Below are a variety of items about upcoming events and other news notes on the campus of Youngstown State University:

• Civil rights champion speaks at MLK breakfast
• Business students selected for Beeghly Fellows Program
• University Bouldering Series competition comes to YSU
• Blood drive set for Jan. 26 and 27 in Kilcawley
• Teaching/learning is topic of presentation

Calendar
Monday, Jan 18. No classes at YSU in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

Monday, Jan. 18, 5:30 p.m. YSU Board of Trustees' Executive Committee meets in the Holiday Inn Boardman to interview presidential candidate Jack Maynard. The committee also meets with Maynard on Wednesday, Jan. 20, noon, Cochran Room in Kilcawley Center on the YSU campus.

Wednesday, Jan. 20, 5:30 p.m. YSU Board of Trustees' Executive Committee meets in the Cochran Room in Kilcawley Center on the YSU campus to interview presidential candidate Dr. Cheryl Norton. The committee also meets with Norton on Friday, Jan. 22, noon, Cochran Room, Kilcawley Center. 

Wednesday, Jan. 20, 12:15 p.m. Free Music at Noon concert in the Butler Institute of American Art features the Dana Guitar Ensemble, directed by Francois Fowler.

Thursday, Jan. 21, 8:30 a.m. The Rev. Dr. Otis Moss, pastor emeritus of the Olivet Institutional Baptist Church of Cleveland, is the keynote speaker at the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Diversity Breakfast in the Chestnut Room of Kilcawley Center. See News Brief below.

Friday, Jan. 22, 5 to 9 p.m. YSU's Students Motivated by the Arts program will receive part of the proceeds as the Youngstown Club presents the third annual Cabin Fever Relief Party. The event at the club at 201 E. Commerce St. in downtown Youngstown features Rudy and The Professionals. There is no cover charge, and the event is open to the public. For more information, call 330–744–2177.

Friday, Jan. 22, 7 p.m. Penguins men's basketball team faces UW–Milwaukee in Beeghly Center. The game will be broadcast nationally by ESPNU. The men take on UW–Green Bay Sunday, Jan. 24, 2:05 p.m., also in Beeghly. For more information, visit www.ysusports.com.

Friday, Jan. 22, 7 p.m. YSU students will be inducted into the Golden Key International Honor Society at a ceremony in the Ohio Room of Kilcawley Center. State Sen. Joe Schiavoni will give the keynote address. For more information on Golden Key, visit http://www.goldenkey.org/GKIHS.

Friday and Saturday, Jan. 22 and 23, 8 p.m. YSU's Ward Beecher Planetarium presents "STARS". The planetarium also presents "Little Star That Could" at 1 an 2:30 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 23. For more information, visit http://www.cc.ysu.edu/physics–astro/planet.htm.

Saturday, Jan. 23, 10 a.m. The University Bouldering Series comes to YSU as more than three dozen climbers from six universities throughout the region take their shots at scaling the rock wall in the Andrews Student Recreation and Wellness Center on the YSU campus. See News Brief below. 

Saturday, Jan. 23, 4 p.m. The Hope Foundation of the Mahoning Valley presents the 6th Annual Game of Hope Charity Basketball Classic in Beeghly Center. The game raises money for chronically and terminally ill children in the Mahoning Valley. Featured players this year include U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan and Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray. Other events include performances by the Dream Team All–Stars of Girard, the City Printing 10–point shot, Armstrong Cable half–court shot, YSU men's basketball Dunk Fest, and visits from area mascots. For more information, visit www.hopemv.org.

Sunday, Jan. 24, 4 p.m. Dana School of Music's Chamber Orchestra performs in the Ford Family Recital Hall at the Eleanor Beecher Flad Pavilion, DeYor Performing Arts Center, in downtown Youngstown.

Civil rights champion speaks at MLK breakfast
The Rev. Dr. Otis Moss, pastor emeritus of the Olivet Institutional Baptist Church of Cleveland, is the keynote speaker at the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Diversity Breakfast 8:30 to 10 a.m. Thursday, Jan. 21, in the Chestnut Room of Kilcawley Center on the campus of Youngstown State University.

Rev. Moss is a champion of civil and human rights, community health care and is a sought after religious leader. He has strong ties to the King family, having served as associate pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta under the leadership of Rev. Martin Luther King Sr. He now serves as an advisor to President Obama and many other public figures. 

Tickets for the breakfast are available at Bytes & Pieces on the second floor of YSUÕs Kilcawley Center. They also can be purchased through the YSU Office of Student Diversity Programs' website at http://www.ysu.edu/student–life/diversity/home.htm. The cost is $20. The cost for students is $5. For more information, call 330–941–2086.

At the breakfast, 20 individuals and organizations will be recognized for their commitment to diversity. The YSU Gospel Choir will perform. 

The event is sponsored by the Sterling M. Williams Funeral Home of Warren. Circle of Friends sponsors include Wells Fargo Bank of Akron, and the Leslie Cochran Fund, managed by the YSU Foundation. Also supporting the event is the YSU Office of Student Diversity Programs, Campus Recreation and Student Programming, Partners for Workplace Diversity, and Youngstown Early College.

The breakfast is part of the community–wide celebration of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Also scheduled is a community workshop, 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Monday, Jan. 18, in First Presbyterian Church, 201 Wick Ave. in Youngstown. A citywide baby shower is scheduled for 3 to 5 p.m. Monday, Jan. 18 at the McGuffey Center, 1649 Jacobs Road in Youngstown. The fourth annual event will be held for expected mothers and mothers with children up to five years in honor of Rev. King's humanitarian efforts of sustaining healthy communities. Fathers and grandparents are also welcomed. Vendors & health professionals will share information, services and products.

Business students selected for Beeghly Fellows Program

Shawn Butson of Mineral Ridge and Danielle P. Sweat of East Liverpool, seniors in the Williamson College of Business Administration at Youngstown State University, have been selected as the inaugural John D. Beeghly Fellows for the 2010 spring semester.

The John D. Beeghly Fellows program provides students with career–related work experience by working on a variety of projects with businesses in the region. Butson and Sweat will each receive a $2,000 scholarship and will have the opportunity to work on a variety of projects with clients of the Ohio Small Business Development Center at YSU. Projects may include market research, customer satisfaction surveys, export readiness studies, business plan development, market analysis, and cost analysis.

The Fellows Program is made possible by an endowment established at the YSU Foundation by John D. Beeghly's wife and children. Beeghly was a lifelong resident and businessman in Youngstown and son of area industrialist and philanthropist, Leon A. Beeghly. From 1967 until his death, Beeghly was vice president and director of Standard Slag Co. and Stancorp Inc., a holding company for industrial businesses.

"We are extremely grateful to the John D. Beeghly Family for making this generous investment in our business students," said Betty Jo Licata, WCBA dean. "Providing our students with career–related experience contributes to the success of our regional businesses and the professional preparation of our students."

Butson has taken an active role in his education by participating in a number of marketing initiatives as well as maintaining a part–time job. He is an active member of the American Marketing Association, which provided the opportunity to conduct market research for a mall in Michigan owned by the Cafaro Co. He was part of the WCBA marketing team that competed at the American Advertising Federation's National Student Advertising Competition. He also recently traveled to China as part of the summer 2009 study abroad tour researching entry strategies for businesses entering a foreign market. He works part–time at Best Buy in Niles, as a sales associate responsible for selling products in computers, car electronics and media and digital cameras.

Sweat's experience in small business management includes the implementation of new organizational programs along with the in–depth analysis of 16–week class projects. She developed a fitness program geared to senior citizens keeping them physically and socially active. She also participated in two 16–week class study projects, including stock analysis for Tiffany & Co. and the implementation of a complete electronic medical records system within a business setting, which provided the training necessary for the spring research projects.

University Bouldering Series competition comes to YSU

The University Bouldering Series comes to Youngstown State University on Saturday, Jan. 23 as more than three dozen climbers from six universities throughout the region take their shots at scaling the rock wall in the Andrews Student Recreation and Wellness Center on the YSU campus.

The University Bouldering Series includes participants from YSU, University of Pittsburgh, Kent State University, University of Akron, Slippery Rock University and West Virginia University. The series was at the University of Pittsburgh on Jan. 16 and will move on to Kent on Jan. 30, Akron on Feb. 6, Slippery Rock on Feb. 13 and WVU on Feb. 20.

Last year's competition at YSU attracted more than 40 participants, and this yearÕs event is expected to be even larger.

Participants climb without ropes and are scored for successfully following specific hand– and foot–hold routes along the wall. The 53–foot YSU climbing wall is one of the tallest in Ohio. Prizes are awarded at each of the competitions. Additional prizes will be awarded for high scores at the end of the six competitions.

YSU Adventure Recreation, part of Campus Recreation and Student Programming, started holding bouldering competitions in 2007 and joined the University Bouldering Series in 2008. Sponsors include Prana, Mountain Hardwear, Mountain Khakis, Bluewater Ropes, Rock Candy Holds, Outdoor Recreation Equipment, Rock and Ice, Mad Rock Climbing, Asana, Black Diamond, Trumbull Outdoor Sports and La Sportival

Cost to compete is $20 per participant. Registration is 9 to 9:30 a.m., and climbing begins at 10 a.m.

For more information, call 330–941–2243.

Blood drive set for Jan. 26 and 27 in Kilcawley
Youngstown State University's University Scholars will sponsor a blood drive 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday, Jan. 26 and 27 in the Chestnut Room of Kilcawley Center on the YSU campus.

The American Red Cross reports that winter weather has caused decreased donor turnout across northern Ohio. While the need for blood never stops, the winter months are a challenging time, especially when snow and cold make it difficult for donors to come forward, the Red Cross reports.   

"Only through the continued commitment of its dedicated blood donors can the American Red Cross fulfill its life–saving mission of assuring local hospital patients their transfusion needs will be met," said David H. Plate, chief executive director of the American Red Cross.

For more information on blood donation through the American Red Cross, visit RedCrossBlood.org or call 1–800–REDCROSS (1–800–733–2767).

Individuals who are 17 years of age (16 with parental permission in Ohio), meet weight and height requirements (110 pounds or more, depending on their height) and are in generally good health may be eligible to donate blood.  Please bring your Red Cross blood donor card or other form of positive ID when you come to donate.  

Teaching/learning is topic of presentation
Effective teaching and learning will be the topic of a presentation by Dr. Linda Adler–Kassner from Eastern Michigan University 10 a.m. to noon Monday Jan. 25, in the Presidential Suites of Kilcawley Center on the campus of Youngstown State University.

Adler–Kassner is president of the Council of Writing Program Administrators and is a nationally–recognized leader in the field of English composition. She is also a mentor in the Assessment Academy of the Higher Learning Commission and has played a leadership role in assessment on her campus.

She will focus on the problems with recent calls for accountability in higher education and argue for the value of exploring real questions about effective teaching and students learning.

All interested YSU faculty, staff, students, chairs, and deans are welcome to attend.