DEWINE PUTS FOCUS ON STEM AT WPAFB EVENT
New governor held event at museum hours before inauguration.
WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE — Less than 12 hours before BASE he was sworn-in as Ohio’s new governor, Mike DeWine, his wife Fran and other family members participated in Science, Discovery & Family Fun day at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force.
DeWine took the stage in the hangar below the wings of the Air Force One aircraft used by past presidents.
DeWine was scheduled to be sworn-in as the new governor a minute after midnight during a private ceremony at his home near Cedarville. The formal swearing-in ceremony is set for today at noon at the statehouse in Columbus.
Fitting for the event, DeWine talked about the important of sci-
ence, technology, engineering and math education and his desire to partner with the U.S. Air Force in expanding their efforts to broaden STEM education opportunities.
“The military supplies an awful lot of jobs in Ohio, but it goes far beyond that,” DeWine said. “I mean, imagine what the impact on the Miami Valley is by having so many scientists, so many mathema- ticians who live in this community. The spin-off impact is just huge.”
DeWine declined to talk about details, but he said one of his priorities will be establishing partnerships that will support operations at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.
“What we’re seeing other states do, really is investing in resources. We’ve got to do the same thing. One of the real challenges is, for example, people who want to come in at Wright-Patt,” he said. “There are buildings right off base where people can go into and set up a busi- ness very, very quickly and get moving.”
Maj. Gen. William Cooley, commander of the Air Force Research Lab, said the base has been partnering with STEM-related organizations as “partnerships” are central to STEM education.
“The emphasis that Gov.- elect DeWine and Mrs. DeWine may bring to Ohio gives us an opportunity to expand that,” Cooley said. “We’re certainly going to look for opportunities to leverage that partnership to good effect for Ohio, but also for the nation and our national security.”
DeWine says education will be a key focus of his new administration.
“You’re going to see us focus a lot on early child- hood education,” he said. “We want kids to be able to start kindergarten ready. We want them to be at the starting line. Unfortunately, tragically, we have too many kids today who when they get to kindergarten they have a frac- tion of the vocabulary that other kids in school have. It’s not fair to them. It’s very difficult for them to catch up.”
Fran DeWine also addressed the crowd, recall- ing the innovations of Wilbur and Orville Wright as she spoke of the need for qual- ified workers in STEM-related fields.
“It’s important to make sure we have more dreamers, more thinkers, more innovators here in Ohio,” Fran DeWine said. “While the demand for students in those fields is exploding, just not enough students pursue careers in the STEM areas . ... Studying science, technology, engineering and math helps students develop analytical and creative skills through investigat ion and prob- lem-solving. Kids need these skills to be successful in all types of careers and in life.”
‘You’re going to see us focus a lot on early childhood education,” he said. “We want kids to be able to start kindergarten ready. We want them to be at the starting line.’ Gov. Mike DeWine