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Good morning. I would like to second Phil Cox’s welcome of Nick Furtwengler, the new Undergraduate Student Trustee, and Andrew Burke, our new Student Body President. And I also want to acknowledge Student Trustee Arlen Herrell and our immediate past President of Student Government, Justin Shafer, both of whom are attending their last Board of Trustees meeting in their official capacity. But you are always welcome, as you know. Arlen and Justin, your contributions have been greatly appreciated, and it has been a great pleasure to work with both of you. And, Nick and Andrew, I look forward to our collaboration in the year ahead.
Before I begin my good news report, I would also like to note we won’t be presenting a legislative budget update today. As you know, Ohio Senate action on the budget is still pending.
At the top of the list on the good news front is the UC|21 event we held on Friday. The Bearcat Band and a crowd of more than 680 people all added up to a truly great event that was also watched by another 110 people on the Web. I want to personally thank Trustees Phil Cox, Candace Kendle, and Buck Niehoff for attending this session. We also had the co-chairs of the UC Foundation, and several of the Foundation Trustees with us. It was a great event!
We don’t want to jinx anything, but projections on this fall’s enrollment are looking good. We have commitments from 20 National Merit Finalists compared to a total of 11 last year. We think we will have two more, so we will have doubled our National Merit Scholars in the course of the year. The entering class shows us more than 9 percent ahead of last year, and our transfer confirmations are up almost 15 percent.
Small Times Media, the leading source of business information about micro and nanotechnology – hence the word “small” in the title – has ranked the University of Cincinnati No. 2 in the nation in nanotechnology education. The ranking is based on surveys sent to more than 100 universities.
In early May, I had the great privilege to testify before Congress to the Subcommittee on 21st Century Competitiveness. I was invited to speak on Ohio’s great strides in college credit mobility. I believe we at UC, as well, are a true example for both the state and the nation. UC will be the first institution to adopt the near 28 “Degree Pathways for Transfer,” following Ohio’s progressive articulation and transfer policies.
UC and the Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber are collaborating on tying our upcoming Big East Celebration on July 1 into the region’s Great American Weekend over the Fourth of July weekend. We are planning a number of events that promise to be exciting, and more information will be forthcoming. But save July 1, as we officially enter the Big East.
Tamara Wilson of CCM recently won the opera-singing equivalent of “American Idol.” She won the Star Quest Competition, sponsored by the Houston Grand Opera, picking up $10,000 and an invitation to join the company’s young artist program.
Also on the CCM front, 2001 CCM grad Tyler Maynard has been nominated for a Drama Desk Award for outstanding featured actor in recognition of his performance in the off-Broadway crowd-pleaser, “Altar Boyz.”
Our Uptown neighborhoods have won a $52 million shot in the arm from the New Markets Tax Credits program. The tax credits will be administered through the Cincinnati Development Fund and will pump money into commercial and residential construction in the areas surrounding UC. According to our Uptown Consortium CEO, Tony Brown, who helped write the New Markets rules, the credits will help spark over $250 million in investment in Uptown.
Also on the Uptown front, the Consortium has contracted with IBM on a feasibility study for enhanced digital communications, a so-called wireless communications cloud, or system, for all of Uptown. The Uptown Wireless Project would create a leading-edge communications environment where residents, employees, and visitors to Uptown would travel seamlessly and securely through a world-class digital connectivity system.
Dr. Randy Wolf in our Center for Surgical Innovation is part of a recently funded Third Frontier grant on atrial fibrillation. UC will be receiving between $1 million to $2 million as part of this initiative to develop both surgical and noninvasive treatments to prevent and cure potentially dangerous electrical disturbances in the heart.
Described by colleagues as a consummate educator, Linda Baas received the national Excellence in Education Award from the American Association of Critical Care Nurses. A Professor in the College of Nursing, Baas was honored for her outstanding contributions as a mentor, role model, and educator to hundreds of critical care practitioners, educators, and scientists.
The U.S. News and World Report rankings of “America’s Best Graduate Schools” came out at the end of March. Not every program is ranked every time; our total now is up to 10 “Top 10” programs, up from eight. This time UC had two programs ranked in the top 10n nationwide – Criminal Justice and Pediatric Medicine. Criminal Justice was ranked for the first time and was featured in a story in that issue of the magazine. In addition, the Colleges of Medicine and Pharmacy ranked among the top 50. We are making progress!
Remember the square bubbles on our billboards? Those and other ads in our “It’s All UC” advertising campaign won a Silver Award from the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education. Only one institution ranked above us among the 60 nominations, and four of us received silver medals.
About one month ago we launched our first ever “We’re All UC” campaign – what will be an annual effort to raise funds for UC from our own faculty, staff, emeriti and retirees. It is an important sign to our donors that we believe so strongly in ourselves that UC is giving to UC. I want to compliment the Faculty Senate for leading the charge. Thank you, John and colleagues.
UC’s Center for Entrepreneurship, Education, and Research has made Entrepreneur magazine’s third annual list of “Top 100 Entrepreneurial Colleges and Universities.” MBA students from the Center also placed third in the National Small Business Institute® Case of the Year Competition.
And, concluding our good news, UC Chemist Pat Limbach has been awarded nearly $1 million from NIH to obtain a state-of-the-art mass spectrometer. He will use it for proteomics research. What’s that? In Pat’s words, the Human Genome Project is two years ahead of schedule, and so more attention is shifting toward other components of the cells. While genes form the blueprint for cellular events, it is the proteins, carbohydrates, and other molecules that do the actual work. Because of the complex shapes and diverse chemistry involved with them, they present even greater technical challenges than the genome. The new instrument will provide our researchers with a competitive environment for research in this arena. It is an impressive undertaking.
Now we will continue our tradition of Dean’s reports. I am pleased to introduce Interim Dean Roy Eckart who will tell us about the College of Engineering, and Interim Dean Donna Nagy, who will speak on behalf of the College of Law.
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