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Toledo has the 48th highest sexually transmitted infection (STI) rate of all cities in the U.S., according to a report by Innerbody Research, Inc., a California-based collective of researchers, scientists, and medical professionals. Interbody used 2023 data gathered by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The primary STIs affecting the Toledo area are chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis, the last of which is on the rise nationwide. The U.S. has experienced a 28.6 percent rise in syphilis since the CDC’s last annual study. The statistics for northwest Ohio mirror national trends, particularly regarding syphilis. In 2023, 70 percent of cases in Ohio were found in men who have sex with other men, over 60 percent of cases were reported in people 40 and younger, and 48 percent of cases last year were African American. “Toledo is the hub of people who actually travel to other areas,” said Donna Fox, an HIV and STI Prevention and Management Specialist for Lucas County. Fox referenced I-475 and I-75 passing through the city as contributing factors to Toledo’s high rates of STIs. According to Fox, 42 percent of the individuals with syphilis met their partner online and 12 percent contracted the illness through transactional sex. "They may be exchanging it for a safe place to sleep, they may be exchanging it for drugs, so a variety of ways that transactional sex is there,” Fox explained. Danielle Van Fleet, HIV testing coordinator for UTMC, said one issue affecting college students’ sexual health is insurance, noting “an explanation of benefits will be sent home to the guardians and will likely say something about a sexual health screening or sexual health testing or something, and if that person isn’t comfortable talking to their guardians about their sexuality or their sex practices, that’s going to bring up a conversation they might not really be willing to have and might not be safe for them.” Yet another barrier to sexual health is the stigma around getting tested. “It’s important that we’re not shaming about sex practices, you know, it’s just we want people to be more educated,” Van Fleet said. “Ohio is an abstinence only state, meaning that the schools only have to teach abstinence. They can teach more if they choose.” Nationwide, there were 220 cases of infant death due to prenatal syphilis in 2023, with this disproportionately affecting people of color. According to the Innerbody Research report, “nearly 90 percent of these cases of newborn syphilis were preventable through testing and treatment during pregnancy.” The report cites lack of health insurance, lack of public health infrastructure, housing insecurity, and substance abuse disorders as the primary causative factors of the uneven distribution of STIs. UT resources include the Sexuality Health Clinic, which provides free HIV testing, condoms, pregnancy tests, and sexual health information. The recurring event is hosted in Carlson Library room 1009, from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., on each first and third Tuesday of the month. Planned Parenthood of Northwest Ohio provides STI/HIV testing and treatment, emergency contraceptives, and free safe sex materials such as condoms. For more information, call 419-255-1115 or visit Planned Parenthood at 1301 Jefferson Ave. All Ohio residents 16 and older can go to OHIV.org and order free discreetly packaged condoms right to their doorstep.

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.

More than 18 months after Karen Bjorkman stepped down as Provost, it was announced in February that Dr. Scott Molitor will continue as interim provost and executive vice president for academic affairs for the 2024-25 academic year. This is despite indications in January that a new permanent provost was at hand. Two finalists vying to be UT’s next provost visited campus in January to meet with students, faculty, and staff. Both finalists had a 75-minute forum with the UToledo community where they gave personal presentations about themselves and answered questions. Dr. Amy B. Hietapelto, the interim executive vice chancellor for academic affairs at the University of Minnesota Duluth, visited campus on Jan. 18 and Dr. Abby L. Parrill, dean of the college of arts and sciences and former interim provost at the University of Memphis, visited campus on Jan. 22. On Feb. 20, the University announced Molitor’s contract was extended through June 30, 2025 “following a decision by UToledo President Gregory Postel and leadership of the Board of Trustees to end the current provost search allowing for a continued conversation about the restructuring of the roles of the University’s provost and strategic enrollment leader.” “We felt like bringing in somebody from the outside at this point would be too disruptive again,” Molitor said. In the announcement, President Postel praised Molitor’s work as interim provost, saying, “Scott has quickly become a trusted and highly respected leader as our interim chief academic officer in a period of robust change in both higher education more broadly and at UToledo specifically.” “I appreciate his continued leadership as we position the University for continued success,” Postel added. Molitor was originally named the interim provost in September 2023 after Dr. Risa Dickson was removed as interim. Dickson was appointed in 2022 after Karen Bjorkman resigned as provost to return to a faculty position. Prior to assuming the interim provost role, Molitor was vice provost for academic affairs and acting dean of the College of Graduate Studies. Molitor has been a member of the UToledo bioengineering faculty since 2000 and held a number of administrative roles in the College of Engineering before joining the Office of the Provost staff in 2022. Molitor is not interested in the permanent position. “I just don’t think I have the background and the experience to be the best provost this university can get,” Molitor said.

Toledo will see a partial solar eclipse from 1:56 to 4:26 p.m. on Apr. 8, with a total solar eclipse beginning at 3:13 p.m. Totality should last around 90 seconds. The last time Toledo experienced totality during an eclipse was 218 years ago in 1806, and the next time won’t be until 2099. UToledo’s Ritter Observatory will be hosting several events leading up to the eclipse. Until Apr. 5, every Friday at 7:30 p.m. there will be an informational program on eclipses. Until Apr. 6, every Saturday will feature a more child-oriented event at 1 p.m. that will include arts and crafts activities relating to the eclipse, such as eclipse glasses. On Apr. 8, half of the Glass Bowl Stadium will be open for a viewing of the progression of the eclipse between noon and 6 p.m. In the stadium, people will be able to view on the jumbotron an image of the eclipse through the UT telescope, a filter overlaid to avoid causing eye damage to viewers. If the UT telescope is unable to capture a clear view of the eclipse, NASA’s telescope of the eclipse will be projected instead. Surrounding the eclipse itself, there will be informational videos and activities out on Centennial Mall, with food trucks, games, music, and student organizations tabling. Eclipse glasses will be distributed to students through the library, residence halls, and other UT offices, however, there is a limited supply, so glasses will be first come first serve. Dr. Michael Cushing, professor of Astronomy and Physics and director of the Ritter Planetarium, described the eclipse as “when the moon gets in between the Earth and the Sun, and so the Moon blocks the Sun out. Another way to think about it is the Moon is always casting a shadow into space because it’s been lit up by the Sun. If the Earth happens to move into that shadow, you see an eclipse… You see this sort of ghostly halo around the Sun. So, it’s a very primordial sort of reaction that we have.” What sets this eclipse apart from others is that it will reach totality for people in portions of Ohio, including Toledo. “A total eclipse is when the moon lines up perfectly, blocking out the entire Sun, and that is only on a narrow strip of about 100 miles on the surface of the Earth,” Cushing said. While eclipses are not particularly rare, where they can be viewed on earth is what makes them unique. “It takes hundreds of years [for an eclipse to be viewed in totality in the same area] … in principle, they can happen every six months, depending on where the moon is in orbit, but sometimes it’s in the middle of the Pacific Ocean and you don’t see it. The ‘total’ part is very rare just because it’s only 100 miles.” Eye safety of the viewer is one concern Dr. Cushing raised, stating, “when the Moon moves totally in front of the Sun and everything gets dark, you can take a glimpse [with your] glasses off and you can look directly at it, that’s safe, but the moment it starts to move off, be careful again because it’ll start hurting your eyes eventually.” To avoid potential eye damage from this eclipse, Cushing suggested the use of pinhole cameras. “The easiest one is just getting a pasta strainer with a bunch of holes and hold it up to the direction of the sun. On the ground, you will see a bunch of little crescent suns because each hole acts like a camera and will project an image of the Sun on the ground.”

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.

On June 26, 2024, the Board of Trustees approved a $1.03 billion operating budget for fiscal year 2025 (FY25) which runs from July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2025. This includes $408.9 million for university and auxiliary operations and $617.6 million for UT Health, and represents a $62.97 million dollar increase from FY24. The operating budget projects a 2.5% decrease in tuition revenue (from $229.2 to 223.6 million) and a 2.49% decrease in State Share of Instruction (from $115.4 to $112.6 million). “It’s just like anything that you predict, it’s like medicine that a doctor prescribed to you,” said Vice Provost of Student Affairs and Dean of Students Sammy Spann, regarding budget alignment with university goals. “You don’t know how good it’s working until you’re actually seeing the benefits down the road... Doing nothing is going to cost us. Doing something, it’s kind of up in the air how it’s going to turn out.” “Obviously, we know that we’re very challenged on the revenue front,” said Sabrina Taylor, associate vice president of budget and planning, when asked about the financial priorities of the university. “Our office, the budget office, we don’t get involved in setting the priorities. Obviously, that comes at a higher level.” The priorities of the university “depends on who you talk to,” according to Spann. “The goals are multifaceted, but I will tell you the common goal that we all share is to make sure the student experience is a priority,” citing activities, events, and support in the form of career services and outreach as demonstrations of this priority. “When you have the right people around the table, then those priorities are what’s best for the institution, what’s best for the students, and what’s best for us collectively as a community,” Spann said. For FY25, $6 million was transferred from UTHealth to the university budget for mission support. There was an 11.6% increase in compensation for UT Health (from $281.7 to $314.5 million), which includes UT Medical Center and UT Physicians. UT Health made up 60% of both the university’s expenses and revenues, a slight increase from last year when it comprised 58% of revenues and expenses. There was a less than 1% decrease in compensation for university and auxiliary employees, from $308.5 to $305.6 million. With enrollment on the decline, the university has needed to “rightsize the employee base,” said Taylor, which includes eliminating vacant positions and examining the retirement and resignation trends of staff and faculty. When the Division of Student Affairs lost staff members, for example, “if it was a role that could be incorporated in other areas, we would incorporate it in other areas, and take that money as a savings and use it to help right size the budget,” Spann said. For FY25, the General Fee is budgeted to bring in $17.6 million, $8.5 million of which is transferred to indexes in the division of athletics. UT student athletes receive $4.8 million in scholarships for tuition fees and book costs, as well as $884,808 in stipends. UToledo football accounts for 51% of the stipend budget for athletics. “Most universities don’t make money off their athletics program,” said Spann. “People know us as the Rockets, the brand of the university is athletics, so it’s kind of like a double-edged sword.” Stipends are disbursed to full-ride athletes for cost of attendance as a monthly payment. The cost of attendance is based on the overall university’s cost of attendance for all students. Scholarships cover tuition, books, fees, and room and board, and the stipends are designed to cover any cost-of-attendance expenses that are not covered by scholarships. Stipends are a fixed amount based on a formula calculated by the federal government for financial aid purposes, according to Sabrina Taylor. UT budgeted $2.2 million for student athletes’ off-campus room and board, with football making up 35% of this budget. Conversely, $439,000 was the budget for on-campus housing for student athletes, with football making up 49% of that budget. UT budgets $219,250 for pre-season room and board. While all sports budget for off-campus room and board, notably, women’s basketball, women’s swimming, men’s and women’s tennis, volleyball, and men’s track and cross-country teams do not budget for on-campus room and board. Women’s soccer and women’s track and cross-country receive a $20,000 budget each for on-campus room, but not on-campus board. Athletics is set to bring in $54,500 from event parking, primarily from other entities, such as local high schools, using UT facilities for sporting events. Some UT sports also build parking into their ticket pricing. 6% of UToledo scholarships, amounting nearly $500,000, according to spokesperson Tyrel Linkhorn, are still on hold due to the federal overturn of affirmative action in June 2023. “The funds have not gone away,” said Taylor. “They were looking to broaden the scope of how they could award the scholarship dollars. We’ve not given any money back.” It was further clarified that students who had previously received those scholarships were still being awarded their annual renewals, if applicable. The change impacts only new applicants, according to the office.

On Jan. 22, Campus Activities and Programming (CAP) hosted a flowerpot painting event that brought together students who share a love for art and plants. "It was nice to sit and chat with my friends as we let our creativity run wild while painting these adorable little flowerpots," said one participant.

The Rockets brought home two wins against the Falcons this past weekend. A women’s Battle of I-75 basketball rivalry record, 6,527 fans came to Savage Arena on Saturday, Jan. 25 to watch the rivals play. The Toledo women’s basketball team defeated Bowling Green 80-68, the fifth consecutive victory over the rivals. The Rockets entered the locker room down by five, but a strong performance in the second half gave the Rockets the victory. Toledo (13-5, 5-3 MAC) outscored Bowling Green (9-10, 3-5 MAC) 55-36 in the final 20 minutes of the game. “I’m really proud of our team’s effort and am grateful for the fans that showed up today,” said Head Coach Ginny Boggess. "Our players made plays, and our veterans especially stepped up big-time today. Toledo and Bowling Green are two pillars of mid-major basketball, and I’m not surprised the all-time rivalry is so close.” Sophomore Kendall Carruthers scored a season-high 21 points and graduate student Khera Goss added 20 points to lead Toledo to victory. Graduate student Sammi Mikonowicz also scored in the double digits, adding 10 points for the Rockets. As a team, the Rockets shot 54.4% (31-of-57) from the field, 56.3% (9-of-16) from behind the arc, and 90.0% (9-of-10) at the free throw line. The Rockets totaled 21 assists, seven of which came from graduate Nan Garcia, a career high. Goss, Mikonowicz, and sophomore Cadence Dykstra each added three. Toledo had 31 rebounds, led by Goss and Mikonowicz, each with six. Freshman Destiny Robinson had a season high two blocks while Mikonowicz and freshman Faith Fedd-Robinson each had one. The Toledo men’s basketball team defeated Bowling Green 84-71 at the Stroh Center in Bowling Green on Friday, Jan. 24. Sophomore Sonny Wilson and fifth-year Isaiah Adams each scored 18 points, a game high. The Rockets (11-8, 2 MAC) collectively had 12 three-point shots. Sophomores Sam Lewis and Bryce Ford also scored in the double digits, adding 10 and 12 points respectively.

With an 86-71 win over the Kent State Golden Flashes on Mar. 8, the men’s basketball team cemented their fourth consecutive Mid-American Conference (MAC) title. The Rockets ended the regular season with an overall record of 20-11, 14-4 in the MAC. On Mar. 14, in the quarterfinal round of the MAC Tournament, the No. 8 seed Golden Flashes got their revenge on the No. 1 seeded Rockets, handing UT a 67- 59 loss at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland, Ohio. All five Rocket starters were honored by the MAC. Junior Ra’Heim Moss earned First-Team All-MAC honors and juniors Tyler Cochran and Dante Maddox Jr. received Second-Team All-MAC honors. Cochran was named the MAC Co-Defensive Player of the Year. Moss was also named to the MAC’s All-Defensive Team. This is the first time in school history that two Rockets were named to the All-Defensive team. Javan Simmons was unanimously named MAC Freshman of the Year. Simmons and Sonny Wilson were both named to the MAC’s All-Freshman Team.

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.