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In February, the University of Toledo Board of Trustees approved a proposed $400 million master plan update that would make significant changes to the main campus. Jason Toth, UT’s Senior Vice President for Administration, Facilities and Construction, and Supply Chain presented the master plan to trustees. Intended to “reenergize” the campus, the plan will cost between $300 to $400 million and take five to seven years to complete. In addition to renovations to the Student Union, the plan calls for the demolition of Rocket Hall, Bowman-Oddy, Wolfe Hall, and Health and Human Services. “We look to reenergize the heart of campus, leveraging our Centennial Mall to create a robust sense of place and improve the campus experience,” Toth said. The plan includes the addition of a one-stop shop welcome center between Tucker and McKinnon Halls and the construction of a new College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics building. The new science building will be built where the Health and Human Services building currently stands, after which Bowman-Oddy and Wolfe Halls will be torn down. These changes will push the remainder of the College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences to the Health Science campus. The Department of Communications, which is housed in Rocket Hall, will move into an empty space in the Law Center. “We’re excited about the opportunity to explore a new space that’s going to be suited to our needs and our students’ needs,” Communications Department Chair Benjamin Myers said. The Student Union is also slated to undergo major renovations, including “getting rid of all the heavy concrete, putting in skylights, putting in glass walls,” according to Toth. “Just making it much more light and lively,” he said. There are also plans to connect the second floors of the Student Union and the Carlson Library with a skywalk. Progress on the new plan will ramp up slowly, according to Toth.  “You probably won’t see a lot of activity on campus for about a year,” he said.

Hosted by Ukrainian UToledo student Ira Snahoshchenko, the “Unissued Diplomas” exhibition shares stories of 40 Ukrainian students whose lives were taken during the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Their photos and biographies are showcased on the second floor of the library until Mar. 31. The exhibition opened Mar. 11, with speeches from UT professors Dr. Barry Jackisch and Dr. Michael Voss regarding the history of Ukraine, and Alona Matchenko, a recent UT law school graduate who founded Toledo Helps Ukraine. The opening reception included a screening of “20 Days in Mariupol,” an Academy Award Winning documentary by AP journalist Mystyslav Chernov. “When I first heard about the exhibition, I really wanted to post it on YouTube though, because it really meant a lot to me as a student from Ukraine, seeing other students who I could have been in the place of struggling like that," Snahoshchenko said, adding that it "was something that I did not want to leave unheard.” With this exhibition, Snahoshchenko hopes to reach people who may not think about what it means to be a student from Ukraine. In the beginning of Russia’s invasion in February 2022, there was a lot of media coverage that has since declined. As Snahoshchenko is a person who is affected by the war in an “indirect” way, she feels that the decline of media coverage is disheartening. “Bringing my first home to my second home sounded like an amazing idea,” Snahoshchenko said of her decision to organize the event. When she saw via social media that Unissued Diplomas was opening applications for new locations to host the traveling nationwide exhibition, “I decided that it was going to be my chance to host it at University of Toledo,” Snahoshchenko said.

The women’s basketball team won their third consecutive Mid-American Conference (MAC) championship with an 83-61 victory over Kent State on Mar. 9. The Rockets ended the regular season with a record of 17-1 in the MAC and 25-4 overall. Toledo went into the MAC Tournament as the No. 1 seed. They defeated No. 8 seed Western Michigan 72-61 in the quarterfinals on Mar. 13 at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland, Ohio, but fell to No. 4 seed Buffalo 74- 77 on Mar 15. Fifth-year senior Sophia Wiard was named Mid-American conference Player of the Year and Tricia Cullop was named the MAC Coach of the Year for the third year in a row, for a combined total of six times. With the Mar. 9 win over Kent State, Coach Cullop has won 350 games as Toledo women’s basketball coach. Fifth-year senior Quinesha Lockett made the MAC All-Tournament team. Wiard and Lockett were both named First-Team All-MAC while senior Sammi Mikonowicz made the Third Team.

With fall semester rapidly coming to a close, UT Student Government is slowing making progress on its to-do list. Lucas Will and Tanner Schultz, UTSG President and Vice President, respectively, have also been working to make good on their campaign promises. As of October UTSG had increased its cap for senators by 60 percent and filled all 80 available seats, which leads to a stronger student voice, according to officials. UTSG plays a key role in bringing student concerns to the University administration directly. At the University of Toledo Board of Trustees meeting on September 27, representatives from UTSG discussed their initiatives for the remainder of the school year, including a proposal from Student Senator Thomas Rega to expand the University’s Sustainability Committee. “Rega’s initiative is connecting student organizations together to work with the UToledo Green Fund to allow students to make decisions on where this funding is going,” Will said. “We want to promote the sustainable initiatives that students want.” UTSG also hosted a parking Q&A in October to allow students and staff to voice their parking concerns and receive feedback from administrators. It also created a new parking committee that consists of eight students. The committee will meet with Park UToledo on a monthly basis to discuss parking concerns. Chaired by Aesha Patel, the committee will hold its first meeting Dec. 1. UTSG is also working alongside the International Student Association to update any outdated country flags on display in the Carlson Library. They have plans to continue fostering a connection with identity-based organizations on campus and have recently appointed Makenzie Moman as the Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Spring semster will bring formal meetings with these organizations to address concerns and improve the campus community. Also for spring semester, similar Q&A meetings will be held to address dining hall concerns and campus safety with UTPD. Student leaders also discussed the fluctuating involvement of students and organizations on campus. “Post COVID involvement is increasing, so student organizations need to be prepared and think bigger,” Schultz said. “There should be a focus on connectedness and collaboration to communicate with each other and work together, have fun together, and increase the campus community.” With over 450 active student organizations and recording breaking attendance at sporting events, it seems that UT students are getting involved more than ever before, officials said. “I have always felt proud to be a Rocket, but it is so much more rewarding to see that sense of pride being instilled in others for the first time,” says Will. A key focus of UTSG looking forward is creating connections between student and local government through the Government Relations Committee. In March 2024, a meet and greet with elected officials will be held for students to interact with their local government and learn about the impact they have in their community. Students are encouraged to contact UTSG with concerns, comments, and questions. For more information, email UTSG@utoledo.edu or stop by the UTSG office in Student Union 3512. General body meetings are held every Tuesday at 8:15 p.m. in Student Union room 2592. Students and staff are welcome to attend.

UToledo’s 17-month nation-wide search for a new Provost is drawing to an end. UT President Dr. Gregory Postel is hoping to announce the new provost next month, with that person assuming their duties next summer. “I’m hoping by the end of the calendar year to name the new provost,” Postel said. Melissa Hurst, special assistant to the president for strategic talent development, is assisting the search committee. She indicated previous experience as a provost is not required but a role as a dean would be important. “We are looking at both internal and external candidates,” Hurst said. Postel said UT would prefer someone with experience at a public institution, as opposed to a private school. Dr. Karen Bjorkman resigned as provost in July 2022 and subsequently returned to the faculty after taking a one-year sabbatical leave. She holds a tenured faculty position as Distinguished University Professor and the Helen Luedtke Brooks Professor of Astronomy in the Department of Physics and Astronomy in the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics. A member of the UToledo faculty since 1996, when she joined the Department of Physics and Astronomy, she served as the founding dean of the University’s College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics from 2010 to 2019. She was named interim Provost in January 2019 and was given the permanent job in January 2020. Following Bjorkman’s departure, Dr. Risa Dickson was appointed UT’s interim provost in July 2022, and given a one-year contract. Dickson came to UT through The Registry, a national company that helps place senior interim leaders on college campuses across the country. An article in the August 15 edition of the UT News announced Dickson’s contract had been extended through the end of the 2023-24 school year; however, her departure was announced a few weeks later. “It’s my understanding that the president determined that we’d gotten things in a place where an internal person could hold it down until a permanent provost is hired this year,” Dickson said when contacted via social media. The search for a permanent provost was just beginning when Dickson was hired, but it took time to get everything together as a search committee had to be formed, President Postel said. By the time Dickson left UT no interviews had been conducted with prospective candidates. The current interim provost, Dr. Scott Molitor, is not interested in the permanent position. “It was a bit unexpected,” Molitor said when talking about his recent promotion. A member of the UT faculty since 2000, prior to being named interim provost in September, Molitor had most recently served as interim vice provost for academic affairs and acting dean of the College of Graduate Studies. Postel said Molitor is a good fit to lead UT’s transition to the next provost due to his 20-plus years’ experience at UT. “We are always looking to be frugal,” Postel said. “We don’t ever want to pay for something that is duplicative.” Molitor intends to go back to his vice provost position when a new provost is ready to take office.

ParkUToledo is “not the villains people want to make us out to be,” according to the non-profit’s Executive Director, Sherri Kaspar. Kaspar was answering questions about parking at UToledo during a Parking Q&A on October 10. ParkUToledo handles all aspects of parking—permitting, ticketing, maintenance, etc.—at the University of Toledo. The agreement between UT and ParkUToledo requires meetings be held twice a year so the campus community can give feedback on parking on campus. At October’s meeting, a number of people complained about ParkUToledo’s ticketing policy. Some students were upset there is no leniency for first time offenders of the parking regulations, claiming a zero-tolerance stance gives parking on campus a negative stigma and makes people afraid to visit. “If you show up to campus and you park the way you’re supposed to park, there shouldn’t be a problem,” Kaspar said. If someone believes they have been improperly ticketed, they can appeal the ticket by contacting ParkUToledo. All tickets must be appealed within 10 days of being issued. If someone gets a ticket and cannot pay it, they can ask to set up a payment plan with ParkUToledo to pay the ticket off over time and avoid racking up extra fees. The prices of student parking passes went up $4 this year, making permits $137 per semester, and the price of faculty parking passes went up by $59, making them $100 per semester. This is because ParkUToledo wants to close the gap between what students and faculty must pay to park on campus. Participants were required to submit their questions digitally, through a live online forum. In one such question, someone claimed parking prices at nearby schools like BGSU are muchcheaper and students should have had a say in how much parking would cost. According to Kaspar, the price of parking passes is set based on the price of parking at “peer schools” around the area including “MAC schools and Ohio State.” Another common theme at the Town Hall was that students and faculty have a hard time finding parking. Kaspar said the most desirable parking lots, such as areas 10 and 13 are “full a majority of the time.” She suggested people go directly to lots 18, 20, or 25, rather than circling the more desirable lots, because those three are consistently empty. There are no plans to construct new parking facilities in the immediate future, Kaspar said. “Until we start seeing the campus fill up, which we are not seeing the South end at all filling up, no additional parking is expected to be put in, surface lot or parking garage.” According to ParkUToledo, permits are always required to park on campus. Their enforcement hours are from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Mondays to Fridays and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekends. For more information on parking at UT, visit parkutoledo.com.

The Jesup Scott Honors College will be restructured in the coming weeks, but the changes should be “seamless” for students, Interim Provost Scott Molitor said. “Honors is not an academic discipline,” Molitor said, explaining the plan is “to reorganize the college itself so that the faculty will go to their academic homes. We intend to continue offering an excellent honors program and experience. It’s just a matter of where faculty belong, and how it’s administered.” Dr. Ashley Pryor, Associate Professor of Humanities, is currently housed in the Honors College and will “fold into the existing structure” of the Department of Philosophy in the College of Arts and Letters, where she will continue teaching generally the same courses she does as a member of the Honors College. “Faculty should have academic homes that reflect their expertise and their discipline,” Molitor said. “We will still deliver an Honors program, students will still receive an Honors medallion, the program will still be called the Jesup Scott Honors College,” Molitor said. The difference is there will be no Honors administration or exclusively Honors faculty. Molitor said current Honors students should not notice a change this year, but there may be changes in the future. “Curriculum always changes, there may be discussions about revisioning the honors program,” he said.  Any changes to the Honors program will only affect new students, according to Molitor. “Currently enrolled students will be able to finish the program as it is.” Molitor will present the proposed changes to Faculty Senate later this month. Barring any major complaints, the changes would take effect starting with Spring Semester, he said. “Honors is not going away,” said Dr. Linda Rouillard, President of Faculty Senate. The change is mostly structural, she said.

The University of Toledo Communication Department is reviewing a proposal that would eliminate the Media Communication (Mcomm) major and turn it into a concentration. If approved, media students would be required to take three additional classes: interpersonal communication, communication theory, and public presentations. “These three classes represent essential skills for students entering the workforce,” Communication Chair Benjamin Myers said. But some media students say this will hurt them because additional courses will reduce the amount of media electives they can take. The Mcomm major was created six years ago and is a hybrid major that combines broadcasting, journalism, and social media. Faculty opposed to this proposal say this material is already covered in the major. Students asked if they could attend a Nov. 17 meeting of CommunicationDepartment faculty to express their concerns but were told they were not invited. Instead, Myers scheduled a meeting for students for Nov. 15. About 20 students filled the conference room to find out what is the plan is for their major. UT faculty and staff stressed this change will not impact students currently enrolled in the program. However, it would impact students who are entering the Communication Department in the future. Students questioned why they weren’t notified about the potential changes and why they haven’t been allowed to provide input. “My biggest concern is this decision to change the major affects students directly and we’re being left in the dark,” said Emily Thomas, a UT senior. Asa Kridelbaugh, a second-year student at UT, attended the Nov. 15 meeting and left frustrated, saying he was “a little confused because the questions students were asking were not answered. Another concern of students is that UT:10 News, the media capstone course, would be cancelled completely since it hasn’t been offered since Fall of 2022. UT:10 is an award-winning, student-produced live news program and is a big reason many Communication students say they decided to attend UT. In the meeting, Myers said the course had not been offered since Fall 2022 because of low student interest. But students disagreed, voicing displeasure with a former instructor, who is no longer working with UT:10, as the reason why they didn’t sign up for the course. In response, Myers told students UT:10 would be offered in Fall 2024. Thomas, who graduates this spring, was happy the course would reinstated but feels strongly the media major should be left alone. “My biggest concern is this decision to change the major affects students directly and we’re being left in the dark,” Thomas said. “Because I’m a senior, I feel like it’s my duty to look out for the freshmen.”

The University provides a variety of complimentary services to assist students, including temporary food assistance, free laptop rentals, and a headshot booth. Among the services offered are: Food Pantry – The Student Union food pantry provides temporary food assistance for students in need. Most of the pantry’s food has a long shelf life, and includes items such as canned sauces, microwavable meals, peanut butter, and bulk bags of pasta and cereal. The pantry also can also provide hygiene items such as deodorant, paper towels, toilet paper, and shampoo. Students receive ten dollars worth of merchandise each visit and are limited to one visit per week. Item prices range from 25 cents to two dollars. Students may be eligible for additional items if they are experiencing a qualifying event, such as job loss. Located in room 2514 of the Student Union, the food pantry is open from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. every Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Computer Rentals – Business majors or students enrolled in a business class may borrow a Dell Latitude Laptop for 24-hours without a fee. Rentals are available every Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. They are available for overnight use, but not for weekend use. Students who qualify should bring their Rocket Card to Stranahan Hall 5007 to complete the rental process. Sensory Room – The sensory room is a room dedicated to providing students a space where they can decompress. The room is decorated with a huge bean bag chair and alternative lighting such as LED galaxy lights and curtain fairy lights. It contains Rubik’s cubes, kinetic sand, noise-canceling headphones, coloring pages, and fidget toys. The sensory room is located within the Office of Access and Disability in Rocket Hall. It is open from 8:15 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Resource Room – The Resource Room is filled with craft supplies including markers, colored paper, construction paper, stamps, and stencils for students to use free of charge. Its purpose is to give students in campus organizations creative supplies. It is in Student Union room 1532 and is available Monday through Friday from 8:15 a.m. to 5 p.m. Swipe access is required to enter, or the building manager can make the space accessible. Headshot Booth – The Headshot Booth is on the Student Union’s first floor, down the hall from the Resource Room. The Headshot Booth is a self-serve photo booth that offers business-quality headshots for professional use. The Headshot Booth is used to help boost UT students’ career readiness. It walks students through the process of taking a professional photo of oneself, providing tips along the way and allowing students to edit their finished products afterwards.

Pat Bowe, president and chief executive officer of The Andersons Inc., will be the keynote speaker at commencement ceremonies on Dec. 16. He was named CEO at The Andersons in 2015. The Maumee-based agribusiness was founded in 1947, and today conducts business in the commodity merchandising, renewables and nutrient and industrial sectors. Bowe previously served as corporate vice president of Cargill Inc. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Stanford University and a master’s degree from the Stanford Food Research Institute. Bowe is active in the community and sits on the boards of the Toledo Alliance for the Performing Arts and the Toledo Museum of Art. UToledo’s two fall 2023 commencement ceremonies are scheduled at 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. Dec. 16 inside John F. Savage Arena. The morning ceremony at 9 a.m. will recognize students in the College of Arts and Letters, the John B. and Lillian E. Neff College of Business and Innovation, College of Law, College of Medicine and Life Sciences, College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, College of Nursing and the College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences. Students in the Judith Herb College of Education, College of Engineering, College of Health and Human Services and University College will be recognized at 1 p.m. Tickets are required.

Rocket Kids, a new internship program housed in the University of Toledo’s Judith Herb College of Education, sent more than 20 college students to U.S. military bases in Europe, where interns ran summer camps for the children of deployed U.S. service men and women. The program allows students, most of whom were education majors, to implement the activities and skills they had been learning in their classes. Sam Simpson, who spent the summer in Vicenza, Italy, said one of his favorite memories was “building a deep connection with the kids and knowing I left an impression on them.” Rocket Kids interns were provided with plane tickets, room and board, and a $2,000 stipend to cover food and other necessities. Students covered the cost of uniforms, tuition—$500 for 15 credit hours—an intensive background check, and the cost of CPR and First Aid training. When the Rocket Kids interns weren’t at summer camp, they were able to explore the surrounding areas to their heart’s content. Popular destinations included Paris, Amsterdam, and Berlin. Rocket Kids is hoping to increase its number of interns threefold for the summer of 2024. Interested students should visit utoledo.edu/studentaffairs/rocketkids/ for more information or to fill out the interest form.

Members of the UToledo branch of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) and their supporters picketed outside of University Hall on Sept. 27 to express their concerns with financial decisions being made at UT. In the budget approved this summer, more than $16 million was cut from the budgets of the University’s various colleges. The group claims the cuts have endangered the academic mission of the University and warned of the impact of future cuts. “We are making the community, first off, aware of what’s going on at their university,” Tim Brakel, AAUP President, said. “There have been so many cuts over the years that literally colleges and departments are bare bones right now. There is no place to cut other than people.” The informational picket was approved by 90 percent of AAUP members present at a meeting earlier in September. Members cite simultaneous cuts to programs and faculty and increases to administration as one of the University’s transgressions. Organizers said the event was an informational picket, not a strike or demonstration. UT officials have said more than 80 percent of the academic budget is for employee compensation. In an e-mail to its members, the UT-AAUP Executive Board indicated “This picketing is to save the UT academic mission for our students.” “It’s not just professors that are being affected by this,” said Go Holsinger, who says he feels the effects of budget cuts both in the Religious Studies minor and in their layoff from the University over the summer. “There’s definitely not enough people out here, I feel like students don’t realize how important it is,” Go said. “There would be nothing here without us ... we should have the experience and the education that we deserve, and we need to fight for it.” The AAUP is concerned how future cuts to the colleges would impact program and degree offerings. Officials have indicated they have not yet set a budget reduction target for next year.