UT Headlines

From Saturday’s Blade:

UT to study heritage schools
Scholar to examine ways of teaching Chinese across U.S.

A grass-roots effort that’s existed in the United States for hundreds of years is responsible for much of the Chinese language learning in the country, but not much is known about the Chinese heritage schools leading the work.

A University of Toledo professor is working to change that.

An Chung Cheng, an associate professor of Spanish who specializes in second-language acquisition and teacher education, received a $500,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Education to track down every Chinese heritage school in the country and research them.

“It’s a very unique form of education,” Ms. Cheng said. “We want to know their curriculum, their strengths, and their needs.”

It’s estimated that the community schools, often created by Chinese parents who want their children to learn the language, are responsible for more than 70 percent of Chinese language instruction before college.

…

And from Channel 13:

Man that building looks sharp lit up in the dark:

UT will be dedicating the building during daylight hours today at 1:30.

The Chronicle of Higher Education has taken notice of UT’s alternative energy education efforts on its Buildings & Grounds blog.

From the Chronicle:

Work on the University of Toledo’s Scott Park Campus of Energy and Innovation is well underway, the groundbreaking having taken place in September. Programs on the campus, a former overflow campus for the university, will focus on developing and marketing alternative-energy technologies, like wind, biofuel, and solar. Some of those technologies will help to power the campus, which is shooting for a carbon-neutral footprint.

A 100-foot-tall, 80-kilowatt wind turbine has already been erected on the site. More than 1.2 megawatts’ worth of solar panels, some of them developed by a company that got its start at the university, are being installed as well. (Toledo apparently has a reputation for being the solar capital of the Midwest. Who knew?)

More every day.

If you missed the Business Section in Sunday’s Blade, go track down the Business Section from Sunday’s Blade.

In a story that spans more than a full page, writer Gary Pakulski does a great job summarizing the excitement that has been building since the new Savage & Associates Complex for Business Learning & Engagement complex began to take shape this summer.

The pictures in the Blade are equally impressive, showing it’s not just the building’s name that will take your breath away. But the reason the name is so long is because it describes an important and complex purpose.

From the Blade:

“It’s cutting edge in terms of learning,” said Thomas Gutteridge, who, with local business leaders, began planning for the facility shortly after arriving as business school dean in 2003.

It’s a short quote, but the sentiment is one that describes the University’s efforts to engage with the community. And the success of that sentiment is having a dramatic effect on the region. By working with the Toledo business community in the beginning planning phases, Dr. Gutteridge has built strong relationships with those organizations that are looking to hire graduates with business expertise.

By asking organizations, “what are you looking for in employees,” the college is better able to prepare its students for what is expected of them and the result is students are getting a better return on their investment in higher education.

The new Savage & Associates Complex is the physical location where a great deal of sophisticated teaching and learning will take place. But it is also symbolic of an attitude UT is working to develop toward its responsibility to the region, one that the College of Business Administration has played a leadership role in developing.

Now, seriously, go track down the Business Section of Sunday’s Blade. I swear you’ll hear theme music from “Rudy” playing as you read it.