Approximately 100 major companies will be seeking talent at The University of Toledo College of Business and Innovation annual winter job fair Friday, Feb. 6, from 1 to 4 p.m. in the Student Union Auditorium.

Local and national companies scheduled to participate include Buckeye CableSystem, Chrysler, First Solar Inc., HCR ManorCare, Libbey Glass, Marathon Petroleum Corp., Owens Corning and Therma-Tru Doors.

“The tremendous participation of so many well-known businesses at our semiannual job fair reflects very positively on the quality of both our programs and our students,” said Dr. Terribeth Gordon-Moore, senior associate dean of the UT College of Business and Innovation. “It also demonstrates the extremely dynamic and mutually beneficial relationship enjoyed by our college and major national recruiting companies such as Coca-Cola, JP Morgan Chase Bank and the Finish Line.”

“Employers are looking for undergraduate students to participate in business internships and their leadership development programs, as well as for seniors and graduates seeking full-time employment,” she added. “We also strongly encourage all our students, including freshmen, to attend the job fair, engage these company representatives now, and begin a relationship with these employers.

“This job fair is part of what we do to prepare our students for their futures,” Gordon-Moore explained, adding that the college’s Business Career Programs Office works year-round to assist students in acquiring internships and jobs upon graduation. “We strive to provide the necessary resources so our students can conduct their own tailored job searches.”

More than 85 percent of UT College of Business and Innovation students participate in internships, and the job placement rate for these business graduates is greater than 80 percent, even in recent economic times.

Eight people with kidney failure saved in first use of new transplant method

TOLEDO, OHIO – A new approach to kidney transplantation developed by a Toledo surgeon connects donors and patients across the globe in a way that reduces cost, improves quality and increases access to life saving care for people suffering kidney failure.

Rees

Dr. Michael Rees, a transplant surgeon at The University of Toledo Medical Center and founder of the Alliance for Paired Donation, created the concept of Reverse Transplant Tourism as an alternative to the black market of organ trading, known as transplant tourism.

“This revolutionary concept could be an important step in solving the kidney shortage in the United States,” Dr. Rees said. “To some extent, it also will reduce American participation in the exploitive and dangerous international kidney black market as thousands of more kidneys could become available.”

Instead of thinking of the developing world as a place where there are desperate people who will sell their kidneys for money, Dr. Rees proposes a new approach where the developing world can be seen as a place where there are desperate patients with kidney failure who need kidney transplants and who have willing, living kidney donors, but insufficient financial resources to pay for their transplant and subsequent immunosuppression.

The first Reverse Transplant Tourism exchange successfully connected Jose Mamaril of the Philippines, who has end stage renal disease but not the means to pay for a transplant or regular dialysis, with an American donor. His wife, Kristine, donated her kidney as part of the exchange that created a donor chain that will ultimately benefit eight people with kidney failure with the help of transplant surgeons at The University of Toledo Medical Center, University of Minnesota Medical Center in Minneapolis, Virginia Mason Medical Center in Seattle and Piedmont Hospital in Atlanta.

Reverse Transplant Tourism addresses the two major problems faced by the U.S. and developing nations. In the U.S., it is a shortage of both deceased and living kidney donors. Within developing nations, the problem is poverty.

In 2014, nearly 5,000 Americans unnecessarily died waiting for a kidney and there are currently more than 100,000 patients listed on the UNOS deceased donor waiting list. In 2008 that number was at 84,000. In 2013 there were 16,895 kidney transplants in the United States, only slightly more than the 16,521 performed in 2008. Based on these figures, the kidney transplant waiting list has increased by 34 percent since 2008, yet the number of kidney transplants remains virtually unchanged.

In developing countries, people with kidney failure have little problem finding living kidney donors from family or community members. The issue is instead the ability to afford dialysis or kidney transplantation.

Reverse Transplant Tourism resolves the problems by addressing supply and demand as well as health care costs.

There are enough donor and recipient pairs in developing countries that would allow more than one thousand additional Americans who have incompatible donors to receive a kidney through paired exchanges each year. This is especially true if the donor from the emerging nation has blood type O and the recipient falls within the blood groups of A, B or AB.

Averaged over time, the cost of treating patients with end stage renal disease with dialysis is three times the cost of treating patients with kidney transplantation. According to Dr. Rees’ research, the annual cost of dialysis for a Medicare patient is about $90,000 compared to $33,000 for kidney transplantation. Overall, the U.S. spends some $50 billion treating end stage renal disease.

The first Reverse Transplant Tourism exchange was funded with $250,000 raised by the Alliance for Paired Donation. But philanthropy alone cannot support this method and it is not clear if Medicare can financially support the project under current policies. Several private healthcare insurers are considering financial support of the concept.

Dr. Rees argues that by covering the cost of the transplant procedure for recipients from emerging nations, not only would Medicare and other healthcare insurance providers help save American lives but also millions of dollars in medical costs over three to five years.

“As the U.S. looks for unique methods to address health care reform, Reverse Transplant Tourism is one of very few strategies that simultaneously achieves the goals of reduced cost, improved quality and increased access,” Dr. Rees said. “In this new approach, everyone wins.”

Media Coverage
NBC 24 (Feb. 5, 2015)
The Blade (Feb. 8, 2015)

The American Academy of Appellate Lawyers has chosen a recent article by Bryan Lammon, assistant professor in The University of Toledo College of Law, for its Eisenberg Prize.

The article, “Rules, Standards and Experimentation in Appellate Jurisdiction,” was published in the Ohio State Law Journal in 2013.

The annual Eisenberg Prize recognizes the publication of high-quality articles in the field of appellate practice and procedure. Winners receive $2,000.

Lammon joins a distinguished list of past awardees, including last year’s recipient, Judge Richard Posner of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, one of the most well-known jurists in the country.

Lammon will receive the prize in April at the American Academy of Appellate Lawyers’ spring meeting in Santa Fe, N.M.

“It is absolutely phenomenal that someone at such an early stage of his career would win this award. Professor Lammon has a tremendously promising future as a scholar and is already a highly accomplished teacher. We are very proud of his accomplishment,” Daniel Steinbock, dean of the College of Law, said.

According to its website, the American Academy of Appellate Lawyers is committed to advancing the administration of justice and promoting the highest standards of professionalism and advocacy in appellate courts. Membership is reserved for experienced appellate advocates who have demonstrated the highest skill level and integrity.

BOARD OF TRUSTEES’ MEETINGS

Monday, February 9, 2015
Driscoll Alumni Center, Schmakel Room
10:30 a.m. Clinical Affairs Committee Meeting
1:00 p.m. Board of Trustees Meeting
A luncheon will be held for the Trustees in between meetings.

Thursday, February 19, 2015
Radisson Hotel, Faculty Club Room
12:00 Noon Board of Trustees Meeting
The University of Toledo Board of Trustees will be meeting with Owens Community College Board of Trustees for lunch.
Discussion topic — Collaborative Brainstorming: The Future of Workforce Development in Northwest Ohio

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

The University of Toledo’s “I Am Because We Are” celebration of Black History Month will kick off with a soul food luncheon sharing oral histories from local African Americans.

Dr. Willie McKether, associate dean of the UT College of Languages, Literature and Social Sciences, and associate professor of anthropology, will discuss his work adding to the Edrene Cole African American History Collection that he helped establish in collaboration with the Toledo-Lucas County Public Library System, which houses the project.

Documenting the seemingly ordinary lives of the project’s participants — from assembly-line workers to lawyers, from teachers to barbers to jazz musicians — was a deeply moving experience for McKether. “They would usually say, ‘I don’t have much to talk about’ — then they’d share these amazing stories,” he said.

The luncheon will be noon to 2 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 7, in the Student Union Auditorium. The event also will include musical performances by the UT Gospel Choir.

Additional events throughout the month of February include:

Monday, Feb. 9
•  Black History Trivia, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., Student Union Trimble Lounge.

Friday, Feb. 13
•  Black Student Union Fashion Show, “Black Revolution,” 7:30 p.m., Student Union Auditorium. Tickets: $10 general admission, $15 VIP available at Ask Rocky on second floor of Student Union.

Sunday, Feb. 15
•  Film screening of “Selma” at Rave Cinemas Westfield Franklin Park Mall. Students should call the Office of Excellence and Multicultural Student Success at 419.530.2261 for time of screening and tickets; seating is limited. An “After Selma” discussion will be the next day, 11 a.m. Monday, Feb. 16, in the Student Union Trimble Lounge.

Tuesday, Feb. 17
•  “I Am Because She Was,” 7 p.m., Student Union Room 2582. Sponsor: Talented Aspiring Women Leaders.

Wednesday, Feb. 18
•  Speaker: Rodney O’Neil, chief executive officer and president of Delphi Automotive PLC, 7 p.m., Student Union Ingman Room. Sponsors: Association of Black Faculty and Staff, Alpha Phi Boule and Brothers on the Rise.

Saturday, Feb. 21
•  Student Trip to Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History in Detroit, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. For details, contact the Office of Excellence and Multicultural Student Success at 419.530.2261.

Wednesday, Feb. 25
•  Speaker: Kevin Powell, political activist and author, 7:30 p.m., Student Union Auditorium. He has written 11 books, including Barack Obama, Ronald Reagan and the Ghost of Dr. King: Blogs and Essays, which examines politics and social issues like gender violence, immigration and equality.

For additional information and a full listing of events, visit the Office of Excellence and Multicultural Student Success website at utoledo.edu/studentaffairs/oemss.

Media Coverage
The Blade (Feb. 5, 2015)
The Independent Collegian (Feb. 11, 2015)

Dr. Christopher Cooper will provide an update on the condition of Toledo Mayor D. Michael Collins at 5 p.m. today in the Mulford Library Board Room located on the building’s second floor on the Health Science Campus.

Media Coverage
The Blade (Feb. 2, 2015)
The Blade (Feb. 3, 2015)
The Blade (Feb. 4, 2015)
The Blade (Feb. 5, 2015)
The Blade (Feb. 7, 2015)

The dates have been set for campus visits for The University of Toledo’s three presidential finalists.

Candidates will tour UT’s campuses; meet with faculty, staff, students, administrators, alumni and community members; and participate in open question-and-answer forums on Main Campus and Health Science Campus.

The dates for the visits are:

•  Wednesday through Friday, Feb. 18-20 — Dr. Michele Wheatly, professor and senior adviser to the president at West Virginia University;
•  Sunday through Tuesday, Feb. 22-24 — Dr. Christopher Howard, president of Hampden-Sydney College in Virginia; and
•  Wednesday through Friday, Feb. 25-27 — Dr. Sharon Gaber, provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs at the University of Arkansas.

“We’re working very hard to ensure that through smaller meetings or the open forums, every constituency group has a chance to hear from the candidates and ask questions,” said Joesph Zerbey, chairman of the UT Board of Trustees.

“We’ll also have a way for the UT community to provide feedback on the candidates through the presidential search website. As I have said from the beginning, we are committed to being as transparent as possible throughout this process.”

The presidential search website is utoledo.edu/presidential-search.

Noting the visit on Sunday, Feb. 22, Zerbey emphasized that day would include a tour of UT campuses and that all interactions with members of the University community would take place during the workweek.

Zerbey said invitations to leadership groups across campus and publicity regarding the campus open forums would go out in the next few days.

Media Coverage
The Blade (Feb. 3, 2015)
The Blade (Feb. 6, 2015)
The Plain Dealer (Feb. 13, 2015)
FOX 19 Cleveland (Feb. 13, 2015)
Morning Journal (Feb. 13, 2015)
The Blade (Feb. 15, 2015)
The Blade (Feb. 20, 2015)
The Blade (Feb. 20, 2015)
13 ABC (Feb. 20, 2015)
Insurance News (Feb. 20, 2015)
The Blade (Feb. 21, 2015)
NBC 24 (Feb. 22, 2015)
WBNS 10 (Feb. 23, 2015)
The Blade (Feb. 23, 2015)
The Blade (Feb. 24, 2015)
The Blade (Feb. 24, 2015)
The Blade (Feb. 25, 2015)
The Blade (Feb. 26, 2015)
The Blade (Feb. 27, 2015)
The Blade (Feb. 28, 2015)

The University of Toledo has canceled classes and student clinical rotations for Monday, Feb. 2.

Despite canceled classes, the University will remain open and UT’s Continuity of Operations Plan is now activated. Only employees designated as essential to University operations should report to work. Those who have questions regarding their status should contact their supervisor for clarification.

The University of Toledo Medical Center, as always, will remain open. UT Health outpatient clinics will be closed and associated employees are not to report unless otherwise directed by their supervisor.

To receive the fastest updates on severe weather and other campus emergencies, sign up for UT Alert to receive text messages on your phone by visiting https://stuweb00.utoledo.edu/redalert. Log in with your UTAD credentials.