PUPILS IN THE SPOTLIGHT

PUPILS IN THE SPOTLIGHT
National Honor Roll Award
YOUNGSTOWN -- Paul Kazakov, a pupil at the Byzantine Catholic Central School, has been recognized by the United States Achievement Academy as a U.S. National Honor Roll Award winner. Paul, son of Shon Gillett and Tatyana Kazakov-Gillett of Youngstown, was awarded for his academic achievement and his name will appear in the U.S. Achievement Academy Official Yearbook, published nationally.
Gallery of Superb Printing
CANFIELD -- Several interactive multimedia pupils at the Mahoning County Career & amp; Technical Center recently took home awards in the sixth annual Student Gallery of Superb Printing contest. MCCTC gold medal winners were Mickey Campbell, who won two gold medals for his entries in line art and illustration art; Laura Burgess and Nicole Howe, creative page layout; Don Fox, creative page layout with six colors or more; Taavi Parind, production design; Tony Lucente, computer art photo composition; and Diana Mansfield, new technology. Megan Laverock won a silver medal in creative page layout, and Steve Gatewood took home a bronze medal in production design.
Ohio Youth for Justice
YOUNGSTOWN -- A group from Volney Rogers Junior High School was among more than 300 pupils in grades five through eight from all over Ohio who recently took part in the 10th annual Ohio Youth for Justice summit in Columbus. The program, directed by the Ohio Center for Law-Related Education, allowed 29 teams of pupils to work toward finding solutions to bullying, drug abuse, vandalism and other problems facing their schools and communities. Pupils will share their progress with peers and receive feedback from adult volunteers, including members of the state Legislature, administrators and other community leaders.
K-12 NEWS
College Access Program
The Mahoning Valley College Access Program announced the receipt of six grants. A $20,000 gift from the William Swanston Charitable Foundation will be used to support MVCAP resource centers in the Mahoning County Library Association and college-access activities in Mahoning County middle schools. A grant for $10,000 from the Education, Civic and Cultural Foundation of the Warren Area Chamber of Commerce will help fund scholarships for students in Trumbull County schools.
A $5,000 grant from the Youngstown Foundation is being used to buy desktop computers and equipment to facilitate video conferences between MVCAP offices and high school pupils and parents. A $5,000 grant from the John D. Finnegan Foundation will provide a matching grant with the Youngstown State University Foundation. A $5,000 grant from the Walter E. and Caroline H. Watson Foundation is being used to support operational expenses and scholarships. A $3,250 grant from Second Bancorp Charitable Foundation Inc. is being used to purchase books for second-graders in the Warren schools.
Teacher of the Year
Several local teachers received recognition and $1,000 educational grants as part of Wal-Mart's ninth annual Teacher of the Year program. Local honorees were selected by Wal-Mart and SAM'S CLUB associates at store locations nationwide. The program is sponsored by Wal-Mart, in conjunction with Phi Delta Kappa International, a professional education association.
Among the 142 winners in Ohio are Eric Lowe, West Point Elementary School, Beaver Local district; Christine Palmer, Austintown Frank Ohl Middle School; Barbara Provitt, Warren G. Harding High School, Warren; Susan Grove, Robinwood Elementary School, Boardman; Lee Bell, McKinley Elementary School, Lisbon; Kari Wilson, Heartland Christian School, Columbiana; Lucille Detesco, St. Joseph School, Austintown; and Linda Conway, Fairhaven School, Niles.
Among the 127 winners in Pennsylvania are Rose Johnson, Farrell High School; Joan Schilling, Grove City Area Middle School; Stephanie L. Cioffi, Shenango High School, New Castle; and David Frew, Jamestown Area High School.
Earning college credit
YOUNGSTOWN -- The ITT Technical Institute in Youngstown and the Trumbull Career and Technical Center in Champion have announced an agreement that will allow high school pupils to earn college credit for technical work in TCTC's courses in computer drafting and design, computer electronics, computer networking, Web development and software applications and programming. High school pupils are required to achieve a pre-determined grade point average or pass a test to receive the ITT Tech credit. The agreement also applies to past graduates of TCTC. For further information, call Nick Karimi, dean of academic affairs at ITT Tech, at (330) 270-1600.
For extraordinary youths
YOUNGSTOWN -- Youngstown State University's Kilcawley Center hosts three one-day Extraordinary Youth Day Camps in June for students who are completing the sixth, seventh and eighth grades. Young Artist with Photoshop will be held June 25; cost is $38. Young Artist in Watercolor will be held June 28; cost is $40. Young Scientist will be held June 29; cost is $40. Each camp will run from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Space is limited. Registration is by mail only. For more information, call (330) 941-3571 or visit www.kc.ysu.edu.
COLLEGE NEWS
KSU's new vice president
KENT -- Kent State University has announced the naming of a new vice president to create an office for regional development. Dr. Patricia A. Book, who has served since 1992 as associate vice president for outreach and executive director of continuing education at Penn State University, will assume the Kent State position July 1. Book will provide leadership to Kent State's regional campuses and College of Continuing Studies and will also develop the new office as the university's entrepreneurial unit. Among goals is to address employer needs for work-force development, use research to respond to regional development needs and use multicampus collaborations and business partnerships. She holds a bachelor's degree in anthropology from Oakland University and a master's in cultural anthropology and a doctorate in medical anthropology, both from the University of Connecticut.
NEOUCOM raises tuition
ROOTSTOWN -- The Board of Trustees of the Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine in Rootstown recently approved a 12 percent tuition increase and adopted a $28.78 million budget that represents a 10 percent reduction in departmental operating budgets and wage increases for faculty. Trustees also have appointed Dr. Chander M. Kohli of Youngstown as chairman of the board through May 2005. Kohli, a NEOUCOM clinical professor of surgery, serves as the Youngstown State University Board of Trustees' representative on the NEOUCOM board.
College officials said the tuition increases and departmental cutbacks were necessary to offset a decline in state support. Officials said faculty salary adjustments of $2,750 were awarded after a study showed NEOUCOM's salary structure was significantly lower than those at similar colleges of medicine. Faculty also were given a 2 percent general wage increase. Tuition and fees for 2004-05 will be $21,186, up from $18,993. Officials anticipate NEOUCOM will be the second-most affordable of the five public, allopathic medical school in Ohio.