The Harbinger
May 9, 2005
Huehner senior author of published article
Marty
Huehner has helped author an article to be published in the Ohio
Journal of Science. The paper has some special attributes and history
of student and alum participation that will be of interest in addition
to its environmental significance. Huehner is senior author on
the article.
The title of the article is "The Unionid Mussel Fauna of Northeastern Ohio's Grand River" and was written by Huehner, Robert A. Krebs (Department of Biological, Geological, and Environmental Sciences at CSU), Gregory Zimmerman (EnviroScience, Inc.), and Melissa Mejia (Hiram College, In Memoriam)
This paper reports the results of a 7 year ecological project that covered about 100 miles of the Grand River's channel – virtually from source to mouth – and collected data on the presence, distribution, and population densities of 27 species of unionid (indigenous freshwater) mussels. Several of these species had special status in the State of Ohio, and on this basis the results of the study, along with other data, were used by the State to guide purchase of land to create a protected river corridor.
The study began in 1995 when Huehner, Zimmerman (then a Hiram student), and Cathy Corr (a Hiram Biology Alumna) initiated the study on the Wild and Scenic section of the river. In 1996 the Scenic section was studied, and this time student Melissa Mejia replaced Cathy Corr on the team. Melissa Mejia went on to work at EnviroScience, and then went to graduate school at Miami University (OH) where she died after being stuck by a van while she was riding her bike to school. At the memorial ceremony for Melissa, Huehner promised her parents that she would be a coauthor on the publication that arose from her work on this project and she thereby appears In Memoriam.
In 1998, the Headwaters region was studied by Huehner and students Zach Hayden, Dave Hadam, and Jessica Terrell. During one particularly long day, Greg Zimmerman and Joel Bingham, both Hiram alums and employees of EnviroScience, Inc., collaborated with Huehner to complete the Headwaters survey. The last section of river, the mouth at Fairport Harbor, was studied as part of a separate contract by EnviroScience, Inc. in 2002 and was headed by Greg Zimmerman.
Although reports of each individual study had been submitted to the respective sponsoring agencies, a comprehensive biogeographic and ecological review was not attempted until the final collaborator, Robert Krebs of CSU, offered to work with Huehner and Zimmerman to provide his analysis of the data. The final paper was tricky to develop because place specific data had to be generalized so as not to provide mussel shell poachers (several had been apprehended on the Grand River) with a road map to their quarry.
This project was funded by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources and in part by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. It was really made possible by a remarkable cooperation, over time, of Hiram faculty, students, alums, business, and another academic institution.
Hiram Community Trust grants application extension
The Hiram Community Trust will accept applications for grants until May 27. Applications for grants can be picked up in the bookstore or in Mike Corr's office in Bates Hall.
The purpose of the Hiram Community Trust is to enrich life in the Hiram community by funding creative proposals for projects to make Hiram a distinctive and special place. It is desirable that these projects promote a spirit of cooperation among Hiram Village, Township, Hiram College, and the public schools.
The fund was established through the generosity of Reign Scoville Hadsell, a graduate of the Hiram College class of 1926, and former principal of Hiram High School and resident of Hiram.
Seven students inducted into History honorary
On Monday, May 2, Hiram's chapter of Phi Alpha Theta (the national history honor society) had their annual induction ceremony. Adam Cathcart gave a talk entitled "The Perilous Historian".
Phi Alpha Theta is "a professional society whose mission is to promote the study of history through the encouragement of research, good teaching, publication and the exchange of learning and ideas among historians." The group sponsors a biennial convention, numerous awards, scholarships, and prizes, and local and regional activities. They also publish a journal entitled The Historian.
Hiram inducted seven students into our chapter--Alpha Iota Pi. They are:
Medina Demeter (Raeford, NC)
Ian Dixon (Canton, MI)
Hannah Good (Centerburg, OH)
Shannon Hughes (Genoa, OH)
Nathaniel Koven (Boston, MA)
Santi Thompson (Hopedale, OH)
Anastasia Whelchel (Brecksville, OH)
Fischer to study in Tanzania
Gwen
Fischer has been awarded a Rotary International Grant for University
Teachers to begin in July, 2005 - December 2005 to teach and carry on
research in Tanzania for 3-5 months. Fischer may be joined by
Hiram junior Jasmine Simmons so she can assist with the research.
Fischer is working with the Hubert Kairuki Memorial University in Dar
Es Salaam (the teaching hospital where I’ll be teaching) an arrangement
so that in the future other Hiram students might be able to do
internships there.
Bourassa and Brock-White in Oberlin Juried Photography Exhibit
Hiram
student Jill Brock-White and Professor Linda Bourassa (pictured) have
been accepted into the Firelands Association for the Visual Arts (FAVA)
Six State Juried Photography Exhibition in Oberlin. Brock-White
had two of her Advanced Photography Portfolio pieces accepted. They are
"Two Men on a Couch" and "Two Women on a Couch"...different
couches. Her “Two Men on a Couch” has also been accepted in the
first round of jurying for the NEO show at the Cleveland Museum of Art,
a real honor for an undergraduate. Bourassa's piece "Female
Bonding Rituals: A Wedding" was also accepted for the FAVA Show which
opened last weekend. The show runs through May.
Johnson speaks at Mantua Historical Society
On
Saturday, April 30th the Mantua Historical Society hosted the regional
meeting for the Ohio Association of Historical Societies & Musuems
(OAHSM) and College Archivist Lisa Johnson (pictured speaking) was a
guest speaker. Her presentation was on the art and strategy of
preservation.