Starting on Wednesday, Sept. 8, John Carroll students will be able to rent movies and video games from the new QUICKflick DVD Kiosk, which will be located next to the stairwell outside the Inn-Between. John Carroll alumni Melvin Reyes ’08 and William E. Bargar ’09 were interning at Bowden Manufacturing Corp. when the company asked the pair what sort of business they would start if given a few thousand dollars.

The two thought a company that provided RedBox Kiosks to college campuses would have a high demand.

“The RedBox company did not seem interested in franchising out to college students,” said Reyes.

The two still felt that DVD rentals on campus would be successful, so they began to look to other machine brands.

QUICKflick is a Canadian-based company that provides self-service DVD rental terminals to a range of clientele. JCU is the second location where Reyes and Bargar will install a kiosk.  Along with the machine’s installation, a new website is being launched solely for the John Carroll and Solon locations.

“It will allow students to reserve products online and see what’s in stock,” said Reyes.

The QUICKflick machines are currently the biggest rental terminals in the market, each box holding up to 1400 disks, including Blu-ray discs and video games.

Having once been students on this campus, Reyes and Bargar feel that the boxes will cater to the student body’s interests. Talks of putting the kiosk on campus started in December of last year with Andrew Fronczek, director of purchasing and auxiliary services.

“We got the go-ahead to have the boxes installed by March, however the machine brand we were working with at that time was not compliant with the location,” Reyes said.

Now that all of the major issues have been worked out, the machines will be installed on Tuesday and Wednesday of this week.  Reyes and Bargar have hired interns who will be in charge of monitoring the kiosks, and will also be on campus to recruit more interns.  Additionally, 10 percent of the proceeds for the kiosk will be donated to the Entrepreneur Association.

“This program has been made by students for students, so we want to make sure that JCU students are involved.  We want to know [students’] input and any suggestions on how to make things better,” said Reyes.

Students seem excited about the prospect of renting movies on campus.

“It’s a fantastic idea,” sophomore Julia Muglia said. “[It will be] very convenient.”

Sophomore Rashelle Stelbasky said having something on campus similar to RedBox makes her happy.

“I do think it will be an asset,” junior Mark Ehrbar said. “Popularity will grow with it.”

Specifically, the campus lost 250 parking spaces in the temporary lot, which was restored this summer as the Hamlin Quad, named after JCU alumnus Richard Hamlin.

The temporary parking lot was originally a quad, but was transformed into parking during the building of the Dolan Science Center.

“The temporary parking lot was put in as a temporary lot to make up for parking during construction [of Dolan Science Center]. It was never meant to be permanent,” said Carol Dietz, associate vice president of facilities.

The decision to restore the parking lot as a quad was a result of several factors, according to Dietz.

The 125th anniversary of the University occurs in 2011, and the University is planning to hold commencement weekend and reunion weekend simultaneously to celebrate the occasion. In order to accommodate both events, the University needed to increase the green space on campus.

Additionally, the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District assesses a fee for all property owners in northeastern Ohio to handle heavy rain and sewer run-off. The fee is based on the number of surface parking lots, roadways and rooftops on the property. JCU’s fee estimation was $36,000 with the temporary parking lot. With the temporary lot gone, the fee will decrease but there are no current estimates of what the cost will be.

Dietz said another incentive to restore the Hamlin Quad was increased sustainability on

campus and encourage more students to walk or bike to campus.

“Employee and student commuters are a large part of the carbon footprint on this campus,” said Dietz.

Also, the University had an outstanding promise to Hamlin to name the quad after him. Hamlin and 16,000 other donors contributed to JCU’s Choosing the Greater Good Campaign, which funded the approximate $90, 000 quad restoration. The restoration was funded completely by donor contributions and did not take from student tuition or from the University’s operating budget.

There are still 1,650 parking spaces remaining on campus, and as of last week, 1,475 passes were sold to students, faculty and staff, according to Patti Taylor, parking assistant. However, with fewer parking spaces available on campus, the University has implemented several changes to address any issues with parking that may arise.

CSS has hired two part-time guard house attendants to staff the main entrance to campus and keep track of the number of cars on campus and check that cars entering campus have parking passes.

An additional person may also be hired to assist the guard house attendant with the morning rush and enforce parking violation.

CSS is also increasing control of access to campus. Only the front gate is open during the day in order to keep the campus open but also control traffic flow. In previous years the Belvoir parking lot entrance has been open throughout the day as well, but is now only open after 10 p.m. on weekdays and weekends.

“We’ve been thinking for some time about increasing control of access to campus,” said Timothy Peppard, director of campus safety services. “The loss of the temporary parking lot made it a good time to do it.”

The entrances will also close when the parking capacity on campus has been reached. However, there has not been an overflow of vehicles and CSS has not had to close the front gates.

“In the first days of classes, there have been spaces open in the Belvoir lot, which is unusual,” said Peppard.

In case there was an overflow of parking, the University wanted to acquire additional parking for commuting students, faculty, staff and administrators. The University made an agreement with the management of the public parking garage at Target to make one level for JCU use. Shuttles then transport them to campus approximately every 10-15 minutes.

Two of the shuttles are the same vans that have been used to transport students to the Green Road Annex in past years and display JCU’s logo on the side. The University additionally acquired one more van, which will soon be outfitted with the University’s logo.

Commuting students who have a parking pass, but arrive at campus after the parking lots are full will be directed to the lot at Target. Some commuting students opted to park at Target; these students do not require a pass.

Freshman Rachel Skilton parks at the Target lot and rides the shuttle over to campus.

“For the most part it’s inconvenient because I have to wait for the shuttle to come,” said Skilton. “It’s nice for winter though because your car will be covered from the snow.”

Faculty, staff and administrators may also opt to park at Target and receive a $150 per semester incentive.

The University is also using zone parking in the remaining parking lots on campus. Zones are designated for faculty, staff and administrators, as well as for students. There are also zones allotted for car pools, which drivers can sign up for through the facilities department.

According to Dietz, the number of parking spaces designated for each group has not changed and this will reduce the amount of driving commuters must do when trying to find a space to park each day.

“There’s not as much driving around campus to find a spot if you know where to look,” said Dietz.

The direction one-way drive in front of the O’Malley Center, Administration Building and Boler School of Business was changed as well. According to Dietz, this was to make shuttle drives more efficient. The shuttles stop in front of the O’Malley Center and the Recplex. Before the drive direction was changed the shuttle would have to turn around in order to make both stops.

According to Dietz, things have gone smoothly the first week of school.

“We’ve been able to keep the gates open so far and there have been plenty of spaces,” said Dietz. “We’re appreciative of everyone who have been walking, biking and car pooling.”

Once the Bohannon Center is demolished, there will be more parking added on campus. However, according to Dietz, there has not been a date set for when this will happen.

The ceremony is the process of making a commitment to serve as an officer on active or reserve duty upon graduation. It is required for all students who either accept a scholarship or enter ‘advanced’ courses, but for most cadets it has deeper meaning.

“[The Contracting Ceremony] sums up what I’ve been waiting for, for a couple of months now. We become part of the ROTC family,” said cadet Jeffery Turner. “I already felt like part of the family, but it puts it in writing.”

Turner, a junior at Cleveland State University, is just one of the cadets contracting that isn’t from JCU. John Carroll plays host to eight schools in the area including: Baldwin-Wallace College, Cleveland State University, Notre Dame College, Case Western Reserve University, Hiram College, Oberlin College, and Ursuline College.

Collectively the students participating in this Contracting Ceremony will receive more than $1 million in scholarships.

While money probably plays a role for some cadets, many have other reasons for contracting as well. JCU sophomore Mary Solak credits her aunt for her initial interest.

“It has been an interest to me ever since I was younger. My aunt was in the army and she was a big influence in my life,” said Solak.

Captain Matthew McGraw, scholarship and enrollment officer for the department of military science (ROTC), is excited to see people like Solak and Turner involved in the program.

“Coming off active duty it is encouraging to see people of this age with this much commitment,” said McGraw.

The Contracting Ceremony was held at 7 a.m. this morning. It was an open community event. The Rev. Robert Niehoff, S.J., and all other university presidents were invited to attend.

Participants included seniors Paul Merrill, Maria Perossa, Rosario Scibona III; junior Jeanniece Jackson; and Ashland University student Corey Barnett. Mark Hauserman, director of the Muldoon Center for Entrepreneurship, and economics professor John Soper, who pushed for an entrepreneurship minor to be available at John Carroll University, coached the team.

“We chose top students to represent John Carroll, but they’re also representing themselves,” Hauserman said. “It gives them a chance to spread their wings.”

EIW is a weeklong immersion into the study of entrepreneurship, put on by the Entrepreneurship Education Consortium. EEC works to provide students with education about entrepreneurship and allows them to express their ideas with hands-on experience. The schools involved include: University of Akron, Ashland University, Baldwin-Wallace College, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland State University, Hiram College, John Carroll University, Kent State University and Lake Erie College. John Carroll founded the EEC.

Scibona said that the week was fast-paced with learning and working.

“During the week we started off doing some team building exercises and activities,” said Scibona. “We also listened to some keynote speakers throughout the week. They were different people from the community who run their own business and are successful in certain areas.”

Hauserman said the lessons and classes taught at EIW were invaluable because the top teachers from different schools were leading the seminars.

“They got the best of different faculty from each school and their specialty,” he said.

Perossa said the week was strenuous and long hours, but would agree.

“It was a very beneficial experience,” she said. “It was a great way to make connections.”

The week ended with each team presenting a product idea to a panel of judges. The presentation had to cover marketing, management, finances, and a target market.

Going into the week, each group member came equipped with a few ideas for a business venture, however, once the week started the group went in a new direction.

“Everything happened during that week,” Scibona said. “None of the ideas we came in with were used.”

Instead, Menu 2.0 was a collaborative effort at the Indians game.

“Someone in the group said something, and someone else added this,” he said.

The idea didn’t come out of the blue, earlier in the week every group was asked to create a bother list, a list of things that bother an individual. From that list ideas were generated to help provide solutions for the problems.

“[The brainstorm went from] ‘how can we get our food faster?’ to ‘what if you could change your order or click on an ‘add healthy options’ button?’” Perossa said.

The JCU team’s idea, Menu 2.0, uses an iPad to replace menus at restaurants. The iPad would allow for customers to directly place their orders, increasing efficiency. With the iPad technology, the team said they could add a healthy options menu or dietary restrictions area. Customers could also use the iPad to play games or read the local newspaper while they waited for their food.

Hauserman said he and members of the John Carroll Entrepreneurs Association were impressed with the idea.

“It’s a really good idea,” he said.

Hauserman assures the Entrepreneurs Association will be involved to help the students in their future plans for Menu 2.0.

Two people approached the group after the presentation, inquiring about the business. One man prints paper menus and another works with Apple applications, said Scibona. The group is set to meet this evening to set dates to possibly meet with these business partners.

Perossa said that the EIW cemented her feelings of opening up a business of her own.

“I have some product ideas,” she said. “I’d like to open my own business; I have hopes and dreams of that in the future.”

Hamlin Residence Hall received some of these renovations this summer.

A student room, common area and bathroom, resident hall and SRA suite, now all ADA accessible, are modern and revived. A grand total of $225,000 was spent to update Hamlin, with the automatic sinks and flushing toilets, and freshly decorated common areas.

“Campion [renovations] will be next year,” Dietz said.

Although Campion received $93,000 donation to upgrade the Campion Classroom last year, the residence hall will not be excluded from renovations.

Bernet, the apartment style living residence hall, also received a $75,000 face lift.

The third floor received new carpet and paint in the halls as well as in each individual room. The first and second floors were also re-carpeted and painted, but only in the hallways. The rest will be completed next year.

The remaining three residence halls, Murphy, Dolan and Pacelli, were formatted for the use of FOBS.

“All residence halls have them now. It’s [a good] security issue”, Dietz said.

If a FOB is lost, it can be easily be turned off because it is all computer controlled.

Yet another new renovation that may not be as noticeable are the roofing and masonry repairs for the Boler School of Business, Grasselli Library, Sutowski Hall, Millor Hall, Rec Plex and Dolan Science Center.

Sutowski was also used as a guinea pig for the most modern renovation yet. Sutowski’s new patio is heat censored.

“Snow and ice will automatically melt,” Dietz says.

According to Dietz, this is not only beneficial to the students who live there, but also cuts back on the work for housekeeping because less snow and salt will be tracked into the building.

“This is a trial to see if it can be incorporated [throughout other places on campus],” Dietz said.

With the masonry work, roof work, and high-tech patio, Sutowski had a grand total of $225,000 to help bring the 1978 residence hall up to date.

During the school year, a few unnoted classrooms in the lower level of the Boler School of Business will be renovated as well, receiving new seating and carpeting.

“A lot of this is from the plant fund and donor gifts, or are funded out of the capital budget,” Dietz added.

The campus will continue to see renovations with FOB access into certain academic buildings starting in the winter, and new turf for the football field, as well as a new track next summer.

Dietz said, “It’s important that the university maintains and makes investments to the campus. It’s so beautiful, and that’s what attracts a lot of people to come here.”

The University was granted a special permit to use the house at 4070 Carroll Blvd., which is zoned as a residential area, as office space by the City’s Board of Zoning Appeals in June.

The BZA approved the special permit under several conditions, including the space be used during office hours of 6 a.m. – 6 p.m., place no signage on the second story, and limit parking to the Dolan Science Center lot.

Residents appealed the decision, which brought the issue to City Council.

The issue was tabled by City Council at their meeting on Aug. 23 and reassessed at a special working meeting last week.

The special meeting produced three additional conditions to the motion. The City Council approved conditions that would prevent JCU from seeking tax-exempt status for the property. Further, the conditions put a moratorium on the purchasing of other houses and additional special permit requests for houses on Carroll Blvd. and designated surrounding areas.

Councilman Frank Consolo motioned to sustain the appeal, citing a letter from JCU in an unofficial response to the motion as negative and disharmonious with the City’s character.

The letter allegedly expressed contention on aspects of the additional conditions added during the Council’s special meeting, including a change to the conditions that would limit only student and faculty parking to the Dolan lot and some ambiguity about whether it would seek tax-exempt status.

Councilman Steven Bullock said the unofficial response from JCU to the City’s motion to lose faith in the ability for the University and JCU to work collaboratively.

Bullock said, “It’ s a matter of respect and willing to cooperate that’s missing.”

Councilman Kevin Murphy motioned to pass the motion created during the Council’s working session, allowing the University to accept it with the additional conditions or officially reject it.

“It’s a negotiation, and I don’t want to pull our offer off the table until we’ve received an official rejection,” said Murphy.

After more than an hour of discussion, Consolo’s motion failed by a 3-4 vote.

Murphy’s motion passed with a 3-4 vote and included a subtle word change to one of the original conditions.

Director of Government and Community Relations Dora Pruce attended the meeting.

“Ideally, what we [JCU] were looking for was having two separate motions this evening,” said Pruce. “One [would have been] based on the Proposed Motion to Appeal to BZA (the original request approved by the BVA in June). The second motion would talk about City Council declaring support for the city planning process and for the JCU community to be an integral part of that process.”

Mayor Susan Infeld expressed concern that denying the City’s “largest employer and jewel of our city,” its request for office and administrative use of the property would contribute to a history of the Council “putting up a front and saying ‘no, no,no.’”

John Carroll University Student Union voted Tuesday, at their last meeting of the school year, to table a resolution requiring senators to attend weekly Senate meetings during the spring semester of their senior year.

Senior Senators Christopher Lewandowski and Craig Willert, and junior Senator Maura Jochum offered the bill to the Senate.

“It is my opinion that it is our duty as senators for our class to work to make sure that every voice will be heard and that the Student Union will truly serve its constituents,” Lewandowski said. “By reducing the number of required senators present I feel as though the voice of the John Carroll student would not be heard, or could not be expressed as thoroughly.”

The introduction of the bill was motivated in part by a bill offered two weeks ago by freshman Senator Greg Petsche. The bill moved to decrease the quorum, or number of senators required to hold a Student Union meeting, from twelve to ten. The bill was withdrawn last week after Lewandowski and Willert pledged to offer a bill to hold seniors more accountable.

Petsche supports the amendment because it not only gives the senior class representation throughout the entire year, but also lets six more voices be heard on the Student Union Senate.

“This amendment to the bylaws is a necessary improvement that has been a long time coming,” he said.

Student Union President Amanda Papa is also in support of the initiative.

“I think it would be great for seniors to be there in the spring semester [because] it offers an experienced opinion,” she said.

Sophomore Senator Jack Kirwin said he would vote for the bill because he believes current practices are in need of change.

“As senators we are elected to be both a voice for our class and for the student body,” he said. “Senior senators not having to attend any Senate meetings is unfair to constituents that vote for us to represent our classes at the Student Union meetings.”

Freshman Senator Maurice Redd feels the bill is unnecessary.

“I do not feel it made a negative impact on me as a freshman not having freshman senators in the fall, so I do not feel that seniors will be negatively impacted by [not having] senators in the spring,” he said. “I think that its good that senators are taking initiative to be more accountable, but I do not feel that this bill offered any accountability. This bill is trying to change something that was never in the Constitution or general bylaws, but has just been a long standing tradition.”

According to the bill, no language exists in the Student Union Constitution or General Bylaws that states senior senators are excused from spring semester Senate meetings. Papa, at Tuesday’s meeting, said that it has been a long-standing tradition that senior senators are given that option.

Lewandowski also sees this bill as an opportunity for senior senators to set the example for other Senate members.

“This bill would give senior senators the opportunity to remain a part of the Senate and serve as a type of mentor for the newly elected Senator,” he said. “Seniors can offer beneficial insight into the Senate realm, and serve as role models who have already experienced the Senate atmosphere. This experience is incredibly valuable and it is my opinion that we as seniors have a duty to work with the Executive Board as well as the freshmen, sophomore and junior senators.”

The resolution was tabled because, according to Student Union practices, all amendments to the Constitution must be tabled for at least a week to allow for discussion. This resolution is considered an amendment because it creates a new clause in the Constitution. The amendment will be voted on next year.

Lewandowski does not know whether the amendment will pass, but is confident that senior senators will continue to represent the student body.

“If it passes, it is my hope that the Senior Senators will continue to provide valuable insight on the Senate, and [also] serve as leaders not only in the Senate, but also around campus,” he said.

The updates include improvements to BannerWeb, the online interface used by students and administrators to access academic records, financial aid information, and schedules. The update, known as Banner 8, includes new features that the University may use in the future. The updated software will debut around July 4, 2010.

Brian Williams, vice president for enrollment, called the update “major.”

“[It’s] sort of the equivalent of going from [Windows] 98 to Windows XP,” he said.

The University will implement some of Banner 8’s new features once it examines whether they are practical for different departments and offices to use.

“We need to look at that functionality [and] decide if it’s right for John Carroll,” Williams said. “That’s going to involve a lot of people and a lot of additional testing because it’s things we currently do a different way and we would really need to change our process or it’s a brand new thing that we’ve never done before. [We] need to look at the best way to implement it for Carroll to serve students and advisers better.”

The new version of BannerWeb, also known as the JCU Banner Self-Service System, will feature a cleaner interface display that is more user-friendly, according to Williams. Degree evaluations will also be redesigned to better meet student’s and adviser’s needs. While nothing is finalized yet, the plan is to display classes that can fulfill major, minor and core requirements. Seniors can fill out graduation applications through this new update of BannerWeb as well, but JCU has yet to determine whether they will use the feature.

The new BannerWeb has an up-to-date monitoring function for class registration. The University can set up rules in the program that prevent full-time students from dropping to part-time status online without speaking to an adviser first. Currently, classes can be dropped online without system prevention. However, if full-time students drop enough classes to be considered part-time, there are financial aid, athletic, and campus living implications. Students also may not graduate on time. Williams explained that there are rules preventing students from taking actions that should be consulted first with advisers.

The new BannerWeb will also serve a purpose for students thinking about coming to John Carroll. Rather than prospective students signing and sending an enrollment reservation form by mail, they can reserve their place in the freshman class by logging in online.

According to Williams, the biggest improvement to the program is, rather than denying students admission into a course, they will be put on a waiting list.

“That has implications across every academic department,” he said.

Some of the functions included in the new Banner program may or may not be used in John Carroll’s version of BannerWeb.

“There [are] things in each version of Banner that don’t fit us as an institution that we may never use at all,” Williams said. “We have an existing process that may work well.”

Williams explained that student feedback is absolutely critical to determine the functions in the new update of BannerWeb.

“I think a goal of registration is [doing] as much registration after seeing an adviser [as] you can do online and not need to go to different offices,” he said. “The more that it can be self-service, I always have an eye to that. We can’t build something that then becomes a Web page that isn’t clear for students how to navigate.”

As was reported in last week’s edition of The Carroll News, other improvements that will be featured in the new update of BannerWeb include listing of textbooks for courses and online transcript requests. The recently-passed Higher Education Opportunity Act requires the listing of textbooks for courses.

Dennis Rowinski, director of administrative computing services, believes that the trend is moving towards providing student services online.

“This is another step in that direction,” he said. “Students are customers of the administrative people, so you empower the customer to be able to do more versus visiting the registrar’s office.”

At the end of every semester students are required to fill out a one to two page survey about their instructor’s teaching style, performance and overall effectiveness.

With no direct feedback, students are left wondering what happens to their critiques.

“[It] definitely gives students time to say things, but I don’t know if the department takes them seriously,” said sophomore Erin Riccaridi. “It would be nice to know if they are being taken seriously.”

Every department at John Carroll University implements a different style of evaluation. The effectiveness and results differ drastically from department to department, and in some cases, from instructor to instructor.

James Martin, associate dean of the Boler School of Business, assures that the evaluations are an important tool.

“Everyone in the school of business uses the same [evaluation] form. The quantitative section is then loaded into a large data file,” said Martin.

According to Martin, the school of business is constantly redesigning and altering their evaluation system to make it more effective.

“[The evaluations] are something we take very seriously,” said Martin.

In the Tim Russert Department of Communications instructors are allowed to create their own evaluation forms and while the department uses them as a means for professors to self-evaluate, there is no central office that reviews the information.

Karen Gygli, chair of the Tim Russert Department of Communications, thinks that the evaluations might not be the most effective tool.

“There is not one form, [and] although there is a suggested form, there is no central office to process them.”

Gygli said she glances over the evaluations. “If there was a general pattern over a period of time I would talk with students,” she said.

In both departments the evaluation forms are delivered by a student and not revealed to the instructor until grades have been recorded.

Both Gygli and Martin also said that they would look into a teacher that received poor ratings, but not based on just one review.

The importance of the evaluation form is based on student input and the department’s use of the responses.

The march, commonly known as the May Day March, was held on Saturday, May 1. 

The march began at Market Square at West 25th Street and Lorain Avenue, and continued for two miles. The march ended when the marchers reached the Catholic Worker Storefront, where they gathered afterward. Here, the protesters assembled for a final rally.

The marchers sought reform for the national immigration policies. Some of the items they protested included anti-immigration laws, militarizing the U.S.-Mexican border, and immigrant detention and deportation. 

They also called for more labor rights and better wages for immigrant workers.

The students decided to participate in the May Day March largely in response to the recent immigration legislation passed in Arizona, which allows police to stop anyone suspected of being an illegal immigrant. 

“The bill passed in Arizona has really frightened a lot of people. It is a terrifying step towards the further dehumanization of the immigrant community and creates a legal path for racial profiling,” said junior Aiden Kelly. 

Junior William Nowell agrees. “The march was important to be [a part of] because the Arizona immigration policy basically legalizes racism,” said Nowell. 

For Nowell, family members may be affected by the new law as well.

“I have an uncle living in Texas who is Honduran and I can only imagine what it may mean for my uncle with this kind of legislation passing there. He is legally here, but that is not going to mean he will face any less discrimination,” Nowell said. 

Junior Chris Axelrod also participated in the march. For him, participating in the march meant showing solidarity with immigrants in the U.S. 

“It was nice that people [who are] not affected showed up. People can really use the support,” he said. 

Additionally, Axelrod said, “We’re entirely a nation of immigrants. It’s just very odd to me. No one says anything about European immigrants. It’s the same thing, it was just in a different time period.”

The May Day March in Cleveland was a part of a national movement. Other cities that took part in the May Day march include Los Angeles, Dallas, Chicago and Washington, D.C.

Professor Miles Coburn’s legacy rides on as the student-run Environmental Issues Group will implement a bike program in his honor for the John Carroll University community in the fall of 2010. 

“Our goal is to make John Carroll more sustainable and environmentally-friendly,” said junior Raymond Chahoud, president of EIG. 

EIG hopes this bike program will raise awareness about the over-use of cars on campus.

“We do not need our cars to go to Target, Whole Foods or Cold Stone. We can use our bikes and exercise, improving our health and helping the environment,” said Chahoud. 

Students in EIG approached University Heights with the idea of creating this program, asking if the City would donate bikes.

“The City’s involvement has been to provide bicycles for this University program. As more bikes become available for donation, we will continue to donate them for this program,” said Susan Infeld, University Heights mayor. 

The program thus far has 28 bikes,

which Chahoud said will be painted gold and blue and will be designed by Peggy Coburn, Miles Coburn’s widow. Infeld said that the City will continue to donate bikes as they become available.

The bikes will be stored outside of the Lombardo Student Center and in winter the bikes will be moved into the Dolan Science Center garage, where a space has already been allocated for them.

Students will be able to check bikes out free of charge. 

All costs will be covered by EIG, whose funding will come from grants and donations given by venders in the community.

Maps of different routes through nearby cities will also be available to students. 

Sophomore Dana Infante said the program is a good idea for JCU. 

“I think it’s a really great opportunity for students because I know a lot of people complain that our environmental rating was a D, and this program could be a great way for JCU to become a more green campus,” said Infante. 

The bikes will have other uses as well. 

EIG would like to use the bikes in new physical education classes, such as cycling, and in JCU’s annual Ride for Miles event. 

Also, the student group would like to have a weekly bike ride for interested students. 

Besides working with the City, EIG is also working with the Recreation department, Facilities Department, Office of Student Activities, Campus Security, Student Union, and the Coburn family to form the bike program.

Student Union President Amanda Papa is also supporting the program.  

“The Student Union is in support of the bike program and working with

Raymond to help in any way we can,” said Papa.  

Junior Juanita Padilla, president of Generation Green, agreed with implementing the program at JCU.

“We definitely support such a program. John Carroll is pretty close to most places where we might be going, so using bikes would be a great alternative to driving around,” Padilla said.

Infeld was happy that the City could cooperate with JCU students on creating the program and hopes they can continue to in the future. 

“I look forward to working with the University to bring more of these project ideas [to] fruition,” said Infeld.

 The 2007 record-breaking year was also the first year that Relay For Life, an American Cancer Society fundraising event, was held at JCU. Since then the event has seen varying numbers of participants and a steady decline in fundraising dollars, dropping around $20,000 from year to year.

Ball said, “Every year we rally as much as we can and let it [build] from there.”

This year, 608 Relay participants contributed to the total amount of money raised, almost 250 fewer participants than last year.

Joel Mullner, assistant director of enrollment and 2007 co-chair of Relay, helped bring the event to JCU four years ago when he was a senior. For the past two years he has worked on the event through the role of graduate assistant for the office of student activities, the position now held by Ball. This was his first year without a direct role in the event. Since the event was brought to JCU, he has seen the event experience changes.

Mullner mentioned three major things that factor into the differing fundraising amounts: participants, the economy and a previous sizable donation.

The first two years were more comparable in donations than they may have appeared. “[In 2007] one donor who gave a very sizable donation, did not give a second year,” said Mullner.

Mullner has also noticed that the number of participants could play a role in fundraising. “The more participants there are, the more sense of obligation each person has to raise $100,” said Mullner. “The economy tanking has not helped [donations].”            

Ball noted that the amount of sponsorship has also diminished each year. Ball said, “Corporate sponsors have dropped and that is really the bottom line.”

    Despite lower funds, Ball was very happy with the outcome of the event. “[I think it was] outstanding! You could feel the energy surrounding the event,” she said.

Other noticeable differences in this year’s event were the ability to stay outside all night and the smaller leadership team, which was reduced from 19 to 13 students.

As reported in the April 15 issue of The Carroll News, Mayor Susan Infeld, a participant in Relay, permitted the event to remain outside all night. Rain forced the event inside, but Ball is hopeful it will stay outside in years to come.

“We were disappointed to have to move inside, but I am hopeful that this year paved the way for future outdoor Relays,” said Ball.

The smaller leadership team was Mullner’s idea. “Some positions could be combined with others,” said Mullner. “We wanted it to be large enough where no one is [overwhelmed], but still small enough to get together [for meetings].”

Ball was appreciative of the leadership team and the volunteers. “Though the 13 students were amazing, we could not have been as successful without the volunteers.”

Last fall, $50,000 was allotted from the New Academic Programs Development Funds to further develop 11 different programs, which would then be reviewed and voted on by the faculty. 

The 11 programs included a leadership studies minor; an international business major; a human resource management major; and a peace, justice and human rights major or minor, among others. The new EAS major was among the proposed programs. 

Sophomore Hannah Dubyoski thinks the University will benefit from additional programs. She thinks that the University should expand the programs it offers,

especially in the medical field. 

“I have a friend who is transferring next semester because there is no nursing program here,” said Dubyoski. 

“People come here, but end up transferring because we don’t have a large variety of programs. It [adding new programs to the curriculum] could draw in a lot more students,” she said.

According to Lauren Bowen, associate academic vice president for academic programs and faculty diversity, there is no order to which the programs are approved. Faculty votes on each program as it is completed and there is no deadline for completion. 

“Some programs are on a longer track [to completion],” said Bowen. “Some had to start from scratch, but they are progressing as expected.”

According to Bowen, Leadership Studies was approved last fall. The International Business Minor is completed and is on the ballot for a faculty vote. A psychology program for autism, human resources management major, and a forensic behavioral science minor have all been completed, but they have yet to be put on the ballot. 

The faculty has a monthly meeting at which they ballot as needed, said Bowen. The completed programs may be voted on at the next meeting in May, which means they could be in place next fall. 

“We hoped to have a critical mass passed by the end of the year and we are very pleased with the progress. We don’t want to launch too many at once, though, because that could be counterproductive,” said Bowen. 

The other programs that have not been completed are still being researched and developed. 

“It’s been a nice process to observe. It has stimulated conversations about the curriculum,” said Bowen.

Martha Pereszlenyi-Pinter, chair of the department of classical and modern languages and cultures, said Karolle-Berg’s work goes above and beyond the Culicchia Award requirements.

“[Prof.] Karolle-Berg’s students have been overheard to remark that her teaching methods made them actually ‘think in German,’” she said. “Her dedication to helping students develop an appreciation and awareness of higher order language skills and comparative cultural analysis skills are also clearly evident in the upper level content courses that she offers.”

Pereszlenyi-Pinter noted that Karolle-Berg deserves commendation for her teaching of German Play Production, which was open to students studying any level of German that were interested in producing three short plays. The students put on two public showings of the plays.

“I was exceptionally impressed with the high level of achievement and also the enthusiasm with which not only [Prof.] Karolle-Berg, but also her students embraced this project,” Pereszlenyi-Pinter said.

First, as a visiting professor, and now, as a full-time faculty member, Karolle-Berg has enjoyed teaching and mentoring throughout her entire career.

“It is particularly rewarding to help students zero in on what they are good at, what they love, and what is important to them over the course of their college education,” she said. “I believe that if young people can identify these things, they are in a good position to figure out what kind of career will fulfill them.”

Faculty are nominated for the award by other professors in the college. The nominations must also include letters from three current JCU students who have taken a course with the nominee and letters from two faculty colleagues. Letters of support from alumni are also welcomed.

Beth Martin, interim dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, said the students were especially impressed that Karolle-Berg manages the German major entirely on her own. She also said while speaking the language might be unnerving for some students, Karolle-Berg makes it easy.

“She turns it into a fun and interesting experience,” Martin said.

Gwen Compton-Engle, an associate professor of classics and Karolle-Berg’s nominator, agrees.

“She works very hard to create a lively and engaging classroom experience for her students, using a wide variety of in-class activities,” she said.

Karolle-Berg found her love for teaching during her senior year at the University of Michigan as she worked with her adviser to write her honors thesis in German.

“My mentor was a wonderfully committed teacher and scholar,” Karolle-Berg said. “I enjoyed working with her on my thesis so much that I realized I wanted to make this type of relationship what I did professionally.”

Her work as an adviser to students from Germany, that are attending JCU, benefits both the department and the University.

“Her service as academic adviser to the Dortmund (Germany) students is immensely appreciated, not only by the students themselves, but [also] by the University as a whole, given that having foreign students here at JCU adds to the prestige of the University and aids in its globalization and diversity efforts,” Pereszlenyi-Pinter said.

John Carroll University will update its schedule of classes to include required course material information online. The change is in compliance with the Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008, which requires higher education institutions to reveal such information on their class schedules by July 1, 2010.

The HEOA requires post-secondary institutions that receive federal assistance to include the International Standard Book Number (ISBN) and cost for all required course materials on the institution’s online course schedule.

Registrar Kathleen DiFranco said the textbook information provided will include the name, author, ISBN, price and a link to purchase the book through Follett.

“Having the information for the cost of books and the International Standard Book Number will help students make more informed decisions about where to purchase books and to plan their finances,” DiFranco said.

Junior Lindsay Smetana said, “It [online textbook information] would be helpful. I wish I’d had it my first three years.”

The HEOA also requires publishers to disclose, among other things, the copyright dates of previous editions of a book and a description of changes from previous editions that were made to the current edition. Publishers are also required to provide an option to purchase bundled materials individually.

The textbook information will be available to JCU students in several weeks and e-mail notifications will be informing students of the changes at that time according to DiFranco.

Instructors are currently submitting book information for the coming fall semester, and the information will, ideally, be available at the time of registration in the future, DiFranco said.

“It all depends on how soon the book order has been submitted and if the instructor has been determined for particular class sections,” she said.

Course material information that is not yet decided must be designated with a ‘TBD’ (to be determined) on the online course schedule, as stipulated in the HEOA.

DiFranco said JCU will also offer online transcript requests through Credentials Solutions TranscriptsPLUS program in the next couple of weeks.

TranscriptsPLUS is an automated service that allows current and former students to request and purchase transcripts online. It handles all transactions and will provide status updates to users, as stated on the company’s Web site.

“By requesting transcripts online, students and alumni will have the convenience of using the Web for the entire request and payment process,” said DiFranco.

Organized by the John Carroll Conservatives, over 500 people came out to the event on Thursday, April 15. They protested current U.S. government policies and spending, most specifically health care.

“Tea” generally stands for “taxed enough already,” a slogan of the Tea Party movement, which is a national anti-tax movement.

Sophomore Nick Tribuzzo, president of the John Carroll Conservatives, said that he was very happy with the turnout at the Tea Party.

He said, “It’s been a really excellent turnout.  I’m so glad that the Tea Party is reaching young people.”

Not only JCU students were present at the protest. People from all over Ohio traveled to JCU to support the Tea Party and stand united in their dissent against the Obama administration.

Dave Krutsch traveled from Mansfield to attend the Tea Party with his wife.  He said, “I see the government going in a direction that is not in the best interests of our country and our Constitution.  I’m scared for our kids, and we need to show the government that they work for us.  We all have to do something to help.”

Along with the residents in the community attending the rally, Jim Quinn, a conservative radio talk show host based in Pittsburgh, also attended the Tea Party and spoke to all those who were there.

Quinn said, “Capitalism raised the baseline of human existence.  Free markets work – they are self-correcting.  I am not against the redistribution of wealth, but I want to be the one to do the redistributing.”

However, not everyone at John Carroll was excited about the day’s events.  Sophomore Senator Sean Cahill, said that he disagreed with the Tea Party movement.

“All of this is political rhetoric without any substance.  It’s just hatred slinging at other hatred, and it’s the biggest farce I have witnessed on campus,” said Cahill.

There were also students present to protest the Tea Party.

Sophomore Andy Bryan-Ramón was among those protesting the Tea Party.

“Although, I partially agreed with the original idea of no more taxes, the Tea Party has unfortunately attracted extremist, conservative fanatics that have taken over the momentum that the group was originally pushing for, and far away from the ideals that this nation was founded upon,” said Bryan-Ramón.

The rally, which began at 11 a.m. and ended at 3 p.m., offered free food and music to those who attended. There were also other activist groups at the event. The People’s Constitution Coalition of Ohio had a table set up with petitions they wanted students to sign against health care reform.

Jean Coe, a member of the People’s Constitution Coalition of Ohio, said that it was great to be invited to the John Carroll Tea Party.

She said, “We need to make people more aware of what is going on, and show that with current government policies, there will be no more freedom.  We’re here today to wake up college students.”

Originally offered only as a concentration, EAS was approved as an official major by JCU faculty last week.

“Student interest [in the program] has been growing steadily,” said Pam Mason, a political science and East Asian Studies professor.

Nine students signed up for the minor within weeks of its approval last fall and since the major was approved, three students have started paperwork to declare the EAS major. 

Students who wish to major in EAS will have to complete the 36 credit hours. This includes 12 credits in the Chinese or Japanese language and 24 credits of EAS-approved courses. The additional approved courses must include one that focuses on East Asia as a region, four courses that must be at the 300-400 level and, finally, one capstone course or project, which could be an internship, during the student’s senior year.

“We also strongly encourage EAS majors and minors to study abroad in China or Japan,” Mason said.

There are three study abroad programs in Japan: Sophia University in Tokyo, Nanzan University in Nagoya, or Kansai-Gaidai near Osaka. There is also one in China at the Beijing Center, a Jesuit consortium study-abroad center.

EAS provides study-tour opportunities during the summer to both Japan and China as well. Next month, a group of faculty and students will participate in a Japanese Pop Culture study tour in Japan.  This program was first offered in 2004 and runs in even-numbered years. 

The China study tour was offered last summer for the first time and will continue to be offered in odd-numbered years.

Freshman Rebecca Secula is declaring an EAS major and will travel to China this summer for a two-month study program in Beijing, called China’s Voice Language Program.

“I decided to do an EAS major because the Chinese culture fascinates me,” said Secula. “I am excited every single day to get to my Chinese history and Chinese classes.”

Junior J.R. Santosdiaz is also declaring an EAS major. He has one year of upper-level Chinese and his capstone project left to complete the major. 

Santosdiaz said he recommends the major to other students.

“East Asian Studies supplements all majors. It allows students to gain an international perspective on economic, political and social issues,” he said.

Santosdiaz admitted the foreign language component is difficult.

 “The gain of another language, however, yields great benefits – more job opportunities – for the future and is worth the hard work,” he said.

Mason is not sure yet which professors will be teaching EAS courses next semester. Some EAS courses are taught only in the spring, others only in the fall. 

According to Mason, the EAS major will collaborate with many majors and minors. The major will combine multiple aspects of East Asia including language, culture, society and economics. 

“Each EAS major will have common elements, and each will be unique. We expect that some students will double major in EAS plus another discipline,” said Mason. “In short, we expect that EAS will appeal to all kinds of students with all kinds of interests.”

Hansler is currently an adjunct professor of physics and the director of The Lighting Innovations Institute at John Carroll University. In 1943, however, he was a navigator for the U.S. Army Air Force.

The explosion required him to eject out of the B-17 bomber that carried him and others during their mission to bomb an oil refinery in Germany. He leapt from the plane and parachuted to the ground, where he was forced to flee from enemy soldiers.

The book, “Prepare to bail out!” is Hansler’s account of the events that led up to and followed his squadron’s 25th mission, when the plane was shot down. Dorota Silaj Publishing published the book in March.

“I started writing it 65 years ago when I got back from war. I did about 90 percent of it,” said Hansler.

It was not until the release of a book by Boguslaw Zieba last year that Hansler decided to finish his book. Zieba’s book “Blechhammer” accounts the crash of the B-17 on which Hansler was aboard from the perspective of the author, who was a child at the time and witnessed the crash.

He said, “When that [“Blechhammer,”] came out  I thought I’d finish what I started and gave it [“Prepare to bail out!”] to the same publisher.”

Hansler is profiled in Zieba’s book, but “Prepare to bail out!” provides Hansler’s first-hand experience.

Hansler said his parachute landed on the Czechoslovakian side of the Poland-Czechoslovakia border, where a local peasant took him back to his house and hid him from the Germans in a hayloft above his barn.

“If the Germans would have found out they would have shot him [the peasant] on the spot,” he said. “He was very brave.”

“Prepare to bail out!” describes Hansler’s stay in Czechoslovakia, as well as his time spent working with the Polish Partisans and the Russian front.

“We crossed the border during the night and hiked into Poland, where we were put into contact with the [Polish] Partisans,” said Hansler. “We lived with them in the mountains for many months.”

After staying in Poland, Hansler and others joined the Russian front. Hansler said he experienced his most terrifying near-death moment when an intoxicated Russian sergeant mistook him for a German. Later, Hansler spent six weeks at a Russian field hospital recovering from pneumonia.

Soon after his recovery, Hansler received word that the allies would be sending a cruise ship to retrieve Hansler and other allied soldiers from Odessa.

“It was like paradise,” said Hansler. “We had good food and white bread – we had only black bread all winter – it was like cake.”

The cruise ship brought the men to Italy, where Hansler caught a flight to the U.S. and enrolled in college.

Today, Hansler is married with four children and ten grandchildren. After 42 years of working as a physicist for General Electric, he runs The Lighting Innovations Institute at JCU, which helps develop runway lights for several corporate and government organizations.

“Prepare to bail out!” is available for purchase on Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle editions.

“Shaquille O’Neal and Ben Stein are the spokespeople for a national company that wanted to use a college campus as the backdrop for its latest commercial shoot,” said Tonya Strong-Charles, JCU director of media relations and communications.

The company, which cannot be named, sent a location scout to several regional colleges.

According to Strong-Charles, JCU was selected for its “traditional campus appeal,” but will not be identified in the commercial.

The University was modestly compensated for facilities rental and security services.

“Overall, this was a great opportunity to host national celebrities on our campus,” said Strong-Charles.

The annual spring concert, which featured Sean Kingston and Chamillionaire, only sold 518 tickets this year. However, only 428 students were in attendance at the concert on Sunday, April 18 in the DeCarlo Varsity Gymnasium. 

Erin Flaherty, SUPB chair of major events, said, “Typically, a concert attendance is about 1,000.” 

Capacity for concert attendance was 1,800 people. 

According to Flaherty, the concert date was moved from the original date, Friday, April 16, due to a scheduling conflict with Kingston, who filmed a guest spot on Disney Channel’s “The Suite Life on Deck.”

“I believe that was definitely the major variable in the shift we saw in ticket sales,” said Flaherty. 

Sophomore concert attendant Emily Herfel agreed that the concert time may have been a factor in the low attendance. 

“I know that the timing was not so great with it being on a Sunday or during the busy time of the semester, but it was fun to have a few hours of a break,” she said. 

Nonetheless, Herfel said she enjoyed the concert. She especially liked Chamillionaire, the opening act. 

“He [Chamillionaire] got the crowd energized and was as interactive as much as a singer can be,” said Herfel.

Herfel said she enjoyed singing along to Kingston, but felt he relied too heavily on the use of background music.

“[He] was a good performer, but I felt as if he played his CD in the background and then sang when he chose to,” said Herfel.

Vice President of Student Programming Angela Petitto felt overall that the concert went well.

“The concert was an absolute success. Chamillionaire and Sean Kingston both gave a great performance and the crowd was really energetic. I think everyone in attendance really enjoyed themselves,” said Petitto.

This is the fourth annual Relay held at JCU. In years past, the Relay was held on the temporary lot outside of Grasselli Library and moved to the D.J. Lombardo Student Center at night, but this year it will be different – all events will take place and remain outside.

Rachel Ball, graduate assistant for the office of student activities, was adamant about keeping the event outdoors.

“That [moving Relay inside] doesn’t make sense,” Ball said. “That’s not what relays are.”

The purpose of the ACS tradition is to show that “cancer never sleeps,” a theme of the Relay, and those who are raising money to fight cancer show their support throughout the entire night.

In an interview with Sun Press, Ball said, “We just want to be outside. We’re willing to accommodate the community’s concerns.”

Since the location was moved to the quad, the event will be more enclosed by campus buildings, providing privacy to those in the community who want to maintain peace throughout the night.

Other accommodations include changing the time of the event. Instead of 3 p.m. to 9 a.m., Relay will begin at 10 a.m. on Saturday and end at 4 a.m. on Sunday. Also, the amplified sound is scheduled to end around 9 p.m.

There are practical reasons for holding Relay outside, too.

“It helps us sustain our participation, it provides more of a unified front and it’s cost effective,” Ball said. “We no longer have to rent a stage for staging equipment, which saves about $3,000.”

According to Ball, both the attendance and morale take a hit when venues change.
JCU has seen problems with holding events outside. The community around the campus has voiced complaints with the nightly events. In fact, there are ordinances for things such as when the stadium lights can be used.

Dora Pruce, JCU’s director of government and community relations, credits the cityís new administration and better communication as reasons for the official event being allowed to stay outside all night.

“There is a new administration and that has changed the tone at the City and at Council,” said Pruce. “The City and the University are working more closely and are communicating on a more regular basis, resulting in some of these positive changes.”

Before Mayor Susan Infeld was elected, John Carroll hosted open forums for mayoral candidates in University Heights. During that time, Ball made valiant efforts to sway the administration towards allowing this compromise to take place.
Her target was not only directed at the mayor, but also the city council.

“I stressed that it’s a community event and not just a JCU event. We really wanted participation from the community,” said Ball.

The city ordinance requires that the stadium lights are to be turned off at 9 p.m. for intramural events and 10 p.m. for varsity football and soccer (not including overtime). Any other additional event needed approval from the city.

Infeld made a motion at a council meeting that JCU be allowed to hold Relay outside all night, which city council approved for this year.

“This was a huge shift, and a positive one,” said Pruce.

The change will eliminate the single-sex housing option, in terms of building classifications, for students living on campus. JCU is joining other Jesuit Universities, such as Xavier University and Loyola University of Chicago, in offering only co-ed dormitories.

Pacelli will be co-ed by floor, with the exception of the third floor. All rooms on the third floor will be remodeled into single rooms. The third floor will be a co-ed floor for sophomores, juniors and seniors.

Director of Residence Life Heather Losneck said that approximately 70 of 1793 students residing on campus requested living in a single-sex residence hall for the 2008-2009 school year. For the 2009-2010 school year, 40 of 1683 students requested the same arrangement.

“We just weren’t getting many requests for that kind of living environment. The decline was not helping fill the building,” said Losneck.

Losneck said students who requested co-ed living were sometimes assigned to single-sex residence halls in order to fill them in the past.

Freshmen Melissa Gorup and Trisha Gruskiewicz are currently roommates in Pacelli.

“I don’t want it [Pacelli] to go co-ed,” said Gruskiewicz. “I think it’s nice that they [JCU] have an all-girls dorm. My parents were glad I got into an all-girls dorm, especially my dad.”

Gorup said Pacelli is known as a good place to study because it is an all-female hall. The roommates also said they would feel less secure in a co-ed dorm.

“For those women who prefer a more single-sex environment, it [Pacelli] will be single sex by floor. There shouldn’t be much traffic from males,” said Losneck.

Losneck said the majority of students in Pacelli are freshman, and she expects she will need to have a few conversations with parents who are concerned about the elimination of single-sex residence halls. However, she does not anticipate many issues with the change.

GCA Services, a housekeeping contractor based out of Cleveland, started servicing the campus on April 1.

 The contract with SSC Service Solutions, the previous contractor, expired in 2007, and the contractor has been operating on a month-to-month basis since.

“This was not good for either party,” said Carol Dietz, the associate vice president of facilities. “We were not committed to them for a defined period of time so, in turn, they may not have been investing in the personnel and equipment needed to clean the campus to the level we desired. We decided to go out for bids shortly after housekeeping services was moved under the umbrella of the facilities department in January 2009.”

The search for a new contractor took about six months. 

A housekeeping bid review committee was formed, consisting of several faculty members as well as administrators and staff from residence life, athletics, facilities, purchasing and the finance office.

The committee began by looking at ten companies. These ten were narrowed down to three by November. 

The final three companies made presentations to the committee in December of 2009.

The choice to have GCA Services as the new contractor was made early this year, and a three-year contract, with an option for two additional years, was signed.

“There were some savings primarily due to the current economic conditions and the competitive bid process,” said Dietz.

The monetary details of the contract are confidential and could not be disclosed. 

The switch to GCA also created two new jobs: an administrative assistant and a residence hall housekeeping manager. Rebecca Faletufuga and Derek Lowell have filled the positions, respectively. 

GCA will retain all current employees who are eligible union workers, who were employed by SSC Service Solutions. 

As for the workers who were laid off earlier this year, their future employment is uncertain.

“This will be up to GCA,” said Michael Roeder, the manager of facilities services.

Students and faculty will not be able to see a large change other than the uniforms anytime soon. The cleaning schedule for both dorms and offices will remain the same. Members of the facilities department are looking toward the long run for changes.

“One of the things that GCA will bring is a system for assessing effectiveness,” said Roeder. “Through periodic walkthroughs of the buildings and logging the findings into a database, they will rate the overall cleanliness of areas in hopes to track problem areas and tag them for improvement.”

 Administrators are hoping that the long-term improvements will help keep the campus clean and extend the lives of campus facilities.

Infeld was sworn in as mayor in January, replacing Beryl Rothschild who served in the position for 32 years.

Infeld said her plan for her first 100 days was to study city operations with the intention of implementing measures in the next phase of her term.

“There is a learning curve; I needed to see how things worked,” said Infeld of her initial plan.

Since her inauguration, Infeld has passed the City’s budget, made personnel changes and revamped the City’s newsletter.

Infeld said she is fairly on target with her plans thus far. There are several projects currently in motion that she hopes to accomplish.

Infeld plans to update the City’s Web site. The new Web site will be more modern and interactive, and will allow residents to pay bills online.

Infeld plans to put city processes, procedures and job descriptions in writing as well. This is something she said the City has not done in the past.

Infeld has also made strides to improve the relationship between John Carroll University and the City, which have been strained in recent years.

According to Infeld, a major part of this was improved communications between JCU and University Heights.

“It [improved communications] was a big part of my campaign. I didnít understand why it had been lacking,” said Infeld.

Dora Pruce, director of government and community relations at JCU, said, “There has been a huge difference [in communications] for the better. The mayor and I are in frequent, steady contact with each other.”

According to Pruce, Infeld has made an effort to work with the University.

Infeld alerted the University when she discovered there was funding available from the Cuyahoga County Board of Health for environmental justice, which JCU has applied for.

Infeld also approached the University with the idea of creating a bicycle program, in which the City would donate confiscated bicycles to JCU for students to use. This program is still in the planning phase, but the City is working with JCU’s Environmental Issues Group to formulate a proposal.

Additionally, the City is planning to create a community garden, in which residents can decide what to plant. This project will first be implemented in one neighborhood, but she hopes eventually it will spread to more neighborhoods throughout the City. Infeld hopes to partner with JCU to create this community garden.

Infeld also made a motion to City Council to allow JCU to continually host its annual outside events including Relay for Life, the East-West high school football game and the Continental Cup without needing City approval every year. Council agreed to the East-West high school game and the Continental Cup. City council also agreed to allow Relay for Life outside all night this year, but will re-evaluate it once the event takes place.

“The City had actually been limiting its [JCU’s] normal operations by requiring them to come to council every year. I didnít think it was necessary,” said Infeld.
Pruce said the University was pleased with this decision.

“That [motion] was a huge shift,” said Pruce. ìI think ideally in the future we will build on the momentum of working together and, hopefully, more trust builds.”
Infeld said she is looking forward to the rest of her term and continuing to work with JCU.

“I think I’ve seen a change already, and Iím happy with that. It was really necessary to see that change. The University is important to the City,” said Infeld.

Criteria for the Distinguished Faulty award includes the areas of teaching, research and scholarship, advising, professional academic service, and service to the University and outside community. 

A committee of faculty, students, administrators and alumni headed by George Bilgere, the 2008 award recipient, determined that Swenson exemplified all of the required standards.  

Swenson attributes her career in the academic field to her family.  

“My father was a chemistry professor at [Case Western Reserve University] and loved his job. It rubbed off on me. Apparently it’s contagious because two of my daughters are also professors, one in political science and one in art history,” said Swenson. 

Swenson said she tries to engage her students through interaction, research and enthusiasm for the subject.  

During her time at JCU Swenson has experienced a number of changes, especially with a growing increase in research interest among students and administration.  

Swenson is currently involved in research in professional ethics and is working on two book chapters. 

One of the chapters involves the ethics of using one’s own students as research participants and the other details the legal aspects of psychological assessment. 

Swenson is involved in other aspects of JCU as well. 

She is a member of the University Hearing Board and chair of the Institutional Review Board. Swenson is additionally the pre-law and Fulbright Graduate Fellowships adviser. 

Outside of JCU, Swenson is active in the American Psychological Association, serves on the Board of Directors of the Ohio Psychological Association and chairs the Ohio Psychological Ethics committee. 

“I do a number of site visits to ensure that colleges and universities in the north central part of the country are properly accredited,” said Swenson.

Swenson also serves as a faculty adviser. 

“[Swenson’s] teaching and advising have had a profound influence on the lives of innumerable John Carroll students,” said fellow psychology professor Janet Larsen. 

Swenson said that every student should get to know their professors.

“Get to know one professor a year so that you can feel a part of the academic side of the place and so that you can easily find recommenders for graduate school and job applications,” said Swenson.

John Yost, Swenson’s colleague in the psychology department, said, “All of us in the psychology department are very proud of [Professor] Swenson. It’s a well-deserved award that acknowledges her career-long commitment to ethics in psychology, as well as her commitment to the educational and legal aspects of psychology.”