The Ohio Northern men's soccer team continued to demonstrate the program's storied tradition of success in the classroom during the 2018 campaign under 21st-year head coach Brent Ridenour, establishing new academic records for the program this season.
With a conference-record 70 players on the 2018 roster, the program posted its third-highest team GPA for the fall academic semester in school history with a 3.42 grade point average.
The outstanding academic performance follows the 2017-18 school year in which the program topped the Ohio Athletic Conference with the highest team grade point average for the entire academic year.
For 13 technological studies students, a fall semester project designed to help them learn CAD (computer-aided design) turned into a fun way to showcase their skills and celebrate the holiday season.
Associate professor of technology Feng Jao’s Product Design and Analysis class (TECH 2231) was designed to prepare students to use and create CAD drawings with a software application called Autodesk Inventor. One of their projects involved re-engineering a wooden toy train set using CAD drawings and 3D printing.
As an unexpected surprise, the project received a healthy dose of Christmas cheer, as well.
Ohio Northern University faculty member Phillip Zoladz, Ph.D., has received a $418,620 grant from the National Institute of Mental Health. The three-year grant will allow him to study post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). More than 20 ONU students will assist Zoladz in conducting the research.
The title of his research is “Stress, sex and the generalization of fear.” Zoladz is an associate professor of psychology. The project also includes co-investigator Boyd Rorabaugh, Ph.D., a professor of pharmacology and cell biology.
The Ohio Northern University Symphony and Wind Orchestra will present a concert at 4 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 9 in the Freed Center.
The program will begin with the ONU Wind Orchestra, conducted by Antoine Clark, paying homage to the ceremonial kindling of light during the holidays and the winter solstice.
After intermission, Music Director Travis Jürgens will conduct the Ohio Northern Symphony in a program titled “Tragedy and Triumph.”
Ohio Northern University faculty members Keith Durkin and Tristin Kilgallon, along with county court official Wade Melton, have authored a paper that examines the impact of the drug problem on Hardin County.
The paper, “The perfect storm: The prevalence of co-occurring mental disorders in a sample of heroin users participating in a rural family drug court,” is scheduled for publication in the International Journal of Criminal Justice Sciences.
Durkin is an ONU professor of sociology, Kilgallon is an ONU assistant professor of criminal justice, and Melton is director of programs for the Hardin County Court of Common Pleas, Juvenile Division.
A team of Ohio Northern students, including three Ada High School grads, won a position paper award for a project they developed for representing the delegation of Belgium at the recent American Model United Nations Conference in Chicago. Local students included Blaine Dearth, Mara Guyton, and Sarah Hasan.
