Ashland University News Center

News Releases

Lecture on Free Speech to be Held at Ashland University

C.L. Lindsay III, an attorney and Executive Director and founder of the Coalition for Student & Academic Rights (CO-STAR), will be speaking on the topic of free speech on Wednesday, March 13th, at 7 p.m. in Redwood Hall. The lecture is free and open to the public.

The event is co-sponsored by the Honors Program, Student Affairs and the Department of Philosophy. The lecture will focus on the importance of free speech as a student in today’s political climate. Students and Ashland community members are invited to learn more on the issue of freedom of expression in a politically divided country, as well as the limitations that come with it.

Ashland University Student Teams Compete in 2019 Ohio HR Games

Ashland University human resource students had the opportunity to participate in the 2019 Ohio HR Games held at Ashland University. Seniors Dan Morell, Mitchell Ott and Audrey Saler from Ashland University won first place. AU’s second team was made up of junior Lindsey McPhern, senior Trevor Reese and junior Chance Rotsinger.

Students in university Human Resource Student Chapters from all over the state were invited to participate in the Jeopardy-style competition. This competition allowed human resources students to showcase their knowledge, meet and get to know students from other Universities, and network with human resources professionals who served as on-site judges and volunteers for the event.

AU Alumnus Rich Ferrari Returns to Give Lecture

Ashland University alumnus Rich Ferrari will be returning to Ashland University in March to give a lecture hosted by the Dauch College of Business and Economics.

“We are delighted to have Rich Ferrari return to campus this semester to present in front of our students and members of the community,” said Dr. Elad Granot, dean of the Dauch College.

Ferrari will be speaking on “The Value of Objectivity” in the Upper Convocation Center on Mar. 14 at 11 a.m. The event is free and open to the public.

Last Week of Unified Basketball League

This Friday, February 15 marks the last of Unified Basketball games of the season. The Unified Basketball League is a special program put on in conjunction with the Special Olympics of Ohio. Each team is comprised of Ashland University students and Special Olympics athletes, and the teams play against other teams of similar composition.

The league’s final day of competition will take place on Friday, February 15, from 6-8 p.m. at the Ashland University Recreational Center. At 6 p.m. the third-place game will take place, followed by the Championship game at 7 p.m. At the conclusion of the games, there will be a brief pizza party and awards ceremony at the AU Recreational Center to celebrate the accomplishments of the players. This event is open to the public.

Washington Post Journalist to Speak at Ashbrook Center Major Issues Lecture Series Luncheon

Robert Samuelson, a journalist who writes a twice weekly syndicated column on business and economics issues for The Washington Post, will speak on the topic of “Spoils Society” at the Ashbrook Center’s Major Issues Lecture Series on Tuesday, March 12, at 12 noon in Myers Convocation Center on the Ashland University campus.

Tickets for this lunch and lecture event are $20 per person or $160 for a table of eight. For more information or to purchase tickets, contact Carrie Clever at cclever@ashbrook.org or 419-289-5411.

Dr. Dean Goon Hired as AU’s Dean of the College of Online and Adult Studies

Dr. Dean Goon, who had served as assistant vice president of innovative education and associate professor of education at Mount Vernon Nazarene University, has been named as dean of Ashland University’s College of Online and Adult Studies. He began in that role on Feb. 11.

As dean of the College of Online and Adult Studies, Goon will lead a team of more than 20 employees to provide strategic direction and evaluation of online and non-traditional education modalities for both credit and non-credit bearing courses for Ashland University.

Ashland University English Department Sets Spring Reading Series

The Ashland University English Department has set its Spring 2019 Reading Series that will feature a fiction reading by Robert Olmstead on Feb. 21, a nonfiction reading by Elissa Washuta on Feb. 27 and a poetry reading by Mark Jarman and celebration of Ashland Poetry Press’s 50th Anniversary on April 8.

All readings are free and open to the public, and will be held in the Ronk Lecture Hall in the Dwight Schar College of Education. For more information, contact Lindsay Brandon-Smith at 419.289.5110 or lbrando2@ashland.edu.

Ashland University Students Honor Their Mentors

Eight Ashland University faculty and administrators were honored during the University’s 33rd annual Academic Mentor Awards recognition ceremony held Feb. 1. The program recognizes faculty whose academic leadership with regard to students extends beyond the classroom. The mentors, each nominated by an Ashland student, were presented an engraved silver plate at the event held in John C. Myers Convocation Center.

This year’s Mentor Awards were presented to the late Roger Beckett, awarded posthumously to his wife Danielle and daughter Sydney; Dr. Patrick Maloney, deputy director of the Ashbrook Program; Dr. James Chapple, professional instructor for field experience and internship placement coordinator and faculty mentor; Dr. Dennis Gruber, chair of Health Sciences Department and clinical assistant professor; Dr. Jackie Owens, associate professor of nursing, director of the RN to BSN track and chair of the CONHS curriculum committee; Dr. Juanita Reese Kline, chair of the nursing department, director of the traditional nursing program and associate professor of nursing; Jill Solis, adjunct clinical education instructor; and Sadie Zegarac, assistant director of Christian Ministry.

AU Professor and Students Join Program to Discover if Machines Can Determine Credibility of Research Claims

A collaborative team of scientists, organized by The Center for Open Science (COS) and Ashland University Associate Professor of Psychology Dr. Christopher R. Chartier and his students, has been selected to participate in the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency’s (DARPA) new program to evaluate if machines can determine the credibility of massive amounts of published scientific claims.

This program, titled Systematizing Confidence in Open Research and Evidence (SCORE), represents a major investment by DARPA to assess and improve the credibility of social and behavioral science research and further establishes AU faculty and students as key contributors to revolutionizing research practices in these fields. The three-year cooperative agreement will cost more than $7.6 million.

AU Theatre Travels to Russia in the Year of 1901 for Chekhov's ‘Three Sisters’

Ashland University Department of Theatre travels abroad to Russia in the year of 1901 for its next mainstage production in the 2018-2019 season of “Treasured Classics Renewed.” Directed by Dr. Teresa Durbin-Ames, Anton Chekhov’s Three Sisters, adapted by the contemporary playwright Sarah Ruhl, will play for two weekends on Feb. 15, 16, 22 and 23 at 7:30 p.m., and Feb. 17 at 2 p.m. in Hugo Young Theatre.

Chicago’s native and award-winning playwright Sarah Ruhl brings new life to one of the world’s greatest plays and the masterpiece by Chekhov. The play is a humorous and heartbreaking portrait of a family wrestling with the distance between reality and dreams. Transported by their father’s military career from their beloved Moscow to a small rural town, the three sisters (Olga, Masha and Irina) dream of the big city, where they imagine their dreary lives will become fulfilled.