On a weekly basis, without fail, I am reminded of how very proud I am to be part of this community. I pick up the newspaper or attend a meeting and learn of yet another inspiring story of success, discovery or service featuring a UC faculty or staff member, student or alum. Their achievements are important and impressive, but rarely are they single-handed. Look closely and you will find a network of UC colleagues, collaborators and mentors whose support and encouragement have enabled these individuals to excel. Accordingly, in recognizing the individuals and units below, I also want to extend my admiration and appreciation to the community that surrounds them.

Let me apologize, in advance, for the incomplete nature of this list. This is simply a sampling of the remarkable things happening at UC this academic year.

•  Seven faculty were named Fulbright Scholars in 2011-12: Nnamdi Elleh (DAAP); Jan Marie Fritz (DAAP); Christopher Gauker (A&S); Chia-Chi Ho (CEAS); Julianne Lynch (A&S); James Ridolfo (A&S); and Willard Sunderland (A&S). UC had more Fulbrights than Princeton, Harvard, Yale and Stanford.

• Paul Kruchoski, a 2010 graduate of Arts & Sciences and the University Honors program, made UC history as the only alum to be named a dual finalist for the Rhodes and Marshall Scholarships.

• An interdisciplinary team of faculty has been awarded a $9.2 million National Science Foundation grant to improve STEM education in local high schools. Leading the charge are Anant Kukreti (CEAS); Howard Jackson (A&S); Helen Meyer (CECH); Eugene Rutz (CEAS); Thaddeus Fowler (CECH); Stephan Pelikan (A&S); and Catherine Maltbie (CECH).

•  Larry Johnson, Dean of CECH, received the 2011 Citizen of the Year Award from the Cincinnatus Association.

• Six faculty were awarded Fellow status by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS): Joseph Caruso (A&S); Sandra Degen (Medicine); Vernon Scarborough (A&S); Jerry Lingrel (Medicine); Marepalli Rao (Medicine); and Andrew Steckl (CEAS). The AAAS is one of the most recognized and respected scholarly organizations in the world.

• Tom Humes, a UC alum and trustee, will receive the William Howard Taft Medal for Notable Achievement—the highest honor awarded to a UC alum, recognizing an individual for lifelong excellence in his or her chosen field.

• Nine faculty have been formally recognized for their outstanding contributions to teaching and learning with their recent election to the Academy of Fellows for Teaching & Learning: Victoria Appatova (Clermont); Shauna Buring (Pharmacy); Sarai Hedges (CECH); Todd Herzog (A&S); Rita Kumar (Blue Ash); Rebecca Leugers (CAHS); Lisa Meloncon (A&S); Rajiv Soman (CEAS); and Tina Weitkamp (Nursing).

• Pooja Kadambi, BME ’11 MSE ’12, Ron Meyers, MBA ’10, MS ACCT ‘12, Joe Lovelace CEAS ’11, Aaron Kurosu DAAP ’11,  earned the Innovative Technology Award at the 23rd Annual Venture Challenge in California

• The College of Medicine was granted an eight-year term of accreditation for its doctor of medicine degree—the maximum term allowable by the accrediting body.

• Jonathan Hilton, a junior in Arts & Sciences and the University Honors program, was named a finalist for the Truman Scholarship.

• Newly elected Fellows of the Graduate School include: Kenneth Campbell (Medicine); George Deepe (Medicine); Ranjan Deka (Medicine); Katharina Gerstenberger (A&S); Anna Gudmundsdottir (A&S); John Hancock (DAAP); Gui-Rong Liu (CEAS); Richard Paul (Medicine); Michael Riley (A&S); Guy Van Orden (A&S); James Wells (Medicine); Susanne Wells (Medicine); and Aaron Zorn (Medicine).

• Joo-Youp Lee, assistant professor of chemical engineering in CEAS, received the National Science Foundation’s CAREER Award.

• UC Law students Ryan McGraw, Zach El-Sawaf, Lindsey Fleissner and Megan Collard helped the Ohio Innocence Project overturn a wrongful murder conviction.

• UC Blue Ash faculty member Frank Wray and dean Cady Short-Thompson led a team of educators to Haiti to develop a curriculum to help stop child slavery.

• Several extraordinary individuals joined our senior academic leadership team, including: Dean Peter Landgren (CCM); Dean Tom Boat (Medicine); Dean Greer Glazer (Nursing); and Interim Dean Bill Fant (Pharmacy).

• Bradley Theilman, a junior in CEAS, Arts & Sciences and the University Honors program, was awarded the Goldwater Scholarship.

I hope you will agree that UC is an inspiring place to be. Moving forward, I want to learn more about the people and programs that make this University so great. I also want to deepen my understanding of the opportunities and issues facing our collective future. Therefore, in addition to my frequent interactions with several university-wide and college-level groups, ranging from Faculty Senate to the Graduate Fellows to College Advisory Boards, I hope to start meeting with individual departments across the University to get a more localized view of our academic community.

My agenda with these departmental visits is simple: listen and learn. I want to hear from faculty, students and staff, in addition to departmental leadership. What’s working well? How can we improve? Where should we invest and divest? How can we effect real and lasting change? Rest assured that we’ll talk in a very open and honest way about how we, individually and collectively, can build an even better UC. If your department would like to arrange this type of dialogue, please ask your department head to contact my office to schedule a visit. I look forward to our conversations.

Please know that I am honored to serve as a member of our faculty and as your Provost.

Best Wishes,

Santa J. Ono, Ph.D.
Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost
Professor of Pediatrics and Biology