Faculty in the News
Ohio University's faculty includes many distinguished teachers and scholars. Listed below are recent newsworthy accomplishments of notable faculty in schools or departments that host HTC programs of study.
HTC Anthropology Director of Studies Named University Professor
Each year, the student body rewards four to five university faculty for their teaching excellence and overall contributions to higher education with the title of University Professor. The 2008-09 honorees are Josephine Bloomfield, Jennifer Chabot, Barry Tadlock, Nancy Tatarek and Scott Titsworth.
From Nancy Tatarek, Department of Sociology and Anthropology:
"I teach Introduction to Biological Anthropology, Medical Anthropology and Human Osteology.
"My research focuses on health in the past in the United States. My current project involves examining historical prison records for clues leading to insights into the health of incarcerated and marginalized groups in Ohio.
"The project is not a singular effort and has included 10 Ohio University undergraduate students as research assistants over the past four years, providing a unique combination of teaching and research.
"I'm honored to be selected as a University Professor. When I first entered graduate school, I didn't particularly want to teach, but I was thrown into teaching pretty quickly. I discovered I really enjoy teaching, especially when I can share my research or experiences in the classroom."
Courses Dr. Tatarek will teach via the University Professor Award
People, Plagues and Pestilence: The Anthropology of Infectious Disease
This course will allow students to look at how the smallest of microbial organisms have impacted world history and culture over time. Through this problem-oriented course, students will first learn the basics of anthropological epidemiology and then apply those concepts to serious infectious illness outbreaks and the cultures affected by the disease.
Anthropology of Infectious Disease
Over the span of human existence, the smallest of microbes have influenced human history, culture and biology. The science of epidemiology has until recently been largely limited to microbiologists, examining the spread and effects of infectious illness on human populations. Anthropology is uniquely positioned to consider disease and illness in general and infectious illness in particular. Utilizing the bio-cultural approach, anthropologists work to form a more complete understanding of the interactions between humans and infectious organisms.
This course will examine infectious illness from an anthropological perspective, focusing on how human culture and biology both affect and are affected by small organisms such as viruses, bacteria and internal parasites. Through this course, students will endeavor to apply anthropological concepts to the study of infectious illness in human populations through time. The ultimate goal of the course is to more completely understand how such illnesses have been dealt with in the past, how modern cultures respond today and, perhaps, how the effects can be minimized.
HTC Announces New Neuroscience Program
The Honors Tutorial College is proud to announce its new neuroscience program of study. The program will officially begin in Fall 2008 with Dr. Michael Rowe serving as Director of Studies.
According to Dr. Rowe, traditional neuroscience programs are offered through traditional departments, usually biology or psychology, or sometimes chemistry. Modern neuroscience, however, is not just a subset of any of these traditional areas. Instead, HTC’s neuroscience program is highly interdisciplinary, combining elements from biology, psychology, chemistry, philosophy and mathematics.
Neuroscience is not for specialists any more. Important scientific and medical advances are being made through neuroscience discoveries. “New findings in neuroscience are finding application in a whole host of other areas such as law, economics, politics, marketing and advertising, art, history, literature, social policy and even religion,” Dr. Rowe added.
As with all HTC programs, students must have impressive academic credentials and be highly motivated and disciplined. In addition, neuroscience students are expected to display imagination, intellectual curiosity and creativity. “These are the qualities that will enable students to fully explore and appreciate the impact that neuroscience will have on so many aspects of modern life,” Dr. Rowe explained.
The application deadline for Fall 2008 has passed, but current students can apply now to transfer into HTC’s neuroscience program. The deadline to apply for Fall 2009 is Dec. 1, 2008.
HTC Announces New Faculty Fellow
[Note: This story is from Winter 2008 issue of HTC's alumni newsletter, Ampersand.]
“Great sense of humor,” “wildly curious,” “compassionate and caring”--all these phrases have been used to describe her. Now she’s serving at 35 Park Place as HTC’s newest faculty fellow. Her name is Julie White.
Dr. White is an associate professor in the Department of Political Science and has served as the Director of Studies for that program for several years. In addition to her HTC service, she has also received the University Professor Award, which enables a professor to teach a course of their choosing, and the Outstanding Teacher Award in the College of Arts and Sciences. Her expertise lies in political theory, ethics and public policy and feminist theory.
The main purposes for having an in-house faculty fellow at 35 Park Place are to strengthen the intellectual culture in HTC, and to provide additional opportunities for students to work with a faculty member. Dr. White will serve as a mentor to the entire HTC student body, as well as continue her role as Political Science DOS. Dr. White is also developing an HTC seminar about public intellectuals that will debut in Spring Quarter.
Dr. Jeff St. John, HTC’s first faculty fellow, will continue his fellowship in the college. Dr. White will work in conjunction with Dr. St. John, and hopes to build on his successes. During his role as faculty fellow, Dr. St. John has conducted quarterly fiction and nonfiction reading groups, has taught a popular HTC seminar about the race to build the atomic bomb and enlightened HTC freshmen on citizenship. According to Dean Fidler, the opportunity to have Dr. White work in conjunction with Dr. St. John will suit the needs of HTC students well.
Asserting her sense of humor when asked what attracted her to the faculty fellow position, Dr. White answered with “the opportunity to work with students like Jerrod Lemaster.” [Editor’s note: I, Jerrod Lemaster, interviewed Dr. White for this article. I can attest not only to her humor, but also her intelligence and enthusiasm.]
HTC Physics Tutor Featured on Outlook and Perspectives
ATHENS, Ohio (April 25, 2007) -- One of the Honors Tutorial College tutors was recently featured in Perspectives for his passion for both physics and history. Click here to read about Dr. David Drabold's interests and accomplishments. He was also recently featured in Outlook; click here for that article.
HTC English Tutor recognized for Steinbeck studies
Professor Robert DeMott to appear on PBS special on April 4
ATHENS, Ohio (April 2, 2007) -- The Honors Tutorial College would like to congratulate one of our faculty tutors, Professor Robert DeMott, on his recent recognition from the National Endowment for the Arts for his vested interest in and impressive work on John Steinbeck's novel, "The Grapes of Wrath." Click here to read more about his work and for more details on his appearance on PBS.
HTC Social Work Director Receives Outstanding Service Award
Rich Greenlee, DOS Social Work received the National Association of
Social Worker's Ohio Chapter Region V. Outstanding Service Award.
In commenting on the award, Michele Wilbur who is the director of the
NASW Ohio Chapter Region V said of Rich: "Dr. Greenlee always
goes beyond the call of duty. He has an infectious enthusiasm that
inspires everyone who comes in contact with him. His level of dedication
is unique." To read the entire story, click here.
Two Journalism Tutors Win Prestigious National Award
ATHENS, Ohio (Feb. 21, 2007) -- For the first time, the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC) has bestowed its top research honors on two professors from a single university: Distinguished Professor Emeritus and Scripps Survey Research Center Director Guido H. Stempel III and Professor Patrick Washburn, both of the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism at Ohio University.... Click here to read the entire story of Dr. Stempel and Dr. Washburn's accomplishments. Both tutor HTC-Journalism students on a regular basis and have indeed added much to the success of HTC students in the program of study in journalism. The Honors Tutorial College extends its congratulations to both tutors on this impressive accomplishment.
New Faculty Member in Physics Helps to Uncover Proof of "Dark Matter"
Dr. Doug Clowe working with other astronomers at the University of Arizona announced on August 22, 2006 that observations on a collision between two galaxies revealed "the first direct proof that dark matter must exist." Dr. Clowe is joining the faculty of the Ohio University Department of Physics and Astronomy in September. For more details on this significant discovery click here.
Ohio University Scientists (and HTC Faculty) Receive NSF Grant for New Genomics Facility
ATHENS, Ohio – Scientists at Ohio University have received a $450,000 National Science Foundation grant to create a genetic research facility on campus. Sarah Wyatt and Morgan Vis, faculty members in the Department of Environmental and Plant Biology, received a Major Research Instrumentation grant to expand an existing research area in Porter Hall into a state-of-the-art genomics facility similar to those at large research universities.
Faculty Tutors Receive First N. Victor Goodman Honors Tutorial College Awards
ATHENS, Ohio -- Ohio University has awarded two faculty tutors with the first ever N. Victor Goodman Honors Tutorial College Awards. This new award, created by the HTC Board of Visitors in 2005, is given to faculty during their first three years of tutoring HTC students. This year’s recipients are Michelle Brown, assistant professor in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology and Shelley Delaney, assistant professor in the School of Theater. Each will receive a modest cash prize and a letter of commendation from HTC Dean Ann Fidler.
Dr. Rich Greenlee Named Associate Provost for Appalachian Access and Enrichment Programs
ATHENS, Ohio (July 5, 2006) -- In preparation for the coming academic year, the Provost's Office is announcing reorganization and restructuring in order to respond more effectively to faculty and student needs and to achieve the goals of the academic plan of Vision OHIO.
Dr. Bill Condee, Director of Studies in Theater, Appointed to Distinguished Teaching Professorship
ATHENS, Ohio (June 19, 2006) -- The professors and fellows of the
Charles J. Ping Institute for 
the Teaching of the Humanities are
pleased to announce the appointment of William F. Condee as the J. Richard Hamilton/Baker and Hostetler Professor of Humanities. His appointment will take effect at the beginning of Fall Quarter 2006.
Condee, who has taught in the School of Theater at Ohio University since 1986, is currently director of the School of Interdisciplinary Arts. He has often been recognized at Ohio University for his outstanding teaching, and in 2002 received the prestigious Presidential Teacher Award. In 2003 Professor Condee received the "Excellence in Education Award" from Ohio Magazine.
The Ping Institute, which was created by the Ohio University Board of Trustees in 1992, supports and encourages the teaching of the humanities in schools and universities by funding such projects and activities as library acquisitions, curriculum revisions, teaching colloquia, public forums and summer workshops for teachers. The Institute is composed of three distinguished teaching professors, three professor fellows and a high school-teacher fellow. The Hamilton/Baker and Hostetler Professorship was previously held by Dean McWilliams who retired from the English Department in 2005.
Dr. Chao Yang-Lee, Director of Studies, 
Hearing, Speech and Language Sciences
Director of Studies Receives University Professor Award
ATHENS, Ohio- Chao Yang-Lee, HTC Director of Studies for Hearing, Speech and Language Sciences, has been selected as one of five University Professors for the 2006-07 academic year.
Since its establishment in 1970, the University Professor has been an important way for students to acknowledge outstanding faculty members. After professors are nominated, a unique student committee conducts an extensive interviewing process, including sitting in on classes, before selecting the winners. Each University Professor receives $2,000 and may teach two classes on a subject of his or her choosing.
"I always tell myself that if I can manage to have a positive impact on just one student, then teaching is all worth it. Being nominated as a University Professor assured me that I might be doing something right," Lee said.
Lee was awarded a Hunt Fellowship from the Acoustical Society of America for postdoctoral training in Speech Communication at MIT. His research explores the contribution of phonetic and cognitive knowledge to auditory word recognition, particularly in Mandarin Chinese.
He plans to teach two consecutive courses called "Uniquely Human: The Science of Speech Communication." The course will focus on the mechanisms behind speech production and perception and how it is implicated in human cognitive and linguistic capacities, all of which are unique to the human species. The first will focus on anatomy and physiology of speech production and the second on speech perception and language comprehension.
To read about all of the University Professors, click here.
Dr. David Tees, Director of Studies, Engineering Physics
Physicist Receives NSF CAREER Grant for Biomedical Research, New Lab Course
ATHENS, Ohio - David Tees, Ohio University assistant professor of physics and astronomy, has received a five-year, $400,000 Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) grant from the National Science Foundation to create a new biophysics laboratory course and to conduct research on how flow and adhesion in the smallest blood vessels of the cardiovascular system affect the way the body responds to inflammation and infections.
The highly competitive national program is designed to support faculty members in their early careers. Applicants must include both teaching and research projects in their proposals.
Tees, who joined the Ohio University faculty in 2001, will study adhesion of white blood cells, which travel to sites of inflammation or infection in the body and attach to the inside of blood vessels. Tees investigates what happens when white cells are trapped in capillaries, the smallest blood vessels in the body. In some diseases, white cells get caught in these small vessels, especially in the lung, where very dense capillary networks are found, he explained.
This is a research tool that allows you to answer questions you couldn't answer before...
Tees has proposed a new research tool to investigate exactly how the cells get trapped: an artificial system that uses micropipettes to mimic the flow in capillaries. Micropipettes are thin glass tubes that can be created in very small sizes, and made to taper just like small blood vessels. Because the tubes are transparent, researchers can observe what happens when white blood cells travel through them. The tubes also can be coated with proteins, similar to the ones found in blood vessel walls, to recreate the vessels' sticky surface.
"This is a research tool that allows you to answer questions you couldn't answer before," says Tees, who will involve undergraduate and graduate students in his research.
The scientist, also an adjunct professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering, conducted preliminary work for the grant proposal with Associate Professor Doug Goetz and graduate students Prithu Sundd and Anand Pai in that department.
The system also could later be used to test drug treatments for serious infections or inflammation, as it could determine whether the treatments block or enhance white blood cell adhesion in these model capillaries. This would be less complicated than conducting such preliminary tests in animal models.
Tees also will use the new NSF CAREER grant to create a laboratory course in biophysics. Ohio University currently offers an introductory lecture class in this area, but the scientist believes that a laboratory experience is important to expose students to the research process.
Tees is a member of Ohio University's Quantitative Biology Institute, the Nanoscale & Quantum Phenomena Institute, and the Biomimetic Nanoscience and Nanoscale Technology Initiative. The latter project is part of the university's larger $8 million NanoBioTechnology Initiative, a broad coalition of researchers tackling fundamental issues in nanoscience, biomedical science, technology and health care. It is one of three major research priorities for the institution.
In addition to the NSF CAREER grant, Tees has support for his research from the American Heart Association.
Written by Christina Dierkes.
Dr. Morgan Vis, Director of Studies, Environmental and Plant Biology
Dr. Vis is the 2006 president of the Phycological Society of America, which studies algae. To do field research, Dr. Vis took a group of mainly HTC students to New Zealand. She also is working with a group of faculy from the geology, geography, biological sciences and civil engineering departments on a project funded through the EPA STAR program. The title of the grant is "Development of Watershed Classification Systems for Diagnosis of Biological Impairment in Watershed and Their Receiving Water Bodies."