Lorain County part of OSU president’s tour

One of the most gratifying aspects of my job as president of Ohio State University is engaging with students and alumni who work each day to make a difference in their communities.

I met many of these Buckeyes while traveling across Ohio as part of our annual summer tours.

Overall, we visited 17 cities, towns and villages in 12 counties. In particular, our stops in northern Ohio highlighted a number of outstanding efforts to uplift the lives of individuals and families throughout the state.

We toured Stone Lab on Gibraltar Island near Put-in-Bay, where Ohio State scientists and community leaders work together to protect drinking water and study algal blooms. We participated in hunger relief efforts with the Greater Cleveland Food Bank — and then visited the Medina County Fair to see how OSU Extension partners with Medina 4-H to invest in the next generation of leaders. The famous 4-H milkshakes were a sweet treat to conclude a great day.

I joined Elyria School Superintendent Tom Jama, Lorain County Community College President Marcia Ballinger, state Sen. Gayle Manning and state Rep. Dan Ramos for a spirited community forum focused on college affordability. The event, hosted by the Lorain County Chamber of Commerce, emphasized how we can further increase the value of a college degree by balancing costs with increased accessibility and ever-greater academic excellence.

In Huron, Norwalk and Amherst, we connected with a collection of diverse businesses — Barnes Nursery, New Horizons Baking Co. and Nordson Corp. — that have reinvented their products and visions time and time again over decades. At the Pied Piper Drive In, another Huron favorite, we met with alumni and friends as well as students traveling with us on the Buckeye Bus.

A focus on innovation and the workforce of the future resonated throughout. In northcentral Ohio, for example, we joined Chancellor John Carey from the Ohio Department of Higher Education and friends in the legislature to celebrate the opening of our Marion campus’s new Science & Engineering Building.

This state-of-the-art facility will support expanded Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics programming for students.

As we begin a new academic year, Ohio State will continue to work with our partners across the state to provide opportunities for all Buckeyes to pursue their dreams and serve their communities. O-H! Michael V. Drake

President Ohio State University