Office of the President

Notes from a Fellow Buckeye

September 15, 2022

The following message was sent to all Ohio State students on Thursday, September 15, 2022.

 

Dear Buckeyes,

The new semester started with great enthusiasm, and I am thrilled to have already met so many dynamic Buckeyes on the Oval during events like the Student Involvement Fair and our season-opening games. It was a blast to join so many of you in the 'Shoe last weekend for our victory over Arkansas State, and to use the T-shirt launcher for the first time from the field!

With the start of the new academic year, we are focused on the personal safety and well-being of our campus community.

September is Suicide Awareness Month, and I urge you to seek help if you are struggling with mental health challenges, or just need someone to talk with. Ohio State is here for you. We have many resources and mental health services for students.

September is also Recovery Month at Ohio State. The Collegiate Recovery Community is a welcoming and inclusive environment for students in or seeking recovery from substance misuse. Please do not hesitate to reach out to this wonderful resource.

Also, as a reminder, please always be aware of your surroundings and travel safely. Student Life has free window and door alarms. Please remember to lock doors and windows, and take advantage of the resources we have.

Founders Day

Saturday, September 17, marks the day, in 1873, the first classes were held at Ohio State. This day, Founders Day, is an opportunity to reflect on the university’s mission and how the seeds of its current-day vision were planted 149 years ago. From the first day of classes held at Ohio State, then the Ohio Agricultural and Mechanical College, it has pursued a vision to be a model public, land-grant, research, community-engaged institution.

Nearly two dozen students showed up for that first day of class, including sisters, Alice and Harriet Townshend. Founders Day is a reminder that time and change have strengthened our mission to achieve excellence in academics; talent and culture; research, scholarship, creative expression, entrepreneurship and partnerships; and service to the state, nation and world.

I hope you will join me in celebrating all we have accomplished together.

U.S. News and World Report

I am pleased to share that Ohio State improved one place on the U.S. News and World Report 2022-2023 Best Colleges list to 16 among public universities.

U.S. News & World Report’s rankings show the undergraduate program in the College of Nursing improved five places nationally and three among public universities, ranking 5th nationally and 2nd among U.S. publics. The College of Engineering’s undergraduate program improved to 15th among public universities that also offer a doctoral degree. And the undergraduate program at Fisher College of Business improved one spot, to 13th, nationally.

As we continue to reduce class sizes and improve graduation rates, including by increasing STEP, the Second-year Transformational Experience Program, we anticipate our student success will be reflected in future rankings.

Rankings are not the ultimate measure of progress, but our investments in excellence, such as reducing class sizes; investing in 350 net new tenure-track faculty; constructing a new arts and music building; greater support of clinical facilities; and doubling our research expenditures in this decade will be reflected in future U.S. News and World Report rankings and eventually internationally.

Celebrating success

I am thrilled to congratulate the 10 undergraduate students and two doctoral candidates who received prestigious U.S. Student Fulbright Awards for the 2022-2023 academic year from the U.S. Department of State and the Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board.

Congrats to Lindsey Okuley, an agricultural communication major from Botkins, Ohio, who was one of four students across the nation to receive a travel scholarship through the Livestock Publications Council Student Award Program as a finalist for the Forrest Bassford Student Award.

Kudos to WOSU, which received three Emmy awards at the 58th annual Ohio Valley Regional Emmy awards. Two Emmy Awards were presented for QED with Dr. B, a fun and informative science series co-produced by WOSU Public Media and COSI, and one for Broad & High, an exciting and original weekly magazine show developed by the award-winning production team at the station.

Last week, our University helped celebrate the groundbreaking of Intel’s $20 billion chip factories here in Ohio. President Biden, who was among the many elected leaders present for the event, correctly said, “it’s time to bury the label ‘rust belt.’”

The Ohio State University Marching Band was there to help mark the occasion — drawing applause from attendees from across the nation.

Breaking ground at this new Intel facility is a great moment for all of us. It is a celebration of the investment placed in educational and research opportunities at universities across the state. Intel has made an initial pledge to invest $50 million in Ohio’s higher education institutions. It’s an investment Ohio State is prepared to embrace.

Ohio State, along with many other colleges and universities here in Ohio, is helping to get the United States back in the business of manufacturing state-of-the-art computer chips domestically. We announced last week that our university will lead a multi-institutional, interdisciplinary education and research center to advance the fabrication and development of semiconductors and next-generation device technologies. Ohio State will also lead a multi-institution partnership that will offer a range of programs — including augmented and virtual reality learning — for fab technicians, entry-level engineers and advanced-degree graduates with training in advanced manufacturing to develop a skilled semiconductor workforce throughout Ohio.

As always, Go Buckeyes!

Sincerely yours,

Kristina M. Johnson, PhD

President