Bring the entire family for an afternoon of fun and informative programs and activities about the planets, stars and sky.

The University of Toledo’s third annual Astronomy Day is a free, public event on Saturday, May 10 beginning at 1 p.m. in the Ritter Planetarium.

“Astronomy Day is a fun and exciting way for us to thank the community for their ongoing support,” said Alex Mak, associate planetarium director.

Members of the Toledo Astronomical Association will be available to answer questions about telescopes and provide solar observing, weather permitting.

Shows featured during Astronomy Day include:

•  “One World One Sky, Big Bird’s Adventure” at 1 p.m. An age-appropriate introduction to the night sky for children ages three and a half to six.
•  “Tales of the Maya Skies” at 2 p.m. Viewers are immersed in Mayan astronomy, art and culture.
•  “War of the Worlds” at 3 p.m. The 1938 broadcast by Orson Welles that panicked a nation, accompanied by images of the Red Planet.
•  “The City Dark” at 5 p.m. An award winning, full-length, feature film about light pollution and its impact not only on astronomers but wildlife, culture and health.

For more information, click here.

Media Coverage
The Blade (May 8, 2014)

The University of Toledo College of Law commencement ceremony on Sunday, May 11 will recognize those 125 candidates eligible for law degrees in December 2013, May 2014, and August 2014. The event begins at 1 p.m. in the Student Union Auditorium.

Rebecca House, the class valedictorian, and Joelynn Laux, the immediate past president of the Student Bar Association, will address their peers during the event.

A. Louis Denton, the president and chief executive officer of the Philadelphia investment management firm Borer Denton & Associates, Inc. and senior vice president of Petersen Investments, will deliver the commencement address.

Denton is a 1983 graduate of the College of Law. He received his A.B. in business and economics from Franklin & Marshall College. He is a member of the Pennsylvania Bar and is a past president of the Philadelphia Securities Association. He is an arbitrator with the Philadelphia Common Pleas Court and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). He regularly speaks at Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association events, FINRA conferences, and preventative compliance meetings.

“Continuing the tradition of highlighting the variety of paths our graduates have taken to success, this year’s speaker represents one of the many professions to which our law degree opens the door,” said Daniel J. Steinbock, dean of the College of Law. “An incredibly generous alumnus, Lou Denton has not forgotten where he got started.”

Denton’s generous financial support has allowed the College of Law to create the Denton Leadership and Service Scholarships, scholarships that help the school attract outstanding students. In 2010 the UT College of Law dedicated its largest classroom in recognition of Denton’s support.

A reception at the Law Center will immediately follow the commencement ceremony.

More than 150 future engineers and scientists will visit The University of Toledo as part of the fourth annual Women in STEMM Day of Meetings, WISDOM, on Thursday, May 8.

Throughout the event, which will take place from 8:30 a.m. to 2:15 p.m., girls in their sophomore year in high school will visit both the UT Main Campus and Health Science Campus to learn about science and technology through hands-on activities. The girls will explore and perform experiments in a number of areas: physics and astronomy, chemistry, biology, engineering, pharmacy, and medicine.

The event is hosted by the Northwest Ohio Chapter of the Association for Women in Science, which organizes the exploration day to encourage young women to consider careers in one of the areas offered at the Women in STEMM Day.

“Girls are increasingly interested in science, but there continues to be a lower number of girls pursuing that interest in college and subsequently their careers,” said Dr. Isabel Escobar, UT professor of chemical and environmental engineering, interim assistant dean for research development and outreach for the College of Engineering, and past-president of the Association for Women in Science. “It is our goal that events like Women in STEMM Day will inspire girls to embrace science and technology.”

Students from Toledo Public Schools and Washington Local Schools, as well as Toledo Islamic Academy, will participate in the Women in STEMM Day at UT.

The students will spend from 9:30 to 10:40 a.m. in the Student Union performing activities developed by in the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics that include making solar cells and “meet your DNA” experiments. From 11 to 11:45 a.m., students will visit the College of Engineering, where they will learn about earthquakes and sound, build a motor, and have lunch in the North Engineering Building. Following lunch, they will visit the UT Health Science Campus from 1 to 2:15 p.m. to learn about plastination in the Block Health Sciences Building and to make sanitizer in the Health Education Building.

In addition to the Northwest Ohio Chapter of the Association for Women in Science, the event is sponsored by the Catharine S. Eberly Center for Women, the Toledo Chapter of the American Chemical Society, SSOE Group, Marathon Petroleum Corp., and the UT colleges of Engineering, Medicine and Life Sciences, Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Natural Sciences and Mathematics.

Media Coverage
The Blade (May 9, 2014)

The University of Toledo’s annual Latino Youth Summit (LYS), presented by the Office of Excellence and Multicultural Student Success, has been inspiring achievement in Latino students for 12 years.

A one-day event open to students in grades 6-12, this year’s LYS is Wednesday, May 7 beginning at 8:30 a.m.

The LYS seeks to arm youth and families with college planning and career path information through sessions about pre-high school and pre-college planning, and information about various occupational fields. Special emphasis is placed on the importance of skills in science, math and technology in today’s job market.

“This program is geared towards the Latino student. It’s a full school day on a college campus with college professors and students as presenters and guides. It gives the students that one-on-one time to ask questions and see first hand some of the amazing things our students experience at UT everyday,” said Cecilia Rivera, UT Greek Life coordinator and co-director of LYS. “Most of our volunteers are UT alumni, staff and students so it gives them great perspective.”

Sam Centellas was chosen as this year’s keynote speaker and will address LYS attendees. Centellas currently serves as the Executive Director at La Casa De Amistad in South Bend, Indiana. He worked as a higher education professional at several universities and was also the National President of his fraternity, Sigma Lambda Beta International Fraternity, Inc.

“I saw him speak at a conference and felt his message would fit our program. His presentation entitled “Abuelita’s Hands” is just we need for a program like LYS. This presentation talks about the significance of family, tradition and then importance for people to work together and drive towards common goals,” Rivera said.

Scholarships will be awarded to eight high school seniors who plan to attend UT. The scholarship includes one year of on-campus housing and $8,000 in tuition dollars split up in $2,000 increments over four years.

A summer program for migrant farmworker children is also part of the Latino Youth Summit Experience.

“The summer program has two components. There is an elementary component which is a daytime program where different camps come to the engineering side of campus for a couple of hours of hands-on workshops,” said Rivera. “The second component is the overnight program which is also math and science focused and that involves students grades 8-12. They come and spend a day and a half with us on campus doing workshops in chemistry, engineering and pharmacy. They get to spend the night in a residence hall, utilize the Rec Center and then we typically take them somewhere in the city for dinner.”

For more information, contact Rivera at Cecilia.Rivera@utoledo.edu or visit http://www.utoledo.edu/studentaffairs/latinos/lys_home.html.