December 6, 2012

Lighting a SPARC for auto racing

NASCAR team owner and driver Michael Waltrip, center, chats with Automotive Technology students, associate professor Mark Mitchell, center left, and Automotive Chair Andy Rezin, as he tours the facility Wednesday.  Tuesday, Waltrip announced his team’s investment in the new automotive research center and racetrack in Columbus.

NASCAR team owner and driver Michael Waltrip visited Columbus State’s Automotive Technology Wednesday as part of a whirlwind media event announcing his investment in the Sports Pavilion & Automotive Research Complex (SPARC)—to be built on the site of Cooper Stadium in Franklinton.

Waltrip and his racing team will partner with Arshot Investment Corp., developers of the complex. The team, based in Cornelius, N.C., will use SPARC as a satellite operation and test center. 

Both Columbus State and Ohio State are involved in the plans for the research center, which includes a half-mile racetrack with 8,500 seats, a 50,000-square-foot building for the research center, 1,900 parking spaces, a hotel and meeting center, and several sites for future restaurants along Mound St.

Meet and greet with new Superintendents

President David Harrison hosted a reception last night welcoming a host of school superintendents new to their positions in 2012.  Gahanna-Jefferson Public Schools Superintendent Francis Scruci, far left, was among those introduced to the local area education community at the reception, which included high school principals, school board members and other superintendents from the Columbus State district. 

Photographer Kojo Kamau receives Raymond J. Hanley Fellowship from Columbus Arts Endowment

Columbus artist Kojo Kamau, who teaches as an adjunct faculty member in Digital Photography, will receive the $10,000 fellowship named in memory of former Greater Columbus Arts Council President Raymond J. Hanley. The award was announced this week by the GCAC and the Columbus Arts Endowment.

An anonymous panel of judges and the trustees of the Columbus Arts Endowment chose Kamau as the fourth recipient of the Raymond J. Hanley Fellowship, an award for an “individual artist who has demonstrated an unusual level of achievement while working for at least five years in the visual arts, performing arts, literary arts or any other arts discipline.”

Fellowship money is awarded to the recipient without restriction, so the artist can use it to further his or her career as needed. The fellowship is administered by GCAC and supported through the Hanley Arts Fund of the Columbus Arts Endowment, created upon Hanley’s death in 2006.

The award will be presented at a reception January 10 at the King Arts Complex. An exhibition of Kamau’s photographs will be shown in conjunction with the exhibition “African American Creative Genius with Impact” (January 10-March 2, 2013). A free public reception for the exhibition openings will take place January 10, 6:30-8 p.m. at the Elijah Pierce Gallery at the King Arts Complex.

Kamau, an acclaimed photographer and Columbus native has exhibited his photographs throughout the Midwest and has collected numerous awards. To celebrate Kamau’s 70th birthday in 2009, the Columbus Museum of Art presented Kojo: Fifty Years in Photography, a retrospective that included more than sixty photographs, both color and black and white, reflecting his five decades working in the medium.

Kamau studied at the Columbus College of Art and Design, The Ohio State University and the Rochester Institute of Technology. He is a retired chief medical photographer at The Ohio State University and now teaches photography at Columbus State.

Curriculum team to host retirement reception

Teresa receives the Staff Employee of the Month Award from the late President Harold Nestor in 1993.

The Curriculum Management team invites campus to celebrate Teresa Kackley, systems specialist, as she retires from Columbus State after 15 years of dedicated service. Kackley has worked in Human Resources and Payroll, as well as Curriculum Management during her career at Columbus State from 1993-1996 and 2001-2012. The retirement reception will be held Thursday, December 13 from 2:00 – 4:00 p.m. in CT 107.

 

 

Meyers updates his holiday classic in latest work

Fifteen years ago, David Meyers, data analyst in CEWD, wrote “The Last Christmas Carol,” a full-length musical, for his 13-year-old daughter, Elise Meyers (now a program coordinator in Business & Industry).

Half "Kiss Me, Kate" and half "Bad News Bears," this modern take on the beloved story of Ebenezer Scrooge features all the popular Dickens characters, as well as some new ones such as an aromatic Elvis Impersonator and the Donner Party Singers. Published by Dramatic Publishing in 2001, the show has been performed all over the country. (This year Meyers will be attending a performance at Magnolia High School, New Martinsville, West Virginia.)

Now, just in time for the holidays, Meyers has turned the story into a novel. Also called “The Last Christmas Carol,” it includes illustrations by Sam Walker, Elise’s husband and a current student at Columbus State. The book is available from Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com, and similar venues.

Hey, where did all the towels go?

Columbus State needs your help to continue to offer towel service in the Fitness Center. Beginning January 2, 2013, towels can no longer be taken out of the Fitness Center. For your convenience, towels will still be available for use during your workout in the Fitness Center, but please remember to pack your own towel for the shower!