President’s Welcome

Academic Excellence Initiatives
Enhance Experience
In its second year, the Provost’s Academic Excellence Initiatives continues
to inspire creativity and collaboration across all disciplines.
The program is designed to support, recognize and celebrate the variety
of scholarly and artistic work throughout the campus. Faculty members
awarded the university grants must present their projects at the end of the
spring semester.
The 2011-12 presentations included:
A High-Impact Professional
Learning Experience for
Chemistry Majors
Chemistry students enrolled in the
Integrated Laboratory sequence were
given the experience of presenting their
own research at the annual meeting of
the Ohio Academy of Sciences.
Faculty: Jacob White
Students: Sheri Marcum, Andrea Merry,
Brad Altier, Whitney Smith
Students Published
in Ohio Journal
of Science
Ysgrifennu caneuon Clwb
y Ddraig Goch CD (the Red
Dragon Songwriting Club)
Students within the Department of Music
experienced the creative process of Project
Studio Music Production through writing,
arranging, recording, mixing, designing and
ultimately mastering 8-12 songs to produce a
professional quality CD.
Faculty: Christopher Kenney,
Scott Michal
Students: Nathan Woods, Shelby Merry, Cody
Nordine, Cody Greer, Logan Black, Kayla Dowell,
Regan Spires, Mason Traylor, Jason Hampton,
Naveen Sharma, Byron Brammer, Clay Webb,
Andrew Toohey, Derrick Adkins, Pearce Michal,
Devin Lear, Tessa Roach, Ary Gritter
A Labor Upward into
Futurity: Perspective of Donn
Ballenger and Agnes Hapka
on the Poetry and Art of
William Blake
A pair of English Department students
provided individual written essays
pertaining to writer William Blake’s
importance to Romanticism and then
developed a joint presentation that also
integrated Blake’s art.
Faculty: Kent F. Williams
Students: Timothy Ballenger,
Agnes Hapka
X-ray Vision
Students within the Radiologic Technology
program demonstrated their clinical
competency, communication skills,
problem solving and critical thinking skills
by presenting their radiographic images
as an exhibit complete with identifying
projections/anatomic identifications or
written pathology case abstracts.
Faculty: Tracey Boggs, Chris Barker
Students: Thomas Bentley, Tammy Harrison,
Amber Holsinger, Richard Johnson, Casey
Love, Kaitlyn Lowry, Amanda Pariseau, Mary
Schramm, Tara Young
Chemistry and Art: Determining
Qualities and Analyzing
Perspectives
Students studied and created their own pigments
to help foster a set of creativity-related STEM
components along with an art component to spur
an innovative STEAM (STEM + Art) combination
of science and art research, education and
technology students.
Faculty: Donna L. Martin
Students: John Macioce, Holly Huntley,
Hannah Hiist, Thomas Cook, Jerry Waters II,
Sonza Rankin
Nothing on the Telly
Students produced an animated short film
with an original soundtrack. Animation
effects were created using Blender and
Flash; hand-drawn methods with pencil,
ink, paint and chalk; and stop-motion with
wire, string, sticks, models, clay, etc.
Faculty: Benjy Davies, Scott Michal,
Kevin Lyles
Students: Ryan Griffith, Pearce Michal,
Dane Eichinger, Lisa Brooks, Kaitlyn Kay,
Kia Wright, Rachael Fraeser, Erin Roach,
Ashton Saunders
American Choral Director’s
Association Central Division
Collegiate Honor Choir
The project was a joint effort between
faculty and students to perform an
advanced selection of choral music
alongside other excellent college and
university students at the Central
Division Conference of the American
Choral Director’s Association in Fort
Wayne, Indiana.
Faculty: Sarin Williams
Students: Allyson Johnston, Natalie
Phillips, Tyler Phillips, Nathan Woods
Four Rio Grande chemistry students
gained the experience of a lifetime
at the annual meeting of the Ohio
Academy of Sciences.
Sheri Marcum, Andrea Merry,
Whitney Smith and Brad Altier
each presented their independent
research projects and findings at
the conference, held at Ashland
University.
“Attending this conference pushed
me outside of my comfort zone
and allowed me to be proud of the
work I did, as well as gave me the
opportunity to see what students
at other colleges are working on,”
Smith said. “This whole experience
increased my interest and enthusiasm
in my own field of study. I now
have a better understanding of what
research is, and I definitely have a
deeper appreciation for the process.”
Each of the students had research
summaries of their projects published
in the “Program Abstracts” issue of
“The Ohio Journal of Science.”
Smith’s project, “Characterization
of the Temperature-Dependent
Nature of Photocatalytic
Decomposition of Congo Red
Using Zinc Oxide”, investigated
the ability of an inexpensive
semiconductor to remediate water
contaminated with a textile dye.
Merry’s project, “Determination of
Caloric Content of ‘Zero Calorie’
Artificial Sweeteners via Bomb
Calorimetry”, investigated the ability
of a common laboratory technique
to determine the actual amount of
energy found in artificial sweeteners.
“Matric Effect in the Analysis of
Lead in Well Water via Atomic
Absorption Spectroscopy” was
Altier’s project that explored the
ability of store-bought drinking
water filters to remove lead from
well water in comparison with
municipal tap water samples.
Marcum investigated the influence
of pH on the competition between
oxygen and carbon monoxide in
binding to myoglobin – a molecule
responsible for transporting oxygen
throughout the body – in her
project “pH Effects on the Rate
Constant for the Reaction of
Mb-CO with O 2 .”
“This opportunity to successfully
complete a focused research project
within a short time frame, with
many obstacles to overcome, and
present the research in a professional
manner at a conference of peers is
quite an achievement to be proud
of,” Marcus said. “This opportunity
also says a great deal about the
commitment and dedication of the
URG chemistry faculty advisors:
they are truly exceptional teachers
and mentors.”
Professors Jacob White, Ph.D., and
John Means, Ph.D., traveled with the
students. The projects were spawned
entirely from the spring semester as a
required component of a junior-level
course required for chemistry majors.
Presenting at the conference was a
bonus, funded through the Provost’s
Academic Excellence Initiative.
The Chemistry Department has
undergone an extensive conversion
process recently to transform
the program into a stimulating
and unique curriculum that
fosters research skills and student
involvement. The results have been
undeniable, with the four published
student works the latest example.
6 | Dream Grande
Dream Grande | 7