The nation’s 100th medical school was officially created Dec. 18, 1964, when Ohio Gov. James A. Rhodes signed legislation establishing the Medical College of Ohio at Toledo.

The University of Toledo is commemorating that historic milestone with an invitation-only 50th anniversary celebration from 6 to 9 p.m. Saturday, May 31, in the Radisson Hotel located on Health Science Campus.

From left, Paul Block, Gov. James Rhodes, Dr. Glidden Brooks, Dr. Robert Page and Lurley Archambeau (student) at the groundbreaking of the Health Sciences Building, Sept. 11, 1970.

“The golden anniversary provides an opportunity for us to remember an important time in the history of Toledo and to recognize those who worked to bring a medical school to our community,” said Dr. William McMillen, former provost and chair of the anniversary celebration committee. “It is a celebration of a medical school that has successfully evolved to stay ahead of the curve in health science teaching and research, as well as the delivery of exceptional health care.”

Between 1910 and 1950, only 10 new medical schools were created in the country, and the post-WWII baby boom produced a growing population in need of medical care leading to a critical shortage of medical personnel.

Paul Block Jr., co-publisher of The Blade and a chemist, was an advocate for northwest Ohio as the ideal location for the new medical school that was needed in the state.

“It is impossible to count the number of people whose lives have been improved because of the medical college in this community that was a direct result of Paul Block’s efforts,” UT President Lloyd Jacobs said. “During the last 50 years, this medical school has trained generations of leaders within the medical community and is a source of pride for Toledo and Ohio.”

Allan J. Block, chair of Block Communications, and John Robinson Block, publisher and editor-in-chief of The Blade and Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, served as honorary co-chairs of the anniversary celebration committee and will speak at the event.

Dr. Mary R. Smith, UT professor of medicine and pathology, will give the keynote address about the value of the then Medical College of Ohio and current UT College of Medicine and Life Sciences to the city and region.

In addition to the founding of the school, the event will celebrate the first class of medical school students, the teaching hospital that opened in 1979, and the leadership of Dr. Richard “Dick” Ruppert, who served as president from 1977 to 1993.

To conclude the celebration, WGTE Public Media will preview its “Toledo Stories — MCO: A History of Healing and Teaching” documentary that will air at 8 p.m. Thursday, June 5, on WGTE.

Media Coverage
The Blade (June 1, 2014)
The Blade (June 4, 2014)
The Blade (June 5, 2014)

Looking for a fun, active way to spend a Saturday afternoon? The University of Toledo Medical Center pediatric residents are hosting Spring Into Motion Day, an event filled with activities to teach children how to stay active and healthy year-round. The event is scheduled for Saturday, May 31 from 1 – 4 p.m at the Ruppert Health Center.

A $1 entrance fee per child grants access to events including games and activities about nutrition and healthy choices, warm up and cool down exercises, hula hoop and jump rope contests, nutritious snacks to replenish energy, free T-shirts and one mile and half mile races with prizes awarded to the top finishers.

Participating children will also receive a free, easy-to-read book (while supplies last), courtesy of the Reach Out and Read program to help promote literacy. Representatives from Put A Lid On It will be promoting the importance of helmets and bike safety.

For more information, or to register for the event, email springintomotion2014@gmail.com.

The University of Toledo is continuing to expand its reach into Detroit and southeast Michigan, partnering with the Detroit Lions, one of the region’s most iconic brands. The Rockets and the Lions will formally announce their partnership at 2 p.m. Thursday, at Ford Field.

*** Media interested in Thursday’s press opportunity should contact Ben Manges, Detroit Lions director of corporate communications at 810.602.1091 for more information. ***

Teaming up with the Lions is another high-profile way UT is working to close the gap between Toledo and Michigan’s largest city, blurring the state border and erasing the perception of distance between two cities less than 60 miles apart.

“The University of Toledo continues to strengthen its brand and attract talented students to campus by partnering with institutions like the Detroit Lions and the NFL, introducing them to Rocket Nation,” said Lawrence J. Burns, vice president for external affairs.

In addition to stadium signage, UT and the Lions are developing hands-on opportunities for students and planning joint educational projects that are applicable to real sports business.

“We’re excited to partner with The University of Toledo and integrate sports business into their curriculum,” said Tom Lewand, Detroit Lions team president. “This partnership will also serve as another great platform to introduce more young professionals to Detroit.”

UT also has a prominent presence at both Comerica Park and Joe Louis Arena. The increased marketing effort has directly impacted student recruitment, almost doubling undergraduate student enrollment from metro Detroit from 860 in 2006 to nearly 1,600 southeastern Michigan students in the Fall of 2013.

“This isn’t just buying advertising,” said Burns. “Whether it’s real-world training or other opportunities, we’re looking for ways to share the value of a UT education. That message coming alongside the Detroit Lions brand makes it resonate so much more powerfully.”

In addition to its sports partnerships, The University of Toledo also is extending its reach into Michigan with a unique partnership with Schoolcraft College in Livonia that will allow students in select degree programs in the area to obtain a four-year degree from UT in their neighborhood. UT also has a strong relationship with News/Talk 760 WJR, which reaches throughout most of the Midwest and into the eastern U.S. and Canada that includes a monthly radio program called “The Relevant University.”

ABOUT THE UNIVERSITY OF TOLEDO
The University of Toledo, established in 1872, is a diverse, student-centered public metropolitan research university. The University is home to more than 20,000 students across 16 colleges and six Ohio campuses. UT offers more than 230 doctoral, professional, graduate and undergraduate programs. Nearly 350 student athletes comprise 15 Division 1 Rocket athletic teams. UT has earned national and international acclaim for its expertise in solar and advanced renewable energy, environmental sciences, astronomical research, translational research and biomarkers. For more information visit www.utoledo.edu.

ABOUT DETROIT LIONS
The Detroit Lions is a professional American football team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference (NFC) in the National Football League (NFL), and play their home games at Ford Field in downtown Detroit. The team relocated to Detroit in 1934 and are the National Football League’s fifth oldest franchise. The Detroit Lions finished the 2011 regular season with a 10-6 record and earned a berth in the NFL playoffs. In addition to professional football, the Detroit Lions have a very visible and active community relations role in the Detroit area. With a focus on health and wellness and community revitalization, the Lions have contributed $7.2 million through philanthropic efforts since 1991. For more information, visit www.DetroitLions.com.

The University of Toledo National Youth Sports Program (NYSP) has openings for its 45th annual three-week camp, which will start Monday, June 9, and continue through Friday, June 27.

Camp sessions are held Monday through Friday from 10:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. 

The program was started at UT in 1968 with the goal of providing economically disadvantaged youth, ages 10 to 16, the chance to receive regular sports instruction and nutrition education programs. UT is one of 31 universities that offers the program nationwide. However, this year, for the first time, 9-year-olds will be allowed to participate as well.

This year’s camp will include swimming, track and field, basketball, and recreation therapy activities such as crafts or physical exercises. Several educational nutrition classes will be offered as well.

Daily lunches will be provided, an on-site nurse will be available, and transportation to and from camp will be offered daily. Participants also will be able to go on several field trips throughout the summer, including a trip to a petting zoo and to Olander Park where the Merickle-Farley Trout Club will teach campers how to fish.

Applications are available at the Mott, Sanger, Reynolds Corners and Lagrange branch libraries; in Health and Human Services Building Room 1003 on UT’s Main Campus; Toledo-Lucas County Health Department; and Lucas County Metropolitan Housing Authority. They also are online at utoledo.edu/healthsciences/clinics/nysp/nationalyouth.html.

To participate, individuals need to have a physical completed in 2014. The program is offering free physicals Wednesday, May 28, at the Center for Health Services located at 2150 W. Central Ave. in Toledo.

Call the National Youth Sports program staff for more information at 419.530.2888.

Media Coverage
The Blade (May 27, 2014)

Naturalists from the Ohio Department of Natural Resource’s Division of Wildlife are scheduled to band the 2014 UT peregrine falcon chicks at 10 a.m. Tuesday, May 27.

The free, public event will take place outside the Student Union where tables will be set up. Rain or high winds could postpone the event.

Ohio wildlife crews will bring the baby birds down from their top-of-the-tower nest and give each one a leg identification band so that it can be tracked after it migrates from its birthplace. Blood also will be drawn from the chicks and they’re weighed to help determine their overall health.

Allen and Belle, residents of University Hall tower since 2007, became parents of two chicks May 8. This is the eighth successful brood for the adult peregrines.

Follow the family on the Toledo Peregrine Project Facebook page and watch the live stream from the UT Fal-Cam.

Media Coverage
The Blade (May 27, 2014)
The Blade (May 28, 2014)

Dr. James Madara, CEO and executive vice president of the American Medical Association (AMA), and United States Senator Rob Portman will address The University of Toledo College of Medicine and Life Sciences graduates at the commencement ceremony taking place at the Stranahan Theatre Friday, May 30 at 2 p.m.

There are 250 candidates for degrees; including 171 students who will receive doctor of medicine degrees, 42 will receive master of public health degrees, nine will receive master of biomedical sciences degrees, seven will receive master of occupational health degrees and 18 students will receive graduate certificates.

Eleven students will receive a PhD in biomedical sciences.

Madara will receive an honorary Doctor of Science degree.

“We are honored to have these two leaders willing to share their experiences and advice with our graduating students,” said Dr. Ron McGinnis, interim dean of the College of Medicine and Life Sciences. “This is a great opportunity for our graduates to gain knowledge from two distinguished professionals before embarking on the next phase of their careers.”

Madara

As CEO and executive vice president of the AMA, Madara oversees the nation’s largest physician organization.

An accomplished academic medical center physician, medical scientist and administrator, Madara previously served as Timmie Professor and chair of pathology and laboratory medicine at the Emory University School of Medicine.

He also held the Thompson Distinguished Professorship and deanship at the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine. He was the longest serving Pritzker dean in the last 35 years.

During his deanship at the University of Chicago, which also extended to the university’s renowned Biological Sciences Division, Madara served as CEO of the University of Chicago Medical Center, bringing together the university’s biomedical research, teaching and clinical activities.

Madara is a noted academic pathologist and an authority on epithelial cell biology and gastrointestinal disease. He has made important contributions to understanding the biology of the cells that line the digestive tract with over 200 published original papers and chapters. His work has garnered both national and international awards.

He is a recipient of a prestigious MERIT Award from the National Institute of Health and recently received the Davenport Award for lifetime achievement in gastrointestinal disease from the American Physiological Society.

Madara previously served as president of the American Board of Pathology and as editor-in-chief of the American Journal of Pathology.

Madara earned his medical degree from Hahnemann Medical Center in Philadelphia. He completed an internship and residency at New England Deaconess Hospital and a fellowship in anatomy and cell biology at the former Peter Bent Brigham Hospital, now Brigham and Women’s Hospital, in Boston. After completing his fellowship, he joined the faculty of Harvard Medical School and became a full tenured professor. He also served as director of the Harvard Digestive Diseases Center.

Portman will receive an honorary Doctor of Laws degree.

Portman was elected to the United States Senate, winning 82 of 88 counties, representing Ohio in 2010. He previously served 12 years in the House of Representatives from Ohio’s 2nd District.

Portman

During his time in Congress, he promoted welfare reform efforts and was a strong advocate of the balanced budget that passed in 1997. Portman was involved in several bipartisan legislative initiatives including advocating to increase retirement savings, IRS reform, addition of over 50 new taxpayer rights, curbing unfunded mandates, tax reduction and expanding drug prevention and land conservation efforts.

Portman left Congress in 2005 to serve in a cabinet-level post as the United States Trade Representative, responsible for implementing and enforcing U.S. trade policy. He was able to reduce barriers to U.S. exports and increase enforcement of trade laws to help American farmers, workers and service providers. Under his leadership, American exports increased and the U.S. brought successful legal challenges against international trade law violations. He also served as Director of the Office of Management and Budget.

He currently serves on several U.S. Senate committees including the Senate Finance Committee, the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, the Subcommittee on the Efficiency and Effectiveness of Federal Programs and the Federal Workforce as a Ranking Member, the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, the Subcommittee on Emergency Management, Intergovernmental Relations and the District of Columbia and the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, with assignments on the Subcommittee on Energy and the Subcommittee on National Parks.

Portman received his bachelor of arts degree from Dartmouth College and studied law at the University of Michigan. After graduating from law school, Portman moved to Washington, D.C. where he became a trade law expert and lobbyist for the firm Patton Boggs. He then became an associate at Graydon, Head and Ritchey, a Cincinnati law firm.

Media Coverage
The Blade (May 25, 2014)
The Blade (May 31, 2014)
WTOL 11 and 13 ABC (June 2, 2014)

BOARD OF TRUSTEES SPECIAL MEETING

Tuesday, May 27, 2014
Radisson Hotel, Faculty Club Room
1:45 p.m. Special Board Meeting

This Special Board meeting will be held for presentations, interviews, and selection of a presidential executive search firm, as well as for an Executive Session to discuss the employment of a public employee.

Any questions may be directed to the University Communications Office by calling (419) 530-7832 or via email at jonathan.strunk@utoledo.edu.

Joan A. Stasa
Secretary, Board of Trustees

May 22, 2014

More than 1,000 young people in Ohio, some under the age of 12, are victims of sex trafficking each year. Toledo ranks 4th in the United States, among those with Innocence Lost Task Forces, in terms of number of arrests, investigations and rescue of domestic minor sex trafficking victims.

A Night for Freedom feature a sex trafficking survivor sharing her story alongside other guests discussing the importance of education and awareness on Tuesday, May 20 at 7 p.m.

The free, public event will be held at the Maumee Indoor Theater located at 601 Conant Street.

There is no cost to attend, but donations will be collected to complete the filming of “Shadow on the Heartland,” a documentary about the increasing problem of sex trafficking in Ohio. Donations will help cover production costs and the distribution of copies of the film to every school in Ohio, about 5,000 total.

“It’s time for Ohio, and particularly Toledo, to move forward in getting the schools educated on human trafficking,” said Dr. Celia Williamson, professor of social work for The University of Toledo, nationally known expert on sex trafficking and guest speaker for A Night for Freedom. “Protecting our kids and ensuring they have a future filled with freedom and opportunity is our most important concern. We are asking that all school personnel become educated and develop a protocol for identifying and reporting suspected trafficking.”

The goals of A Night for Freedom and “Shadow on the Heartland” include educating parents on how to protect their children from becoming victims of sexual trafficking; making teenagers aware of how easily they can be coerced and controlled by traffickers; touching hearts as victims and survivors share their painful experiences in the sex trade, in which they were forced to work; inspiring viewers as they see how a united effort by law enforcement, government leaders, the legal system, social agencies and faith-based organizations has brought justice to those who engage in sexual trafficking while helping survivors build new lives.

Click here to view a snippet about “Shadow on the Heartland.”

Media Coverage
The Blade (May 19, 2014)
The Blade (May 20, 2014)

As employers begin receiving resumes from the newest university graduates, a top concern is identifying which new hires will hit the ground running and which represent “projects” that employers simply don’t have time to train.

For more than a year, Michigan start-up companies Seelio from Ann Arbor and Digerati from Detroit and The University of Toledo have been working together to create a model that ensures students get the experience they need to succeed and can easily and effectively demonstrate that preparedness.

*** Media Opportunity ***
The partners will showcase the progress they’ve made helping students land jobs during their annual update meeting from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Friday, May 16 at the Innovatrium located at 601 East University Avenue in Ann Arbor.
**********************

For 14 months, UT has partnered with Digerati, a firm that has created a free match.com-like matching website called Intern in Ohio that connects students seeking relevant internships and employers seeking interns. The site asks detailed questions about what duties interns would actually do to ensure strong matches and valuable experiences.

More recently, UT and Digerati also have partnered with Seelio, a digital portfolio company that enables UT students to easily post video, documents and pictures to expound upon their resume in a way a cover letter cannot.

Specifically, almost 6,400 students and more than 500 Ohio-based businesses have enrolled in Intern In Ohio, posting some 1,700 internship opportunities. Further, Seelio has engaged more than 600 UT students from two of UT’s colleges who have begun building profiles to put them ahead of their peers in the job interview process.

“We’re not suggesting that internships and portfolios are new ideas, but by integrating these tools together, we’re creating a model to formalize the pathway students need to follow to demonstrate to employers that they can contribute effectively to their organization on Day One,” said Lawrence J. Burns, UT vice president of external affairs.

“In recent years there has been a growing question of whether a college education is worth the cost. By ensuring UT graduates have and can demonstrate their experience, they will earn a strong return on their college investment and so will the companies that hire them,” Burns said. “We think this is a model that can inform colleges and universities around the country.”

Since 1995 Rocket Motorsports, The University of Toledo Formula SAE team, has been building innovative vehicles for regional and international competitions.

The Rocket Motorsport team is currently preparing to compete at the Formula SAE Michigan competition, beginning Wednesday, May 14. The competition is at Michigan International Speedway and features over 120 teams from across the globe, including teams from Germany and Brazil, who are spending time with Rocket Motorsports before the competition.

Formula SAE is a student-led competition sanctioned by SAE International. Teams of college students are challenged to design, build and race an open wheel formula style racecar. Over 400 chapters at universities worldwide participate in a number of regional competitions.

Dynamic performance, design, manufacturing methods, project budget, testing and final product are judged by leading industry professionals. The judging process tests students to the edge of their knowledge by creating an atmosphere equal in stress level to marketing a product to a consumer.

Formula SAE teaches organizational, time management and leadership skills, promotes professionalism and encourages the use of cutting-edge technology. The program offers students the opportunity to apply the theories learned in the classroom and challenges students to apply new concepts and push limits, often resulting in designs at the forefront of technology.

The team is broken down into six specialized areas including team management, chassis, suspension, powertrain, electrical and composite. Each group is equally important to the creation and success of the vehicle.

“The 2013-2014 season marks the 20th year of our Formula SAE team,” said Dale Hamberg, team leader and a senior in the College of Engineering. “This year’s team includes students in a wide variety of majors, from engineering to business, and the car expresses each individual’s knowledge, research and creativity.”

For more information, contact Rocket Motorsports at sae@eng.utoledo.edu.