Ohio State faculty tour southeastern Ohio

COLUMBUS – Thirty-five faculty, staff and students from The Ohio State University will be traveling throughout eastern Ohio Sept. 8-9 as part of the seventh annual Roads Scholars Tour. The tour gives new and newly tenured faculty a glimpse of the university’s statewide outreach efforts and its role in the state’s agriculture, education, business and industry.

More than 500 Ohio State faculty members have gone on the tour since 1997. The 2003 tour will stop in seven cities: Newark, Dresden, Zanesville, Cumberland, Piketon, Waverly and Chillicothe.

Faculty from nearly 20 areas of study will visit Ohio State’s Newark regional campus, explore research and teaching partnerships, learn about the impact of county extension services, and meet with current and prospective Ohio State students.

To arrange interviews with faculty on the tour, media should contact Shannon Wingard, Ohio State Media Relations, at (614) 247-6821, or on her cell phone, (614) 620-1621. She is traveling with the Roads Scholars and can be reached on her cell phone during the trip.

WHAT: Seventh annual Roads Scholars Tour

WHEN: Monday, Sept. 8, and Tuesday, Sept. 9.

WHERE: Newark, Dresden, Zanesville, Cumberland, Piketon, Waverly and Chillicothe

WHY: To learn more about the university’s statewide impact and its role in the state’s
agriculture, education, business and industry

2003 Ohio State Roads Scholars Tour Itinerary

Monday, Sept. 8
Newark, Dresden, Zanesville, Cumberland

8 a.m. – Depart from Longaberger Alumni House in Columbus.

9:15 to 10:50 a.m. – Newark Regional Campus Tour – Newark, Ohio.
• Visit includes a tour of the regional campus. Newark is one of four regional campuses (OSU Lima, OSU Marion, OSU Mansfield and OSU Newark). The university also has the Agricultural Technical Institute (ATI) in Wooster. The regional campuses and ATI either have, or will soon begin building student housing and implementing expanded services for resident students.

11 a.m. – Depart for Longaberger Company.

11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. – Longaberger Company and Longaberger University – Dresden, Ohio.
• Visit highlights the history of the partnership with Ohio State. The Longaberger Company has worked with Ohio State faculty to develop health and childcare services for its employees, to support youth development through 4-H and to foster economic development in the region.

1:45 to 2:45 p.m. – Nisonger Center – University Center of Excellence on Disabilities Rural Development Outreach Clinic – (Event will be held at Longaberger University in Dresden, Ohio.)
• Visit includes a panel discussion about the service initiatives of the Nisonger Center, a part of the College of Medicine and Public Health. Community representatives from Coshocton and Knox County will discuss the local impact of the center, which provides an interdisciplinary evaluation of a child’s developmental skills, needs and diagnosis as well as training for students in fields related to developmental disabilities.

3 p.m. – Depart for The Wilds; Travel through Muskingum County.

4 to 7:15 p.m. – The Wilds – Cumberland, Ohio.
• Visit includes a safari and pasture tour. The partnership between the Wilds and Ohio State’s College of Veterinary Medicine, ranked sixth in nation by U.S. News and World Report, will be discussed.

7:30 p.m. – Depart for Ohio State overnight headquarters at the OU Inn in Athens, Ohio.

Tuesday, Sept. 9
Waverly, Piketon, Chillicothe

7:30 a.m. – Depart for Waverly.

8:40 to 10 a.m. – Waverly High School – Waverly, Ohio.
• Visit includes a panel discussion with the principal, teachers and students who will examine the community and its industry, how many parents have gone to college, where most of the local students attend college, and proficiency ratings. After the discussion, faculty will tour the new Waverly campus.

10:15 a.m. – Depart for Piketon.

10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. – Ohio State South Centers – Piketon, Ohio.
• Visit includes a wagon tour that focuses on aquaculture, forestry and horticulture. Partners with Ohio State South Centers include Ohio University, Shawnee State University, the U.S. Department of Agriculture – Rural Development, the Ohio Department of Development and the Department of Agriculture, Environmental and Development Economics.

1 p.m. – Depart for Chillicothe.

1:45 to 3 p.m. – Horizon Telecommunications – Chillicothe, Ohio.
• Visit includes a discussion of the partnership between Ohio State’s Technology Policy Group and Horizon Telecommunications in Appalachian Ohio. Horizon is a privately owned telecommunications company that market broadband Internet service. More than 70 percent of Ross County is wired on broadband. Visit will include presentation by staff on Access Appalachia and Wireless Access Appalachia, and a tour of the company.

3 p.m. – Depart for Columbus.

4:30 to 6 p.m. – Young Scholars at the Statehouse – Columbus.
• Visit includes a brief overview and the goals of the Young Scholars Program, which was created in 1988 at Ohio State as a statewide model to increase the number of first generation college-bound African-American, Appalachian, Hispanic and Native American students. Several Young Scholars also will discuss their experiences with the program.

6:30 p.m. – Return to Longaberger Alumni House.