THE INdependent student news organization at the university of cincinnati
Vol. CXXVIV Issue 20
thursday , nov . 5, 2009 mardy gilyard
Get up close and personal with the Bearcats’ wide receiver. page 8
staff ed UC’s College-Conservatory of Music puts on shows students should know about. page 2
comedian fun Funny man Roy Wood stirs laughs from UC audience. page 5
MBA grads not immune to job loss taylor pickerel the news record
Although armed with a master’s of business administration degree, College of Business graduates struggle to secure jobs. The trend parallels the meteoric rise of the unemployment rate in the United States during the last year. The overall unemployment rate in Ohio as of September is 10.1 percent – the 14th highest rate in the country. In September 2009, the unemployment rate of people 25 years or older with at least a bachelor’s degree was 4.9 percent, up from 2.6 percent in September 2008, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. MBA graduates at the University of Cincinnati are facing similar problems in the job sector this year. As a result of the economic times, the availability of employment is drying up for those around the city, due to corporate cutbacks and failing family-owned businesses. UC’s MBA students also feel the tightening of corporate belts. “The economy has clearly had an impact on MBA employment,” said Susan McCord, the associate director of career services. “Many companies cut back on their internship program.” A staple of UC’s post-graduation preparation method is the internship program and the ability of its students to gain career-oriented experience in the job market. “The MBA program does strengthen your resume versus those who simply have a bachelor’s degree,” said Dustin Grutza, a sixth-year student and former Bearcat quarterback, who is getting his MBA at UC, “but the availability of jobs is still a worry.” This year, Ohio’s private sector, which encompasses most jobs available to MBA program graduates, had an additional 120,835 layoffs, according to the BLS. The data includes the financial, management and many other sectors of the job market. For the last five years, students graduating from the university on average have an 84 percent job-placement rate within three months of walking out the door with a MBA, McCord said. Now, students are facing a 20 percent decrease in job offers from companies, according to statistics supplied by the university’s career services department. Of the MBA students in the graduating class of September 2009, 64 percent have secured jobs. “We are hopeful that number will go up by the end of November,” McCord, said. In order to help students, UC offers a program called Graduate Career Services, which provides many resources to assist MBA and Master of Science Business students with career planning and the job search processes.
COULTER LOEB | the news record
kay allen, career resources coordinator at the Career Development Center plans events for students, Wednesday, Nov. 4.
sam greene | the news record
LIBRARY EMPLOYEES at the information desk in Langsam Library, Wednesday, Nov. 4, are affected by the departmental budget cuts.
Student employees face hour cuts alexandra buzek the news record
Students looking for jobs on campus are having a hard time finding them and many employed students are having their hours cut. With fewer students working on campus, there is less assistance for students and people who need aid. “I worked more hours last year, but requested more, this year I only requested eight, so I get eight,” said Bridget Lee-Tatman a fourth-year business student who has been working at the Langsam Library for the last two years. The hour cuts in the started during the summer quarter. “It really started getting worse Fall quarter,” said Thomas Goodnow, a student and shift manager at Langsam Library. “At least four
or five people had to quit from the circulation desk and one person had to look for a job off campus.” Lee-Tatman, who works part time in a co-op, said many students’ hours have lowered because of budget cuts. “Most of us have work study,” she said. “And they’re worried about us going over hours because then we get paid by the department budget, and they can’t afford that.” Sales associates in the bookstore at Tangeman Univeristy Center are also experiencing cuts in hours. “I used to work 10 to 15 hours a week,” said Anthony Delarosa, a third-year creative writing student. “But lately its been five or six.” There are also no guarantees in the number of hours to be worked after being hired. “The hours are getting better because of the games,” Delarosa said. “If you want to work [game days], you have it.”
UC becomes energy Center of Excellence
Bearcats aid Mitch Stone carly tamborski the news record
James Sprague the news record
The University of Cincinnati was recently chosen by Gov. Ted Strickland as one of eight state universities recognized as Ohio Centers of Excellence in advanced energy. UC will conduct research and study “sustaining the urban environment” (SUE). The program will involve both undergraduate and graduate students, said Tim Keener, associate dean for graduate studies and research with the College of Engineering and Applied Science. The centers of excellence are part of a 10-year strategic plan by Ohio Board of Regents Chancellor Eric Fingerhut for higher education, said Rob Evans, administrative assistant in communications for the Board of Regents. The announcement is the first of five groupings of university Centers of Excellence. These centers will align with the state’s focus on various industries and talent recruitment. Energy is one of the industries targeted, in addition to transportation, health care and agriculture. “Centers of Excellence will help universities in becoming economic drivers,” Evans said. The goal is to attract public and private investment through recognized programs of academic study and research. The centers would also create jobs, said George Sorial, a professor in the civil and environmental engineering department at UC. “The Center will serve as a job-creation engine for economic development by creating specialized opportunities in technology, design, manufacturing, construction, workforce development and advanced research related to urban infrastructure,” Sorial said. Research efforts will be required to develop and apply technologies necessary to prepare the nation for future challenges for energy production. UC will be able to compete more effectively for outside research dollars due to being a Center of Excellence, Sorial said. “The synergy in collaborations between different programs initiated within the center will effectively enhance our competitiveness in the market,” he said. The other seven universities recognized are Bowling Green State University, Case Western
photos by sam greene | the news record
Makram Suidan teaches a class in 643 Baldwin, Wednesday, Nov. 4. Professor Suidan teaches engineering and was involved with the award-winning SUE center. Reserve University, Central State University, The Ohio State University, Ohio University, the University of Dayton and the University of Toledo. Each school will have a program concentrating on an area of advanced energy. “We will be developing an undergraduate program in environmental engineering that will have an even greater emphasis on sustainability,” Keener said. This will be in addition to another undergraduate program, Energy and Materials Engineering, to begin in September 2010. The program will be the first of its kind in the nation, and will center around the study of modern and alternative fuels, said Makram Suidan, a professor in civil and environmental engineering. “It will emphasize very heavily on solar connectors, fuel cells, wind energy – all those topics that are very hot in terms of alternative, renewable, sustainable energy,” Suidan said. “We are moving forward on many fronts.” Suidan also says these Centers of Excellence focusing on energy are long overdue. “It’s high time that we start looking at our footprint and start admitting that we have a problem,” Suidan said. “Every indicator we have, although there are naysayers, shows that the environment is changing very fast. We are losing species, we are losing habitats and we need to get to the stage where we start being more conscientious about what we do.”
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Shaharazad Arteaga a first-year ballet student in the College-Conservatory of Music, just started working at UC’s OneStop Student Service Center through the work-study program. She works between 12 and 15 hours per week. “My schedule is pretty hectic,” she said. “Some days I only work one hour, other days I work four – it depends.” Working for the university has perks, but, a work-study program puts work first in the end. “If there is nobody here and I don’t have to do something I can do schoolwork,” Shaharazad said. “But, say somebody comes up and I am doing homework, they come first.” With only five work study students, OneStop gives students an adequate amount of hours. “[OneStop] wouldn’t have hired you if they were going to cut you,” Arteaga said.
Tim Keener, associate dean of Graduate Studies and Research works in his office, Wednesday, Nov. 4. Keener oversees the recognized program, Sustaining the Urban Environment (SUE).
The University of Cincinnati has added an 11 year old to the Bearcats’ roster. Mitch Stone was diagnosed with a primitive neuroectodermal brain tumor (PNET) in February. In July, the UC football team, in association with the Friends of Jaclyn Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to help raise the quality of life of children with pediatric brain tumors and their families, hosted an adoption ceremony for Stone in the Richard E. Lindner Center. Stone is the son of two UC alumni, Anthony and Dee Stone, who were also in attendance along with his siblings. Since February, Stone has undergone surgery, radiation therapies and chemotherapy to accelerate his recovery, which has been nicknamed “Mitch’s Mission.” Members of the football team and head coach Brian Kelly are sporting red, white and blue wristbands to symbolize the support from the UC community. When Student Government heard about Stone’s battle, they wanted to help him tackle his illness. “The minute I heard about what the football team was doing, I wanted Student Government to be involved,” said Tim Lolli, student body president. “Mitch’s adoption by the football team brought him into our UC family. Therefore, we embrace him as a member of our community and want to support him and the football team with Mitch’s Mission.” The wristbands go on sale Thursday, Nov. 5, for the university at large. The wristbands are $3 and can be purchased at the OneStop Center, MainStreet Connections Office and UC bookstores (in Tangeman University Center and the Academic Health Center). All proceeds from the bracelet sales go to the Mitch’s Mission fund to help pay the costs of his health care. “I hope that the Mitch’s Mission Bearcat wristbands will be worn proudly throughout our community and have even a fraction of the impact the LiveStrong bracelets do,” said Sean Huff, director of public relations for SG. SG also created a Web site to draw more people to the cause where they can view pictures of Stone, receive information about the wristbands and sign an online guest book. see mitch | page 4
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TNR video TNR videographer Blake Hawk sits down with the man behind the public safety e-mails: Gene Ferrara. See the exclusive interview online as well as coverage of the Darwin Symposium panel discussion.