The University of Toledo Police Department will conduct an active shooter training exercise that emphasizes the role of the first officer to respond to an emergency situation.

More than 30 officers with UT and Owens Community College will participate in the training that will include a simulated response to an active shooter Monday, Jan. 4 in Carter Hall on the UT Main Campus.

The media is invited from 8:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.

The training program called RAIDER, which stands for Rapid Deployment, Awareness, Intervention, Decisiveness, EMS and Recovery, provides the tactical skills necessary for the first officer responding to an active shooter situation to be able to intervene immediately in order to reduce the number of causalities.

“While we hope there is never the opportunity to put this training into practice, it is important for law enforcement officers to regularly review these response tactics so that we remain prepared for any emergency,” UT Police Chief and Director of Public Safety Jeff Newton said. “Solo engagement training is the evolution of responding to active shooters and trains for the first officer on the scene to no longer wait for backup, but to go in immediately to confront the shooter who is looking to inflict the most amount of damage in the shortest amount of time.”

The training provides officers with the mental and physical skills to draw the attention of the active shooter away from the potential victims, confuse and frustrate the shooter, and successfully neutralize the situation.

The training is scheduled to take place in the vacant residence hall during UT’s winter break to minimize any disruption to campus operations. The full two-day training program also will include standard firearms training for the officers.

Media Coverage
The Blade (Jan. 4, 2016)
WTOL 11 (Jan. 5, 2016)
WTOL 11 (Jan. 5, 2016)
13 ABC (Jan. 5, 2016)
NBC 24 (Jan. 8, 2016)

The Ohio Attorney General’s office awarded The University of Toledo $214,000 to help victims of sexual violence on campus.

The funding is part of $1.2 million in grants given to colleges, universities and rape crisis centers across the state to assist victims of sexual assault on Ohio campuses by providing additional programs, as well as promoting education and awareness.

“Sexual violence is a national issue and we are excited about the opportunity to provide even more resources to our students,” UT Police Chief Jeff Newton said.

UT plans to use the grant money to create the Center for Student Advocacy and Wellness.

Dr. Kasey Tucker-Gail, associate professor in the Department of Criminal Justice, Social Work and Legal Specialties, said UT will hire a new sexual assault counselor and a domestic violence counselor to provide direct victim services, such as crisis response, hospital advocacy and criminal justice advocacy.  Plus, the grant includes the addition of graduate student positions.

The funding strengthens The University of Toledo’s commitment to raise awareness and increase education and prevention of sexual assault and violence.

“This is a phenomenal resource for students,” Tucker-Gail said. “This will be one spot for students to go for resources as they deal with difficult relationships and victimization.  This grant allows us to strengthen our services to help survivors recover by bringing assistance into one location on campus with a community partner.”

“The federal grant awarded by Attorney General DeWine is an endorsement of our efforts to strengthen the resources we offer to members of our campus community who have experienced sexual assault,” said UT President Sharon Gaber. “Dr. Kasey Tucker-Gale, Dr. Kaye Patten-Wallace, Jovita Thomas-Williams, Chief Jeff Newton and their teams have championed our commitment to develop a strong support structure to educate students about domestic and sexual violence, assist survivors and prevent future incidents from occurring on campus. I’m happy to see this progress and proud that our students will have somewhere to turn when they need assistance.”

According to a national study, between three and ten percent of college women will be raped.  In the same time period, 13 to 40 percent experience sexual victimization other than rape.

Newton said the UTPD had one report of sexual assault on campus in 2014.

“However, we know that one of the challenges is creating an environment where victims feel comfortable reporting,” Newton said.

Media Coverage
Richland Source (Dec. 30, 2015)
Harrison News-Herald (Dec. 30, 2015)
Fairborn Daily Herald (Dec. 31, 2015)
The Blade (Dec. 31, 2015)
WTOL 11 (Jan. 4, 2016)
Perry County Tribune (Jan. 6, 2016)
The Independent Collegian (Jan. 13, 2016)

The College of Languages, Literature and Social Sciences and the College of Law at The University of Toledo have partnered to create a program that allows students to earn both a bachelor’s degree and a law degree in just six years instead of the usual seven.

The new three-plus-three program is an innovative collaboration that saves UT students both time and money, according to Dr. Jamie Barlowe, dean of UT College of Languages, Literature and Social Sciences.

“This exciting three-plus-three program not only provides our students with a focused, cost-saving pathway to a rewarding career, but it also acknowledges the importance of a liberal arts background to the study of the law,” she said.

In order to participate in the new program, students in the UT College of Languages, Literature and Social Sciences must fulfill the college’s general education and major requirements by the end of the third year. The student postpones 18 hours of related fields requirement and 12 hours of electives until senior year.

The UT College of Languages, Literature and Social Sciences student applies to the UT College of Law during junior year and begins attending law school during senior year. When the student has completed all of the first year law courses, he or she is awarded a bachelor’s degree from the UT College of Languages, Literature and Social Sciences. The student receives the law degree after completing the entire law program.

“We are very excited to collaborate with the College of Languages, Literature and Social Sciences on the three-plus-three program,” said D. Benjamin Barros, dean of the College of Law. “It gives students an opportunity to get an outstanding undergraduate and legal education quickly and inexpensively.”

A UT College of Languages, Literature and Social Sciences student can decide to pursue the program at any point during undergraduate study, but students are encouraged to discuss their intention as early as possible with an undergraduate adviser to ensure completion of any required courses for the student’s major.

For more information, visit utoledo.edu/llss/prospective/3-3-admissions.html.

Media Coverage
La Prensa (Dec. 18, 2015)

This week the state awarded The University of Toledo two grants to support the College Credit Plus program that allows high school students to earn college credits free of charge.

The $457,720 and $311,608 grants from the Ohio Department of Education and the Ohio Department of Higher Education provide UT the support to develop programs and pay for high school teachers to earn qualifications needed to teach college courses in their high school classrooms. Teachers can begin taking the courses at UT in March.

“This will fund tuition for a master’s degree for up to 40 high school teachers in Toledo Public Schools and other districts across the state so they will be prepared to teach chemistry, biology or English at the college level,” said Rebecca Schneider, professor and chair of UT’s department of curriculum and instruction in the Judith Herb College of Education. “This makes a college education more accessible and convenient for students.”

The statewide College Credit Plus program gives college-bound 7th through 12th grade students the opportunity to earn high school credit and college credit simultaneously at any Ohio public college or university.

“The program gives students the advantage of starting the transition to college early, while reducing the cost and length of time to receive a bachelor’s degree,” Schneider said. “By credentialing dozens of high school teachers in our area to teach college courses, we are expanding higher education opportunities for more children.”

A total of 911 students enrolled in the College Credit Plus at UT in the fall of 2015. Of those, 401 are TPS students.

UT is one of 19 applicants chosen to receive a portion of $10 million in new grant funding allocated by the Ohio General Assembly as part of the Straight A Fund.

“Providing this funding for teacher credentialing will ultimately allow more students to take advantage of College Credit Plus, which is great news for students and families looking to save potentially thousands on the cost of a college education,” Ohio Department of Higher Education Chancellor John Carey said. “And having more teachers in our high schools with these qualifications helps secure a strong future for the College Credit Plus program.”

“With this grant, more students will be able to take college courses without leaving their high schools,” State Superintendent Dr. Richard A. Ross said. “That allows students to get a jump on their college education in a learning environment that is already familiar to them.”

To learn more about UT’s College Credit Plus program, go to utoledo.edu/admission/dualcredit/.

Media Coverage
13 ABC (Dec. 17, 2015)
The Blade (Dec. 18, 2015)
WTOL 11 (Dec. 22, 2015)
WTOL 11 (Jan. 8, 2016)

In the wake of last year’s water crisis in Toledo which left a half million residents without safe tap water for three days, a graduate-level class in The University of Toledo’s Department of Environmental Sciences embarked on an analysis of issues related to the measuring and reporting of microcystin in drinking water.

The resulting research recently published in the scientific journal Environmental Science and Technology takes aim at the ELISA test kit – the standard method of measuring the concentration of the group of toxins associated with cyanobacterial blooms in Lake Erie – in order to help local government agencies responsible for providing the public with safe drinking water.

“Our goal is to come up with a way to improve the results and reduce the level of uncertainty in their decision-making process to avoid unnecessary panic,” assistant professor of environmental science Song Qian, PhD., said. “Frequent and accurate quantification of cyanobacterial toxins in treatment-finished drinking water is paramount to protecting the public.”

Song Qian

Qian led the group of six UT graduate students and a researcher from The Ohio State University as they collected monitoring data measured during the 2014 bloom season from the City of Toledo’s Water Department and OSU’s Stone Lab in Put-in-Bay.

“We formed this special topics class right after the crisis because some questioned the wisdom of issuing the ‘Do Not Drink’ advisory based on one sample exceeding the standard set by the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency,” Qian said. “We applied our knowledge to the issue that is not only of educational and intellectual value, but also highly relevant to the local community.”

After analyzing the two sources of data, the class concluded that the ELISA test can be “highly variable.”

“Such uncertainty is rarely reported and accounted for in important drinking water management decisions,” Qian wrote in the class’ report titled “Quantifying and Reducing Uncertainty in Estimated Microsystin Concentrations from the ELISA Method,” which was published on Oct. 30.  “The risk of exposure to the harmful levels of the toxins has not been adequately communicated.”

ELISA stands for the “enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay” method which Qian says is used for measuring microcystin concentration in almost all Ohio drinking water facilities that use Lake Erie as source water. Qian calls it the most convenient and cost-effective test to use.

The ELISA test kit is the same method the City of Toledo used to measure microcystin in the raw lake water on a daily basis through the 2015 algal bloom season.

According to the published research, “Much of the uncertainty is a result of the highly uncertain ‘standard curve’ developed during each test.”

A standard curve links a microcystin concentration through a color development process to an optical density — a quantity that can be measured directly.

Qian says the problem with the current test kit is that the standard curve is developed from only five or six data points.  He says unavoidable measurement errors in optical density make the standard curve variable from test to test.

In order to increase reliability, Qian and the graduate students propose pooling raw test data from multiple tests using a more sophisticated statistical method.

“Estimation uncertainty can be effectively reduced through the effort of regional regulatory agencies by sharing and combining raw test data from their regularly scheduled microcystin monitoring program,” according to the published report.

Qian admits combining data from multiple tests is a complicated mathematical process.  That is why he is looking for funding to develop easy-to-use software that would analyze monitoring data and calculate a microcystin concentration estimate based on a more stable standard curve.

“Our drinking water is safe because of the advanced treatment used in our city,” Qian said.  “The decision made during the 2014 water crisis was a difficult one given the uncertainty associated with the method.  By teaching the class, we want to figure out how science can help support leaders when they’re making calls during bloom seasons that could threaten public health.  Reducing the uncertainty in the measured microcystin concentration will make the process easier.”

As a result of this research, Qian believes the City of Toledo made the right call issuing the “Do Not Drink” advisory last year because he said, “Our microcystin estimate for that particular day is higher.”

Here is the link to read the full research report: http://pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.1021/acs.est.5b03029

Media Coverage
13 ABC and WTOL 11 (Dec. 18, 2015)

The University of Toledo Medical Center is being recognized for its superior stroke treatment.

For the 10th year in a row, UTMC has received the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s Get With The Guidelines®-Stroke Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award with Target: StrokeSM Honor Roll.

The award recognizes the hospital’s commitment and success in ensuring that stroke patients receive the most appropriate treatment based on the latest research.

“It shows the consistent quality care that we provide at this institution,” said Dr. Mouhammad Jumaa, assistant professor and director of the Stroke Center and co-director of the Stroke Network.  “The University of Toledo Medical Center is one of only a few stroke centers in northwest Ohio to offer research protocols for both acute stroke and stroke prevention. We prevent, diagnose and treat stroke.”

Andrea Korsnack, stroke coordinator, said UT’s stroke team treated 338 patients in 2014 and 323 so far this year.

“Receiving this award for the 10th consecutive year cements our foothold as a leader in stroke care in Northwest Ohio,” Korsnack said.

The UT stroke team, in place since 1994, includes  two fellowship-trained interventional neurologists; two fellowship-trained stroke neurologists; a dedicated stroke nurse and nurse practitioner; three neurosurgeons; a neurosurgery nurse practitioner; a CARF-accredited rehabilitation hospital on site; and emergency department, pharmacy, radiology and laboratory staff. CARF stands for Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities.

To receive the Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award, hospitals must achieve 85 percent or higher adherence to all Get With The Guidelines-Stroke achievement indicators for two or more consecutive 12-month periods and achieve 75 percent or higher compliance with five of eight quality measures.

The honor roll accolade requires that hospitals reduce the time between the patient’s arrival at the hospital and treatment with the clot-buster tissue plasminogen activator, or tPA. If given intravenously in the first three hours after the start of stroke symptoms, tPA has been shown to significantly reduce the effects of stroke and lessen the chance of permanent disability.

Stroke is the No.  5 cause of death and a leading cause of adult disability in the United States, according to the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association.

A University of Toledo alumnus is ensuring future engineers will have the right combination of technical and business skills needed to meet the growing energy needs of the world.

Gary Leidich, retired executive vice president and president of FirstEnergy Generation and FirstEnergy Corp., is donating $500,000 to the UT College of Engineering in support of a new academic initiative in energy engineering.

An event to celebrate the generosity of Gary and Eileen Leidich will be held 10 a.m. Friday, Dec. 18 in the Nitschke Hall SSOE Seminar Room.

“It is very clear that energy dependence is not going away. The energy needs in the United States and around the world are going to be significant,” Leidich, chair of the UT Foundation Board of Trustees, said. “We have become accustomed to a lot of energy use. You plug in your cell phone and it’s all magic, but there is a lot behind it.”

Leidich, who received a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering and a master’s degree in engineering science from UT, remembers well the power systems courses where he learned about energy conversion that prepared him for the technical aspects of his career.

He saw a need for increased specialization for today’s engineers not only in power systems, but also with oil, gas and other alternative energy sectors. So he was intrigued when Dr. Nagi Naganathan, dean of the UT College of Engineering, approached him with an idea to create a unique energy engineering concentration as a graduate degree option. Naganathan also invited Leidich to chair a task force of faculty, alumni and representatives from corporate partners DTE Energy Co., Owens Corning and First Solar Inc. to shape the curriculum.

“I saw my role in stepping up and demonstrating some leadership for this program that I think will get a lot of traction,” Leidich said.

“We cannot thank Gary and Eileen Leidich enough for their generosity and commitment to the success of future engineers,” UT President Sharon L. Gaber said. “Graduates of this new energy engineering concentration will be prepared to advance the world’s energy needs with the strong foundation Gary laid during his successful career in the energy sector.”

According to Naganathan, both in the United States and across the world, there will be an increased need for uniquely qualified engineering professionals who understand the energy portfolio not only technically, but also with a good knowledge of complementary topics in management, law and social sciences. Every organization that has a significant energy footprint would want to hire such professionals as the energy demand increases, he said.

“The success of the UT College of Engineering and our graduates is directly tied to the strong relationships we have with leaders like Gary Leidich and the corporations they represent to be sure our curriculum is current, relevant and engaging,” Naganathan said. “Thanks to Gary and Eileen’s generosity and the support of alumni and corporate partners, we can now launch a program to produce a new cadre of graduates who will be innovative leaders of energy portfolios in the future.”

Leidich, who retired from FirstEnergy Corp. in 2011, began his career with Cleveland Electric Illuminating Co. (CEI) during the construction of the Perry Nuclear Power Plant. During his career, he held a number of positions with Centerior Energy, the parent company of CEI and Toledo Edison that merged with Ohio Edison in 1997 to form FirstEnergy Corp., including director of system planning, director of human resources, vice president of finance and administration, and president of the power generation group. As an administrator with FirstEnergy, Leidich also held the roles of president and chief nuclear officer and senior vice president of operations prior to retiring as executive vice president.

Leidich continues to do consulting work for the electric utility industry and serves as chair of the Western Electricity Coordinating Council.

“Our society has grown completely dependent on energy, and this is something we are going to need forever,” Leidich said.

Media Coverage
The Blade (Dec. 16, 2015)

University of Toledo research on a promising treatment for traumatic brain injuries coincides with the public’s growing interest in football-related injuries.

Dr. Kenneth Hensley, associate professor of pathology, is using a compound that he developed and patented known as LKE, or XN-001, to explore the possible medical benefits. LKE treatment reduces neural damage and accelerates recovery in a mouse model of diffuse axonal injury, which is a common type of brain injury in motor vehicle accidents, combat injuries and football players. The study results were recently published in the Journal of Neurotrauma.

“This topic is of great interest to the public, especially as we continue to hear more and more about the long-term effects of brain injuries, in particular as it relates to football,” Hensley said. “The movie ‘Concussion’ with Will Smith is coming out on Dec. 25, which will spark additional dialogue on brain injuries caused by sports and if we should be encouraging our children to get involved in such potentially dangerous activities.”

Hensley said LKE works by binding to a protein called CRMP2 that helps stabilize connections that neurons use to communicate with one another. In a traumatic brain injury, these connections are damaged; however, LKE helps nerve cells repair the CRMP2.

Further, Hensley and his University of Toledo colleagues, Dr. Kris Brickman, an emergency medicine physician, and Dr. Daniel Gaudin, a neurosurgeon, are conducting studies to identify salivary biomarkers of concussive brain injury in local high school football players and in car crash patients. This is imperative because a biomarker would allow a more objective way to determine the seriousness of a head injury, Hensley said.

“This work has the potential to rapidly and accurately identify serious brain injury, and provide effective treatment to minimize the brain damage resulting from such injuries,” he said.

Hensley also is working with Marni Harris-White, associate professor and research health scientist at UCLA/Veterans Administration, to understand how traumatic brain injuries translate to Alzheimer’s disease, which affects more than 5 million Americans with no treatment to slow the disease.

Harris-White has found that people with mild brain trauma don’t have swelling or bleeding that can be detected with a brain scan. The brain’s neurons go through subtle changes, which she and Hensley are trying to understand so they can develop drugs to treat the injury, whether big or small.

“We grossly underestimate the number of traumatic brain injuries a person might experience in a lifetime,” Hensley said. “Kids fall all the time when they are learning to walk and are those falls causing changes to the brain over time? That’s why this research is so important. The cost to a young person is difficult to estimate, but we are talking about a reduction in decision-making capabilities and brain function.”

Media Coverage
WTOL 11 (Dec. 16, 2015)

BOARD OF TRUSTEES MEETINGS
Wednesday, December 16, 2015
President’s Residence
5:30 p.m. Board of Trustees Social Dinner

Saturday, December 19, 2015
Sullivan Athletic Complex, 4th Floor Conference Room
8:00 a.m. Clinical Affairs Committee Meeting
8:15 a.m. Special Board of Trustees Meeting

A Special Board meeting will be held on December 19 to discuss sabbaticals, personnel actions and two resolutions.

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

Christi Paul, anchor of CNN New Day Weekends and HLN’s Daily Share, will address graduates at The University of Toledo’s fall commencement 10 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 19 in Savage Arena.

The UT graduate and Bellevue-native, who also will receive an honorary degree during the ceremony, will address more than 2,000 candidates for degrees, including 138 doctoral candidates, 556 master’s candidates and 1,372 bachelor’s candidates.

This marks the first University of Toledo commencement for President Sharon L. Gaber.

Christi Paul

“From her time at UT to her successful career at CNN, Christi Paul has devoted her life to thoughtful curiosity, learning, and helping others with the power of information,” Gaber said. “She has been at the forefront of many major news stories of our time. The award-winning journalist and advocate for women and children is an inspiring voice who will offer a passionate message to our graduates and guests.”

The national journalist graduated from UT in 1993 with a Bachelor of Arts in Communication degree with a focus on broadcast journalism.

“I’m humbled and honored to give the commencement speech and so grateful to UT, the professors who helped me grow, the staff who guided me to solid internships, and the friends I made along the way,” Paul said. “I will always credit UT for giving me my springboard into the journalism arena.”

Paul has covered many high-profile events throughout her distinguished career, including President Barack Obama’s second inauguration, Hurricane Sandy, and the Casey Anthony murder trial. She was in the anchor chair walking heartbroken viewers through the early hours of the tragic shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School and Virginia Tech.

Prior to joining CNN and HLN in 2003, Paul worked as an anchor and reporter in Phoenix, Ariz., and Boise, Idaho. The Idaho Press Club honored Paul for her series about a brave four-year-old girl who underwent a five-organ transplant. Paul began her career at WDTV in Clarksburg, W.Va.

The wife and mother of three also is passionate about helping children. Along with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, Paul is co-founder of the “Find Our Children” series that airs on HLN. Viewers have helped bring home 35 missing kids as a result of the news profile segments. The center honored Paul in 2012 with its prestigious Hope Award for her efforts to make the world a safer place for children.

Paul serves on the National Advisory Council for the One Love Foundation, which works with teens to help end dating violence. Paul also serves on the Advisory Board for When Georgia Smiled that helps victims of domestic violence and sexual assault find healing, safety and joy.

UT recognized Paul in 2006 as an Outstanding Alumna of the former College of Arts and Sciences.

The fall commencement ceremony will recognize graduates from the Colleges of Adult and Lifelong Learning, Business and Innovation, Communication and the Arts, Judith Herb College of Education, Health Sciences, Languages, Literature and Social Sciences, Medicine and Life Sciences; Natural Sciences and Mathematics; Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences; and Social Justice and Human Service.

Other college specific commencement ceremonies taking place are:

• College of Engineering: graduate commencement 5 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 17; undergraduate commencement 3 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 19. Both ceremonies will be held in Nitschke Auditorium.

• College of Nursing: 1 p.m. Friday, Dec. 18 in Nitschke Auditorium.

For more information, visit utoledo.edu/commencement.

Media Coverage
The Blade (Dec. 19, 2015)
The Blade (Dec. 20, 2015)