THE NEWS RECORD
132 YEARS IN PRINT VOL. CXXXI ISSUE L
MONDAY | AUGUST 10 | 2012
The University of Cincinnati’s College of Arts & Sciences received its newest dean July 1. Former university professor and UC alum Ronald Jackson II was chosen to succeed former dean Valerie Hardcastle and further her achievements within the college. Appointed by Interim President Santa Ono, Jackson is just one of 47 new members hired to the JACKSON college this summer. He hopes to spearhead the college’s growth through faculty collaboration,
Overweight or obese diabetics may outlive their thinner counterparts, according to a recently released study. The study offers evidence for what’s being called the “obesity paradox,” which is that obese individuals – while having a much higher risk of developing heart disease, kidney disease, and type 2 diabetes – are also much more likely to outlive thinner people that are diagnosed with the same diseases, according to the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). Experts previously knew of the obesity paradox in chronic kidney disease and heart disease, but just recently became aware of the trend among diabetics. “People who are obese are two times as likely to die from any given disease,” said Randy Seeley, director of the Cincinnati Diabetes and Obesity Center.“The issue, then is the obese type 2 diabetics are protected from dying as quickly as the lean type 2 diabetics.” In the JAMA study, which compiled five earlier studies on heart disease in 2,625 people recently diagnosed with diabetes, researchers found that even after adjusting for other factors like high blood pressure, smoking and high cholesterol, the death rate was nearly twice as high for thin patients than for heavier ones. There is no explanation for the paradox, but researchers have speculated it could be because lean people diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, or certain other diseases, are more prone to worse health, whereas their counterparts develop the disease because they are overweight. Diabetes develops as a result of insulin resistance in the body, and extra fat can interfere with the body’s ability to efficiently produce and use the insulin it makes, leading to insulin resistance. “My current hypothesis for the paradox is that lean people somehow have insulin resistance that is more severe,” Seeley said. “Initially, when the body is having trouble absorbing insulin the pancreas just makes more. While the obese may develop insulin resistance as a result of having extra fat, for the lean it may just be severe insulin resistance as a result SEE DIABETES | 2
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communication development and international education. “It is so important that when a university tries to position itself as a number one research or a top-ranked research institution, that higher individuals help maintain that ranking,” Jackson said. “So on one end, it’s great that you have people already that are part of your institution; but what really helps is the new cutting-edge initiative when you have various faculties that are going to help you do that.” The Cincinnati native is confident in his ability to lead the college and continue to build upon its accomplishments. “We certainly not only have a place where students be at their choice destination, but also here is a place that gave them a lot of
intellectual direction to a new leadership. It’s going in a way that allows us to really enhance the international education and the importance of the core curriculum,” Jackson said. “What you are doing as a dean here is to try to communicate and translate messages to wider audiences. You’re also working on ways that you can improve an institution, but that begins with being an effective communicator, effective listener, and being able to convey what it is that you really find the true priorities of any college education.” With two degrees from the university, Jackson also earned a Ph.D. in rhetoric and intercultural communication at Howard University. He has worked at six institutions for
higher learning, including Penn State University and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. “I think that with the kind of communications that I have, it teaches people about messages — the significance of messages, the transferable of messages, and the impact that messages have on people’s relationships,” Jackson said. “So as you take that, combined with my interest in being an academic leader, it will prepare a way for me to become a dean.” During his formal recognition at the June 26 Board of Trustees meeting, Jackson said he was honored with the appointment and that he would continue the college’s stride toward excellence.
PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY LAUREN PURKEY | PHOTO EDITOR
MOVING ON UP Following the resignation of Gregory Williams, University Paviilion has several interim tenants.
In the wake of Gregory Williams’ resignation from the position of president at the University of Cincinnati, several personnel changes have been made to interim president, Santa Ono’s, cabinet. Ono appointed Larry Johnson, dean of the College of Education, Criminal Justice and Human Services, to serve as interim provost — the position Ono formerly held. Johnson, who has been at UC for more than 20 years, has served as dean since 1999. Ryan Hays, formerly has been appointed to the position of executive vice president, after Karen Faaborg resigned from the position last Wednesday. Faaborg, who served as executive vice president since January 2011 and has been a faculty member for more than 30 years, couldn’t be reached for comment. She will probably have another position at the university, but that has yet to be determined, said Greg Hand, UC spokesperson. The nature of the executive president position was the reason for Faaborg’s resignation, Hand said. “The position that she stepped down from is essentially the chief of staff for the president, it’s someone who is very close to the president,” Hand said. “The interim president has a person in that role, Ryan Hays, so he asked Ryan.” Hays worked for the Board of Trustees at Emory University during the same time Ono served as senior vice provost for undergraduate education and academic affairs at Emory University. Ono was unavailable to comment on the cabinet changes; however, in a letter to faculty and students he thanked Faaborg, Johnson and Hays. “First, let me thank Karen for her dedication and service to the Office of the President,” Ono said in the letter. “ I also want to extend my thanks and support to Larry and Ryan for answering the call of service during this time of transition.” There is no knowledge of any other personnel changes that have been made or that will be made to the cabinet, Hand said. Francis Barrett, chairman for the UC Board of Trustees, reiterated that point.
The University of Cincinnati’s free speech policy was ruled unconstitutional by a federal district judge Wednesday, bringing a possible conclusion to the contentious issue one step closer. The permanent injunction, issued by United States District Judge Timothy S. Black, barred the university from enforcing speech restriction on campus. “Speech on campus cannot be limited in outdoor areas unless the restriction is narrowly tailored to serve a compelling university interest,” Black said in his ruling. In conjunction with the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) and the 1851 Center for Constitutional Law, the UC chapter of Young Americans for Liberty (YAL) filed suit Feb. 22 after its request for a permit to illicit petition signatures was denied by the university. Prior to the lawsuit, the university’s policy limited demonstrations and protests to 0.1 percent of UC’s main campus, and required
Of the 17 cabinet members, seven were appointed to positions during Williams’ presidency. Those seven cabinet members include Whit Babcock, athletic director, Gregory Mohar, general counsel, and Cady Shot-Thompson, chairwoman for the council of the deans. Ono’s two new appointments bring the number of interim cabinet members to six. Williams resigned last Tuesday for personal reasons, according to a statement by the university. Williams didn’t elaborate on the reason behind his resignation, Barrett said.“It’s personal and we respect his privacy.” Williams, who officially took over as president in November 2009 from Nancy Zimpher, had more than two years left on his contract. His original annual base salary was $410,000 and included a $60,000 signing bonus, according to his employment agreement. He was also eligible for an annual performance bonus, ranging from 10 to-25 percent of his base salary. Williams’ resignation came as a shock to many. “I was shocked when I heard the news,” said Lane Hart, student body president.“I’ve always had great interactions with President Williams and he’s done a lot of great things for the university.” After learning of his resignation, the board instantly went to work to find an interim president, said Barrett. “The board was unanimous in believing that in all the people at the university that could step in and immediately do the best job, it was the provost, and we’re going to support him completely and we’re going to do everything we can to help him,” Barrett said. “I think the selection of Provost Ono is a positive step, with his involvement in the UC2019 Strategic Plan and the work he’s done with the student body,” Hart said. “Provost Ono has been good at working on student’s involvement and making good common sense decisions on behalf of students.” A banquet to celebrate William’s tenure and thank him for his work is in the planning stages, and will most likely take place in September, Barrett said. The university has not set a timetable yet for its search for a new president, Hand said.
coordinators to submit a request 10 business days ahead of an event to utilize a free speech zone on campus. “Limiting student expression to just 0.1 percent of campus was bad enough. Threatening to call the police if students were caught gathering signatures for a petition was even worse,” FIRE President Greg Lukianoff said in a statement. “The decision to waste taxpayer money defending such unconstitutional censorship was completely indefensible.” After a seven-month legal battle and a temporary compromise, UC YAL members are elated with the final ruling, said Ian Gulley, president of the UC chapter of YAL. “This is a win for all student organizations,” Gulley said. “It is giving everyone the opportunity to say what they want, whenever they want without having to be in a free speech zone or having to abide by policies.” Yet the original speech policy was composed with the students’ best interest in mind, said Lane Hart, student body president. “The original way the free speech policy
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was written was with good intention so that it wasn’t disturbing class or traffic,” Hart said. “At the same time, it’s good that we can have an exchange of ideas anywhere on campus.”