Looking back and forging ahead
By Robert Glidden

So many worthwhile things take flight at Ohio University: students' inspiration as professors engage them in the classroom, artists' and musicians' imaginations as they aspire to create new works, researchers' collaborations as they pursue answers in the laboratory. Two of our top programs, however, take the concept of flight almost literally. They are the School of Dance and the Avionics Engineering Center, both featured in this issue of Ohio Today.

Walking through Putnam Hall, you can sense the energy, the intensity of dance students' experiences. They embrace faculty members and share details about their latest performance or personal challenge. They stop at bulletin boards to read notes of encouragement from alumni. They motivate one another to endure endless hours of practice and rehearsal.

Megan Stark School of Dance students rehearse for a recent concert.

This is no ordinary dance school. It is, in fact, an extraordinary dance school.

Director Madeleine Scott likes to tell about one of her first impressions of the school, one formed before she ever stepped foot on campus in 1980 to interview for an assistant professor's post. Early in her career, she would sometimes inquire about the professional training of other dancers whose unique styles impressed her. Often, she found, those dancers were schooled at Ohio University.

It was one of the things that drew her to Athens. Today, the talent, professionalism and high expectations of Madeleine and her colleagues are drawing some of the nation's top dance students to the university.

A small program with a big reputation, the school limits its enrollment to about 80 students. That means turning away about 50 dancers a year who audition for admission to the school. But what it gives students who make the cut is a multitude of opportunities to work one-on-one with their mentors, who weigh individuality and creativity on an equal footing with the mastery of technique.

Rick Fatica Transmitters such as this are used by avionics researchers.

The Avionics Engineering Center takes a similar leadership role in its field. One of the most distinguished research facilities of its kind in the country, the center works closely with the FAA, NASA, the Department of Defense and others on projects that make air travel safer and airports more efficient.

Since its establishment in 1963, the Avionics Engineering Center - operated completely on external funding - has attracted $40 million in research grants. Projects have present-day applications, such as those dealing with the installation and testing of navigational systems at airports around the country, as well as long-term ramifications. Examples of the latter include research into the use of satellites to guide planes from one airport to another and provide pilots with better information about possible flight-path obstacles.

Our achievements are impressive. Avionics Engineering Center student interns have earned the prestigious William E. Jackson Award for applying electronic technology to aviation issues 10 of the 25 times it has been presented. For a quarter century, we have worked with Princeton University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology on FAA- and NASA-funded projects.

The School of Dance and the Avionics Engineering Center are among many programs that bring credit and visibility to your university. They take the concept of flight to new heights, and they should inspire us all.