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By Dave Larsen
| Tuesday, October 7, 2008, 10:29 AM
Zombies are rampaging across the nation’s college campuses, according to USA Today.
Humans vs. Zombies, or “HvZ,” is a tag-like game that’s growing in popularity at U.S. colleges and universities. An HvZ game typically involves hundreds of students and runs 24 hours a day for days on end, as dwindling numbers of humans try to fend off and outlast growing legions of zombies.
If a zombie tags a human, the human becomes a zombie. Zombies in the game wear headbands to distinguish them from armband-wearing humans.
Humans ward off zombies with Nerf guns or by hitting them with a balled-up sock. If struck, the zombie is stunned, usually for 15 minutes. The goal is to still be a live human at the end of the game.
HvZ was created by a group of students at Goucher College in Towson, Md. It began as a live version of the first-person video game, “Splinter Cell,” then turned into tag and became zombie-fied.
“It unfolded just like that,” Brad Sappington, one of the creators, told USA Today. ” ‘We like zombies. Let’s find a way to make real zombies at college.’ It was alcohol-induced, I’m sure.”
No zombie sightings have been reported as yet at Dayton-area campuses. Humans vs. Zombies’ official Web site is here.
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By Dave Larsen
| Friday, October 3, 2008, 11:52 AM
Bob Taft, former Ohio governor and distinguished research associate at the University of Dayton, will lead a conference on Oct. 16 to bring together educators and policy makers from Ohio and the region to explore successful ways to increase the number of college graduates.
“Expanding College Access and Enhancing Student Success” will be held from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. in the Ponitz Center at Sinclair Community College.
The event is open to the public. Educational leaders, educators at all levels, and those with an interest in education are encouraged to attend.
Eric D. Fingerhut, chancellor of the Ohio Board of Regents, will participate in a panel at 1:45 p.m. with high-ranking education officials from Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky on how to bridge the gap between high school and college. The panel will include Stanley G. Jones, commissioner for higher education in Indiana, and Dianne Bazell, assistant vice president for academic affairs, Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education.
According to the Board of Regents, only four out of 10 ninth graders are likely to enroll in college by age 19, and too few will graduate.
The conference will feature presentations on new strategies and some of the best practices for expanding college enrollment and graduation through innovative programs from across the state. Other sessions will examine community-based, college-based and school-based college access programs and initiatives by area colleges and universities to help at-risk students succeed in college.
“If we are to achieve the ambitious goal set by Gov. Ted Strickland to increase the number of Ohioans with college degrees, we must learn from each other and move forward with coordination and partnership,” Taft said in a media release.
The cost to attend the conference is $15. Register online here.
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By Dave Larsen
| Thursday, October 2, 2008, 09:58 AM
E.J. Dionne Jr., a nationally syndicated Washington Post columnist and political analyst for National Public Radio, will discuss “Faith and Politics in the 2008 Presidential Race” on Monday, Oct. 6, at the University of Dayton.
The lecture is free and open to the public. It will be held at 8 p.m. in the Kennedy Union ballroom at the University of Dayton.
Dionne’s latest book, “Souled Out: Reclaiming Faith & Politics After the Religious Right,” was published in February. His column on national policy and politics appears on Tuesdays and Fridays in the Washington Post.
Before joining the Post in 1990 as a political reporter, Dionne spent 14 years at the New York Times, covering local, state and national politics. He also served as a foreign correspondent in Paris, Rome and Beirut.
Dionne’s talk is the main event in a three-semester lecture series commemorating a century of the U.S. Catholic Church sponsored by UD’s Forum on the Catholic Intellectual Tradition Today.
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By Dave Larsen
| Wednesday, October 1, 2008, 03:59 PM
John Heitmann, a University of Dayton historian who specializes in the history of science, technology and the American automobile, is scheduled to be interviewed by a producer from “ABC World News with Charles Gibson” as part of the network’s “Great American Battleground Bus Tour.”
The segment, scheduled for Oct. 6 broadcast, will focus on Heitmann’s views on how layoffs in the automotive industry and Ohio’s sagging economy will affect the presidential election. The piece also will feature interviews with workers from General Motors’ Moraine plant, according to Alice Maggin, an ABC-TV producer.
“I will be talking about the plant closings and the loss of living-wage jobs, particularly jobs for high school graduates,” Heitmann said in a media release. “That old notion that high school graduates can make a living wage working at companies like General Motors is gone.”
Heitmann is UD alumni chair in the humanities. He teaches a course entitled “The Automobile in 20th Century America.” Heitmann’s upcoming book, “In High Gear: The Automobile in 20th Century Life,” is expected to be published in 2009.
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By Dave Larsen
| Wednesday, October 1, 2008, 09:49 AM
Wright State University students will get a taste of comedian Jim Gaffigan’s popular Hot Pockets routine — literally — on Thursday, Oct. 2, at the Jim Gaffigan Hot Pockets Chowdown.
Six Wright State students will compete to see who will be the first to chow down on four Hot Pockets brand stuffed sandwiches — and keep them down. The winners, one male and one female, will each win $100, the opportunity to meet Gaffigan and two tickets to his show on Thursday, Oct. 2, at Wright State’s Ervin J. Nutter Center.
Gaffigan, an Indiana native, likens Hot Pockets to a Pop-Tart filled “with really nasty meat.”
The Chowdown will be held on the patio in front of Hamilton Hall, next to Wright State’s Student Union. Registration begins at 1:30 p.m. Six contestant names, three male and three female, will be drawn at 2:15 p.m. The Chowdown begins at 2:30 p.m.
The event and the winners will be featured on MySpace.com.
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By Dave Larsen
| Tuesday, September 30, 2008, 03:02 PM
Iris E. Harvey, associate vice president for marketing and communications at Wright State University, has been selected as Kent State University vice president of university relations. Kent State President Lester A. Lefton made the announcement on Monday, Sept. 29.
Harvey will oversee the offices of Government Relations, University Communications and Marketing, and WKSU-FM.
“Iris Harvey brings a strong track record of success in marketing and branding from both the corporate world and academia,” Lefton said in a media release.
Since 2005, Harvey has overseen Wright State’s advertising, enrollment marketing, brand and integrated communications, Web media, publications, visual identity, media/public relations and speechwriting.
Before joining Wright State, Harvey served as worldwide director of faculty recruitment for the University of Maryland University College. From 1993 to 2004, she was founder and chief executive of Market Strategies and Solutions, Inc. She also served nine years with Citigroup Global Consumer Bank Group in Chicago.
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By Dave Larsen
| Tuesday, September 30, 2008, 02:34 PM
Miami University Middletown’s Corporate & Community Institute is offering two digital photography classes this fall, both starting in October.
The Photoshop Elements class will teach students to enhance photos using all the tools, menus and techniques available for color correcting, brightening, cropping, layering and applying filters, borders and shapes. Class will be held from 5:30-8:30 p.m. on four consecutive Mondays starting Oct. 6. The cost is $129, including all materials.
Digital Photography: A Snapshot will allow students to explore the capabilities of digital photography. Class topics will include how to select a digital camera; how to take quality photos; and how to store, manipulate, restore and print photos. The class will be held on Tuesday, Oct. 14 from 5:30-8 p.m. The cost is $49.
For more information on Miami Middletown’s Corporate & Community Institute programs or to register, click here or call (513) 727-3300. Miami Middletown is located at 4200 E. University Blvd., Middletown.
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