|
Thank you very much, Chairman Wyler. I want to add my congratulations to you, Tom Humes, and to Will McIntosh in the College of Business for getting it right and selecting a wonderful recipient for this great award (Lindner Medal).
And, I want to say congratulations to the Clermont Cougars, John Hurley and David Devier. I think it is just a wonderful statement and all of the board members have this great photograph of the team, the trophy. I do not see the net there but I am glad to know that John has it and it is safe with you.
And, of course, I personally want to welcome Coach Brian Kelly. I think it has just been a delight to have you join our team. Those of you who remember, he went center court at a basketball game and told the crowd we were going to win the International Bowl and I thought boy, this is a risk-averse guy but some of us followed Brian to Toronto. Fran, it was a wonderful game. I think we had about a dozen people from Croatia who thought they were coming to a soccer game, but happily they were wearing red and white so before you knew it, we had eight or 10 Bearcat faithful right there with them, cheering us on, and it was a wonderful victory and a great way to start your tenure with us, Brian. So we welcome you and Paqui and the children, and we are glad that you are settling in in Ohio and good luck today, and we will see you on April 21.
The students are back! They actually had last week’s spring break, but this week it feels like spring break, Jerry, so you sort of get two weeks of it. I want to thank the Board of Trustees for their generosity in raising $50,000 to fund construction materials for a Hurricane Katrina recovery effort. Your donations made it possible for 11 UC students to visit Lanett, Alabama, to build a new home there and scores of other UC students did not go to sand and sun necessarily but went to places to do community service ranging from the Gulf coast to Kenya and Cuba and other places around the globe to do community service, and we are very, very proud of our students in that regard.
Chairman Wyler has noted the Cougar achievement. Our Bearcats in total have gained distinction for recent achievements, off the court as well as on the court. Our UC Department of Athletics received recognition from the National Consortium for Academics and Sports for both community service and student-athlete degree completion. UC was one of 21 schools nationally named to the “Honor Roll” on both lists. Our UC Athletics Department also was recognized recently with the 2006-07 Diversity in Athletics Award, presented by the Laboratory for Diversity in Sport at Texas A&M University. The award recognizes UC for the graduation of African American male athletes. And, in that regard, UC is one of just 10 programs honored nationwide.
In Columbus recently, we assembled many of our 17 alumni who now serve in the Ohio General Assembly. We called it a class photo. In addition to the Bearcats, students Jerry Tsai and Ryan Rozensweig, and our legislative team of Greg Vehr and Margie Rolf joined me in this historic photograph. Also, in attendance, was Governor Strickland. I believe he had a photo op with the Bearcat so that will certainly be an historic contribution to our archives.
While in Columbus, we heard Governor Strickland’s State of the State address; we attended a meeting of the Board of Regents where they appointed former Congressman and State Senator Eric Fingerhut as our new chancellor of higher education in Ohio and just last week, we had the delegation of Southwest Ohio here for a meeting, attended all but one. It is just amazing to capture their time for anytime here in Cincinnati while the legislature is in session.
We also hosted newly minted Chancellor Fingerhut and also I think many of you know that former Lieutenant Governor and Director of Development, Bruce Johnson, is now President of the Inter-University Council which is the council of the four year-public institutions. I think we have great leadership and a huge opportunity, given the governor’s commitment to higher education, Eric Fingerhut’s eagerness to serve, Bruce Johnson’s ability to create discipline amongst the ranks of the four-year public institutions, which is no small task, and our legislative leaders to really move public higher education forward in Ohio.
Over the past few years, UC has worked hard to increase the number of National Merit Scholars and our efforts are bearing fruit. UC, for the first time, is now on the list of the nation’s top 100 colleges enrolling large numbers of freshman National Merit Scholars. While we debuted, Lee Mortimer, on this list which Lee watches dutifully, we entered not at the bottom but in the top two-thirds - No. 64 - and if that is where we are starting, imagine where we can go.
In recent years, UC has also stepped up its efforts to create an environment for student success particularly in that critical first year which we call the First Year Experience. One of our chief players in that effort is Pam Person. Pam is one of 10 educators from colleges around the nation who recently received the 2007 Outstanding First-Year Student Advocate Award. And, I am so glad that there is such an award, because we work really hard at our First Year Experience.
I would also like to note that UC’s national leadership position in the First Year Experience is also illustrated by our role as a co-host of the National Resource Center’s Transitions Conference to be held here in Cincinnati in November. We are all about transitions and retention and as the growth and the quality and caliber of our freshman class has grown, it should be no surprise that retention from freshman to sophomore year is growing, as well, and what, of course, follows that is the growth in our graduation rate. We are definitely headed in the right direction.
A research team at UC has helped with the discovery of a new way to fight antibiotic-resistant bacteria by tricking it. You must learn more about this impressive research, headed by Bradley Britigan of internal medicine by reading their study results, which will be featured in the Journal of Clinical Investigation the first of April.
Earlier this month, UC hosted for the third year in a row the Science and Engineering Expo for students in our five-county southwest Ohio region. More than 300 young scientists from 32 high schools competed for $50,000 in cash, prizes and scholarships. Judges selected more than 100 projects for the State Science Day competition in Columbus on May 12. The projects of two students representing William Mason High School in Warren County were chosen to compete at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair in May and we have to thank Tom Cruse, Associate Provost, for working so hard to create such a success. And, in these days, when STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) and medicine, as we say in Ohio, it is so important to our future.
On a cinematic note: Graphic design senior, Josh Suhre, is just back from Hollywood – it says here Hollywood, California – but you probably know it is California, don’t you? This is where he co-oped in design work and was listed in the credits for the recent Oscar ceremony viewed by millions on TV. More of his work will be visible in the upcoming movies, Spiderman 3 and Blades of Glory.
I end on a “green note:” UC and Student Government have partnered with the Metro system here in Cincinnati and Hamilton County, actually Southwest Ohio, to provide free public transportation for all UC students, faculty and staff beginning May 1 and I might say . . . finally. This is a real important opportunity in our transportation portfolio. It is a three-year agreement. It applies to all routes and trips, operated by the Metro and will allow our students, faculty and staff to ride the bus free, just by showing their valid UC ID.
The program fits in with our UC|21 goals on many fronts. It is funded half by the Bearcat Transportation system – Jerry, thank you very much – and half by UC. By encouraging the use of public transportation, we hope to enhance the quality of life in our region by reducing traffic congestion and air pollution, and demonstrating UC’s commitment to the community to sustainability, and I just want to thank Jerry Tsai, our Student Government president, and leaders, Jeremy Driscoll, the Student Government vice-president, Rishi Khar, our Graduate Student Association president, Rick Wiggins, our associate vice president in Facilities Management, and Tim Reynolds, director of the Transit Development with Metro. This could not have happened without all parties moving collectively in the same direction.
So that is a lot of good news from many different fronts in this fabulous university.
|
|
