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In the past decade, radical forces such as Occupy Wall Street, Black Lives Matter and the Tea Party have proved to be powerful forces in U.S. politics. However, the influence of radical politics is nothing new. Labor, anti-racist and anti-capitalist movements have existed throughout almost the entirety of U.S. history, as have nationalist and white-supremacist movements. The 20th century later gave rise to environmental and fascist movements.
In spite of this lengthy history of radicalism, however, it's often very difficult to find credible information about radical political movements.
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|  | Kate Leeman
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"A lot of what is written is biased, either in favor of a given movement or against the movement," Kate Leeman, research associate at the Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Affairs, said. "For example, it's really difficult to find good, clear information about communism in the United States."
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| | Susan Burgess |
This lack of credible information is what motivated Leeman to partner with Susan Burgess, professor of political science at Ohio University, to write the CQ Press Guide to Radical Politics in the United States. The book, which will be released later this month, focuses on the origins and developments of social movements as well as their influence on mainstream politics.
One of the first tasks Leeman and Burgess faced in writing the book was defining the term radical, in order to determine which groups should be included.
Leeman hopes that the book can provide a contextual frame for others and demonstrate that radical politics in the U.S. have deep historical roots.
"I think knowing that there is a long history of socialism and organizing against police brutality can help people to understand that Occupy Wall Street or Black Lives Matter are not entirely new, but fit within an on-going national struggle over issues of equality and justice," Leeman said. "To put radicalism in context helps people to see it as something that does fit within the American spectrum."
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 The Innovation Center, Ohio University's high-tech business incubator, and the Athens-based Ecolibrium Solar, one of its graduates and a TechGROWTH Ohio portfolio company, each have been recognized by the International Business Innovation Association (InBIA) for excellence in business incubation and incubator graduate success, respectively.
The Innovation Center has been named Rural Incubator of the Year in the 2016 InBIA Awards. It was one of eight entities across the globe to be honored for its contributions to the business incubation field.
"This recognition highlights the high impact that the Innovation Center brings to Ohio University's venture ecosystem," said Jennifer Simon, director of the Innovation Center. "With it comes more attention to its benefits for high-technology startups and buy-in from funding agencies. We work every day to identify value for our clients and we want others to know about it."
The Innovation Center offers customized business assistance, including capital access planning, human resource development and market analysis. Its 36,000 square-foot facility features a biotechnology lab, 33 offices and six wet labs. The business incubator works closely with university and regional partners, including TechGROWTH Ohio, a program funded by Ohio University and the state's Ohio Third Frontier Entrepreneurial Signature Program to provide business expertise, services and investments for startup companies in southeastern Ohio.
In 2015, Innovation Center clients and recent graduates added 121 new jobs with an annual average salary that was double the average regional income.
Recent accomplishments also include an effort with the Muskingum County Business Incubator through its TechGROWTH Ohio partnership to build a regional mentoring and recruitment initiative. The program is designed to identify, coordinate, train and monitor volunteer executives, drawing upon local talent and a proactive recruitment of managerial talent from outside the region.
Over the last year, the Innovation Center also attracted more than 200 attendees to nine events, including its Founders' Forum, which unites CEOs and founders of current clients and recent graduates to discuss topics of interest and exchange information.
In addition to receiving the Rural Incubator of the Year award, the Innovation Center nominated one of its recent graduate companies for the 2016 InBIA Awards.
 Ecolibrium Solar was named Outstanding Incubator Graduate: Hard Science. The Athens-based company designs cost-effective, ecologically sound products for the solar energy industry. Ecolibrium Solar, which graduated from the Innovation Center in 2015, also is a successful portfolio company of TechGROWTH Ohio. It was one of six incubator clients or graduates recognized by InBIA for its growth and performance in the marketplace.
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| | Spring 2016 Voinovich Collections Fellow Robert Baker (L) works with MPA Student David Keller (R), who is a graduate assistant working with the collection, to select documents during a recent visit to Ohio University. |
Sen. George Voinovich served as mayor of Cleveland for nine years, governor of Ohio for eight and as a U.S. senator for 12. During that time the Senator acquired an impressive set of documents and materials pertaining to his work on public private partnerships, urban revitalization, health care policy, environmental issues, U.S. foreign relations within the Balkans region, the war in Iraq and more. Upon his retirement in 2011, the Senator donated to two institutions: Ohio University's Mahn Center for Archives & Special Collection at Alden Library and the Western Reserve Historical Society in Cleveland. Ohio University received all documents pertaining to Voinovich's two terms as governor of Ohio (1990-98) and his two terms in the U.S. Senate (1998-2010). These documents amount to a treasure trove that students don't often get the chance to explore. However, the Voinovich Collections Fellowship offers faculty the opportunity to bring the Voinovich Collections into the classroom through use of the Voinovich Archival Collections website and associated digitized content. The Voinovich Collections Fellowship is a competitive stipend program that can accommodate two tenure-track faculty members from any university or college within the state of Ohio. The selected fellows will work with the Ohio University Libraries to choose documents from the physical Voinovich Archival Collections that will be digitized and integrated into the classroom. Fellows receive two stipends of $1,000 plus travel expenses to be covered up to $500. |
| | Sarah Davis
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Sarah Davis, assistant professor at the Voinovich School, was awarded the fellowship for the fall 2015. However, Davis had been interested in the collection long before then. "When I first started here, in one of my orientation sessions, the collection was introduced as a resource," Davis said. "It's a special thing to have the archives from Senator Voinovich's entire time as a senator and a governor here in our library." Davis soon began taking her students to visit the collection, specifically examining how science is used in decision making and how information from scientific communities is used in discussions and debates around proposed legislation, as well as in the formation of that legislation. "After I got the fellowship, I developed our use of the collection to be a little bit more organized, and I now have the students complete a very targeted research activity," Davis said. "Students seem to be very engaged when we go to the boxes. They're very curious about what they're going to find, and they have very strong reactions to the different things that they find." |
| | Robert Baker |
Robert Baker of Wittenberg University teaches courses in urban politics and local government, and he intends to use the Voinovich Collection to provide real-world examples in discussions on downtown development, public-private partnerships, urban revitalization and the relationships between different branches of government. Both Baker and Davis praised the opportunities that the fellowship has afforded them. "Just having the resource there in the library is great," Davis said. "It's good to actually apply it, since we're fortunate enough to have it here on campus." Baker seconded Davis' praise of the collection, and said he hopes the fellowship will continue to reach new audiences. "I think the more that the Voinovich School can get this program out across the colleges and universities in the state, the better," Baker said. "I think it's a wonderful enhancement to the educational process, and I'm just glad that I'm part of it." The Voinovich School is currently seeking candidates for next year's fellowship. Interested faculty can find information about the application process here. |
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 Location: Athens, OH Description: You will serve as a liaison between the Voinovich School, the Office of Sustainability, the Office of Campus Recycling and Refuse and the Ohio University campus as a whole. You will be part of the Zero Waste Team of faculty, staff and students working to bring positive change to Ohio University through waste and recycling programming. Primary responsibilities will include:
- Coordinating with on-campus departments regarding Zero Waste programming at OHIO
- Developing educational campaigns and outreach strategies for student and campus engagement
- Consulting with event planners across campus to assist with Zero Waste resources at events
- Contributing to Zero Waste communication efforts
More information
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Brownbag Lunch/Earth Day Hike
Graduate Commencement CeremonyApril 29, 9:30 a.m.Convocation Center
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Nate Schlater, a coordinator for the Monday Creek Restoration Project that is administered by Rural Action, spoke with the Athens News and told how Rural Action Inc. and the Voinovich School are offering to help with information on streams where pollution from failing home septic systems is the worst.
"We have shared maps with local health departments to help prioritize where the funds are spent."
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Impact & Innovation is a newsletter for the students, faculty and professionals of the Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Affairs.
Have an article idea? Contact Laura Alloway, Voinovich School Director of Marketing and Communications.
Impact & Innovation is written and created by undergraduate students Diana Wiebe, M.C. Tilton, Jasmine Grillmeier and Daniel Kington.
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