Archive issue
Sept. 24, 2001

People

Making a difference for young people essential for Price
Employee brings children's stories to life
Biomed student is U.S. role model
LCC hosts visitors from France,China
Field of dreams
Family, child center fund drive gets first donation
People

Making a difference for young people essential for Price

Desire to help others brings Price into public service

Cleo Price doesn't come to work every day just to do a job. He comes to fulfill his life's passion -- to make a difference in the life of a young person.

"Touching people's lives in a positive way and giving back to other people are the best things you can do," said Price, University of Kentucky associate registrar.

Price and his family -- wife Sonja Feist-Price and daughters Hannah, 2, and Gabrielle, 4 -- moved to Lexington in 1993 when Sonja was appointed to the faculty of the UK College of Education. He came to UK in 1995 as a student affairs officer in the College of Arts and Sciences, where he advised more than 3,000 students.

In 1999, Price was selected as UK's associate registrar, but he didn't leave his Arts and Sciences students behind. Many still sought his help and friendship, and he continued to send them notes of encouragement and congratulation. He even took time to attend graduations and other special events.

Selena Stevens
One of the highlights of his job is helping young people find healthy, successful paths in life, said Cleo Price, UK's assistant registrar. Stephen Raleigh, a May biology graduate, is one such person.

His efforts didn't go unnoticed by the students or their families, as a particularly heartfelt testimony to UK Registrar Don Witt by the parents of UK biology graduate Stephen Raleigh shows.

"The positive impact Mr. Price has had on our son is priceless," wrote Vena and Steve Raleigh. "It would be impossible to list in a letter the many ways he made life better for our family by being supportive of our son."

Although Raleigh graduated in May, he and Price still stay in touch.

"I like to think that maybe something I said or something I did has helped him," Price said. "I'd like to think I can do that for others."

After earning a bachelor's degree in history from Northeast Louisiana University in his hometown of Monroe, La., Price graduated from Southern Illinois University with a master's degree in public administration. Serving in Army ROTC in college had steered him to the history degree, and a desire to help others led him to public administration. He had decided his mission in life would be to help young men, especially African-American youngsters and those without fathers, by working with non-profit organizations and programs.

"African-American young men are more at-risk in many ways in society than their peers," Price said. "I hoped I could be a role model and show them that they can achieve their dreams and make a difference in society. I also wanted to show them that it's important that they reach back and give to others as well."

Throughout the years, Price has met his goal, working as a minority student adviser at Southern Illinois, mentoring youth at Micro-City Government in Lexington and serving as project coordinator for the Community Action Council's Brothers Program.

Outside UK, Price is involved in church and community activities and serves as a big brother for Big Brothers/Big Sisters. His little brother, Maurice Gatewood, now attends the culinary school at Sullivan University. Helping young men succeed in college is rewarding, he said, but helping younger boys always walk a successful path is even better.

"If we start working with them when they are 13 or 14, we've missed the boat. We need to start earlier. Kids in general have goals they want to reach in life. It's extremely rewarding to help them do that."

Taking his role-model beliefs another step, Price is finishing coursework for his doctoral degree in educational policy studies and evaluation this semester and hopes to take his exams in the fall or spring. For Price, earning the degree is another way to learn how to help others. But Price said sometimes only a willing ear is needed something he wishes more people had.

"The reason I am here is to reach out and support others," he said, "even if it is just to give them someone to talk to."

Selena Stevens

Employee brings children's stories to life

Tales help build self-respect

Most everyone can remember the laughter and lessons of at least one story they were told as a child. In years to come, Mary Kane, a child life specialist with UK Children's Hospital, hopes children will remember what her stories taught them and how they made them think for themselves.

Kane uses her stories not as therapy, but as a means of "acting therapeutically" with the children she meets.

"It is healthful for the children to know they are important and remembered," Kane said. "Giving support to the children and showing them they are appreciated will allow them to realize what they value within themselves."

Kane, who has worked at UK since 1990, became interested in storytelling while she worked at the circulation desk of a public library. In the afternoon she would watch the way the library's storyteller kept his listeners thinking and imagining. When that storyteller left the library, Kane took over the position and has been a professional storyteller since.

Tammy Gay
Mary Kane, a child life specialist with UK Children's Hospital, tells a story to Shannon Hinkle, a UK Children's Hospital patient. Kane became interested in storytelling while working at a library.

Her stories require interaction and imagination -- on her part as well as the listener.

"My stories give children a sense of choice," Kane said. "They are able to determine where their imagination goes. The stories give a child a chance to establish values and goals."

In many of her stories, Kane tries to reflect individual qualities of the particular child with whom she is working. She also pays attention to the child's attributes and likes and dislikes, and incorporates them into the story.

Kane tries to bring certain life issues to the surface through her stories.

"While working with these children, a certain type of relationship is established," Kane said. "They need to develop a certain amount of trust toward me. Without trust, I would not be able to help them."

Alison Mulrooney

Biomed student is U.S. role model

UK biomedical engineering student Letetia Richardson has been awarded a Role Model Citation by Minority Access Inc. The citation is given as part of a cooperative agreement between Minority Access Inc. and the Office of Minority Health of the National Institutes of Health to identify role models in biomedical research.

Richardson attended the second National Role Models Conference in September in Washington, D.C. The conference honored institutional and individual role models in minority biomedical research.

Richardson received both her bachelor's and master's degrees in physics in a five-year fellowship program at Clark Atlanta University in 1998. She received the National Consortium for Graduate Degrees for Minorities in Engineering and Science Fellowship in 1998, was the Imhotep National Black Engineering Award Essay Contest winner in 1994 and 1998, and received the Clark Atlanta University Outstanding Mathematical Achievement Award in 1997.

Krisiti Lopez
Student Letetia Richardson has been awarded a Role Model Citation by Minority Access Inc.

In 2000, Richardson received the NASA Kentucky Space Grant Consortium Fellow-ship and continues to investigate the mechanisms of unexplained syncope (fainting). She presented her preliminary work at the 2001 KSGC/NASA EPSCoR Conference in Bowling Green.

She has completed coursework for her doctoral degree in biomedical engineering and is studying for her qualifying exams.

"My professional goal is to work for NASA or become a research and development engineer for a bioengineering company," Richardson said. "I also eventually would like to own a bioengineering company while teaching at the high school or college level."

Richardson, who along with her twin sister grew up in project housing in Atlanta, said helping others and giving back to the community is an important part of her plans. "My mother instilled the confidence in me to always strive to do my best and pursue my dreams," she said. "It is important to tell young people, especially young girls, that no door has to remain closed to them."

Kristi Lopez

LCC hosts visitors from France,China

Lexington Community College continues to emphasize international education, recently welcoming French exchange student Melanie Courtet and Chinese scholars Jing Yu, Wuhu Yao and Lei Zhu to campus.
Courtet, a 20-year-old native of Appoigny, France, is the first student to attend LCC as part of a recently established faculty-student exchange with the University of Burgundy's Institut Universitaire de Technologie. She came to LCC at the suggestion of a professor in France and is getting a taste of college life as a resident of a University of Kentucky residence hall. Courtet, who will remain in Lexington through December, is enrolled in business and marketing at LCC.

The Chinese scholars are the second group to come to LCC from Changsha University in the Hunan Province of China. Jing Yu and Wuhu Yao teach in the foreign language department at Changsha, and Lei Zhu teaches in the law department. In addition to their work in various departments at LCC, the visiting scholars have been speaking to groups about Chinese life and culture.

Julie Weidmer

Field of dreams

David Coyle
Former UK Athletics Director C.M. Newton was honored during UK's football game against Louisville for his years of commitment to UK and athletics. UK's football field was officially named for Newton at the game. Helping him celebrate are, to his right, Athletics Director Larry Ivy, President Lee T. Todd Jr., first lady Patsy Todd and members of Newton's family.

Family, child center fund drive gets first donation

The University of Kentucky College of Human Environmental Sciences in July accepted the first donation and officially kicked off a $1.4 million fund-raising campaign to support a new early childhood development and family center.

UK President Lee T. Todd Jr. and Human Environmental Sciences Dean Retia Walker accepted a $50,000 gift from R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. Nana Mensah, a member of the R.J. Reynolds board, presented the gift on behalf of the company. Mensah also serves on the college's board of volunteers, a group that assists the college with development goals.

"The Commonwealth of Kentucky has identified early childhood development as a top priority. Our college will prepare the next generation of professionals who will work with families and children, policy makers and service providers to improve the lives of Kentuckians," Walker said. "As the state's flagship institution of higher education, UK must be able to model cutting-edge programs in a state-of-the-art facility for research, teaching and service. We are pleased that R.J. Reynolds is helping us begin our fund-raising drive."

Selena Stevens

People

Appointments
-- Don Colliver, biosystems and agricultural engineering, was named president-elect of the American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Engineering in July.
-- Tricia Dyk, rural sociology, was elected secretary of the Rural Socio-logical Society for a three-year term. She also was named chairperson-elect of the Family Policy Section of the National Council on Family Relations.
-- Jane Lindle, education, is serving the second of a three-year term as UK's institutional representative to the University Council for Educational Administration, a consortium of 62 major research universities in the United States and Canada that seeks to improve the preparation of educational leaders and promote the development of professional knowledge in school improvement and administration.
-- Sue Nokes, biosystems and agricultural engineering, was chairperson for the Institute of Biological Engineering's annual meeting in Sacramento, Calif.

Awards
-- Sanford Archer, otolaryngology, has been named a recipient of the Honor Award bestowed by the American Academy of Otolaryngology -- Head and Neck Surgery.
-- Frank C. Miller, obstetrics and gynecology, has been inducted as a fellow ad eundem of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists at the annual meeting of the British Congress of Obstetrics and Gynaecology in Birmingham, England. Miller was recognized as "one of the pioneers of feto-maternal medicine in the United States and for his contribution to the literature in fetal surveillance." He also led a delegation of 96 obstetricians and gynecologists on a two-week tour of OB/GYN departments, maternity hospitals and traditional medicine hospitals in China in June. The group was sponsored by the People to People Ambassadors Program to encourage direct interaction between physicians and other medical personnel of the two countries.

Presentations
-- James Campbell, music, presented a series of percussion workshops at Ryukoku Toyama High School in Toyata, Japan, from Aug. 28 to Sept. 2. The workshops were presented to both music educators and students from the area.
-- RaeAnne Szeluga, Southeast Center for Agricultural Health and Injury Prevention, presented a poster, "A Survey of Work-Related Musculoskeletal Complaints Among Dental Hygienists in Kentucky," at the recent American Industrial Hygiene Association's conference in New Orleans. The Ergonomics Committee of the association named her the recipient of the 2001 Tichauer Award for Best Ergonomics Poster by a Young Researcher.
-- Vernon Wiehe, Social Work, will present "The Role of Empathy in Treating Family Violence Perpetrators and Victims" Oct. 29 at the Child Welfare League of America meeting in Cleveland.

Publications
-- Amy Scheerer, Kentucky Injury Prevention and Research Center, "Occupational Burn Surveillance in Kentucky," Kentucky Epidemiologic Notes and Reports.
-- Tim Struttmann and Amy Scheerer, Ken-tucky Injury Prevention and Research Center, "Fatal Injuries Caused by Logs Rolling Off Trucks: Kentucky 1994-1998, American Journal of Industrial Medicine.
-- Amy Scheerer and Vickie Brandt, Kentucky Injury Prevention and Research Center, "Interviews with Widows Following Fatal Farming Incidents," Journal of Agricultural Safety and Health.
-- W.J. Christian, Kentucky Injury Prevention and Research Center, "Spinal Cord Injury," Kentucky Epidemiologic Notes and Reports.
-- Vickie Brandt and Tim Struttmann, Kentucky Injury Prevention and Research Center, with Sam Moon of Duke University, Janet Elers of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health and Mark Methner of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, "Exposure to Endosulfan in Farmers: Two Case Studies," American Journal of Industrial Medicine.

Research and funding
-- Subbarao Bondada, Sanders-Brown Center on Aging, $325,800, Age Associated Changes in B Lymphocyte Function.
-- James Clark, Social Work, $100,000, CATS Program: Multi-dimensional Assessment.
-- Henry Cole, educational and counseling psychology, $189,540, ROPS II: Further Dis-semination and Evaluation of the Kentucky ROPS Program Year Three.
-- Vincent Gallicchio, clinical sciences, $150,000, Using Lipid-Linked AZT Drugs to Improve HIV Therapy.
-- Issam Harik, Kentucky Transportation Center, $105,000, Performance Evaluation of Bridge Retrofit Using Carbon FRP Cloth.
-- John Hiett, Center for Applied Energy Research, $161,137, Mine Mapping Program.
-- Kay Hoffman, Social Work, $108,044, Foster Parent Training Program.
-- Thomas Janoski, sociology, $181,402, The Double Irony of Citizenship: A Comparative Historical Approach to Naturalizing Immigration.
-- Ratnesh Kumar, electrical engineering, $237,848, Control and Diagnosis of Discrete-Event Systems with Temporal Logic Specifications.
-- Carl Leukefeld, Center for Drug and Alcohol Research, $3,256,000, Targeted Assessment Project.
-- Karen Main, Center for Rural Health, $598,790, Southeast Kentucky Community Access Program.
-- Katherine McCormick, special education and rehabilitation counseling, $235,455, UK Tech-nical Assistance Team.
-- Gary Palmer, agronomy, $116,920, Philip Morris Tobacco Curing Study.
-- Claudia Rauter, entomology, $274,162, Indirect Genetic Effects of Parental Care Behavior.
-- David Rodgers, molecular and cellular biochemistry, $278,400, Neuropeptidase Function.
-- Christopher Schardl, plant pathology, $118,519, Toxin Biosynthesis Genes in Ergopeptine-Producing Fungi.
-- Susan Straley, microbiology and immunology, $162,740, Training Program in Microbial Pathogenesis.
-- Michal Toborek, neurosurgery, $280,043, Brain Endothelial Cell TNF and Tat-Induced Cell Injury; $ 202,320, Antiapoptotic Neuroprotection by Nicotine in Spinal Cord Injury.