Y O U N G S T O W N S TAT E U N I V E R S I T Y May 2009 Paul Sracic The big dig… Construction is underway on the new home of the Williamson College of Business Administration along Rayen Avenue. The $34 million facility, financed through a combination of private donations and state funding, is expected to be open by the start of fall semester 2010. Located at the corner of Phelps Street and Rayen Avenue, the 106,000-square- foot, three-story building will be about twice the size of the college’s present home on Lincoln Avenue and is designed to bridge the campus and downtown Youngstown. Professor and chair of political science Paul Sracic has been named a Fulbright Scholar and will lecture at the University of Tokyo and at Sophia University in Tokyo during the 2009-2010 academic year. Sracic, who also directs the Rigelhaupt Pre-Law Center at YSU, is among 1,100 U.S. faculty and professionals who will trav- el abroad through the Fulbright program next academic year. He will teach courses on the American Constitution and on the American presidency. “I want to congratulate Dr. Sracic for this prestigious appoint- ment,” said Shearle Furnish, dean of YSU’s College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences. “Paul’s professional accomplishments and his contributions to the university and the community are many. He is most deserving of this opportunity, and I am confident that students in Japan will find him to be a great asset to their under- standing of the United States.” Sracic joins an impressive list of individuals who have participated in the Fulbright Japan-United States program. That list includes Nobel Prize Laureates, Pulitzer Prize winners and Supreme Court Justices. A resident of Boardman, Sracic joined the YSU faculty in 1992 and was named chair in 2007. His most recent book is San Antonio v. Rodriguez and the Pursuit of Equal Education: The Debate over Discrimination and School Funding (2006). He has contributed articles to several academic journals and books. His op-ed columns have ap- peared in The Washington Post and USA Today, and he has been interviewed by several national media outlets, including CNN, NPR, The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times. n Sracic named Fulbright Scholar A long-time YSU faculty member and administrator and a trumpet player and college administrator from Louisiana have been appointed deans at YSU. Joseph Mosca, currently associ- ate dean of YSU’s Bitonte College of Health and Human Services, has been named the new dean of that college. Mosca, who joined YSU’s faculty in 1989, replaces John Yem- ma, who retired as dean last summer. Bryan DePoy, interim dean of the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences at Southeastern Louisiana Uni- versity, has been named dean of YSU’s College of Fine and Performing Arts. DePoy replaces Joe Edwards, who retires H&HS, F&PA deans named (continued on back page) Joseph Mosca page 2 May 2009 http://cfweb.cc.ysu.edu/marketcomm/index.cfm For more news about YSU, read these and other stories in eUpdate at http://cfweb.cc.ysu.edu/ marketcomm/index.cfm. eUpdate exclusives The YSUpdate is published every other week during the academic year and once a month in the summer by the Office of Marketing and Communications. 8-003 Marketing and Communications 133 Tod Hall, Youngstown, Ohio 44555-3519 racole01@ysu.edu 330-941-3519 cevinarsky@ysu.edu • YSU history student presents a paper on “Women’s Work” at the national conference of the Appalachian Studies Associa- tion. • Asteroid 2000 LS36 will now be known as Asteroid Pirko in honor of alumnus Rick Pirko, the late show producer and technician of YSU’s Ward Beech- er Planetarium. • YSU outlines its environmental and sustainability efforts and successes as part of the an- nual Earth Day celebration on campus. • The YSU Department of Nurs- ing wins the National Occupa- tional Research Agenda Part- nering Award for Worker Health and Safety, in recognition of its work in the “Safe Patient Handling and Movement” pilot project. • Student activities and honors: Two respiratory care students are among a select few chosen to make a presentation at the LaunchTown Entrepreneurship Awards competition in Cleve- land; four students in the new gerontology program present papers at the Ohio Association of Gerontology in Education Conference; and, members of the staff of The Jambar student newspaper win awards in the 2009 Society of Collegiate Jour- nalists competition. Archives, Melnick Museum appoint new objects curator From bloodletting devices and 19th cen- tury amputation kits to World War II-era nurses’ uniforms and old YSU 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 ar- tifacts related to medicine or YSU. Medicine-related items are displayed in the medi- cal museum, founded along Wick Avenue in 1985 by Dr. John C. Melnick, 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, educa- tional exhibits,” said Nespor of Sharon, Pa. At YSU since January, Nespor earned a bachelor’s degree in history at Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pa., and a master’s de- gree in library and information science with a focus in archives, preservation and records management at 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 Mu- seum curator and university archivist Vic Fleischer. She’s expanded upon his work by developing a blog that details specific museum artifacts (http:// rosemelnickmuseum.word- press.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 appoint- ment 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. n – Story by Britta Snowberger Cassie Nespor, pictured in the Rose Melnick Medical Museum, is the new objects curator for the museum and University Archives. “The more artifacts we get, the more interesting we can make our exhibits.” Cassie Nespor Faculty & Staff Send items for “Faculty & Staff” to Cynthia Vinarsky at cevinarsky@ysu.edu. Zara Rowlands, assistant professor, Human Ecology, had her posters “Social Context May Sabotage Diet Compli- ance in Latino Women with Diabetes” and “Gardening May Improve Veg- etable Intake in Young Children” at the Ohio Association of Family and Con- sumer Sciences 2009 Annual Meeting in Westlake, Ohio. Victoria E. Kress, associate profes- sor, and Jake J. Protivnak, assistant professor, Counseling and Special Educa- tion, had an article entitled “Professional Development Plans to Remedy Prob- lematic Counseling Student Behaviors” published in the journal Counselor Edu- cation and Supervision. William Greenway, professor, English had his poem, “Astronomy,” published in the Potomac Review. Paul R. Carr, assistant professor, Edu- cational Foundations, Research, Technol- ogy and Leadership, presented two papers in April: the first, entitled “The main- stream media and democratic education: Two ships passing in the night?” presented at the American Educational Research Association conference in San Diego, YSUpdate May 2009 page 3 and the second, entitled “Is Quebec’s interculturalism different than Canada’s multiculturalism? Exploring language, class, race and power,” presented at an invitational international multicultur- al education conference in Vancouver. In addition, Carr had a chapter, “The un- spoken color of diversity: Whiteness, privilege and critical engagement in edu- cation,” published in the book, Diversity and Multiculturalism: A Reader. Mary F. Hake, administrative assistant, Dean’s Office, College of Lib- eral Arts and Social Sciences, has been awarded recertification for her Certified Administrative Professional (CAP) desig- nation by the International Association of Administrative Professionals. Nina Stourman, assistant profes- sor, Biochemistry, gave an invited talk at the Duquesne University American Chemical Society Student Affiliates meeting. The presentation entitled “Func- tional Genomics of E. Coli: Glutathione Metabolism” was accompanied by a post- er delivered by Stourman’s students, Janelle Russell and Ashley Ruozzo.n Distinguished Professor Awards at the 2008-09 Honors Convocation April 28 in Kilcawley Center: Teaching: Jonathan J. Caguiat, Bio- logical Sciences; James J. Carroll, Physics and Astronomy; Rosemary D’Apolito, Sociology and Anthropology; Jacek Fab- rykowski, Mathematics and Statistics; Kathylynn Feld, Health Professions; Patricia Hauschildt, English / Teacher Education; Birsen Karpak, Department of Management; Jake J. Protivnak, Counsel- ing and Special Education. Scholarship: Diane Barnes, History; Chester R. Cooper, Jr., Biological Sci- ences; William H. Greenway, English; Victoria E. Kress, Counseling and Spe- cial Education; Tom N. Oder, Physics and Astronomy; Gail Y. Okawa, English; Thomas Smotzer, Mathematics and Sta- tistics. University Service: Darla Funk, Dana School of Music / Department of Teacher Education; John B. Russo, Management; Angela Spalsbury, Mathematics and Sta- tistics. Public Service: Nancy C. Landgraff, Physical Therapy; Richard A. Shale, English; Shane V. Smith, Geological and Environmental Sciences; William G. Stur- rus, Physics and Astronomy; Daniel J. Van Dussen, Sociology and Anthropology; Pe- ter D.Woodlock, Accounting and Finance. Watson Merit Award: Nancy C. Landgraff, Physical Therapy. n Distinguished Prof Awards presented Summer Schedule YSUpdate will publish one edition per month in May, June, July and August. We will return to the regular twice-a-month cycle in September. Set to climb… Langston Harris, 8, son of Yulanda McCarty-Harris, gets ready to climb the rock wall at the Andrews Student Recreation and Wellness Center. Langston’s climb was part of the Take Your Child to Work Day on April 16. Helping with his helmet is Katy Wells. McCarty- Harris is director of Equal Opportunity and Diversity. page 4 May 2009 YSUpdate Deans named (Continued from page 1) as dean on July 1. “We are pleased to bring these two very highly-qualified individuals into the leadership ranks of the university,” Khawaja said. “We look forward to working with both of them as we begin to reposition YSU as a premier urban research university.” The new deans are expected to start their new positions on July 1. “Dr. Mosca has experience that is deep both in the college and in the com- munity and the region,” said Shearle Furnish, dean of YSU’s College of Lib- eral Arts and Social Sciences and chair of the search committee for H&HS. Paul Kobulnicky, executive director of YSU’s Maag Library and chair of the search committee for the F&PA position, said there was widespread support for DePoy’s candidacy. “We were impressed by his sophis- ticated understanding of (Ohio Board of Regents) Chancellor (Eric) Fingerhut’s strategic planning initiatives and the potential contributions of the College of Fine and Performing Arts to that pro- cess,” Kobulnicky said. n Bryan DePoy Final Four hoops at Beeghly The basketball hoops from the 2009 NCAA Men’s Basketball Final Four in Detroit have found a new home – YSU’s Beeghly Center. The baskets and backboards, attained through an agreement with Spalding, were used during the Final Four for practices, both semifinal games and the national championship game April 6 when North Carolina defeated Michigan State at Ford Field. Following the game, the hoops were shipped to Youngstown. Here, Penguins guard Kelvin Bright dunks on the new hoops. Constantine William Curris, president of the American As- sociation of State Colleges and Universities, will speak at YSU’s spring undergradu- ate commencement 10 a.m., Saturday, May 16 in Beeghly Center. Janet DelBene, YSU professor emeritus in chemistry and an American AASCU president, DelBene to speak at commencement Association for the Advancement of Science Fel- low, will be the featured speaker at the spring graduate commencement 2:30 p.m. Saturday, May 16, also in Beeghly. Student speak- ers for the morning undergraduate ceremony are Jennifer Houston and Hannah Vinsel. Houston, an honors student with a 4.0 grade point average, will graduate with a bachelor’s degree in art education and a bachelor’s degree in art history. Vinsel, a 2008-09 Beeghly College of Education Dean’s Dozen honoree, will receive a bachelor’s degree in early childhood education. Molly Ceci will be the student speaker at afternoon graduate com- mencement. Ceci, a member of the Ohio Education Association and the Council for Exceptional Children, will graduate with a master’s degree in education as an intervention specialist. n Janet DelBene Constantine William Curris