A & S Newsletter by ONU Communications & Marketing

COLLEG

A fresh look at the criminal justice system

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CROSS-POLLINATION

LEARNING BY EXAMPLE

GUEST ARTISTS

INSIDE-OUT

The College of Arts & Sciences is leading the way in multidisciplinary education

Expanded learning opportunities through symposiums and workshops

ELECTRIFYING INNOVATION

Alumni from the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry return to campus to offer plenty of good advice

A&S NEWSLETTER

I NT ER N AT IONA L U N DER STA N DIN G The sounds of African drums and dance echo through rehearsal halls at ONU. On March 10, the result of Benjamin Ayettey’s work with the ONU dance department and ONU Percussion Ensemble will take over the Freed Center stage for a joyous performance. [Continued Pg. 3]

Can Stars Wars actually influence your political views? One student wants to search your feelings to see if it’s true.

With all the hype surrounding the new Star Wars film, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, we thought we’d share how one ONU student is blending her affinity for the saga into research for her senior thesis.

Kristen McKell, a senior from Chillicothe, Ohio, majoring in political science, criminal justice and sociology, is interested in learning how widely accepted popular culture phenomena affect the political attitudes of consumers. Now, to be clear, she’s

not talking about passing fads or flavors of the week. She’s talking about pop culture royalty, universes unto themselves that explore complex social, political and philosophical themes. She’s talking about the boy who lived and the boy who brought balance to the Force. She’s talking about Star Wars and Harry Potter.

INTERESTED PARTIES

“I knew I wanted to look at Harry Potter because it had such a huge impact on my life. It has created its own little subculture, and it is something that was a part of everyday life for millennials as we grew up,” she says. “Star Wars was the same, just one generation before.”

As the 2016 presidential election ramps up to critical velocity, it is important to remember that not all careers in politics involve running for office. This is especially true for Ohio Northern University political science students, many of whom will seek employment in the public sphere in the coming months and years.

Now, perhaps more than ever, pop culture is everywhere. Movies, television and literature are dominated by stories that mirror society in fantastic ways rather than reflect it directly. In Star Wars, Harry Potter, the Marvel Cinematic Universe, [Continued Pg. 3]

Alumni from the Department of History, Politics and Justice help show current students where their degree can take them.

It isn’t always easy for students to learn about the wide array of careers that pertain to government or political action. But this fall, students in Robert Alexander’s Political Parties and Interest Groups course received a guided tour of politics in Columbus from Melissa (Kuhn) Wheeler, BA ’01, political science alumnae and close friend of the Department of History, Politics and Justice. Wheeler, who currently works in the field of government relations for Westfield Insurance, organized a full day at the State Capitol that included panel discussions with political science professionals like Legislative Service Commission Fellows, legislative aides, lobbyists and the executive directors of both the Ohio Republican and Democratic parties. And because some political science students are interested [Continued Pg. 3]

APRIL 17, 1991 FIRST SHOW: 42ND STREET

APRIL 17-28, 1991 GALA OPENING

Making sure ONU is part of the electric car movement

Winter 2016 DEAN’S MESSAGE

The fine and performing arts have been an integral part of an ONU education for generations. This year, we celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Freed Center for the Performing Arts, which has contributed so much to the education of our students and has enhanced ONU’s engagement with the community through the arts. During the month of April, we will highlight the history of the Freed Center with a display in the lobby, and I hope you can join us for a performance that month or for the inaugural performance of the African Drumming and Dance ensemble on March 10.

MOVING TO THE DRUMBEAT OF

JEDI MIND TRICKS

MAY 27, 1991 CAROL CHANNING PERFORMANCE - HELLO DOLLY & DIAMONDS ARE A GIRL’S BEST FRIEND

OHIO NORTHERN UNIVERSITY

Nurturing creative and critical thinking is a key component of the University’s learning goals. As this issue of the A&S Newsletter demonstrates, we promote analytical skills and creativity throughout the curriculum. Bringing skilled professionals to campus as guest artists or alumni mentors allows students to extend their learning beyond the classroom. This engagement bears fruit in many rich and diverse ways, ranging from learning about other cultures through music and dance to individual research, such as Kristin McKell’s interesting project exploring the relationship between Star Wars and political views. Arts & Sciences faculty have promoted creative opportunities by developing new interdisciplinary curricula in fields as varied as environmental studies; medical humanities; and philosophy, politics and economics. Critical and creative thinking are enhanced through off-campus experiences as well. Thanks to the efforts of professor Tristin Kilgallon, criminal justice students are learning alongside inmates at the Allen Oakwood Correctional Facility through the nationally recognized Inside-Out Prison Exchange Program. Alumni engagement is central to promoting innovation and creatively exploring career options. Jim Halderman, BS ’68, has sponsored several sustainability initiatives on campus, including two electricvehicle charging stations. Melissa (Kuhn) Wheeler, BA ’01, organized a daylong visit in Columbus to meet with government and political leaders and learn about career options. And Dr. David Rakestraw, BS ’83, Dr. Thomas Barbee, BS ’85, and Dr. Jennifer Counts, BS ’91, visited campus in October to share their career paths with chemistry and biochemistry students. They also met with prospective students to discuss how the liberal arts education they received at ONU prepared them to take full advantage of the varied and often unanticipated opportunities they have had during their careers. Our goal is to ensure that students graduate from ONU with the skills, knowledge and habits of mind they need to succeed throughout their lives. Thanks to the many opportunities faculty and staff provide for students and to the contributions of our talented and dedicated alumni, we meet this goal year in and year out!

INSIDE-OUT:

A FRESH LOOK AT THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM

“I think we may have unintentionally referred to them in a negative way,” she says, “because that’s the way society is, but they never took it personally.” Crime statistics and textbooks are important tools, but they tell only part of the criminal justice story. Last semester, 10 ONU criminal justice students took a short bus ride to the Allen Oakwood Correctional Facility in Lima, Ohio, where they were processed through security and met with 10 inmates. Each week, the group discussed topics ranging from how the criminal justice system works to what issues former inmates face. The Inside-Out Prison Exchange Program began in 1997 at Temple University and has grown to include colleges and universities in 37 states and internationally. Ohio Northern is one of the newest participants and one of a handful of Ohio universities to participate. Tristin Kilgallon, assistant professor in criminal justice, says the program helps humanize the system. The majority of ONU’s criminal justice graduates will be working in the criminal justice field. “Whether you’re an attorney or a judge, a probation

officer or police officer, these are the people you’re going to be working with.” Most of the ONU students have not had the real-world experience of dealing with prisons or inmates, he says, and most inmates have not had a college experience. The InsideOut program brings the two dissimilar groups together to talk about current justice issues as well as underlying causes of crime. “I probably learned more from this class than any other I’ve taken, because it was an experience rather than a lecture,” says Myahrissa Ramsey, a senior criminal justice and psychology major from Lima, Ohio. Ramsey was particularly impressed with the discussions about how the family environment can lead to criminal behavior and how criminal penalties for the same offense can vary between jurisdictions. And she was impressed by the respect and maturity the inmates displayed in their interactions with the students.

“The inmates are really impressed with the quality of our students,” Kilgallon adds. Inside-Out not only provides the inmates with a break from prison routine, but also offers them a chance to have their voices heard regarding how the system works, how they view it from the inside and how it can potentially change. It’s a chance to influence the next generation of decision-makers in the criminal justice system. For the ONU students, the experience also opens their eyes to opportunities in the criminal justice field. Ramsey says she never considered practicing psychology in a prison setting. “Now I could see myself doing that after this experience,” she says. Those moments are why the program will be repeated. “Universities are interested in these dynamic experiences,” Kilgallon says. “You can’t get much more dynamic than this.” ONU students have already been offered the chance to sign up, and the Oakwood inmates have started asking when the next semester starts.

CROSS-POLLINATION THE COLLEGE OF ARTS & SCIENCES IS LEADING THE WAY IN MULTIDISCIPLINARY EDUCATION

The phrase cross-pollination comes to us from biology, so it is fitting to use it to describe the wave of multidisciplinary educational opportunities the College of Arts & Sciences is leading at Ohio Northern University. In the strictest scientific sense, it refers to the transfer of pollen from the male reproductive organ of one plant to the female reproductive organ of another plant by an outside agent like an insect or wind. In a far looser academic sense, it refers to including multiple educational disciplines to achieve a common learning objective. In recent years, multidisciplinary programs of study at ONU have grown to reflect the realities of an increasingly interconnected world. Whereas the University’s strong liberal arts base has always provided graduates with a well-rounded education regardless of their field, new efforts will produce graduates with well-rounded specializations. ONU’s latest multidisciplinary program is a new minor in medical humanities. It consists of 19 credit hours of classes offered through the departments of English, Philosophy, Communication and Media Studies, Religion, Sociology and Psychology. This new collection of courses presents traditional humanities subjects like literature, philosophy, ethics, history and religion in a medical context. Similarly, the interdisciplinary nature of the minor sees the same approach with the social sciences (anthropology, cultural studies, psychology, sociology) and the arts (theatre, film, visual arts). The goal of the minor is to teach the humanities in a way that students majoring in the allied-health fields will respond to. The field of medicine is changing, and skills like cultural competency are more necessary now than ever before. For all of the technical education a medical professional needs, there is still a human side to medicine that needs to be taught and learned. Also new to ONU is the philosophy, politics and economics (PPE) program. This major, which started last year, unites the foundational disciplines

of social inquiry and draws together the knowledge base and intellectual skills of its three component disciplines: philosophy, politics and economics. The interdisciplinary nature of ONU’s PPE program leverages the faculty resources of the three disciplines to deliver multiple perspectives. It involves collaboration between not only two different departments within the College of Arts & Sciences (History, Politics and Justice as well as Philosophy and Religion), but also two different colleges (Arts & Sciences and Business Administration). By combining the teaching faculty of these three disciplines, students enjoy the benefit of a diverse faculty typical of larger universities while maintaining the inherent benefits of attending a small college. Another multidisciplinary program at ONU also reaches across colleges. The Interprofessional Education (IPE) program is an introduction to interprofessional teamwork for students who will likely be exposed to it in their careers within the allied-health industry. The program is a problembased, cross-disciplinary approach to allied-health education that includes four distinct academic programs: pharmacy, nursing, exercise physiology and medical laboratory science. Working in small teams, students from each major collaborate to solve health care cases in which cultural considerations must be made. Health care outcomes have been shown to improve with collaborative practice. Moreover, IPE is mandated by accreditation standards for a number of professional programs. “Developing effective interprofessional teams is essential to providing patient-centered health care that is safe and effective,” says Michelle Musser, assistant professor of pharmacy practice. “This training is essential in ensuring that students are collaboration-ready upon graduation and adequately prepared to participate in interdisciplinary care. The influence of the College of Arts & Sciences in these programs is apparent. As the University continues to explore opportunities to increase multidisciplinary education across the five colleges, expect to see it become even more so.

[Continued From Cover]

INTERESTED PARTIES

GUEST ARTISTS EXPAND LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES Paul Taylor, choreographer and Kennedy Center Honors recipient. Dean Gabourie, assistant/associate artistic director of the Stratford Festival in Canada. Abel Gonzalez Melo, Cuban playwright. These are just a three of the 40 or so guest artists who visit Ohio Northern University each year. They work with students on productions and present symposiums and workshops in areas ranging from dance and music to theatre direction, costume design, lighting and everything in between. “We have a very small faculty with a large production schedule,” admits Laurie Bell, chair of the Department of Theatre Arts. “But that is no reason we have to be isolated from input, ideas, developments and technology.” These unique collaborations with guest artists allow diverse experiences to happen and expand the world for students in the performing arts. By bringing the larger world to campus, ONU’s students not only learn

skills and techniques, but also learn about the expectations of the professional world. “Our students understand what the expectations will be when they graduate, and they get used to working with people who are working professionals,” she says. “It really brings our students into a more professional world so they’re better prepared when they leave.”

in public office, she arranged for the class to speak directly with state Sen. Cliff Hite and fellow HPJ department alumnus state Rep. Bob Cupp, BA ’71, JD ’73. High-impact educational experiences like this one can only happen when certain criteria are met, and ONU was able to meet them all. First, there needs to be a willingness to take students where the opportunities are. While ONU offers tremendous educational resources on campus, if the goal is to see state government in action, you need to go where the action is. Second, you need access to the things that are important. With alumni like Wheeler taking the initiative and fellow HPJ graduates Cupp, Abe Jacob, BA ’09, Todd Bailey, BA ’01, and Sheila Willamowski, BA ’10, taking the time, the students learned about careers in politics directly from those who have those jobs. And finally, you must have students who take full advantage of these opportunities when they are presented.

The result is not only a wellprepared arts graduate, but also an individual who is able to adapt to the world and continue to learn new skills. “I don’t think most programs have as many guest artists as Ohio Northern,” Bell says. It’s a long-standing practice that produces skilled and confident graduates.

Part of that can be learning special skills like stage combat, taught by Dr. John Lennox; flying via wires, taught by Jennifer Graham; or scenic design, taught by Mihai Ciupe, originally from Romania. But it also includes the nuanced skills of working with a variety of personalities. “I don’t think you necessarily have to be temperamental to be a great artist,” Bell laughs. “But there’s also value for students to learn to work with different personalities. The idea is that they learn to work for many people. They learn about different points of view, about different ways of approaching a script.”

If the department’s past is any indication of its future, it’s safe to expect more Polar Bears not only in Columbus, but involved with government at all levels across the nation.

OCTOBER 18, 1997 DON MCLEAN

1995–1996 ONU HOLIDAY SPECTACULAR–FIRST YEAR

MARCH 22, 1997 SHIRLEY JONES

2002–03 FIRST INTERNATIONAL PLAY FEST

JANUARY 15, 2000 TAKE 6 PERFORMANCE

OHIO NORTHERN UNIVERSITY

LEARNING BY EXAMPLE Alumni from the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry return to campus to offer plenty of good advice. Austin Lanquist had a dilemma. On one hand, the senior chemistry major from Bluffton, Ohio, wanted to look professional as he presented his undergraduate research to three distinguished alumni from the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. On the other hand, one of those alumni just told him to never, ever, wear a necktie again. “I was having lunch with Dr. Rakestraw, and I told him that I had to run home to get a tie for my poster presentation,” he said. “He was like, ‘No, no, no. Don’t do that. You’re a chemist! You can get away with being as eccentric as you want to be.’ He said he hasn’t worn a tie in 30 years. I guess it has worked out pretty well for him.” To hear Dr. David Rakestraw, BS ’83, tell it, his success has less to do with his wardrobe and more to do with where he came from. As a keynote speaker at this year’s Ohio Northern University Fall Polar Preview Day, along with fellow chemistry department alumni Drs. Thomas Barbee, BS ’85, and Jennifer Counts, BS ’91, Rakestraw spoke to prospective students and their families about how ONU prepared them for professional success and personal fulfillment. Their joint program, “The STEMming of Corporate America,” explained how graduating with an undergraduate degree in a STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) field from ONU propelled them to eventually hold senior positions in corporate America.

[Continued From Cover]

Ayettey is spending a year at ONU as a Fulbright scholar-inresidence. A choreographer, he is artistic director of the Ghana Dance Ensemble and a fellow at the Institute of African Studies at the University of Ghana, Legon. It was in Legon that ONU’s Sarah Waters, associate professor of music, and three ONU students first met Ayettey and decided that ONU needed to experience his teaching. Waters teaches applied percussion and African music. She and her husband, Rob Waters, assistant professor of history, were teaching at the University of Ghana through the University Studies Abroad Consortium in 2014. “After auditing Ben’s dance class with the ONU students, it dawned on me that more than three of us needed to learn from Ben and this culture. The minute I

“I think what you’ll find is that, over the coming years, you might be working in fields that don’t exist even today,” said Rakestraw. “One of the really important things that I learned from Ohio Northern is the importance of having a broad-based education that will allow you pursue new trajectories for your careers.”

“One of my advisors had me take a logic class,” said Barbee. “Logic tells us that if one thing is true, then certain other things must be the case. And if those things aren’t, then maybe that original thing isn’t actually true. It’s something I use all the time in problem-solving.”

Counts’ story shows students who thought working in industry might be boring, that it doesn’t have to be the case. In fact, the stability of working for one company can make it easier to pursue life goals. “At P&G, we can stay within the same company yet have a very wide variety of professional opportunities available to us,” she said.

The final session of the day turned the tables on the students in the department. After hearing Barbee, Counts and Rakestraw discuss working in chemistry at the highest levels, it was their turn to share their research projects at a poster presentation in the Mathile Science Center atrium.

Barbee is currently a research associate at ExxonMobil Chemical Company, where he is responsible for specialty polymers technology. He describes his career as “one job that has gotten bigger and bigger over the years.” He interacts with all of the areas of ExxonMobil, from business people and the scientists who make the products they sell to the people who work in the plants. He attributes his success to his ability to solve problems, and he attributes that ability to his ONU education.

“This was an awesome experience,” said a tieless Lanquist. “The professors here are awesome and will always share their experiences with you, but an academic path isn’t always available for all of us. I still want to be a professor, but now after meeting them and hearing about what they do, I think I could enjoy a career in industry.” Just as chemistry is the study of the building blocks of the world around us, it certainly seems that an ONU chemistry degree is a building block to a diverse and rewarding career.

Rakestraw knows of what he speaks. He built a company based on using lasers for high-speed DNA sequencing, something that would have been considered science fiction when he was in high school. As an entrepreneur, he was responsible for a far wider range of duties than he ever originally envisioned. He made deals with venture capitalists, hired personnel, led a sales team and even wrote patents for his inventions. In his current position as program manager for the global security directorate at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, he wears so many hats that most people don’t even realize that he’s a chemist. Counts and Barbee offered students glimpses into what it’s like to build careers at Fortune 100 companies. Counts joined Procter & Gamble Co. as a toxicologist in 1995 and has worked her way up through the

Pictured, from left to right: David Rakestraw, BS ’83; Thomas Barbee, BS ’85; Byron Hawbecker, retired dean of the College of Arts & Sciences and professor of chemistry emeritus; and Jennifer Counts, BS ’91.

Star Wars sagas. The final section measures demographic information.

got back, I began working on getting him here.”

and will add another five to six before the March performance.

[Continued From Cover]

With the Fulbright grant, Ayettey is providing ONU music students with a life experience as well as the chance to learn traditional and contemporary African dance and drumming.

Movement is only part of the program. Ayettey brought about 20 drums of all sizes with him from Ghana. The students are learning the rhythms that accompany the dances. And that’s not always easy, says Waters. “The timing is different.”

The Hunger Games and even “The Walking Dead”, consumers are entertained with extreme examples of the dilemmas real people face on a daily basis. Should you stay home and do what you’re told, or should you fulfill your destiny? How do you respond to true evil when you are faced with it? What do liberty and freedom truly mean? Are brains really that delicious?

“Some of them may not have the chance to visit Africa,” he explains. “I realized that, when they are dancing, they have a problem with smiling. In most dances in Africa you have to smile; you have to look at the audience and smile to invite them into what you are doing.”

Teaching dance and drumming is only part of Ayettey’s time at ONU. He and his students are taking to the road, presenting workshops for area schools. Two public workshops are planned. In addition, Ayettey is speaking to ONU classes ranging from English to history and art.

In modern dance or ballet, everything is erect. He explains that African dance is different. “We are trying to teach them how to use the entire body, because as dancers, our body is a language. We do a series of dance techniques with them so they learn how to discipline the body. At the end of it, they will have achieved a lot: how to discipline their bodies and how to use their facial expression when it comes to performance.” The 14 students enrolled in Ayettey’s class are music majors rather than dance majors, and he says they are doing well. They have mastered three dances

A graduate of the School of Performing Arts at the University of Ghana, Legon, he also holds a Master of Fine Arts in dance from Arizona State University and is looking into Ph.D. options. He sees his time at ONU as an opportunity to refine his teaching techniques. “I am a choreographer,” he says. “Teaching an African how to do African dance, you use a different method. I’m gaining a lot of experience of teaching different students. Teaching an American is different than teaching a German or teaching a Ghananian.” “You’re not a good teacher if the performance is not good,” he says. “But the ONU performance on March 10 will be perfect!”

JEDI TRICKS

McKell wants to learn if fantasy can influence reality. Even though pop culture occupies so much of 21st-century life, McKell maintains that there is still a lot that we don’t understand about its correlation to the real world. So she created a survey that she hopes will shed light on whether being a fan of either of these franchises actually affects our society. “I really want to learn how much the things we read/ watch affect us. We have tons of research about the media’s affects on different social elements, but we have little that looks at these huge media creations,” she says. “Both Star Wars and Harry Potter have political and social themes in them (some of them on purpose, some not). My thought is that these influenced the audiences’ values and ideals because they were such a huge part of life at such a critical age.” McKell based her research on a study by Dr. Anthony Gierzynski titled “Harry Potter and the Millennials” that looks at the political socialization of individuals born between the early 1980s and early 2000s. Other research she found shows that adolescents will tend to have more favorable opinions of the themes presented to them in the form of mass media. Her survey attempts to correlate affinity for Star Wars or Harry Potter and their respective themes with political beliefs or actions. It consists of four different parts. The first measures one’s opinions on social issues. The next two sections deal with establishing the depth of one’s knowledge of the Harry Potter and

McKell emailed the survey to ONU students, faculty and staff members. She also posted the survey on Facebook, where it has taken on a life of its own. She had hoped for a sample size of 200 participants. She currently has more than 1,200. I have been getting emails and calls from across the U.S. and all over the world. It’s amazing, but also a bit overwhelming. I never expected this much interest,” she says. The survey is particularly relevant because of the excitement over the new Star Wars film and because it asks participants to weigh in on the 2016 U.S. presidential election. A reoccurring question lists candidates and asks the participant to rank them based on his or her likelihood of voting for the candidate to become the president of the United States. And while it’s not a true political poll, McKell’s survey does resemble one. And it’s fun to juxtapose the “real” candidates (Ben Carson, Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, Donald Trump, etc.) with heroes and villains from our childhood (Harry Potter, Albus Dumbledore, Luke Skywalker, Darth Vader and Obi-Wan Kenobi). It will be some time before McKell analyzes all the data from her survey and is able to definitively make any conclusions about the voting habits of Muggles. She hopes to present her research at an academic conference this spring and perhaps later submit it for publication. But there is one question that doesn’t require any data analysis for her to answer: which of the two sagas she likes better. “While I was raised a Star Wars fan, I’m part of the Harry Potter generation, and my heart belongs to J.K. Rowling,” she says.

JANUARY 16, 2006 CECE WINANS

JANUARY 11, 2003 LOU RAWLS

OCTOBER 6, 2008 HERMAN’S HERMITS STARRING PETER NOONE

OHIO NORTHERN UNIVERSITY

OCTOBER 18, 2008 MICKEY DOLENZ

JANUARY 16, 2015 RAISIN’ CANE STARRING JASMINE GUY

MOVING TO THE DRUMBEAT OF INTERNATIONAL UNDERSTANDING

The three spent the remainder of the day with current students in the department, first attending an academic fair and luncheon, and then at a pair of research presentations: one for them and one for students. The goal for the day was not only to show students that a wide array of professions exists within the fields of chemistry and biochemistry, but also to remind them that a job in chemistry might just be a starting point for a far broader career.

Global Products Stewardship Department, the area responsible for product safety and regulatory compliance. In 2011, she was named global section head of baby care and family care products, where she is responsible for the safety of the products that accounted for $21 billion in revenue in 2014.

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Getty College of Arts & Sciences 525 S. Main St. Ada, OH 45810

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A&S N EWS L ET TER

DR. JAMES ESTES

Professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of California at Santa Cruz Research biologist at the Institute for Marine Science

PAID

NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION U.S. Postage

Berne, IN 46711 Permit No. 43

JOIN US for “Apex predators and nature’s Publisher (University of California Press) Tentative release date (May 17, 2016). functions” in the Freed Center for the Performing Arts on Monday, March 14, at 7:30 p.m. Dr. James Estes, professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of California at Santa Cruz and research biologist at the Institute for Marine Sciences, is our 2015-16 Terry Keiser Distinguished Lecturer in the Life Sciences.

Hosted in part by the ONU Chapter of Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Society.

THE A&S NEWSLETTER IS A PUBLICATION OF THE GETTY COLLEGE OF ARTS & SCIENCES. Editors: Josh Alkire Sheila Baumgartner Design: Nancy Burnett Photography: Trevor Jones Contributors: Brian Paris Mary Wilkin

The A&S Newsletter is published by Ohio Northern University, 525 S. Main St. Ada, OH 45810, 419-772-2000. The Getty College of Arts & Sciences provides a broad-based education that fosters innovative problem-solving skills and teaches students to become independent thinkers and life-long learners. Rigorous programs of study in the liberal and fine arts, sciences, and preprofessional programs provide strong theoretical foundations. Practical experiences in unique and state-of-the-art facilities ensure that students are competitive and well prepared for graduate programs, professional studies and employment.

www.onu.edu/as

ELECTRIFYING INNOVATION

GETTY COLLEGE COUNCIL MEMBERS FOR 2014-15 Dr. Inara Brubaker, BS ’59 Industrial Research Chemist (Retired) Bluffton, Ohio James Cates, BA ’67 Consultant, Author, Philanthropist and Senior Executive (Retired) IBM Morgan Hill, Calif. Dr. Jennifer (Pavlock) Counts, BS ’91 Global Product Stewardship Procter & Gamble Co. Cincinnati, Ohio Stephanie (Spirer) Crandall, BA ’03 Legislative and Business Liaison City of Fort Wayne Fort Wayne, Ind. Dr. Karen Keyse Fields, BA ’78 Medical Director, Strategic Alliances Moffitt Cancer Center Tampa, Fla. Dr. Peter Haase, BS ’92 Veterinarian Care Animal Hospital Arlington Heights, Ill. H. Thomas Hallberg, BSEd ’68 Director of Certification and Student Teaching (Retired) College of Charleston Charleston, S.C. Tonya Hunter, BS ’02, JD ’05 Attorney for Litigation Department Marathon Petroleum Co. LP Findlay, Ohio Cheryl (McCain) Mason, BA ’86 Chief Veterans Law Judge Department of Veterans Affairs Washington, D.C.

R. Scott Miller, BA ’77 Senior Adviser The Center for Strategic and International Studies Washington, D.C. Lynn Moomaw, BA ’82 Director of Operations and Adult Education Wayne Co. Career Center Smithville, Ohio Dr. David Rakestraw, BS ’83 Program Manager in the Global Security Principal Directorate Lawrence Livermore Laboratory Livermore, Calif. Michael Roediger, BA ’90 Executive Director Dayton Art Institute Dayton, Ohio Randall Rogers, BA ’75 Owner Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co. Kenton, Ohio Michael B. Smith, BA ’68 President Washington Center for Internships and Academic Seminars Washington, D.C. Rod Thompson, BA ’69 Adjunct Professor, Astronomy University of Akron – Wayne College Orrville, Ohio Thomas Vukovich, BSEd ’68 Associate Provost for Student and Enrollment Services Emeritus University of Akron Akron, Ohio

Jim Halderman, BS ’68, knows electric cars. In fact, he wrote the book on them – the textbook, to be exact. And he made sure that ONU is part of the electric car movement. He, along with Bode Electric, provided for two electric vehicle (EV) charging stations on the ONU campus. Installed in spring 2014 at The Inn at ONU and near the Mathile Center, they’re part of ONU’s ongoing commitment to sustainability. Halderman, a technology grad, began his love affair with cars as a child, building his first car from a lawnmower at age 11. At ONU, his senior project in 1968 was an electric vehicle based on a golf cart. After working as an automotive technician, he began a career in education. He worked as as a high school automotive technology teacher before joining the automotive program at Sinclair Community College in 1975. Along the way, he began supplementing his instruction texts with a “course pack.” This course pack was reviewed, and Halderman was awarded a publishing contract for a textbook. This lead to 15 textbook contracts that cover all aspects of the automotive service field. His website includes lesson plans, talk sheets, animations and video links for the texts’ content. His book Hybrids and Alternative Fuel Vehicles, published by Pearson Education, is now in its third edition. Halderman sees electric vehicles as the future of automotive development. “If you would have

OHIO NORTHERN UNIVERSITY

asked me 10 years ago, I would have said compressed natural gas,” he admits. But the infrastructure to make that fuel source widely available did not exist and would be difficult to create. The electrical infrastructure exists, and the power-generating capacity is already available. This includes the relatively new technology of wind and solar power generation. The sticking point is robust battery storage, a problem being addressed for both vehicles and power-grid storage, he says. Halderman saw the need for EV charging stations in Ada. “Because I travel a lot, I have seen what is happening, especially in California, where all colleges and most companies have electric vehicle charging stations installed for use by their employees and customers. Then, when I returned to Ohio, I did not see them at all. I thought I would help start by donating funds to install a charging station in the hopes that this would make those who visited ONU realize that, while it’s a small and rural school, it’s also forward thinking.” Installation of the charging stations is relatively simple, he says, and the power drain is fairly insignificant. While officially retired from teaching, Halderman continues to produce his automotive textbooks and online resources. He and his wife, Michelle, live in Dayton, and he is a member of the advisory board for ONU’s Department of Technological Studies.