Dr. Betty A. Reardon will visit Toledo this week for informal conversations about how peace education works and how it can be used effectively.

As the founder and director of the International Institute on Peace Education, a weeklong residential experience for educators facilitating the exchange of ideas surrounding peace education, Reardon is known as the “Mother of Peace Education.”

Reardon

“My belief is peace studies and peace education are the most significant issues for universities to address,” Reardon said. “We need to start looking at these fields and how [they] can address major crises.”

The Why Study Peace @ UT public conversation with Reardon about peace education, how it’s being implemented in Toledo, and ideas on how to further utilize it in the community will be at 7 p.m. Tuesday, April 12 in Health and Human Services Building Room 1711.

During her visit to the city, Reardon also will participate in a lunchtime dialogue with students at 12:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 13 in Health and Human Services Building Room 1711 and a conversation with faculty and staff at 1 p.m. Thursday, April 14 in Student Union Room 2591.

Reardon founded the Peace Education Center at Columbia University, taught at universities around the world, and has experience both in formal school settings and community-based education programs. Throughout her career, she has advanced peace and global citizenship education through a focus on human security, human rights, sustainable development, ecology and gender.

The Peace Education Initiative in UT’s Judith Herb College of Education was established to help the University become a global leader in peace education. Through a variety of programming and research in peace education and peace studies, UT is working to promote understanding both in the local community and globally. The University offers a graduate certificate in peace education and is launching new peace studies major and minor academic programs.

“I’m very excited about what’s happening in Toledo,” Reardon said. “UT is poised to be a new leading peace learning institution for the country and internationally.”

The UT Peace Education Initiative also oversees the Betty A. Reardon Archives, which is housed in the University’s Canaday Center for Special Collections, which features her publications, unpublished manuscripts, curriculum, reports, scholarly presentations, and correspondence since the 1960s. Her archives have been in the Canaday Center since 2009.

To learn more about the UT Peace Education Initiative, visit utoledo.edu/education/peace.

More than 123,000 adults and children in the United States are waiting for life-saving organ transplants, according to Donate Life America. For Donate Life Month in April, University of Toledo Health is partnering with Life Connection of Ohio and Community Tissue Services to spread awareness about organ, eye and tissue donation.

UT Health will kick off Donate Life Month with a flag-raising ceremony 10 a.m. Monday, April 4 outside the main entrance of Mulford Library on the UT Health Science Campus. Representatives from Life Connection of Ohio whose lives have been touched by organ, eye and tissue donation will give brief remarks at the event.

The Green Chair will be at the flag-raising ceremony and on the Health Science Campus in April to help raise organ donation awareness. When it’s empty, the chair represents the overwhelming sadness from the loss of someone who was waiting for an organ transplant that didn’t come in time. But when someone is sitting in the chair, it showcases a transplant recipient’s second chance at life. The tagline of the Green Chair Campaign is “Don’t let another chair go empty” because encouraging more people to register as donors means there will be fewer empty chairs.

To learn more about organ, eye and tissue donation, call 800.262.5443 or visit www.lifeconnectionofohio.org.

Media Coverage
NBC 24 (April 4, 2016)
WTOL 11 (April 5, 2016)
The Blade (April 5, 2016)

The spotlight will shine even brighter on diversity during April at The University of Toledo as Diversity Week has been expanded to Diversity Month.

“Diversity at The University of Toledo has been an area of emphasis this year,” UT President Sharon L. Gaber said. “I hope each of us will spend time during Diversity Month asking ourselves what more we can do to ensure basic values such as dignity and inclusion are reflected across UT campuses.”

To kick off Diversity Month, Gaber will give an address at noon Monday, April 4 in the Student Union Ingman Room.

“The University of Toledo offers more than a great place to educate yourself. It offers a place to be yourself,” she said. “At UT, we value all people — regardless of their cultural background, beliefs, ethnicity, gender or sexual identity — because this rich diversity enables us all to excel.”

“Diversity Week, which is the first week of Diversity Month, is meant to celebrate and embrace the high amount of diversity at The University of Toledo and our surrounding communities,” Shailen Shah, diversity chair of the President’s Council on Diversity and Student Government, said. “Many think of diversity as just ethnicity; we are trying to expand those beliefs to embody all types of diversity. We hope to see many students, faculty and staff at all of our events.” 

Rapper, record producer, actor and activist David Banner will give a keynote address, “Diversity in Politics,” at 7 p.m. Wednesday, April 6 in the Student Union Auditorium. A question-and-answer session will take place after the talk, and Banner is scheduled to sign autographs and take photos.

“Having David Banner here on our campus in Toledo is huge, not just for the University, but the city as a whole,” Lance Price, president of the Black Student Union, said. “His voice carries a lot of weight, so the excitement is crazy. People need to hear his message no matter where you came from.”

Diversity Month is hosted by the Office of the President, the Division of Student Affairs, Student Government and the Ad-Hoc Diversity Plan Advisory Board in collaboration with Student Government’s Diversity Week.

Listed by date, other events include:

Saturday, April 2

• “Rhythm of Africa,” 7 p.m., Student Union Auditorium. Tickets: $10 in advance at the Ask Rocky counter in the Student Union; $15 at the door.

Thursday, April 7

• Dr. Jim Ferris, the Ability Center of Greater Toledo Endowed Chair in Disability Studies, UT professor of disability studies and director of the Disability Studies Program, will host a discussion titled “Against Awareness: Disability, Sexuality and the Problem of Protection” at 12:30 p.m. in University Hall Room 4180.
• The Annual Imam Khattab Lecture on Islamic Thought, “Is ISIS Islamic?” by Dr. Ovamir Anjum, UT Imam Khattab Endowed Chair of Islamic Studies, 7 p.m., Driscoll Alumni Center Auditorium.
• Spectrum Annual Drag Show, 8 p.m., Rocky’s Attic.

Saturday, April 9

• 40th Annual International Student Association Dinner, 6 p.m., Student Union Auditorium. UT President Sharon L. Gaber will speak at the event. Tickets are $15 in advance and $20 at the door; table of eight is $100, and children 5 and younger are free. Purchase tickets at Ask Rocky in the Student Union.

Wednesday, April 13

• Holi Toledo, UT’s third annual celebration of the Indian holiday Holi, 3 p.m., field south of the Memorial Field House.

Saturday, April 16

• Toledo Sister Cities International Festival, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Student Union Auditorium. Admission: $5 in advance, $7 at the door. Info: 419.245.3334.

Tuesday, April 19

• Film screening, “He Named Me Malala,” 6 p.m., Student Union Ingman Room.

Wednesday, April 20

• Jewish Jeopardy, 11 a.m., Hillel House.

Monday, April 25

• Spectrum’s Diversity Ball, 7 p.m., Student Union Ingman Room.

Thursday, April 28

• President’s Ad-Hoc Group on Diversity will host “A Celebration of Diversity” from noon to 2 p.m., Student Union Room 2592.

For more information and additional events, go to utoledo.edu/diversity/diversity-month or call the UT Office of Multicultural Student Success at 419.530.2261.

Media Coverage
The Blade (April 2, 2016)
WTOL 11 (April 5, 2016)
WTOL 11 (April 5, 2016)
The Independent Collegian (April 6, 2016)
The Independent Collegian (April 20, 2016)

Any questions may be directed to the University Communications Office by calling (419) 530-2410 or via email at meghan.cunningham@utoledo.edu.

John O. McGinnis, the George C. Dix Professor in Constitutional Law at Northwestern University’s Pritzker School of Law, will present “Why Citizens United and Other Roberts Court Campaign Finance Decisions Are Right” at noon Monday, April 4 in the Law Center McQuade Law Auditorium.

The free, public lecture is a part of the Stranahan National Issues Forum and is sponsored by the UT College of Law and its chapter of the Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies.

No issue has generated more unyielding divisions on the Roberts Supreme Court and in American society than the court’s decisions about political campaign regulation, most famously in Citizens United v. FEC (2010). The court’s majority believes that campaign finance regulations should be analyzed under general free speech principles established in other contexts. The dissents seek to decide campaign finance regulation issues by considerations unique to campaign finance regulation.

McGinnis will show that the majority’s approach is correct, because the First Amendment reflects a distrust of government and thus requires judicial constraint, which adherence to general First Amendment principles provides.

“Campaign finance regulation is perennially front-page news,” said Lee J. Strang, the John W. Stoepler Professor of Law and Values at the UT College of Law. “Professor McGinnis will argue that, contrary to frequent claims, the Roberts Court is neutrally following the First Amendment in its campaign regulation cases, including in Citizens United. McGinnis’ lecture is sure to spark thought and conversation on this important topic.”

McGinnis is the author of more than 70 law review articles and dozens of essays. Most recently, he wrote Accelerating Democracy: Transforming Government Through Technology (Princeton 2013) and co-authored with M. Rappaport Originalism and the Good Constitution (Harvard 2013). He is a past winner of the Paul Bator Award given by the Federalist Society to an outstanding academic under 40.

Prior to teaching, McGinnis was deputy assistant attorney general in the Office of Legal Counsel at the Department of Justice. He is a graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Law School, and also holds a master of arts degree in philosophy and theology from Balliol College, Oxford.

The Stranahan National Issues Forum is a joint program of the UT College of Law and its chapter of the Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies. It is made possible by an endowment from the Stranahan Foundation. The forum’s purpose is to address issues of national importance through the lens of the American legal system, and McGinnis joins a long list of high-profile speakers who have delivered the Stranahan Lecture at the UT College of Law.

The University of Toledo’s College of Business and Innovation is again partnering with United Parcel Service and the U.S. Commercial Service to provide area small- and medium-sized businesses access to experts who will help their companies enter new markets through the Export Success program.

Beginning in April, Export Success participants meet monthly for nine months in specialized sessions covering relevant topics based on an understanding of current members’ needs. The program then helps companies develop plans to improve their business’ supply chain, identify talent, understand export financing and develop market entry strategies.

“Businesses today function on an international platform,” Dr. Gary Insch, dean of the College of Business and Innovation, said. “Facilitating existing or new exporters to enter foreign markets benefits all of northwest Ohio.

“Companies often recognize that expanding to international markets is something they should do. We make it easier for them to do this because we have the experts who will show them how to proceed. Furthermore, we provide them with all the criteria for success, whether they have a manufactured product or intellectual property.”

“Export Success not only assists companies that are planning to conduct international business, but it also works with businesses already doing business globally who are looking for ways to expand their international presence,” noted Debbe Skutch, director of the UT Center for Family and Privately Held Business, and Export Success program coordinator. “Furthermore, Export Success not only provides information, but actually matches local manufacturing companies with foreign markets.”

Chad Gottschalk of the Bionix Development Corp., said “Export Success provided a great learning experience and fantastic networking opportunities for myself and other members within our organization. It is always great to be a part of something where different members of a community bring collective thinking to the table. Every session provided a wealth of knowledge that helped me bring new ideas back to the office and apply them to my day-to-day activities.”

Export Success participants also have access to the International Trade Assistance Center, which provides free export assistance services to small- and medium-sized businesses. Services include market research; an examination of culture, finances and resources to make sure they are ready to export; locating sources of funding, such as a loan or grant; export compliance education; cultural and language assistance; export documentation; and logistics.

Other features and benefits of Export Success include access to ancillary educational programs offered by the UT College of Business and Innovation — such as the Schmidt School of Professional Sales and the Center for Family and Privately Held Business — and site visits to area companies that already have achieved a level of success in global entrepreneurship.

A limited number of grant and funding opportunities are available. For more information and to download a registration form, visit utoledo.edu/business/exportsuccess or call the UT Center for Family and Privately Held Business at 419.530.2068.

Ann Bancroft’s extraordinary life has consisted of many firsts: first woman to cross the ice to both the North and South Poles, leader of the first group of women to cross Greenland, and first woman to sail and ski across Antarctica’s landmass alongside fellow polar explorer Liv Arnesen.

The author, educator, philanthropist and pre-eminent polar explorer will be at the University to share her story at 7 p.m. Tuesday, April 5 in the Doermann Theater. Bancroft’s talk is the finale of the 2015-16 UT Jesup Scott Honors College Distinguished Lecture Series.

Bancroft

“We choose speakers that we hope will engage, challenge and provoke the audience,” Interim Provost John Barrett said. “Ann Bancroft will do just that. She went out and chased her dreams, and because of that she has a very inspirational story to tell.”

Not only has Bancroft achieved many polar exploration firsts, but she also has inspired girls and women around the world to do the same. In 1991, she founded the Ann Bancroft Foundation, which provides grants, mentoring and encouragement to girls ages 5 to 18 to help them reach their biggest aspirations.

For her achievements, Bancroft has received numerous awards and recognition, including induction into the National Women’s Hall of Fame in 1995.

Tickets to the lecture are free and can be obtained at utoledo.edu/honorslecture.

For more information about Bancroft and her latest expeditions, visit yourexpedition.com.

Click here to download photo of Bancroft.

Media Coverage
The Blade (April 4, 2016)
13 ABC (April 6, 2016)

Members of The University of Toledo’s Black Student Union have planned a week of events for #PaintTheWeekBlack that will culminate with the organization’s 47th annual fashion show.

Black Student Union Week begins today with We Are Empowered: A Testimony to the Empowerment of Women, a program designed to uplift and empower the women on campus, at 6:30 p.m. in the Student Union Ingman Room.

A panel of women including Toledo Mayor Paula Hicks-Hudson and UT President Sharon L. Gaber will speak, and three women will be acknowledged for academic excellence, community service, and providing an uplifting spark to the people in the Toledo community.

Additional Black Student Union Week events include:

• Tuesday, March 22 — Pizza With the Police at 7:30 p.m. in President’s Hall Multipurpose Room. The event aims to create a positive relationship with The University of Toledo Police Department, the Toledo Police Department and the students on campus.
• Wednesday, March 23 — Wild’n Out UT vs. BG at 7:30 p.m. in Student Union Auditorium. Students from UT and Bowling Green State University will go head to head in an improvisational competition. Tickets are available at Ask Rocky for $3 or can be purchased for $5 at the door.
• Thursday, March 24 — Rocket Release at 6 p.m. in Student Union Room 3523. Students will discuss current events going on in the world.
• Friday, March 25 — The 47th annual Black Student Union Fashion Show. Doors open at 5 p.m. and the show starts at 8 p.m. in the Student Union Auditorium. One of the Black Student Union’s biggest events, the theme this year is “Coming to America” and will include vendors, a place to take photos and a red carpet. Tickets are available at Ask Rocky — general admission is $10 and VIP tickets are $15.

Media Coverage
13 ABC (March 23, 2016)

It seems only fitting that the Toledo Rockets would select an aerospace engineer to lead its academic enterprise in the years ahead.

And with a rich research background and a passion for helping first-generation students enroll and succeed in higher education, it was clear to UT President Sharon L. Gaber that Dr. Andrew Hsu, dean of the College of Engineering at San Jose State University, was the right fit to be UT’s next provost and executive vice president for academic affairs.

Hsu

Hsu’s appointment, which is slated for July 1, is contingent upon approval by the UT Board of Trustees.

“Andrew Hsu will be an incredible advocate for students and faculty, and a tremendous leader who will play a crucial role in elevating The University of Toledo on the national stage,” Gaber said.

Hsu’s arrival at UT will return him to a familiar state. Earlier in his career, he served as a research engineer at the NASA Glenn Research Center in Cleveland. He also was associate vice president for research and dean of the graduate school at Wright State University, and he spent a year at Ohio State University as an American Council on Education Fellow.

“I am excited by the opportunities The University of Toledo has to offer its students, its employees and its community,” Hsu said, “and I’m excited to help further the momentum President Sharon Gaber has already created in such a short period of time.”

During the interview process, Hsu spoke to the campus community about his passion for helping students from disadvantaged backgrounds succeed.

“As we push our academics and our research to new levels of excellence, it is the students for whom college was not a foregone conclusion that add so much to our campus community and remind us of why we have chosen higher education as a profession.”

Hsu also was a staff scientist at Rolls-Royce North America and a faculty member at the University of Miami and Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis. He received his PhD in aerospace engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology.

Gaber also took a minute to thank Interim Provost John Barrett for his service.

“John has spent countless hours during the last 18 months leading the academic arm of The University of Toledo and creating an opportunity for a seamless transition upon Andrew’s arrival. I want to join so many across UT in thanking him for his efforts.”

Click here to download photo of Hsu.

Media Coverage
The Blade (March 17, 2016)
The Blade (March 18, 2016)
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (March 18, 2016)
13 ABC (March 18, 2016)