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June 15, 2007
Designed to sweat
A national publication focused on higher education management will honor RecPlex,
the University of Dayton’s new fitness and recreation complex for outstanding architecture and design.
College Planning & Management’s 2007 Education Design Showcase has named the RecPlex project as a Project of Distinction and will recognize Hastings+Chivetta Architects of St. Louis for its architecture and design of the $25.3 million recreation center that opened in January 2006.
“The amount of interior glass allows one to see and hear the activities as you walk through the access ramp,” said Beth Keyes, executive director of facilities management for UD. “This has greatly enhanced our student tours as visitors can feel the student energy.
“This project was so successful largely because of our students’ leadership in promoting and financially supporting this new student space,” she said.
Located on the former Founders Field, the recreation center offers courts for a variety of sports including basketball, volleyball, floor hockey and tennis, a climbing wall, an eight-lane aquatic center, elevated indoor track, studios for yoga and aerobics, a fitness center, lounge with Internet access, classrooms, locker rooms and the Chill, a student-operated juice and snack bar.
Dennis Lammert, project manager for Hastings+Chivetta, said the RecPlex project was particularly challenging because Founders Field had been a traditional passage from the residential dormitory areas to the adjacent student neighborhood.
“The free zone created by the ramp within the building allows students to walk through the facility and observe the activities taking place while making the traditional trek between student neighborhoods,” Lammert said. “The exposure to athletic and fitness activities helps to promote a healthy lifestyle while making RecPlex a social gathering place on campus.”
The awards will appear in this month’s issue of the magazine.
A number of local companies also participated including general contractor Messer Construction Co., Edge & Tinney Architects and Heapy Engineering.
For more information contact Beth Keyes at 937-229-3769 or keyes@udayton.edu or Dennis Lammert at 314-863-5717 or dlammert@hcarchitects.com
June 15, 2007 in Miscellaneous | Permalink
June 14, 2007
A national winner
The University of Dayton Quarterly has been named the best alumni tabloid in the country for high quality, resulting from an effective use of budget and staff.
The University of Dayton Quarterly has been named the best alumni tabloid in the country for high quality, resulting from an effective use of budget and staff.
UDQ won the only gold medal in the ''periodicals resource management: tabloids and newsletters'' category in the 2007 CASE Circle of Excellence Awards Program. CASE (Council for Advancement and Support of Education) is the largest nonprofit education association in the world. The category recognizes periodicals that ''show evidence of successful and creative management of time, staff and other resources."
Launched in 1992, UDQ is a perennial national award-winning publication. It has now won 19 national CASE awards; in 10 of its 16 years of existence, it has medaled in the category for overall excellence.
UDQ's topics are eclectic -- from a national study on hidden racism to a behind-the-scenes look at Pooch's Posse, a legendary, close-knit group of senior women who competed in 230 intramural games over their UD career as they learned life's lessons on and off the field.
When UDQ's nearly 100,000 readers were polled last year, they responded with high marks for the periodical and dozens of pages of comments.
No staff member in UD's public relations office is dedicated full-time to the periodical, but all contribute. ''This provides a number of voices,'' said Tom Columbus, editor. ''The freelance budget delivers high quality for relatively few dollars. UDQ's art director, through contacts developed through his newspaper days, has a network of artists for whom UDQ provides a different type of creative outlet. Alumni who worked in the public relations office as students contribute work from as far away as Portland, Ore., and Paris, France."
Frank Pauer, art director, designs UDQ. Larry Burgess provides photography, and Matt Dewald, senior publications editor, edits the alumni section. Deborah McCarty Smith directs the publications program.
Contact Tom Columbus at (937) 229-3241.
June 14, 2007 in Miscellaneous | Permalink
June 12, 2007
Revitalization
The University of Dayton is moving ahead on an 11-acre riverfront redevelopment project, including Building 26 commemoration.
As part of a $2.54 million Clean Ohio Revitalization Fund grant, the University of Dayton will request bids from certified professionals under the Ohio EPA Voluntary Action Program to oversee an 11-acre riverfront redevelopment project.
The work includes cleaning up soil, taking out asbestos from Building 26 and removing the building, which is not eligible for the National Register of Historic Places. The building is expected to be torn down in the fall.
Brady Kress, president and CEO of Dayton History and a member of UD's Historical Stewardship Group, led members on a 90-minute tour of the building on June 7 to determine what architectural elements could be preserved. The group, comprised of preservationists, community leaders and UD officials, compiled a list, including art deco sandstone surrounding the main entrance, crown molding from the front vestibule and limestone art deco curves and finishes around the roof. In addition, pallets of stone lintels and original bricks will be salvaged for use in telling the story of Building 26, which served as a top-secret site during World War II for the development of a code-breaking machine.
The Historical Stewardship Group will work with Burt Hill, UD's master planner, to explore options for commemoration, such as a collection of oral histories, public art, a plaza or museum-style display.
UD spent nearly two years meeting with preservationists and investigating whether Building 26 had retained any historical integrity. On May 31, the Ohio Historic Preservation Office confirmed that the heavily altered structure appears to be ineligible for the National Register. That opinion verified a January study by ASC Group Inc., specialists in historic architectural assessments.
UD has explored alternatives to removing the building. According to Martin-Beachler Architects, it would cost about $3 million just to demolish the three 1960s additions to the building and replicate the original façade. A complete restoration of the building would cost millions more. Last year, UD turned to the Miller-Valentine Group to assess the use and availability of historic tax credits, which are available if a building is listed on the National Register. UD officials also have investigated the feasibility of adaptive reuse with Burt Hill, Martin-Beachler Architects and the Miller-Valentine Group.
''Renovation is possible, but not practical. It doesn't make economic sense to invest in a building that has lost its historical integrity," said Jeff Funovits, Burt Hill's project manager for the master plan.
Daniel J. Curran, president of the University of Dayton, reaffirmed UD's pledge to work with the Dayton community to create a lasting, significant and visible means of telling the story of the people and technological advances that occurred on the site.
''I respect the passion of those who wanted to save the building. I also appreciate the support of others who recognized that the building lost its historical integrity decades ago and know that as a tuition-driven university, UD cannot justify spending millions of dollars to save it,'' he said. ''Working with the community, we can, and will, honor history while we build for the future."
Community leaders support UD's decision. ''The development of this land is important to the region. It has high economic development value and the potential to attract high-value jobs and new businesses. It is the most developable piece of property in the city of Dayton,'' J.P. Nauseef, president and CEO of the Dayton Development Coalition, wrote in a letter to OHPO. ''As a community, we need to respect the past, but focus on the future and support the University's leadership in taking on this difficult development challenge."
The Dayton Area Chamber of Commerce also backs UD's position. ''We honor those who worked at this one-time NCR site and feel confident the University will honor their legacy," Phil Parker, president and CEO, wrote in a letter to OHPO.
The University of Dayton purchased 49 acres of land, which included Building 26, another building on Brown Street now known as the College Park Center, two parking lots and two soccer fields, for $25 million from NCR in June 2005. Most of NCR's manufacturing facilities on the site were demolished in the 1970s, and the property has remained largely unused since then. The site is considered a brownfield, but only a portion requires clean up, depending upon development plans. UD's complete master plan for its 259-acre campus is expected to be finished this fall, but UD has already committed to working with private developers to construct a mixed-use project on the 11-acre riverfront portion when it applied for the Clean Ohio Revitalization Fund grant.
Contact Teri Rizvi or Cilla Shindell at 937-229-3241.
June 12, 2007 in Miscellaneous | Permalink
June 11, 2007
Acclaimed sports economist dies at 62
Many have credited Larry Hadley, a University of Dayton associate professor of economics, member of the editorial board of the Journal of Sports Economics and internationally known sports economist, for helping grow that discipline. He taught and conducted research at UD for 30 years.
Larry Hadley, co-author of a much-publicized and controversial study that determined taxpayer dollars are not needed to build new Major League Baseball stadiums, died Saturday, June 9. He was 62.
Many have credited Hadley, a University of Dayton associate professor of economics, member of the editorial board of the Journal of Sports Economics and internationally known sports economist, for helping grow that discipline. He taught and conducted research at UD for 30 years.
Dan Marburger, an Arkansas State University economics professor, recalled a time when the Western Economics Association meeting lacked sessions on sports economics.
“There were only a small handful of us presenting papers at the time (1996). Since then, the sports econ sessions at the Westerns have ballooned to a dozen or so sessions. We have a sports economics journal, two textbooks and an international scholarly association,” Marburger wrote on a sports economics list serve. “I question if any of those would have come to fruition without Larry's efforts to promote the economics of sports. He will be greatly missed.”
In 2004, Hadley and UD colleague Marc Poitras wrote “Do Major League Baseball Stadiums Pay for Themselves?” The University of Chicago’s Journal of Business published the article, which found “new ballparks probably do generate sufficient revenue to pay for themselves. At the very least, they should cover the lion’s share of the cost.”
About 70 media outlets nationwide picked up the Associated Press story about the study, including USA Today, The New York Times, Chicago Tribune and the Los Angeles Times. It also attracted support in columns and editorials in markets like Seattle, northern Virginia and Minneapolis, where stadium funding is a hot topic.
Other research about baseball player salaries and revenue sharing also attracted significant media attention.
Hadley joined the UD School of Business Administration faculty in 1977 and retired earlier this year. He also served as the economics department chair in the 1980s.
“Larry was just a magnificent colleague,” said Elizabeth Gustafson, a UD assistant economics professor and one-time department chair who conducted research and edited books and papers with Hadley. “He was a very creative thinker in sports economics. He created our sports economics class and students really enjoyed it a lot.”
Visitation will be 5-8 p.m. Thursday, June 14, at Routsong Funeral Home in Kettering, Ohio. A funeral Mass will be at 10 a.m. Friday, June 15, at UD’s Immaculate Conception Chapel.
For more information, contact Shawn Robinson at 937-229-3391.
June 11, 2007 | Permalink
DECA to become charter school
The pioneering Dayton Early College Academy will apply to the state to open as a charter school in the 2007-2008 school year operated by the University of Dayton to preserve momentum created by the first four years of the experimental school.
The Dayton Board of Education Monday voted to end an existing contract with the University, which clears the way for the DECA board to apply to the state to reconfigure the school as a start-up charter school.
“The stakes are really high,” said Thomas J. Lasley II, dean of UD’s School of Education and Applied Professions. “All of the partners and friends of DECA – including the Dayton Board of Education – understand that an experimental school needs stability, time and adequate funding to demonstrate that an accelerated, personalized approach to educating urban students can be successful.”
With impending budget cuts caused by the recent failure of the Dayton public schools levy, DECA faces disruptions both in operations, such as transportation, and in staffing, due to large cutbacks in the number of teachers, Lasley said.
As a start-up charter school, DECA will be able to pursue private funding and continue the existing school program without disruptions, Lasley said. As a start-up charter, DECA will be operated by the University with the Dayton public schools acting as sponsor.
Lasley said much work will need to be completed by early July including finalizing a new contract and forming a nonprofit corporation to insure that the school will make a smooth transition before opening for the new school year in August.
In his recommendation to the Dayton board, Superintendent Percy Mack said that the board “recognizes that DECA has operated very successfully as a district education pilot school and that budget cuts will significantly negatively impact DECA’s success.”
A partnership between UD and the Dayton Public Schools, DECA focuses on first-generation college students, predominately from low-income or minority families and students who might not be successful in a traditional classroom.
Founded in 2003 with start-up funds from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the KnowledgeWorks Foundation, DECA is the first high school of its kind in Ohio and one of the first in the nation.
The school, which serves about 225 students, celebrated its first graduation on May 30. All 32 graduates have been accepted to college and have been offered grants and scholarships totaling more than $2 million.
Seven DECA graduates also earned associate degrees from Sinclair Community College, gaining a two-year head start on four-year degrees. Overall the senior class has taken 70 college classes, earning 1,252 college credits.
DECA focuses on preparing students for college work through personalized academic attention; the development of close relationships between teachers, families and students; rigorous academic work; and introducing students to college classes while still in high school.
For interviews contact Cilla Shindell at shindell@udayton.edu, 937-229-3256 or 937-307-7819.
June 11, 2007 in Miscellaneous | Permalink
June 08, 2007
McIntosh scholars celebrate 20-year legacy
After LaShea Smith Boyd was named the first W.S. McIntosh scholar in 1987, earning a full scholarship to the University of Dayton and a four-year paid internship with the city of Dayton, she felt a committment to give something back.
“In addition to the financial investment, the sincere mentoring I received from my supervisors during my internship and faculty were tremendously motivating and encouraged me to want to excel and give back to the community,” said Boyd, deputy director of deputy director of Dayton’s department of recreation and youth service.
“I can’t think of a better way to show my gratitude and to make a return on that investment than by serving the community and staying here to work for the city,” she said.
Boyd and other McIntosh recipients will join community and University leaders this weekend to celebrate the program that has awarded more than $1.3 million to African-American students, honors the legacy of the slain civil rights leader and encourage Dayton area high school students to consider UD.
A public salute to McIntosh is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Friday, June 8, at the Dayton Cultural and RTA Center, 40 S. Edwin Moses Blvd. An information session for potential McIntosh scholars will be from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., Saturday, June 9 at Marianist Hall on the UD campus. Sponsored by UD’s admission and diverse student population offices, McIntosh recipients will be on hand to talk with high school students about life at UD and to lead campus tours. The Saturday event is free and participants have a chance to win a $1,000 UD scholarship.
Each year, the University and the city award the W.S. McIntosh Memorial Leadership scholarship to a graduating African-American high school student who is a resident of Dayton. The goal of the program is to encourage local African-American students to attend UD and to stay in the area after graduation by supporting their education and helping them develop professional experience while in school.
The combination scholarship/internship is currently valued at $140,000 and includes tuition, fees, room and board, and a computer along with a four-year paid internship with the city. Twenty-one students have received the award; four recipients, including Dayton City Manager Rashad Young have gone on to work for the city.
“McIntosh scholars have excelled at the University and in their careers,” said UD President Daniel J. Curran. “We are pleased to welcome them back to campus as we honor their achievements and the legacy of W.S. McIntosh and encourage other young people to follow in their footsteps.”
Dayton Early College Academy graduate Alvin Wilkerson is the 2007 recipient. Wilkerson, who also earned an associate of science degree from Sinclair Community College, will study engineering at UD.
McIntosh, a noted Dayton area civil rights leader in the 1960s, was shot and killed while trying to prevent a robbery at a jewelry store in downtown Dayton on March 4, 1974. He led several nonviolent protests that fought to open employment in local businesses to minorities.
For more information on the program, contact Kathy McEuen Harmon at 937-229-4160, sfa.info@udayton.edu or LaShea Boyd at 937-333-1705.
June 8, 2007 in Miscellaneous | Permalink
June 06, 2007
Citirama
The University of Dayton and the Home Builders Association of Dayton will hold a news conference June 8 to announce plans for this summer's Citirama.
Officials from the University of Dayton and the Home Builders Association of Dayton will announce plans for this summer's Citirama at a 1 p.m. news conference on Friday, June 8, at 240 Stonemill Rd. in the student neighborhood.
The $2.5 million project includes five-unit townhouses and four renovated houses — all to be showcased in August during Citirama, a free home show.
It's the first time a Home Builders Association has teamed up with a private university to help transform a student neighborhood. The University of Dayton owns 328 houses and duplexes — unique on college campuses nationwide.
The announcement kicks off Reunion Weekend at UD. A record 1,700 alumni and guest will return to campus to reconnect with friends, tour campus — even renew their wedding vows. The student neighborhood — with its front porches and small-town feel — sparks memories and nostalgia among alumni.
WHAT: News conference
WHEN: 1 p.m., Friday, June 8
WHERE: 240 Stonemill Rd. in UD's student neighborhood
WHY: To announce plans for this summer's Citirama
PARTICIPANTS: Daniel J. Curran, University of Dayton president; Jenny Diorio, president-elect of the Homebuilders Association of Dayton; Richard Perales, University campus planning director; and Frank Geraci, president of the National Alumni Association.
June 6, 2007 in Miscellaneous | Permalink
June 01, 2007
Ineligible
Building 26 does not appear to be eligible for the National Register of Historic Places, according to the Ohio Historic Preservation Office.
Building 26 does not appear to be eligible for the National Register of Historic Places, according to the Ohio Historic Preservation Office.
''Its significance is unassailable, but having been so altered over the past 50 years, the building is unable to convey this significance,'' Mark Epstein, department head of resource protection and review, wrote in a letter to the University of Dayton.
The opinion verifies the ASC Group Inc. study that found the building has lost its historical integrity and is not eligible for the National Register.
''Overall, there do not seem to be any glaring factual errors in the ASC report, and no one has brought any to our attention,'' Epstein said. ''While we may agree generally with the report's conclusion, we arrived there by a different route on our own."
UD President Daniel J. Curran thanked Epstein for his thorough and thoughtful analysis and U.S. Rep. Michael Turner for his involvement in the process.
"The University of Dayton asked the Ohio Historic Preservation Office to review the condition of Building 26. We are pleased that Mr. Epstein recognized that the University has been thoughtful and deliberative in our approach to evaluating the building,'' Curran said.
"In the same spirit of thoughtfulness and deliberation, we will share this report with our Historical Stewardship Group as we consider our course of action on how best to tell the story of Joe Desch and the WAVES while we move the redevelopment of this land forward."
In March, Curran formed a Historical Stewardship Group comprised of preservationists, community leaders and UD representatives. UD officials have pledged to work with the community to commemorate the activities that occurred in the building consistent with the best practices for historic preservation nationwide.
In his letter, Epstein commended UD for ''seeking input from people outside the University."
During World War II, the building served as the top-secret site for NCR engineer and UD alumnus Joseph Desch's development of a code-breaking machine credited with helping to shorten the war.
For the Ohio Historic Preservation Office study, click here. For the ASC Group Inc. study, click here.
The Ohio Historic Preservation Office is Ohio's official historic preservation agency. A part of the Ohio Historical Society, it identifies historic places in Ohio, nominates properties to the National Register of Historic Places, reviews federally assisted projects for effects on historic, architectural and archaeological resources in Ohio, consults on the conservation of older buildings and sites, and offers educational programs and publications.
June 1, 2007 in Miscellaneous | Permalink
A community hero
Dean Lovelace, director of Dayton Civic Scholars at the University of Dayton and a Dayton city commissioner, will be honored by the St. Mary Development Corporation for his contributions to the corporation and the community. 
The development corporation will present its Second Annual Outstanding Service Award to Lovelace at 8 a.m., Monday, June 4, at Sinclair Community College’s David H. Ponitz Center during the organization’s annual award breakfast.
“Dean Lovelace has served on the St. Mary Development Corporation board for seven years,” said Dick McBride, the development corporation’s president and CEO. “His input and counsel have been a critical part of achieving our mission. His broad view of the community has enriched our decisions, and his commitment to the good of Dayton and its people make him the perfect recipient of our second annual Outstanding Service Award.”
The Outstanding Service Award is part of National NeighborWorks Week, a national celebration of the accomplishments of the NeighborWorks network whose members work in more than 4,400 communities across the nation, including Dayton. In 1999, the development corporation was chosen as a Charter Member of NeighborWorks America and has received more than $2 million in grants from NeighborWorks to support low-income housing projects.
U.S. Rep. Michael Turner, who received the award last year, will make the presentation to Lovelace.
A city commissioner since 1993, Lovelace joined the office of Strategies for Responsible Development Office at UD as director of neighborhood development in 1983. SRD is now the Raymond L. Fitz Center for Leadership in Community, where Lovelace heads the Dayton Civic Scholars Program.
Through the Dayton Civic Scholars program, students interested in urban affairs, social justice and careers in public service are afforded opportunities to explore community leadership and public service and to become agents of change and activists in their communities.
St. Mary Development Corporation is the largest non-profit provider of high-quality, affordable housing to low-income seniors and working families in Southwest Ohio. St. Mary’s completed its first tax-credit project in 1993. Since then it has developed or co-developed 24 housing tax-credit projects—a total of 2,281 housing units.
For more information, visit www.StMaryDevelopment.org, or contact Tim Bete at 937-277-8214 or tbete@smdcd.org.
June 1, 2007 in Miscellaneous | Permalink
