diligently with the goal of being one college by fall 2012. Without their support, none of this would be possible.

Our commitment to providing a world-class education – along with the revisioning of other key programs, colleges and administrative units on campus – are part of UA’s new 10-year strategic plan. Developed collaboratively with input from throughout our campus and community, Vision 2020: The New Gold Standard places the highest premium on student success by fostering measurable excellence, global relevance, fiscal integrity and community engagement.

Together, we are committed to providing high-quality learning experiences that prepare our students to succeed professionally and to make positive and lasting contributions to our region and the world.

Thank you for your support of the Buchtel College of Arts and Sciences.

Sincerely,

Chand Midha,Dean

Welcome to the inaugural issue of Impact, a newsletter for

alumni and friends of the Buchtel College of Arts and Sciences at The University of Akron.

BCAS I M P A C T – F A L L 2 0 1 1

Ensuring the next generation of doctorsAnnetta Karam, an honorary alumna of the University, is making a difference in the lives of students through the Dr. Harvey A. and Annetta Karam Endowed Scholarship for B.S./M.D. students.

Mrs. Annetta Karam

Dean’s office appointments The Buchtel College of Arts and Sciences is the largest degree-granting college at UA. To best ensure student and academic program goals are met at the undergraduate and graduate levels, two new positions have been created:

Joseph Wilder, professor of theoretical and applied mathematics, has joined the Dean’s Office as associate dean for graduate studies and research. Among his many new duties, Wilder will oversee graduate education and review research proposals, assist in advancing interdisciplinary research and graduate programs, and serve as the liaison to external research institutions.

Linda Subich, professor of psychology, joins us as associate dean for undergraduate studies. Subich will support numerous undergraduate initiatives, including renewing the General Education Program, expanding opportunities for undergraduate research, enhancing retention and graduation – especially for minority students and women in STEM, to facilitate students’ timely degree progress and to improve the overall UA experience. n

» NSF FELLOWSHIP TO SUPPORT CORAL RESEARCH Kimmarree Menendez Horvath, a spring 2011 B.S. graduate in geology, received a

National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship. A 2009 recipient of a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Scholarship, Horvath spent 10 weeks with NOAA researchers studying the effects of ocean acidification on coral reef environments. Her work led her to pursue the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship, with which she will further study ocean acidification on coral reefs

in a natural setting, enabling her to quantitatively decide the effect of CO2 on the corals.

» CREATIVE WRITING HONOREDGraduate students Joel Lee and Nick Sturm have been recognized for their excellence in creative writing by The Association of Writers & Writing Programs (AWP) through the Intro Journals Project. This literary competition discovers and publishes the best new works by students currently enrolled in the programs of AWP. Lee was honored for his nonfiction piece “Self: A Musical.” Sturm was recognized for his work of poetry, “Quantum Kerfuffle.”

Both are in the Master of Fine Arts program at UA, which in turn is part of the Northeast Ohio Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing Program. The NEOMFA is a multidisciplinary, interdepartmental and inter-institutional program that draws its faculty from depart-ments at UA as well as Youngstown State, Cleveland State and Kent State universities.

Chemistry labs undergoing renovation The Department of Chemistry is enhancing two advanced chemistry teaching labs, thanks to transformational gifts from OMNOVA Solutions Foundation and the Lubrizol Foundation. Construction on the OMNOVA Solutions Foundation lab was completed over the summer, with construction on the Lubrizol Foundation lab to be completed next summer.

The new lab space will accommodate the University’s expanding chemistry department, which has seen increasing student enrollment in recent years and presently serves more than 200 undergraduate chemistry majors, 60 graduate students and 5,000-plus students from various disciplines. n

» FELLOWSHIP FUNDS HYPERTENSION STUDYJeremy Prokop, an integrated biosciences Ph.D. student at The University of Akron, has been

awarded a two-year predoctoral fellowship by the Great Rivers Affiliate of the American Heart Association. Prokop, a 2010-2011 Choose Ohio First Bio-informatics Scholarship recipient, earned a B.S. in Biology at the University in 2008. The focus of Prokop’s fellowship is taking a classic animal model, the spontaneously

hypertensive rat, and seeing if the male specific protein identified to elevate blood pressure translates into human blood pressure regulation.

» STUDENT ENTREPRENEURS HAVE WINNING IDEA Al Neighorn, a public affairs doctoral student and vice president of strategy and business development for Biena Tech, was an integral part of an award-winning performance. Biena Tech, a UA-based technology company, won the 2011 LaunchTownTM entrepreneurship competition. Established in 2006, LaunchTownTM Entrepreneurship Awards is a best-ideas competition based on students’ presentations of business plans for innovative startup companies. Biena Tech received a $10,000 prize by the Burton D. Morgan Foundation and $20,000 in professional services through the Akron Global Business Accelerator. Biena Tech is collaborating with The University of Akron Research Foundation on developing a fuel cell prototype.

left to right: Thomas Slocum, Sally Slocum and Dennis Gartman

Alumnus honors former professor with scholarship

Dennis Gartman, ‘72 (B.A. in English), recently made a gift to the Buchtel College of Arts and Sciences in honor of Dr. Sally K. Slocum, an emeriti associate professor of English. The Dr. Sally K. Slocum Endowed Scholarship will support liberal arts majors in the college. Gartman strongly advocates liberal arts degrees, and encourages students to “read more literature and study psychology and philosophy – all prepare you to deal with the complexity of human nature.”

Gartman attributes much of his success to the influence Slocum had on him during his years at UA. After completing graduate work at North Carolina State University, he worked as an economist and financial analyst in Charlotte, Chicago and Virginia. In 1987, he began producing The Gartman Letter, a daily commentary on the global capital markets. He has lectured on capital market creation around the world, and appears often on CNBC, BCC-TV and Bloomberg television.

As a result of Gartman establishing the scholarship, a former colleague of Slocum, Dr. Dale K. Doepke, designated an estate gift to the fund. n

OMNOVA Solutions Foundation Lab: before

after

S T U D E N T S P O T L I G H T :

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Her late husband, Dr. Harvey Karam, was a respected physician who served as chief of family practice at Akron General Medical Center for many years. Dr. Karam graduated with a Bachelor of Science from The University of Akron in 1927. He then received his medical degree from Rush Medical College at The University of Chicago. Karam returned to Akron, where he practiced family medicine for 57 years, retiring in 1991.

The couple shared a deep love for the Akron community. Throughout their lives, they looked for ways to make a difference in other people’s lives. It was after Karam’s death in 1996 that the endowed scholarship was established. It was Annetta Karam’s wish to thank the University for the fine education her husband received at The University of Akron by establishing this endowed fund.

Beginning with the 2011-2012 academic year, Mrs. Karam’s generosity is helping UA B.S./M.D. students achieve their dreams of careers in medicine. Incoming freshmen Preston Massey, a Louisville High School graduate, and Priya Midha, a Revere High School graduate, are the first recipients of the endowed scholarship.

Excited about the selection of Massey and Midha as the inaugural scholarship, Mrs. Karam said, “The University of Akron helped make my dream of helping students through a scholarship come true. Education is very important, especially to someone who can’t afford it. The scholarship gives me the opportunity to help students, while helping make my life, and the memory of Harvey, more meaningful.” n

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Joseph Wilder Linda Subich

UA students and collaborators win 2011 LaunchTown Entrepreneurship Award, from left, Maurice Wadley, Hendrik Heinz, Kshitij C Jha, Balaka Barkakaty, Chaitanya Pratiwada and back, Al Neighorn.

BCAS I M P A C T – F A L L 2 0 1 1

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NE W H IR E S» JANUARY 2011

Kelly Daw, director, marketing and communications BCAS Dean’s Office

Sandra Ganz, fiscal administrator BCAS Dean’s Office

Wei Zhang, assistant professor Department of English

» FEBRUARY 2011Ashley Rini, academic adviser II BCAS Dean’s Office

» AUGUST 2011Hazel A. Barton, assistant professor Department of Biology

Sujay Datta, associate professor Department of Statistics

Adrianne M. Frech, assistant professor Department of Sociology

Brittany M. Garner, academic adviser II BCAS Dean’s Office

Anne C. Hanson, academic adviser II BCAS Dean’s Office

Sailaja Paruchuri, Foght professor Department of Chemistry

Annalisa V. Piccorelli, assistant professor Department of Statistics

» TENUREDaniel J. Coffey, associate professor Political Science

Janet Klein, associate professor History

Joseph P. LiVecchi, associate professor Philosophy

Zachery R. Williams, associate professor History

» PROFESSORDavid Brian Cohen, Political Science

Julie A. Drew, English

Timothy Matney, Anthropology and Classical Studies

William Thelin, English

Christopher J. Ziegler, Chemistry

» A SSOCIATE PROFESSORDaniel J. Coffey, Political Science

Sasa Dordevic, Physics

Janet Klein, History

Joseph P. LiVecchi, Philosophy

Matthew D. Shawkey, Biology

Zachery R. Williams, History

» SENIOR COLLEGE LEC TURER John F. Beltz, Geology and Environmental Science

Jane Falk, English

Deborah P. King, Geography and Planning

Jay L. Mutter III, Economics

Lance D. Nelson, Mathematics

Deborah A. Okonieski, Mathematics

Elizabeth Rhoades, English

Susan M. Young, Mathematics

» A SSOCIATE COLLEGE LEC TURER Angela Bilia, English

Jennifer G. Hebert, English

Brad L. Justice, Mathematics

Rachel Zimmer Schneider, Sociology

» SENIOR INSTRUC TOR

William S. Clary, Mathematics

Rosemarie T. Eichler, History

John N. Reeves, Anthropology and Classical Studies

» A SSOCIATE INSTRUC TORMark M. Fridline, Statistics

Thomas Swinscoe, ELI, English

Faculty promoted and tenured» RET IREMENTS

Josefina de los Reyes, Statistics

Debra L. Deane, English Language Institute

Susan I. Hardin, Psychology

Robert F. Jeantet, Modern Languages

Randell H. King, Economics

Edward C. Lim, Mathematics

» IN MEMORIAM

Michael Anthony Reagan, part-time faculty member in the Department of Physics, passed away April 22, 2011. Reagan earned two master’s degrees from UA, the first in physics in 2003 and the second in polymer engineering in 2009. A well-respected instructor, Reagan taught Elementary Classical Physics and astronomy courses.

Timothy S. Margush, associate professor emeritus in the Department of Computer Science, passed away in March of 2011. For 30 years, Margush taught courses in mathematics and computer science.

“Buckeye Battleground: Ohio, Campaigns, and Elections in the Twenty-First Century,” by Bliss Institute Professors Daniel Coffey, John Green, David Cohen and Stephen Brooks, is a comprehensive compendium of information on national elections in the context of Ohio politics.

Learn more about “Buckeye Battleground” and the many other books published each year by BCAS faculty at http://www.uakron.edu/bcas/research.

David Giffels is a six-time Pulitzer Prize nominee and longtime columnist for the Akron Beacon Journal. Giffels, an associate professor of English, teaches creative nonfiction writing workshops and literature courses, and serves on the faculty of the Northeast Ohio Master of Fine Arts program in creative writing.

His 2008 memoir, “All the Way Home: Building a Family in a Falling Down House,” was selected as a Choose to Read Ohio title for 2011.

Shawn Rohlin, assistant professor of economics and a 2009 graduate from Syracuse University with a Ph.D. in economics, studies how government policies impact local economic factors.

Recently, Rohlin was tapped to participate in the 2011 Lincoln Institute Junior Scholars Program in Boston, Mass. The program connects recent doctoral graduates with senior economists in an intensive two-day program.

Kathy Feltey, associate professor of sociology and interim director of the Women’s Studies Program, focuses her research on women’s experiences in poverty, and with homelessness and violence. Her recently published book, “Cinematic Sociology,” explores the way life is presented in popular film.

In 2011, the North Central Sociological Association honored Feltey with the Aida Tomeh Distinguished Service Award for her outstanding service to the association.

Ronald Levant, a foremost authority on the psychology of men and masculinity, conducts research on a range of areas, including men’s gender role strain, emotional expression, and mental and physical health.

A former president of the American Psychological Association, Levant was selected by the American Psychological Association Board of Professional Affairs to receive the prestigious 2010 Award for Distinguished Professional Contributions to Applied Research.

Kathy Feltey David Giffels

Ronald Levant Shawn Rohlin

Sailaja Paruchuri joined the Department of

Chemistry as the James L. and Martha J. Foght

Professor. The Foght Endowed Professorship

aims to enhance interactions among research

groups in both the Department of Chemistry

and the College of Polymer Science and

Polymer Engineering. Paruchuri, a 2004 Ph.D.

graduate of medicine at Lund University in

Sweden, comes from the Cleveland Clinic,

where she served as a research associate in the

Department of Pathology. At UA, Paruchuri will

continue her work on a National Institutes of

Health-funded grant: Cysteinyl leukotriene

signaling in proliferation, cytokine production

and PGD2 generation in human mast cells.

F A C U L T Y S P O T L I G H T :

N E W H I R E S S P O T L I G H T :

Family, friends and colleagues came together on March 18, 2011, to dedicate a bench at the entrance of the College of Arts and Sciences building in memory of the former dean of the Graduate School and professor emeritus of geography and planning, Dr. Lathardus Goggins.

Pictured are Goggins’ widow,

Dr. Ellen Goggins, grandchildren

and great grandchildren.

4

Buchtel College of Arts and Sciences

Akron, OH 44325-1901

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Economics graduate Marcus Phelps served as a student responder for the spring 2011 graduation ceremony. Phelps earned his B.A. in Economics, magna cum laude, with Spanish as a minor, to help him prepare for a career in public service.

B.S./M.D. and Honors College graduate Sonia Midha served as student responder for the summer 2011 graduation ceremony. Midha earned her B.S. in Natural Sciences, magna cum laude. She is now working toward her M.D. at Northeast Ohio Medical University (NEOMED).

The University of Akron is an Equal Education and Employment Institution © 2011 by The University of Akron / 511-AS-11

NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION

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