Greetings from the College of Science at Cleveland State University!

 

From the Dean: Update on the College of Science

Three Cleveland State University students - the most of any institution in the State - have been awarded 2008 Ohio Board of Regents Graduate/Professional Fellowships. CSU traditionally receives more of these awards than any other Ohio school. This year, two COS students, Johnny Sams, and Duncan Shepherd, received fellowships that will pay for two years of graduate study. Johnny is pursuing a Master’s degree in Psychology, and Duncan a Doctor of Physical Therapy degree. We are proud of these and our many other outstanding graduate students.

On October 3, the College of Science celebrated the opening of the Center for Gene Regulation in Health and Disease. The newly established center houses some of CSU's many outstanding researchers. Focused on understanding the causes, prevention, and treatment of disease, these nationally and internationally known scholars are working toward elimination of some of the most feared medical conditions.

CSU received $40 Million in research awards last year from the National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation, American Heart Association, and others to advance the study of diseases and their treatment, making research opportunities available to both graduate and undergraduate students. For example, students work alongside a chemistry professor doing research on preventing heart attacks and strokes and enhancing the quality of life for those already afflicted through the development of safer methods for blood-thinning than currently available.

For more information on the Center, contact Dr. Crystal Weyman, Interim Director, at (216) 687-6971 or c.weyman@csuohio.edu.

As we celebrate all the great things happening in our College, we also celebrate the many achievements of President Michael Schwartz, who is stepping down from the CSU presidency at the end of this academic year. President Schwartz has been a driving force for positive change across the University and across Cleveland, and has issued a challenge in his final year - to fund two million dollars in new scholarships across the University. We hope that some of these funds will provide new scholarships in the College of Science. Please help us to make good on this challenge, and to send President Schwartz off with a record year in scholarship support. The current economy is challenging for all of us, and students are more dependent than ever on support from donors like you.

I invite you to read on to learn more about what’s happening at the College of Science at Cleveland State University.

I wish you and your family a very happy holiday season.

Bette Bonder

 

 

UPCOMING EVENTS…PLEASE JOIN US!

MAHALIA: A GOSPEL MUSICAL

SATURDAY, JANUARY 31, 2009 AT 8 PM

Click here for more details:  http://www.csuohio.edu/sciences/alumni/upcoming_events.html

To order tickets, call: 216.687.2078

Naples, Florida Alumni Gathering
Thursday, Feb. 19 at 5 p.m.
To RSVP, call: 216.687.2078

Click here for more details:  http://www.csuohio.edu/sciences/alumni/upcoming_events.html

 

Did you know….?

• The new COS Center for Gene Regulation in Health and Disease is comprised of researchers studying the basic genetic and molecular mechanisms that cause disease, and identifying potential treatments.
• The Department of Chemistry is in the second year of a National Science Foundation REEL (Research Engagement in Experiential Learning) program that supports student research on environmental concerns.
• Graduates of the health professional programs in the COS pass national certification examinations at rates well above the national average, most close to 100%. These programs include: physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech and language pathology, physician assisting, and school psychology.

 

Recent Accomplishments in the College of Science

FACULTY:

Health Sciences:        

• Dr. Glenn Goodman received the Award of Merit from the Ohio Occupational Therapy Association. This award is the highest honor paid to a member of OOTA who has demonstrated outstanding qualities of leadership, academics, or clinical achievement in the initiation, development or perpetuation of occupational therapy in the state of Ohio.
• Dr. Susan Bazyk, has been named a Fellow of the American Occupational Therapy Association. This honor recognizes therapists who have made a significant contribution to the continuing education and professional development of members of the Association, and is awarded to less than 1% of members.

 

Math:

• On October 18-19, four members of the CSU Math Department gave lectures at the American Mathematical Society Sectional Meeting in Kalamazoo, Michigan: Jonathan Scott, Peter Bubenik, Gregory Lupton, and John Oprea.
• John Oprea was the Inaugural Speaker in the Baylor University Undergraduate Lecture Series in Mathematics on November 5, 2008.
• Dr. Bubenik and Dr. Oprea were awarded one of four grants given by the (national) Conference Board of Mathematical Sciences for a conference to be held at Cleveland State University from August 3 to 7, 2009. The conference, titled Algebraic Topology in Applied Mathematics, will feature 10 lectures by Robert Ghrist (Penn) on very recent applications of algebraic topology and its methods to problems in modern technological areas.

 

Chemistry:

• Dr. Michael Kalafatis’ abstract, The Effect of Factor Va on Prothrombinase Function, has been selected for oral presentation at the Special Symposium on the Basic Science of Hemostasis and Thrombosis. Of all the abstracts submitted to ASH in the hemostasis and thrombosis categories this year, only 10% were selected for oral presentation in this special symposium.
• Dr. Xue-Long Sun organized the successful Carbohydrate Symposium at CSU with 72 scholars and students attending. Medicinal Research Review has tentatively agreed to publish a special issue on the topics of this symposium and Dr. Sun has been invited to be the guest editor for this special issue.
• Dr. Aimin Zhou received the 2008 Marousch Grant entitled "The Role of Rnase L in Type 1 Diabetes" from the Diabetes Association of Greater Cleveland.

 

Biology, Geology, Environmental Sciences:

• Among numerous collaborative publications in this past year, Dr. Anton Komar also has an invited review article and book chapter: A pause for thought along the co-translational folding pathway. Trends Biochem. Sci., in press, and Komar A.A. (2008) Protein Translation Rates and Protein Misfolding: Is there any link? In Protein Misfolding: New Research (O'Doherty C.B. and Byrne, A.C. eds), Nova Science Publishers, Inc. NY, in press. These review recent research supporting an idea he proposed in the 1990s on adaptive slowing of translation to allow proper protein folding.
• Dr. Girish Shukla and four BGES graduate students presented research at the "2008 RustBelt RNA Meeting" held October 17-18 in Mt. Sterling, Ohio". Dr. Shukla is an organizer of this midwest regional meeting this year and next; the event is funded in part by a National Science Foundation grant to Dr. Shukla.
• Work by a team led by Dr. Barsan Mazumder was accepted for publication in Molecular and Cellular Biology, one of the top journals in the field. The article, with CSU authors starred, is Genome-wide polysome profiling reveals an inflammation-responsive post-transcriptional operon in IFN-g activated monocytes, by K.Vyas, S. Chaudhuri, D. W. Leaman, A.A. Komar, A. Musiyenko, S. Barik and B. Mazumder.
• In September, Dr. Barsan Mazumder gave an invited talk at the Cold Spring Harbor Meeting on Translation Control, the largest international meeting on translation control of gene expression and Dr. Roman Kondratov gave an invited talk at the Cold Spring Harbor "Molecular genetics of aging" meeting.

 

Physics:

• Dr. Petru S. Fodor received a 2008 Contrell College Science Award from the Research Corporation for his project "Development and characterization of semiconductor - metal nanostructures fabricated through self - assembly."
• Professor Kaufman, in collaboration with researchers from CWRU College of Engineering, has written a chapter titled “Applications of Statistical Physics to Mixing in Microchannels: Entropy and Multifractals” published by Springer in the prestigious NATO Science for Peace and Security Series.

 

STUDENTS:

Physics:

• Undergraduate Matthew Itomlenskis presented a poster titled “Design Optimization of Passive Micromixers with Fractal Surface Patterning” at the COMSOL 2008 Conference in Boston. This research was done in collaboration with Professors Fodor and Kaufman.

 

Biology, Geology, Environmental Sciences:

• BGES doctoral student, Kaloyan Ivanov, is the Ohio Curator for AntWeb.org, a website sponsored by the California Academy of Sciences to promote information exchange on the systematics, conservations status, and ecology of ants, one of the most ecological and economically significant insect groups. You can find Kaloyan's description of Ohio ants, species lists, and photographs at http://www.antweb.org/ohio.jsp.
• Paul Mills, an undergraduate student working with Dr. Don Lindmark, is presenting 'The Efficacy of Antimicrobial Powder Coatings Prepared Using Novel Post-Blending Techniques' at Smart Coatings 2009 Symposium on 2/26/09 in Orlando, FL.

 

ALUMNI:

Biology, Geology, Environmental Sciences:

• T J (Terry) Fadem, ’74 is at the University of Pennsylvania; in addition to his role in the School of Medicine as Managing Director, Corporate Alliances, he is also a member of the Core team at the Mack Center for technological Innovation at the Wharton School where his role is as the managing consultant on the Biosciences crossroads Initiative. T J tells us he has a book coming out in December – The Art of Asking: Ask Better Questions, get Better Answers – published by Pearson under their Financial Times label. It is specifically targeted to meet the needs of managers at all levels in any kind of an organization
• Edd Kray wrote with the following story:

It’s good to hear of the progress that my old school is making in science. Thought you might like to hear of what I did with my MS in Biology, 1980. In 1980 I moved to Denver and began work with the Colorado Department of Health and Environment. I strayed from “straight-forward” Biology and was trained in Health Physics though course with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and Oak Ridge Associated Universities. In 1992 I assumed the project of decommissioning of the Rocky Flats Nuclear Weapons plant outside of Denver, as a regulator for the state of Colorado. Rocky Flats was the facility in which plutonium metal was fabricated into the spherical “pits” used as the core of thermonuclear weapons. The 400 acre industrial area was home to over 100 production buildings in which weapons activity took place since the 1950’s. Contamination was significant and decommissioning challenges were unique. Most thought it would take over 100 years and 100 billion dollars to decommission “the mess”. Working with the Feds and their contractor, Kaiser-Hill Corp., we finished the task in 10 years and for 7 billion, ahead of schedule and under budget. My task was to oversee environmental concerns from the States perspective. There were no measurable environmental releases during the decommissioning. Rocky Flats, the contaminated weapons factory, is now the Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge.

Health Sciences:
           

• Siddiqah Henighan, N.D. wrote to tell us that she has obtained her education as a naturalpathic/homeopathic Doctor and made leaps in creating her business: Harmonywise Holistic Health Center Inc. On July 15, 2008, she was featured on CSU radio network in the art of Life Coaching interviewed by Preston Pickett in the Black Studies Department. She is also on the Executive Board of Murtis H. Taylor.

Departmental news:

Biology, Geology, Environmental Sciences:

• Environmental Science undergrads initiated a fund-raising effort to complete the green roof planned for the CSU recreation center, raising over $10,000.
• The Woodlake Environmental Research Station, a facility for research and education on urbanization of forest ecosystems, is celebrating its 10th year. Woodlake represents a partnership among CSU, John Carroll University and the U.S. National Park Service in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park.

Chemistry:

• Each year, up to 15 students from the department can move directly into the Doctor of Pharmacy program at NEOUCOP.

Health Sciences:

• The Occupational Therapy Program underwent a site visit for reaccreditation in June. The program was praised for the integrity of its curriculum, the strength of its faculty and director, the quality of its students, its relationship with the community, and its innovative programs.

Math:

• Students can take a statistics course with one of the best statistics teachers in America (John Holcomb) or a math course with one of two faculty who have won a prestigious Mathematical Association of American award for expository writing of mathematics.

Physics:

• For the third year in a row, the department is ranked as one of the top bachelors producing departments among the Master’s granting departments in the U.S. The 2008 report ranks the CSU Physics Department as third in the nation on number of master’s degrees awarded for the period 2004, 2005, and 2006. http://aip.org/statistics/trends/reports/ed.pdf

Psychology:

• Over 100 people participated in the first annual Diversity Management Conference: Translating Theory and Research Findings into Best Practices. Twenty presenters, including six CSU professors, academics from other institutions and diversity professionals presented their research findings.

 

IRA renewal law benefits everyone
Recently, the provision of the Pension Protection Act of 2006, allowing direct distributions from your IRA to qualified charities, with no adverse tax consequences, was extended for the 2008 and 2009 tax years.  Under this law, individuals who have reached age 70½ by the date of contribution to the charity can make a distribution directly from their IRA to a qualified charity.  They are limited to gifts of $100,000 (or $200,000 for a married couple) in each of the two years this provision is in effect. 
            *          Keep in mind, qualifying distributions can be utilized to meet your                                Minimum Distribution Requirements!
The distribution has to be made to a qualified charity, such as Cleveland State University.  Distributions to donor advised funds or private foundations do not qualify.

This distribution has to be made DIRECTLY to the charity. It is not acceptable to have the money paid first to the owner of the IRA, who then in turn donates the money to charity.

If you are interested in taking advantage of this tremendous opportunity, call Gretchen Corp Jones, the Director of Planned Giving at Cleveland State University at (216) 523-7288.  Or, visit our website for more information – www.csuohio.edu/plannedgiving

 

Alumni Giving

The alumni giving percentage – the number of alumni that donate to their alma mater – is measured at all educational institutions. Many state universities boast alumni giving percentages of 10-20% and many private universities boast 25%+. At Cleveland State, the alumni giving percentage hovers around 5%. This must increase in order to provide students with the skills they need to succeed in Northeast Ohio and beyond. With tuition remaining the same for several consecutive years, and state support decreasing, private support MUST increase for Cleveland State to continue to offer top-notch academic programs, scholarship support, research funding, and more. Every gift helps! Please make your year-end gift today.

 

Endowment value

Colleges and universities talk a lot about their endowment. But what is an endowment? A college’s endowment is an investment fund, in which, typically, only the earnings are spent. The endowment size is an indication of a non-profit institution’s financial health; it is also a variable on which we are measured and compared.

Despite continued growth, Cleveland State University’s total endowment, as demonstrated by the chart below, is just over $40 Million. This is among the FIVE smallest endowments of all colleges and universities in the state of Ohio.

2004	$25,893,000
2005	$28,990,000
2006	$32,601,000
2007	$43,831,000
2008	$41,772,000

 

The University endowment is divided across the Colleges. You will notice, from the chart below, that the College of Science has the smallest endowment in the University. This is, in large part, due to the youth of the College of Science – COS was formed just four years ago. Regardless, we must make great strides to increase the number and size of endowment funds in the College.

CLASS	$1,961,575
Science	$477,931
Business	$3,775,113
Education	$6,072,947
Engineering	$3,298,354
Law	$6,852,654
Urban	$4,750,694

Other	5%
Program Support	43%
Scholarships	52%

 

Giving Opportunities

As a state-assisted public institution, Cleveland State University faces significant funding challenges. The College of Science is determined to provide the best possible education to our students. You can help by making a gift to your alma mater in support of scholarships, research, equipment, and more. For additional information, contact Carol L. Carbary, CFRE, Director, College Development and Alumni Relations, at (216) 875-9992 or c.carbary@csuohio.edu or click here to make your gift online.

Remember, the state of Cleveland depends on Cleveland State.

 

We want to hear from you!

What have you been doing since graduation? Have you moved or changed jobs? Have you had a life change (marriage, baby, retirement, etc.) or celebrated any recent accomplishments? Stay in touch and let us know! We’d also like to hear what you would like to read about in future issues of this e-newsletter. To submit or update your information, email c.carbary@csuohio.edu or call (216) 875-9992.

 

Newsletter archives

To read past issues of this newsletter, please click here.