The following message was sent to Ohio State students on Tuesday, March 22, 2022.
Notes from a Fellow Buckeye
Dear Colleagues,
I hope you are enjoying these first few days of spring! As you know, your safety and well-being continue to be our top priority. Masks are now optional in most indoor spaces, including residence halls, dining facilities, classrooms, offices and the Ohio Union. This decision was guided by many factors — CDC and Ohio Department of Health guidance, Ohio State positivity rates well below 1%, high vaccination rates and better weather.
There are many mental health resources to support you or a colleague, friend or loved one at Ohio State. Access a summary of where to get help. In addition, we have recently expanded the Buckeye Paws mental health therapy dog program. As a dog lover myself, I was so happy to help announce expanding the program, which provides comfort to students, faculty and staff. Any Ohio State University community member can request a visit from these wonderful animals, which are certified through the Alliance of Therapy Dogs. Simply email your name, contact info, reason for a visit and preferred date and time to BuckeyePaws@osumc.edu.
With regard to physical safety, earlier this month, we announced a Community Crime Map — which includes statistics from the Columbus Division of Police and shows off-campus crime reports — to replace Neighborhood Safety Notice emails. The change follows a recent independent report by Security Risk Management Consultants and feedback from students. This tool offers users access to more crime information, presented in the visual map-based format that was requested by students. We will continue to engage with students, faculty and staff to enhance the university’s safety resources, including the ways in which we share information with our community.
Buckeyes around the world have watched news of the invasion in Ukraine with heavy hearts. Like so many others, you have found ways to support Ukrainians. Ohio State has always been, and always will be, an institution that celebrates diversity and stands for dialogue and diplomacy over violence.
The Office of Academic Affairs and the Office of International Affairs have partnered to provide a centralized academic and support resources webpage for those impacted by this war. There is a guide for donations, including a list of organizations vetted by the New York Times, and information about resources for immigration, cybersecurity and general support for all members of the Ohio State community.
Celebrating success
Ohio State faculty and staff continue to astonish worldwide through accomplishments, ingenuity and generosity.
Congratulations to Dr. Bart Elmore, an associate professor in the Department of History, who was one of nine early- to mid-career scholars of history to receive the 2022 Dan David Prize. Professor Elmore earned this recognition for his exceptional work at the intersection of environmental history and business history.
Kudos to Dr. Nicole Kraft, associate professor in the School of Communication, for winning the 2022 Linda S. Puntney Teacher Inspiration Award, which recognizes a professor who, through the teaching and advising of journalism, inspired others to pursue journalism teaching as a career and who has made a positive difference.
The Center on Education and Training for Employment was selected recently as Ohio State’s nominee for the 2022 C. Peter Magrath and W.K. Kellogg Foundation Community Engagement Scholarship Awards. The center earned the nomination through a competitive selection process earlier this year. The awards, which are presented by the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities and the Engagement Scholarship Consortium, are among the highest honors a community-university partnership can receive.
We should all be proud of the recent announcement placing Ohio State among only five institutions in the country as a top producer for both Fulbright U.S. scholar and U.S. student programs.
We tied for fifth nationally with six Fulbright scholar awards and 14th with 10 Fulbright student awards for the 2021-22 academic year. Ohio State consistently ranks as a top producer for the Fulbright scholar and student competitions, including a No. 1 ranking for Fulbright scholars in 2020-21.
Buckeye Nation could not be prouder of our student athletes this season.
The women’s hockey team won its first ever national championship Sunday with a 3-2 victory over Minnesota Duluth. It was a thrilling game and a well-earned win!
The Ohio State pistol team ended its season with a national championship at the Intercollegiate Pistol Championships in Ft. Benning, Ga. It marked the Buckeyes’ third overall team national title in the past four years.
Our men’s gymnastics team was also victorious, defeating Nebraska in the regular-season finale Sunday to claim a share of the Big Ten championship.
Congratulations to the men’s basketball team for an incredible season. The team made it to the second round of the NCAA Tournament but unfortunately lost to No. 2 seed Villanova.
After their victory Saturday over Missouri State, our women’s basketball team (who were Big Ten co-champions this season) won their second-round game in the NCAA Tournament against LSU and now head to the Sweet 16!
As always, Go Buckeyes!
Sincerely yours,
Kristina M. Johnson, PhD
President
Dear Buckeyes,
I hope you had a wonderful Spring Break, and welcome back to campus. Your safety and well-being continue to be our top priority and as such, we have a couple of updates:
- As you know, masks are now optional in most indoor spaces, including residence halls, dining facilities, classrooms, offices and the Ohio Union. This decision was guided by many factors — CDC and Ohio Department of Health guidance, Ohio State positivity rates well below 1%, high vaccination rates and better weather.
- There are many mental health resources to support you or a colleague, friend or loved one at Ohio State. Access a summary of where to get help. In addition, we have recently expanded the Buckeye Paws mental health therapy dog program. As a dog lover myself, I was so happy to help announce expanding the program, which provides comfort to students, faculty and staff. Any Ohio State University community member can request a visit from these wonderful animals, which are certified through the Alliance of Therapy Dogs. Simply email your name, contact info, reason for a visit and preferred date and time to BuckeyePaws@osumc.edu.
- With regard to physical safety, earlier this month, we announced a Community Crime Map — which includes statistics from the Columbus Division of Police and shows off-campus crime reports — to replace Neighborhood Safety Notice emails. The change follows a recent independent report by Security Risk Management Consultants and feedback from students. This tool offers users access to more crime information, presented in the visual map-based format you have requested. We will continue to engage with students, faculty and staff to enhance the university’s safety resources, including the ways in which we share information with our community.
Buckeyes around the world have watched news of the invasion in Ukraine with heavy hearts. Like so many others, you have found ways to support Ukrainians. Ohio State has always been, and always will be, an institution that celebrates diversity and stands for dialogue and diplomacy over violence.
The Office of Academic Affairs and the Office of International Affairs have partnered to provide a centralized academic and support resources webpage for those impacted by this war. There is a guide for donations, including a list of organizations vetted by the New York Times, and information about resources for immigration, cybersecurity and general support for all members of the Ohio State community.
Celebrating success
Buckeye Nation could not be prouder of our student athletes this season.
The women’s hockey team won its first ever national championship Sunday with a 3-2 victory over Minnesota Duluth. It was a thrilling game and a well-earned win!
The Ohio State pistol team finished its season with a national championship at the Intercollegiate Pistol Championships in Ft. Benning, Ga. It marked the Buckeyes’ third overall team national title in the past four years.
Our men’s gymnastics team was also victorious, defeating Nebraska in the regular-season finale Sunday to claim a share of the Big Ten championship.
Congratulations to the men’s basketball team for an incredible season. The team made it to the second round of the NCAA Tournament but unfortunately lost to No. 2 seed Villanova.
After their victory Saturday over Missouri State, our women’s basketball team, Big Ten co-champions this season, won their second-round game in the NCAA Tournament against LSU and now head to the Sweet 16!
Please join me in congratulating our fellow Buckeyes!
Our students and alumni continue to astonish worldwide through their accomplishments, ingenuity and generosity.
Congratulations to fourth-year student Myla Yang, who received second place for her research at the National Collegiate Honors Council in Florida. Her research examined predictors of students’ responses to COVID-19 early in the pandemic. A Newark native and Honors student who began her college career at The Ohio State University at Newark, Myla will graduate this spring with a major in neuroscience.
Kudos to alumna Sonya Bilocerkowycz, recipient of a 2022 National Endowment for the Arts Creative Writing Fellowship. Her debut novel, On Our Way Home from the Revolution, reflects on her Ukrainian heritage and relates her personal experiences to the past and present of Ukraine.
Finally, we should all be proud of the recent announcement placing Ohio State among only five institutions in the country as a top producer for both Fulbright U.S. scholar and U.S. student programs.
We tied for fifth nationally with six Fulbright scholar awards and 14th with 10 Fulbright student awards for the 2021-22 academic year. Ohio State consistently ranks as a top producer for the Fulbright scholar and student competitions, including a No. 1 ranking for Fulbright scholars in 2020-21.
As always, students are encouraged to sign up for my office hours at this link.
Go Buckeyes!
Sincerely yours,
Kristina M. Johnson, PhD
President
- Safe and Healthy Buckeyes: Mental Health and Wellness
- The Ohio State: Wellness app is available for Android and iOS devices
- Counseling and Consultation Service (CCS)
- Buckeye Peer Access Line (PAL)
- Free mental health programming and resources