University Circle
Nearly 60 percent of newly-created jobs require a postsecondary degree, yet only six percent of Cleveland residents hold an associate's degree and just eight percent hold a bachelor's degree.
This stark statistic is one of the driving forces behind the fledgling Higher Education Compact of Greater Cleveland, an unprecedented collaboration among 15 colleges and universities, 25 nonprofit organizations, the Cleveland Metropolitan School District and Cuyahoga County. This new effort seeks to boost the number of college graduates in Northeast Ohio.
"Every day, there are 3,000 jobs that the Cleveland Clinic, University Hospitals and Summa Health Center can't fill," explains Lee Friedman, CEO of College Now Greater Cleveland, a member organization of the Compact. "If you can't increase educational attainment, then you can't fill jobs. At some point, if these organizations can't find talent, then they can't grow."
While this lofty goal is hardly unusual or unique, what makes the Compact stand out is its regional approach towards addressing the higher education gap. Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson is increasingly touting the benefits of addressing such problems on a regional level. Cuyahoga County has not historically been involved in education, yet Executive Ed Fitzgerald has joined the Compact. Until now, the colleges and universities involved in the Compact also have not worked together to seek a comprehensive solution to the problem.
"It truly takes a village to help students get to school and graduate from school," says Friedman. "Many of the young people we're helping are first generation college students who don't have anyone to help them get on that path. The commitment of these university presidents is truly best in class."
The goal of the Higher Education Compact is to ensure that students are ready for, have access to and graduate from college. To achieve this goal, leaders will create student-focused action plans, educate the community on why college is important, help students become college ready, link them with scholarship and financial aid opportunities and create a College Success Dashboard that measures results.
Source: Higher Education Compact of Greater Cleveland, Lee Friedman
Writer: Lee Chilcote
This stark statistic is one of the driving forces behind the fledgling Higher Education Compact of Greater Cleveland, an unprecedented collaboration among 15 colleges and universities, 25 nonprofit organizations, the Cleveland Metropolitan School District and Cuyahoga County. This new effort seeks to boost the number of college graduates in Northeast Ohio.
"Every day, there are 3,000 jobs that the Cleveland Clinic, University Hospitals and Summa Health Center can't fill," explains Lee Friedman, CEO of College Now Greater Cleveland, a member organization of the Compact. "If you can't increase educational attainment, then you can't fill jobs. At some point, if these organizations can't find talent, then they can't grow."
While this lofty goal is hardly unusual or unique, what makes the Compact stand out is its regional approach towards addressing the higher education gap. Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson is increasingly touting the benefits of addressing such problems on a regional level. Cuyahoga County has not historically been involved in education, yet Executive Ed Fitzgerald has joined the Compact. Until now, the colleges and universities involved in the Compact also have not worked together to seek a comprehensive solution to the problem.
"It truly takes a village to help students get to school and graduate from school," says Friedman. "Many of the young people we're helping are first generation college students who don't have anyone to help them get on that path. The commitment of these university presidents is truly best in class."
The goal of the Higher Education Compact is to ensure that students are ready for, have access to and graduate from college. To achieve this goal, leaders will create student-focused action plans, educate the community on why college is important, help students become college ready, link them with scholarship and financial aid opportunities and create a College Success Dashboard that measures results.
Source: Higher Education Compact of Greater Cleveland, Lee Friedman
Writer: Lee Chilcote
When it comes to making challenging New Year’s resolutions, Josh Schwarz knows how to set the bar high and deliver results.
The Case Western Reserve University sophomore is a computer science major, and his resolution for 2011 was to create one Facebook application a week -- 52 in all. To his credit, Schwarz met the goal -- on time and on target.
“I’ve always been into computers,” Schwarz explains. “I’m constantly wanting to innovate, and I realized that the Facebook platform has plenty of space for lots of new ideas.”
Schwarz categorizes his 52 apps into two segments -- sharing data in a new way and viewing data in a new way.
His first app, Relationship Mania, enables users to organize their friends based on their relationships: married, single or engaged, for example. With Email Grab, you can set up a simple way to collect email addresses from visitors to your website. Using the City Friends app, you can group your friends by their current locations and plan social events accordingly.
According to Schwarz, Cartoonize Me is the most popular app. “It transforms your photos into colorful cartoons,” he says. Next up in popularity is the Mutual Friends Matrix, designed to tell users which of their friends is most popular.
Schwarz’s apps can be accessed through his website at www.amagit.com.
His project has enabled him to meet many entrepreneurs and people in the technology business in Northeast Ohio and beyond. “This has been a great learning experience,” Schwarz says. “I’m determined to start my own company before graduating, so I’m aggressively pursuing technology, business and entrepreneurship experiences.” To that end, in addition to his classes, he’s an intern at JumpStart, Inc.
Next up for Schwarz is working on a service exclusively for Case students. “I want to build something that provides them recommendations for books, events, and jobs they might want to apply for,” he explains.
Source: Josh Schwarz
Writer: Lynne Meyer
The Case Western Reserve University sophomore is a computer science major, and his resolution for 2011 was to create one Facebook application a week -- 52 in all. To his credit, Schwarz met the goal -- on time and on target.
“I’ve always been into computers,” Schwarz explains. “I’m constantly wanting to innovate, and I realized that the Facebook platform has plenty of space for lots of new ideas.”
Schwarz categorizes his 52 apps into two segments -- sharing data in a new way and viewing data in a new way.
His first app, Relationship Mania, enables users to organize their friends based on their relationships: married, single or engaged, for example. With Email Grab, you can set up a simple way to collect email addresses from visitors to your website. Using the City Friends app, you can group your friends by their current locations and plan social events accordingly.
According to Schwarz, Cartoonize Me is the most popular app. “It transforms your photos into colorful cartoons,” he says. Next up in popularity is the Mutual Friends Matrix, designed to tell users which of their friends is most popular.
Schwarz’s apps can be accessed through his website at www.amagit.com.
His project has enabled him to meet many entrepreneurs and people in the technology business in Northeast Ohio and beyond. “This has been a great learning experience,” Schwarz says. “I’m determined to start my own company before graduating, so I’m aggressively pursuing technology, business and entrepreneurship experiences.” To that end, in addition to his classes, he’s an intern at JumpStart, Inc.
Next up for Schwarz is working on a service exclusively for Case students. “I want to build something that provides them recommendations for books, events, and jobs they might want to apply for,” he explains.
Source: Josh Schwarz
Writer: Lynne Meyer
How would you spend three days on a bus with strangers? If reading, watching movies or sleeping are among your top choices, then the Startup Bus is not for you.
The destination is the South By Southwest (SXSW) technology conference in Austin, Texas, but that's almost beside the point. Startup Bus is all about the journey -- three days on the road, brainstorming and launching new companies with fellow hackers (programmers), hipsters (designers) and hustlers (entrepreneurs). What started as a lark in 2010 is now a growing movement that's spread from San Francisco to other American cities, and even Europe.
“It's not about the companies that come out,” says Greg Svitak of Hyland Software, who rode the Cleveland Startup Bus last year and is serving as the “conductor” of this year's Ohio trip, which leaves from Columbus on March 6. It's really about the relationships that emerge as the 30 bus riders pitch their ideas, then coalesce into small teams around the best few. Svitak knows of three startups in the works in Cleveland right now that resulted from friendships formed on last year's ride. And that's the larger goal, Svitak says -- building an international community of tech-savvy entrepreneurs, a few local connections at a time.
As conductor, Svitak chooses the riders, but based on their resumes, not their ideas. Even he won't know who's pitching what until the wheels are rolling. He'll then choose the two best startup ideas that emerge on the way to Texas. And at SXSW, the finalists from the 10 buses expected this year will present their concepts to venture capitalists. Last year, seven were offered funding, including Mom and Pop Co-ops, which reduces costs for small retailers by combining their buying power. Two of its three founders are from Northeast Ohio.
To apply for this year's Ohio Startup Bus, register at the website. From March 6 through 9, you can follow the progress at StartupBus.tv.
Source: Greg Svitak
Writer: Frank Lewis
The destination is the South By Southwest (SXSW) technology conference in Austin, Texas, but that's almost beside the point. Startup Bus is all about the journey -- three days on the road, brainstorming and launching new companies with fellow hackers (programmers), hipsters (designers) and hustlers (entrepreneurs). What started as a lark in 2010 is now a growing movement that's spread from San Francisco to other American cities, and even Europe.
“It's not about the companies that come out,” says Greg Svitak of Hyland Software, who rode the Cleveland Startup Bus last year and is serving as the “conductor” of this year's Ohio trip, which leaves from Columbus on March 6. It's really about the relationships that emerge as the 30 bus riders pitch their ideas, then coalesce into small teams around the best few. Svitak knows of three startups in the works in Cleveland right now that resulted from friendships formed on last year's ride. And that's the larger goal, Svitak says -- building an international community of tech-savvy entrepreneurs, a few local connections at a time.
As conductor, Svitak chooses the riders, but based on their resumes, not their ideas. Even he won't know who's pitching what until the wheels are rolling. He'll then choose the two best startup ideas that emerge on the way to Texas. And at SXSW, the finalists from the 10 buses expected this year will present their concepts to venture capitalists. Last year, seven were offered funding, including Mom and Pop Co-ops, which reduces costs for small retailers by combining their buying power. Two of its three founders are from Northeast Ohio.
To apply for this year's Ohio Startup Bus, register at the website. From March 6 through 9, you can follow the progress at StartupBus.tv.
Source: Greg Svitak
Writer: Frank Lewis
As the number of local bike commuters continues to increase, so too does the number of savvy entrepreneurs who serve and service them. In recent years, a mini boom of bike-based businesses has developed across Northeast Ohio, including frame builders, messenger bag makers, rickshaw drivers and an indoor bike park that attracts visitors from throughout the Midwest.
case alzheimer’s research talk of the science world
Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine neuroscientist Gary Landreth and colleagues reported Thursday that bexarotene quickly cleared away beta-amyloid plaque, believed to cause the cognitive deficits of Alzheimer's disease, from the brains of genetically engineered mice, reports the Los Angeles Times.
While this is undeniably an exciting breakthrough in Alzheimer’s research, it is important to realize that even in the best-case scenario, usage of bexarotene in humans for treatment is at least six years away.
The excitement from this latest finding lies in the potential to find additional clues in the puzzle of Alzheimer’s disease.
"It's very uncommon, so far, that treatments for mice translate for humans," Dr. Lon S. Schneider, an Alzheimer's researcher at USC's Keck School of Medicine in Los Angeles said. "People should not get immediately excited, or try to buy this drug from Canada."
Read the full Los Angeles Times story here.
While this is undeniably an exciting breakthrough in Alzheimer’s research, it is important to realize that even in the best-case scenario, usage of bexarotene in humans for treatment is at least six years away.
The excitement from this latest finding lies in the potential to find additional clues in the puzzle of Alzheimer’s disease.
"It's very uncommon, so far, that treatments for mice translate for humans," Dr. Lon S. Schneider, an Alzheimer's researcher at USC's Keck School of Medicine in Los Angeles said. "People should not get immediately excited, or try to buy this drug from Canada."
Read the full Los Angeles Times story here.
The newly minted nonprofit Bike Cleveland will bring together Northeast Ohio cyclists through cycling events, educational programming and advocacy work, says Jacob Van Sickle, the group's new Executive Director. The group also will provide area cyclists with a unified voice in transportation planning across the region.
Over the course of the next year, Bike Cleveland plans to focus on prioritizing bike investments in the West Shoreway project, collaborating with the City of Cleveland to update and prioritize its Bikeway Master Plan, creating fun biking events and advocating for cyclist-friendly policies throughout the region.
One of the group's first advocacy projects will be to rally against HR 7, the transportation bill that has been proposed in the U.S. House of Representatives. That bill would eliminate dedicated funding for transportation, cut funding that helps to make streets safer for cyclists and pedestrians, and shortchange funding for repairing existing roads and bridges and improving roadways for cyclists.
For several years, Cleveland's cycling community has been fragmented among different organizations. The launch of Bike Cleveland last summer and now the hiring of Van Sickle unites cyclists under a common banner for the first time.
Van Sickle says Cleveland's energized cycling community has a lot ot be proud of. The 2010 American Community Survey shows that .8 percent of Clevelanders now use a bicycle as their primary mode of transportation to work -- a figure well above the national average of .53 percent. This is a 280-percent increase over one decade, giving Cleveland the highest 10-year increase in the country.
“I am looking forward to working with current and future Bike Cleveland members, and the greater cycling community, to continue to grow the cycling movement in Greater Cleveland," said Van Sickle in a press release.
Source: Jacob Van Sickle
Writer: Lee Chilcote
Over the course of the next year, Bike Cleveland plans to focus on prioritizing bike investments in the West Shoreway project, collaborating with the City of Cleveland to update and prioritize its Bikeway Master Plan, creating fun biking events and advocating for cyclist-friendly policies throughout the region.
One of the group's first advocacy projects will be to rally against HR 7, the transportation bill that has been proposed in the U.S. House of Representatives. That bill would eliminate dedicated funding for transportation, cut funding that helps to make streets safer for cyclists and pedestrians, and shortchange funding for repairing existing roads and bridges and improving roadways for cyclists.
For several years, Cleveland's cycling community has been fragmented among different organizations. The launch of Bike Cleveland last summer and now the hiring of Van Sickle unites cyclists under a common banner for the first time.
Van Sickle says Cleveland's energized cycling community has a lot ot be proud of. The 2010 American Community Survey shows that .8 percent of Clevelanders now use a bicycle as their primary mode of transportation to work -- a figure well above the national average of .53 percent. This is a 280-percent increase over one decade, giving Cleveland the highest 10-year increase in the country.
“I am looking forward to working with current and future Bike Cleveland members, and the greater cycling community, to continue to grow the cycling movement in Greater Cleveland," said Van Sickle in a press release.
Source: Jacob Van Sickle
Writer: Lee Chilcote
Local writer, speaker and entrepreneur Craig James has some big ideas. In fact, he is a regular contributor to NEOtropolis's "What’s the Big Idea" segment on PBS. He and his partner Sue James formed CatalystStrategies, which helps organizations best communicate their message, market and meaning. In this "Letter to Cleveland," James pens an open letter to the city he loves.
Leaders of the institutions that anchor University Circle have long wished for a hotel within walking distance of all of the amenities that the neighborhood has to offer. Now, a public-private partnership, along with $15 million in New Markets Tax Credits and completion of the University Hospitals Seidman Cancer Center, have finally brought that idea to life.
This month, The Snavely Group broke ground on an eight-story, 153-room Courtyard by Marriott that is scheduled to open this time next year. The hotel is located on Cornell Drive -- just off of Euclid Avenue -- and directly across from the new Seidman Cancer Center and the University Hospitals main campus. The $27 million project is expected to create 135 construction jobs and 55 full-time equivalent jobs.
"The anchor of the Seidman Cancer Center has really given us a market," says Chris Ronayne, President of University Circle Incorporated (UCI), the nonprofit organization that shepherded the project along by assembling the land, securing tax credits and seeking a developer. "Beyond patients and their families, that market is also students, parents, businesspeople and culture-goers."
The new hotel also adds to the impressive development boom that has occurred in University Circle. "This location is the epicenter of a $2 billion Euclid Avenue transformation from East 105th to Lakeview Cemetery," says Ronayne.
Source: Chris Ronayne
Writer: Lee Chilcote
This month, The Snavely Group broke ground on an eight-story, 153-room Courtyard by Marriott that is scheduled to open this time next year. The hotel is located on Cornell Drive -- just off of Euclid Avenue -- and directly across from the new Seidman Cancer Center and the University Hospitals main campus. The $27 million project is expected to create 135 construction jobs and 55 full-time equivalent jobs.
"The anchor of the Seidman Cancer Center has really given us a market," says Chris Ronayne, President of University Circle Incorporated (UCI), the nonprofit organization that shepherded the project along by assembling the land, securing tax credits and seeking a developer. "Beyond patients and their families, that market is also students, parents, businesspeople and culture-goers."
The new hotel also adds to the impressive development boom that has occurred in University Circle. "This location is the epicenter of a $2 billion Euclid Avenue transformation from East 105th to Lakeview Cemetery," says Ronayne.
Source: Chris Ronayne
Writer: Lee Chilcote
The nonprofit organization LiveCleveland has launched a website which provides urban parents with comprehensive school information for the areas in which they live. Our Neighborhood Schools allows parents to search by community and zip code to determine the best educational opportunities available to them across the spectrum of public, private and parochial schools.
"We wanted to battle head-on the perception that there are a lack of school choices in the City of Cleveland," says Jeff Kipp, Executive Director of LiveCleveland. "Our Neighborhood Schools is a searchable database and resource for parents that highlights high-performing schools in the Cleveland Metropolitan School District as well as charter school and private school options."
The new website was made possible through a partnership with the Cleveland Metropolitan School District (CMSD) and grant funding from the Cleveland Foundation. LiveCleveland shares with CMSD a marketing and web design staff person who works to increase enrollment in the city's public schools.
"CMSD basically had no marketing strategy previously, and was losing hundreds of kids each year to charter schools who were doing a more proactive job," says Kipp. "Now the district is trying to market its own strong schools to parents."
The website, which attracts about 500 unique visitors per month, is a "win-win" for LiveCleveland, CMSD and the city's neighborhoods and schools, Kipp adds.
Source: Jeff Kipp
Writer : Lee Chilcote
"We wanted to battle head-on the perception that there are a lack of school choices in the City of Cleveland," says Jeff Kipp, Executive Director of LiveCleveland. "Our Neighborhood Schools is a searchable database and resource for parents that highlights high-performing schools in the Cleveland Metropolitan School District as well as charter school and private school options."
The new website was made possible through a partnership with the Cleveland Metropolitan School District (CMSD) and grant funding from the Cleveland Foundation. LiveCleveland shares with CMSD a marketing and web design staff person who works to increase enrollment in the city's public schools.
"CMSD basically had no marketing strategy previously, and was losing hundreds of kids each year to charter schools who were doing a more proactive job," says Kipp. "Now the district is trying to market its own strong schools to parents."
The website, which attracts about 500 unique visitors per month, is a "win-win" for LiveCleveland, CMSD and the city's neighborhoods and schools, Kipp adds.
Source: Jeff Kipp
Writer : Lee Chilcote
Last month, Jenita McGowan was sworn in as Cleveland's new Chief of Sustainability, replacing the outgoing Andrew Watterson. A Northeast Ohio resident since 1996, McGowan's an adopted Clevelander in every sense. Fresh Water contributor Erin O'Brien sat down with McGowan and got the lowdown on the status of sustainability in Cleveland.
On Tuesday, February 7, Global Cleveland opened the doors to its Public Square welcome center. The organization is tasked with attracting and retaining talent to the region from around the globe, with the goal of adding 100,000 people to the region. Fresh Water photographer Bob Perkoski was at the ribbon cutting.
Video games no longer are child's play. A multi-billion dollar industry, video game development seduces countless wannabes, each hoping to design the next Call of Duty. Helping to train those people is Cleveland Institute of Art, which recently launched its Game Design program. Combining classes in 3D modeling, game mapping, screenwriting and sound design, this challenging program is no child's play either.
tedxcle 2012 details announced
TEDxCLE 2012 will be held on Friday, April 20th, 2012.
TEDxCLE is an annual forum that gathers the region’s big thinkers to "share ideas worth spreading." Organizers -- and recent "brain gains" -- Hallie Bram and Eric Kogelschatz seek to change the perceptions of people who live here as well as those outside the region by sharing stories of success, innovation and inspiration.
TED is a New York-based, international nonprofit whose mission is to spread innovative ideas in the areas of “technology, entertainment and design.” Founded in 1984, TED now hosts conferences in 80 countries.
Bram and Kogelschatz came up with the idea of launching TEDxCLE shortly after relocating in 2009 from Boston to Cleveland’s Detroit-Shoreway neighborhood.
“We realized that there are so many amazing things happening here," explains Bram, "but many people just don’t know about them.”
The first two years of TEDxCLE sold out in literally minutes. Fortunately, this year's conference has been moved to a larger venue -- the Gartner Auditorium at The Cleveland Museum of Art -- which will provide an additional 300 seats.
There is still time to submit speaker nominations. You can send them here until Friday, February 17th.
TEDxCLE is an annual forum that gathers the region’s big thinkers to "share ideas worth spreading." Organizers -- and recent "brain gains" -- Hallie Bram and Eric Kogelschatz seek to change the perceptions of people who live here as well as those outside the region by sharing stories of success, innovation and inspiration.
TED is a New York-based, international nonprofit whose mission is to spread innovative ideas in the areas of “technology, entertainment and design.” Founded in 1984, TED now hosts conferences in 80 countries.
Bram and Kogelschatz came up with the idea of launching TEDxCLE shortly after relocating in 2009 from Boston to Cleveland’s Detroit-Shoreway neighborhood.
“We realized that there are so many amazing things happening here," explains Bram, "but many people just don’t know about them.”
The first two years of TEDxCLE sold out in literally minutes. Fortunately, this year's conference has been moved to a larger venue -- the Gartner Auditorium at The Cleveland Museum of Art -- which will provide an additional 300 seats.
There is still time to submit speaker nominations. You can send them here until Friday, February 17th.
The Fowler Center for Sustainable Value at the Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University has recently introduced a new form of sustainable consulting for small and medium-sized businesses.
In partnership with True Market Solutions, a San Francisco-based company, the Fowler Center introduced its Sustainability Circles initiative in October. The effort aims to help such businesses enhance their performance by fully integrating sustainable business practices into what they do.
The Fowler Center's Sustainability Circles include both peer-based learning and professional advising. The program brings up to nine organizations at a time into a peer learning community for one day a month for six months. Sustainable business practice topics range from the built environment to operational environments.
At the end of the process, Sustainability Circles participants walk away with specific outcomes that are intended to help them transition into more sustainable, effective businesses. Such results include a complete carbon footprint analysis, an initial project and a customized Sustainability Action Plan.
"This is about a whole new lens for business," says Beau Daane, Manager of the Fowler Center. "In a world with rising customer expectations and declining natural resources, businesses have to consider sustainable value or they'll be left in the dust. For us, this is where the scholarship meets the practice."
Source: Beau Daane
Writer: Lee Chilcote
In partnership with True Market Solutions, a San Francisco-based company, the Fowler Center introduced its Sustainability Circles initiative in October. The effort aims to help such businesses enhance their performance by fully integrating sustainable business practices into what they do.
The Fowler Center's Sustainability Circles include both peer-based learning and professional advising. The program brings up to nine organizations at a time into a peer learning community for one day a month for six months. Sustainable business practice topics range from the built environment to operational environments.
At the end of the process, Sustainability Circles participants walk away with specific outcomes that are intended to help them transition into more sustainable, effective businesses. Such results include a complete carbon footprint analysis, an initial project and a customized Sustainability Action Plan.
"This is about a whole new lens for business," says Beau Daane, Manager of the Fowler Center. "In a world with rising customer expectations and declining natural resources, businesses have to consider sustainable value or they'll be left in the dust. For us, this is where the scholarship meets the practice."
Source: Beau Daane
Writer: Lee Chilcote
CitizenGroove has changed the way music schools take applications. CEO John Knific and three CWRU classmates wanted to solve the paper problem involved with applying to music schools.
“We were initially inspired by the problem music school were having -- they were getting 1,500 to 3,000 DVDs with bundles of paper,” recalls Knific. “We thought, every kid who is applying to music school knows how to use YouTube and FaceBook and other social media.”
So, in 2010, CitizenGroove emerged as a streamlined way for students to upload auditions and present them to the schools they were applying to. The idea took off. The company of eight is split between New York and Cleveland -- four of which are located in Lakewood offices. Knific hopes to double his staff this year, and the company continues to launch new tools and improve on its product.
CitizenGroove is continuing to grow in popularity among music schools. “We went from 12 schools to 50 schools and we’re hoping for 100 schools by the end of the year,” says Knific. “We went from using arm wrestling maneuvers to get schools to choose us to now schools are calling us.”
CitizenGroove is a finalist in the Intel Innovation Awards. They are rallying people to vote for them on the company’s FaceBook page in hopes of winning the $100,000 prize.
Source: John Knific
Writer: Karin Connelly
“We were initially inspired by the problem music school were having -- they were getting 1,500 to 3,000 DVDs with bundles of paper,” recalls Knific. “We thought, every kid who is applying to music school knows how to use YouTube and FaceBook and other social media.”
So, in 2010, CitizenGroove emerged as a streamlined way for students to upload auditions and present them to the schools they were applying to. The idea took off. The company of eight is split between New York and Cleveland -- four of which are located in Lakewood offices. Knific hopes to double his staff this year, and the company continues to launch new tools and improve on its product.
CitizenGroove is continuing to grow in popularity among music schools. “We went from 12 schools to 50 schools and we’re hoping for 100 schools by the end of the year,” says Knific. “We went from using arm wrestling maneuvers to get schools to choose us to now schools are calling us.”
CitizenGroove is a finalist in the Intel Innovation Awards. They are rallying people to vote for them on the company’s FaceBook page in hopes of winning the $100,000 prize.
Source: John Knific
Writer: Karin Connelly
Liz Maugins of Zygote Press remembers the moment in 2008 when she realized just how fragile her own organization's existence was in Cleveland's ever-shrinking nonprofit ecosystem. Like many nonprofit groups, she was looking at fewer philanthropic dollars during the worst recession in decades. Meanwhile, many foundations were stressing collaboration or proposing outright mergers.
"Like a lot of nonprofit leaders, I was freaking out and wondering what would come our way," recounts Maugins, who worried that her small nonprofit would be wiped out by the tidal wave of the national recession. "So I started sending out messages to other arts leaders to see if they were feeling the same thing."
Not surprisingly, other nonprofit leaders were losing sleep over their situations, too. Yet rather than retreating to their own private islands to struggle in maudlin isolation, Maugins and her colleagues banded together for survival.
"The number one challenge was that we had no exposure, especially with the dwindling arts coverage locally," says Maugins. "Yet we knew that our arts organizations were doing amazing things with education and other programming, and we're the economic engines of our neighborhoods."
Today, Zygote and 27 other groups in Northeast Ohio have banded together to form the Collective Arts Network (CAN), received a grant from the Ohio Arts Council, and produced a magazine-style journal touting their work. Ten thousand copies have been distributed to galleries and other hotspots in the city.
Next up, the CAN group is working on other kinds of collaboration, including programming, events and sustaining the journal as a quarterly publication.
Source: Liz Maugins
Writer: Lee Chilcote
"Like a lot of nonprofit leaders, I was freaking out and wondering what would come our way," recounts Maugins, who worried that her small nonprofit would be wiped out by the tidal wave of the national recession. "So I started sending out messages to other arts leaders to see if they were feeling the same thing."
Not surprisingly, other nonprofit leaders were losing sleep over their situations, too. Yet rather than retreating to their own private islands to struggle in maudlin isolation, Maugins and her colleagues banded together for survival.
"The number one challenge was that we had no exposure, especially with the dwindling arts coverage locally," says Maugins. "Yet we knew that our arts organizations were doing amazing things with education and other programming, and we're the economic engines of our neighborhoods."
Today, Zygote and 27 other groups in Northeast Ohio have banded together to form the Collective Arts Network (CAN), received a grant from the Ohio Arts Council, and produced a magazine-style journal touting their work. Ten thousand copies have been distributed to galleries and other hotspots in the city.
Next up, the CAN group is working on other kinds of collaboration, including programming, events and sustaining the journal as a quarterly publication.
Source: Liz Maugins
Writer: Lee Chilcote
Ever wanted to learn about how human beings all are just descendants of quantum flotsam? No? Well, how about the ways in which quantum mechanical jitterings in the universe helped create galaxies, stars, planets and people?
Even if you're not a science geek, you'll probably enjoy a new event at Happy Dog entitled "Life, the Universe and Hot Dogs," which takes place downstairs (Underdog) at 7:30 p.m. on the fourth Tuesday of the month. After all, nothing brings the meaning of life into focus like a pint or two of hoppy IPA.
The series is the latest attempt by the entrepreneurial Gordon Square Arts District venue to spread its wings and form linkages between University Circle and the near west side. The Happy Dog also has partnered with the Cleveland Orchestra to shuttle westsiders to and from Severance Hall for concerts.
"The partnership was created when Happy Dog owner Sean Watterson contacted me," explains Glenn Starkman, Director of the Institute for the Science of Origins at Case Western Reserve University, a collaboration of faculty and researchers across scientific disciplines seeking to understand how complex systems emerge and evolve. "I went down there with a couple of friends and had a few hot dogs and a beer or two, and Sean said, 'How 'bout we do this next week?'"
Starkman is hoping to use the event series as an opportunity to bring scientific understanding to a wider audience. "People think, 'Oh, science is hard,' but so is playing basketball and we watch it without expecting to be able to dunk like Jordon," he says. "We want to increase people's comfort with science and teach them how it is useful in helping us to make decisions about the world."
Source: Glenn Starkman
Writer: Lee Chilcote
Even if you're not a science geek, you'll probably enjoy a new event at Happy Dog entitled "Life, the Universe and Hot Dogs," which takes place downstairs (Underdog) at 7:30 p.m. on the fourth Tuesday of the month. After all, nothing brings the meaning of life into focus like a pint or two of hoppy IPA.
The series is the latest attempt by the entrepreneurial Gordon Square Arts District venue to spread its wings and form linkages between University Circle and the near west side. The Happy Dog also has partnered with the Cleveland Orchestra to shuttle westsiders to and from Severance Hall for concerts.
"The partnership was created when Happy Dog owner Sean Watterson contacted me," explains Glenn Starkman, Director of the Institute for the Science of Origins at Case Western Reserve University, a collaboration of faculty and researchers across scientific disciplines seeking to understand how complex systems emerge and evolve. "I went down there with a couple of friends and had a few hot dogs and a beer or two, and Sean said, 'How 'bout we do this next week?'"
Starkman is hoping to use the event series as an opportunity to bring scientific understanding to a wider audience. "People think, 'Oh, science is hard,' but so is playing basketball and we watch it without expecting to be able to dunk like Jordon," he says. "We want to increase people's comfort with science and teach them how it is useful in helping us to make decisions about the world."
Source: Glenn Starkman
Writer: Lee Chilcote
reimagine cleveland wins national planning excellence award for sustainability innovation
Defying a Rust Belt reputation may not have been the primary goal of Re-Imagining a More Sustainable Cleveland, but winning a National Planning Excellence Award from the American Planning Association proves the local initiative is well on its way.
Re-Imagining a More Sustainable Cleveland began in 2008 with a singular goal: bring Cleveland’s neighborhoods back, one vacant lot at a time. Led by the City of Cleveland and urban development organization Neighborhood Progress, the program pairs with Kent State University’s Cleveland Urban Design Collaborative to envision innovative uses, including alternative energy generation and ecosystem revitalization, for vacant spaces throughout the city.
The American Planning Association recognized the collaborative effort for its non-traditional approach to greening Cleveland, awarding organizers for engaging the community with city-wide workshops and securing funding for nearly 60 vacant land pilot projects.
Read the rest here.
Re-Imagining a More Sustainable Cleveland began in 2008 with a singular goal: bring Cleveland’s neighborhoods back, one vacant lot at a time. Led by the City of Cleveland and urban development organization Neighborhood Progress, the program pairs with Kent State University’s Cleveland Urban Design Collaborative to envision innovative uses, including alternative energy generation and ecosystem revitalization, for vacant spaces throughout the city.
The American Planning Association recognized the collaborative effort for its non-traditional approach to greening Cleveland, awarding organizers for engaging the community with city-wide workshops and securing funding for nearly 60 vacant land pilot projects.
Read the rest here.
The New Music Program at Cleveland Institute of Music (CIM), a two-year old initiative that pairs budding CIM composers with student artists from another discipline to create new work, plans to screen a series of short, original films featuring new music at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History's Planetarium on Thursday, February 23rd.
"It's very important for students to collaborate with other artists outside of the school so they have that experience when they leave here," explains Keith Fitch, Head of the Composition Department at CIM and Director of the CIM New Music Ensemble. "I believe that students need to have as many tools as they can in their compositional toolbox."
The experience of creating a short film paired with original music is not unlike completing an internship in the commercial film industry, a business that many of his students are keenly interested in, Fitch says. "I've been lucky to find work as a composer, but the days when you get a job right out of school are over," he says. "As the world becomes more connected and the role of the composer changes, students need to have one foot in the concert world and one foot in the commercial world."
The Planetarium Project will be unveiled on Feb. 23rd in CMNH's planetarium dome. The filmmakers are students at the Cleveland Institute of Art (CIA). The films will screen several times throughout the evening, and after the premiere, they will become a part of the planetarium's regular programming.
Source: Keith Fitch
Writer: Lee Chilcote
"It's very important for students to collaborate with other artists outside of the school so they have that experience when they leave here," explains Keith Fitch, Head of the Composition Department at CIM and Director of the CIM New Music Ensemble. "I believe that students need to have as many tools as they can in their compositional toolbox."
The experience of creating a short film paired with original music is not unlike completing an internship in the commercial film industry, a business that many of his students are keenly interested in, Fitch says. "I've been lucky to find work as a composer, but the days when you get a job right out of school are over," he says. "As the world becomes more connected and the role of the composer changes, students need to have one foot in the concert world and one foot in the commercial world."
The Planetarium Project will be unveiled on Feb. 23rd in CMNH's planetarium dome. The filmmakers are students at the Cleveland Institute of Art (CIA). The films will screen several times throughout the evening, and after the premiere, they will become a part of the planetarium's regular programming.
Source: Keith Fitch
Writer: Lee Chilcote
Last year, Kasumi, a local filmmaker, artist and associate professor at Cleveland Institute of Art, won a Vimeo award in the Remix category for her film short, “Breakdown, the Video,” which recasts old footage from the 1940s and 1950s. Since then, her career and reputation have soared. She returns to Vimeo this year as a judge.
“It was a total shift in how I thought about my work being online,” says Kasumi of winning the award. “Having my work online exponentially expands the audience. After winning the Vimeo Award, 'Breakdown' has been screened in scores of film festivals throughout the world, on countless blogs, and played almost 2.5 million times in 150 countries.”
Kasumi is now working on her next masterpiece, “Shockwaves.” “'Shockwaves' is the impressionistic story of two lovers, both victims of traumatized childhoods,” she explains. “By weaving a unique cinematic tapestry out of archival found footage, modern cinematic techniques, and original dance choreography, the film follows the lovers’ journeys as each seeks answers to the origins of their abuse through a surrealistic Mobius strip of alternate realities, shifting times, and multiple dimensions.”
The Vimeo award has motivated Kasumi to keep exploring her distinctive approach to film. “It made me realize that my unique style was now in peoples' consciousness -- in a big way,” she says “It gave me the courage to forge ahead with more exciting work, knowing that there was a substantial audience for it.”
Image from Shockwaves ©kasumifilms
For more info, click here.
Source: Kasumi
Writer: Karin Connelly
“It was a total shift in how I thought about my work being online,” says Kasumi of winning the award. “Having my work online exponentially expands the audience. After winning the Vimeo Award, 'Breakdown' has been screened in scores of film festivals throughout the world, on countless blogs, and played almost 2.5 million times in 150 countries.”
Kasumi is now working on her next masterpiece, “Shockwaves.” “'Shockwaves' is the impressionistic story of two lovers, both victims of traumatized childhoods,” she explains. “By weaving a unique cinematic tapestry out of archival found footage, modern cinematic techniques, and original dance choreography, the film follows the lovers’ journeys as each seeks answers to the origins of their abuse through a surrealistic Mobius strip of alternate realities, shifting times, and multiple dimensions.”
The Vimeo award has motivated Kasumi to keep exploring her distinctive approach to film. “It made me realize that my unique style was now in peoples' consciousness -- in a big way,” she says “It gave me the courage to forge ahead with more exciting work, knowing that there was a substantial audience for it.”
Image from Shockwaves ©kasumifilms
For more info, click here.
Source: Kasumi
Writer: Karin Connelly