Nippert Stadium Tops List of What's New at UC

Things don't get much bigger than the Bearcats' return to the newly renovated Nippert Stadium.

The University of Cincinnati is putting the finishing touches on an

$86 million update to historic Nippert

. The football team will take the field this season in its on-campus home after playing last year at Paul Brown Stadium downtown while Nippert was being overhauled. The "new" Nippert will feature expanded seating capacity, many modern amenities to enhance the gameday experience, plus additional functionality as a site for meetings and special events.

While Nippert might literally be the biggest news, there are many other new initiatives at UC for the 2015-16 academic year. A few highlights:

A Fresh Look for Gen-1

UC's Gen-1 program – designed to promote the academic success of first-generation, Pell-eligible college students – has a new home of sorts. Gen-1 has joined the Division of Student Affairs, under the leadership of Felicia Wallace, executive director of academic excellence & support services. The move is aimed at bringing Gen-1 closer to the heartbeat of what is going on in the areas of student development, student leadership and student activities. There will be more Gen-1 programming – not only for Gen-1 Theme House residents, but for all who identify as Gen-1 on campus. A new “GEN-1 TALKS” series will begin this fall, and Gen-1 now will partner with the Cincinnati Pride Grant Program.

There's a new look too, featuring distinct study, group project and lounge areas; a new computer lab; and staff offices moved to buildings 7-9 in Stratford Heights. Gen-1 will welcome its newest cohort of students during the Freshman Induction Ceremony from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Aug. 30 in Teachers College, Room 407 (Annie Laws). For more information about the ceremony, contact at Vivian Scott at 513-558-7627 or scottvn@uc.edu.

More information about Gen-1

Safer Bathrooms Initiative

As part of an ongoing effort to expand the options for gender-inclusive and family bathrooms across campus, UC will launch a Safer Bathrooms pilot project in fall semester 2015. A Diversity Incentive Grant from UC's Office of Diversity & Inclusion will support this effort led by the Department of Public Safety, the Title IX Office, and the LGBTQ Center, and the project in partnership with the Office of the University Architect and its ongoing work on inclusion and accessibility.

The plan for the pilot project includes: signage for a limited number of restrooms that intentionally communicates that people may use the restroom that best coincides with their gender identity; special training on navigating reports of concern around these bathrooms for UC Police Department officers; a presentation during the LGBTQ Center's annual QueerCat Pride Week that will feature a guest speaker discussing the dynamics of gender and identity on college campuses. This new endeavor will help reframe the conversation on gender equity away from the position that gendered spaces are inherently exclusive to one that encourages the community to make gendered spaces inclusive.

More information about UC's Title IX Office

Baby Bearcats and Another Merchandise Record

Baby Bearcats will bounce into bookstores and retail markets this fall. The bright-eyed, pudgy-cheeked version of UC’s familiar (and more fierce) mascot are part of the new UC-branded merchandise line, which includes new Baby Bearcat T-shirts, UC-themed children’s books and a new UC Under Armour apparel now hitting the shelves.

In addition, UC’s Office of Trademarks & Licensing reports another season of record profits for the third straight year, generating $905,499 in gross income for fiscal year 2014-15. The total represents a 5 percent increase ($41,638) over the last fiscal year royalties of $863,861. Marty Ludwig, director of trademarks and licensing, says UC has outpaced the licensing industry by 7 percent during fiscal year 2015.

More information about UC merchandise

Big News for Big Data

UC signed a partnership with the State of Ohio Computer Center (SOCC) in Columbus, Ohio, for shared IT services late last year. The deal gave the university access to the SOCC for secure hosting of and reliable backups for massive amounts of data, and warp speed business continuity in case of local outages – core systems could be up in moments, not hours. Building upon the UC-State of Ohio partnership, this summer UC went live with UCScienceNet, a dedicated 100 gigabits-per-second connection to the State of Ohio’s network backbone that is specifically for science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) researchers.

The project was funded by an NSF Campus Cyberinfrastructure – Infrastructure, Innovation and Engineering grant awarded to university IT staff and faculty researchers. The connection puts the power of ultra high-bandwidth data transfer at the fingertips of researchers across campus in five STEM-focused areas. Researchers will be able to share information faster than ever with colleagues around the world via Ohio's links to other high-speed networks including Internet2, National Research and Education Networks and XSEDE resources and services.

More information about UCScienceNet

Good to Be 'Green' Again

UC's commitment to sustainability was recognized in The Princeton Review's 2015 edition of the "Guide to 353 Green Colleges," the sixth time in a row UC has been listed. UC was praised for its transportation alternatives, waste diversion and for having its own office devoted to sustainability initiatives.

Among many of the newest sustainability efforts at UC are: overall recycling at UC in 2014 totaled 2,100.09 tons, an increase of more than 126 tons over 2013; LEED Silver Certification awarded to UC’s renovated Morgens Hall, an environmentally friendly student housing high-rise; $2.5 million in conservation-related rebates from Duke Energy; partnership with the City of Cincinnati and Duke Energy on a street lighting enhancement program; eggs from cage-free hens will be the only eggs offered by UC Housing and Food Services and Aramark.

More information about UC's sustainability efforts

Under Armour Named Official Outfitter for UC Athletics

The Athletics Department announced a long-term partnership with Under Armour this summer, naming the global performance brand as the official outfitter for UC's intercollegiate athletics program. As part of the multi-year agreement, Under Armour will exclusively design and supply the footwear, apparel and equipment for training and gameday uniforms for each of UC's 19 men's and women's varsity athletic teams beginning in the 2015-16 season.

In addition to outfitting the Bearcats, the brand plans to integrate UC into its wide-ranging storytelling efforts, including global marketing campaigns, social media initiatives, in-store promotions and grassroots activations.

More information about UC's partnership with Under Armour

Debut of Advancement and Transition Services for People with Disabilities

UC’s School of Education is expanding opportunities for students with intellectual disabilities this fall with the announcement of Advancement and Transition Services for People with Disabilities (ATS). ATS is dedicated to a world in which all people with disabilities are valued, dignified and engaged members of their communities.

The ATS will oversee the college’s high school transition classes, a College of Education, Criminal Justice, and Human Services partnership that began in 2009 with students from Sycamore Schools; the Collaboration for Employment and Education Synergy Project, which will offer a 12-week individualized program to help  students with disabilities find work and develop independent living skills; College Success Camp, a week-long camp for high school students with Asperger’s or high-functioning autism who want to attend a four-year university;

Transition and Access Program

, which offers students with mild to moderate intellectual disabilities an authentic, non-degreed college experience; and Impact Innovation, which is geared toward providing employment and learning opportunities for people with autism spectrum disorder and other significant communication, sensory and behavioral differences.

More information about ATS

Gender-Inclusive Housing

In support of UC’s commitment to diversity and inclusion, the Office of Housing & Food Services, in partnership with Resident Education and Development, is developing gender-neutral housing for the 2015-16 school year. The Audre Lorde Social Justice Living-Learning Community strives to provide an inclusive, equitable and supportive experience for all students. For this inaugural year, this gender-neutral housing community will be offered in Stratford Heights alongside traditional housing.

The Audre Lorde Social Justice Living-Learning Community is intentionally built to acknowledge, include and celebrate a diverse range of intersecting identities including race; ethnicity; gender identity and expression; sex; sexual identity and orientation; age; ability status; socioeconomic status; religion; and regional or national origin. It strives to be a safer place through reducing discrimination, raising awareness and building community. Members of this community, and the faculty and staff who support it, abide by the notion that “without community, there is no liberation.”

More information about diversity and inclusion at UC

More information about gender-inclusive housing

Nutrition-Themed Tours at the Grocery Store

Senior students in the College of Allied Health Sciences will give tours of the Kroger store on Mitchell Avenue near campus to underclassmen enrolled in the Personal Nutrition class. This community rotation as "tour guide" is a first for dietetic interns in the college’s Department of Nutritional Sciences’ accredited Coordinated Program in Dietetics.

The grocery store tours are sponsored by the Produce for Better Health Foundation, which selected UC and Kroger and 10 other academic programs and grocery partners to receive funding. The foundation provides a grant of more than $1,200 for intern training and goodie bags, and for produce samples for participants at the end of their tour.

More information about the nutrition tours

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