THE NEWS RECORD
132 YEARS IN PRINT VOL. CXXXIII ISSUE LVVVIII
MONDAY | OCTOBER 15 | 2012
REBUILDING CATS GET BIG WHEEL ROLLING EFFICIENTLY sports | 6
life & arts | 3
Trustees meet, president could be appointed KARA DRISCOLL RYAN HOFFMAN | NEWS EDITORS The University of Cincinnati’s Board of Trustees will meet with the Presidential Search Committee Monday. The committee could recommend Interim President Santa Ono be appointed to the position, or they could recommend a continuation of the search process, said Fran Barrett, chairman of the board. The board could make a decision either way regardless of the committee’s recommendation. Currently, Ono is the only candidate who has been seriously considered or brought in for questioning by the search committee, Barrett said. The search committee spent the previous week interviewing Ono, specifically asking questions regarding his vision for the university’s future and means of reaching that vision. The search committee has expanded to 28 members, ranging from university and city positions. University rule 3361:10-6-01(A) requires a search committee of at least 13 members. “I expanded the committee in order to get input from all sectors of the university community,” Barrett said. “We wanted to make sure we heard everybody and we wanted to make sure everybody was represented and involved.” The search committee includes five trustees, two faculty representatives, five student representatives, four deans, two UC foundation members, four community leaders,
two representatives from the Ohio Board of Regents, one representative from the UC Alumni Association, three representatives from UCATS and past board chair Sandy Heimann. Barrett — who was on the search committee after Nancy Zimpher resigned — said this search process has been totally different and there wasn’t as much urgency during the last search for a president. “Under the current circumstances I was concerned about such a lengthy process, and this time it would be more beneficial to have more people involved for input,” Barrett said. Members of the UC community have expressed a strong desire to keep Ono, Barrett said. “There was a lot of support for Santa Ono, a lot of people said he was well qualified, he was sought by other universities and we shouldn’t run the risk of losing such a great person,” Barrett said. Others members of the community expressed desire for a more extensive search. “There were other people who felt that we should look a broad base of candidates,” Barrett said. The meeting takes place at 4:30 p.m. at the Russell C. Myers Alumni Center, and is open to the public. The News Record will be live tweeting updates from the Board of Trustees meeting. Stay tuned to newsrecord.org for breaking news and updates.
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DECISION TIME The Board of Trustees will be meeting with the Presidential Search Committee to discuss the potential appointment of a new president.
Task force: Ohio lacks collaboration RYAN HOFFMAN | NEWS EDITOR A task force recommended Ohio universities provide incentives for university leadership to make commercialization a priority and improve collaboration between industry and public universities. Findings by the Ohio Commercialization Task Force — created by the Ohio Board of Regents — were presented to University of Cincinnati administrators Thursday. Ohio’s universities lack the commercialized collaboration with the private sector necessary to create a healthy environment for new growth and innovation. The task force analyzed data and reports ranking states based on the commercialization of their public institutions of higher learning. “Ohio universities rank well below the average for universities when compared to other states,” said Vinny Gupta, chair of the Ohio Commercialization Task force. The Milken Institute State Technology and Science index ranked Ohio 29th overall, below neighboring states Indiana, Michigan and Pennsylvania. The institute ranked Ohio 20th in research and development. The Ewing Marion-Kauffman Foundation 2010 State New Economy Index ranked Ohio 25th. The task force made eight recommendations to improve the commercialization of public universities and the research they conduct. These recommendations include removing barriers, creating partnerships, increasing cooperation between public institutions and private industries, fostering entrepreneurial growth in science and research fields, and providing incentives to make commercialization a priority of university leadership. SEE COLLABORATION | 2
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UNDER INVESTIGATION Cincinnati Mayor Mark Mallory held a press conference Sunday at the District Five office of the Cincinnati Police Department to discuss the shooting death of a woman Saturday afternoon, urging the community to be patient during the investigation.
QUESTIONABLE SHOOTING KARA DRISCOLL | NEWS EDITOR
An officer-involved shooting left one woman dead in Mount Airy Saturday afternoon. Cincinnati Police Officer Matthew Latzy responded to a scene in the 2900 block of High Forest Lane where he discharged his firearm twice, striking and ultimately killing Erica Collins, 26. “She had two bullet wounds, one was to the head and that one did go through the mid-portion of the brain on the right side,” said Hamilton County Coroner Lakshmi Sammarco. “She had one bullet wound to the upper torso. That bullet did go through the heart.” Latzy responded to a domestic dispute Collins called in at the Park Valley Apartments at approximately 1:15 p.m. Collins alleged her sister, Elizabeth Collins, was attempting to break into her apartment by kicking and hitting the door — the dispute reportedly concerned gas money, said Cincinnati Police Chief James Craig. Upon arriving at the scene, Latzy observed Elizabeth Collins loading personal items into a Ford sports utility vehicle as Erica Collins stood on the balcony of her apartment, overlooking the apartment parking lots. Erica Collins exited the apartment carrying a butcher knife with a 7-inch blade and ran toward the front driver side of Elizabeth Collins’ vehicle. Erica Collins made several motions, attempting to slash the tire, Craig said. The knife was displayed at the press conference Sunday. Erica Collins’ possession of the knife prompted Latzy to remove his firearm, a standard issue Smith & Wesson 9-mm handgun, from his holster and hold it in a low, ready position, Craig said. “Officer Latzy made several verbal commands for Erica to drop the knife,” Craig said. “Erica refused to comply and turned to face Officer Latzy.” According to witnesses at the scene, Erica Collins told Latzy he would “have to shoot [her]” and then moved in his direction. CPD interviewed nine witnesses after going door to door in the complex searching for anyone who saw the incident. “Erica then raised the knife, at which point Officer Latzy, with immediate fear of his life and safety, discharged his firearm twice, striking Erica,” Craig said. Erica Collins died at the scene after the Cincinnati Fire Department arrived. “She declared that the officer should shoot her,” Craig said. “Why she called [CPD] and then decided to confront the officer, we don’t have an answer to that.”
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CPD officers are trained to shoot the torso, discharging their firearms twice to stop the threat, Craig said, and Latzy feared that if Erica Collins had made contact, the knife would have ripped through his protective vest. Latzy had never used his firearm in his 14 years of service with CPD. He has been placed on paid leave. It is unknown if Erica Collins’ torso or head was struck first, but the gunshot wound to the head would have stopped her, Sammarco said. Latzy was three-to-five feet away from Erica Collins when he deployed the shots. If an officer has time to recover a weapon or engage in other tactics, they are trained to do so, but because of the immediate threat, Latzy responded by discharging his firearm, said Assistant Police Chief James Whalen. CPD officers undergo annual firearms training, he said. “Whenever an officer feels an immediate threat to his life, his partner or another person, they are trained to protect [them],” Craig said. “In some incidences, that means using a firearm.” Cincinnati Mayor Mark Mallory acknowledged the case deserves scrutiny and said it’s important to wait until the investigation is completed before casting judgment. “It’s a tough situation — police officers are sworn to protect the citizens of Cincinnati and, doing that job, sometimes they have to take actions that result in loss of life,” Mallory said. “Nobody takes that lightly.” While CPD recently determined to decrease its use of stun guns, the change in policy played no role in the incident. Because of the immediate threat, a stun gun would not have been an option, Craig said. “The officer is very saddened by this event,” Craig said. “He was very concerned about her and the family.” Latzy will return to active duty in seven days pending a psychological evaluation. It is hard to know if University of Cincinnati Police would have handled the incident in a similar manner, said UC Police Division Chief Michael Cureton. Each encounter is unique and it’s impossible to speculate about the response a law enforcer, he said. “The policy is that an officer is always allowed to defend themselves,” Cureton said.“That is a universal statement about any law enforcement officer that carries a gun.” CPD will release information about the shooting in Mount Airy as it becomes available, Mallory said.
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