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September 1999
1. UC opens landmark building by internationally acclaimed Frank Gehry
2. New life for old suburbs: a real-estate trend in the new millennium promises new life
for first-ring suburbs built post-World War II
A. Character is key
B. Aging architecture more appreciated
C. Buildings better for the disabled
D. Crowding traffic patterns favor old suburbs
E. Some hurdles remain for old suburbs
3. Money. By that yardstick, cooperative education is a solid-green success. But
cooperative education, founded at UC in 1906, is radically shifting and reshaping for the
new century.
A. Only the strong schools survive and diversify
B. "Pure" co-op integrated into the curriculum
C. The pretenders are moving on
D. A mix of employers join the co-op fold
1. UC OPENS LANDMARK BUILDING
UC Opens Landmark Building by Pritzker Prize-winning architect
The newest link in UC's masterful campus plan opens at 12:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 23:
the Frank Gehry-designed Vontz Center for Molecular Studies. Built on the corner of
Martin Luther King Drive and Eden Ave., Gehry's sculptural Vontz Center provides
training and conference space as well as labs and offices dedicated to cancer and
neuroscience research. It also serves as the new gateway to UC's Medical Center
campus. The Gehry-designed Vontz Center is just the latest architectural jewel to be
completed at UC. Already in place are the Peter Eisenman-designed addition to the
College of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning; and the Michael Graves-designed
Engineering Research Center; the David Childs-designed Edwards Center. Still to come
is the Henry Cobb-designed College-Conservatory of Music to open in December. All
are part of UC's adventurous master plan set in motion in 1989 in order to transform an
architectural field trip of an urban campus into an integrated whole studded with
masterpieces. Publications like The New York Times, USA
Today and The Washington Post have taken notice of the plan,
variously described as giving us something "that we can look at, discuss, love..." and an
"experiment...worth watching."
For more information, contacts:
Sandy Prell
Assistant Senior Vice President
UC Medical Center
513-558-4553
http://vontz.uc.edu
public.relations@uc.edu
Greg Hand
Assistant Vice President, Public Relations
UC Spokesman
513-556-1822
greg.hand@uc.edu
2. NEW LIFE FOR OLD SUBURBS
This old house will have new value in the new millennium. UC faculty predict
that the next-generation trend in real estate is a return to and regeneration of the
earliest, post-World War II suburban rings that sometimes fell into disrepair and neglectas later suburbs supplanted them.
A. CHARACTER IS KEY
Udo Greinacher, associate professor of architecture: "The first- and second-ring suburbs
of our cities like Clifton in Cincinnati, Capitol Hill in Seattle, Diamond Heights in San
Francisco, Elmwood in Berkeley and parts of Roxbury in Boston will benefit as they
have something to contribute to both our professional and personal worlds. For the
growing numbers of home-based workers, nearby are the parks and post offices as well as
libraries and restaurants, all within easy walking distance and perfect tools for getting
down to business and battling isolation. Those early suburbs also have character,
something lost by their featureless offspring." contact: 513-556-1128
B. AGING ARCHITECTURE MORE APPRECIATED
Historic preservation specialist Bruce Goetzman, emeritus associate professor of
architecture: "People will be looking at preserving this architecture as part of history. It's
reflective of how people lived and built and may become more valued as time passes.
It's not unusual that when something is first built, it's not appreciated. That happened
with the Queen Anne style of the late 19th century. Very popular with the people, but
reviled by critics. Now, it's appreciated. It won't hurt if Congress eventually passes an
expected homeowner's tax credit for historic property that would give investment tax
credits for any improvements to property designated as historic...and any property older
than 50 years is eligible. That would really help older suburbs like Walnut Hills or
Clifton (in Cincinnati)." contact: 513-281-7244
C. BUILDINGS BETTER FOR THE DISABLED
Wolfgang Preiser, professor of architecture, "Ninety-nine percent of housing is not
accessible [for the disabled/elderly]. These homes [of the inner-ring suburbs], especially
those that are one story, are easier to adapt for accessibility. You don't have a split-level
or sunken living room to deal with." contact: 513-556-6743
D. CROWDING TRAFFIC PATTERNS FAVOR OLD SUBURBS
Ohio Eminent Scholar David Gosling, international transportation researcher,
"Congestion- and time-wise, the inner-ring suburbs are more accessible. Roads in cities
across America are becoming more crowded. Today, traffic crawls. Traffic is worsening
lifestyles. It will get worse and worse and worse. People want simpler lifestyles and
inner-ring suburbs represent this. If it's a question of close in vs. a house 30 miles out,
it's no question, especially when the next major energy crisis hits." contact: 513-751-
7376
E. SOME HURDLES REMAIN FOR OLD SUBURBS
Zane Miller, professor of history and director of the Center for Neighborhood Studies at
UC, says that "welfare subsidies" to newer suburbs in the form of highway funding, home
mortgage deductions and cheap gas will need to be revised before the older suburbs can
fully reflower. "The early suburbs are caught somewhere between the desperately poor
inner-city and the flashy houses on the outer edges, getting little attention from policy
makers. Government needs to begin re-investing in this in-between ring of
neighborhoods and business districts." contact: 513-556-2142
3. COOPERATIVE EDUCATION: A SOLID-GREEN SUCCESS
Money. By that yardstick, cooperative education is a solid-green success:
translating into at least $1.5 billion for university students annually. That comes to $3
million per hour collectively earned by the country's co-op students. Prestige goes along
with that billion-dollar figure: 83 out of the top 100 companies on the Fortune 500 list
are co-op employers. Now, cooperative education, founded at UC in 1906, is
dramatically shifting and reshaping for the 21st century. Once again, money or rather
the lack of it in the form of once-generous government subsidies is spurring this
change. Most hard-core co-op institutions see the shake down as a long-needed,
healthful purge.
Starting in the 1960s, abundant federal grants for co-op led many schools to rename a
variety of internship or other short-term efforts as co-op. Now that the federal funds are
no longer available, the number of schools offering co-op has slimmed to 600 (or fewer)
from a peak of about 1,200 in the early 1990s. To ensure that accountability and quality
is maintained despite any future government funding which might inflate interest in the
practice, the country's co-op leaders, including UC, recently founded the Accreditation
Council for Cooperative Education. It will serve the country's 250,000 (unduplicated)
students who participate in co-op annually by periodically reviewing the quality of
institutional co-op programs.
A. ONLY THE STRONG SCHOOLS SURVIVE AND DIVERSIFY
Dawn Petit, executive director, Cooperative Education Association, Inc.: "The peak in
co-op came just before the Title VIII disappeared, and schools started to seriously
downsize or merge their programs. At our peak, 1,200 schools were placing 250,000
annually at 50,000 work sites. Now, as of the 1998 census, 600 verified co-op schools
placed 252,000 students at 110,000 work sites. The strong programs survived...and
tapped a broader, diverse labor market made up of large and small businesses.
Before, the businesses were large companies and government placements. Now, it's a
healthy mix." contact: 410-290-3666
B. "PURE" CO-OP INTEGRATED INTO THE CURRICULUM
Cheryl Cates, UC associate professor of professional practice: "Many of the practitioners
that remain are offering 'pure' co-op which means it is integrated into a particular
academic discipline's curriculum and that it is an ongoing, extensive program." contact:
513-556-4535
C. THE PRETENDERS ARE MOVING ON
Sam Sovilla, director, UC's Professional Practice: "Federal money was intended to
support colleges committed to quality co-op. The pretenders are now moving on."
contact: 513-556-4636
D. A MIX OF EMPLOYERS JOIN THE CO-OP FOLD
Richard Abel, founding president of the recently formed Accreditation Council for
Cooperative Education and department head of professional practice at UC's College of
Applied Science: "Diversification of the employer base is true for most every program in
the U.S. In our college, we once placed large numbers of students with a few, large
employers like Cincinnati Milacron or Cincinnati Gas & Electric. Now, we might place
two or three students with...those companies. The rest are working with much smaller
employers. This trend has solidified over the past ten years. It was not only a case of
schools seeking a greater mix of employers. Smaller employers also...sought out schools.
I've been in the field for nearly 30 years, and I've never seen a student employment
market as strong as this...Employers are simply demanding that students have...work
experience upon graduation." contact: 513-556-6571
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