Psychology Students to Defend Honors Theses

Senior Psychology majors Amanda Mayes and Mary Moeller will be defending their Honors Program theses in April. On Thursday, April 9 at 6 p.m. in Schar 104, Amanda will defend her thesis, "The Affective Forecasting Error: Predicting Negative Affect." Mary will defend her thesis, "Factors that Affect Peer Grading," on Thursday, April 23rd at 6 p.m. in the Ronk Auditorium.

Jereese Wilson, Intern at Richland Newhope

The Social Work program at Ashland University has done an amazing job preparing me for my internship. In my undergraduate years, prior to my internship experience, I did not realize how much of each class that I would actually need to utilize. There really is a method and a clear thought behind every pre-requisite class that is required before entering into this program (even statistics!) and they were well worth it.  READ MORE...

Senior Art Exhibition Opens April 9

Bringing together artwork made by graduating seniors in the Department of Art, the Senior Art Exhibitions opens on April 9 at the Coburn Art Gallery with an opening reception from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., and awards announced at 5 p.m. The exhibition includes graphic design, digital art, printmaking, ceramics and sculpture.  Exhibiting seniors include: Danielle Rhonemus, Shawna Spiesz, Taylor Wade, Tricia Dasco, Jennifer Clingerman, Cecilia Maxwell, Ashely Palmer and Alex Myers.

New Editor at Cleveland State Law Review

Elisa Leonard, an AU grad with a BA in Political Science and Public Relations and Ashbrook Scholar, has just been elected Editor-in-Chief of the Cleveland State Law Review for 2015-2016. 

New Members Inducted into Criminal Justice Honor Society

The Criminal Justice Program inducted 10 new members into the Alpha Phi Sigma Criminal Justice Honor Society's Alpha Upsilon Chapter including: Melissa Smith, Sara Amato, Megan Maguire, Ashleigh Keith, Kelsey Garrabrant, Kylie Bartram, Maxwell Ostrowski, Daniel Medvetz, Jon Hart, Alexander Byers. MORE...

Upcoming Reading: Tom Montgomery Fate

Tom Montgomery Fate, author of Cabin Fever, will hold a reading at 4:00 p.m. on Monday, March 30 in the Ronk Lecture room in the Dwight Schar College of Education.  MORE...

Dr. Schmidt-Rinehart Involved in Research with U.S. Air Force Academy

Ashland University and the United States Air Force Academy have entered into a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement that will allow Spanish professors from the two institutions to engage in a linguistic study. Dr. Barbara Schmidt-Rinehart, Professor of Spanish at Ashland University, and Dr. Jean LeLoup, Professor of Spanish at the U.S. Air Force Academy, will work together on a study titled “Register and forms of address in Costa Rican Spanish: Sociolinguistic realities and pedagogical implications.” READ MORE...

Dr. Rinehart gives 'Last Lecture'

The Religion Department at Ashland University will celebrate its graduating seniors and close out the year with a final lecture by long-time Ashland resident Dr. Don Rinehart on Wednesday, April 15, at 7:30 p.m. in the Jack and Deb Miller Chapel.  The lecture, which is free and open to the public, is titled “Last Lecture: The Beginning of Wisdom.”  READ MORE...

Political Science Alumna Testifies in US House Hearing

Alumna Rebeccah Heinrichs testified on March 24 before the House Foreign Affairs Committee Subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa regarding Iran's noncompliance with the IAEA.

Kelly Bell Band Brings Award-Winning Blues to Ashland

The 35th annual Ashland University Spectrum Series concludes its season of eclectic music genres with the Kelly Bell Band, voted the Best Blues Band in the Mid-Atlantic Region for 12 consecutive years. The band’s live concert is slated for Saturday, March 28, at 7:30 p.m. in Hugo Young Theatre. Formed as a backup band for Bo Diddley, the band is in its 20th year and is releasing its 10th recording, "Coming Home," just in time for the Ashland concert. Tickets available at the AU Box Office: 419.289.5125 or Ashland.edu/Tickets.

AU Theatre Student Invited to NYC for Script Reading

Junior theatre major Natalyn Baisden has been invited by New York City's Farm Theater to a reading of In the Event of My Death on Monday, June 8 in New York City. The cast for the reading will be comprised of actors from New York as well as members from each of the schools that produced the new play. Natalyn will read the role of Amber which is the role that she originated in the Ashland production.

Chelsea LaPorte, Intern at Wayne County Children Services

Ashland University’s Social Work Program has prepared me for my internship in several ways. The material that is discussed in all of the social work classes is relevant to my internship in some way. I find that the core competencies that are taught in the social work program are essential to my internship...I find myself using skills that I learned from our professors in many situations in my internship. FULL STORY

AU Art Ed Alumna Ashley Roberts Featured in Article

More than 300 people signed up and showed up to participate in Roberts’ first art night on Monday, bringing students and their siblings to Western Elementary to create a clay bowl. The school’s entire cafeteria was packed full of families working hard on their projects.  --Richland Source

AU MUSIC STUDENT CAPTURES STATE COMPOSITION AWARD

Ashland University Department of Music is proud to announce that Nicholas J. Bartulovic, a sophomore history major and music minor, was awarded third place in the 2015 Ohio Federation of Music Clubs College Composers' Contest for his entry "Three Sketches for Piano." MORE...

Poet Kicks Off English's Spring Reading Series

By Deborah Fleming, Professor of English

Our first reader this year is J. David Cummings, winner of last year's Richard Snyder Poetry Prize from the Ashland Poetry Press. The reading will be held at 4:00 on Monday, March 23 in the Ronk Lecture room in the Dwight Schar College of Education.  MORE...

Roggenkamp Selected for Art Residency in Maine

Congrats to AU Art Dept faculty member Priscilla Roggenkamp for being selected as one of 45 artists chosen to participate in an Open Studio Residency at Haystack Mountain School of Crafts in Deer Isle, Maine. MORE...

Foreign Language Alumna Returns for Visit

Betsy Becker (Spanish 2004) visited Ashland University last week and met with Dr. Barbara Schmidt-Rinehart and her former adviser, Dr. William Cummins.  Betsy is pursuing a Master's degree in Kygyz Philology at Osh State University in Kyrgyzstan while also teaching English there.

Science Majors Earn Track and Field Honors

Toxicology major and Choose Ohio First Scholar Jamie Sindelar was named the Midwest Region Women's Field Athlete of the Year by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association. Jamie joins two senior Biology majors, Jennifer Foster and Jennifer Bjelac, in earning All-American honors this year.  At the national indoor championships, Jamie finished second in the shot put, Foster tied for second in the high-jump and Bjelac took second team All-American honors in the pentathlon. As a team the women tied for third place in the nation.

URCA Tips from Lindsey Knapp

"The most important thing is practice.  If you understand your project and the process you have taken to get there, you are half way there.  The other half is understanding how to effectively communicate your project to people who are not in your field or are just entering your field...And of course, have fun!" 
--Lindsey Knapp (Biology), 2012 URCA Presenter

Monolingual Myopia

"...Don't fall into the "monolingual myopia" trap.  American students are making a mistake by opting out of foreign language courses...The reality of the 21st century job market is that Americans will be competing for a job where, with other competencies being equal, they will be compared to a multilingual candidate."  MORE...

Math Senior Seminar Presents "The Probability of Winning a Point, Game, and Set"

In a sweaty, heated game of racquetball there seems to be little time to think about the mathematics behind the fast-paced game. However, when one steps back from the life threatening sport of racquetball and looks at the probabilities that are incorporated into the game, it makes the sport that much more interesting. On Tuesday, March 17 at 4:30 p.m. in Patterson 301, Jacob Ackerman will present some of the research of Tom Brown and Brian Pasko and their discoveries of relations of mathematical probabilities to winning a point, a game, and a set in racquetball.

Art Awards-2015 Juried Student Art Exhibition

Congratulations to the 2015 Juried Student Art Exhibition winners!

• Sculpture Award: Emily Nuff, " In Transition", Steel sculpture
• Printmaking Award: Dana Reed, "Arbitram Amore Moriebat", 3 color reduction print
• Digital Award: Emma Daugherty, "After 100 Years", Digital Video
• Painting Award: Shawna Spiesz, "Maze", Mixed Media oil and collage on wood
• Ceramics Award: Paige Arthur, "Mug Blue Green", Ceramic Mug
• Drawing Award: Rachel Santee, "Friends", Pencil on paper
• Design Award: Kaylin Henry, "Self Portrait Illustrations", Mixed Media Illustration

MORE...

Alumni Spotlight: Amanda Eakin

By Amanda Eakin, class of 2012, Integrated Language Arts major

Through the process of getting my degree at Ashland University, I have gained confidence in my thoughts and abilities and have been able to share the insights that I have developed with my own students today. At Ashland University, I have learned that I do have something meaningful to say and I’m glad that I have the opportunity to teach my current students the value of contributing to a discussion or finding their own voice in writing.  MORE...

Math Senior Seminar Presented "Ford Circles, Continued Fractions, and Rational Approximation"

In his senior seminar last Tuesday, Charles Michel showed that several of the key properties of continued fraction expansion and Diophantine approximations can be proven using Ford Circles and rewritten in terms of relationships between tangential Ford Circles. His presentation focused on the material presented by Ian Short in his article "Ford Circles, Continued Fractions, and Rational Approximations," which was published in The American Mathematical Monthly in February 2011. READ MORE...

Jazz Pianist Benny Green Headlines Friday's Maplerock Jazz Festival

Ashland University’s award-winning Jazz program is proud to present the 2015 Maplerock Jazz Festival slated for this Friday, March 20. Along with free performances by area high school jazz ensembles in the afternoon, the event presents a main stage concert at 7:30 p.m. in Hugo Young Theatre. The evening concert opens with the Ashland University Jazz Orchestra under the direction of Dr. Scott Garlock and features jazz pianist Benny Green as the headlining guest artist along with Ashland High School alumnus Michael Stewart on trumpet; Dave Sterner, alto saxophone; and Jeff Bush, trombone.  MORE...

Guest Artist Recital: Solaris Woodwind Quintet

The Solaris woodwind quintet will perform a guest artist recital with bass clarinetist Dr. Thomas Reed, Ashland University Professor of Music, on Monday, March 16 at 7:30 p.m. The concert is free and open to the public.

"In the Event of My Death" Now in Massachusetts

The third and final production of the College Collaboration Project is at Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts. In his most recent blog post about In the Event of My Death, Padraic Lillis, artistic director The Farm Theater, explains:

Each of the productions in the College Collaboration have been unique. Last night's production at Clark was like an art installation. The production, directed Ray Munro, was housed in the student theater, a small black box...All of the productions were performed realistically, however, this one had a sense of intimacy, as if we were peeking into the house.

READ MORE...

New Book by Professor Justin Lyons

Professor Lyons has published a new book comparing Alexander the Great with Hernan Cortes on the model of Plutarch's Lives.  Paul Cartledge of the University of Cambridge says:

Like a self-proclaimed latter-day Plutarch, Lyons boldly goes where Alexander the Great of Macedon and Hernán Cortés of Castile blazed their respective trails, comparing and contrasting the motives, methods, and achievements of the two conquering empire-builders who changed the political map of the world, and doing so within an illuminating overall moral-philosophical frame of reference and evaluation.

Junior Recital: Rachel Crow, Piano & Hannah Phillips, Trumpet

On Sunday, March 15  at 7:30 p.m., instrumental music education majors Rachel Crow, piano, (Reynoldsburg, Ohio) and Hannah Phillips (Plymouth, Ohio), trumpet, present their junior recital including selections from Handel to Gershwin. Pianist Susan Gregg is the accompanist for the recital.

The Ashland University Juried Student Art Exhibition opens today, Thursday, March 12, in the Coburn Gallery with a reception from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. This exhibition offers $1,300 in awards to student artists, including Best in Show, Everett S. Caldemeyer Award, Dean’s Award, People’s Choice Award and awards in each of the seven art areas: painting, printmaking, sculpture, digital media, graphic design, drawing and ceramics. The awards ceremony begins at 5 p.m.  MORE...

Kaitlyn McCreary, Intern at Richland County Juvenile Court

The program has prepared me with the specific information and scenarios I would be dealing with in the field. The curriculum is exactly what I needed to learn to help me succeed in my internship. It has allowed me to think critically and apply my knowledge in my internship when working with clients. I have been able to see when a specific class has impacted my success while working in my internship. I am very thankful for my education at Ashland University and can see every day how it paid off to choose getting my education from this social work program. I feel very prepared for grad school, as well as becoming a professional social worker in any field I choose to pursue.  MORE...

Exciting Activities in FL Dept.

Dr. Gray spoke to a full house about his new book before spring break. Don't miss the French Film Festival that starts today, Tuesday, March 9. Exciting activities in the FL Dept!

Paul Pernici to Present at Posters on the Hill

Congratulations to 2015 URCA Presenter Paul Pernici, whose work "Comparing Feature Extraction and Feature Selection Algorithms in Pattern Recognition" was selected for presentation at the 2015 Posters on the Hill event! Paul's abstract was one of just 60 selected for inclusion from a pool of more than 500 submissions. Paul and his faculty sponsor, Dr. Paul Cao, will present his work to an audience of legislators in Washington D.C. in late April.

Spring Choral Concert, March 15

Ashland University’s Spring Choral Concert features performances from three University vocal ensembles including the Ashland University Choir, Chamber Singers and Women’s Chorus on Sunday, March 15, 4:00 p.m. at the Jack and Deb Miller Chapel.  The performance is free and open to the public. More Details...

Jennifer Williams, Intern at Catalyst Life Services

With an agency as large as Catalyst, I have had the opportunity to do a ton of different things. I spent a lot of my time with the SAMI team (Substance Abuse and Mental Illness). I have also worked quite a bit with our alcohol and drug team and the individuals back on the Crisis Unit. During this placement I have had the opportunity to sit in on therapy sessions with a couple different therapists, work on mental health assessments, and observe as well as lead group activities for both mental health and alcohol and drug groups. I have also been able to visit MedCentral to do pre-screen assessments and step down requests from the psychiatric floor, go to felony Drug Court, and even visit the state hospital. I also have the opportunity every week to sit in on treatment team meetings with our clients in Mental Health Court.  Read about Jennifer's full experience HERE...

Reflections on the Passing of a Cultural Icon: Leonard Nimoy

By Maura Grady, Assistant Professor of English

My affection for Star Trek started early, heavily influenced by my late mother, a huge fan of fiction of all kinds, including science fiction.  We watched re-runs of the TV show together and I attended my first Star Trek convention at the age of 10, when my family was living in Texas for a year....I now research and write on what is called Fandom Studies—the scholarship of Fans, Fandom and Fan Communities.  I am on the editorial board of The Journal of Fandom Studies, and it’s no coincidence that the founders of the journal, Kathy Larsen and Lynn Zubernis chose a photograph of the Vulcan salute for its cover image.  Full Story HERE... 

Articles on Peace by AU Faculty

Two members of the History & Political Science Department have essays in a new book, The Question of Peace in Modern Political Thought (Wilfrid Laurier University Press).  Professor Sikkenga's article is called "John Locke's Liberal Path to Peace," while that by Professor Paddags is "In Search for Laws Above Nations: Jean-Jacques Rousseau on Perpetual Peace." 

The Not-So Wicked Witch of the West

“I love acting so much because I really do feel as if it’s made me who I am today. I was the kid in the back of the classroom who didn’t want to talk, [and] who didn’t want to be seen by other people. I feel like through theatre, my confidence grew and I felt I was actually good at something. As an actor, I want to be that person who inspires that little girl in the back of the classroom to take a stand and just do whatever it is that she wants to do and not be afraid to be seen by other people. I also want to provide entertainment for others, and provide an escape from the real world and make [individuals’] night better,” --Andrea Disch

Read the full story in The Collegian by Hannah Predojev
Photo credit: Phoebe Lammert

A Philosophy Degree Earns More Than an Accounting Degree!

"We talk a lot about the need for good jobs in America, but good-paying jobs often require certain skills. Engineering, science and technical degrees are seen as highly prized, and not without merit. However, you don't necessary need to major in software development or computer science to go far in this world. You can make a good living with a philosophy degree. Or English literature."

 --Top/Best/Most, CNBC/Yahoo! Finance

URCA Presenter Workshops Set

The URCA Committee will host two workshops in March to assist students in preparing their URCA Symposium presentations. The Committee will host a Poster Presentation Workshop on Wednesday, March 18th at 8:00 p.m. and an Oral Presentation Workshop on Monday, March 30th at 8:00 p.m. Both workshops will be held in Schar 103. MORE...

History & Political Science Students Win Awards at Model Arab League

Nine students from Ashland University, most of them History & Political Science majors, participated in this year's Ohio Model Arab League at Miami University. In this simulation of an Arab League summit meeting students represent an Arab country and seek to further their country's interests by passing suitable council resolutions.

This year, Andrew Dailey and James Coyne, representing Lebanon in the Joint Defense Council, won an outstanding delegation award while Kelly Ranttila and Joey Barretta won an honorable mention for their representation of Lebanon in the Palestinian Affairs council.

Psi Chi to Induct 16 New Members

AU's local chapter of Psi Chi, the International Honor Society in Psychology, is set to induct 16 new members on March 26th. The new inductees include Sara Amato, Jillian Bajaksouzian, Derek Baker, Molly Brys, Kathryn Budzik, Lisa Coey, Emily Embrescia, Olivia Hess, Alicia Jones, Ashley Keres, Megan Maguire, Margo Miller, Kara Smith, Lydia Smith, Courtney Troyer and Melanie Ward.

Alumna Enjoys Her Role in World Series

By Megan Salatino

Amanda (Turk) Schapiro, an alumna of Ashland University, took part in the 2014 World Series by working for the Kansas City Royals team as coordinator of community affairs and publicity chair.

“With a little bit of hard work, put your nose down and do it – it will get you far. I do not know if you can hear my smile, but I cannot stop smiling,” stated Schapiro, when reflecting on her job with the Kansas City Royals.  READ FULL STORY...

Unchained, Unbroken

By Emily Wirtz

Recently, during the final weekend of January, amidst the chaos and costume of Ohayocon, members Ashland Women’s Chorus had the opportunity to travel to the Ohio State University to participate in the CONCEPT: Freedom Choral Festival. To raise awareness and funds for human trafficking and its prevention, OSU hosted the choral festival over a three-day period, consisting of a screening of Very Young Girls, a Women’s Glee club performance, featured speakers, a photography exhibit, “Unchained” fashion show, and CONCEPT: Freedom.  READ MORE...