CONSENT TO ‘SHAG’
ROWING CLUB MAKES SPLASH
DAAP students launch campaign to combat silence surrounding sexual assualt.
UC’s semi-varsity club sport gains interest and looks ahead to first race.
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THE NEWS RECORD newsrecord.org
University of Cincinnati
August 28, 2014
Provost launches search for new dean McMicken College looks for new leadership, calls on committee to find best candidate after long wait KATIE COBURN | NEWS EDITOR
In an email sent to University of Cincinnati students Monday, Provost Beverly Davenport announced the launch of an internal search for a new dean of McMicken College of Arts and Sciences. Kristi Nelson, senior vice provost for academic planning and professor of art history, was appointed as interim dean of the college following former dean Ronald Jackson’s resignation. Jackson resigned suddenly in November 2013. In a letter to A&S faculty members and published by The News Record, Jackson cited “the largest budget deficit the college has ever seen,” along with “racist cartoons and public mischaracterizations” that circulated campus. “I think people are ready and anxious,” Davenport said. “We have great faculty in that college and great leadership, and I look forward to finding the right person.” During Wednesday’s student government meeting, student body president Christina Beer said one of the
reasons for the delay in hiring a new dean was because of the other hires made during the summer. “We were in a time of huge hiring this summer,” Beer said. “Maybe not a good reason, but one reason why it was delayed.” McMicken is the largest college at the University of Cincinnati with 22 departments and programs. The new dean will have responsibilities to match the college’s complexity, Davenport said. The new dean must have leadership, financial acumen, strong academic vision and the ability to work across departments and colleges to build relations, Davenport added. “In an effort to find the appropriate person to take on this leadership, I want somebody who has familiarity with not only this specific college, but with our university,” Davenport said. Davenport hopes that conducting an internal search will help speed along the process of restructuring the college because the person will already have an understanding of the breadth of the college’s disciplines. “We are interested in candidates who can be good administrators and understand the core academic SEE DEAN PG 3
COULTER LOEB | STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Students walk to and from classes during the first week of the fall term.
party at NEW RENOVATIONS Dance Shell gas station
ends with a bang
CASSIE MERINO | CHIEF REPORTER
MADISON SCHMIDT | PHOTO EDITOR Robert Ambach, senior vice president of administration and finances, discusses the costs of renovating Scioto and two buildings on UC’s east medical campus.
Multiple-building renovation project makes room for growing student body CASSIE MERINO | CHIEF REPORTER
A push to reconstruct Scioto Hall was influenced by this fall’s overwhelming freshman class size. The University of Cincinnati community will see major constructive improvements this school year with the Board of Trustees approval to reconstruct several buildings on UC’s west and east campuses Tuesday. “It will be very similar to what was done to Morgens,” said Beth McGraw, UC architect. “It will be a twin but not an exact twin.” The renovation will cost about $35 million. “Construction will begin as soon as this fall,” said Robert Ambach, senior vice president of administration and finances.
“Since they are using a very similar design as they used for Morgens it will move quickly.” Ambach also added they plan to have it opened for Fall 2016. With the renovation of Scioto will come the removal of the sand volleyball court that was put in last year. Christina Beer, student body president, is working to obtain another place for student activity. “Students have very much enjoyed that space,” said Beer. Along with Scioto, Morgens and Scioto’s sister, Sawyer Hall, which was demolished after unforeseen complication in 2006, will be reconstructed into a midrise to accommodate food services, housing, and office space. “There’s pressure for meals at specific times of the day, especially lunch and dinner,” McGrew said. “Adding an additional food service in the midrise will provide another opportunity for food
service with some housing.” Ambach said the construction for the midrise will begin in two to three years. “That third building will really round out our campus,” said Thomas Humes, board of trustee chairperson. The medical campus will also soon see construction improvements. A new academic building will be taking the place of Wherry Hall, which is connected to the Health Professions Building and is used for the James L. Winkle College of Pharmacy. Its destruction will cause the Radiation Safety Building to be demolished and relocated. In 2011, a water pipe break caused damage to the second and third floor of the building. Wherry Hall was designed in 1959. “Its infrastructure is in danger of failing as we speak,” McGrew said. SEE RENOVATION PG 3
New Blackboard interface gets mixed reviews Canopy becomes new online portal for students and professors to communicate COURTNEY STANLEY | ONLINE EDITOR
In an effort to enhance technology across campus, the University of Cincinnati has introduced Canopy, an eLearning portal for students that houses an updated Blackboard, among other new features. Canopy is described as a “virtual umbrella” for all of the components that make up eLearning — from student services like Blackboard to teaching strategies for professors. The update is part of a mission from UC’s Center for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning aimed at improving the use of technology across campus. “Early on it was just an idea — just a way to have a conversation about eLearning,” said Christopher Edwards, UC’s Information Technology Vice President of eLearning. “The portal is the idea becoming physical.” Canopy houses familiar resources like Blackboard and Lynda.com, but the portal also features new and updated resources like a shuttle tracker, student
email and Kaltura — a platform for students and professors to post and create videos. “I think our biggest challenge with Canopy so far has been communication — helping people understand this shift,” Edwards said. Some students have echoed this sentiment. “Things are harder to find,” said Meg Groat, a fourth-year studying secondary education. “I feel like there should have been a tutorial sent to us to explain the benefits. It doesn’t seem worth it. Tell us why it’s worth it.” Students who are new to UC this year with no experience on the old system were more inclined to speak positively about Canopy. “It’s pretty well organized, but I couldn’t figure out how to order my books,” said Adam Slenker, a first-year exploratory student. “We’ve had to overcome the confusion that Canopy is not just the new name for Blackboard,” Edwards said. “I understand why people are confused, but I think as we connect more of the dots and move toward this true portal experience it’ll start to click for a lot of people.” David Kelley, an assistant professor in the sport administration program,
has been nominated as an eLearning Champion by his peers for his use of the Kaltura feature in Canopy. Kelley uses the program to make his classes more interactive outside the classroom. He is able to record his mouse movements on his screen along with audio to show students how to work through complicated programs. “Now I can actually take what I talked about in class and put a video up on Blackboard so they can review the concepts,” Kelley said. “I can literally walk them through complex problems.” His students have responded positively to the videos. He also has students in his online course create introductory videos with their webcams to get to know each other over the web. Kelley is confident in UC’s resources aimed at assisting students and professors who aren’t comfortable working with the features in Canopy. “Personally I have received a lot of support,” Kelley said. “There are supports available in case professors don’t understand the new technologies. There are also tutorials for students who may be a little lost.” Byron Hutchins, an eLearning Champion and a fifth-year history SEE CANOPY PG 3
CHIEF.NEWSRECORD@GMAIL.COM / 513.556.5900
What appeared to be an impromptu dance party in the lot of a Shell gas station at 205 Calhoun St. in the early hours of Saturday, Aug. 17, took a serious turn when multiple gunshots were fired nearby. Though the gas station is located across the street from University of Cincinnati’s main campus, most students may have been unaware of the incident, as there was no public safety alert sent by the UC Public Safety. A user video of the incident shows a group of people dancing between the gas station pumps around 3 a.m. Seconds later, multiple gunshots are heard. The person filming then flees the scene, and the recording ends. As of Wednesday evening, the video, which was posted on Aug. 17, had been shared on Facebook over 11,000 times. UC Public Safety typically sends campus safety messages, including crime alerts and weather updates, via email to students. An alert was not sent following the incident at Shell, UC Public Safety said, because there was no apparent threat. “We issue crime alerts according to the Clery Act requirements,” Jeff Corcoran, UCPD interim police chief, said in an email. The Clery Act, signed into law in 1990, requires colleges and universities across the United States to disclose information about crime on and around their campuses. The law requires a timely warning when there are specific crimes reported that present an ongoing threat to the campus community. “I feel like they tell us about everything else. I don’t know why they wouldn’t tell us about this,” said Anna Barhourst, a third-year nursing major.“I don’t know if crime just isn’t happening or they’re just not telling us.” When officers arrived on the scene at Shell, they found no victim and no evidence of any crime having been committed, Corcoran said. “There was no timely warning notice sent out, as there was neither a crime identified nor any indication of an ongoing threat,” Corcoran said. The manager of the Shell station declined to comment. If you have any information on this incident, please contact Cincinnati District 4 Police at 513-765-1212 or Crime Stoppers at 513-352-3040.
CRIME BLOTTER 8/27 Two students robbed at gunpoint. Two UC students were approached on the 3200 block of Jefferson Ave. by a suspect who demanded their property at gunpoint at 1 a.m. The suspect is described as male, black, approximately 20 years old, dressed in dark clothing with a tan hat, riding a dark colored, smaller bicycle. 8/21 Aggravated burglary of two students inside their home. At approximately 9:30 p.m., two suspects entered an apartment through a window, which was accessed from the fire escape. The suspects confronted two students at gunpoint and took personal property. 8/20 Robbery on Flora Avenue Two UC students were robbed at gunpoint around 11 p.m. Two suspects approached the students walking on the 2300 block of Flora and asked them for change for $20. One suspect displayed a handgun. The suspects took cash and a cell phone. If you have any information about these incidents, please contact Crime Stoppers at 513-352-3040.