An update from university leadership

Dear Students, Faculty and Staff:

Over the past several weeks, those of us in higher education have found ourselves at the center of a number of vigorous debates at both the state and national levels. We have heard from many of you with questions about how the ongoing policy discussions could impact the important work of our university. Today we are writing to share an update.

First, our teams are actively monitoring policy developments at all levels of government. Ohio State plays a vital role in the overall success and competitiveness of our state, and we will continue our work to advance policies that support our life-saving research and an affordable and high-quality university. We have created a website that will serve as a central resource for all information on legislative and executive actions and their potential impact on Ohio State. We invite you to check back regularly for updates and new information.

Second, we are continuing our ongoing evaluation of our university’s work in diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) and are forming working groups to review Ohio State jobs and duties related to DEI and to examine our DEI programming, initiatives and projects. Our goal is to ensure that we have a full picture of the university’s work in this area and can be positioned to make changes if state or federal law requires it or if we decide a different approach is in the university’s best interests.

These conversations can be difficult, particularly on a campus like ours where diversity of background and ideas is at the very heart of our mission. Indeed, land-grant universities were created on the ideal that the promise of higher education should be open to all. In our view, that mission is more important today than ever. As we pursue excellence together, we remain committed to our goal to make Ohio State a university where all are welcomed, safe and free to debate and share diverse ideas. Assuring opportunity for all members of our community has always mattered here, and that’s not changing.

At the same time, we believe it’s appropriate to be proactive given the policy discussions happening around us. As a public institution, we will always follow the laws and regulations that govern us. Changes are almost certainly on the horizon, and the best way to manage change is to be prepared. The proactive steps we are taking now will best position us to continue our work uninterrupted in ensuring that students, faculty and staff of all backgrounds can be successful at Ohio State.

As the working groups move forward, we will be transparent and will share updates on any policy developments as information becomes available.

As always, thank you for the exceptional work you do every day in teaching, learning, research and patient care.

Sincerely,

Walter “Ted” Carter Jr.
President

Ravi V. Bellamkonda, PhD
Executive Vice President and Provost

Peter Mohler, PhD
Executive Vice President for Research, Innovation and Knowledge

John J. Warner, MD
CEO of The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center and Executive Vice President at Ohio State