COMPETITIONS

COMPETITIONS
YSU Math Fest
YOUNGSTOWN -- The Youngstown State University Department of Mathematics and Statistics will sponsor the first YSU MathFest on Oct. 30 with 300 high school juniors and seniors from Columbiana, Mahoning and Trumbull counties. Students will participate in two of 15 workshops, a mixed team competition and a school competition. They will also have the opportunity to participate in an essay and/or a poster contest and receive information on math careers. Write mathfest@math.ysu.edu, call (330) 941-3302 or visit www.as.ysu.edu/~mathfest.
Writing contest
Starting Monday, Olive Garden is accepting essays for its eighth annual Pasta Tales national writing contest for writers ages 7 to 16 who answer in 250 words or less, "What is your favorite holiday meal with your family and what makes it special?" The deadline is Dec. 8. The grand prize is a trip to New York, dinner at the Olive Garden in Times Square, and a $1,000 U.S. Savings Bond. Winners in each age category receive a $250 U.S. Savings Bond and a family dinner at their local Olive Garden. Entry forms will be available at local Olive Garden restaurants or at www.olivegarden.com.
COLLEGE HAPPENINGS
Thiel art education
GREENVILLE, Pa. -- Thiel College students can now pursue their studies in a variety of arts-related fields at 28 Art Institutes locations nationwide, from New York to San Francisco. Thiel's expanded agreement with the Art Institutes now includes culinary arts; game art and design; media arts and animation; multimedia and Web design; photography; video production; visual effects and motion graphics; and digital, graphic, industrial and interior design. Under the cooperative bachelor's degree program, students begin their studies at Thiel and enroll in an Art Institute in their junior years.
Westminster grant
NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. -- Westminster College has received a $67,000 "Course, Curriculum, and Laboratory Improvement" grant from the National Science Foundation to fund a four-year project that will change how first- and second-year chemistry courses are taught. The college was required to match funds. Plans are to buy a high-performance liquid chromatograph, an instrument that separates compounds and detects their presence and is used to identify pharmaceuticals and biomolecules. The grant also provides faculty training, a summer workshop and development of new experiments.
SPECIAL PROGRAMS
Poetry center reading
YOUNGSTOWN -- Author, folklorist and storyteller Juilene Osbourne-McKnight will read, as part of the Youngstown State University Poetry Center Reading Series, at 7 p.m. Wednesday in the Art Gallery of Kilcawley Center on campus. A YSU graduate and former Vindicator columnist, Osbourne-McKnight has written the historical novels "I Am of Irelaunde" and "Daughter of Ireland."
Dana School open house
YOUNGSTOWN -- Youngstown State University's Dana School of Music will hold its annual open house Oct. 29 in the newly renovated Bliss Hall on campus. Participants observe a day in the life of the college music major and can receive information on admissions, financial aid, music and academic scholarships, the University Scholars Program and career options. Participants also will have the opportunity to hear ensembles, meet faculty and students and tour the YSU campus. To register, call (330) 941-3636 or visit www.fpa.ysu.edu/music/main/house1.htm.
MBA information
CANTON -- The Malone College Graduate School will present an information meeting on its two-year MBA program for professionals at 6 p.m. Oct. 14 in room 201 of Mitchell Hall on campus, 515 25th St. NW. Call (330) 471-8224 or (800) 257-4723, or visit www.malone.edu. Malone's School of Nursing will hold information meetings for registered nurses seeking bachelor's degrees at 6 p.m. Tuesday and Oct. 27 on campus. A meeting for nurses with bachelor of science degrees who seek master's degrees is at 6 p.m. Oct. 27 on campus. To make a reservation, call (330) 471-8166, or visit the college's Web site.
College for women
CLEVELAND -- The Cleveland State University Women's Comprehension Program will host free re-entry programs for women who are considering returning to or starting college at 9:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. Wednesday in the University Center, Room 364. To register, call (216) 687-4674.
EDUCATOR NEWS
Youngstown native named
ITHACA, N.Y. -- Dr. Edward Twyman, a Youngstown native and former Youngstown State University official, has been named director of the Office of Multicultural Affairs at Ithaca College. His duties will be developing programs and activities for black, Latino, Asian, American Indian, gay, bisexual and transgender and other students, and working to enhance the retention of those groups. Dr. Twyman was YSU's coordinator of minority student services. He also spent 12 years at Baldwin-Wallace College in Cleveland, where he administered the Office of Multicultural Affairs, the Black Cultural Center, the Cleveland Foundation Emergency Loan Program and the Buddy System peer monitoring program. He received a doctorate in higher education administration at the University of Akron, and a master's degree in counseling and a bachelor's degree in sociology at YSU.
New board member
WARREN -- Robert G. Sines Jr., interim dean at Kent State University Trumbull Campus, has been named to the Board of Trustees for the Industrial Information Institute for Education Inc. He joins three others, including Youngstown State University President Dr. David Sweet, as an ad hoc trustee. The Industrial Information Institute is a nonprofit organization that provides economic and career-based educational opportunities in Mahoning, Trumbull and Columbiana counties, as well as Mercer County, Pa. Sines was an assistant dean of the 2,300-student KSU Trumbull Campus for six years and a 12-year associate professor of business technologies. He also spent 20 years in the U.S. Army.