More Across the College Green   Talk about your class acts   History professor delves into shadowy world   Foundation investing in students' futures   Childbirth study goes right to the experts   Program raising sensitivity   Creating words of art   Reporting from paradise   State budget pinch poses challenge   Keeping a sharp focus on research

By the Way Freshman class nears record This year's Athens campus freshman class of 3,778 students is the largest the University has seen in 31 years. Enrollment on the Athens campus stands at 19,648, while the total for all six Ohio University campuses is 27,702. Eighteen percent of first-year students were in the top 10 percent of their high school graduating class; 439 are children of alumni. The increase in enrollment will help the University hire at least 30 new tenure-track professors by 2003 to move it closer to the goal of an 18-to-1 student/faculty ratio. External funds top $100 million The University received more than $100 million in awards and gifts from external sources during fiscal 2001, the largest amount provided by government agencies, businesses, foundations and individual donors in a single year. Of that, $53.9 million came from public and private sources for research, educational and public service activities, up from $49.1 million the year before. The figure included $24.5 milllion for research and $29.4 million for activities such as education and technology initiatives. The University also received $47.2 million in gift commitments, up from $35.2 million the year before. Commitments totaling $138 million have been made to the Bicentennial Campaign, which seeks to raise more than $200 million by 2004. Magazine considers photos National Geographic editors are reviewing 325 rolls of film shot by 114 School of Visual Communication students and may include a selection of the photos in the magazine's July issue. A researcher for the publication spotted a Web site on the school's annual one-day Dawn to Dusk project and suggested a theme that might get the students' work published in National Geographic. That theme: Athens' ZIP code of 45701. If accepted, the photos would be part of an ongoing series highlighting areas within specific ZIP codes. Punter named All-American Ohio University punter Dave Zastudil was named to the Football News All-America first team in December. He finished the season second in the nation in punting with a school-record 45.6-yard average. He also was honored by the Football Writers Association of America, the Mid-American Conference and The Associated Press and was tapped for the Senior Bowl Jan. 26 in Mobile, Ala.   Keeping Up Stephen Kopp, dean of the Herbert H. and Grace A. Dow College of Health Professions at Central Michigan University, was named provost of Ohio University in December. Kopp, who is known for his inventive ideas and experimental approach to problem solving, begins his assignment July 1. "He has an analytical mind and is a good listener and consensus-builder. I believe his personal style will fit exceptionally well at Ohio University," President Robert Glidden says. Kopp, a strong advocate for reform in higher education, is a supporter of lifelong learning. At Central Michigan, Kopp secured $37.5 million to fund a new health professions building. He also was instrumental in developing a network to give rural residents and health care providers access to consulting services and health information. Dr. Jack Brose was named dean of the College of Osteopathic Medicine in November. Brose, who had served as assistant dean of clinical research since 1994 and director of OU-COM's Predoctoral Family Medicine Fellowship Program since 1983, has been on the college's Department of Family Medicine faculty since 1982. He has received the Outstanding Clinical Faculty Award 19 times and was recognized as the 2001 Educator of the Year by the Ohio Academy of Family Physicians. He succeeds Daniel Marazon, who served as interim dean following the departure of former Dean Barbara Ross-Lee in January 2001. Richard Bebee is dean of Ohio University's Chillicothe Campus, having succeeded Delbert Meyer in July. Bebee had served as dean of the Franklin P. Perdue School of Business at Salisbury State University in Maryland since 1991. He previously was an associate dean and professor of accounting at Old Dominion University and a professor of accounting at DePaul and Miami universities. Paul Castagno has been named director of the School of Theater. Castagno, who succeeded former Director Vincent Cardinal in July, previously directed the University of Alabama's New Playwrights' Program and headed the Department of Theatre and Dance's graduate playwrighting/dramaturgy program. Karen Riggs was appointed director of the School of Telecommunications in July. Riggs previously served as an associate professor and chair of the Department of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and has worked as a reporter and editor at the Vero Beach (Fla.) Press-Journal.