Professor Schuck Contributes Chapter to Babe Ruth Book

Professor Ray Schuck contributed a chapter to a new compilation entitled Babe Ruth at 100, published by AMS Press, Inc. The chapters are based on papers presented at a conference in 1995, held at Hofstra University. Schuck's chapter “When the Broadway Limited Stopped in Lima: An Ohio Town Embraces the Babe” deals with games that Ruth and other all stars played in Lima Ohio as part of barnstorming tours. Schuck's son, also Raymond, a frequent contributor to the Western Civilization Speaker Series also contributed a chapter entitled “Babe’s in Tourland: How Babe Ruth Was Well-Suited for Barnstorming.”

More information can be found on the AMS Press webpage.

Professor Jimmy Wilson presents paper at Historical GIS Conference

Professor Jimmy Wilson presented a paper at the Historical GIS Conference in Essex, England this past August (19-22). The conference attracted over 200 attendees from around the world, including historical geographers and others interested in the application of GIS to historical research. My presentation summarized a portion of my multi-disciplinary research on urban and rural growth and development immediately before the end of the colonial period in Pensacola, and the title of my presentation was “The Development of Spanish Colonial Pensacola, 1791-1821.”

Abstract

Pensacola evolved through the second Spanish period (1781-1821) from a fledgling military outpost to an increasingly complex urban center. Local and regional demographic trends and environmental conditions prompted Pensacola to evolve through three phases of urban development. This morphogenesis grew from a small colonial military town and scant landowning class congregated near the central fort before the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, to a more traditional Spanish administrative regional center with increased population after the Purchase, to a town threatened by American influence and speculation after 1816. Pensacola’s residential and landowning patterns never experienced the degree of socioeconomic residential clustering noted in other Spanish colonial urban centers. Middle-class whites made up the overwhelming majority of landowners and owned property in every section of town, while elites and lower-class families bought less land in Pensacola and lived interspersed throughout the residential section. An historical geography GIS case study, this research illuminates the morphogenesis of Spanish colonial Pensacola between 1781 and 1821.

Geography Students attend GIS Day at Rhodes State

On December 11, twenty nine Introduction to GIS students from ONU attended 2008 GIS Day at Rhodes State University in Lima. Each year, GIS Day provides an international forum for users of geographic information systems (GIS) technology to demonstrate real-world applications that are making a difference in our society. More than 80 countries participate by holding local events such as corporate open houses, hands-on workshops, community expos, and school assemblies. The events held at Rhodes State University included interactive workshops and lectures provided by representatives from the Ohio Department of Agriculture, Allen County Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, Allen County Sheriff's Department, Allen County Engineers, Wannemacher Enterprises, and GeoSnapper website. ONU students in attendance come from a variety of academic disciplines, including: criminal justice, marketing, biology, history, psychology, political science, civil engineering, accounting, and environmental studies. ONU students attendees included: Aimee Baehrens, David Beale, Kenzie Bock, Ryland Breeding, Erin Buehler, Patrick Dochenetz, Amanda Dodson, Adam Fleming, Joseph Francis, Patricia Fuller, Derek Hunt, Janel Jerraid-Perrey, Jamal Jones, Sean Kazmierczak, Dam Yun Kim, Samantha Licata, Toni Lininger, Jesse Longbrake, Jordan Martin, Brianna Nagy, Marcus Quinones, Joshua Ryan, Jonah Simons, Megan Skinner, Kenton Sneed, Leeann Sullivan, Kimberly Trinkle, and Ian Williams. ONU Professors Jimmy Wilson, David Smith, and Ellen Wilson also attended.

Professor Lee Delivers Paper to American Society for Criminology

Professor Suengmug (Zech) Lee (on the left) delivered a paper entitled "Domestic Violence Against Women Among Korean-American in New York City" to the Annual Meeting of the American Society for Criminology in St. Louis, MO on November 12.

Phi Beta Delta Hosts Talk by Ice Core Specialist

On Thursday December 4, 2008.in the Dicke Forum, Phi Beta Delta, The Honor Society for International Scholars sponsored a presentation titled " Global Climate Change: A Paleoclimate Perspective from the World's Highest Mountains" by Lonnie G. Thompson, Distinguished University Professor in the Department of Geological Sciences and Research Scientist at the Byrd Polar Research Center at The Ohio State University.

Professor Thompson is one of the world's foremost authorities on paleoclimatology and glaciology. He has led more than 50 expeditions during the last 30 years, conducting ice-core drilling programs in the world's polar regions as well as in tropical and subtropical ice fields.

Thompson is a Distinguished University Professor in the Department of Geological Sciences and Research Scientist at the Byrd Polar Research Center at The Ohio State University. His research has propelled the field of ice core paleoclimatology out of the Polar Regions to the highest tropical and subtropical ice fields. He and the OSU team have developed light-weight solar powered drilling equipment for acquisition of histories from ice fields in the tropical South American Andes, the Himalayas, and on Kilimanjaro. These paleoclimate histories have advanced our understanding of the coupled nature of the Earth's climate system. Special emphasis has been placed on the El Niqo and monsoon systems that dominate the climate of the tropical Pacific and affect global-scale oceanic and atmospheric circulation patterns. His observations of glacier retreat over the last three decades confirm that glaciers around the world are melting and provide clear evidence that the warming of the last 50 years is now outside the range of climate variability for several millennia, if not longer.

Professor Nsia-Pepra Delivers Paper at King-Mandela Lecture Symposium

On November 20th, Professor Kofi Nsia-Pepra (pictured on the right) presented his paper entitled Changing U.S.-Africa Relations: Reconsiderations for the New U.S. Administration to the King-Mandela Annual Lecture Symposium held at the Georgia Center for Continuing Education Conference Center on the campus of the University of Georgia.

Professor Smith Delivers Paper at Conference in Tehran, Iran

Dr. David R. Smith, pictured at the far right, associate professor of geography at ONU, was part of the 16th International Conference on Central Asia and the Caucasus, held Oct. 28 and 29 in Teheran, Iran. Also pictured are, from left, Dennis Sammut, United Kingdom, executive director of Links, a non-government organization and publication on the Caucasus; Johana Papjanevski, Sweden, deputy director of the Institute for Development and Security Policy; Manuchehr Moradi, panel chair, director of the Center for Central Asia and the Caucusus, Institute for Political and International Studies, Foreign Ministry, Iran; George Sanikidze, Republic of Georgia, director of the Institute of Oriental Studies, Georgian Academy of Sciences; and Michele Brunelli, Italy, researcher on international law and international relations. Smith’s paper, “The Russian Federation and the Republic of Georgia: a Geographic Perspective on the Conflict,” was part of the session on a regional cooperation approach and prospect for an enduring peace and stability in the Caucasus. In addition, Smith said, “I met and had tea with the first deputy foreign minister of the Islamic Republic of Iran at the conference. I talked with him and discussed how ONU and IPIS could increase ties with one another.” The convention was subtitled “Confrontation in the Caucasus: Roots, Dimensions, Applications.” This was Smith’s third appearance as a guest speaker at the Institute for Political and International Studies annual conference.

Students Debate Presidential Election

ONU students held a mock debate of the issues in the presidential campaign in the Dicke Forum. Doug Chapel moderated the event, and presenters included Denise Jansen, Michael Story, Stephen Ankney, and Rob Capovilla.

Model United Nations Tournament held at ONU

The 12th annual Model United Nations competition sponsored by Ohio Northern University brought 90 students from 10 high schools to campus on Oct. 4. During the day-long simulation, students assumed the character of various nations to present resolutions for the General Assembly of the United Nations. During the morning, delegates worked in three areas: war and arms control, human rights crises, and environmental issues. In the afternoon, they came together in the General Assembly to pass resolutions from the earlier sessions. Bowling Green High School, acting as the United States delegation, won top-team honors for the third year in a row. Second place was St. Charles Preparatory School from Columbus, Ohio. Coming in third was the second Bowling Green team, acting as Japan. Fourth and fifth places went to William Henry Harrison High School from Harrison, Ohio, and Tippecanoe High School from Tipp City, Ohio. Also participating were Keystone High School from LaGrange, Ohio, Fisher Catholic High School from Lancaster, Ohio, Upper Scioto High School, Antwerp High School, Horizon Science Academy from Columbus and Lima Senior High School. Faculty from the History, Politics, and Justice Department, and the Modern Languages Department served as judges for the competition, under the direction of Dr. Andy Ludanyi. Lisa Robeson, interim dean of the College of Arts & Sciences, presented awards to the top teams.

Pji Beta Delta Hosts Discussion of the Georgia Crisis

On Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2008, Phi Beta Delta sponsored a panel discussion in the Dicke Forum on “The Crisis between Georgia and Russia in the Caucasus and its Ramifications” for the US, EU, UN and immediate neighbors of Russia.

The panel included law professors Howard N.Fenton and Bryan H. Ward, political scientist Andrew Ludanyi, geographer David R. Smith, and Georgian law student Eliso Chabrava. Phi Beta Delta coordinator Michael Loughlin moderated the discussion.

Students Discuss National Political Conventions

Eight of 13 Ohio Northern University students who attended the 2008 Democratic and Republican National conventions took part in a panel to discuss their experiences last Thursday. The students described their experiences, which included working security, aiding the Ohio party organizations, and working for Congressional Quarterly. Students were interviewed by local newspapers, provided analysis for radio stations, and several were interviewed by television stations in Denver and even the BBC. The students discussed the networking opportunities they had during the two weeks they spent at the conventions. In addition to their presentations, several students also blogged about their experiences at webstu.onu.edu/politics/

Social Studies Students attend OCSS Annual Conference

On April 11, three social studies students, Jennifer Sherman, a sophomore from North Olmstead, Katherine DeMars, a sophomore from Toledo, and Jennifer Bazell, a junior from Logan, and Dr. Russ Crawford, assistant professor of history, attended the Ohio Council for the Social Studies Annual Conference in Worthington. They attended sessions on innovative teaching methods and talked with vendors about text books and interactive social studies programs. They also visited the C-SPAN bus, which travels the nation to introduce high school and university students to the public affairs network.

HPJ Students Present Papers at Phi Alpha Theta Conference

Dr. John Lomax, professor of history, and Dr. Russ Crawford, assistant professor of history, took seven students to the Phi Alpha Theta student history conference at Kent State University on April 5. Five students delivered papers. They are Jared Hardesty, a senior from Lima, Ohio; Laurie Lotz, a senior from Milford, Ohio; Cassie Graf, a senior from Maumee, Ohio; Erica Ranly, a senior from Coldwater, Ohio; and Aaron Stiger, a senior from Wapakoneta, Ohio. Patti Stiger, a sophomore from Bradner, Ohio, and Joe Dellaposta, a senior from Middletown, Ohio, also attended. Jared and Laurie won top papers in their sessions.

Model UN Team receives Honorable Mention

Ohio Northern’s Model UN team was awarded honorable mention at the Model UN National Competition held April 22-26 in New York City. ONU was also mentioned in the official program as being in the top four schools with the longest running program. This is ONU’s 34th year. The ONU team took the role of the Syrians, and Dr. Andy Ludanyi said they worked together very well and did a great job.

PHI BETA DELTA

Phi Beta Delta is the Honor Society for International Scholars. The nominees for membership in the Gamma Upsilon Chapter of Phi Beta Delta include outstanding faculty, staff, students, and alumni. Phi Beta Delta was founded on February 27, 1986 at California StateUniversity at Long Beach, and it became a national organization in 1987. As of the Spring of 2005, over 150 chapters had been founded in the US and Mexico with over 5000 members. The Society hopes to integrate all faculty, staff, students, and alumni who possess a deep commitment to international affairs, education, and research. One of the functions of the Gamma Upsilon Chapter has been to create a regular forum in which international affairs can be discussed using university sources and by seeking prominent individuals with varied experience in international affairs recruited from beyond the university community.

Ohio Northern to Host Conference on Climate Change

Ohio Northern University students and faculty are invited to take part in the Conference on Global Climate Change, scheduled for Saturday, April 5, from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the Dicke Forum. The conference is sponsored by Northwest Ohio International Affairs Conference (NOIAC), which is made up of Bluffton University, Defiance College, Heidelberg College, Ohio Northern University, Tiffin University and the University of Findlay. Three guest speakers, Dr. Todd H. Albert from Bowling Green State University, Dr. W. Berry Lyons from The Ohio State University and Dr. David R. Smith from Ohio Northern University, will make presentations and take part in breakout sessions during the conference. Albert, an instructor of geography at Bowling Green State University, will present “Changing Earth’s Climate.” He received his Ph.D. in geography from Florida State University, his M.S. in atmospheric sciences from The Ohio State University, and his BS in geography from the University of Florida. Albert has done research in the Italian Alps, the Colorado Rockies, the High Andes of Peru and the Greenland ice sheet. He has received numerous grants and awards, including the CIRES Innovative Research Grant in 2002-3 and a NASA Graduate Research Fellowship, both from the University of Colorado. He has spoken on topics such as remote sensing techniques for ice-area classification applied to the tropical Quelccaya Ice Cap, global land ice measurement from space, assessment of glacier mass balances from small tropical glaciers to the large ice sheet of Greenland, measuring and modeling surface height changes on the Greenland ice sheet, variability and forcing of climate parameters on the Greenland ice sheet, Greenland ice sheet climatology and surface energy balance modeling, and recent changes on the tropical Quelccaya Ice Cap in Peru. Lyons, director of the Byrd Polar Research Center and a professor at the School of Earth Science at The Ohio State University, will present “Global Climate Change: Lessons from the Cryosphere.” Lyons received his BA in geology from Brown University and his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in chemical oceanography from the University of Connecticut. He currently is a distinguished professor in the college of math and physical sciences. He also is a fellow of GSA, American Association for the Advancement of Science and American Geographical Union. He recently stepped down after 11 years as the lead principal investigator of the McMurdo Dry Valleys Long-Term Ecological Research (MCM-LTER) program, one of the two Antarctic LTER sites. Lyons is one of the U.S. representatives on the Geosciences Scientific Group of the Scientific Committee for Antarctic Research (SCAR). He is an associate editor for “Chemical Geology” and “Applied Geochemistry,” and he is a member of the AGU’s Book Board. Lyons has co-authored over 190 scientific publications and has been the primary supervisor to 33 graduate students. His research spans the areas of aqueous geochemistry, environmental geochemistry, biogeochemistry and climate change. Smith is professor of geography at ONU and will speak on “Drought, Deluge and Dearth: Climate Change and Political Conflict.” He received his Ph.D. from the University of Chicago, and he spent two years at the National Center for Atmospheric Research. His publications and research focus on water and conflict over water in world and regional social development issues in Central Asia in particular. He recently has traveled to Iran and North Korea. Smith is a board member of the International Research Foundation for Development (IRFD) and a member of its governing council with special consultative status with the UN. He has received travel and research grants from the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, Fulbright and other programs. He recently taught classes at Hanyang University in Seoul, South Korea. He is the author of a soon-to-be published book titled “The Aral Sea Basin: Evolution and Legacy of an Environmental Catastrophe.” While the event is free and open to the entire ONU campus, there will be a limited number of student and faculty members in the official ONU delegation. To become part of that delegation, contact Michael Loughlin, professor of history, at ext. 2092 or m-loughlin@ onu.edu Saturday’s event is supported by ONU’s Academic Affairs, Phi Beta Delta and the departments of biological and allied health sciences and history, politics and justice.