When you are a child, few things sound as boring as summer school.

           For Portsmouth City School students in grades kindergarten through sixth, that boring prospect is being turned into an entertaining, educational, and enjoyable experience as they attend the Portsmouth City School Summer Literacy Program, held each summer on the campus of Shawnee State University (SSU).

           The program, held since 1998 and open to students enrolled at Roosevelt Elementary, Wilson Elementary, Harding Elementary, and McKinley Middle schools, is operating this year from July 7 to Aug. 1 from 9 a.m. to noon.

           According to Kristi Toppins, Summer Literacy program coordinator, the Summer Literacy Program offers students a chance to not only improve on their existing skills, but also to learn new material.

           “Summer school is something that most kids think will be boring,” said Toppins, also principal of Wilson Elementary School. “We have tried to move away from that by introducing new material to teach reading, writing, and arithmetic that the children have not experienced during their regular time at school. We do concentrate on the basics, but we like to make them fun, too.”

           While all efforts have been made to make the program enjoyable, the emphasis is still placed on education. According to Toppins, the summer program is perfect for those students who would benefit from more time with a teacher.

           “Students at the Summer Literacy Program get the chance to work with certified teachers, one-on-one, to enhance their education,” said Toppins. “It is a very personal setting that allows the student to draw as much as possible, educationally-speaking, from the program. We want summer school to be fun, but these students will learn a great deal, too.”

           The program has been held at SSU since it began, said Toppins.

           “We don’t have any air conditioning in the current schools, so we had to investigate different locations for the program,” said Toppins. “SSU has been very generous in allowing us to use its facilities during the summer, and we are very thankful. We have new school buildings under construction which will all be air conditioned, but until they open we will continue to use SSU’s great facilities.”

           A series of three courses entitled “The Real Estate Agent,” offered by the office of university outreach services and the department of business administration at Shawnee State University (SSU), will be held for those seeking certification as licensed real estate agents.

           The courses, a total of 120 hours of study with the option of college credit, focus on the areas of principles and practices of real estate, real estate law, and real estate finance and appraisal. It also includes all the requirements necessary to take the real estate sales license exam in the state of Ohio, assuming that one is at least 18 years of age, has a high school diploma, and is of good legal standing.

           According to Ginnie Moore, director of university outreach services, the course is a popular one due to several factors.

           “There are a couple of reasons why this course is popular,” said Moore. “We have excellent instructors, we have reasonable class sizes, and we offer the classes consecutively which makes the classes more easily accessible to students.”

           When the program first began several years ago, the courses were offered one per quarter, meaning that in order to complete the program it would take an entire school year. After switching to the current format in the spring quarter of 2000, the program has been more popular than ever before, according to Moore.

           “The benefits of the consecutive classes are three-fold,” said Moore. “Firstly, they allow non-college students easier access to the courses by allowing them to be taken over a shorter period of time; secondly, it allows for the students to link the information in the classes together more coherently; and thirdly, it allows them to remember the material better for the all-important state licensing test at the end of the program. Students really appreciate that.”

           Moore also believes the consecutive classes make the program especially appealing to adults not attending SSU who want to obtain their real estate agent accreditation.

           “Most adults who are seeking these classes do not want to have to wait for a whole year to become certified,” said Moore. “With the way we have the classes scheduled, they can be in and out of the program and ready to take their licensing exam in no time.”

           According to Sandy Sinclair, a real estate agent with 27 years of experience who is the instructor for the Principles and Practices course, the real estate license is a ticket to a career.

           “When you have a real estate license, you have a career instead of a job,” said Sinclair. “There are so many opportunities in the field and how much you achieve is based on how much you are willing to work. It is a great field to be in.”

           Real Estate Principles and Practices will be held Sept. 8 to Oct. 10 from 5:30 p.m. to 9:20 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays; Real Estate Law will be held from Oct. 12 to Nov. 22 from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. on Mondays and Wednesdays; and Real Estate Finance and Appraisal will be held from Oct. 12 to Nov. 22 from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The non-credit fee is $279 per course or $779 for all three courses. Those who register for credit will be charged the appropriate in-state and out-of-state credit tuition and fees.

           For more information, call (740) 351-3171.

           Shawnee State University (SSU) will be hosting a symposium entitled, “The Evolution of Evidence-based Practice: Issues and Methods in Rehabilitation” presented by Kenneth J. Ottenbacher, Ph.D., in the Flohr Lecture Hall in the Clark Memorial Library on August 16 from 8:15 a.m. to 5 p.m.

           The symposium, sponsored by the William J. & Patricia J. Richards lecture series in conjunction with the department of occupational therapy and the office of university outreach services, is designed for all health care professionals interested in the theory and application of evidence-based practices.

           According to Debra Scurlock, director of the occupational therapy program at SSU, evidence-based practice is paramount to understanding the effectiveness of various forms of treatment, and Ottenbacher’s presentation will assist practitioners in understanding and applying its techniques.

           “In the medical field, new and better medicines are discovered every day through research,” said Scurlock. “The allied health fields are no different. Evidence-based practice allows us to examine existing data on medical techniques and ascertain the most effective course of action.”

           While the course will be an important one for SSU students, Scurlock believes that it will also impact the allied health industry in the area in a positive manner.

           “Our students are all taught the principles of evidence-based practice,” said Scurlock.” We want our students and the medical field in our area to become aware of the need for research and to practice based upon it. Hopefully, this symposium will allow us to get this message across.”

           Helping the cause will be Ottenbacher, who holds the Fannie Kempner Adoue distinguished professorship at the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) while also serving as director of the division of rehabilitation sciences at the same institution. Ottenbacher focuses on techniques that are not only effective, but also easy to implement, said Scurlock.

           “Ottenbacher is an expert in the field of evidence-based practice,” said Scurlock. “He will teach the techniques in a manner in which they can be immediately incorporated into daily practice.”

           The registration fee is $89 for individuals, $55 for a group of 10 or more from the same organization, and $25 for an SSU student.

           For more information, call (740) 351-3171.

           Game and simulation development arts, a newly-approved concentration within the four-year bachelor of fine arts degree (BFA) at Shawnee State University (SSU), will be offered as a degree option at SSU beginning this fall.

           According to Tom Stead, chair of the fine, digital, and performing arts department at SSU that developed the degree, the program will be the first of its kind in the region and will almost certainly be a big drawing card for SSU.

           “This is a cutting-edge program developed to produce students competent in the art side of video game and simulation design,” said Stead. “There is a lot of interest in the video game industry in this region but nowhere close enough to study it. The game and simulation development arts concentration will fill that void and allow students to pursue their goals in video game design.”

           Stead and other members of his department developed the curriculum for the course over a period of two years in conjunction with people connected to the industry. Once such person, Howard Dortch, a game designer from Wheelersburg, Ohio, who was involved in the development of hugely popular games such as Everquest Online, helped Stead and his counterparts develop a curriculum that will produce students equipped with the skills to succeed in the game design industry.

           “Game design is like the movies in that it has a lot of skill subsets,” said Stead. “This concentration will be educating students to prepare them for the industry and to make them desirable as employees. We have been able to achieve this by consulting with people like Howard Dortch to identify what people in the industry are looking for, because the bottom line is creating students with skill sets that will help them get hired.”

           The concentration, which was designed to educate artists who want to enter the graphics end of the game development industry, will be supported by another degree concentration that is being developed in simulation and game engineering technology focusing on the engineering and programming of video games. Although the engineering program has yet to receive approval, Stead believes that if approved, the two concentrations will include all elements of the art and design components of game design.

           “We designed the program to coordinate closely with another upcoming degree proposal (a bachelor of science in simulation and game engineering technology) that is being developed in the computer engineering technology area of the department of industrial and engineering technologies,” said Stead. “When approved, their program will focus on the programming or code segment of the industry and will allow us to teach a wider spectrum of game and simulation design.”

           Carl Hilgarth, chair of the department of engineering technologies at SSU, said his department is moving forward with the preliminary new degree program proposal during fall quarter 2003.

           “We hope to have it approved by the Ohio Board of Regents effective fall 2004,” Hilgarth said.

            According to Stead, the profitability of the industry combined with the ability of SSU to produce high caliber game designers is a good enough reason to begin the new program.

           “The video game and simulation industry is predicted to grow 10-15 percent per year,” said Stead. “I don’t think there is any question that it is consuming a high percentage of the entertainment dollar. “A new and successful game business is thriving in nearby Martinsburg, W.Va. The average salary for their 15 employees (up from 10 last year) is over $65K. We would like to see that happen here too.”

           The application deadline for this year’s class is August 10. Program applications and additional information are available online at gamedesign.shawnee.edu. Downloadable recommendation forms are available at the same site.

           Higher education and business. Shawnee State University’s (SSU) newest member of its Board of Trustees has extensive experience in both areas-a big benefit to the institution, according to senior administration.

           Governor Bob Taft announced this week that Gail Ball, Ph.D., 43, of Jackson, was appointed to the SSU Board of Trustees for a term ending June 30, 2012, replacing George H. Clayton of Dataw Island, S.C., formerly of Portsmouth, whose term expired.

           Ball said this is the next step in her academic career, going from being a tenured professor to being more involved in the leadership of a university.

           “I look forward to working with the administration and faculty at SSU,” she said. “Given my interests in academics and business, serving on the SSU board will, I’m sure, allow me to broaden my experience and face interesting and challenging opportunities,” she said.

           In addition to serving as president of Jackson PHC, Inc., a plumbing, heating, and cooling company for five years, Ball has over 17 years of experience in higher education. She currently serves as an adjunct professor in the Department of Management and Organization through distance education at the Pennsylvania State University College of Business. Previously, she has worked as a visiting professor at the University of Rio Grande’s School of Business, and has taught business courses for the Department of Business Administration and Office of University Outreach Services at Shawnee State University. She was also a tenured associate professor of management at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

           Ball received her bachelor of science in business administration degree from the Ohio State University, her master’s in business administration from the University of Toledo, and her Ph.D. in organizational behavior from Pennsylvania State University.

           Ball was born in Bellevue, Ohio, and has had lifelong family ties to southeastern Ohio. She is the daughter of Ralph “Jake” and Irene Ball of Bellevue. She has one sister, Kay Howe, of Jackson, Ohio, and one brother, Scott Ball, also of Bellevue.

           When thinking about goals this early in her tenure as a board member at SSU, Ball said she plans to learn as much as she can about academics at the University.

           “I would like to see Shawnee State University become an even stronger force in southeastern Ohio in terms of academics,” Ball said. “My hope is that I can work with all of the departments to broaden and strengthen the available programming. Also, SSU’s Office of University Outreach Services is a great asset to all of the surrounding businesses in southeastern Ohio. I am interested in learning more about how these services can benefit our surrounding area.”

           Rita Rice Morris, Ph.D., president of SSU, said it is exciting for the university to have someone with Ball’s background be appointed to the board.

           “Dr. Ball will be a tremendous asset to Shawnee State University,” Morris said. “Her solid background in higher education and business will make our board even stronger. I look forward to working with her and tapping into the experience and knowledge she brings to the university.”

           Ball serves as a Jackson County board member of Junior Achievement. She is involved with the Rio Corporation and the YMCA of Jackson County. She serves as a member of the Academy of Management Association, the American Psychological Association, and the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology. She has been published extensively in professional journals, and has authored several study guides.