Jody Blankenship, who graduated from ONU with a major in History in 2000, has been named the new Director of the Connecticut Historical Society. Blankenship had previously served as the Director of the Education Division for the Kentucky Historical Society. While at ONU, he worked with Professor Schuck in the Public History/Museum Studies Minor, and later went on to earn his MA in History and Museum Studies from the Cooperstown Graduate Program in 2002.
Joe Fischer, who graduated with a major in Social Studies Teacher Licensure, was hired recently to teach in his area by the Bath Local Schools. Fisher, who also wrestled for the Polar Bears during his career at ONU, will teach at Bath High School.
Dr. Russ Crawford,associate professor of history, is the
recipient of two grants, both related to the 2013 U.S.-Japan Camp to be held in
July. A $30,000grant from theUnited States-Japan Foundation will support the sixth iteration of
the camp, which is expected to bring 20 high school students from around the
country to ONU for a two-week program of intensive language instruction and
coursework in Japanese history and culture. Students have the unique
opportunity to interact with Japanese peers who are part of the Sakae Institute
on campus. This is the second grant ONU has received from the United
States-Japan Foundation to hold the camp.
A new activity,Japanese
Culture Days, has been added to the camp and includes public
presentations on July 24 and 25 by two scholars to discuss their
research on the following topics: the connection between Japanese and American
baseball and Japanese/Chinese relations during World War II. In addition to the
public sessions, the scholars will be working with the camp participants. Each
student completes a capstone project related to an aspect of Japanese culture,
and those posters will be on exhibit during the Japanese Culture Day. This
program is made possible, in part,thanks
to a$3,500grant from theOhio Humanities Council, a state
affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Crawford is
the program director for both activities.
Dr.
Harry J. “Jimmy” Wilson, visiting assistant professor of geography, has procured two
different software licenses for use by the University. OhioNorthernUniversity is the
recipient of a Google Earth Pro
Grant for Educators. With the help of ONU’s IT department, Wilson has secured 30
licenses of the software, estimated at a value of $9.000. Students in Wilson’s geographic
information systems (GIS) course are using the software to create 3-D
renderings of campus and village buildings and
virtual tours and fly-throughs of campus.
More information on the project can be found on the following ONU page.
Also, Wilson’s
efforts resulted in procuring 500 licenses of Business Analyst extension for ArcGIS, the GIS software used by
the University and particularly
those in the Dicke College of Business Administration. The extension comes with the most up-to-date census
demographics, consumer trends, segmentation data, business locations and
information. It also comes with a campus-wide subscription to the Business
Analyst online utility, which can be used by anyone anywhere do to light
analysis of consumer trends, drive-time analysis and business locations. Theapplication, which retails at $5,000
per license, also allows users to create professional detailed consumer and
demographic reports as PDF files. Wilson
uses Business Analyst extensively in his GIS for Marketing courses as a
valuable tool that helps prepare marketing students for capstone projects,
internships, graduate school opportunities and jobs.
Students from Dr. Alexander's classes and Pi Sigma Alpha are once again aiding the professor in sending out surveys to the electors from the 2012 presidential election. Alexander is one of the preeminent international scholars doing research on the Electoral College, with particular emphasis on so-called "faithless electors," or those who change their pledged votes. In past years he has published articles in top political science journals, and in 2012, he published his third book Presidential Electors and the Electoral College: An Examination of Lobbying, Wavering Electors, and Campaigns for Faithless Votes with Cambria Press.
Alexander's students have gained valuable real world experience helping him collect the information that goes into his publications, and in past years, students have co-written articles that have appeared in academic journals. During election years, Alexander is also in high demand by news services from both the United States and abroad for his analysis of presidential elections and the electoral college.
Heo, a Political Science major, is currently in DC doing an internship through the Washington Center.
In the photo, she (right) and Seyun Lee of the Business College, are pictured with Michael Smith, the Director of the Washington Center. Smith himself is an alumni of ONU.
Ben Wollett (left) has been with us all semester after he stepped into the breach and took over two Western Civilization courses. Doug Chapel also visited the other day and brought news of a new position he was getting ready to start. Chapel, who graduated with a major in Political Science and then earned his Masters in Public Administration from the University of Indiana, will assume his duties as the public policy director for a power company in Michigan.
Ohio Northern University Founded in 1871, Ohio Northern University is a competitive, comprehensive university affiliated with the United Methodist church. ONU is one of the few private universities to offer a unique blend of quality liberal arts and professional programs in its five colleges: Arts & Sciences, Business Administration, Engineering, Pharmacy and Law.
