Nobel Laureate Offers Early Childhood Formula for the Country's Economic Success

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Early development of social skills and intelligence has its long-range economic payoffs, according to Nobel Laureate James Heckman. He offers an equation on human capital development as a way to secure America's economic future. The public can learn about his ideas for building the future when he gives the free, public talk, "The Economic Case for Investing in Early Childhood Education," sponsored by the Schubert Center for Child Studies at Case Western Reserve University.

Heckman will speak on Thursday, March 18, from 3 to 4:30 p.m., in Ford Auditorium.

"Professor Heckman offers an economist's perspective on human potential and how development of this potential has positive economic consequences for the future," said Jill E. Korbin, director of the Schubert Center. Read more.

Campus News

Information Technology Services (ITS) announces that CollabTech 2010 will take place on Thursday, May 6. CollabTech is an international summit showcasing trends that transform education through collaboration. Interested parties are invited to submit breakout session proposals or panel discussion topics to support any of three conference tracks. The deadline to submit a proposal is Wednesday, March 31. Go online for more information.

Registration is open for Alpha Phi Omega's March for Marfan, a 5k run/3k walk taking place on Saturday, March 20. The event will raise funds for the National Marfan Foundation. Marfan Syndrome is a connective tissue disorder that affects 1 in 5,000 people in America. Go online for information.

The Office of Multicultural Affairs will sell raffle tickets from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., Thursday, March 11, in Nord Hall. Prizes include Continental Airlines tickets and a Dell Mini Notebook computer. The raffle will benefit the 20th Annual Unity Banquet and Scholarship Dinner, which will take place on Friday, March 26, at Executive Caterers at Landerhaven. The guest speaker is Cristina Perez, former host of "Cristina's Court" and author of the book "It's All About the Woman Who Wears It: Ten Laws for Being Smart, Successful and Sexy Too." Call 368-2904 for details.

For Faculty and Staff

PeopleSoft Financials will be unavailable Thursday, March 11, at 5 p.m. through Monday, March 15, at 8 a.m. to implement a system-wide upgrade. PeopleSoft Financials is used to create requisitions, financial journals and payment requests. An information session will be held from 1 to 2 p.m. today in Strosacker Auditorium. Registration is not required. Hands-on training will be available on multiple dates. Go online for additional details.

For Students

Nominations for the J. Bruce Jackson, M.D., Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Mentoring are due today. The Jackson Award recognizes outstanding advising and mentoring of undergraduate students at Case Western Reserve University. Learn more.

Events

The Center for Business Law and Regulation's Dean Lindsey Cowen Business Law Lecture will focus on the topic of "The United States and the Future Development of Global Competition and Consumer Protection Policy" at 4:30 p.m., Thursday, March 18, in the School of Law Moot Courtroom (A59). The keynote speaker will be William E. Kovacic of the U.S. Federal Trade Commission. Free, open to the public. Learn more.

A baroque violin recital featuring graduate student David McCormick will take place at 8 p.m., Monday, March 15, in Harkness Chapel. Free, open to the public. Learn more.

The views and opinions of those invited to speak on campus do not necessarily reflect the views of the university administration or any other segment of the university community.

Et al.

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Mohamed Ibn Chambas (LAW '84) was recently appointed secretary general of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States. His five-year term will expire on Feb. 28, 2015. The group is composed of 79 member states. Chambas will be responsible for implementing the organization's international policy, as well as directing and coordinating its cooperation policy. Learn more about his responsibilities.

Before his appointment as secretary general, Chambas was executive secretary and president of the 15-member West African regional organization, the Economic Community of West African States. He also served in various capacities in the Parliament of Ghana. In addition to his leadership roles in government, Chambas has taught at the college level and practiced law in Ohio.

March 10, 2010

A daily newsletter published by the Office of Marketing & Communications, Case Western Reserve University. Submit items for inclusion to: case-daily@case.edu.


Case in the News

Welcome to a golden age of tiny television

National Post, March 9, 2010
Michael Marsden, a 20-year-old student at Case Western Reserve University, does not own a television set and watches mostly on his computer. How this change among younger viewers will impact the television industry remains the subject of intense debate.

The rise of unstoppable germs

Minnesota Public Radio, March 9, 2010
Drug options are dwindling for doctors to treat certain types of infection. The biggest challenges come from evolution, science and economic factors that hinder the technology behind drug development. Louis Rice, professor of medicine at Case Western Reserve University and chief of the medical service at the Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center, offers insight into the problem.

Faster healing for severe fractures

The Plain Dealer, March 7, 2010
A new surgical procedure can repair severe bone injuries and defects more quickly and simply than current methods, which include bone-grafting operations and lengthening procedures that involve inserting pins through the skin to pull bones together. Melissa Knothe Tate, professor of biomedical engineering at Case Western Reserve University, and her husband, Ulf Knothe, an orthopedic surgeon, have successfully tested their method on a wheelchair-bound patient who needed surgery to lengthen one of her legs. They've also successfully tested it on sheep. The researchers presented their work at the Orthopedic Research Society meeting in New Orleans.

TRI-C students vote down U-Pass transportation plan

The Plain Dealer, March 7, 2010
Cuyahoga Community College students who rely on public transportation will continue to pay the full RTA fare after a majority, responding to a survey, opposed a mandatory fee for campus parking and unlimited rides on buses or rapids. The $55-per-semester fee would have resolved an inequity in which Tri-C students now pay $85 a month for a standard RTA pass, while those at Cleveland State University and Case Western Reserve University are charged $25 a semester for RTA's U-Pass. CWRU and CSU students approved the fee for U-Pass, which offers students a discount on transportation.

Mahoning County District Board of Health added to list of affiliated centers

E-Portage , March 9, 2010
The Northeastern Ohio Universities Colleges of Medicine and Pharmacy recently announced its formal affiliation with the Mahoning County District Board of Health. NEOUCOM and the Mahoning County District Board of Health are currently collaborating to create the Ohio Research Association for Public Health Improvement. This two-year project, supported by a $90,000 grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, is being developed in conjunction with Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine.

Could the Tumbleweed Rover dominate Mars?

Discovery.com, March 4, 2010
Before Mars can become the next great frontier for human exploration, we need to send more robotic missions to gather as much information as possible about our planetary neighbor. But what kind of robot has the right combination of weight, cost and range, while still being able to carry out groundbreaking science? Cue the Tumbleweed Mars rover, an ingenious concept vying for attention in the hope of becoming an entirely different method to explore vast regions of the Martian surface, one that rolls across the surface instead of six-wheeling. The story references the Biorobotics Laboratory at Case Western Reserve University, headed up by Roger Quinn, Arthur P. Armington Professor of Engineering.

Higher Ed News

Student clubs, virtually

Inside Higher Ed, March 10, 2010
Feeling isolated as an online student? Join the club. Or rather, join a club. At a handful of institutions, students working toward degrees online are meeting outside of class via the Web.