Commitment to Innovation
 Wright State received the 2007 Diversity Award from the Minority & Friends Network, an organization of 54 American colleges and universities created to assist minority candidates in their career search in higher education administration. Residence Services and Counseling and Wellness Services received the national honor for a class they present each spring on privilege and oppression in American culture. Through readings and experiential learning, the emphasis for students is on personal reflection and in-depth discussions.
Ending its second year, the Wright Charter College has provided training using the Alternative Educator License for 27 math, 10 science, four foreign language, and 48 intervention specialist teacher candidates. The College of Education and Human Services received a $480,000 grant from the Ohio Department of Education for the Wright Charter College, which is designed to expand the pool of qualified teachers for Ohio's schools.
To increase the number of students pursuing careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), Wright State and Sinclair Community College have joined forces to launch a local initiative with funding from a National Science Foundation grant of $2 million over five years. WSU and Sinclair will develop a common first-year STEM experience with goals that include a 10 percent increase in STEM transfer majors from Sinclair to Wright State.
Patricia Martin, dean of the WSU-Miami Valley College of Nursing and Health, received the 2007 Award for Innovation in Nursing from the Ohio League of Nursing. She was recognized for her work in establishing the Nursing Institute of West Central Ohio. The institute is a regional effort to recruit and retain nurses and brings together local bedside nurses, administrators, educators and employers from 16 counties in an effort to keep the growing nursing shortage from crippling the region's health care.
The Department of Emergency Medicine is partnering with the Ohio Department of Health to develop a statewide model for disaster training, preparedness, and response. The department's Homeland Emergency Learning and Preparedness (H.E.L.P.) Center has received six contracts totaling $7.1 million to establish the critical infrastructure needed for medical readiness. The H.E.L.P. Center will train first responders in the only certified National Disaster Life Support Foundation training site in Ohio; establish state-of-the-art training facilities; develop surge capability facilities; and establish neighborhood response capability.
The Center for Brain Research in the Boonshoft School of Medicine will signficantly expand its scope and mission by establishing a Comprehensive Neuroscience Center for improving research of neurological, developmental, cognitive, psychiatric and trauma-induced nervous system disorders. The center will integrate teams of scientists and clinicians from several disciplines to collaborate on research of the nervous system ranging from cellular and molecular mechanisms to behavior.
Through the Kno.e.sis Center, a world-class academic research organization created to apply knowledge to understanding, Wright State researchers are pioneering the next generation of Web technology with applications in diverse fields ranging from defense and thwarting terrorism to health care and financial services. Through the Semantic Web, in which Web content can be understood, interpreted, and used by software and machines, Kno.e.sis researchers are organizing and analyzing data through computer applications and software development.
The Lake Campus is part of the newly formed Western Ohio Training Consortium with Edison Community College, Sinclair Community College, Upper Valley JVS, the Job Center Network, and nine major employers in West Central Ohio. With a $2.03 million grant from the Department of Labor, the consortium will deliver advanced manufacturing training to current and displaced workers. Training will be provided onsite, online and on campus throughout a ten-county region.
A survey conducted by Wright State's Center for Urban and Public Affairs indicates that the nursing shortage in the Dayton area is worse than in the rest of the state or nation. An initiative created by the WSU-Miami Valley College of Nursing and Health, along with 24 institutions in 16 counties, the Nursing Insitute of West Central Ohio represents a regional effort to recruit and retain nurses.
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