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Onondaga Citizens League announced the recipient of the 2012 Levi L. Smith Civic Education Award at its annual meeting on June 6. Ralph Ketcham, professor emeritus of history, public affairs and political science at the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, received the annual award.

The award honors an outstanding citizen or organization that has contributed to the field and practice of civic education in Central New York. The namesake of the award is the founder and former executive vice president of the Onondaga Citizens League, who for many years exemplified good citizenship by giving much thought and effort to strengthening civic education.

Ketcham began his career at SU as a graduate fellow in 1951 and received his Ph.D. in 1956. He was named professor of American studies and public affairs at SU in 1963, professor of political science in 1965, professor of history in 1968 and Maxwell Professor of Citizenship and Public Affairs in 1994. His specialties include American political thought, the era of the American Revolution, public policy and comparative political cultures. He is the author of numerous books and other publications including, most recently, “The Madisons at Montpelier; Reflections on the Founding Couple” (University of Virginia Press, 2009), and “The Idea of Democracy in the Modern Era” (University Press of Kansas, 2004). Ketcham is currently working on a manuscript, “The American Political Science Association and the Teaching of Democracy and Citizenship in the Twentieth Century.”

In 2003, Ketcham received the George Arents Pioneer Medal, which recognizes career accomplishment and is the highest alumni honor Syracuse University bestows.

University College of Syracuse University and Le Moyne College have invited citizens to attend a discussion on Wednesday, May 2, at 7 p.m. at Grewen Auditorium on the Le Moyne College campus. Rebecca Garden and Joel Potash will discuss narrative medicine, which uses poems, novels and, particularly, stories written by people with illness and disability to help health care professionals improve health care by listening to patients’ stories.

Garden is an associate professor at the Center for Bioethics and Humanities at SUNY Upstate Medical University. Potash is a professor emeritus at the Center for Bioethics and Humanities. He sits on the University Hospital Ethics Committee. The pair will examine the increasing use of technology in medicine as well as the increase in patient load, which often depersonalizes the practice of medicine.

The event is free and open to the public. Parking is available in lot C off Springfield Road. For more information, call 315-443-4846 or e-mail cmkarlho@syr.edu.

Michelle Singletary has been named director of SummerStart and Syracuse Success Initiative (SSUI) at Syracuse University effective May 15.

Singletary joined Syracuse University’s Office of Residence Life (ORL) in June 2006 as the assistant director. Prior to her role in ORL, she was the interim director of Multicultural Affairs at SUNY Geneseo. Singletary has been a strong advocate for students in her many voluntary leadership positions in various campuswide initiatives and committees at SU, as well as SUNY Geneseo and Ithaca College.

Singletary holds a bachelor of science degree in health education from SUNY Cortland and a master of science degree in education, also from SUNY Cortland.

Syracuse University’s SummerStart Program is one of the longest-standing programs of its kind in the nation. It provides a transitional experience to admitted SU freshmen during the summer prior to their matriculation. SSUI supports selected SU undergraduates with additional academic support in conjunction with enrollment in summer courses.

The 2012 Intelligent Conversation lecture series, co-sponsored by University College of Syracuse University and Le Moyne College, invites citizens to explore topics surrounding the future of medicine. The events are free and take place at Grewen Auditorium on the Le Moyne College campus. Parking is available in lot C off Springfield Road (visit www.lemoyne.edu/resources/campusinfo.htm). For more information, call 315-443-4846 or e-mail cmkarlho@syr.edu.

The first conversation, to be held Wednesday, April 25, at 7 p.m., explores “Personalized Medicine: Tailoring Health Care in the Information Age.” Robert West and Robert Olick will lead a conversation on how genotyping, plus the use of the Internet, is creating personalized medicine—a new age of medicine in which genetic testing allows care to be tailored to a specific patient’s genetic code.

West is an associate professor of biochemistry and molecular biology at Upstate Medical University. Olick is an associate professor and chair of the University Hospital Ethics Committee, Center for Bioethics and Humanities at Upstate. SUNY Upstate Medical University was among the first in the nation to offer training to medical students that incorporates genomic and personalized medicine in the curriculum.

The second conversation, to be held Wednesday, May 2, at 7 p.m., is titled “Narrative Medicine: Using Literature and Patients’ Stories to Improve Health Care.”

Rebecca Garden and Joel Potash will discuss the relationship between doctor and patient and how it can literally mean the difference between life and death. Garden is an associate professor at the Center for Bioethics and Humanities at SUNY Upstate Medical University. Potash is a professor emeritus at the Center for Bioethics and Humanities. He sits on the University Hospital Ethics Committee. The pair will examine the increasing use of technology in medicine and growing patient loads, which are making medicine increasingly depersonalized.

At the April 5 session of the Institute for Retired People (IRP), Aly Wane will present “Immigration: A Personal Reflection on the Changing Nature of American Citizenship.” Wane will share his opinions regarding the current immigration system and spark conversation on some of the immigration reform issues.

A Le Moyne College graduate, Wane is a community organizer with the Syracuse Peace Council and an immigration reform activist.

The IRP program runs from 11:30 a.m. until 1 p.m., and is free and open to the public. IRP sessions are held at the First Baptist Church of Syracuse, 5833 East Seneca Turnpike, Jamesville.

For more information, visit http://uc.syr.edu/irp, call 315-443-4846, or e-mail cmkarlho@syr.edu. 

IRP is a community program established by University College of Syracuse University, dedicated to the principle of lifelong learning.