Ohio State faculty involved in outreach to the community

COLUMBUS – The creation of an early childhood development center to meet the needs of families in a local at-risk neighborhood is just one example of how The Ohio State University reaches out to the community.

Long-time Ohio State supporter Betty Schoenbaum has pledged $2.5 million to the College of Human Ecology to create the center, which will expand the current A. Sophie Rogers Laboratory School for Early Childhood and is expected to become a national model for teaching and research in early childhood development and education. Human Ecology’s faculty, professional staff and students will oversee teaching, research and service at the center.

Bob Moser, vice president for University Outreach and Engagement, said he is excited about another opportunity for the university to reach out to a neighboring community.

“Deans from across the university are working together to make sure that Ohio State’s initiatives are aligned, coordinated and developed to meet the neighborhood’s needs,” Moser said. “This is a part of our plan to be a good neighbor.”
With more than 3,000 faculty members with wide ranging expertise, Ohio State has a far-reaching impact on the local, state and national levels. These faculty members share knowledge through teaching, create knowledge through research and apply knowledge through service to the community.
As a land-grant institution, Ohio State supports its mission by sharing its resources with the public, Moser said.

“We are committed to serving our community, and all of our regional campuses have made similar commitments to their areas,” Moser said. “We have a significant impact not only in Central Ohio, but all over the state.”

Moser said Ohio State uses its resources to make improvements to society.

“The university is organizing itself so we can most effectively respond to the problems in society,” Moser said. “One of the ways we are doing this is with the interdisciplinary research centers. We recognize that the university has various disciplines and that the problems in society don’t necessarily fit into one of those disciplines.”

Ohio State offers access to cutting-edge research for industries and corporations through a wide-variety of research centers, said Brad Moore, vice president for research.

According to data reported by the National Science Foundation in 1999, Ohio State ranks 6th in the nation in industry-supported research funding with $52 million, or 16.1 percent, of total research expenditures. During the 1992-1999 period, overall funding for research increased by 59 percent while industry supported expenditures increased by 271 percent.

Moore said there is a mutual benefit to research partnerships between Ohio State and the community. Ohio State professors can research ways for improvement and businesses can turn the research concepts into realities.

Technology partnerships are another way Ohio State reaches out to the community, Moore said. The university created the Office of Technology Partnerships – with organizations both inside and outside the university, which connects technology companies with university assets.

This research affects the development of local and state economies, Moser said. In fact, Ohio State was recently named one of 12 American universities that excel in contributing to the state’s economic development, according to a 2002 study by the Southern Growth Policies Board.
“By coordinating our partnerships with the external world around our focus areas – education, economic development, and health and safety – we believe we can further increase our already significant impact on the community and the state,” Moser said.

Here are just a few focal points of Ohio State’s outreach and engagement in the community:
·Writing Expertise – Ohio State’s Center for the Study and Teaching of Writing and the Department of English’s Writing Workshop and First-Year Writing Program have been teaming up with Ohio’s P-12 public school students and teachers to teach college-level writing and literacy to young students.

·Community Urban Redevelopment – In 1995, Ohio State created Campus Partners as a non-profit community redevelopment corporation to promote improvements to the neighborhoods around the university. The goals of the organization are to improve rental housing and the quality of life in the predominantly student neighborhoods; to increase the level of homeownership in the University District; to revitalize the retail market serving these neighborhoods; and to encourage faculty, staff and student involvement with the neighborhoods through a variety of learning and service activities.
·Workforce Development – Ohio State’s Center on Education and Training for Employment is a premier source of public information, research and technical assistance for workplace development. In general, the center helps people find jobs, get jobs and advance in their jobs. Among the programs conducted by the center is development of the state’s first online learning assessment tools.
·Safeguarding Ohio’s Food Supply – Ohio State’s College of Veterinary Medicine Extension helps investigate field outbreaks throughout Ohio. These efforts also address applied field research in the areas of environmental health, public health and food safety.
·Building a Better Car – Ohio State’s Center for Automotive Research and Intelligent Transportation (CAR-IT) works on many research products to improve auto safety, efficiency and performance within the auto industry.
·Children’s Health and Safety – Master’s students in Ohio State’s College of Social Work are teaming up with numerous organizations to have a direct impact on children, youth, families, teachers and communities in Ohio. School social work interns provide support including: crisis intervention in the case of suicide, grief/loss, and school violence concerns; individual, group, classroom-based and school-wide interventions with students; teacher options for addressing students’ needs; and family and community support and resources.
·Second Chance for High-Risk Students – Created by the Alternative Education Advisory Council, Ohio State’s Center for Learning Excellence offers research, evaluation, staff training and technical assistance to educational and community services that provide alternative school environments for truant and disruptive youths in 485 school districts throughout the state.

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