Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
I want to join the Chairman in formally welcoming Trustee Kathy Holcombe to the Board. Ohio State will benefit greatly from Trustee Holcombe’s leadership and commitment to our community. Trustee Holcombe, congratulations and we look forward to working with you.
We also extend our gratitude to Trustee Kiggin for his dedicated service to Ohio State. He has been a steady and thoughtful presence on the Board, and we wish him and his family all the best in the future.
It’s hard to believe the end of the semester is already approaching. I’m excited to have the opportunity to speak to the Autumn Class of 2025 in just a few weeks.
When we began this academic year, around the last time this Board convened for a public session, I shared my anticipation for a busy and momentous period ahead for our university. And I’d say that so far, we have lived up to that expectation.
We kicked off the year with the public launch of our Education for Citizenship 2035 strategic plan, a bold 10-year vision for Ohio State to define the future of higher education. I want to thank the Board for joining us for that event and for pushing us to articulate an ambitious agenda for excellence across our university.
I’m incredibly proud of the progress we’ve made in only a few short months in putting our plan into action, particularly when it comes to the pursuit of academic excellence, the foundation of our vision.
Leadership in artificial intelligence is a centerpiece of our academic excellence strategy. I can confirm to you after engaging with colleagues at several national events recently that Ohio State is at the forefront… which is probably why we were front and center of a new PBS report about how AI is reshaping higher education.
No other university is taking as comprehensive an approach in integrating AI across the enterprise as we are. This is only possible because of the size, strength and stability of our institution, and the commitment of Provost Bellamkonda and our academic leaders who are moving us forward with vision and purpose.
We have announced plans to hire 100 new faculty with AI expertise in the next five years, with the first cohort of hires expected to join us next fall. These faculty will complement the 300 colleagues already on our campus who are engaged in some way with AI.
We have also launched a transformative new AI Hub that will serve as a resource for any student, faculty member or staff member who wants to explore opportunities to integrate AI into their academic pursuits. And, true to our land-grant mission, we are offering AI courses to Ohio businesses, providing the opportunity for them to improve their efficiency and business outcomes.
At Ohio State, we believe in excellence for all. We have taken significant new steps to make a Buckeye education more affordable and accessible for Ohio students.
The new Buckeye Bridge program, an innovative collaboration with our colleagues at Columbus State, creates a tuition-free path for low- and middle-income Ohio students to complete a four-year degree at Ohio State after they have earned an associate’s degree from Columbus State.
The Regional Campus Commitment covers tuition and fees for low- and middle-income students who start at one of our regional campuses, providing them a path to either complete their degree at a regional campus or transfer to the Columbus campus tuition-free.
And the President’s Ohio Scholarship Program covers the total cost of attendance for Ohio’s elite academic talent, making us more competitive in keeping students who score a perfect 36 on the ACT or 1600 on the SAT right here at home.
Scholarships aren’t our only vehicle for expanding affordability. I want to give a shout-out to our University Libraries team, who are leading the charge to lower textbook costs for students by finding digital or other materials that can be used instead of more expensive traditional textbooks.
As we’re talking about access, there’s a special group of learners who we are working hard to attract to Ohio State, and that’s student veterans. This is especially meaningful to me as we celebrated Veterans Day just a few weeks ago. Coach Day and I had the opportunity to speak to several hundred ROTC cadets and midshipmen after their morning workout and that was a special time for us to say thank you and recognize their hard work.
Veterans are a natural fit for higher education: They have a strong work ethic, they are primed for careers in service and leadership, and they have high public trust and confidence. They also have unique circumstances that we need to be attuned to, in terms of their family, work and military obligations. I’m very proud that Ohio State ranks among the nation’s leaders in military friendliness, but I think we can and should be No. 1. And we are well on our way. Look for us to say more on this very soon.
In health care, we are nearing the opening early next year of our new University Hospital, the largest single-facilities project in Ohio State history. While I’m excited to cut the ribbon, I’m far more excited about the transformational work that will take place inside this incredible new space. The advances in cancer care, women’s and infant health, stroke care, organ transplantation and other areas will change and save untold lives across Ohio and beyond.
This is the very definition of our land-grant mission to make life better for the people of our state. Many of you were present for the lighting of the 30-foot-tall block “O” on the tower… a visual symbol of hope and our commitment to providing world-class care to every person in our community.
While the hospital may be based in Columbus, it is a resource, as is our entire medical center, for the entire state. We are continuing to find new ways to expand our reach in every corner of Ohio to ensure excellent health outcomes in our rural and Appalachian communities as well as our metro areas. A new mobile lung cancer screening unit launched by The James, for example, will expand services for rural and underserved parts of our state.
Athletics, as you know, is an important pillar of our strategic plan. It’s the front porch of our university for many Ohioans and part of the unifying fabric of our state.
We’re very proud of our tradition of excellence on and off the field. You may have heard that we’re playing a pretty big game in a little over 48 hours. This follows an undefeated regular season, the nation’s longest winning streak, and a host of awards for our players for their achievements in athletics, academics and community service.
Excited as we are to be in the postseason, I won’t miss an opportunity to draw attention to the academic success of all of Ohio State’s student-athletes. The NCAA recently released a new report on Graduation Success Rates and 15 Buckeye teams had a perfect score. Twenty-three teams had a GSR of 90 or better. That kind of success speaks to the culture that Ross Bjork and our coaches and staff are setting where the “student” part of “student-athlete” truly comes first.
And as the collegiate athletics landscape continues to evolve by the day, we are committed to staying on the forefront, notably by maintaining 36 varsity sports, adding scholarships primarily for nonrevenue and women’s sports, and working closely with our Big Ten colleagues to explore new and innovative revenue sources that will keep us competitive.
None of these successes would be possible without our greatest asset – our people. To that end, I’m pleased that Ohio State continues to be a magnet for top talent. As you know, our enrollment is up this year, with growth at all student levels. We are especially proud that more than two-thirds of our first-year students are from Ohio, a marker of our land-grant mission.
And we are excited to welcome new members of our leadership team. John Horack has been named vice president of research – or as he very aptly calls it, the Department of the Future – and will lead our efforts to grow our research enterprise to $2 billion.
And pending your approval, Erik Porfeli will serve as interim dean of the College of Education and Human Ecology until 2028. Erik is a professor and chair within the college and is the right person to lead in the transition after current Dean Don Pope-Davis steps down at the end of the calendar year.
We will also soon begin a search for the next dean of our College of Medicine as Dean Carol Bradford will step down on December 31. The college is well-positioned for its next chapter of growth, and we thank Dean Bradford for her leadership.
This has been an extraordinary semester of achievements by our students, faculty and staff, even in the face of uncertainties that are impacting all of higher education. And while Buckeyes aren’t braggers, we are raising the bar for ourselves in terms of telling the stories of the incredible work being done by our community.
One such example is in front of you. And for those watching online, a digital version of this document is also available on our website. This University Impact report put together by Chris Kabourek’s communications team tells a comprehensive story of the statewide impact of our university. It is one of a number of tools we are using, to include media and op-eds, a new website dedicated to academic excellence, and more video and social media, to bring greater visibility to our work and ensure that Ohioans have awareness of the ways Ohio State touches their lives.
I’m confident that 2026 will bring new opportunities for excellence and impact. We are excited to finish this semester strong, take an opportunity to rest and recharge, and begin again in the New Year.
Thank you, and that concludes my report. Mr. Chairman, I’ll turn the podium back to you.