James Patterson Is New Trustee

JAMES F. PATTERSON APPOINTED TO BOARD OF TRUSTEES

     COLUMBUS -- A fifth-generation family farmer from Geauga
County is the newest member of The Ohio State University Board of
Trustees.  Gov. George Voinovich announced June 14 his
appointment of James F. Patterson of Chesterland to a nine-year
term as a university trustee.

     Patterson, whose Buckeye roots are nearly as deep as his
agricultural roots, will replace Deborah Casto of Columbus, whose
term expired last month.

     Patterson, a 1964 graduate of the College of Agriculture,
and his wife, Nancy Wilson Patterson, a 1963 graduate of the
College of Education, own Patterson Fruit Farm in Chesterland,
just 20 miles east of downtown Cleveland.  They are joined in
operating the business by their two sons, David and J. William,
both recent College of Agriculture graduates.  A daughter, Susan,
is the only non-Buckeye in the family, having graduated from Case
Western Reserve University.  Patterson's parents, sister and
various other relatives also graduated from Ohio State.

     The 116-acre farm includes 45 acres of apple orchards and 18
acres of strawberry fields.  In addition to producing 8,000
bushels of apples for pick-your-own customers as well as retail
sale at the farm market, the Pattersons make freshly pressed
apple cider, which is sold at their farm market and to a large
number of Cleveland stores.  Pick-your-own strawberries are
available in June, and the farm offers a seven-week autumn Family
Fun Fest of hayrides, pumpkin painting and other activities.

     Patterson said he believes his agricultural background will
be an asset to him as a university trustee but not his major
role.  "I happen to have that background, but I do not see myself
as just a representative of agriculture," he said. "I hope to
represent all the interests of the university."

     He has long been active in civic, agricultural and alumni
affairs.  From 1969 to 1982, he was a Geauga County commissioner.
He was elected to the board of trustees of the Ohio Farm Bureau
Federation in 1979 and served as the organization's president
from 1985 to 1989.  He is a past president of the Ohio Fruit
Growers Society and a former member and chairman of the Farm
Credit Bank of Louisville's board of trustees.

     Since 1989, he has been a member of the Nationwide Insurance
Co.'s board of directors, and in April he was elected chairman of
the Nationwide Mutual Fire Insurance Co., which places him on the
boards of several affiliated Nationwide Enterprise companies.  He
also is a trustee of the University Hospitals of Cleveland and
chairman of the Geauga Hospital board of trustees.  Last October,
he was appointed by Voinovich to the Committee to Study the Ohio
Economy and Tax Structure.

     As an alumnus, he has served as president of the Geauga
County Alumni Club, a member of the Ohio Agricultural Research
and Development Center Support Council, chairman of the Mosquito
Creek region of the College of Agriculture Alumni Association and
a member of the Ohio State University Extension Support Council.
Since 1989, he has been the College of Agriculture representative
on the Alumni Advisory Council, and in 1992 he was elected
chairman of the group.  In 1986, Jim and Nancy Patterson set up
the Samuel A. and Iona L. Patterson Fund in Agriculture in honor
of his parents.

     Patterson will attend his first meeting of the Ohio State
Board of Trustees on July 8 in Columbus.  As the newest member,
he will serve on the board's Educational Affairs Committee and be
vice chair of its Student Affairs Committee.  He also will
represent the Trustees on the Inter-University Council.

                                #

Contact: James F. Patterson, (216) 729-9809.

Written by Ruth Gerstner, (614) 292-8424.


[Submitted by: GERSTNER  (gerstner@ccgate.ucomm.ohio-state.edu)
               
Fri, 17 Jun 1994 10:27:13 -0500 (EST)]
All documents are the responsibility of their originator.