EHE News
Education and Human Ecology honors top faculty, staff
8-4-2010
The College of Education and Human Ecology at The Ohio State University has acknowledged the important achievements and contributions of faculty and staff with its first EHE Awards of Distinction.
Each award carries a $1,000 honorarium.
The 2010 recipients are:
- Robert Scharff, Distinguished Scholarship, for research into the cost of food-borne illness.
- Josh Bomser, Distinguished Teaching, for his ability to reach students at all levels.
- Charles Hancock, Distinguished Diversity Enhancement, for his nationwide efforts to improve teaching of minority students.
- Nancy Swearengin, Distinguished Service, for 26 years of creative support to college faculty, staff, students and alumni.
- Deanna Wilkinson, Distinguished Service, for her innovative efforts to prevent youth violence in our community.
- Valerie Kinloch, Dean's Inspirational Award, for making language arts and literature relevant to students from all backgrounds.
Distinguished Scholarship Award
Robert Scharff
Robert Scharff, assistant professor, Department of Consumer Sciences
Robert Scharff has received much attention lately for creating a new model for estimating the economic and social costs of food-borne illness. What he learned from applying this model in a study for the Pew Health Group is that Americans pay a whopping $152 billion in costs for foodborne illnesses each year. After a news conference this past January to discuss these findings, 467 articles cited his study.
Robert's nominators summed up the impact of his work by saying, "This media attention not only enhances the visibility and reputation of the college and The Ohio State University, but it also fits with President Gee's vision of promoting research that has practical application."
They added, "He represents the Department of Consumer Sciences' commitment to research that makes a difference in the lives of consumers."
Distinguished Teaching Award
Josh Bomser
Josh Bomser, associate professor, Department of Human Nutrition
One nominator confessed that he was both impressed and a little jealous of the strong learning atmosphere Josh Bomser imparts and students' appreciation of his efforts. Another specified that he excels at encouraging inquiry and reflection, while relating to students.
He provides high-quality instruction in large classrooms with up to 200 students and also in small graduate-level seminars.
Undergraduates report that, although his advanced metabolism class is one of the most challenging they take, it is also one of the most useful to them, particularly if they enter professional schools such as medicine and dentistry and must take biochemistry coursework.
To encourage undergraduates to attend large required classes, he takes music requests, and then plays them for 30 minutes leading up to class. This increases attendance and makes him available to address students' concerns or questions.
Distinguished Diversity Enhancement Award
Charles Hancock
Charles Hancock, professor, School of Teaching and Learning
Charles Hancock's support for diversity has been long standing and broad ranging.
Not only did he serve as associate dean for diversity and international/global affairs in the college from 2005-2010, but he has also worked across the university, with many school districts in Franklin County and Ohio, and with other colleges and universities across the country.
Two of his program efforts stand out. One is his work on a Teacher Quality Enhancement grant, a collaboration with central Ohio colleges and universities to improve the way teachers teach math and science to urban middle school students in the Columbus City School District. In the last six years, more than 200 teachers have focused on use of culturally relevant pedagogy. More than 1,500 middle school students from low-income families have benefited from summer experiences in math and science.
Distinguished Service Award
Nancy Swearengin
Nancy Swearengin, office manager, Office of External Relations
Nancy Swearengin, a nominator says, "is the kind of worker that employers pray will walk into their offices once day. She has held many positions in the college in the past 26 years and excelled at them all."
Another said, "If Nancy Swearengin is involved, you become immersed in the 'OSU Experience.' She has a powerful, positive effect on the people who work around her."
This is particularly important because the College of Education and Human Ecology is only four years old. People rely on her long memory to ensure continuity as two former colleges meld into a coherent unit.
In addition, she continually investigates new computer technology so staff and faculty ask her advice. She is constantly on the lookout for fiscal savings, whether finding vendors for canapés or printing of 87,000 magazines.
Distinguished Service Award
Deanna Wilkinson
Deanna Wilkinson, associate professor, Department of Human Development and Family Science
Deanna Wilkinson, nationally recognized for prevention of youth violence, cares passionately about solving this pressing problem. She also strongly connects her expertise to community service.
She founded the OSU Youth Violence Prevention Advisory Board, a partnership of two dozen central Ohio criminal justice, social service and community leaders to develop new strategies for intervening with high-risk youth.
In addition, the Columbus Violence Prevention Collaborative will put academic work into the hands of practitioners.
"Dr. Wilkinson's work is service," a nominator said. "She devotes tireless hours to applied research, community service and the mentoring of undergraduates, graduate students and members of the greater Columbus community."
Her partners said, "Despite our different backgrounds and opinions, we agree on one thing without reservation: Deanna Wilkinson is one of the most dedicated individuals we have encountered."
Dean's Inspirational Award
Valerie Kinloch
Valerie Kinloch, associate professor, School of Teaching and Learning
Valerie Kinloch battles to bridge the academic environment with the community. Most recently, she extracted lessons learned at the college's very successful experimental Metro Early College High School and adapted them to Linden-McKinley High School in the Columbus Public Schools. She realizes the expertise gleaned from Metro's innovative STEM programming in science, engineering, technology and mathematics is needed most in schools, like Linden-McKinley, that seek to turn around students' lives.
She helps students from all walks of life by looking at the language people particularly African Americans, use every day, For instance, in Harlem on Our Minds: Place, Race and the Literacies of Urban Youth, she investigated how young people expressed the effects of gentrification.
She links classic and contemporary poetry to current events and explores emerging theories of how to bring social ecology to life for the high school English classroom.
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