It's official. The Schoenbaum Family Center at Weinland Park, formerly known as the Early Childhood Development Center, was dedicated on Wednesday, June 27, at a rousing celebration. It opens later on this month.

Enjoy photos from the celebration and views of the new center.

Thinking Outside and Inside the Box

Alumna Tara Marling Abraham (BS, Textiles and Clothing, Department of Consumer Sciences) thinks outside and inside the box. That's because she heads her own global contract packaging firm, where she applies creativity to displaying products in boxes... and in baskets, buckets, bags, you name it.

Abraham's company, Accel, Inc., in Lewis Center, Ohio, wins new awards every year. This year they are the 2007 Women-Owned Business Star Award and Limited Brand's Championing Diversity Award.

Learn more about Abraham's awards, her business, and her family's recent gift to the Schoenbaum Family Center.

Cooking Up Nutrition Education

Alumna Georgie Shockey was not to be outdone. As a graduate from the Department of Human Nutrition and a principal of her own food service consulting company, she seemed to have no connection to early childhood development and education, right? Wrong.

Shockey watched the early childhood specialists creating the Schoenbaum Family Center at Weinland Park and decided to contribute too. She issued a rallying cry to 13 industry executives, who responded magnificently.

Read about what they did and how it will influence the future nutrition choices of families in the economically challenged Weinland Park neighborhood.

The Civics/Economics Connection

The connection between civics and economics is a vital one. Government decisions, for example, affect the economy and vice versa. Associate Professor Steven L. Miller, School of Teaching and Learning, Social Education and Global Education, authored a new online book Nexus: Connections Between Economics and Civics. PhD candidate Aleks Kvosov and alumnus Phillip VanFossen of Purdue are coauthors.

The book offers useful information about the national teaching standards in economics and civics, statements of what students will be able to do after studying the ideas, links to lessons, and more.

Read the book online at the National Council on Economic Education website.

$6.8 Million Federal Grant to Provide Teachers in Short Supply Areas

"Not enough teachers to meet demands," the news headlines announce. To cope, some schools recruit subject matter experts to enter teaching through alternative licensure. But alternative paths can lack the support offered in traditional teacher education programs.

Assistant Professor Belinda Gimbert, School of Educational Policy and Leadership, and Research Specialist Maria Moore, Center on Education and Training for Employment, partnering with the Ohio Department of Education, crafted an exemplary support system for teachers seeking alternative licensure. In five years, they helped 218 teachers earn their licenses.

Read about their new $6.8 million grant that will share their online learning system with three more states.

Improving Life for Children with HIV/AIDS

Paige Shannon spent spring quarter in a course that prepared her to serve and learn at Montana de Luz, a home for children with HIV/AIDS in rural Honduras.

As a child development major in the Department of Human Development and Family Science, Paige says, "My dream is to become a physician and work all over the world with children and their families in times of need."

Read about how Paige Shannon and students from across the university are preparing for the Sept 2-12 Honduras trip, and how you, too, can help the children of Montana de Luz.

Amazing Opportunities

At 36, Brad A. Henry (BS 07, School of Physical Activity and Educational Services) was a highly paid IT consultant, but he returned to college as an honors undergraduate and enjoyed amazing opportunities.

"I love technology," he says, "but my focus in life is no longer on making money. My route to happiness is the ability to help others, like the ESL teachers in my study, and make positive change."

Read more about Henry and 10 other honors undergraduates who also enjoyed amazing opportunities.

Neal Craft, PhD
BS, Human Nutrition, 1978

Career: President and Owner, Craft Technologies, Inc. (CTI), Wilson, NC

Professionally: In 1994, my wife and I founded CTI, a nutritional analysis laboratory. CTI analyzes vitamins, carotenoids, and phytochemicals in serum, tissue, foods, and nutraceuticals. Additionally, we assess nutritional deficiencies in developing countries using dried blood spots. Our simple vision to serve others is impacting lives worldwide.

Interesting fact: Dr. Failla, chair, Department of Human Nutrition, was the instructor of my first graduate-level biochemistry course. I learned right away that he is amazingly intelligent and has a photographic memory. He became my mentor and remains one of my best friends today.

Brenda Kay Toler
BS, MA, PhD, English Education &
Educational Administration, 1978, 1980, 1989

Career: Coordinator of Gifted Services and Enrichment Programs, Worthington City Schools, Worthington, OH

Professionally: I've served as a teacher and educational administrator for 29 years. I began teaching at Maysville Local School District in South Zanesville, Ohio, and expanded my career by serving as a lecturer at several Central Ohio universities. As a consultant to Summer Honors Institutes for gifted high school students, I have witnessed our children's unleashed potential to problem solve complex scenarios. As an advocate for students, I believe my most important charge is to help prepare young people for an ever-changing world.

Interesting fact: I was on the 1976 OSU Homecoming Court.