Olympic sparks

The Olympic flame captured the attention of the world this winter in part because of embers sparked by UC. Amy Lukas, DAAP '95, helped design not only the "look" of the torch relay, but the entire games. Bill Kavanagh, DAAP '78, produced celebrations for both the relay and the games. And former Bearcat basketball star Kenyon Martin and other alumni carried torches in their hometowns.

Lukas was the design project manager for the organizing committee's "Look of the Games." Two and a half years ago, she and a team of 22 designers began developing Olympic logos, street and building banners, gateway towers, sports equipment, uniforms, mascots and even athlete imagery for 110 full-wrapped buses. "The list seems endless," she says.

In January 2001, Kavanagh, the owner of an L.A. production company, started working as manager of ceremonies in charge of special projects. First he produced major torch celebrations along its 65-day journey, including one on Dec. 4 for the flame's U.S. arrival in Atlanta with Muhammad Ali, a Christmas event in New York at Rockefeller Center and its final stop in Salt Lake City with Gladys Knight.

The bigger job was producing all the entertainment at various Olympic venues, including the location featuring NBC coverage for the "Today Show" and Jay Leno's "Tonight Show." "It's been an amazing experience, but I'm a titch exhausted," Kavanagh said by the eighth day.

As the games began, both Lukas and Kavanagh were also working on preparations for the Salt Lake 2002 Paralympics in March.

Among those fired up for the Winter Olympics were UC alumni torch bearers: The 6-foot-9 Kenyon Martin, now playing for the NBA's New Jersey Nets, finished the final leg of the Cincinnati relay by lighting the ceremonial Olympic cauldron in Paul Brown Stadium, and several days later, Clark Beck carried the torch through downtown Dayton. Faculty members Barbara Watts, associate dean of the College of Law, and Dr. Susan Schneider, assistant professor of clinical opthalmology, also were torch bearers.

Cancer-free

Although the phrase "cancer-free" always rings miraculous, it was even more so for Eugene Conrad. Late in 2000, he arrived at University Hospital's Barrett Cancer Center to become the second person in the world (and the first in this hemisphere) to receive a new treatment for his rare form of cancer, one that lodged a tumor between two vertebrae in his neck.

Untreated, the chordoma tumor easily could have damaged the spinal nerve, leaving him paraplegic or worse. Furthermore, the odds of it recurring after treatment were 50 percent.

After UC neurosurgery professor Harry Van Loveren removed pieces of deteriorated vertebrae, Conrad received a new treatment called stereotactic Intensity Modulated Radio Therapy. Five days a week for eight weeks, he traveled from Dayton, Ohio, to receive a 20-minute blast of concentrated radiation, computer-programmed to conform to the exact shape of the tumor. He then rested for four hours before receiving another dose of radiation.

Seventy treatments later, he was pronounced cancer-free. In March he celebrated the first anniversary of his last treatment.

University colleges finish first

For the third straight year, the interior design program in the College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning is No. 1 in the nation in rankings by the DesignIntelligence magazine and Almanac of Architecture & Design. Based on a survey of employers from architecture and design firms across the country, results also placed the UC architecture program No. 3 in the United States.

Another UC college with bragging rights is the College of Law. For the ninth consecutive year, its graduates are tops in passing the Ohio Bar Exam. They scored higher in 2001 than graduates of any other law school in the state, both in first-time test takers and overall scores.

A Web site based on a project by Howard Tolley, UC professor of political science, has been named the year's best political science Web site. Teaching Human Rights Online offers faculty free online exercises and interactive study guides in area studies, history, international relations, philosophy, political science and women's studies. Selection was by the Information Technology and Politics Section of the American Political Science Association.

Current UC rankings

Outside funding for research reaches new high

UC research hit a new high in outside funding in the 2000 fiscal year, a record $230 million. The 19 percent increase -- much of it federal dollars to support medical research -- moved UC up in two different national rankings of college and university research efforts.

The National Science Foundation ranks UC 47th overall in federally financed research expenditures, three points higher than last year's 50th place. When compared with other public universities in the U.S., UC moved from 28th to 26th place.

Among recently funded medical studies:

• A $6 million, five-year award from the National Institutes of Health to pathology and laboratory medicine professor Patrick Tso's investigation of the genetics behind diabetes.
• A large-scale investigation of three trial medications for more effective treatment of substance abuse. About $22 million was awarded to UC by the National Institute on Drug Abuse.
• A $1 million grant to UC's department of neurology, one of only four institutions in the U.S. chosen to develop a state-wide stroke registry model.
• An investigation of the impact of spirituality on quality of life in patients with HIV/AIDS, through a $1.5 million grant from the National Institutes of Health.

Centers blossom

Lead exposure, tobacco smoke and indoor allergens are some of the home-based hazards UC's Department of Environmental Health wants to help preschoolers avoid. In cooperation with Children's Hospital, the university is opening a Children's Environmental Health Center for research and education activities, supported by a five-year $5 million federal grant. Several other new UC centers also offer community services:

• The Center for Prevention Studies opened at the College of Education to provide teachers with training and resource materials for hundreds of antiviolence and drug-free-school programs.
• The Bilingual Preschool Development Center opened at the Hearing, Speech & Deaf Center of Greater Cincinnati, in partnership with the College of Education, to help Hispanic children build skills in both English and Spanish.
• The Bahmann Center for Assistive Devices opened at the College of Allied Health Sciences to help individuals with hearing impairments sample a variety of listening and telecommunication devices in a simulated home environment.
• The Center for Information Technology and Community Development opened at the College of Applied Science where students in grades K-12 are working with college students on IT projects that will improve their communities.

Comet chaser

Geologist Terry Acomb, RWC '89, A&S '93, MS (A&S) '97, captured this shot, which made the cover of Time magazine in October 2001, when he photographed Hale-Bopp while hiking near Aneth, Utah. Named for its discoverers Alan Hale and Thomas Bopp, the comet passed through the earth's inner solar system in 1997 and was particularly brilliant for several weeks in March and April.

UC Corvette?

The Corvette of the future is taking shape in the College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning, where industrial design students spent the winter quarter suggesting concepts for the next-generation Corvette in a studio co-sponsored by General Motors and Daimler-Chrysler. Both companies took turns advising the students, who had passed a rigorous application process and met weekly with GM representatives through videoconferences.

The UC-GM partnership also extends to the co-op program, in which senior Kelly Smith spent a year and a half in Detroit working with 15 of the world's brightest students to design, build and present new vehicle concepts to GM executives. Teamed with a sculpture student and an engineering student to design a small Chevy SUV for the youth market, Smith was thrilled to offer a female perspective, which she says is "missing in most of the vehicles on the road today."

"What's this all about?"

So drama student Katie Stuckey [right, bottom photo] seems to ask at the College-Conservatory of Music's Moveable Feast, a name that caused many people to ask the same question. The Feast was a four-hour fund-raiser featuring food for grazing, backstage tours and continuous entertainment on six stages showcasing students, including 7-year-old Stephanie Zyzak [middle], a violinist from the Starling Preparatory String Project, and Anna Patsfall [top] on pointe. Stuckey's quizzical look accompanied a confession that multiple testing had conclusively documented her lack of personality (a monologue by Jane Martin). After a series of monologues, drama student Thomas Korbee Jr. [at piano] left the audience awe-struck when he demonstrated his remarkable abilities in piano, vocals, composition and lyrics with a piece from his new musical. Shown with him are drama colleagues, left to right, Eric Solomon, Michael Frieman, Eric Kilpatrick, Susan Thompson and Maria Kelly.

Freshmen 'movin' on up'

A handful of UC freshmen had a quieter, more sophisticated dorm experience in the fall quarter. When dorms reached capacity, 15 students were put up in a nearby hotel. The displaced crowd wasn't left entirely to their own devices, however, as UC installed a resident adviser, rented space for a study hall and rerouted the UC shuttle to make the hotel a regular stop.

A large freshman class forced the conversion of residence hall lounges into dorm rooms for 100 students. The rest were accommodated with hotel rooms. Things should be far less crowded this fall with the opening of the Jefferson Residence Halls, three low-rise apartment-style dorms that will house 587 students. UC's long-range housing plan is to provide 1,200 new beds over the next few years.

State funding cut by $121 million

As Ohio lawmakers continued cuts to higher education funding during the fiscal year, state universities have approved record tuition increases to partially offset their losses. Last summer, nine of Ohio's four-year universities raised fall tuition by more than 7 percent in response to a $121 million budget cut. Once additional reductions occurred during the school year, UC and several other schools implemented rare mid-year tuition increases.

UC's first mid-year increase since 1982, the additional 3 percent tuition on each of the winter and spring quarters covered only 9 percent of the university's $11 million shortfall. The remaining 91 percent is being absorbed through budget cuts, a hiring freeze, strict limits on new expenditures and refinancing debt.

This fall, tuition will rise another 9.5 percent on the main campus, bringing in-state tuition to $6,936 a year. Although fall tuition is normally set in June, the early announcement was designed to give students a chance to better prepare for the increase.

UC trustees held the tuition increase at UC's two-year colleges to 6 percent and refrained from implementing a new state-authorized procedure that permits placing a surcharge on new students. Ohio State University, for instance, chose that option, levying a 19-percent tuition increase for incoming freshmen.

Urban Outfitters' offerings quite eclectic

Until now, no store in the UC area had Dr. Seuss storybooks and "50 of the Finest Drinking Games" on the same bookshelf. Furthermore, no store's merchandise was quite so eclectic as to include a "cheaters" ink pen, featuring a retractable piece of hidden paper; Jesus action figures; and bubble wands complete with solution for blowing bubbles that don't pop as soon as they land.

But now campus has Urban Outfitters. Originally known in London, New York and L.A. for scruffy, unisex, designer street wear, the company now offers merchandise ranging from butterfly chairs to denim dresses accented with gathered tulle. And it all can be found in a former Presbyterian church, rehabbed with a UC loan, at the corner of Calhoun and Ohio streets.

Having a store with national drawing power and saving the historic building reflect key components of the Clifton Heights Community Urban Renewal Plan, of which the university is a partner. Late this summer, the plan calls for Calhoun businesses to break ground on a $100 million mixed-use development project.

Congratulations

• To Richard Newrock, newly appointed dean of the College of Applied Sciences. Newrock has been serving as interim dean and previously had headed the physics department at the College of Arts and Sciences.
• To Daniel Grafner, recently appointed vice president of development and executive director of the UC Foundation. Grafner previously worked as associate to the dean of Ohio State University's business college.
• To Elizabeth King, newly appointed dean of the College of Allied Health Sciences. Beginning June 1, King, who holds a similar position at Eastern Michigan University, will assume the post now filled by Andrea Lindell, dean of the College of Nursing.
• To UC law professor Jack Chin, named one of 25 most notable Asians in America for 2001 by aMagazine. Chin was selected for his work to repeal anti-Asian Alien Land Laws that remain on the books in four states.
• To H.C. Buck Niehoff, JD '72, UC's newest member of the board of trustees. Niehoff and his wife, Patti, founded and sponsor UC's "Evening with a Great Teacher" community outreach series.
• To George Schaefer, recently elected chairman of the UC board of trustees.

"He's alive!"

And who said art can't be practical. Inspired by kitchen appliances, students in David Smith's architecture studio created life-sized robotic figures that simulated body movement. The catch? The robot's design must have appeared as if it were "Frankensteined" together from the parts of a refrigerator, stove or dishwasher. Bringing the mechanical drawings to life are, from the left, Amanda Thompson, Mike Doyle, Evey Bauerle and Ben Savoca.

UC in Playboy

A rather coincidental reunion of UC students occurred on the pages of the October 2001 issue of Playboy magazine. UC kicker Jonathan Ruffin was selected to Playboy's All-America team and was featured in the magazine's sports section. The same issue featured UC Clermont sophomore Stephanie Heinrich as Playmate of the month.

Ruffin gained national attention in 2000 when he was awarded the Lou Groza award, the highest honor for college place-kicking. Heinrich first shared the Playboy spotlight in 2000 when she and a third UC student, Mandy Fisher, A&S '00, appeared as "Girls of Conference USA."

CCM alumni everywhere -- TV, pop music, Olympics

College-Conservatory of Music alumni are making their mark in television, pop music and even the Olympics.

• Dan Miller, current CCM electronic media student, is a member of O-Town, the pop music group created on-the-spot by ABC's "Making the Band" last year. Though his goal is to become a singer/record producer, he's enjoying the boy-band hype. Their single "All or Nothing" was voted No. 1 on MTV's "Total Request Live" last April, ranked No. 3 on Billboard's Hot 100 in July and made it to No. 3 on Casey Kasum's "American Top 40."
• Diana Maria Riva (Uhlenbrock), CCM '91, MFA '95, has a starring role as Kim Delaney's assistant Patricia in ABC's law drama "Philly."
• Ray Cooper (Thornton), MFA '92, has a recurring role on the new CBS law drama "The Guardian."
• Randy Harrison, BFA '00, plays Justin, a high school senior, in Showtime's "Queer As Folk." He also appears in "Bang, Bang, You're Dead," a made-for-TV movie.
• Eydie Faye (Cohen), CCM '99, writer and actor, has sold a pilot to ABC/Touchstone. The LA Weekly named her play, "The Pages of My Diary I'd Rather Not Read," the year's best-written one-act play. She got rave reviews for writing and acting when the play ran in Los Angeles.
• Bryan Schulte, BFA '98, is in St. Louis working as technical director, scenic designer and free-lancer, "TDing everything from million-dollar-budget industrials to designing the Budweiser Bar for the 2002 Winter Olympics."
• Matt Bogart, CCM '94, landed the role of Paul in the Kennedy Center's summer production of "Company."
• Richard Oberacker, CCM '93, is associate conductor of the first national tour of "The Lion King," which began in Denver in April.
• Alton White is Mufasa in the same "The Lion King" tour and appears in his first national commercial, a Tylenol ad that initially aired during the Olympics and shows White as the principal EMT.
• David Kreppel, CCM '92, is associate conductor of the first "Mama Mia" national tour, which will play in Cincinnati in May.

Famous UC alumni