"Protecting Human Rights in Africa: Strategies and Roles of Non-Governmental Organizations," an award-winning book by Claude Welch, SUNY Distinguished Service Professor in the Department of Political Science, has been published in paperback by the University of Pennsylvania Press. The book, first published in 1995, was cited by the American Library Association as one of the outstanding academic books of 1995. It was the first major comparative study of how non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have wrought a revolutionary change in Africa by uncovering human-rights abuses and advocating for reform.

Frank Cipolla, emeritus professor of music, recently was voted honorary membership in the prestigious American Bandmasters Association. The association was founded in 1929 by a group of eminent bandmasters, including Edwin Franko Goldman and John Philip Sousa, to honor outstanding achievement in the area of bands and band music. Cipolla was cited for his writings on the history of 19th-century American bands.

The Irish Classical Theatre Company recently hosted the world premiere of "Nightmaze," an award-winning adaptation of James Joyce's masterpiece "Finnegans Wake." "Nightmaze," written and directed by Vincent O'Neill, company artistic director and chair of the Department of Theatre and Dance, won the David Fendrick Award for originality and artistic merit.

Steven Mankouche, adjunct professor of architecuture, received an honorable mention in the national "Urban Poetry" competition sponsored by the Cincinnati Chapter of the American Institute of Architects Cincinnati. The entry was for a proposal for a parking-lot site in downtown Cincinnati.