Professor Crawford Presents French Research

Dr. Crawford presented his paper, "Fourth and Long: The History of American Football in France, 1918-1985" at the Mirror of Our Culture: Sport and Society in the United States conference sponsored by St. Norbert's College and the Green Bay Packers.

The conference included one day of academic presentations, and one day of talks by professionals in the sports field.  The Keyonote speaker was Commissioner of Major League Baseball Bud Selig.

On the second day, Ahman Green (pictured with Crawford), the leading rusher in Packer history, and Bryce Paup, a former linebacker for the Packers and Bills, talked about Life After Pro Football: Perspectives and Transition.  Former Packer General Manager Ron Wolf and Chairman Emeritus of the Packers Bob Harlan discussed how the Packers turned around their fortunes in the 1990s.  After lunch, VP and General Counsel of the Milwaukee Brewers of MLB Marti Wronski discussed marketing baseball.

With its mix of academics and professionals in the field, this conference is a great experience for anyone interested in sports' role in our society.

Professor Crawford in the French Media

While in France, Dr. Crawford had the chance, thanks to the help of Jean-Marc Burtscher, to appear in the media.   He did two interviews on Radiossa, a French internet radio program devoted to American football on Monday May 7th  and again on the 14th.  The first time focused on his research and impressions of the first game, Red Star versus the Kiowa, that he watched on May 6th.  The second interview covered Crawford's impressions of an elite division game between the Flash of Corneuve and the Spartiates of Amiens, that he watched the Saturday before the final interview.  They were also interested in hearing Crawford's analysis of refereeing, concussions, and the difference between the American and French football cultures.  If you are interested in improving your French, or listening to Crawford's English answers, you  can click on the links above to hear the broadcasts.

Crawford was also interviewed by Stephanie Caporal, who is doing a documentary on American football in France.  She interviewed him about his background in football, his research, and the cultural differences.  Stephanie and her husband Matthieu plan to make an online documentary to be finished at an indefinite date in the future.

Crawford also was interviewed for the Elitefoot blog about his research.  That can be found here.  If you use Google Chrome, it will translate for you.

Professor Crawford Takes Research Trip to France

Dr. Crawford, with the help of HPJ and the Getty College of Arts and Sciences, recently traveled to France to do research on American football in that country.

Americans have been playing football there since 1918, but the sport never really took off for French players until the 1980s, when a physical education teacher named Laurent Plagelatte brought the game back with him from a conference in Vail, CO.  Today, the Federation Francaise de Football Americain has around 200 teams and over 20,000 players in various divisions.

The photo above is Crawford with the Red Star team of Noisy-le-sec, the team of Jean-Marc Burtscher (blue uniform #93 in the photo), who initially interested Crawford in American football in France, and who worked overtime to make his trip a success.  Burtscher brought Crawford to games and practices, where Crawford tried his hand at bi-lingual coaching, and helped find research material and set up interviews with FFFA officials and former players.

Crawford plans to try to publish a book, with help on the photos by Burtscher, on this fascinating story and has already presented a paper on the subject in Green Bay, WI.

HPJ Students to Take Part in National Political Conventions

In case you missed it in the last post:

This summer, 10 ONU students will participate in either the Democratic National Convention Program in Charlotte, N.C., or the Republican National Convention program in Tampa, Fla. In the last five years, more than 90 ONU students have participated in TWC programming. This includes 48 in the traditional D.C. program, six in the Internship Abroad program, 13 students in the 2008 Presidential Convention program, two students in the Arab-Israeli simulation, and one student in the 2008 Presidential Inauguration program. Students from any major are able to participate in TWC programming. More than 15 majors from three colleges (Arts & Sciences, Business Administration, and Pharmacy) at ONU have had participants in TWC programming. ONU students have enjoyed excellent placements and real-world experience that have helped them in their post-graduate lives.

ONU Recognized by The Washington Center

The Washington Center (TWC) for Internships and Academic Programs, an organization that provides college students with the opportunity to work and learn in the nation’s capital, has named Ohio Northern University as its Private University of the Year.

ONU is being recognized for its strong commitment to internships and academic programming offered through TWC. From publicizing the program, to advising students of opportunities and assisting students with the application process, Ohio Northern has distinguished itself as a leader among private universities and their placement of students with high-profile internships. Ohio Northern will be recognized at the annual Academic Affairs Awards Luncheon, which will be held at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 1.

Robert Alexander, associate professor of political science, ONU’s liaison for the Washington Center and a member of the Washington Center’s National Advisory Board, expressed excitement about the award. “Being named the Private University of the Year by The Washington Center speaks to the strong caliber of our students. They are the ones who are truly being honored by this award. They have taken advantage of amazing opportunities they simply could not get on a college campus. Ohio Northern has been a leader in recognizing the importance of experiential learning opportunities like those offered through The Washington Center.”
Ohio Northern has a strong relationship with TWC and has partnered with the Center for nearly two decades. The University encourages and supports students who wish to engage in internship opportunities through TWC. Members of the ONU faculty have served on the National Liaison Advisory Board for a number of years and have served as faculty leaders in TWC programming.

This summer, 10 ONU students will participate in either the Democratic National Convention Program in Charlotte, N.C., or the Republican National Convention program in Tampa, Fla. In the last five years, more than 90 ONU students have participated in TWC programming. This includes 48 in the traditional D.C. program, six in the Internship Abroad program, 13 students in the 2008 Presidential Convention program, two students in the Arab-Israeli simulation, and one student in the 2008 Presidential Inauguration program. Students from any major are able to participate in TWC programming. More than 15 majors from three colleges (Arts & Sciences, Business Administration, and Pharmacy) at ONU have had participants in TWC programming. ONU students have enjoyed excellent placements and real-world experience that have helped them in their post-graduate lives.

Well done Dr. Alexander!  Your good work with the Center has made this award a reality!

HPJ Student Named Campaign Manager

Jay Meyers, a recent graduate with a BA in Political Science, has accepted the position of Campaign Manager for Marlene Anielski, member of the Ohio State House of Representatives for the 17th District, which is located in a portion of Cuyahoga County.

We wish Jay and Representative Anielski the best of luck in the upcoming election!

Nsia-Pepra Cited

Kofi Nsia-Pepra, professor of Political Science’s  paper, “Robust Peacekeeping? Confronting the Failures of Traditional Peacekeeping in Preventing Human Rights Violations.” presented at the 50th Annual Convention of the International Studies Association. February 15, 2009 has been cited by George Klay Kieh, Jr in his article “An Anatomy of Conflict Resolution in Africa’s Civil Conflicts” published in journal Peace and Conflict Studies, Fall 2010 Volume 17, Number 2 http://shss.nova.edu/pcs/journalsPDF/pcs_fall_2010.pdf

Nsia-Pepra's Thesis/dissertation/manuscript Archival Material (  Master of Laws, LLM, International Human Rights Law) entitled “  Legal Analysis of Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Monitoring Group (ECOMOG) Operations in Liberia and Sierra Leone - Effects and Future., 2001 has been cited by Dr. Victor Essien (. NYU) in his work “Regional Trade Agreements in Africa: A Historical and Bibliographic Account of ECOWAS and CEMAC”, 2006

Nsia-Pepra Published Book Review

Kofi Nsia-Pepra, professor of Political Science ( International Relations/Comparative Politics) is author of a review of  Donovan C. Chau  book “ Global security Watch Kenya”  ( New York: Praeger , 2010) published  in  the US Military Review -The professional Journal of the U.S. Army  , March-April 2012

Professor Nsia Pepra Presented at the Midwest Political Science Association Annual Meeting, Chicago April 13, 2012

Professor Kofi Nsia-Pepra presented a paper entitled:  Truth and Justice- Establishing Accountability for War Crimes and Crimes against Humanity   in Africa. at the Midwest Political Science Association Annual Meeting, Chicago April 13, 2012 . The paper critically examines the appropriateness of  either truth commissions or war crime tribunals for accountability for war crimes in Africa. It demonstrates the inefficacy of either mechanism to adequately account for war crimes and proposes a hybrid model of truth and justice that caters for deficiencies of the other thereby enhancing efficacious accountability.

HPJ Students Present at ONU Research Colloquium

Taylor Boedicker presented his poster: Child Crime Reports in Cuyahoga County Ohio, Garrett D. Fruchey presented his poster: Endangered Species Distribution Interactive Mapping in Ohio, Lindsey Ziegler presented her poster: Lake Erie Yellow Perch Prime Harvesting Time and Location, Caleb Worley presented his poster: Population Change and Shortline Railroad Abandonment in Kansas, Emily Nebgen presented her poster: The Decline of the American Bison, Kandai Doi presented her poster: The Distribution of Rabies Incidence Among Wildlife in Ohio, Bethany Blakely presented her posterThe Ecology of Infection: White Tailed Deer and Lyme Disease, and Michael MConnell presented his paper: Wind Energy: Turning Towards a Better Future.  The above were created and presented under the supervision of Dr. HJ Wilson.

Nicole Fern Listeman presented her research on Sex Offenders Say the Darndest Things: A Look at the Language of Sex Offenders, under the supervision of Dr. HJ Geistman

HPJ Honors Day

          

     








The Department of History Politics and Justice held its Honors Day program on April 28.  This was our chance to recognize all the good work that our students have done during the year.  Our honorary organizations also inducted new members.

The honoraries are: Alpha Phi Sigma - Gamma Theta Upsilon - Geography, Alpha Phi Sigma - Criminal Justice,  Pi Sigma Alpha - Political Science, Phi Beta Delta - International Scholars, Studia Socialia Americae - Social Studies, and Phi Alpha Theta - History.

Well done to all students for your hard work this year!

GIS Students in the Field

Dr. Jimmy Wilson's GIS class traveled to the Hardin County Emergency Center to observe how GIS is used in real world applications.  They were given a tour of the Center by Hardin County Sheriff Keith Everhart.  Wilson had a great deal of experience using GIS to accomplish emergency services in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, when he worked with the Louisiana Department of Roads to gather and use data in the recovery effort.  He continues to stress real-world applications in his classes.