In an already historic sesquicentennial year for The University of Toledo, Day of Giving supporters set a new milestone with $2,193,302 in donations Wednesday and Thursday, March 29-30. The total is a nearly 11% jump from 2022 and a record in the six-year history of the campaign.

A total of 3,177 donors collectively participated online and during live events in Toledo during the 36-hour fundraising effort.

In deciding how their gifts would be designated, donors were able to choose from more than 2,000 funds available at The University of Toledo Foundation, supporting scholarships, athletic and educational programs, research, healthcare and community services, which make an impact throughout northwest Ohio, the Great Lakes region and elsewhere.

Building on recent tradition, local businesses lent their support to Day of Giving. Customers at Toledo locations of The Blarney Irish Pub, Bubba’s 33, Buffalo Wild Wings, Campus Pollyeyes, Fusian, Home Slice Pizza and Jake’s Saloon had the opportunity to donate by rounding up their purchase during the campaign. Carlos’ Poco Loco, Domino’s Pizza, Four Seasons Bistro at The University of Toledo Medical Center, Jersey Mike’s Subs, State Bank and Rocket Sports Properties also provided support to Day of Giving.

“Our entire campus community is extraordinarily grateful to Rocket Nation for their continued support of Day of Giving this year,” said Floyd Akins, vice president for university advancement.

“This level of sustained generosity is a point of pride and a reason to celebrate The University of Toledo – every donation, no matter the amount, helps to ensure the future for our students, educators, patients, caregivers and so many others.”

For more information about the impact of the Day of Giving campaign or to support a student, college or program you care about, visit the UToledo Foundation website.

The University of Toledo Medical Center, in partnership with Life Connection of Ohio, will honor National Donate Life Month with a flag-raising ceremony Tuesday, April 4.

The event will begin at 10 a.m. outside UTMC’s main entrance, near Mulford Library.

For the last two decades, National Donate Life Month has served to highlight the ongoing need for organ, eye and tissue donation and to honor those whose donations have helped save the lives of others.

This year’s flag-raising ceremony will feature Dr. Harvey Popovich, a local physician and living kidney donor, and Tammy Sprow, whose husband became an organ donor after a fatal 2012 car crash.

Nearly 43,000 organ transplants were performed in the United States last year, an all-time high. That includes new records for the number of kidney, liver, heart, and lung transplants.

UTMC, northwest Ohio’s only organ transplant center, also set a record in 2022, completing 200 kidney transplants, up from 174 in 2021.

However, the need for organ donation remains great. More than 100,000 Americans are currently awaiting an organ transplant, including more than 2,600 in Ohio and nearly 2,400 in Michigan.

“Organ donation truly is giving the gift of life,” said Dr. Kunal Yadav, a transplant surgeon at UTMC. “This event is an important way for our community to recognize donors and encourage others to think about registering as an organ and tissue donor.”

For more information on organ, eye and tissue donation or to register as a donor, visit Life Connection of Ohio’s website.

Songfest returns for its 85th installment Saturday, April 1, at The University of Toledo, as students dance and sing for a philanthropic cause in the University’s second-oldest tradition.

This year Songfest supports the Bethany House, which provides long-term transitional shelter and advocacy to survivors of domestic violence and their children in Toledo. The event begins 5 p.m. at Savage Arena.

The theme is “Songfest 2023: Rocket Evolution” and will include song selections from throughout the decades, with 18 organizations participating in the men’s, women’s and co-ed divisions. The event will be livestreamed on YouTube.

As part of the fabric of The University of Toledo since 1937, Songfest has long been a way for students to give back to the community, with the Blue Key National Honor Fraternity and the Mortar Board National Honor Society serving as the event’s co-sponsors.

“Planning for Songfest is no easy feat, as we started almost 11 months ago preparing for this day,” said Jada Alcantara, Songfest co-emcee representing Blue Key Honor Society along with Yash Shingan, who is representing Mortar Board Senior National Honor Society.

“Being a co-emcee teaches you so much about leadership, event planning and new ways to give back to the campus and the community. I hope everyone enjoys the hard work put in to make Songfest 2023 the production that it is.”

Songfest donations to Bethany House can be made through the event’s Fundly webpage.

Day of Giving, the latest event in The University of Toledo’s year-long sesquicentennial celebration, has launched — and if history is any indication, its impact will be widespread.

The sixth annual, 36-hour campaign kicked off 6 a.m. EDT Wednesday, March 29, and ends 6 p.m. Thursday, March 30. Learn more about Day of Giving or donate now at give.utoledo.edu.

Participation is a primary goal of Day of Giving and UToledo alumni, faculty and staff members, friends and supporters around the world are encouraged to show their generosity during each campaign. The target this year is for 3,400 donors to help fuel support for students, educators, patients and caregivers on UToledo’s campuses in any amount they choose.

2022 was a record-breaking year for the campaign, when more than $1.9 million was donated to colleges and programs throughout the University.

Building on recent tradition, local businesses are lending their support. Between opening today and 2 p.m. March 30, customers at Toledo locations of The Blarney Irish Pub, Bubba’s 33, Buffalo Wild Wings (6710 Central Ave.), Campus Pollyeyes, Carlos’ Poco Loco, Fusian, Home Slice Pizza and Jake’s Saloon have the opportunity to make a campaign gift by rounding up their purchase.

Gifts may be designated to any of the more than 2,000 University of Toledo Foundation funds available. Several donor challenges and dollar-for-dollar matches are underway, allowing donors to double their impact or even “unlock” gifts for colleges and programs. Every donor and every dollar will make a difference in support of scholarships, athletic and educational programs, research, healthcare and community services.

Supporters are encouraged to use #RocketForward on social media throughout the campaign to share their UToledo spirit, spread the impact of Day of Giving and highlight the students, programs or colleges about which they’re most passionate.

The University of Toledo Ritter Planetarium reopens to the public Friday, March 31, after completing the installation of a new, upgraded digital projection system.

The Digistar 7 is a state-of-the-art projection system that provides better quality imagery at 4K and the ability to bring livestreamed events and shows from around the world to the 40-foot domed ceiling.

“Our programs are sharper and more vibrant than ever before because the new projectors have a resolution of 4K and use lasers to generate light,” said Dr. Michael Cushing, a professor of physics and astronomy and director of Ritter Planetarium. “The software controlling everything was also upgraded and so we now have the ability to do things like fly through the rings of Saturn or take a tour of the Pleiades star cluster.”

The first program with the new system is one that has never been shown before at Ritter Planetarium.

“Stars of the Pharaohs,” narrated by the actor John Rhys-Davies, debuts at 7:30 p.m. Friday, March 31, and continues to be featured on Fridays at 7:30 p.m. through April 28.

The program transports you to ancient Egypt 6,000 years ago to see how astronomers made the first solar calendar, aligned their temples and pyramids and told time by the stars. You’ll discover the connection ancient Egyptians felt with the heavens and explore the most spectacular temples and tombs of the ancient world, projected all around you in their original splendor.

Through April, the planetarium also is showing “Zula Patrol: Under the Weather,” a program for children featuring heroes and villains who learn all about weather — here on Earth and on other planets.

The program is featured Saturdays at 1 p.m. from April 1 through April 29.

The program presents heroes of the Zula Patrol, who are on an expedition to collect samples of weather for scientist Multo’s research. When the Zula Patrol inadvertently hurts the feelings of their loyal pet, Gorga, he decides to leave Zula and find another planet to live on. Villain Dark Truder then tricks Gorga into helping with his latest scheme to rule the universe. The Zula Patrollers find out and go after him — in the process learning all about weather, both here on Earth and on the other planets of the solar system.

Admission to the programs is $8 for adults and $6 for children, senior citizens and UToledo community members. Doors will open 30 minutes prior to the show.

The planetarium portion of the program lasts approximately one hour, consisting of both the show and a Q&A session. Weather permitting, the evening shows will be followed by observing at Brooks Observatory atop McMaster Hall to view the stars and planets through UToledo’s Celestron 14 Edge HD telescope.

Ritter Planetarium’s new, $320,000 Digistar 7 system replaces the SciDome XD projector system acquired in 2011. The renovations were made possible by the generosity of a loyal donor.

Ritter Planetarium, which first opened in 1967, closed on Dec. 24, 2022, for the installation of the new system.

The planetarium hosts more than 300 programs each year.

Approximately 5,000 students visit the planetarium every year.

For more information about the spring programs, visit the Ritter Planetarium website.

The BIG Event, the largest, single-day student-run service project at The University of Toledo, is Saturday, March 25.

An annual UToledo event since 2001, the BIG Event has changed forms over the years, but the overall goal has remained the same: to give back to the Toledo community.

This year, approximately 350 students are expected to volunteer for the community-sponsored event at 16 service sites, including Toledo GROWs, the Junction Coalition and various food banks around the Toledo community.

“To me, BIG Event is one of the most important events that is put on at the University of Toledo,” said Hannah Spillett, a senior bioengineering student who serves as president of the BIG Event.

“Giving back to the community that gives you so much is an incredible thing to be able to do.”

Media are invited for a photo-op from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. at Toledo Gospel Rescue Mission’s Outreach Center, located at 670 Phillips Ave., and its women’s shelter located directly across the street, where students will be working inside and outside to help the organization clean the property and build a new shed.

Saturday Morning Science is back for 2023 at The University of Toledo with three spring programs to give the community the opportunity to learn about hot topics in modern science.

The free, public talks, which are presented by the UToledo College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, kick off 10 a.m. Saturday, March 25, in Wolfe Hall Room 1205 on Main Campus.

The first session is all about UToledo astronomers exploring the universe with the James Webb Space Telescope. Dr. Tom Megeath, Distinguished University Professor of astronomy, will present “Observing the Birth of Stars With the James Webb Space Telescope: A Toledo Odyssey.”

Additional programs and speakers will be:

• April 1: “A New Look at Handedness: From the Laboratory to the Nation” by Dr. Stephen Christman, a UToledo professor of psychology.
• April 22: “The Science of Jams, Preserves and Marmalade” by Tara Grey, a jam maker and owner of Gus & Grey in Detroit.

“Saturday Morning Science is a great event for families to learn about cutting-edge as well as everyday science topics,” said Dr. Michal Marszewski, assistant professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. “Our expert speakers are eager to share their science with the Toledo community through exciting and entertaining presentations designed for general audiences. Guests can enjoy complimentary coffee and bagels and learn about recent discoveries and possible careers in STEM.”

All talks begin at 10 a.m. and include light refreshments. Complimentary parking will be provided in Area 13 — with the exception of metered spaces. Parking in other areas will require payment via the ParkMobile app or a parking meter. Visit the ParkUToledo website for more information.

For more information about the upcoming events, visit the Saturday Morning Science website.

It was about a year ago that The University of Toledo Curling Club took to the ice for its first-ever competitive match.

The months-old club had about a dozen members, most of whom had never played the game until they joined the team in fall 2021. And they were going against a nationally ranked Penn State team, the oldest and largest curling club in the U.S., which agreed to travel to UToledo’s home ice at the Black Swamp Curling Center in Bowling Green.

The Rockets beat the Nittany Lions, 7-5 and 8-5.

That’s how UToledo’s Curling Club’s underdog story begins.

It continues Friday, March 10, through Sunday, March 12, as the team competes in the 2023 College National Championship at the Black Swamp Curling Center, located at 19901 N. Dixie Highway. Tickets are $5 for a single-day admission and $10 for a three-day admission.

“One of our goals when we started the club that semester is that it would be cool to compete at nationals,” said the team’s president and co-founder, Andrew Thomas, 23, a fifth-year senior studying computer science and engineering and electrical engineering who graduates in May.

“We all kind of knew that getting to nationals was possible, but that it would take an immense amount of work to get there.”

Thomas, along with the UToledo Curling Club’s co-founder and friend, Adam Billmaier, who served as the team’s vice president until graduating last May, each had the most curling experience on the team, having played the sport together for a semester in high school.

Megan Harper, the team’s secretary, was like most of the members: She had never touched a curling broom until she joined the team much less participated in a bonspiel, which is a curling tournament that typically takes place over multiple days.

“I didn’t know how to get started. I was really bad at the beginning, but I was determined to figure it out,” said Harper, 22, a senior studying paralegal studies who graduates in May and will be going to law school.

“It took me until my second bonspiel that I was comfortable and confident in my abilities.”

The team persisted and improved with the help of initial funding from the Student Allocation Committee and support from, among others, Dr. Stephen Christman, a professor in the Department of Psychology; Dr. Alana Malik, university assessment director; Alex Zernechel, associate director for student involvement and fraternity and sorority life; and Tony North Jr., assistant director of programs and leadership development.

“All of them have been instrumental in our success,” Thomas said.

By May of last year, the UToledo Curling Club was atop the national rankings. More recent losses, however, including an away game at Penn State, dropped them in the rankings.

“We were definitely sweating it,” Thomas said of the team making it to the 2023 nationals. “But as the weeks grew near it seemed like it was a bit more certain. We were just hoping all this work would pay off, but you don’t know until all the points are counted and you’re in.”

They made it — but barely. They are ranked 16th in the nation, which places them as the last seed in the 16-team national championship tournament.

“I am thrilled for all of the students in the UToledo Curling Club who have worked so hard over the past couple of years to create their club, and to jump into all of the opportunities that the sport of curling has to offer,” Malik said. “They are a great group of people, and I am so proud of all of their efforts. To be selected to participate in this national competition and to host their peers from around the country is truly an honor.”

The UToledo Curling Club has two challenges right away: Friday games against Penn State at 1 p.m. and Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) from Rochester, New York, at 8 p.m. They play a third match noon Saturday against top-seeded Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) from Troy, New York.

Thomas and Harper agreed that their path to the national championship will be difficult, but not impossible.

“I think we’ll be able to handle Penn State,” Harper said. “We’ve played RPI. We lost to them, but I think we held our own.”

Fans can watch the game live via YouTube and updates will be provided through the team’s Instagram account, @UTCurlingClub. But the UToledo Curling Club would love to have the Rocket family in the stands to cheer them on to victory.

“To have the support of everyone in the building and to see everybody supporting us would be super cool,” Thomas said. “And any extra money raised from the admission, 100% of that goes back to the club, which will really help us when competing next year.”

Tickets are available directly at the Black Swamp Curling Center beginning Friday.

For more information, visit the USA Curling website.

As part of its sesquicentennial celebration, The University of Toledo is teaming up with the Toledo Lucas County Public Library to offer the community a free, public lecture and exhibit downtown.

“Celebrating Toledo’s University: 150 Years of the University and the City,” a lecture by Barbara Floyd, former university archivist and author of “An Institution for the Promoting of Knowledge: The University of Toledo at 150,” is from 4 to 5 p.m. Wednesday, March 22, in the Large Glass Meeting Room at the Toledo Lucas County Public Library Main Library.

The free, public event will focus on how the city and its residents contributed to making the University a success, and how the University contributed to the development of the city.

The UToledo Ward M. Canaday Center’s exhibit commemorating the University’s sesquicentennial, “Faith, Vision, and Hard Work: The University of Toledo, 1872-2022,” also can be experienced at the Main Library of the Toledo Lucas County Public Library.

The display, which is available for viewing at the downtown library until May 8, features UToledo’s historical timeline, reproductions of photographs and documents following the institution’s trajectory from the 1872 Articles of Incorporation through today and trivia. 

The full exhibit in the Canaday Center on UToledo’s Main Campus runs until August. Viewing hours at UToledo are 8:30 a.m. through 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.

The University of Toledo will celebrate women’s historical achievements and explore current women’s issues with a series of in-person events and activities throughout March in honor of Women’s History Month.

“The theme of our Women’s History Month this year is ‘Untold Stories,’ ” said Kristen Geaman, an associate lecturer in the Department of History and chair of the Women’s History Month Planning Committee for 2023. “The committee has put together an excellent slate of activities that highlight both historical and contemporary stories.”

The celebration kicks off with an event featuring pizza and trivia starting at noon Thursday, March 2, in the Eberly Center for Women Lounge in Tucker Hall Room 0168.

Later in the month, Donna Owens, Toledo’s first woman to serve as mayor, Sheena Barnes, the first LGBTQ+ Black woman to serve on the TPS school board, and Allison Armstrong, Toledo’s first woman to serve as fire chief, will speak at an event 5:30 p.m. Monday, March 20, in the Thompson Student Union Ingman Room as public servants who pioneered paths for other women.

“Many of the historical activities focus on local history, such as the documentary about Ella P. Stewart and the panel highlighting pioneers of public service,” Geaman said. “We are proud to spotlight local history in the same year as the University’s sesquicentennial. Other events offer students a chance to share their own untold stories, and, with such a range of programming, students should be able to find something they enjoy.”

Women’s History Month events include:

• Monday, March 13, 5:30 p.m.Women in STEM Chat in Carlson Library Room 1005. Connect with UToledo faculty from biology, chemistry, engineering, mathematics and physics. All are welcome to join talking circles on the challenges and opportunities for women in STEM.
• Wednesday, March 15, 7 p.m.“Ella P. Stewart: Larger Than Life” film screening in Memorial Field House Room 1910. Following a screening of the new documentary about Toledo’s Ella P. Stewart, one of the first Black female pharmacists in the United States, Dr. Shirley Green, an instructor in the Department of History, will host a discussion.
• Saturday, March 18, from 2 to 3:30 p.m.Women in Art Through the Ages at the Toledo Museum of Art. Explore the history of women in art at the Toledo Museum of Art through a tour guided by Dr. Mysoon Rizk, a UToledo professor of art history. Attendees will meet on the second floor of the museum in Libbey Court, the large open space at the top of the main staircase. Sponsored by the Women’s Mentoring Network and the Department of Art History. RSVPs via the Eberly Center website are encouraged but not required.
• Monday, March 20, 5:30 p.m.Untold Stories of Pioneering Public Servants in Thompson Student Union Room 2591 is a fireside chat with public servants who pioneered paths for other women. Participants include Donna Owens, Toledo’s first woman to serve as mayor; Sheena Barnes, the first LGBTQ+ Black woman to serve on the TPS school board; and Allison Armstrong, Toledo’s first woman to serve as fire chief.
• Tuesday, March 28, noon.Wiki Edit-a-Thon in Carlson Library Room 2024. Wikipedia is one of the most visited websites in the world, but less than 20% of biographies on the site are about women. Learn how to research, write and edit Wikipedia entries to address this gender gap while celebrating some of the groundbreaking women from Ohio.
• Thursday, March 30, from 6 to 8 p.m.Open Mic Poetry Night in the Brew Coffee Bar at Gateway Plaza at UToledo. Compose, share and listen to poetry while reflecting on Women’s History Month and our own untold stories.
• Friday, March 31, from 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.Womxn of Color Symposium in the Thompson Student Union Ingman Room. The Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion will host the fifth Annual Womxn of Color Symposium. This year’s theme, “Reclaiming Our Space(s),” focuses on the ways that navigating predominantly white spaces impacts the mental, physical and overall well-being of women of color. There will be breakout sessions in Rooms 2582, 2584 and 2591.

“We are super happy to celebrate the contributions of women in our community during Women’s History Month this year,” said Reyna Armstrong, a master’s student in the Department of History and an Eberly Center intern.

“We worked hard to include diverse events that center on the history of the women of Toledo that will appeal to everyone. It’s always great to have the opportunity to learn about some important women who’ve had a meaningful impact on UToledo’s community.”