Spectrum - Volume 17 Issue 02 September 01, 1994 - Newsmakers

A non-profit publication of the Office of the University Relations of Virginia Tech,
including The Conductor , a special section of the Spectrum printed 4 times a year

Newsmakers

Spectrum Volume 17 Issue 2 - September 1, 1994

Virginia Tech faculty and staff members and students are often the subject of significant national and statewide news coverage. To better inform the university community about these accomplishments, the Office of University Relations has compiled this monthly report. The report excludes coverage in the Roanoke news-media market. For more information about the articles mentioned, call Nancy Templeman, university public relations specialist, at 1-5915 or contact your college public relations office.

Printing Manager (January/February): This national trade journal carried a feature story on the Virginia Tech Printing Services safety committee. The story explained how the committee worked together to identify and solve several potential problems. The story quoted press operator Terry Thornsberry , committee head Howard Hill , and customer representative Robin Slagle .

WVPT (Shenandoah Valley) (Jan. 9), Blue Ridge Public Television (Jan. 17), Northern Virginia Public Television (Jan. 21), Central Virginia Public Television (March 30), WHRO (Tidewater) (May 15): A one-hour program produced from a Virginia Tech Public Service Forum on Health Care Reform was broadcast by the state's five public television systems. "Health Care Reform: What's in it for Virginia?" included speakers: Vice President for Development and University Relations Charles Steger , and Urban Affairs and Planning department head James Bohland .

Richmond Times-Dispatch (Jan. 27): A story about groups from Virginia colleges and universities asking for health benefits for same-sex partners quoted Sarah Richardson of the Water Resources Center who represented the Lesbian, Bi, and Gay Caucus at Virginia Tech.

Daily Press (Newport News) (Feb. 2): The paper ran an article about math alum Janet Tyler , now a technician at CEBAF, who teaches elementary students about scientific experiments.

The Washington (D.C.) Times (Feb. 21): A story featured Nikki Giovanni and her book Racism 101 .

The News Journal (Wilmington Del.), West Proviso (Calif.) paper, and The Salt Lake Tribune (in February and April): The papers carried a story that quoted Scott Geller , psychology, about violence on the road.

American Legion magazine (February): The magazine published a list from Cornelia and Jan Flora , sociology and agricultural economics, of things successful communities do.

WCVE (Richmond), WETS (Johnson City, Tenn.), WHRO (Norfolk), WMRA (Harrisonburg), and WVTF (Charlottesville, Marion) (week of Feb. 28): These public radio stations carried the hour-long program, "With Good Reason," which featured an interview with agricultural and applied economics professor Leonard Shabman who discussed the environmental health of the Chesapeake Bay.

Journal Messenger (Manassas), Daily Press (Newport News), and Star-Exponent (Culpeper) (March 2, 5, and 7): The papers included Virginia Tech in an editorial about economics classes participating in a game called the Electronic Political Stock Market.

The Grand Island (Neb.) Independent (March 2): A story quoted Clifton Bryant , sociology, about road violence.

Herald-Courier Virginia Tennessean (Bristol) (March 3): The paper ran a story about an exhibit at Virginia Tech's Armory Art Gallery featuring ceramic works by artist Georgia Blizzard.

Southwest Virginia Enterprise (Wytheville) (March 9): The paper ran an article about a teleconference held in conjunction with the Choices and Challenges Forum at Virginia Tech.

Spokesman-Review (Spokane, Wash.) (March 13), Berkshire Eagle (Pittsfield, Mass.) (March 20), Times-Review (Cleburne, Tex.) (March 31): The papers carried a story from the Houston Chronicle that quoted Irene Leech of housing, interior design, and resource management about restrictions on bill collectors contacting people at work. The story was distributed by the Associated Press.

Herald (Boston, Mass.) (March 20): A front-page story about the lack of "potty parity" in Massachusetts' building codes quoted statistics from research conducted by Virginia Polytechnic Institute .

WCVE (Richmond), WETS (Johnson City, Tenn.), WHRO (Norfolk), WMRA (Harrisonburg), and WVTF (Charlottesville, Marion) (week of March 28): These public radio stations carried the hour-long program, "With Good Reason," which featured horticulture professor Diane Relf who discussed the therapeutic benefits of plants and gardening.

Northern Virginia Daily (Strasburg), The Free Lance-Star (Fredericksburg), The Virginian-Pilot and The Ledger-Star (Norfolk), Danville Register & Bee , Daily News-Record (Harrisonburg), The Fairfax Journal , Daily Press (Newport News), and The Winchester Star (March 29): The papers ran an Associated Press story about Scott Geller of psychology and his students who did research into how much one must drink to be legally intoxicated.

Industrial Safety & Hygiene News (April): A story about screening job candidates with pre-employment psychological questionnaires quoted Scott Geller of psychology.

Kitchen & Bath Design News and KBB: Kitchen & Bath Business (April): Both of these national professional publications carried feature stories on the four interior design students from the kitchen and bath specialization, Tamale Garrison , David Facey , Mary Katherine Carroll , and Shilpa Dhuru , who swept the top awards in the student division of the National Kitchen and Bath Association design competition.

FACT SHEET (Apr. 5): This publication of CBN's The 700 Club carried an item about Scott Geller's talk on The 700 Club about violence on the highways.

New Scientist (Apr. 9): Doris Zallen , science studies, was quoted in an article on the ethical issues associated with awarding a patent for a "sperm correction" technique that may be employed as a form of germline gene therapy in humans.

Richmond Times-Dispatch (Apr. 25), The Free Lance-Star (Fredericksburg) (May 7): The papers carried an Associated Press story on the memorandum of agreement between Virginia Tech, Radford University, New River Community College, and Warm Hearth Village to establish a joint Gerontology Research and Education Center. The story quoted Jim McAuley , director of the Virginia Tech Center for Gerontology.

The (Miami) Herald (May 1): A story quoted Cornelia Flora of sociology about suburban driving.

The Daily Progress (Charlottesville) (May 1): The paper carried a story about a forum on family issues that was held at Piedmont Community College that quoted extensively from a presentation by Dean Peggy S. Meszaros of the College of Human Resources.

USA Today (May 4): Richard Wokutch of management was quoted in a Money Page column on the Sullivan Principles.

ESPN Cable TV Network (May 10): The network carried a live broadcast of the end of the Lynchburg-to-Blacksburg leg of Tour DuPont bicycle race with mention and pictures of the finish line at Virginia Tech .

WAVY-TV (Portsmouth) (May 12, 13, 14): Tracy Wilkins , director of Virginia Tech's Center for Biotechnology, was featured in a three-part series on the implications of biotechnology. Plant pathologist Carole Cramer was also featured in one of the segments, talking about tobacco research.

Wall Street Journal (May 12): The "In The Lab" section had a significant profile story of Carole Cramer's work on genetically engineering tobacco plants to manufacture a human protein.

Pharos Tribune (Logansport, Ind.) (May 15), Daily Press (Newport News) (earlier): The Logansport paper carried a story from the Daily Press on shopping for the best deal on a checking account quoted Irene Leech of housing, interior design, and resource management

News (Dayton, Ohio) (May 17): A story about the "potty-parity" bill being considered by the Ohio legislature cited research conducted at Virginia Polytechnic Institute .

WCVE (Richmond), WETS (Johnson City, Tenn.), WHRO (Norfolk), WMRA (Harrisonburg), and WVTF (Charlottesville, Marion) (week of May 22): These public radio stations carried the hour-long program, With Good Reason , which featured history professor James I. Robertson who discussed battlefield preservation.

Hotel & Motel Management Magazine (May 23): This international trade publication carried a special report on "Partners in Tourism" that quoted Howard Feiertag of hospitality and tourism management about using strategic alliances to market lodging operations.

WWOR-TV (New York), three TV stations (Knoxville, Tenn.) (May 31): The cable superstation featured a story on a solar-car race sponsored by Virginia Tech from Knoxville to Frederick, Md. The start of the race was covered by all three Knoxville television stations' news operations, and included footage of Tech's solar race car.

Enquirer (Cincinnati), Kentucky Enquirer (June 2): The sister papers carried a story about the "potty-parity" bill passed by the Ohio legislature and cited research conducted by the College of Human Resources on the subject, mentioning Nancy Templeman as the source.

Virginia News Network (June 14): This radio news operation that serves 52 radio stations featured communications studies department head Bob Denton as its analyst on the coverage of the Virginia Democratic Senate Primary. Denton was interviewed live six times that evening as results of the vote came in.

Cable News Network (CNN) (June 25): On the Menu featured footage from Virginia Tech's wine research facilities in a story on Virginia's wine industry. The story also aired independently on CNN news programs and CNN Headline News.

WTOP Radio (Washington, D.C.) (June 25), Virginia News Network (June): Alan Bayer , director of the Center for Survey Research, was featured in a story about Virginians' attitudes toward gambling, based upon the center's 1994 Virginia quality of Life Survey. Quotes from Bayer were also featured on the Virginia News Network, a radio news operation serving 52 Virginia radio stations.

CNN Cable Network (June 29): A news story featured an interview with wildlife professor Jim Fraser on a proposal to downgrade the status of the bald eagle from "endangered" to "threatened."

CBS TV Network (July 2): The CBS Evening News featured Jaan Holt and Susan Piedmont-Palladino of Virginia Tech's Washington-Alexandria Architecture Center in a story about monuments in Washington, D.C.

WCVE (Richmond), WETS (Johnson City, Tenn.), WHRO (Norfolk), WMRA (Harrisonburg), and WVTF (Charlottesville, Marion) (week of July 3): These public radio stations carried the hour-long program, With Good Reason , which featured wildlife professor Mike Vaughan who discussed the status of Virginia's bear population, and the ability of bears to regulate their populations by controlling the number of cubs they produce.

Arts and Entertainment Cable Network (July 6): Virginia Tech history professor James I. Robertson was featured on the network's Civil War Journal series episode on "Women and the War."

WCVE (Richmond), WETS (Johnson City, Tenn.), WHRO (Norfolk), WMRA (Harrisonburg), and WVTF (Charlottesville, Marion) (week of July 10): These public radio stations carried the hour-long program, With Good Reason , which featured engineering science and mechanics professor Ron Landgraf who discussed hands-on engineering education, including Virginia Tech projects that built a human-powered submarine and tested mountain-bike handlebars.

The Star Free Press (Ventura, Calif.) (July 11): An article, "Cuban Images," included quotes from an interview with Joseph L. Scarpaci of urban affairs and planning.

WTKR TV (Norfolk) (July 12): Virginia Tech agricultural engineer and Extension safety specialist Glen Hetzel was featured in a news story about lightning safety in the Tidewater area.

Virginia News Network (July 26): Pamplin College of Business Dean Richard Sorensen was interviewed regarding an increase in business bankruptcies in Southwest Virginia. VNN distributes audio news features to 52 Virginia radio stations.

The Washington Post (Aug. 1): The Washington Business Section carried an item on Dean Peggy S. Meszaros' installation as president of the American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences, which is headquartered in Alexandria.

WHMM Public TV (Washington) (Aug. 10): English professor Nikki Giovanni was interviewed on poetry, racism, national health care, and other issues on station's talk show, "Evening Exchange."

Richmond Times-Dispatch (Aug. 11): Page one of the Health and Science Section carried a lengthy feature story on the steam-explosion project featuring Wolgang Glasser of wood science and forest products.

Associated Press (Aug. 11): The news service moved out a nationwide feature story on the tobacco biotechnology research of Carole Cramer of plant pathology, physiology, and weed science.

WOR Radio (New York) (Aug. 11): Plant pathology, physiology, and weed science professor Cramer's work with transgenic tobacco was featured on the station.

KCBS Radio (news-talk) (San Francisco), KOA 850 AM Radio (Denver) (Aug. 19) , WTAE Radio(Aug. 24) : Joseph L. Scarpaci of urban affairs and planning was interviewed about the Cuban immigrant exodus.