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

YSU’s Homework Express nabs second Emmy nomination in last four years

Homework Express, a five–day–a–week, interactive call–in television show broadcast live from Youngstown State University, has been nominated again for an Emmy Award.

It is the show’s second nomination in four years.

The nomination was announced by the Lower Great Lakes Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, which represents more than 40 television stations in parts of Ohio, Pennsylvania and Indiana.

The awards will be presented Saturday, Sept. 12, at the Intercontinental Hotel in Cleveland. Homework Express is nominated in the category “Teen Program/Special.”

“The success of this amazing program continues to grow,” said Fred Owens, YSU professor of communications and project director. “Teachers, YSU staff and students, and community leaders and businesses, and the students and parents who participate in the show, are all part of that success.”

The program’s executive producer is Jim Stipetich.

The program is a production of the YSU College of Fine and Performing Arts and the YSU Beeghly College of Education, with support from the Youngstown city, Warren city and Austintown local schools.

Homework Express began airing in September 2005 and begins its fifth season of live shows this fall. Hosted by Hot 101’s Kelly Stevens, the show is broadcast from studios in Bliss Hall on the YSU campus. It can be seen on Time Warner Cable channel 23, Armstrong Cable channel 20 and MyYTV, and is streamed everywhere on the Internet.

Students, mostly in grades 6 through 8, call into the show and get assistance with homework questions from on–air teachers. The show also features live reports from interesting spots across Ohio and field pieces that depict math and science in everyday life. Sponsors and friends of Homework Express include the Public Library of Youngstown and Mahoning County, the Warren–Trumbull County Public Library, Trumbull County Educational Service Center, Time–Warner Cable, Armstrong Cable, Aimee & Lulu Seidel Foundation, First Place Bank Community Foundation, Raymond John Wean Foundation Good Neighbor Grant and the W.E. Bliss Fund.

Other supporters include the YSU Division of University Advancement,

YSU Chapter of the American Marketing Association, Rotary Clubs of Burton–Middlefield and Lakewood/Rocky River, Shearer’s Foods, Denman Tire, Schwebel Foundation, the Ohio Lottery Commission and Smart Technologies.

For more information, visit www.homeworkexpress.org or call 330–941–1855. 

 

Summer Festival of the Arts, Forte on the Fifty this weekend
Youngstown State University presents the annual Summer Festival of the Arts and Forte on the Fifty this weekend on campus.

The 11^th annual Summer Festival of the Arts, featuring dozens of regional and national artists, will be Saturday and Sunday, July 11 and 12, on the inner campus core. The festival, which will be 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, also features ethnic foods at the Festival of Nations. And, for the first time, the Eco Art Contest, featuring art made of re–purposed or recycled materials.

“The Summer Festival of the Arts is the one event in the Valley where everything revolves around the arts — the fine arts as well as the performing arts, “ said Lori Factor, festival coordinator. “Add in the many cultural presentations, exhibits and interactive activities and this is a truly one–of–a–kind event. There is something for everyone.”

For more information on the festival, visit http://www.ysu.edu/sfa/

The weekend also features Forte on the Fifty, the university’s annual concert and fireworks extravaganza. The event will be Saturday, July 11, in Stambaugh Stadium on the YSU campus and will feature the Dana School of Music’s All–Star Band and a performance by the band, 2^nd Avenue Project, followed by fireworks presented by B.J. Alan’s Phantom Fireworks. The stadium opens at 6:30 p.m. with music performances commencing at 7:30 p.m. Fireworks are expected to start about 9:30 p.m.

Advance tickets to Forte on the Fifty are available free of charge at area Handel’s locations, both Boardman and Youngstown Phantom Fireworks,ﾠ the Ice Zone, ﾠand during the Summer Festival of the Arts until 6 p.m. Saturday. Tickets at the gate are $10.

For more information, visit http://www.ysu.edu/forte/index.htm.

YSU Archives, Melnick Medical Museum appoint curator

From bloodletting devices and 19^th century amputation kits to World War II–era nurses’ uniforms and old Youngstown State University sweaters, Cassie Nespor collects old things.

Nespor, the first official objects curator for the University Archives and the Rose Melnick Medical Museum, is in charge of handling donations and developing exhibits of artifacts related to medicine or YSU.

Medicine–related items are displayed in the medical museum, which is located in Melnick Hall on Wick Avenue on the YSU campus, and YSU–related items are showcased in Archives and Special Collections on Maag Library’s fifth floor.

“As objects curator, people are trusting me to provide the right environment for their artifacts, whether it’s to keep them from getting too hot or wet, and to catalog them correctly and use them in engaging, educational exhibits,” said Nespor of Sharon, Pa.

Nespor earned a bachelor’s degree in history from Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pa., and a master’s degree in library and information science with a focus in archives, preservation and records management from the University of Pittsburgh. She gained additional archives experience while organizing documents and helping to create exhibits at the Heinz History Center in Pittsburgh.

As objects curator, Nespor is taking over the work started by former Melnick Museum curator and university archivist Vic Fleischer. She’s expanded upon his work by developing a blog that details specific museum artifacts (http://rosemelnickmuseum.wordpress.com) and by reaching out to the community for donations.

“The more artifacts we get, the more interesting we can make our exhibits,” she said. “People who are interested in donating items should contact me first rather than simply dropping things off at the university; there is a simple but important process to transfer donations correctly.”

Visitors to the Rose Melnick Medical Museum may call to set up an appointment on weekdays between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. To donate to the museum, or for more information, contact Nespor by phone at 330–941–4662 or by e–mail at clnespor@ysu.edu.

YSU faculty/staff awards, presentations, publications
Shearle Furnish, dean, College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences, had a lyric, “The Intensity of Flowers,” reprinted in Big Land, Big Sky, Big Hair: Best of the Texas Poetry Calendar, published by Dos Gatos Press.

William Binning, professor emeritus, Political Science, served as a panelist on an Election Analysis Forum at the California University of Pennsylvania, as part of the American Democracy Project. 

Bradley Shellito, associate professor, Geography, published a paper entitled “SATELLITES: A Geospatial Technology Program for Teachers and Students” with co–authors Mikell Hedley, Kevin Czajkowski, Terri Benko, Rick Landenberger, Mandy Munro–Stasiuk and Janet Struble in The Earth Scientist.

Shane V. Smith, assistant professor, Geological & Environmental Sciences, presented “Sedimentology and Stratigraphy Fieldtrips in the Urban Jungle of Youngstown, Ohio” at the Geological Society of America annual meeting in Houston.

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