|
President Zimpher: Good morning everyone and, Gary Heiman, welcome to our circle of colleagues. I would like first to introduce Tony Brown. Tony, I will just ask you to come and take a chair in front. As many of you know, we have recently hired Tony to be the CEO of what we call the Uptown Consortium. This Consortium is a nonprofit entity bringing together the five largest employers in the neighborhoods around UC, and it includes the University of Cincinnati, the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Gardens, The Health Alliance of Greater Cincinnati, and Tri-Health Incorporated. It is a partnership—a consortium—working to develop a more dynamic, vibrant Uptown.
Tony is a native Cincinnatian with an extensive background in banking and neighborhood banking and a two-time grad of Xavier University. Tony comes to us from a recent appointment in the Department of the Treasury in the Bush administration, where his primary responsibility was working in neighborhood development. So, I have asked Tony to just say a few words about the Uptown Consortium. Welcome, Tony.
Mr. Brown: Thank you, Dr. Zimpher. My wife is a graduate of the University of Cincinnati, so our wealth has been split between the two universities.
Indeed it is a pleasure for me to be back home and to be heading the Uptown Consortium with five significant organizational partners, as Dr. Zimpher indicated. Uptown, as a region, and with the five member organizations that are involved in the Uptown Consortium, have all recognized the economic impact that they provide this region and have made a commitment to leverage that impact for the betterment of Cincinnati, and particularly for some of the toughest neighborhoods that surround these institutions. Many of you may have perhaps heard or read that the five organizations collectively provide over a three and one-half billion dollar impact annually in the Uptown region and collectively employ over 50,000 individuals. So, the opportunity is, how can all that economic energy be leveraged to create a better Cincinnati and a better Uptown?
The Consortium will have hired and will be working with John Alschuler of the firm HR&A (Hamilton, Rabinovitz & Alschuler, Inc.), which is the same consulting group that has helped the 3CDC in some of their planning. We have asked Alschuler and his team to help us with our strategic framework and to look at about five particular areas to help us with our plan on transportation. The plan on transportation centers around how we can create a better access into and out of the Uptown area, including an interchange at I-71 and MLK, or look at other possible connectors.
We are going to ask them to help us with a strategic plan on safety. I think the CEOs all recognize that, if we are going to make the Uptown area a better community—a safer community, that we have to focus on safety initiatives. So, Alschuler will be bringing in a resource group to help us identify safety initiatives and to work with the City to deal with the issue of how key components of Uptown operate with two separate distinct police districts, and what does that mean, and what impairment there may possibly be in the way of communication.
We are going to look at housing and, obviously, we can make Uptown a community of first choice — the first place that families look for home ownership. When you consider some of the majestic views of the City from communities like Mt. Auburn, University Heights and Corryville, this could be a first choice for many people who are looking to live here and work here.
We are going to look at retail studies to determine how we can revitalize some of the key important business districts. The university has already played a role around Calhoun and McMillan, and we will look at how we can continue to spur that revitalization down Short Vine and take it across Erkenbrecker to Burnet Avenue, and allow the African American community to be a part of and to be included in this economic renaissance that we hope will be created with Uptown. So, there is a lot there. Your university has played a leading role historically and prospectively and is one of the leading universities as it relates to how a university can involve itself in urban redevelopment. So, it is indeed an honor for me to be a part of this team.
President Zimpher: Thank you very much and welcome again, Tony.
Mr. Brown: Thank you.
President Zimpher: For your information, Gary, over the last three meetings we have been starting these meetings with good news. So, I want to continue that tradition today.
Since we last met, Best Doctors in America has been published. We had 150 doctors named — the largest number we have ever recorded in that compilation—which is done biennially. As I understand it, 30,000 doctors actually formed the pool and only 4 percent are selected for this terrific honor.
Maybe we are over the Xavier thing (referring to the Xavier University Basketball Team progressing to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament), but I think it is a compliment that we did compete in Round Two of the NCAA, and I wanted to mention that.
Now, on to other good news. Our Cincinnatus Scholarship competition attracted 2000 students. This is the eighth year for our Cincinnatus competition, representing the best and brightest students from 46 different states. We had 220 more students than last year. Each student who comes to our campus to participate in the Cincinnatus competition is assured a $2000 scholarship. More than 300 students from that pool were selected to compete for the largest scholarships—more than $2000 — in fact, $3000, $4000, or $5000. That group was winnowed down to 15 students who are offered the most financial support, mostly having perfect grade point averages and one with a perfect SAT score. They were from eight different states. So, we are way beyond the image of local recruitment when we bring in those Cincinnatus scholars.
Our Academic Planning Process continues with just two more Town Hall meetings to go. Sixteen Action Teams have been formed to work on next steps for UC’s future. This phase of our planning — the visioning, goal-setting phase — will culminate on May 21. That is a date you will remember is the date for the Inaugural, the date for the spring meeting of the Foundation Board, the date for the opening of MainStreet, and the date when the cicadas come back to Cincinnati.
UC students, faculty, and staff have been working all year on Habitat for Humanity — a house that we have been building in Mt. Auburn — and we will work on another house after this one is completed in April. We will begin the next work in September.
Our School of Social Work faculty leads the nation in research, according to the latest University Science indicator’s guide. UC faculty outstripped the likes of Yale, North Carolina, Missouri, and UCLA, to name just a few.
UC and University Hospital are the first in the United States to use a new growth factor protein that encourages the growth of new blood vessels in the heart. The first three patients who underwent this angiogenesis procedure all showed increased blood flow to the heart within 12 weeks of their injection.
What used to take a full day’s work can now be done in an hour at Northern Kentucky-based Transfreight, thanks to the technological work of a graduate student in our College of Business. Through his internship with this logistics company, the student created and developed a logistical software planning program called the “Interactive Route Builder” to save time and, undoubtedly, money.
UC expects to have the results this summer of its comprehensive research on the higher education needs of Warren County. You may have read in the paper that we have launched an educational environmental scan after providing services already at the UC Warren County Center in Lebanon. We want to know now, unequivocally going forward, what the demands are for us in the future in Warren County.
Two faculty members of the College of Nursing have been awarded a grant from the Greater Cincinnati Foundation to fund an after-hours homeless health clinic at the City Gospel Mission.
March concluded our first year of “Project Fast Track” in the College of Business. This innovative freshman experience pairs student teams with many influential businesses in Greater Cincinnati, including Procter & Gamble, Kroger, Federated, Fifth Third, American Financial, and Cincinnati Bell. These teams have showcased their poster presentations to corporate, university, and faculty leaders, and I can personally attest to what a wonderful learning experience “Fast Track” is.
The CCM Chamber Choir, under the director of Earl Rivers, Director of Choral Activities at CCM, just returned from a 10-day performance tour in Portugal, where they performed Bach’s B Minor Mass.
You each have at your seats a booklet showcasing the research work of the graduate students who participated in our annual Graduate Student Research Poster Forum on March 12. Superconductivity, cancer, environmental issues, and more can be counted among the presentations of the 197 graduate students who participated from programs ranging from Architecture and Art History to Neuroscience and Civil Engineering.
I hope you like our good news. This is a great place in which to live and work and play. Thank you, George.
|
