The University of Toledo will host the 12th Annual Human Trafficking and Social Justice Conference in a year that has seen national public attention on the issue led by two U.S. senators from Ohio.

The conference will be held Thursday and Friday, Sept. 10 and 11, in the Student Union on the UT Main Campus.

Hosted by The University of Toledo’s Human Trafficking and Social Justice Institute and the Lucas County Human Trafficking Coalition, the conference brings together researchers, practitioners and others to educate attendees on human trafficking and lay the groundwork for future collaborative research, advocacy and program development. 

Dr. Celia Williamson, director of UT’s Human Trafficking and Social Justice Institute and UT professor of social work, has worked on the issue of human trafficking for the past 22 years conducting research, building programs, and working with legislators to pass necessary laws.

The UT Human Trafficking and Social Justice Institute opened in April with a mission to respond to human trafficking and social justice issues through teaching, research and service. The institute also works to educate practitioners to serve on the front lines of efforts to combat human trafficking and assist victims, Williams on said.

Also this year, U.S. Senators Sherrod Brown and Rob Portman, both from Ohio, played key roles in the passing of the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act, a bipartisan and comprehensive trafficking bill that enhances services for victims of human trafficking, as well as for runaway youth who are especially vulnerable to being trafficked. The bill also expands victim restitution and support services, and provides additional resources to law enforcement to help improve human trafficking reporting and investigation.

Portman’s Bringing Missing Children Home and Ensuring a Better Response for Victims of Child Sex Trafficking Acts were signed into law, and provisions of his Combat Human Trafficking Act were included as part of the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act.

Brown proposed three amendments that were included in the bill; one was Amendment 310, which provides grants to local law enforcement for tracking down homeless youth and runaways, as well as grants to support retired law enforcement who volunteer to assist in these investigations.

The 2015 trafficking conference this week will include two keynote speakers. Baldemar Velasquez, president and founder of the Farm Labor Organizing Committee and former member of the UT Board of Trustees, will speak Thursday at 12:30 p.m. in Student Union Room 3010. On Friday at 12:30 p.m. in the same location Dr. Mark Sherry, UT associate professor of sociology, will discuss research and advocacy for and with human trafficking victims with disabilities.

More than 70 presenters from around the world will address attendees during the two-day conference. Additional speakers include:

•   Awkash Kumar, a PhD research scholar from the Central University of Gujarat, India, will present “Targeting Poverty: Risk of Trafficking Among Women and Children in India.”
•   Dr. Kamala London, UT associate professor and associate chair of psychology, will discuss “Developing Rapport During Forensic Interviews With Adolescents: A Review of Evidence-Based Practices.”
•   Judge Connie Zemmelman, Chief Probation Officer Demecia Wilson, and Alicia Komives from the Lucas County Juvenile Court will present “Understanding Trauma and Its Impact on a Person’s Life.”

A number of presenters are survivors of human trafficking: D’Lita Miller; Michelle Moore, a local survivor; Dr. Joel Filmore, a victim of homelessness, drug addiction and prostitution in Chicago who went on to earn his doctorate in counselor education and supervision from Northern Illinois University; and Barbara Amaya, senior technical adviser on survivor services at SeraphimGLOBAL, an organization that provides technical support for human rights and humanitarian efforts throughout the world.

Click here for a full schedule of events.

More than 300 juniors and seniors also are expected to participate in high school workshops taking place Wednesday, Sept. 9, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

For more information, visit traffickingconference.com or email traffickingconference@gmail.com.

Media Coverage
FOX Toledo (Sept. 11, 2015)
WTOL 11 (Sept. 11, 2015)
The Independent Collegian (Sept. 16, 2015)

U.S. Senators Sherrod Brown and Rob Portman, both from Ohio, have worked to help put an end to human trafficking.

Both senators played a key role in the passing of the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act, a bipartisan and comprehensive trafficking bill that enhances services for victims of human trafficking, as well as for runaway youth who are especially vulnerable to being trafficked. The bill also expands victim restitution and support services, and provides additional resources to law enforcement to help improve human trafficking reporting and investigation.

Portman’s Bringing Missing Children Home and Ensuring a Better Response for Victims of Child Sex Trafficking Acts were signed into law, and provisions of his Combat Human Trafficking Act were included as part of the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act. Portman is the co-chair of the Senate Caucus to End Human Trafficking.

Brown proposed three amendments that were included in the bill; one was Amendment 310, which provides grants to local law enforcement for tracking down homeless youth and runaways, as well as grants to support retired law enforcement who volunteer to assist in these investigations.

Brown consulted Dr. Celia Williamson, director of The University of Toledo’s Human Trafficking and Social Justice Institute, on the amendment, which was inspired by a group of retired Toledo FBI agents who approached his office about the need for additional resources in the field.

Williamson has worked on the issue of human trafficking for the past 22 years conducting research, building programs, and working with legislators to pass necessary laws.

The 12^th Annual Human Trafficking and Social Justice Conference will be held Thursday and Friday, Sept. 10 and 11, in the UToledo Student Union. Hosted by The University of Toledo’s Human Trafficking and Social Justice Institute and the Lucas County Human Trafficking Coalition, the conference brings together researchers, practitioners and others to educate attendees on human trafficking and lay the groundwork for future collaborative research, advocacy and program development.

Two keynote speakers will address conference attendees this year. Baldemar Velasquez, president and founder of the Farm Labor Organizing Committee and former UToledo board member, will speak Thursday at 12:30 p.m. Velasquez is an internationally recognized leader in the farmworker and immigrants rights movements, with a commitment to justice and human dignity. On Friday at 12:30 p.m., Dr. Mark Sherry, UToledo associate professor of sociology, will discuss research and advocacy for and with human trafficking victims with disabilities.

More than 70 presenters from around the world will address attendees at the two-day conference. Speakers will include:

•   Awkash Kumar, a PhD research scholar from the Central University of Gujarat, India, will present “Targeting Poverty: Risk of Trafficking Among Women and Children in India.”
•   Dr. Kamala London, UT associate professor and associate chair of psychology, will discuss “Developing Rapport During Forensic Interviews With Adolescents: A Review of Evidence-Based Practices.”
•   Judge Connie Zemmelman, Chief Probation Officer Demecia Wilson, and Alicia Komives from the Lucas County Juvenile Court will present “Understanding Trauma and Its Impact on a Person’s Life.”

A number of presenters are survivors of human trafficking: D’Lita Miller; Michelle Moore, a local survivor; Dr. Joel Filmore, victim of homelessness, drug addiction and prostitution in Chicago who went on to earn his doctorate in counselor education and supervision from Northern Illinois University; and Barbara Amaya, senior technical adviser on survivor services at SeraphimGLOBAL, an organization that provides technical support for human rights and humanitarian efforts throughout the world.

More than 300 juniors and seniors are expected to participate in high school workshops taking place Wednesday, Sept. 9, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

UT’s Human Trafficking and Social Justice Institute opened in April with a mission to respond to human trafficking and social justice issues through teaching, research and service. The institute also works to educate practitioners to serve on the front lines of efforts to combat human trafficking and assist victims.

In July, the Human Trafficking and Social Justice Institute partnered with TARTA to expand Toledo Youth Pages, a prevention tool for at-risk youth in the area. Youth Pages provides resources on issues such as substance abuse and teen pregnancy, with a special focus on the risk factors that make youth vulnerable to human trafficking.

For more information, visit traffickingconference.com or email traffickingconference@gmail.com.

Media Coverage
FOX Toledo (Sept. 11, 2015)
WTOL 11 (Sept. 11, 2015)
The Independent Collegian (Sept. 16, 2015)

Recent stock market fluctuations have investors across the globe nervous, but a University of Toledo economist says there is no need to worry.

All eyes are on China, the world’s second-largest economy, with concerns that a sharp slowdown could hurt economic growth across the globe. Between June 2014 and June 2015 China’s Shanghai Composite index increased by 150 percent, which is proving to be an unsustainable boom.

“The Chinese stock market was a bubble that was due to burst,” said Dr. Gbenga Ajilore, associate professor of economics at UT.

U.S. stock markets took a drastic drop in early trading Monday morning, with the Dow falling more than 1,000 points. By midday the Dow was only down 180 points, about 1.1 percent. This morning, the market jumped more than 350 points.

“The best thing people can do is ignore the stock market this week,” Ajilore said. “The U.S. stock market has been steadily increasing for the past three years and it was due for a correction. The issues with China, however, will persist for some time.”

To schedule an interview with Ajilore, contact Aimee Portala at 419.530.4279 or aimee.portala@utoledo.edu.

As the country celebrates the 25-year anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act this week, The University of Toledo is working to advance the conversation beyond addressing discrimination and accessibility.

A new undergraduate degree in disability studies beginning this fall at UToledo is the first of its kind in the country rooted in the humanities and offered exclusively on campus.

Ferris

“Disability has long been studied as a biomedical issue, but disability studies is dramatically different,” said Dr. Jim Ferris, the Ability Center of Greater Toledo Endowed Chair in Disability Studies. “Rather than focusing on the characteristics of bodies and functional limitations or impairments, disability studies focuses on disability as a social construct.”

The disability rights movement started in the 1970s and advanced when President George H.W. Bush signed the ADA on July 26, 1990.

Now the growing field of disability studies is promoting the scholarly understanding of disability as a sociocultural phenomenon rather than simply as a medically defined condition through recognizing the contributions, experiences, history and culture of people with disabilities, Ferris said.

“At its heart disability studies is about what it means to be human: who gets to participate in society and to what extent,” he said. “It’s about recognizing and respecting diversity. It’s about how to think about and talk about the ways of being different in the world.”

People with disabilities make up the largest minority group in the United States with more than 56 million people or 19 percent of the population, according to 2010 Census Bureau data, with that number expected to grow as the population ages, Ferris said.

“Everyone becomes disabled if they live long enough. It’s part of the aging process,” he said.

A bachelor’s degree in disability studies is marketed to students interested in careers in social service, public education, advocacy, government policy, health care administration, human resource management or other similar fields.

The degree program includes study of disability culture and history, disability law and human rights, Deaf studies, gender and disability, and autism and culture, as well as a mandatory internship.

For additional information on the Disability Studies Program, visit utoledo.edu/llss/disability.

Media Coverage
13 ABC and NBC 24 (July 22, 2015)
Inside Higher Ed (July 24, 2015)
The Daily Caller (July 24, 2015)
The Plain Dealer (July 24, 2015)
USA Today (July 30, 2015)
The Blade (Aug. 8, 2015)
The Independent Collegian (Aug. 19, 2015)

The world is paying attention to the debt crisis in Greece and how it could impact the global economy.

Some fear that if Greece leaves the European Union, it could lead to the eventual collapse of the entire Eurozone, which could potentially crush international stock markets and damage the United States economy. At this point, everyone is waiting to see the impact, University of Toledo economist Gbenga Ajilore said.

“In terms of the global economy, other than changes in the market, nothing significant will happen until either a deal is agreed upon where Greece receives financial assistance, or no deal is coming and Greece has to figure out their debt issue on their own,” Ajilore said.

Greek citizens have voted against receiving further bailout assistance from European creditors in exchange for spending cuts and tax hikes, but without it the country will be unable to repay a $3.9 billion bond held by the European Central Bank (ECB), due Monday, July 20, Ajilore explained.

If Greece fails to pay, the country will officially be in default, which could lead to the collapse of its banking system and result in slow economic growth in Europe, he said.

“With Greece, the next step is to find out whether the ECB will try to get Greece to agree to more austerity in exchange for financial assistance or give them financial assistance without these measures,” he said. “The question is whether the ECB and Greece will continue to play this game of chicken.”

To schedule an interview with Ajilore, contact Aimee Portala at 419.530.4279 or aimee.portala@utoledo.edu.

Two University of Toledo professors are changing the way the psychology community views the highly controversial Rorschach inkblot test.

Drs. Gregory Meyer and Joni Mihura, psychology professors at The University of Toledo, are known internationally for their work on the well-known Rorschach inkblot test. The Rorschach is a psychological test in which a person’s perceptions of the inkblots are recorded, scored, and interpreted. The test has seen major advances since it was published, which includes the publication of thousands of research studies. However, some skeptics continue to view the Rorschach as pseudoscience and question the test’s validity.

“The current reputation of the Rorschach is based on a sort of folklore,” Mihura said. “A fascinating social phenomenon is the number of people who, when I mention I study the Rorschach, react with a derogatory remark or simply proclaim that the Rorschach is ‘invalid.’ This has happened with psychologists but also people from all walks of life who have simply heard something about the test. And since this is usually someone I’ve just met, it’s a socially jarring experience.”

“It’s important to know that even the test’s main critics do not believe the Rorschach as a whole is invalid. If you are even somewhat familiar with the literature, you know that research supports the Rorschach as a valid measure of psychosis. The critics’ main criticism of the test has been that there are a large number of scales, and we don’t know which ones are valid and which are not,” she said. “To answer this question, we reviewed the validity literature for the main 65 Rorschach variables, a task that required several years and thousands of hours of work. We summarized this literature using a method called ‘meta-analysis,’ and our findings were published in the top journal in psychology.”

“The Validity of Individual Rorschach Variables: Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses of the Comprehensive System”—researched and written by Mihura and Meyer along with their former students and UToledo alumni Dr. George Bombel of The Menninger Clinic and Dr. Nicolae Dumitrascu of Boston University—was published in Psychological Bulletin, the top scientific review journal in the field of psychology.

Mihura and Meyer are the first UToledo professors to have a study published in this prestigious journal.

“Psychological Bulletin is the ultimate source for the current state of the research in psychology. The journal also gives other researchers the opportunity to state their opposing case, which is particularly valuable for controversial topics like the Rorschach,” Mihura said.

The main critics of the Rorschach published a response to Mihura and Meyer’s study earlier this year; they concluded that the study conducted was “an unbiased and trustworthy summary of the published literature.” The critics attempted to find bias in the published literature itself, but Mihura and colleagues found far too many errors in the critics’ work to rely on their results. Ultimately, the critics lifted their recommendation for a moratorium on the clinical and forensic use of the Rorschach, which they initially proposed in 1999.

The meta-analyses have long been a work in progress for Mihura. “When I started the literature review, Greg [Meyer] and I were on Exner’s Research Council for the Rorschach Comprehensive System—the standard in the field. I felt a huge responsibility. Given the controversy surrounding the Rorschach, I wanted to make sure I was teaching my students the right thing. As psychologists, their decisions would affect many people’s lives. Our meta-analyses in Psychological Bulletin were born out of that search for truth,” Mihura said.

Unanticipated by Mihura, what started off as a literature review for her class became the backbone of a new Rorschach system: the Rorschach Performance Assessment System (R-PAS). After the developer of the Comprehensive System, John Exner, Jr., passed away, his family decided not to continue developing his business. Subsequently, the R-PAS was developed—spearheaded by Meyer and Mihura. Since some of the test’s developers had served on Exner’s Research Council, they knew the system’s weaknesses and dedicated themselves to creating a better test.

“We’ve received an overwhelming amount of support from our assessment colleagues. Some of our colleagues are nevertheless hesitant to learn our new system and prefer to continue using the Comprehensive System. I understand the desire to gather more information before making a change. But our new Rorschach system can continue to evolve with the research and the Comprehensive System cannot,” Mihura said. “Over time, I think psychologists who continue with the Comprehensive System will be hard-pressed to defend that decision.”

Meyer and Mihura have received many invitations to teach their new Rorschach system in the U.S. and internationally. So far, the R-PAS test manual has been translated into Japanese and Italian; the French, Portuguese, Spanish, and Czech translations are underway. The R-PAS scoring program has already been translated into multiple languages. Mihura and Meyer are currently working on an R-PAS casebook, slated to be published by Guilford in 2016.

For more information about the R-PAS, visit r-pas.org.

The Lucas County Commissioners approved Tuesday the appointment of Dr. Jim Ferris, chair and professor of disability studies at The University of Toledo, as the Lucas County poet laureate.

The position was created in 2007, modeled after the national appointment, and Ferris is the second person appointed to that role. A poet laureate helps citizens develop a greater appreciation of the reading and writing of poetry.

Ferris replaces Joel Lipman, former UT professor of English and art, who held the position of poet laureate from 2008 to 2013. Lipman currently owns Abracadabra Studio of Poetics, located in Toledo’s Warehouse District.

In the position, Lipman attended various outreach events to present poetry to the greater Toledo community.

“It’s a real honor, and it’s not something I was expecting,” Ferris said. “I’m following a fabulous poet and a compelling advocate for the arts in northwest Ohio. Joel left me with big shoes to fill.”

Ferris will serve a two-year term as poet laureate.

Ferris is the Ability Center Endowed Chair in Disability Studies at UT. He also is a poet and performance artist, holding a doctorate in performance studies. Ferris is the author of Slouching Towards Guantanamo, Facts of Life and The Hospital Poems. His writing has appeared in numerous publications, including POETRY, Text & Performance Quarterly, the Georgia Review and many weekly newspapers.

Media Coverage
The Blade (June 21, 2015)
The Blade (June 22, 2015)

As a response to the more than 29.8 million people worldwide trapped in modern-day slavery as victims of human trafficking, The University of Toledo Board of Trustees voted in November to establish the Human Trafficking and Social Justice Institute.

A ribbon-cutting and dedication ceremony will take place Tuesday, April 28, at 2 p.m. in Health and Human Services Building Room 2638.

Scheduled speakers for the event include John Carey, chancellor for the Ohio Board of Regents; State Rep. Teresa Fedor; Dr. Nagi Naganathan, UT interim president; and Dr. Celia Williamson, UT professor of social work, institute director and an international expert in the fight against human trafficking.

“This institute will increase UT’s prominence as an international leader in the effort against human trafficking,” Naganathan said. “We are proud to have someone of Dr. Williamson’s caliber as an expert in this area at UT, and this initiative will further highlight her work.”

The mission of the institute is to respond to human trafficking and social justice through teaching, research and service. Programs will be established to help victims become survivors and for survivors to become “thrivers,” individuals who have completed the healing process and established stable and productive lives.

“This institute will build upon and extend the efforts of Dr. Celia Williamson to publicly address and help alleviate the evils of human trafficking regionally, nationally and globally through a multi-faceted blend of teaching, impactful research and targeted community partnering,” said Dr. Thomas Gutteridge, dean of the College of Social Justice and Human Service. “My thanks also to everyone involved in this initiative for their commitment to helping the institute become a major force in further reducing human trafficking and its impact upon those enslaved by this system.”

One of the key areas of focus for the institute will be educating practitioners to serve on the front lines of efforts to combat human trafficking and assist victims. Educational activities will focus on a wide range of professions, including social work, criminal justice, law, medicine, psychology, education, counseling and public health.

“I applaud The University of Toledo for providing the leadership necessary to establish the Human Trafficking and Social Justice Institute, which will provide research, education and outreach to combat this issue,” said Ohio Board of Regents Chancellor John Carey. “I look forward to having all of Ohio’s colleges and universities collaborate with the Institute to further strengthen our efforts across the state in the fight against human trafficking.”

After receiving a Jefferson Award earlier this year for her work, Williamson addressed the broad impact that human trafficking has: “Human trafficking affects more than just the victims, it affects the whole community.”

The institute also will work to advance the body of knowledge on human trafficking issues and track effective solutions to these problems.

Media Coverage
The Blade (April 28, 2015)
The Highland County Press (April 28, 2015)
NBC 24, 13 ABC and WTOL 11 (April 29, 2015)
Political News (April 30, 2015)

With 5 percent of the world’s population and 25 percent of the prison population, the United States ranks as the top incarcerator on the planet. The reasons for these statistics will be explored in a talk this week.

Dr. Marie Gottschalk will present a lecture titled “Caught: The Future of Penal Reform, the Carceral State and American Politics” Wednesday, April 22, at 7 p.m. in the Libbey Hall dining room.

A reception will precede the free, public event starting at 6:30 p.m. hosted by the School for Interdisciplinary Studies and the UT Inside/Out Prison Exchange Project.

The University of Pennsylvania political science professor published her most recent book, Caught: The Prison State and the Lockdown of American Politics, in 2014. In it, she examines the political dynamics that have resulted in growing numbers of people in the American prison system, significant racial disparities in those who are incarcerated, and other dramatic flaws in the criminal justice system. Her lecture will outline her basic argument and offer insights into reform initiatives.

Dr. Renee Heberle, UT interim director of the School for Interdisciplinary Studies, coordinator for the UT Inside/Out Prison Exchange Project, and professor of political science, said Gottschalk offers a challenging perspective on the American prison system; her book is receiving widespread acclaim.

“This book is receiving national attention and influencing the ongoing and increasingly urgent discussions about our broken criminal justice system,” Heberle said.

Gottschalk also has written The Prison and the Gallows: The Politics of Mass Incarceration in America and The Shadow Welfare State: Labor, Business, and the Politics of Health Care in the United States.

She is a former editor and journalist and worked as a university lecturer for two years in the People’s Republic of China. She also has served as a visiting scholar at the Russell Sage Foundation in New York and was named a Distinguished Lecturer in Japan by the Fulbright Program. She serves on the American Academy of Arts and Sciences National Task Force on Mass Incarceration and was a co-author of its report on the Causes and Consequences of High Rates of Incarceration.

Heberle is excited to welcome Gottschalk because she is also an instructor for the Inside/Out Prison Exchange Program at the University of Pennsylvania. This national initiative works to bring college courses into prisons and jails across the country. In The University of Toledo’s program, UT students and incarcerated students at the Toledo Correctional Institution take courses together each semester that work to foster intellectual development and break down barriers to human understanding.

“Many people are not aware of the depths of the crisis we face in our system of incarceration, even while it is dramatically affecting our ability to spend public resources on infrastructure, education and other public goods,” Heberle said. “We need to educate ourselves about this crucial aspect of our collective lives.”

For more information, contact Heberle at renee.heberle@utoledo.edu.

Holi Toledo is a campus-wide event for the Hindu religious festival Holi — a celebration known for the color thrown into the air to celebrate the coming of spring. On Wednesday, April 15, from 3 to 5 p.m. on the lawn of The University of Toledo’s Memorial Field House. Students will have the chance to participate in the event by throwing color at each other. (Please note date change from original April 8 to rain date of April 15.)

“For us, the colors represent diversity — and in particular the diversity of religious and cultural perspectives at the heart of our Holi event,” said Dr. Jeanine Diller, director of the UT Center for Religious Understanding.

Various booths, each hosted by a different student organization, will offer visitors a different colored powder. There will be powder blasts throughout the event where everyone will throw their color into the air at the same time, similar to the actual holiday in India.

It is recommended that attendees wear clothes that can be stained; while the color is water soluble, it is not guaranteed to wash out.

In addition to the color and booths, Indian music and dancers will be featured.

Diller said that last year’s Holi Toledo was reportedly one of the most popular diversity events at the University to date.

“We understood from the diversity staff that this was one of the best diversity events UT has ever had, given the number of attendees and degree of mixing at the event,” she said. “We also heard that international students felt very at home and welcomed at UT as a result of this event — a result I hadn’t predicted. And there were some meaningful exchanges going on at the tables; one person told me they talked for over a half hour with someone who had a different perspective on religion.”

With more than 400 people in attendance last year, Diller said she expects this year’s event to be even bigger.
This event is sponsored by the UT Center for International Studies and Programs, UT Indian Students Cultural Association, UT Center for Religious Understanding, UT Office of Student Involvement, UT Office of Equity and Diversity, Toledo Community Foundation and the President’s Lecture Series on Diversity.

Media Coverage
The Blade (April 11, 2015)
The Blade (April 16, 2015)