By examining small air bubbles trapped in ancient ice, scientists studied a 2,000-year-old record of how atmospheric methane evolved over time. They discovered that the concentrations found in Nevado Huascarán, the world’s highest tropical mountain, broadly agree with global fluctuations recorded in polar regions – but are slightly higher.

These results support the longstanding hypothesis that methane emissions from tropical sources like the Amazon rainforest likely dominated the Earth during the pre-industrial period, while a rise in human-driven agricultural and industrial emissions contributed to methane increases in later periods.

“Huascarán is a Goldilocks spot for capturing global methane, partly because of its high elevation to capture gases and location close to the equator,” said Kara Lamantia, lead author of the study and a former graduate student at the Byrd Polar and Research Climate Center at The Ohio State University. “While past studies hypothesized the tropical dominance of past methane sources, with this new core we can confidently confirm that the region was likely responsible for more of these emissions than we assumed before.”

The study was published today (Aug. 19, 2026) in Nature.

The second-most abundant greenhouse gas after carbon-dioxide, methane traps about 28 times more heat, meaning it contributes greatly to the planet’s warming. This study was the first to sample ice cores from Huascaran to identify the historic sources of these powerful gases.

After collection, five ice core samples were selected from different depths in the core to correspond to key periods in time. Lamantia’s colleagues then tested it for the presence of specific isotopes, chemical signatures that are used to determine the origins of the greenhouse gases.

“Depending on the source signature, it is possible to differentiate where the methane originated, letting us separate natural sources from fossil fuels,” said Lamantia, now a Royal Society Newton International Fellow at the University of Bristol. “Our sample revealed a globally well-mixed signature, but methane emissions lean slightly towards a more biogenic source, potentially from the wetlands in South America or Asia.”

Researchers also found that more recent measurements from the ice matched well with observations from the Mauna Loa base station in Hawaii, the global center for monitoring greenhouse gases.

According to the study, previous reconstructions of historical methane records point to the same trends shown in this paper, but because those were built solely around polar ice cores — collected from Greenland and Antarctica — they may have underestimated the importance of tropical emissions.

The researchers noticed spikes in their tropical methane record that could be attributed to events like the rise and fall of the Inca Empire, as well as the Little Ice Age, which could be helpful markers for assessing their data against other models.

Overall, the data from this work strengthens historical climate records and further solidifies the significant role the tropics play in both monitoring and understanding the distribution of global greenhouse gas emissions, said Lamantia.

Learning more about global sources of greenhouse gases can help researchers propose steps to mitigate increased warming, but opportunities to extend the analysis to more targeted ice core sampling in the tropics are rare due to rapid glacier melt. Still, these findings open up new pathways to help resolve other pressing environmental uncertainties, said Lamantia.

“My hope is that this data will be integrated into future climate models,” she said. “Because if we can understand Earth’s past, we can better understand the present and plan for our future.”

This study was supported by the National Science Foundation and the Volo Foundation.

Other co-authors include Lonnie Thompson, Mary Davis, Emilie Beaudon, and Ellen Mosley-Thompson from Ohio State, as well as Ben Riddell-Young from the University of Colorado Boulder, Newton Nguyen from Stanford University, and Ivo Strawson and Edward J. Brook from Oregon State University.

“DataFest is an intensive weekend competition where teams of three to five students tackle a large, real-world data set to uncover insights under time pressure,” said Asuman Turkmen, a statistics professor who serves on the planning committee for the event. “It blends competition, collaboration and creativity at the same time, and it is not only about data analysis. Students also learn how to think critically about data, how to communicate their findings and how to make data-driven decisions.” 

First hosted at the University of California, Los Angeles, in 2011, DataFest is now sponsored by the American Statistical Association (ASA) and has spread to over 60 universities around the world. From March to May, more than 2,000 undergraduates gather for their institution’s weekend-long iteration of the event, all analyzing the same real-world data set and then presenting their findings to compete for university-level awards like “best visualization” and “best insight.”  

Although the source and details of the data are kept secret until all DataFests worldwide are complete, past sets have come from major organizations like Ticketmaster, Expedia and the Canadian women’s rugby team. 

What makes DataFest unique is that this data is all the students receive. There are no questions or requirements that guide how students should analyze the data set or what form their final five-minute presentation should take. For instance, one team might analyze how travel destination affects booking rates while another might create a 3D map visualizing how website users jump between pages while browsing. 

“The students do not have a roadmap. Typically, when you do homework, you have data, and you have some questions, like ‘estimate the parameters,’” Turkmen said. “That is very different from the messy, real-life industrial data students will work with after they graduate, so they get to see this kind of experience through DataFest.” 

Fortunately, the students aren’t completely on their own. Throughout the event, faculty and industry mentors are available to answer questions or provide guidance.  

“The mentors are typically grad students or recent graduates, so they’ve just been in our shoes and can share advice from that perspective,” said Tony Stabile, a junior microbiology major and two-time DataFest participant. “They didn’t just answer questions but gave me advice about classes, skills to prioritize and how to interact with people.” 

In the weeks leading up to the event, registrants can also attend virtual workshops for quick lessons on using data analytics software and attend team formation nights to meet other registered students. 

“Any Ohio State student can be a part of DataFest, and when you make teams, maybe you have someone very good at computation, someone very good at biology, someone very good at art,” Turkmen said. “Gathering an interdisciplinary team is the way to go in this era that we live in, because nobody can know everything, and having a diverse team gives you different points of view.” 

Sometimes, the event also inspires students to become more interdisciplinary in their own studies. 

“Last year, I had zero experience with data science, and I mostly listened to my teammates do the analysis. But I thought, ‘Wait, this is cool. I should learn this.’ So I picked up a statistics minor,” Stabile said. “This year, I was able to use programming software to manipulate the data. It was great to see that progress.” 

Executing such a large event is no small feat, and the planning committee begins preparing for DataFest up to six months in advance. Statistics department faculty, graduate and undergraduate students and university staff work together to book event space and catering, secure sponsors, purchase prizes and recruit mentors and judges. 

Turkmen believes the months of planning are worth it, though, when the committee sees how much the students grow throughout the course of the weekend. 

“I strongly encourage any Ohio State student, regardless of knowing statistics or not, to get involved with the event,” Turkmen said. “It’s a great opportunity to work with real data, learn some new skills and connect with peers, faculty and professionals in the industry. Most importantly, it’s a very fun and supportive environment, and you always gain a lot by being a part of it.” 

Leading these advances are researchers at The Ohio State University: Engineers are developing a nuclear propulsion system that uses liquid uranium to directly heat rocket propellant as an alternative to solid fuel elements used by traditional nuclear propulsion systems.  

Their concept, called the centrifugal nuclear thermal rocket (CNTR), is specially designed to improve rocket performance while simultaneously minimizing any engine risk.  

While similar breakthroughs in the field have focused more on affordability than performance, CNTR potentially offers a substantial advantage for future crewed space missions even compared to other types of nuclear-powered systems in that it can approximately double an engine’s efficiency, said Dean Wang, a senior member of the project and an associate professor in mechanical and aerospace engineering at Ohio State. 

“In recent years, there has been quite an increased interest in nuclear thermal propulsion technology as we contemplate returning humans to the moon and working in cis-lunar space,” said Wang. “But beyond it, a new system is needed, as traditional chemical engines may not be feasible.” 

Chemical engines have been used in spaceflight since the very beginning of the space age.  However, they are limited in thrust, and use large quantities of propellant. Consequently, missions to the outer reaches of the solar system can take a very long time – nine years in the case of the New Horizons spacecraft that flew by Pluto.  

Because of these limitations, future missions will require propulsion systems that can reduce travel time, increase the amount of material sent on the mission, or both, if researchers want to safely send astronauts to far-off destinations — all vital reasons why demonstrating the potential of these approaches is so important, said Wang.  

“The longer you are in space, the more susceptible you are to all types of health risks,” he said. “So if we can make that any shorter, it’d be very beneficial.”  

If the team’s design is successful, implementing their engine in future rockets could make it easier to travel farther on less fuel, as the highest specific impulse — the amount of thrust achievable from a specific amount of propellant — of a chemical engine is about 450 seconds.  Nuclear propulsion engines based on designs tested in the 1960s achieved approximately 900 seconds and, according to the team, a CNTR could achieve even higher values. 

Utilizing nuclear thermal propulsion would also mean more flexibility for mission operations, as rockets could take advantage of additional flight trajectories not possible with chemical engines,  to help reach deep-space targets in shorter periods of time. More notably, because these systems can utilize a range of potential substances as propellant, widespread use could quickly facilitate the development of in-space resources such as asteroids and Kuiper Belt objects, said Wang.  

Overall, these heightened capabilities could allow quicker round-trip human missions to Mars as well as support novel one-way robotic missions to the outer planets, including Saturn, Uranus and Neptune, said Spencer Christian, a PhD student in engineering at Ohio State. Under John Horack, a professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at Ohio State, Christian leads prototype construction of CNTR.  

“You could have a safe one-way trip to Mars in six months, for example, as opposed to doing the same mission in a year,” said Christian. “Depending on how well it works, the prototype CNTR engine is pushing us towards the future.” 

Despite these newfound avenues for increased space exploration, like with any emerging innovation, there are many engineering challenges that still have to be addressed, said Wang.  

“We have a very good understanding of the physics of our design, but there are still technical challenges that we need to overcome,” he said.  

Many of these challenges were detailed in a study the team recently published in the journal Acta Astronautica. Some potential hurdles include ensuring that the methods used for startup, operation and shutdown avoid instabilities as well as envisioning ways to minimize the loss of uranium fuel and accommodate potential engine failures. 

This team’s CNTR concept is expected to reach design readiness within the next five years — but in preparing their model for potential next-generation use, researchers are most looking forward to showing how well it could fare under extreme conditions.  

After all, a final laboratory demonstration will likely help inform the direction of future nuclear thermal propulsion technologies. “We need to keep space nuclear propulsion as a consistent priority in the future, so that technology can have time to mature,” said Wang. “It’s a huge benefit that we can’t afford to miss out on.”  

The team’s effort was supported by a grant provided by NASA.

Carter spoke to an audience of university students, faculty and staff, state and community representatives, and leaders in higher education. He delivered his remarks to a full ballroom in Columbus Friday afternoon as part of his official investiture ceremony.

As he approaches a year in office, Carter is ready to move from learning to action, he said. He encouraged the university to think big about everything from affordability to entrepreneurship to research and application of artificial intelligence – all to elevate Ohio State as a national model for higher education.

“As I take a look at where we are today … our reach, our impact is incredibly strong. But what made us successful in the past is not necessarily what’s going to make us successful in the future,” Carter said.

Carter observed that the next decade will be pivotal for both the university and higher education in the United States. He spoke to the need to boost confidence in the institution of higher education and pointed to the momentum at Ohio State.

The university welcomed the largest class of new, first-year students to start the autumn semester in August – more than 9,500 in total. Carter said Ohio State continues to excel in research with innovation that makes an impact across the state, nation and globe. The university remains one of the largest, and best employers in the state.

“The future of higher education is and will be here at The Ohio State University. … We will be a model for the nation. Excellence is not a destination or a goal at The Ohio State University. Excellence is an expectation. With the team that we have built, that expectation will be a reality,” he said.

Carter said the new strategic plan will be called Education for Citizenship 2035. The plan will focus on improving on six core themes:

• Academics
• Research and creative expression
• Health care
• Talent and culture
• Operations
• Collegiate athletics

Based on this framework, developed in collaboration with hundreds of stakeholders, Carter said Education for Citizenship 2035 will require Buckeyes from across the university community to help build out the initiatives and programs that make up the strategic plan.

“I want you to know these are the things that I will be working on with the board, with the community, and with all of you to achieve excellence in everything that we do. First and foremost, academic excellence. It is our North Star. If we are great at academics, then everything else will soon follow,” he said.

Carter encouraged the Buckeye community to be bold in ideas and action. He suggested improving the career prospects of students through expanded internship opportunities and incorporating entrepreneurship into the student experience. Despite a rapidly changing landscape in athletics, Carter said the university intends to continue to provide scholarships in all 36 sports.

Carter challenged students, faculty and staff to share their ideas in shaping the university’s strategic plan, including ways to drive down student debt, expand the university’s online educational opportunities and elevate the regional campuses.

Carter said one of the most pressing goals is focused on AI research and innovation. He pointed to the university’s strong connections in the artificial intelligence space and the commitment and investment by Ohio State’s Center for Software Innovation. He said the university can be a leader in marketing, technical development, design and software to maximize what AI technology has to offer.

“The workforce of the future will demand that our students are not just articulate, but fluent in how artificial intelligence works. … We will explore what it means and how to use AI in a cross-disciplinary fashion,” he said. “We’re going to be a model for the nation for artificial intelligence.”

The university developed a website to help the campus community support the new strategic plan. Once the framework is built out, the plan will launch on July 1, 2025.

President Carter’s first months in office and his vision for the university have been well received in the state. Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine spoke about the importance of Ohio State to the region and how he has come to value Carter’s leadership.

“A good leader must be a good listener. From the moment President Carter came to Ohio State, he and Mrs. Carter have been listening. He’s explored Ohio State's campuses and communities, visited Ohio State regional campuses, listened to faculty, staff, students, alumni, and leaders from business and government,” DeWine said. “He talked to doctors, staff and administrators at the Wexner Medical Center, and he will continue to listen.”

Chancellor of the Ohio Department of Higher Education Mike Duffey echoed the sentiment.

“Perhaps now more than ever, it is crucial to have the right leader in place to steer a university like Ohio State into the future,” Chancellor Duffey said. “Through my interactions with President Carter, I know that the Board of Trustees made the right choice for the university, for its students, and for our state.”

Carter concluded his remarks confident in the idea that Ohio State would be successful in defining the future of higher education in the coming decade. He said he drew inspiration from the university’s alma mater, “Carmen Ohio.” 

“‘Time and change will surely show how firm thy friendship, Ohio.’ How firm thy friendship, indeed. That is the element that makes our campus so special. God bless everyone who works, studies and supports The Ohio State University,” he said. “As always and forever, go Bucks. Now, let’s get to work.”

The College of Nursing’s RN to Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) program, weighed together with three more Ohio State online undergraduate degree-completion programs – the College of Medicine’s Bachelor of Science in Health Sciences and AS to Bachelor of Science in Radiologic Sciences and the College of Dentistry’s RDH to Bachelor of Science, Dental Hygiene – were ranked No. 7 in the nation, tied with Texas A&M University-College Station, the University of Central Florida and University of North Carolina at Charlotte.  

Recognized among the six best programs of its kind for the 10^th consecutive year, the online Master of Science (MS) in Nursing program ranked No. 4 nationally, again tied with Duke University. The MS in Nursing’s Family Nurse Practitioner specialty track held steady at No. 2, with Ohio State representing one of only two public universities ranked in this category.

“For our online Master of Science program to receive this level of recognition and respect for 10 years running speaks to both the quality of instruction and, more importantly, the quality of the people who drive our success,” said Karen Rose, dean and professor of the College of Nursing. “I am continually awed and inspired by the students, faculty, staff, alumni, preceptors and partners who answer their calling to care with our college.”

The College of Education and Human Ecology’s online Master of Learning Technologies program and the College of Arts and Sciences’ Master of Arts in Art Education were jointly ranked No. 30 in the nation in U.S. News’ Best Online Masters in Education category – a jump from No. 52 in 2023. Ohio State tied with Ball State University, Florida State University, Quinnipiac University and the University of Kentucky for the 2024 spot.

For the fourth consecutive year, the Master of Learning Technologies was recognized among the top 10 in the Educational and Instructional Media Design specialty, ranking No. 8 in the nation.

Ohio State Online’s academic program portfolio has grown to nearly 75 degree and certificate programs offered by 12 of Ohio State’s 15 colleges over the past decade.

“As Ohio’s flagship university, Ohio State has been creating innovative educational opportunities available through online programs for the state and its citizens,” said Jason Lemon, vice provost and dean for online learning. “Continued online program excellence and growth expands the university’s access strategy for more people to participate in an Ohio State education. These online degree options create personal and professional opportunities for adult learners and working professionals to advance their education and support the growth that Ohio is experiencing now.”

In addition to Ohio State’s online undergraduate degrees and nursing and education graduate programs, several of the university’s online graduate engineering and business programs were recognized by U.S. News & World Report.

The Fisher College of Business’ Specialized Master in Business Analytics (SMB-A) program ranked No. 25 in the graduate business (non-MBA) category, tied with the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and Villanova University.  

Ohio State’s online engineering degree programs – The Master of Global Engineering Leadership, the Master of Engineering Management and the Master of Welding Engineering – ranked No. 34 in the nation, tied with Colorado School of Mines.

In the Management specialty area, the College of Engineering’s online programs rose to No. 14 nationally (No. 16 in 2023) in its second year of being ranked within the category.

Affordability and quality of instruction are at the forefront of the consideration of U.S. News & World Report. The site uses insights from these factors and others to rank online programs at regionally accredited institutions across the country.

View the full list of 2024 U.S. News & World Report Best Online Programs rankings.

Through the program, students submit proposals for a fellowship of up to $2,000 to use towards a STEP Signature Project. Faculty serve as advisors for students from a variety of majors and support them in their academic and experiential growth.

At the STEP Expo, students displayed posters with details about projects they completed in one of six categories: creative and artistic endeavors, education abroad, internship, leadership, service learning, and undergraduate research. Faculty, staff and students reviewed the STEP projects and interviewed participants about what they learned from their experiences.

Ayush Mehra, a fourth-year human nutrition major, conducted a research project that delved into the subject he is minoring in: neuroscience. Mehra’s faculty advisor was Stephan Chordas, an assistant clinical professor in the Department of Evolution, Ecology and Organismal Biology.

Mehra’s study centered on how the brain responds to rehabilitation after an injury.  

“It’s something I got into by being interested in how the brain works and rehabilitation,” he said. “I was able to put it all together by doing this project.”

Mehra said he plans to go to medical school and further explore neuroscience research.

“This opportunity that Ohio State provides is one of a kind,” he said. “This is a continuation of the things I’m interested in. The STEP experience further invigorated that.”

Taylor Macchia, a third-year fashion and retail studies major and business minor, participated in an education abroad program in Bologna, Italy, in the late spring of this year. Her faculty advisor was Tatiana Suspitsyna, an associate professor in the Higher Education and Student Affairs program.  

Macchia said she chose Italy because she has Italian heritage and studied the language in high school. With Bologna as a base of operations, she made excursions to Florence and several other cities where she observed Italian fashion and soaked up the culture.

“We did site visits and historical visits, which was really cool, and I got to learn about the history of Italy,” Macchia said. “I’m already planning to go back. I had the most amazing experience of my life.”

Chloe Prajzner, a third-year sports industry major and business minor, also completed an education abroad experience in Europe last spring. With the guidance of faculty advisor Jay Kandampully, a professor of service management and hospitality, Prajzner visited Aix-en-Provence, France.

“I was kind of exploring a bunch of different options that Ohio State gave us through all their different programs,” she said. “I’d taken French in high school. I was like, ‘Oh, come on, I can figure it out, right?’”

Prajzner said she was intimidated to find when she first arrived that her host mother and most other local residents spoke little English. She eventually adapted and learned to communicate, developed a friendship with her host mother and traveled to neighboring communities.  

Navigating her way through an unfamiliar place boosted her confidence, Prajzner said.

“It has broadened my horizons. I can now empathize with people of all sorts,” she said. “I grew so much as a person because I was uncomfortable (at first), and I think that will help so much in business and my career down the line.”

While several of her peers studied abroad, Tiffany Nguyen remained in Columbus, her hometown. The fourth-year health sciences major completed a four-week ceramics course at the Kiln Room Columbus. Her advisor was Jeannie Simmons, director of global education in the Office of International Affairs.

Nguyen learned the basics of wedging, shaping and firing a piece of pottery as well as the chemistry behind glazing. She’s long had an interest in art, participated in statewide arts contests in high school and binge-watches videos on ceramics.

Nguyen said she was referred by Ohio State professors and previous art teachers to the Kiln Room Columbus, where she made 20 artworks during the four-week course and even designed her own logo that she stamps on her ceramics.

“It was transformational because I got to meet people from all walks of life,” she said. “I was the youngest person there. The oldest was in their 70s. It was so nice to sit down and do the ceramics for a few hours and talk alongside a woman in her 70s. It was great.”

Nguyen, whose parents are from Vietnam, is a first-generation American and the first in her family to attend college. She said she plans to become a physician’s assistant, and pursuing her interest in the arts helps her manage stress and maintain focus.

“This project was transformational because I’m a first-generation student, so I’ve always had this subconscious pressure to use all of my time for my professional career, to build up my resume, to do things to make me the most qualified person out there,” she said.

By participating in STEP, “I was growing my character, undoubtedly.” 

For more information about STEP, visit the program’s website at step.osu.edu.

“Tenacity, endurance and fortitude have brought you to this point. When you get close to the finish line, sometimes we tend to ease up. But we have to run this marathon at a sprinter’s pace,” said Moore, vice provost for Diversity and Inclusion and chief diversity officer at The Ohio State University. “YSP is one of the gems of this university and represents a hallmark of what a land-grant university can do.”

Founded in 1988, the Young Scholars Program seeks to improve pre-collegiate preparation, retention and degree completion among academically talented, low-income, first-generation students. It serves students from the nine largest urban school districts in Ohio.

“We have a common goal. We work with the parents, the administrators and the school around the student so the student is not trying to figure this process out alone,” said Chila Thomas, executive director of the Young Scholars Program.

The commitment ceremony provides an opportunity for students to sign letters affirming their commitment to attend Ohio State in the fall. The 2022 event was the program’s fifth, and the first in-person in two years. More than 70 students from around the state attended with members of their families and school administrators.

“This has become our signature event,” Thomas said. “And what’s so amazing is that this is an academic program. These students are here because they’ve been working for four years to get to this institution and that deserves to be celebrated.”

Students weren’t the only ones given kudos. During his remarks, Moore asked all the parents in the room to rise for a round of applause. Incoming first-year student Soha Gewaly’s parents are thrilled she’ll be staying close to home while getting her education.

“It’s important to have a well-rounded personality and a well-rounded education,” said Amal Shahein, her mother. “It is important to have a dependable career in the future.”

“I am really proud of her,” said her father, Reda Gewaly.

Dezryana Peeks’ mother and grandmother joined her at the ceremony.

“I’m excited,” said Judy Darby, her grandmother. “She’s been working hard and she’s writing her name on her future.”

“It really hasn’t hit me yet, that I’m about to graduate high school and become a Young Scholar,” Peeks said.

Gewaly echoed that sentiment.

“I’ve been working at this since the eighth grade. I’m just excited to have made it and I’m looking forward to starting college. It feels good knowing I’ve finally achieved this thing,” she said.

Graduating Ohio State students, themselves members of the Young Scholars Program, spoke to the group about their experiences. Public health major Kasie Rogers spoke candidly about her struggles during her first year at the university.

“I had a 2.5 GPA during my first two semesters and that really hurt my spirit,” she said. “I thought, ‘this isn’t the person I thought I was.’ But I reminded myself that I could do this and now I’m on track to get a 4.0 for my last semester.”

“Like so many have said, YSP is a privilege, but it is also a compass,” Rogers continued. “YSP was there for me when I lost my way. And when I found my way and found my path, it reminded me that I was going in the right direction. So use your compass.”

Moore also described the program as a guiding force. He commended the students for their hard work and assured that them this commitment to the future was a sound one.

“I can tell you,” he said, “your education will change the hands you shake, the people you meet and the places you will go.”

Dr. Gilliam will join Ohio State from the University of Chicago, where she is vice provost, the Ellen H. Block Distinguished Service Professor of Health Justice, and professor of obstetrics and gynecology and pediatrics. At Ohio State, she will become the first woman of color to serve as provost, leading the educational mission of one of the largest and most comprehensive universities in the country as its chief academic officer.

As vice provost at the University of Chicago since 2016, Dr. Gilliam has led efforts related to faculty development, chair development, recruitment and retention, graduate student mentoring, inclusive pedagogy, and diversity and inclusion. Her portfolio includes the Provost’s Postdoctoral Fellows Program and the Neubauer Family Assistant Professors Program. An interdisciplinary researcher focused on adolescent health and well-being, her research and scholarship have resulted in over 100 peer-reviewed publications.

“Dr. Gilliam is a national leader in multiple areas – from recruiting, developing and building strong, engaged and innovative faculty across all disciplines to ensuring exceptional student education,” said Ohio State President Kristina M. Johnson. “She is a highly accomplished physician and research scientist with an academic background rooted in the humanities and a lifelong dedication to service.

“I am delighted to welcome her to our Ohio State family.”

Dr. Gilliam brings more than two decades of experience in clinical practice and higher education after earning a Bachelor of Arts, English literature, from Yale University; a Master of Arts, philosophy and politics, from the University of Oxford; a Doctor of Medicine from Harvard University; and a Master of Public Health from the University of Illinois Chicago. She completed an internship in general surgery at the University of Chicago and her residency in obstetrics and gynecology at Northwestern University.

Prior to her current role as vice provost at the University of Chicago, she served as dean of diversity and inclusion for the Biological Sciences Division at University of Chicago Medicine. Since 2012, she has served as the founder and director of the university’s Center for Interdisciplinary Inquiry and Innovation in Sexual and Reproductive Health. From 2005 to 2017 she was chief of the Section of Family Planning and Contraceptive Research in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology. Since 2007, Dr. Gilliam has led the Program in Gynecology for Children, Adolescents and Young Adults.

She began her higher-education career as a faculty member at the University of Illinois Chicago, where she served as director of the Center for Reproductive Health; director of the Fellowship in Family Planning; and co-director, research and clinical cores, for the National Institutes of Health Center of Excellence in Women’s Health.

“The opportunity to work closely with President Johnson and one of the most respected and academically robust academic communities in the world is a dream come true,” Dr. Gilliam said. “I look forward to engaging with the entire Ohio State community, especially the outstanding faculty, staff, students and partners that drive our academic mission.”

Dr. Gilliam’s work as provost will help advance the university’s strategic priorities, including increasing the number of net new tenure-track faculty and maximizing the academic experience. Through the RAISE initiative announced by President Johnson in February, for example, Ohio State will include a focus area on faculty whose research and creative expression efforts address social equity and racial disparities.

Among her many awards and honors, Dr. Gilliam is a member of the National Academy of Medicine, American Gynecological Club and American Gynecological & Obstetrical Society. She was named a Centennial Scholar of the Institute of Medicine of Chicago and received the Chicago Urban League Innovator Award, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration Advisory Committee Service Award and Chicago Foundation for Women Impact Award. Additionally, Dr. Gilliam was included in the Newsweek/Daily Beast list of “Women in the World: 125 Women of Impact” and was voted by her peers as among the Best Doctors in America from 2007 to 2014.

Dr. Gilliam succeeds Bruce A. McPheron, PhD, who shared last year that he would step down from the position as executive vice president and provost.

Her appointment is pending approval by the Ohio State Board of Trustees.

A pre-ceremony program featuring messages from graduates, deans and other university leaders from across our campuses will begin at 1:30 p.m. The livestreamed event will also be broadcast on WOSU-TV and statewide on the Ohio Channel.

When the ceremony has concluded, video of the event – including the pre-ceremony program – will be made available to the public and television stations across Ohio at https://commencement.osu.edu/.

Excerpts from the commencement ceremony will be rebroadcast on WOSU-TV, Channel 34, at 5 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 14.

Due to COVID-19 restrictions on large gatherings, no graduates will be physically present. The ceremony, which will be held at the Covelli Center, will include a small group of university leaders and guests.

President Kristina M. Johnson will preside and the commencement address will be given by Jerry Revish, an ordained minister and former television news anchor for WBNS-TV who retired last November after 45 years in the business.

Graduates will receive their degrees and a copy of the commencement program in the mail at their permanent address. The university will hold a physical recognition event at a later date when it is safe to do so. Members of the graduating class will be actively involved in the scheduling and planning of that event.

Dear Students, Faculty and Staff:

I write to share with you that Dr. Bruce A. McPheron, who has provided exceptional service to his alma mater in a number of roles, has decided to step down from his position as executive vice president and provost, effective this coming summer.

He will remain provost through June 30, 2021. He will continue to serve as a professor of entomology in the College of Food, Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.

During Dr. McPheron’s tenure as provost, he led many initiatives focused on advancing teaching and learning across our campuses. They include the Teaching Support Program and the Digital Flagship collaboration with Apple to support educational innovation as well as economic development opportunities for students and members of our community. Additionally, the work of Dr. McPheron and his team to build the infrastructure necessary to support convergent research and scholarship across disciplines will benefit this university for years to come. The establishment of our Translational Data Analytics Institute and the exciting progress of the West Campus Innovation District -- which will include the Energy Advancement and Innovation Center -- will continue to build upon Dr. McPheron’s legacy as provost.

We are sharing this news today to begin preparing for a smooth transition of leadership in the Office of Academic Affairs. We will launch a national search for the executive vice president and provost in the coming weeks.

Please join me in expressing our gratitude and appreciation for Bruce’s many outstanding and ongoing contributions to Ohio State. He is an exemplary Buckeye, and we look forward to continuing to benefit from his service to our students, faculty, staff and community partners.

Sincerely,

Kristina M. Johnson, PhD

President

The university’s summer 2020 dean’s list names 1,054 students who have achieved top grades for their work. This includes 713 Ohio students, 120 non-resident and 221 international students.

Criteria for the dean’s list varies by college. It is usually based on the GPA for that specific term and the number of credit hours taken. Many colleges require a minimum of 12 graded credit hours with a 3.5 GPA or higher.

Ohio State is also issuing the list of students who earned degrees at commencement on Aug. 9, 2020. The university awarded 1,763 degrees at the ceremony, including 253 doctoral, 8 professional, 547 master’s, 850 bachelor’s, 73 associate degrees and 32 certificates.

Both the dean’s and graduate lists include Ohio, non-resident and international students. Students are listed by county and then by zip code, city and last name. The files are searchable using the search or find function on your device.

Students may choose not to have their names released under the provisions of the Federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974. Their names have been excluded from the lists.

The lists are available below:

Lesman is Ohio State’s ninth Rhodes Scholar, and the third Buckeye to be honored in three years — an unprecedented feat in university history. Ohio State’s previous recipients were Henry Wu (2020) and Laila Ujayli (2019).

The Rhodes Scholarship was founded in 1902 and supports graduate study at the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Thirty-two scholarships are awarded annually to outstanding seniors and recent graduates across the United States.

“On behalf of Ohio State, we congratulate Daniel Lesman on this outstanding accomplishment. His commitment to research and service beyond self reflects the values of our university community and we are thrilled to see Daniel receive this well-deserved honor,” said President Kristina M. Johnson.

The Rhodes Trust selected Lesman for his work founding a non-profit organization that provides educational resources to homeless and at-risk students, as well as his biomedical research on Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), Huntington's disease, and COVID-19.

“The Rhodes Scholarship is an exceptional achievement, and we are so proud to see Daniel Lesman honored with this award,” said Executive Vice President and Provost Bruce A. McPheron. “Congratulations to Daniel, his family and his academic mentors at Ohio State.”

Lesman is pursuing a major in biomedical science with research distinction in the College of Medicine, and he has maintained a perfect academic record while studying subjects like chemistry, biology, and genetics. He is a Goldwater Scholar, Astronaut Scholar, university honors student and Maximus Scholar.

As a senior in high school, Lesman joined Dr. Nicolas Wein’s genetic therapy lab at Nationwide Children’s Hospital so he could aid in research developing a cure for DMD, which leads to progressive muscle degeneration. Inspired by a friend who has DMD, Lesman continued researching genetic therapy at this lab throughout the course of his undergraduate career, designing and testing small modified RNA molecules to correct the mutations that cause DMD. Lesman is currently leading a project aiming to restore DMD patients’ missing dystrophin protein. Additionally, Lesman researched how therapies mitigating DMD may be applied to Huntington’s disease.

During summer 2019, and again remotely during summer 2020, Lesman conducted research with the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, conducting biomedical and genomics research in Dr. Fei Chen’s lab, which develops tools for basic science research. During his first summer at the Broad Institute, Lesman researched how engineering principles could be used to combat disease. When Lesman rejoined this lab remotely during the summer of 2020, he led a project assisting the global battle against COVID-19 in which he developed a better understanding of the evolution of SARS-CoV-2 by discovering mutations in the virus and determining their functional outcomes.

Lesman was awarded Goldwater and Astronaut scholarships during his junior year in recognition of these research endeavors. Lesman’s research has been published in Nature Biotechnology.

During Lesman’s freshman year at Ohio State, he volunteered at Star House, a center for youth experiencing homelessness. Lesman realized that there was an unmet need for academic tutoring among Star House residents, and he eventually founded Pass the Class, a nonprofit organization that has served over 100 homeless and at-risk youth. The organization is currently expanding to other universities across the country.

“As our students go on to attend institutions of higher education and achieve other important milestones, the value of education has never been more apparent to me,” he said.

As a Rhodes Scholar, Lesman plans to pursue Master of Science (MSc) degrees in evidence-based social intervention and policy evaluation and physiology, anatomy and genetics. This multidisciplinary course of study will enable Lesman to examine the ways in which policy choices, including educational policies, can impact students of various backgrounds, while also continuing his research on rare genetic disorders. After earning these degrees at Oxford, Lesman will return to the United States to earn an MD/PhD.

Lesman intends to dedicate his career as a physician-scientist to working with patients while continuing his research on genetic disorders, all while removing barriers to education. As a Rhodes Scholar, Lesman will utilize his experiences studying in the U.K. to learn new perspectives on research, health care, and educational policies.

Ohio State University students interested in pursuing the Rhodes Scholarship or other national fellowship opportunities should contact the Undergraduate Fellowship Office located within the University Honors & Scholars Center, fellowships.osu.edu. More information on the Rhodes Scholarship can be found through the Rhodes Trust, rhodesscholar.org

Dear Students, Faculty and Staff,

Surging cases of COVID-19 across Ohio have prompted a statewide curfew, a stay-at-home advisory in the Columbus area, and the declaration that Franklin County has gone purple — reflecting “severe” exposure and spread of the virus.

This is a moment for every Buckeye to help turn the tide. To that end, the university is implementing these additional action steps:

1. Instruction: Effective Friday, November 20 at 6 p.m., in-person classes will be moved to online or other forms of remote instruction. Exceptions where in-person instruction is permitted include clinical programs conducted under approved safety protocols as well as laboratory, studio and performance classes. Students should check with their instructors about alternative plans for in-person courses, and professors who need assistance with different delivery modes should contact their academic department. Any clinical programs that change teaching modality should inform the Office of Academic Affairs.
2. Work: Any employee who can telework should do so starting immediately, after coordinating with your supervisor. This will enhance safety measures for those who must be on our campuses. The Office of Human Resources website has information available about telework options as well as leave programs for faculty and staff during the COVID-19 state of emergency.
3. Curfew: Consistent with the statewide curfew issued by the governor, all students, faculty and staff should be in their homes between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. unless they have essential work or other responsibilities allowed. Campus facilities, including dining halls, recreational facilities and the Ohio Union, will close by 9:30 p.m. or earlier; please check websites for updated hours before visiting. University Libraries will offer contactless services after today, so buildings will be closed to the public.
4. Stay at home: Under the public health advisory issued by Columbus Public Health and Franklin County Public Health, effective 6 p.m., Friday, November 20, everyone in Franklin County should stay at home except for taking part in essential activities. Please follow public health guidance on size of gatherings. 

Details of the university’s response to public health orders and advisories are listed on the Safe and Healthy Buckeyes website.

These steps are on top of the basics: Remember to wear a mask, wash your hands and stay at least 6 feet apart from others. 

Finally, let’s all remember to take care of one another. We must follow the COVID-19 safety requirements but we also need to tend to all other aspects of wellness, including our emotional and mental health. Please use the wellness resources available for the Ohio State community. 

Thank you for taking care of yourself, your family, friends and fellow Buckeyes. 

Stay safe,

Kristina M. Johnson, PhD
President

COVID-19 Resources
• Safe and Healthy Buckeyes information and guidance
• Testing resources for students
• Resources for faculty
• Resources for COVID-19 research
• Resources for students
• Resources for staff

Wellness Resources

• Safe and Healthy Buckeyes - mental health and wellness 
• Faculty and staff can use the Human Resources Keep Well website, the Chief Wellness Officer Health and Wellness page and Your Plan For Health.
• Students can use the Counseling and Consultation Service (CCS) and the Buckeye Peer Access Line (PAL), which operates Monday through Friday from 8 p.m. to midnight.
• CCS also provides guidance for ways for faculty and staff to support students.• The Ohio State: Wellness app is designed for students but offers tips and guidance useful for all members of our community. It is available for Android and iOS devices.

“Like all students at Ohio State, Buckeye student-athletes continue to outperform the national average in the FGR, the measure of whether a freshman entering in the fall semester graduates from that same institution within six years,” said John E. Davidson, Ohio State faculty athletics representative and professor in Germanic languages and literatures and film studies.

The NCAA established the GSR in 2002 as a means of understanding student-athletes’ academic completion rates more concretely. It does so by accounting for two groups that play an increasingly prominent role in collegiate athletics: mid-year, first-time enrollees and transfers.

“Since the GSR was established, Ohio State’s GSR has improved markedly, reaching a kind of plateau of 86 percent from 2017-19,” Davidson said. “Seen in that context, this year’s improvement by two points to 88 percent is truly significant. Our student-athletes are performing extremely well academically, and the entire department is focused on continuing to improve. Everyone from coaches to athletics leadership to academic staff take this as a point of pride.

“Still, the credit goes to the inspirational young men and women who dedicate themselves to being the best they can be as students and athletes.”

This year’s data includes classes entering Ohio State between 2010 and 2013. During that four-class time period, the FGR for Ohio State student-athletes (74 percent) was above both the Division I average of 68 percent for student-athletes and 67 percent for the general student body at DI institutions overall. A total of 20 Ohio State teams were at or above the national average in FGR.

In the GSR, 12 Ohio State programs were equal to or ahead of the national GSR for their sports, while 16 teams improved their GSR scores. Three maintained a perfect 100 percent in that category – women’s golf, women’s tennis and women’s volleyball – and two more – women’s fencing and synchronized swimming – reached that mark. A total of 12 squads maintained or improved both their FRG and GSR numbers. Women’s fencing, synchronized swimming and women’s volleyball scored 100 percent in both ratings. This is the second consecutive perfect score for women’s volleyball.

Ohio State ranks 8th among the nation’s colleges and universities and 3rd in the Big Ten with 2,829 students studying abroad in 2018-19, a 3.8 percent decrease from the previous academic year. The university also ranks 3rd in the nation for the number of students participating in short-term programs with 2,660 studying abroad for one to eight weeks during the academic year.

Ohio State ranks 19th in the nation and 5th in the Big Ten with 7,894* international students enrolled in 2019, a 1.5 percent decline in enrollment from 2018, which aligns with the national trend. Students continuing their academic programs and practical training increased by 20 percent while there was a 4 percent decrease in new international students enrolled at the university.

These findings were issued as part of the 2020 Open Doors Report, an annual survey published by the Institute of International Education in partnership with the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.

A more diverse Ohio State student population studied abroad in 2018-19, with an 8.6 percent increase in those who identified as racial or ethnic minorities participating in global learning opportunities over the previous academic year.

“We have made a concerted effort to provide more opportunities for diverse students to engage internationally,” said Gil Latz, vice provost for global strategies and international affairs. “By partnering with the Office of Diversity and Inclusion, we have extended our outreach and developed new pathways so that every student at Ohio State understands that education abroad is accessible, and most importantly, possible.”

Nationally, European countries remain the most popular destination to study abroad, and Ohio State is in line with the national trend with the most students studying abroad in the United Kingdom, Spain, Italy, France and Germany. The top fields of study for Ohio State students studying abroad are business, biological and biomedical sciences, health professions, social sciences, agriculture and engineering.

International students at Ohio State hail from more than 100 countries including China (5,169); India (885); South Korea (379); Malaysia (185); and Taiwan (150). China and India remain the largest source of international students studying in the United States.

The top fields of study at Ohio State for international students include engineering, business, mathematics and statistics and the social sciences, similar to the national trend.

“International students contribute greatly to our Buckeye community, bringing with them new and different perspectives from which we can all greatly benefit,” Latz said. “Ohio State remains committed to providing enhanced programming to help our students adapt to a new cultural environment, while also supporting their academic success.”

The 2020 Open Doors Report is released as part of the nationwide observance of International Education Week Nov. 16-20, a joint initiative established by the U.S. Departments of Education and State.

At Ohio State, International Education Week is celebrated through a number of activities supported by the Office of International Affairs, which facilitates and support’s Ohio State’s international initiatives and advances global opportunities for students, faculty and staff. For more information, visit http://oia.osu.edu/.

* The IIE’s collection of enrollment data for international students includes two categories of students who are not currently enrolled at Ohio State in classes for credit. They include “Optional Practical Training” students who are not taking classes but are continuing their education through practical training in their field of study, and exchange students who are pursuing continuing (non-degree) education.

This $4,000 increase will bring the university’s minimum stipend for nine-month, 50% appointments to $21,280 by fall 2021. About 3,500 graduate associates will be paid more under the initiative.

With these increases, Ohio State’s minimum stipend is projected to improve from below the median in the Big Ten to among the top third. Based on current figures, with this change, the university’s 2021-22 stipend would be fourth highest in the Big Ten.

“This is an investment in Ohio State’s academic mission and in our graduate students, who are a vital part of the university community,” said Johnson. “Graduate associates teach classes, conduct research and scholarship, and support the university while they are simultaneously earning advanced degrees.”

The university employs about 4,400 graduate associates each year, and stipends vary by position.

“This stipend increase has been a core goal of the Council of Graduate Students and is culmination of many meetings our administration had with the president, provost, dean of the graduate school, and vice president of student life,” said Council of Graduate Students President Stephen Post. “We are proud of our work through the university shared governance system and the continued collaboration on the Graduate Compensation and Benefits Committee.”

Details are being finalized on the implementation of the increases and will be shared in the coming weeks.

Ohio State has been increasing graduate stipends over a number of years. Since 2013-14, the university has increased the minimum stipend by $5,280.

“Increasing stipends for graduate teaching, research and administrative associates has been a top university priority,” said Executive Vice President and Provost Bruce A. McPheron. “We thank the members of the Graduate Compensation and Benefits Committee and Council of Graduate Students for their work on this important topic.”

Across four continents, Rattan Lal, a Distinguished University Professor in the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences (CFAES), has pioneered ways to reduce deforestation, control soil erosion, and enrich soil, leading to sustained or higher crop yields.

Agricultural practices that Lal has helped mainstream are now at the heart of efforts to improve agricultural systems in the tropics and globally, making agriculture part of the solution to environmental problems.

“My source of inspiration has been the challenges farmers of the world face, especially the resource-poor and small landholders. The majority of these are women farmers,” Lal said.

“Their struggle in trying to make a living from degraded and depleted soils under harsh and uncertain climate conditions is the driving force and source of my motivation to find land-based, natural solutions for them.”

Without damaging the environment, Lal’s agricultural strategies increase the soil’s ability to grow food, meeting an ever-expanding demand. At the same time, those techniques help slow the rate of climate change.

Plants grown on healthy soil can best take in climate change-causing carbon dioxide from the air when those plants perform photosynthesis.

In 1997, Lal co-wrote the first documented report showing how restoring degraded soil could also defend against rising levels of carbon dioxide in the air.

“Our entire Buckeye community congratulates Dr. Lal on receiving this incredible honor,” said Ohio State President Kristina Johnson. “It is fitting recognition for a lifetime spent uplifting humankind on a vast scale. As a scientist, mentor and colleague, he is an inspiring example that one person with vision and dedication truly can change the world.”

Lal was chosen for the Arrell Award because of the overall global impact of his career and how important his work is—and will continue to be—in dealing with climate change, said Evan Fraser, director of the Arrell Food Institute at the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada.

Lal’s work has become “fundamental to the science community” and is “applicable to small-holder farmers around the world,” he said.

“As one of the world’s foremost soil scientists, Professor Lal’s decades of work have helped advance knowledge and shape practices in how to conserve one of the world’s most important and fragile resources.”

Around the world, Lal has promoted agricultural techniques including eliminating plowing, retaining crop residue left after harvest, planting cover crops, minimizing the use of chemical fertilizers by reducing losses, and setting aside some land and water for nature, rather than for agriculture or other purposes. Each practice comes at low cost, affordable even to farmers in the developing world.

In the early part of a career spanning five decades, Lal served as a soil physicist at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture in Nigeria. There, he helped in efforts to restore the productivity of soils in Africa and throughout the tropics.

“Perhaps no single individual has contributed more to the knowledge base of African agriculture,” wrote Ronnie Coffman, a Distinguished University Professor at Cornell University and one of four scientists who nominated Lal for the Arrell Award.

“He is most certainly a researcher who has advanced the understanding of food production with a significant positive impact on society.”

While growing up on a small farm in northern India, Lal first became interested in healthy soil’s potential.

Experiencing frequent droughts and brutally hot temperatures, Lal came to realize that soil can play a critical role in being a buffer against harsh climate conditions by holding onto water and nutrients. Even in bad years, farmers could survive, but that survival depended on the health of the soil.

While his elder siblings worked on the farm, Lal was the only one in his family who went to school, the only one who learned to read and write. That fueled his intense drive to make the most of his education and research to help farmers and influence how agricultural land is managed.

“Dr. Lal has been extremely successful in influencing sustainable agricultural practices around the world, and the ripple effects of his work come, in part, through those he has mentored—just over a thousand undergraduates and graduates, postdocs, and visiting scholars,” said Cathann A. Kress, Ohio State vice president for agricultural administration and dean of CFAES.

“He has brought about a paradigm shift in sustainable soil management. His approach recognizes the need for increasing food production with the necessity of improving the environment.”

For the Arrell Global Food Innovation Award, Lal will receive $76,000, which he plans to donate for soil science research and education.

In June, Lal was named the 2020 recipient of the World Food Prize. A faculty member at Ohio State for 33 years, Lal in 2019 became the first Ohio State scientist and the first soil scientist to ever receive the Japan Prize.

He was listed by Thomson Reuters as among the top 1% of most-cited scientists in agriculture for 2014–2019 and among the world’s most influential scientific minds in 2015. Lal was recognized for his contributions to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize with former U.S. Vice President Al Gore.

Lal first came to Ohio State to work on his doctorate in soil science, which he completed in 1968.

The guiding philosophy for his work has long been that the well-being of humanity starts in the ground.

“Sustainable management of soil and agriculture is critical,” Lal said. “The future of humanity and of the planet depends on the health of the soil.”

These four programs have again received the INSIGHT into Diversity magazine 2020 Health Professions Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) Award. INSIGHT into Diversity magazine is the oldest and largest diversity-focused publication in higher education.

This is the second consecutive year that all four programs have been named as a Health Professions HEED Award recipient. Ohio State is the only academic institution in the country to have four colleges receive the 2020 Health Professions HEED award. The colleges of nursing, medicine and veterinary medicine have received the award in previous years as well.

“Our standards are high, and we look for institutions where diversity and inclusion are woven into the work being done every day across their campus,” said INSIGHT Into Diversity publisher Lenore Pearlstein.

The award recognizes the university’s efforts in recruitment and retention of students and employees, continued leadership support for diversity, and other aspects of campus diversity and inclusion.

“Ohio State’s colleges are focused on diversity and inclusion as essential components of our mission,” said Executive Vice President and Provost Bruce A. McPheron. “By fostering these values in the health sciences, our students, faculty and staff are prepared to serve Ohioans well in the future.”

Each of the health sciences colleges incorporates diversity and inclusion throughout its student recruitment, teaching, research and service, including the creation and implementation of an Anti-Racism Action Plan that creates a foundation for structural and systemic change.

“I am extraordinarily proud of the continued advancements in diversity and inclusion that led INSIGHT Into Diversity to recognize Ohio State’s health science colleges. Much has been accomplished, but there is undoubtedly more to do,” said Dr. Hal Paz, executive vice president and chancellor for health affairs at Ohio State and CEO of Ohio State Wexner Medical Center. “As educators, researchers and caregivers, we are committed to improving health and building a culture of equity to better care for the communities we serve.”

Below are highlights of the colleges’ diversity and inclusion efforts.

College of Medicine – There is a history of recruiting and supporting under-represented minority students – 24% of students are underrepresented minorities. The college also follows a holistic admissions process, and everyone on the selection committee receives Implicit Bias training. There is diversity among the faculty and college leadership. The college requires a diverse pool of applicants in the hiring process and requires search firms it uses to include diverse candidates in the final pool of all candidates.

College of Nursing – The Ohio State College of Nursing earned its fifth consecutive HEED award, in part because of its ability to build on progress made in academics, research, student engagement and community impact. Several College of Nursing faculty have current research focused on reducing health disparities; the college’s population of underrepresented students increased across academic programs; and the college leveraged technology to host a five-week virtual Summer Success Series that aimed to help develop soft skills in under-represented undergraduate students. The college also formed the affinity group Nursing Students of Color to retain and support students as they move toward graduation, and continued its Health Resources and Services Administration grant-funded work to support the education and development of community health workers to improve the health and well-being of their own neighborhoods.

College of Optometry – The College of Optometry focused on several key initiatives to foster diversity and inclusion in 2020, including: reimagining the role of the college’s chief diversity officer to be more broadly integrated into the structure of the college; enhancing the admissions process for diverse underrepresented students by employing mitigation strategies against implicit bias and searching for inclusive behaviors in all applicants; educating all faculty, staff and students on implicit bias and anti-racism; engaging in purposeful relationship-building between our diverse students and diverse alumni; integrating diversity, equity and inclusion in the policy documents that govern the college; and developing a pathway for diverse underrepresented students to become faculty. The college also updated its Improving Diversity in Optometric Careers program this year to be virtual, ensuring that this annual summer program continued its mission to attract underrepresented minority undergraduate students from across the U.S. to learn about optics, eye anatomy and vision disorders as well as the College of Optometry admissions process.

College of Veterinary Medicine – The College of Veterinary Medicine is focusing on recruiting underrepresented minorities and first-generation students by reducing barriers to enter the profession, providing engaging learning opportunities, and creating an academic community that fosters inclusion. An increase in scholarship awards helps alleviate some of the debt burden many students face. Be Well programming teaches a foundation of health and well-being skills before students enter their professional career. Outreach and engagement opportunities such as the Pet Owner and Pet Care Program and the Veterinary Medicine Outreach Program provide care to underserved populations and unique service-learning experiences for students.

Number of degrees and certificates 
Doctoral - 253 
Professional - 8 
Masters - 547 
Bachelors - 850
Associates - 73 
Certificates -  32

Total: 1,763 

WELCOMING REMARKS: Melissa Shivers, vice president for student life 

PRESIDING OFFICER: Bruce McPheron, executive vice president and provost

COMMENCEMENT SPEAKER: Michael Redd, Ohio State alumnus, Olympic gold medalist and former NBA All-Star for the Milwaukee Bucks

COMMENCEMENT VOCALIST: Mark Wilkinson, Class of 2020 

The hour-long commencement ceremony will begin at 2 p.m. A pre-ceremony program featuring messages from graduates, deans and other university leaders from across all campuses will begin at 1:30 p.m. Both the pre-ceremony and the ceremony can be viewed by livestream on the commencement website and will be broadcast statewide on the Ohio Channel.

When the ceremony has concluded, video of the event – including the pre-ceremony program – will be made available to the public and television stations across Ohio at http://go.osu.edu/summercomm.

Excerpts from the commencement ceremony will be rebroadcast on WOSU-TV, Channel 34, at 5 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 10.

Due to COVID-19 restrictions on large gatherings, no graduates will be physically present. The ceremony, which will be held at the Schottenstein Center, will include a small group of university leaders and guests.

Provost Bruce McPheron will preside and the commencement address will be given by Michael Redd, an Ohio State alumnus, Olympic gold medalist and former NBA All-Star for the Milwaukee Bucks.

Graduates will receive their degrees and a copy of the commencement program in the mail at their permanent address. The university will hold a physical recognition event at a later date when it is safe to do so. Members of the graduating class will be actively involved in the scheduling and planning of that event.

Ohio State University Professor Emerita Gay Su Pinnell, MA ’68, PhD ’75, has committed $7.5 million from her charitable fund with The Columbus Foundation to the College of Education and Human Ecology — the largest philanthropic contribution made by an individual or foundation in the college’s history.

The gift will support an endowed professorship in reading, the first endowed clinical professorship at Ohio State, also for reading, and funds for literacy education.

In recognition of her Ohio State legacy, the Pinnell Professorship in Reading will honor her years of scholarship and practice that helped children who struggle to read. Through Pinnell’s tireless efforts, Reading Recovery, the intervention she helped bring to North America with colleagues 35 years ago, has provided high-quality reading instruction to over 2.3 million first-graders in the lowest 20 percent of their classes in reading.

Pinnell ensured that Ohio State holds the license to Reading Recovery and conducts the intervention in concert with 12 other university training centers in North America. Based on research evidence of effectiveness, the federal government’s What Works Clearinghouse ranks Reading Recovery the highest among 24 other reading curricula and literacy instructional strategies for students from kindergarten through third grade.

Pinnell focused her career on research to ensure the effectiveness of the intervention. A large study by independent researchers completed in 2015 showed that low-progress first-graders taught by Reading Recovery teachers were learning to read 120 percent to 166 percent faster than typical rates of learning for first-graders.

“These faculty positions and literacy funds will honor the scholarship and teaching of Dr. Pinnell in perpetuity,” said Bruce A. McPheron, executive vice president and provost. “Throughout her remarkable career, she has worked to foster greater understanding about how teachers can best position young readers for lifelong success.”

Pinnell was inducted into the college’s Hall of Fame in 2015 in recognition of her many contributions. Her gift is also the largest to the college since last year’s launch of Time and Change: The Ohio State Campaign, which has three core areas of focus: student success, discovery and healthy, vibrant communities.

“Dr. Pinnell has become a nationally known champion of young, struggling readers by increasing the college’s scholarly reputation and practice through programs based on rigorous research,” said College of Education and Human Ecology Dean Don Pope-Davis. “We greatly appreciate that Dr. Pinnell has chosen to invest in the education of children through this transformative gift.”

Pinnell has named the Mary Fried Endowed Clinical Professorship in honor of her colleague and friend who joined Ohio State in 1984 to take part in the original Reading Recovery pilot study. Fried has remained with Ohio State ever since, becoming well known nationwide as she provides professional development for teachers in Reading Recovery and the Literacy Collaborative.

"I consider teaching children to harness language through Reading Recovery and Literacy Collaborative vitally important,” Pinnell said. “I named the clinical professorship for my colleague and friend Mary because she exemplifies the consummate literacy educator. The ongoing professional development that she and the other educators provide opens the eyes of teachers and their coaches to the power and effect of their teaching.”

The Fried Clinical Professor will serve as a bridge between Reading Recovery and the Literacy Collaborative, which will be supported by the Literacy Collaborative Endowed Training Fund. The training fund will provide leadership and expert support to the collaborative, a comprehensive school reform project for grades K-8. Since 1986, the collaborative has partnered with school districts nationwide to train teams of teachers, administrators and coaches focused on improving children’s literacy skills.

Pinnell’s body of work includes her ongoing collaboration with Professor Irene Fountas, Lesley University, in creating The Fountas & Pinnell Classroom Guided Reading Collection, a literacy program published by Heinemann, a division of Houghton, Mifflin, Harcourt. This program helps children around the world advance their ability to process increasingly challenging books with fluency and comprehension.

The dean’s list includes a total of 24,776 students: 18,846 Ohioans, 4,109 non-residents and 1,821 international students.

Criteria for the dean’s list varies by college. It is usually based on the GPA for that specific term and the number of credit hours taken. Many colleges require a minimum of 12 graded credit hours with a 3.5 GPA or higher.

In an historic virtual commencement on May 3, the university awarded a record 12,967 degrees and certificates to its largest-ever graduating class ever, including 261 doctoral, 983 professional, 1,983 masters, 9,007 bachelors, 594 associates and 69 certificates.

Both the dean’s and graduate lists include Ohio, non-resident and international students. Students are listed by county and then by zip code, city and last name. The files are searchable using the search or find function on your device.

Students may choose not to have their names released under the provisions of the Federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974. Their names have been excluded from the lists.

The lists are available below:

Ohio State continues to update a website with information about the pandemic. The university will also respond to an email account where general questions about COVID-19 can be directed: coronavirus@osumc.edu

Drake sent the following message on June 20:

Dear Ohio State Community:

Good evening. Let me begin by reaffirming that Ohio State remains committed to action to ending racial injustice in this country and beyond, and we’re working together every day to make this more true. This is not an easy or quick task, and it will take continual work. We may not be able to make everything right in short order, but we can make progress. The results depend on the quality of our collective effort.

COVID-19 transition planning

In the midst of this pandemic, we have continued to advance our mission. Our enrollment is among the highest ever for a summer term, and our students are engaged in learning remotely with the help of thousands of dedicated faculty and staff who have masterfully made the shift necessitated by the pandemic. Research continues across the enterprise, and our health care professionals and support staff remain on the front line of the fight against COVID-19.

We are pursuing a phased approach for a return to full on-campus operations for the autumn semester. The university’s transition task force continues to solidify details. It is important to note that these plans for a return to campus are provisional, and we will continue to re-evaluate based on evolving conditions, reports about the status of the pandemic, and recommendations and guidance from public health authorities and the scientific community. In the coming weeks, we will launch the Safe and Healthy Buckeyes website for our campuses and community members to stay current on updates and information. The site will include additional information on facilities readiness, transportation, hygiene and personal protection, mental health and wellness resources, housing and dining, recreational spaces and programs, and much more.

Below are several immediate updates.

Course planning for autumn semester

The university shared this week course-planning expectations for autumn with academic leaders and the wider community. Courses will be offered in several formats, including in-person, online or blended. As part of the effort to reduce density and maintain physical distancing, some in-person instruction will occur in non-traditional spaces in non-academic buildings.

Classes that bring together 100 or more people — including students, faculty and instructional assistants — will be conducted virtually or in a blended model that includes online lectures with in-person labs, studio sessions, recitation sections and other arrangements for smaller groups.

In collaboration with faculty, our deans, department chairs and school directors will determine the most appropriate mode of teaching for autumn courses. Unit schedulers will update all sections by July 1. The registrar’s office will inform students about their course schedules at least a month before the autumn semester begins.

As a reminder, the academic calendar for autumn semester has been adjusted. The first day of classes is Aug. 25. The last day of in-person, on-campus instruction is Nov. 25. Instruction in the last week of the semester (Nov. 30-Dec. 4) and final exams (Dec. 7-11) will be online. To view the academic calendar, visit the University Registrar webpage.

Off-cycle salary increase and hiring pauses extended

As part of the university response to the pandemic’s impact on operations, the university implemented several steps to manage an estimated $100 million in revenue losses during fiscal year 2020. Among the first steps included instituting a hiring pause through June 30 with exemptions for essential services and key faculty and research positions. We also instituted pauses in off-cycle salary increases through June 30. Both of these measures are being extended through Dec. 31 as we continue to address revenue loss and financial uncertainty.

We are extending the university state of emergency through Saturday, June 27, which enables us to utilize Disaster Leave (Policy 6.28) and is essential to providing the university with flexibility in making a variety of financial decisions over an extended period if necessary.

Travel restrictions and education abroad cancellations

Domestic and international travel restrictions, initially announced in March, have been extended until December 31, 2020. All previously approved travel prior to that date must be canceled. Exemption processes and elevated approvals related to travel restrictions are available under specific circumstances. For more, visit the Business and Finance website.

The university has also taken the difficult step of canceling all education abroad programs for the autumn semester. We look forward to students returning to these important teaching-and-learning experiences once it is advisable to do so. We will continue to monitor guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S. Department of State, U.S. Department of Homeland Security and others.

In-person university events

As a reminder, all in-person university events remain canceled through July 6. As part of our phased return, Ohio State is convening a group through the transition task force to evaluate and make recommendations for in-person events beyond July 6. Further information and details are forthcoming.

Health reporting and COVID-19 testing program pilots

In autumn, a daily health check to report body temperature and health status will be required for all faculty, staff and students each day they intend to be on our campuses. This daily check will be reported through the Ohio State mobile app or compass.osu.edu. Accommodations are being made for employees who do not have daily access to a smartphone or computer. We are currently evaluating this health check process through a pilot program for a limited number of on-campus employees.

As shared, a pilot COVID-19 swab testing program also has been established for a limited number of employees who are already working on campus or will be returning this summer.

Each pilot will be used to inform decisions about the autumn semester while helping to support the safety of our community during the current phased return to full on-campus operations.

Limited visitation at university hospitals

The Wexner Medical Center announced this week limited visitation of patients staying in its hospitals. Each patient can have one visitor of their choice per day, as identified in the patient’s electronic health record. All visitors to medical center hospitals have their temperatures checked and are provided a mask. Visitors must be free of COVID-19 symptoms and have no exposure history. Visitation is currently not permitted, with limited exceptions, in emergency departments or outpatient facilities. For more, visit the medical center webpage.

Diploma mailing for spring commencement

The Office of Commencement and Special Events has been granted an exemption to return to campus to process and mail spring diplomas beginning next week. Diplomas will be mailed out as they are completed, so some students will receive their diplomas before others. We are hopeful that all diplomas will be mailed out within the week.

As always, my gratitude goes to each of you. Our greatest strength is our people, Together As Buckeyes.

Sincerely,

Michael V. Drake, MD

COVID-19 Resources

• Information about coronavirus and the university’s response
• Guidance for students, faculty and staff
• Resources for faculty
• Resources for COVID-19 research
• Resources for students
• Resources for staff

Wellness Resources

• Faculty and staff can use the Human Resources Keep Well website, the Chief Wellness Officer Health and Wellness page and Your Plan For Health.
• Students can use the Counseling and Consultation Service (CCS) and the Buckeye Peer Access Line (PAL), which operates Monday through Thursday from 8 p.m. to midnight, and Friday from 2 to 6 p.m.
• CCS also provides guidance for ways for faculty and staff to support students.
• The Ohio State: Wellness app is designed for students but offers tips and guidance useful for all members of our community. It is available for Android and iOS devices.

Ohio State announced on June 3 initial plans to resume in-person classes for the autumn semester, emphasizing that the return to campuses will require reduced population density and that all decisions will be guided by health authorities and faculty expertise.

The university is providing updates about on-campus activities as detailed plans are finalized. The Office of Academic Affairs recently outlined course-planning expectations in an email to deans, department chairs and faculty governance leaders.

Faculty and administrators are engaged in planning for a variety of course options and formats that will allow classes to resume under conditions that enhance physical distancing. Some classes will be fully in person, some will be offered fully online and some will use a blended approach – these will be described as “hybrid” or “distance-enhanced,” depending on the nature of the course.

“We’re finding ways to balance our approach to delivering the curriculum,” said Randy Smith, vice provost for academic programs. “We are asking each academic program and department to ensure that opportunities for in-person instruction are available to students.”

No in-person classes or course sections will be permitted to exceed 100 people – students, faculty and staff included. Large-enrollment courses that are primarily taught online may include in-person labs, studio sessions, recitation sections and other options for smaller groups.

The university will not be limited to traditional learning spaces for class instruction, Smith said. The Office of Academic Affairs is consulting with units across the Columbus campus about the potential to use non-traditional spaces as classrooms.

On the Columbus campus, decisions about classrooms and other learning spaces will be centralized to optimize their use. Departments and programs will be able to continue scheduling their specialized learning spaces for instruction that requires the use of equipment or a specific type of space.

Regional campuses will maintain responsibility for their classroom spaces and scheduling.

The modes of teaching for fall semester are expected to be determined in time for unit schedulers to update all sections no later than July 1, allowing the registrar’s office to inform students about their course schedules at least a month before autumn semester begins.

President Michael V. Drake told the university community in the June 3 message that “we are dedicated to continuing our core mission, including providing the best possible college experience for our students while operating under a set of circumstances that no one has experienced before.”

In addition to physical distancing, the resumption of full operations on Ohio State campuses will include a combination of the use of appropriate face coverings, hand hygiene, limited density in indoor spaces, control of the flow of traffic into and around buildings, continued employee teleworking when possible, testing, symptoms tracking and contact tracing. 

Additional guidelines will be announced in the coming weeks based on guidance from state and local health authorities and recommendations of the Safe Campus and Scientific Advisory Subgroup of the university’s COVID-19 Transition Task Force. 

Drake revealed this strategy and shared insights about leading the university through the pandemic during a webinar presented last month by the Leadership Initiative at Fisher College of Business.

Drake has been a leader in higher education for nearly four decades, serving as chancellor of the University of California, Irvine, for nine years prior to his summer 2014 arrival at Ohio State. He is chair of the NCAA Board of Governors and past chair of the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities, the Association of Academic Health Centers and the Association of American Universities.

Below are excerpts from Drake’s conversation with Timothy Judge, executive director of the Leadership Initiative, and his responses to questions submitted by viewers of the webinar titled “Leading in Unprecedented Times with Ohio State President Michael V. Drake.”

As the nation watched the COVID-19 pandemic sweep out of China and unfold around the world over the winter, and then to the west coast, Drake said he knew it was time to act in early March.

“It became clear to me this was a ‘when’ rather than an ‘if.’ And the steps that we were going to need to take would be moving classes to online, and ultimately moving students off campus, and finally we needed to restrict staff from coming to work. My view was we could close the barn door after the horse had gotten out or before, and I thought it was a better thing to do that before.

“We had a meeting on Sunday, March 8. I pulled together a cabinet meeting, heard what everyone was thinking and then I did some thinking and talking with colleagues overnight and then called a meeting on Monday morning. By noon Monday we knew it was clear what we had to do, and, what does it even mean – we’re going to go to online?

“I was feeling we were in a race and every day made a real difference. I knew we were out front. ... A couple of places had done this before but they had cases on campus and we were trying to do this prior to having a case on campus or in our community. And the concept is we had to do this as quickly as we could.”

Ohio State stayed ahead of the curve, moving against the pandemic long before any other Big Ten schools reacted. In his role as chair of the NCAA Board of Governors, he said there also was little doubt the pandemic would affect basketball tournaments.

“This was tournament week for the Big Ten and March Madness was about to start. March Madness for the NCAA is like ‘The Nutcracker’ for ballet companies. That’s where the funding comes from for your organization for the year. It’s unthinkable not to have the tournament.

“In my conversations with the president of the NCAA and select board members, and then the board, we made the decision first on Wednesday, March 11, that we’d limit this to only coaches and teams, play with no spectators – and we were thinking about that overnight. Then we thought, actually, is that going to be enough? And the answer was no. We have to do the unthinkable, which was cancel the tournament.

“We could see what was going to happen and the answer was, what can we do to make sure we’ve done all we can to mitigate it.”

Were these the right decisions? Drake says leaders routinely have to make difficult decisions without all the information.

“I will say that … given the stakes, my goal was to overreact slightly rather than under-react at all. From the time we made the decision, it’s been forward. We haven’t looked back.”

Drake said the university is expecting students back in the fall, with modifications.

“I believe that the most important message for our students to incorporate in the fall is that their individual behavior affects the ability of the university to continue with business ‘as close to usual.’ If we have students living in our residence halls, their behavior might impact how the virus spreads, but more than that, their behaviors affect whether we can have students in the residence halls. If they behave in a way that allows this virus to gain a foothold and spread, then we can’t have students in the residence halls and this whole thing has to stop.”

The full web interview is online at https://www.facebook.com/FisherLeads/videos/927033194386620/

As part of its commitment to academic collaboration at The Ohio State University, OSEP contributes $810,000 annually to the university or affiliated philanthropic causes.

OSEP directed $100,000 of its contribution this year to The Ohio State Student Emergency Fund, which provides financial assistance to students facing unexpected economic circumstances. The support comes at a critical time for students, many of whom face financial problems due to the pandemic. (How to contribute.)

“During autumn semester, we had about 80 requests for emergency funding. In just the last six weeks, we’ve topped 1,500 requests,” said Kim Pachell, director of the Student Advocacy Center. “The gift from Ohio State Energy Partners was positively amazing. Their support, in addition to a number of other donors, both small and large, has allowed us to help students in impactful ways.”

Ohio State also has launched the Together As Buckeyes emergency grant program, which is run through the Office of Student Financial Aid. Undergraduate, graduate and professional students at any campus can learn more about the grant application process at go.osu.edu/covid-emergency-grants.

In addition to the student emergency fund, OSEP grants include:

• $75,000 in support of COVID-19 Connect, an initiative of the College of Public Health’s Center for Public Health Practice. The endeavor matches public health agencies and nonprofit organizations to the university’s expertise to support response and recovery projects.
• A $50,000 allocation to the university’s Office of Research, which partners with other Ohio State units in a grant-funding program focused on COVID-19 solutions. Funds will be used to support university teams and partnerships identified through this initiative.
• $25,000 for the Wexner Center for the Arts, providing a forum where established and emerging artists can test ideas, and where diverse audiences can participate in cultural experiences that enhance the understanding of the art of our time. The funds will be used to support projects or initiatives that have been adversely impacted by the facility’s temporary closure.

The remaining $560,000 will be awarded to programs and research priorities across the university, including increased access and affordability for studies abroad, support for the development of new fuel cell programs, and development of outreach initiatives to communicate sustainability research at Ohio State. The complete list is available online: go.osu.edu/energy-management

In 2017, the university and OSEP entered into the comprehensive energy management partnership, which launched an unprecedented energy efficiency program and established Ohio State as an international leader in sustainability. OSEP is a joint venture between ENGIE North America and Axium Infrastructure. The university’s Energy Academic Collaboration Council provides support for the grant program.

It was a unique celebration, a safe ceremony during a deadly pandemic. The university’s swift response to COVID-19 included planning a virtual ceremony when restrictions on large gatherings made an in-person celebration impossible.

“It is an honor and a privilege to share this time with you and your families and friends. We are not here together. We wanted to recognize your incredible accomplishments, nevertheless, on this day,” said President Michael V. Drake. “These are extraordinary times that have affected everything in our lives, including the way you completed your journey at Ohio State. We’ll celebrate today, and then look forward to a future joyous celebration when we are able to come back together in the ’Shoe.”

The program inside the stadium included Drake and a small number of university officials in traditional commencement regalia. Graduates filled social media with photos in their caps and gowns from remote locations around the nation, congregating under the #OSUGrad hashtag.

It was livestreamed and broadcast on WOSU TV and The Ohio Channel as well as Reuters, ABC Digital and local Ohio stations. The livestream alone attracted 86,000 viewers. More than 6,000 households watched on WOSU.

The university awarded a record 12,967 degrees and certificates to its largest-ever graduating class.

“It must be acknowledged that the COVID-19 pandemic has taken many things away from us over the past several weeks,” said Vice President for Student Life Melissa Shivers as she opened the ceremony. “But what can never be taken away from you, from your families, from your loved ones, from your friends, is the immense pride I hope that you all feel in this moment, and for the rest of your days.”

Apple CEO Tim Cook delivered the commencement address via a video in his office. He celebrated the resilience of this class and called on graduates to rise to this new challenge.

“When our glittering plans are scrambled, as they often will be, and our dearest hopes were dashed, as will sometimes happen, we’re left with a choice. We can curse the loss of something that was never going to be or we can see reasons to be grateful for the yank on the scruff of the neck and in having our eyes lifted up from the story we were writing for ourselves and turn instead to a remade world,” he said.

“You weren’t promised this day. Many of you had to fight hard to earn it. Now it’s yours. Think anew, act anew, build a better future than the one you thought was certain. And in a fearful time, call us once again to hope.”

Kate Greer, the 2019-20 president of Undergraduate Student Government, spoke to the unique ways students were celebrating their graduation.

“I still plan on celebrating today – on FaceTime with my friends, on Zoom with my family, having happy hour. I hope, despite the physical distance between us all, that you are still celebrating yourself, because these past few weeks can never take away how hard you worked and everything you sacrificed to get to this moment,” she said.

Greer wasn’t alone. Seniors were using this week to celebrate with family and look back on their time at Ohio State. They were also looking ahead to careers boosted by the time and connections they made while on campus.

Wenjing Deng was one of those graduates. Deng moved to Columbus from Toronto to join the synchronized swimming team and received both her bachelor’s degree and master’s degree in electrical and computer engineering today.

Deng said her high school graduation was canceled by a teacher’s strike, so this unconventional commencement was an unusual coincidence. While she was sad she was unable to finish her final semester with her classmates in person, she said she felt prepared for the future because of her time at Ohio State.

“I think it was the students and the energy I felt on campus that was something that set Ohio State apart from a lot of the other schools that I was looking at in Canada,” she said. “I’m so happy I came to Ohio State. It’s been awesome and I feel like there is no school that can give you this kind of experience.”

Deng is headed to Cleveland to work for an automation company, where she will help design and build robots.

George Valcarcel, an industrial and systems engineering graduate, watched the virtual ceremony from his home in Mason. Valcarcel chose Ohio State over Ivy League opportunities in part because of the university’s Integrated Business and Engineering program and the networks he could build in Columbus.

“So the whole analogy, what I was sold on to come to Ohio State, was you could be a big fish in a big pond by being a part of a selective honors program like IBE and by bridging these different networks together. I absolutely thrived on that,” he said. “Ohio State is a nice microcosm for the real world. I’ve been able to really develop my network in aerospace, defense and innovation within the Columbus community. That’s because Ohio State is kind of central to all of these areas.”

Valcarcel already has a job as a business analyst for McKinsey & Company in Chicago.

During the ceremony, the university awarded the honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree, in absentia, to Cook, and conferred Distinguished Service Awards in absentia to Philip T.K. Daniel, the William Ray and Marie Adamson Flesher Professor of Education Administration (emeritus); E. Christopher Ellison, the Robert M. Zollinger Professor Emeritus in the College of Medicine; and Timothy Gerber, professor emeritus of music.

Drake noted that today’s ceremony is expected to be his final commencement as Ohio State’s president. He quoted a favored poem by Rabindranath Tagore about the call to service, and asked students to answer that same call.

“I slept and dreamt that life was joy. I awoke and saw that life was service. I acted, and behold, service was joy,” he said. “Serving at The Ohio State University has been a blessing and a privilege. Serving at The Ohio State University has been a joy.”

Graduates will receive their degrees and a copy of the commencement program in the mail at their permanent address. The university will hold a physical recognition event at a later date when it is safe to do so. Members of the Class of 2020 will be actively involved in the scheduling and planning of that event.

The Ohio State University will award a record 12,967 degrees and certificates to its largest-ever graduating class during a historic virtual commencement on Sunday, May 3.

The hour-long commencement ceremony will begin at noon. It will be broadcast on WOSU and will livestream at https://commencement.osu.edu/. It will also be available to most of the state’s public television stations through The Ohio Channel. At the conclusion, video of the full ceremony will be made available to public and commercial television stations across Ohio at http://go.osu.edu/vcosu.

A pre-ceremony program with special messages from graduates and deans in Ohio State’s colleges will be livestreamed beginning at 11:30 a.m. at https://commencement.osu.edu/.

The 2020 graduating class size is the largest for the sixth consecutive year, surpassing previous records of 12,213 in 2019, 11,907 in 2018,11,734 in 2017, 11,235 in 2016 and 11,040 in 2015.

The increase in the size of the graduating class corresponds with annual increases in the quality and talent of the freshman class and increases in graduation rates.

Ohio State President Michael V. Drake will preside, and the commencement address will be given by Apple CEO Tim Cook. The student speaker will be Kate Greer, outgoing president of Undergraduate Student Government.

Also during the ceremony, the university will award the honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree, in absentia, to Cook. The university will confer Distinguished Service Awards, in absentia, to Philip T.K. Daniel, the William Ray and Marie Adamson Flesher Professor of Education Administration (emeritus); E. Christopher Ellison, the Robert M. Zollinger Professor Emeritus in the College of Medicine; and Timothy Gerber, professor emeritus of music.

The Ohio State University has issued the dean’s list for autumn 2019, with the names of 21,175 students who have achieved high academic averages for their work. This includes 16,046 Ohio students, 3,493 non-resident and 1,636 international students.

Criteria for qualifying for the dean’s list varies by college. It is usually based on the GPA for that specific term and the number of credit hours taken. Many colleges require a minimum of 12 graded credit hours with a 3.5 GPA or higher.

In addition, the university has issued the list of students who earned degrees at commencement exercises on Dec. 15, 2019. The university awarded 3,778 degrees at the ceremony, including 208 doctoral, 13 professional, 425 masters, 2,655 bachelors, 468 associates and 9 certificates.

Both lists include international, non-resident and Ohio students. Students are listed by county, and then by zip code, city and last name. The files are searchable using the search or find function on your device.

Students may choose not to have their names released under the provisions of the Federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974. Their names have been excluded from the lists.

Lists are available here:

U.S. News & World Report ranked the university’s online bachelor’s programs No. 1 for 2020 — up two spots over the previous year.

Additionally, Ohio State’s online Master of Science in Nursing program is ranked No. 4 nationally and No. 2 among public universities, with three of the program’s specialties also placing among the top four.

“We are pleased to be among the nation’s top online programs,” Executive Vice President and Provost Bruce A. McPheron said. “Our faculty and staff are committed to the success of all Ohio State students — whether they are on campus or online. This recognition reflects the university’s focus on advancing teaching and learning for all students.”

Ohio State’s online bachelor’s programs and online master’s program in nursing have been ranked among the nation’s top 10 for six consecutive years. The ranking for online bachelor’s programs includes Ohio State’s RN to Bachelor of Science in Nursing, Bachelor of Science in Health Sciences and Bachelor of Science, Dental Hygiene.

Online graduate programs in the College of Engineering and the College of Education and Human Ecology rose in the rankings in 2020. Engineering programs ranked No. 19, and education programs ranked No. 20 — up six and 18 spots, respectively.

Ohio State’s online graduate engineering programs include the Master of Science in Welding Engineering and Master of Global Engineering Leadership. Graduate education offerings include the Master of Learning Technologies, Master of Arts in Art Education, and Master of Science in Agricultural Communication, Education and Leadership.

"Our online programs provide students the opportunity to experience Ohio State’s academic excellence from anywhere — a modern expression of our land-grant mission,” Vice President and Chief Information Officer Mike Hofherr said.

Ohio State Online degree and certificate programs are taught by the same faculty who teach on campus. Each faculty member works with an instructional designer to reshape the instructor’s on-campus teaching for a technology-rich modality, Hofherr explained.

U.S. News & World Report ranks online programs at regionally accredited institutions with a focus on quality instruction and affordability. Rankings indicators include engagement, services and technologies, faculty credentials and training, and expert opinion.

“We are grateful that U.S. News & World Report continues to spotlight our world-class faculty, staff and curricula as among the very best in the country at preparing students to transform the future of health and improve lives,” said Bernadette Mazurek Melnyk, dean of the College of Nursing and the university’s chief wellness officer. “Our wonderful online students receive the same innovative and high-quality education as students on campus so that they can dream, discover and deliver a healthier world through evidence-based care.”

The most recently ranked programs join several others across the university recognized for academic excellence, including 15 Ohio State graduate programs ranked in the top 10 by U.S. News & World Report. The publication’s “America’s Best Colleges” report ranked Ohio State in the top 20 among public universities nationwide. The university was also recognized in the Best Undergraduate Teaching and Most Innovative Schools categories.

Drake’s career in higher education spans four decades, including the last 15 as a university president or chancellor. He said the timing is right for Ohio State and his family.

“Ohio State is a very special place. Brenda and I are blessed to be part of the incredible Buckeye community,” said Drake, 69. “The work being done at this university through teaching, learning, research, creative expression, community engagement and leading-edge partnerships is unprecedented in our 150-year history.

“Ohio State has enjoyed record successes in several of our most important strategic markers and has tremendous momentum. It was important to Brenda and me that the university be accelerating on a path forward as we decided to begin the transition.”

Board of Trustees Chairman Gary R. Heminger agreed, saying: “The university has never been stronger, and there couldn’t be a better time to position a new leader for success.”

Under Drake’s leadership, the university has seen all-time highs in several important areas, including: applications, the academic preparedness and diversity of five consecutive incoming classes to the Columbus campus, retention rates, research expenditures and industry-sponsored research, graduation rates, total number of graduates, patient care and support from donors. Ohio State’s performance in these categories is the best in the university’s history and among the strongest in the nation.

The university will launch a national search for its next president, and trustee Lewis Von Thaer will serve as chair of the search committee.

Drake said he has always envisioned that the university would begin a search while he still served as president in order to provide continuity in leadership. The trustees are aligned with that position as well. Drake will lead the university through at least the end of the academic year.

Drake will remain on the Ohio State faculty. Teaching and learning represent pillar one of Ohio State’s strategic plan, launched under Drake’s leadership in August 2017. The University Institute for Teaching and Learning, created to further advance teaching at Ohio State and improve the student experience, is unique nationally for implementing a research-based survey instrument on effective practices across the institution.

Another area of intense focus has been increasing access to an affordable and excellent Ohio State education.

Under Drake, Ohio State implemented its first comprehensive tuition freeze for in-state students in 40 years. The university also launched the Ohio State Tuition Guarantee, which locks in-state tuition, mandatory fees, housing and dining for each incoming class of undergraduate students. The university has committed more than $150 million in additional need-based aid since 2015, exceeding its goal to reach $100 million by 2020 and benefiting tens of thousands of Buckeyes. Fewer students are graduating with debt, and those with debt have less of it.

This additional aid has funded several programs designed to make college more affordable for students from low- and moderate-income backgrounds. The Buckeye Opportunity Program, for example, provides full tuition and mandatory fee coverage to thousands of Ohio Pell students in Columbus and at all of the university’s regional locations. The inclusion of regional campuses in the program is notable in higher education for a school of Ohio State’s size.

“We have always said that while talent is distributed across zip codes, opportunity is not,” Drake said. “It is critical that we balance access, affordability and excellence for all.”

Funding for these programs has been aided by the innovative revenue generation and administrative efficiencies programs launched at Drake’s presidential investiture in 2015. The goal was to reach $200 million in revenue generation and an additional $200 million in efficiencies by 2020. The university has far surpassed its efficiencies goal and its revenue generation goal with the Comprehensive Energy Management Project, the first of its kind nationally.

The partnership will improve energy efficiency on the Columbus campus by 25% in the next several years. It represents the largest single investment in the university’s academic mission and includes an energy advancement and innovation center — part of a planned West Campus innovation district and the university’s long-term planning vision for the physical campus, Framework 2.0.

The university’s medical enterprise, including the Wexner Medical Center and health sciences colleges, has set high marks for patient care, safety and satisfaction as well as research funding to drive breakthrough health care solutions. 

Drake has helped to elevate Ohio State’s national role in higher education with an unprecedented sequence of leadership positions. He served as chair of the Board of Directors of the Association of American Universities from 2017 to 2018. In 2018, he became the first Ohio State president in nearly four decades to serve as chair of the Board of Directors for the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities, the oldest higher education association in North America. And in 2019, Drake was elected chair of the Board of Governors of the National Collegiate Athletic Association.

Drake played a central role in the establishment of the American Talent Initiative, a partnership with the Aspen Institute, Bloomberg Philanthropies and Ithaka S+R to increase the enrollment and graduation of middle- and lower-income students at the nation’s top colleges and universities. He was part of a three-person organizing committee that recruited the initiative’s 30 founding member schools. The number of participating institutions has grown to 128 in less than three years.

Since 2015, the university has had a 19% increase in new first-year Pell students. This is part of the American Talent Initiative’s goal to increase by 50,000 the enrollment of Pell students at member institutions nationally by 2025.

Ohio State is also a founding member of the University Innovation Alliance, composed of 11 public research institutions working to make degrees more accessible to lower-income and first-generation students. Drake serves on the executive board.

Last month, the university announced Time and Change: The Ohio State Campaign, which strives to engage 1 million supporters, an unprecedented level in higher education. This follows several record donor totals during Drake’s tenure. Since the start of fiscal year 2015, Ohio State has raised nearly $2.8 billion.

“Our goal when we came to Columbus was to see The Ohio State University rise in impact and influence among the nation’s leading research universities, to significantly improve student and faculty success and recognition, and to contribute further to our community in a way that makes us the exemplars of the 21st-century land-grant university,” Drake said. “It is great to see that happening.”

Ohio State ranks 7th among the nation’s colleges and universities and 3rd in the Big Ten with 2,941 students studying abroad in 2017-18, an 8 percent increase over the previous academic year. The university also ranks 2nd in the nation for the number of students participating in short-term programs with 2,821 studying abroad for one to eight weeks during the academic year.

Ohio State ranks 19th in the nation with 8,020* international students enrolled in 2018, a 12.8 percent increase in enrollment from 2017. The move into the nation’s top 20 and the increase in enrollment can be attributed to more international students participating in Optional Practical Training (OPT) last year. In 2017, Ohio State had 928 students participating in OPT, while in 2018 there were 1,406 students. OPT is a program that offers international students the opportunity to continue their education through hands-on practical work experience that is directly related to a student’s major area of study. The training is authorized by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services for a maximum of 12 months.

These findings were issued as part of the 2019 Open Doors Report, an annual survey published by the Institute of International Education in partnership with the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.

Factors contributing to students studying abroad at Ohio State include: programming geared toward first and second year students, the Second Year Transformational Experiences Program, a university-wide commitment to make international opportunities more accessible to diverse student populations, involvement of more than 100 Ohio State faculty leading programs, and offering close to 60 education abroad opportunities during the first half of summer session.

“One of our institutional priorities is to ensure that Ohio State students are afforded an opportunity to study abroad, experience different cultures and gain a better understanding of their field of study in global environments,” said Gil Latz, vice provost for global strategies and international affairs. “Our faculty-led programs contribute greatly to enriching the international learning experience both in the classroom and abroad.”

International students at Ohio State hail from more than 100 countries including, China (5,251); India (856); South Korea (390); Malaysia (267); and Taiwan (147). Nationally, the leading home countries for international students are China, India, South Korea, Saudi Arabia and Canada.

The top fields of study at Ohio State for international students include engineering, business, mathematics and statistics and the social sciences, similar to the national trend.

“The value of having international students on our campus is immeasurable and we are committed to providing enhanced programming to help our students adapt to a new cultural environment, while also supporting their academic success at Ohio State,” Latz said. “It is critical to implement activities that encourage cross-cultural interactions and dialogue on differing perspectives in order to enhance the global engagement of all our students.”

The most popular destinations for Ohio State students to study abroad include the United Kingdom, Spain, Italy, Brazil and Canada. Nationally, the leading destinations for studying abroad are the United Kingdom, Italy, Spain, France and Germany.

The top fields of study for Ohio State students studying abroad are business, health professions, social sciences, biological and biomedical sciences, engineering and agriculture, whereas the national trend includes STEM fields, business and management and the social sciences.

The 2019 Open Doors Report is released as part of the nationwide observance of International Education Week (November 18-22), a joint initiative established by the U.S. Departments of Education and State.

At Ohio State, International Education Week is celebrated with a number of activities supported by the Office of International Affairs, which oversees Ohio State’s education abroad programs and international student and scholar services. The office also advances high quality international education programs, scholarships and service activities to promote global opportunities for Ohio State, its faculty, staff and students. For more information, visit http://oia.osu.edu/.

* The IIE’s collection of enrollment data for international students includes two categories of students who are not currently enrolled at Ohio State in classes for credit. They include “Optional Practical Training” students who are not taking classes, but are continuing their education through practical training in their field of study, and exchange students who are pursuing continuing (non-degree) education.

U.S. Air Force Gen. Maryanne Miller, a Hilliard native, is the only female four-star general in the U.S. Department of Defense. Miller was honored during the pregame ceremonies when the football team hosted Maryland and joined the Ohio State Air Force ROTC Wall of Honor in a ceremony Saturday morning.

Miller, a 1981 graduate, spoke to Ohio State News about her time at Ohio State, leadership lessons she learned at the university and how she’s inspired by a future generation of Air Force leaders. She spent time touring the campus and meeting with current cadets.

Miller said the changes to the resources in leadership training, facilities and equipment offered to current cadets is impressive. She said the change in the ROTC program from the early 80s to now was remarkable.

“It’s been amazing. You know, just to look at my life and my journey and then look into [the cadets’] eyes and go, ‘Man, they've got their whole life ahead of them,’” she said. “I’m excited for them. I’m so excited for them.

“To come back and see, it’s been 40 years, to come back and just see the progression that has been made. It’s fantastic.”

In addition to her service in the ROTC program, Miller was a two-year member of the Buckeye softball team. She helped the team make their first postseason appearance in program history at the 1978 Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women Regional and return the following season. Miller said the experience helped her become a better leader.

“It really does shape you, when you understand the world is a team, instead of an individual. It shapes everything you do, it shapes how you approach something and shapes the decisions you make,” Miller said. “Being a part of the softball team, we were a very focused group of athletes. We had a charge to do and we did it. It was very focused on the game, what we did and just beating the opponent.”

Miller said he ROTC experience is about team building, about becoming a great leader and taking the Air Force in the right direction – a role she holds now as the commander of the Air Mobility Command. The command provides mobility support to the U.S. armed forces around the globe as well as humanitarian support at home and around the world.

“So that foundation that this building (Converse Hall) sets, that those colonels and captains and majors set for these airmen, is the first real touch of what the Air Force is,” she said. “For us to get that right will carry them a long way. They will remember that foundation for the rest of their career.”

Miller said it wasn’t only the cadets who impressed her. She had a chance to visit the new softball fields that serve as the home to current Buckeye softball players. She even took a few swings in the batter’s box and received some pointers from the team.

“As I whiffed at the ball, I said, ‘Teach me, teach me what I’m doing here, show me what I’m doing wrong,’” Miller said. “And a player grabbed the bat and she was showing me how to do it. It was just awesome.”

Miller said she is looking forward to the growth of the students she met this weekend.

“It’s a precious journey and I’m going to be tracking some of these young lieutenants and making sure that they have what they need to be successful.”

INSIGHT into Diversity magazine, the oldest and largest diversity-focused publication in higher education, recognized the College of Medicine, College of Nursing, College of Optometry and College of Veterinary Medicine with the 2019 Health Professions Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) Award.

Ohio State is the only academic institution in the country to have four colleges receive the 2019 Health Professions HEED award.

“Diversity in people and ideas is one of our shared values at Ohio State,” said Executive Vice President and Provost Bruce A. McPheron. “As Buckeyes, we are committed to advancing inclusive excellence across our campuses and communities.”

“We’re committed to fostering a culture of diversity and inclusion throughout our university and the health sciences,” said Dr. Hal Paz, executive vice president and chancellor for health affairs at Ohio State and CEO of The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. “This award celebrates the amazing work our faculty, staff and students do every day to create an environment where everyone feels valued and has a safe space to work and learn.”

The Health Professions HEED award process consists of a comprehensive application that includes questions relating to the recruitment and retention of students and employees, leadership support for diversity and other aspects of campus diversity and inclusion. Ohio State diversity and inclusion efforts include:

• College of Medicine: a focus on mitigating implicit bias in its admissions process and providing implicit bias training to College of Medicine and Ohio State Wexner Medical Center leadership, faculty and staff. Inclusive excellence in leadership is an integral part of the strategic plan, evident in the recent hire of four female department chairs. This brings the percentage of female leaders in the College of Medicine to 22%.
• College of Nursing: offering services to support student success, including clinical opportunities in diverse communities locally and abroad. The Summer Institute for Discovering Nursing program strives to increase the number of nursing students from underrepresented populations. The Barbers and Beauticians Who Care and Ask a Buckeye Nurse programs provide health screenings in underserved communities in central Ohio.
• College of Optometry: providing outreach programs to underrepresented minority students to educate them about how the eye works, vision disorders, eye diseases, eye safety, the importance of eye examinations and the optometric profession. The Improving Diversity of Optometric Careers summer program attracts underrepresented minority undergraduate college students from across the United States to learn about optics, eye anatomy, vision disorders and the College of Optometry admissions process.
• College of Veterinary Medicine: creating Community of Inclusion Affinity Groups that act as sites of community engagement to support an inclusive community. The Veterinary Clinical and Professional Skills Center has been integrated into the core curriculum to create stand-alone courses that provide structure for hand-on skills training from day one of coursework.

Ohio State will be featured in the December 2019 issue of INSIGHT into Diversity magazine.

Criteria for the dean’s list varies by college. It is usually based on the GPA for that specific term and the number of credit hours taken. Many colleges require a minimum of 12 graded credit hours with a 3.5 GPA or higher.

Ohio State has also issued the list of students who earned degrees at commencement on Aug. 4, 2019. The university awarded 1,661 degrees at the ceremony, including 249 doctoral, 17 professional, 495 masters, 750 bachelors, 102 associate degrees and 48 certificates.

Both lists include Ohio, non-resident and international students. Students are listed by county and then by zip code, city and last name. The files are searchable using the search or find function on your device.

Students may choose not to have their names released under the provisions of the Federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974. Their names have been excluded from the lists.

The lists are available here:

The models show that adding lithium-ion batteries to a regional airplane could reduce that airplane’s fuel needs by up to 20 percent, the researchers said.

The team presented the findings last week at the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Electric Aircraft Technologies Symposium in Indianapolis.

“We are working on ways to make air travel less carbon-intensive,” said Marcello Canova, a co-presenter and associate professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at Ohio State. “Lithium-ion batteries, including the technology that is commercially available today, appear to be a promising option.”

The research is conducted under NASA’s University Leadership Initiative program, and focuses on evaluating the trade-offs between fuel savings and a battery pack’s size, weight and costs, while also including the carbon impact of the electricity necessary to recharge the battery pack. The models and tools developed were a joint effort between researchers at Ohio State and Georgia Institute of Technology, and could help airplane and airplane battery designers better understand how an aircraft’s design affects its ability to be powered by a battery.

In preliminary designs, the researchers focused on lithium-ion battery packs that could supplement the power produced by the engines of a regional jet – one traveling 600 or fewer miles, carrying 50 to 100 passengers.

Their model showed in tests that a battery has the ability to power about 30 percent of the total power required for an airplane to climb to cruising altitude, and about 20 percent of the power required to cruise.

That could reduce levels of carbon dioxide – a primary driver of climate change – that airplanes contribute to the atmosphere. Air travel contributes about 2 percent of the carbon dioxide humans put into Earth’s atmosphere, according to the Air Transit Action Group. This research team, led by Ohio State and four other universities, has been funded by NASA to find new, less carbon-intensive ways to power air travel.

“Our team is focusing on evaluating the feasibility and economics of introducing lithium-ion batteries to air travel,” Canova said. “And we’re working on the ways to make that safe and reliable.”

Their work also considers how to make batteries for air travel more efficient. Batteries that power automobiles differ from those that help power airplanes, Canova said: Airplane batteries must abide by more-strict weight, safety, durability and reliability standards.

But batteries deteriorate with use, offering less power over time and decreasing the range an airplane can travel. That deterioration also means less power is available to help an airplane accelerate and reach its maximum speed. Temperature affects batteries, as well.

To lay the groundwork for a better battery, Canova said, the team built a computer model of an electro-thermal battery pack and added an algorithm that simulated the effects of time and use on batteries. Then they tested to see how that model performed after repeated use and under various temperatures.

The team planned for the battery to be used for six flights per day, and calculated the power necessary for takeoff, climbing, cruising, landing and taxiing to the runway. They allotted one hour between flights to charge the battery pack, and assumed that the pack could be used for two years, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

They found that a battery pack’s performance is limited by capacity fade, a term used to describe energy loss in a battery over time. And they found that time, not use, is the main driver of battery deterioration.

What they developed, Canova said, is essentially a tool that can be used to predict the effect stressors such as aging and use might have on a lithium-ion battery powering a regional aircraft, which is a very important factor when evaluating costs and benefits of introducing this technology in air travel.

Ohio State will seek approval for the $155.9 million health sciences center during next week’s Board of Trustees meeting. Funding sources are to be determined. The project is poised to benefit colleges, including medicine, dentistry, nursing, optometry, pharmacy, public health and veterinary medicine, and strengthen the interdisciplinary curriculum of Ohio State.

“A healthier future demands health care leaders who are prepared to work together to address health challenges,” said Bruce A. McPheron, Ohio State’s executive vice president and provost. “Ohio State’s new health sciences education building is the place where students will become those leaders.”

The multiphase project advances Framework 2.0, the university’s long-term planning vision. It includes a 150,000-square-foot renovation of Hamilton Hall and construction of a new 100,000-square-foot building featuring flexible facilities to serve multiple disciplines. Program space will include:

• 33 interdisciplinary, state-of-the-art classrooms, each with new teaching technology, including virtual reality and enhanced anatomy and surgical practice labs
• 6,000-square-foot informal learning space
• 125-seat grand reading room

“Ohio State is in the process of creating a new model to replace the 100-year-old-plus model of academic medicine in use today,” said Dr. Hal Paz, executive vice president and chancellor for health affairs at Ohio State and Wexner Medical Center CEO. “This new academic health model takes advantage of the latest technology and brightest minds to educate professionals prepared to address the changing health needs of diverse populations. This is the key to building healthier communities.”

The Interdisciplinary Health Sciences Center will focus on inclusive work environments to create:

• Spaces for students in the health sciences to convene conversations and build team approaches to health care — a way to quickly assess patients’ needs and work with the right colleagues to design the best care plans for each individual.
• Opportunities for students to be at the forefront of innovation through modern technology — whether by using realistic virtual reality models to simulate patient care or learning how video chats, texting and other emerging “telehealth” innovations can help health care providers and patients stay in regular communication between in-person office visits.
• Warm and welcoming environments that support Ohio State’s work to build diverse communities of medical students. Research has shown that diversity in medicine — including increasing representation of women and people of color — leads to better health outcomes.

Design for the new Interdisciplinary Health Sciences Center began in August 2018. Pending board approval, construction could begin in October 2019, with completion targeted for late summer 2023.

Progress continues on a separate Health Sciences Faculty Office and Optometry Clinic at 11th and Neil avenues. The 106,000-square-foot building will be home to optometry clinics, retail spaces and faculty offices. The $35.9 million project is 60% of the way through steel work and targeting an October 2020 opening.

For more information about these projects and other major initiatives advancing Framework 2.0, visit Time and Change: Building the Future.

The Ohio State University
Sunday, Aug. 4, 2019
2 p.m., Schottenstein Center
 

PRESIDING OFFICER: President Michael V. Drake.

WELCOMING REMARKS: Molly Ranz Calhoun, interim senior vice president for student life.

COMMENCEMENT SPEAKER: Rattan Lal, Distinguished University Professor of Soil Science in the College of Food, Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, and founder and director of the Carbon Management and Sequestration Center.

DISTINGUISHED SERVICE AWARD: The Distinguished Service Award was presented to Gifford Weary, professor emeritus and former chair of psychology and former divisional dean for Social and Behavioral Sciences, and posthumously to Richard A. Hollingsworth, who completed his 35-year Ohio State career as vice president for Student Life, retiring in 2009.

NATIONAL ANTHEM and CARMEN OHIO: Daniel Stein, candidate, Doctor of Musical Arts.

Home ownership on a middle-income budget is a step closer to being realized for 10,000 central Ohioans, after a proposal by a team of Ohio State University faculty and community partners was selected for investment in the Alliance for the American Dream competition.

The project, Power of Home, is an innovative digital service platform and suite of resources that leverages the purchase of a first home as a springboard for increasing income, reducing expenses and maximizing the economic potential of the home.

Power of Home equips 10,000 new homeowners on the edge of the middle class with customized information, advice and financial capital to maximize the economic value of the home and buffer financial shocks.

The platform’s first elements are expected to be rolled out in August. The team has identified 40,000 homeowners to recruit to the program, with a goal to have the first person enrolled by October and 10,000 enrolled by the end of 2020.The project is a collaboration of Ohio State, the Ohio Housing Finance Agency, the social enterprise Framework Homeownership and other partners.

Schmidt Futures awarded Ohio State a $1.5 million grant to generate ideas to raise the net income of 10,000 middle-class families in central Ohio by 10 percent by 2020. Overall, Ohio is on track to receive up to $2.3 million from Schmidt Futures in support of the Alliance for the American Dream work.

Power of Home provisionally received an additional $300,000 earlier this month following its final presentation to Schmidt Futures, which founded the Alliance for the American Dream in New York City. The team earned a second-place finish among four land-grant and public research universities in the contest (Arizona State and the universities of Utah and Wisconsin also participated).

The Alliance was created by Schmidt Futures, a philanthropic initiative founded by Eric and Wendy Schmidt that bets early on people who will make our world better – helping people to achieve more for others by applying advanced science and technology thoughtfully and by working together across fields.

“Partnerships are at the core of Ohio State’s incredible impact,” said President Michael V. Drake. “These projects leverage those meaningful connections, and the expertise on our campuses and in our communities, to develop scalable solutions to advance prosperity and well-being broadly across our state and nation.”

“We are a city known for its collaborative nature,” said Columbus Mayor Andrew J. Ginther. “This partnership will help create the vibrant and diverse neighborhoods that are vital to becoming America’s Equal Opportunity City.” 

Power of Home was one of six Ohio projects designed in collaboration with the Alliance for the American Dream.

Several of the other Alliance-inspired Ohio projects are moving forward with support from other investors.

• The Ohio Microfarm Project is food system project that increases access to fresh produce while providing training and supplies to farmers in the Mansfield area, as well as assistance with cultivating their products to increase sales. A collaboration between Ohio State, community-based improvement organizations, economic development organizations and chambers of commerce, the project plans to seed a local sustainable economic engine in the heart of the six cities and neighborhoods that host Ohio State. The Foundation for Food and Agricultural Research awarded a $2 million matching grant to Ohio State at Mansfield that will go toward development of an urban sustainable food system there.
   
• The Prosperity Promise helps Columbus State Community College students navigate resources for jobs, education and community services such as a food pantry, rental assistance, near-campus flexible child care services, ride-sharing vehicles and health care screenings. It is a collaboration between Ohio State (through its Ohio Education Research Center), Columbus State Community College, United Way of Central Ohio and other community partners. Recently, Columbus State partnered with Franklin County Job and Family Services to open a campus office to serve students eligible for assistance programs and has partnered with the Community Shelter Board and the Mid-Ohio Foodbank to support students in need.

Ohio State Executive Vice President and Provost Bruce A. McPheron says these collaborations have great potential.

“The Ohio State University has come together with the central Ohio community in a new and exciting way with the goal of helping Ohioans to flourish. We are excited to support teams that are keeping homeowners in their homes, growing fresh produce on urban micro-farms, and helping area students succeed,” said McPheron.

Power of Home grew out of a pilot study led by Stephanie Moulton, associate professor and director of doctoral studies within Ohio State’s John Glenn College of Public Affairs, and Cäzilia Loibl, associate professor of consumer sciences in the College of Education and Human Ecology.

The pilot program provided 500 new homeowners with one year of free financial coaching and reduced the default rate on those mortgages by 20 percent – demonstrating how effective counseling can be in the first year of home ownership.

The second round of the Alliance for the American Dream to search for the best ideas to help middle-class families will begin in August.

The guidelines, authored by the restorations genetics working group of the Coral Restoration Consortium, were published online this week in the journal Ecological Applications. The consortium is a group of scientists, restoration practitioners, educators and concerned members of the public.

“What we’re proposing in this paper are short-term solutions to try and fill the gap between now and when we start mitigating climate change, so that we can maintain ecosystem function over the next few decades,” said Andréa Grottoli, professor of Earth Sciences at The Ohio State University and a co-author of the study.

“Coral restoration involves a lot of time, so the extent to which we can restore reefs is limited by time, effort, money, people and hours. What we are proposing are guidelines to think about which species we focus on preserving and growing, to give the reefs the best chance at long-term survival.”

Coral populations grow in a variety of environments, covering a range of temperatures, depths and light conditions, and tend to adapt to local conditions. That means that coral species in different environments should have genetic differences that allow them to thrive. The consortium recommended collecting corals from these different environments to capture as much genetic diversity as possible, then to raise corals in a nursery, where they can grow more quickly before being replanted on reefs in locations similar to their original environment — or in locations that may soon become similar to their original environment.

Corals are the foundation for reefs, which provide ecosystems for a variety of species and which can help protect coastal communities from shoreline erosion. Reefs also provide food and medicinal compounds. One study found they create $9.9 trillion per year in goods and services around the globe. But reefs worldwide face a variety of threats — foremost among them rising ocean temperatures and increased acidification because of climate change — and are declining, particularly in the Caribbean.

Grottoli, who is director of the Coral Bleaching Research Coordination Network, said the guidelines are meant to give conservationists, governments and non-governmental organizations practical, science-based plans for protecting and preserving coral in the Caribbean.

The guidelines prioritize coral species that can sustain a Caribbean reef’s foundation and that can help that reef rebuild itself long term. That means investing in corals that are resilient -- that have proven successful in warming ocean waters, and that can reproduce in both nurseries and in the wild.

“The possibility of restoring all reefs globally is not realistic, and our capacity to restore reefs is going to be limited to some percentage of reefs,” Grottoli said. “Strategically, if we do that well enough, we can maintain enough species, enough genetic diversity, enough ecosystem function, for these reefs to survive so that there’s something to build from once we start mitigating climate change.”

Iliana Baums, lead author of the study, a professor of biology at Penn State University and chair of the Coral Restoration Consortium restoration genetics working group, called coral reef decline in the Caribbean “an urgent issue.”

“The Caribbean has experienced tremendous coral loss over the last few decades,” Baums said. “But few of the traditional guidelines for conservation, which tend to focus on vertebrates or plants, apply to corals. In this paper, we provide concrete guidelines for restoring coral populations, using the best available data.”

Grottoli said saving coral reefs — thereby saving the people, plants and animals that depend on them — will mean addressing climate change “at the tailpipe.”

“The coral are the building blocks for the reefs,” she said. “So if we maintain enough of them, the hope is that there’s something to build from once we start mitigating climate change. If we don’t, then it increases the probability that so little coral survive it becomes increasingly difficult to maintain coral populations and ecosystem function.”

The Coral Restoration Consortium was formed in 2016 and established five initial working groups to provide best management practices for coral restoration. In addition to Baums and Grottoli, members of the Coral Restoration Consortium restoration genetics working group include Sheila Kitchen, Todd LaJeunesse and Andrew Shantz at Penn State, Andrew Baker at the University of Miami, Sarah Davies at Boston University, Carly Kenkel at the University of Southern California, Ilsa Kuffner at the U.S. Geological Survey, Mikhail Matz at the University of Texas at Austin, Margaret Miller at SECORE International, and John Parkinson at SECORE International and the University of South Florida.

This work was funded by the Coral Restoration Consortium, the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the Penn State Institute for Sustainability, the Penn State Institute for Energy and the Environment, the Penn State Center for Marine Science and Technology and the National Science Foundation.

But in recently published research, a team of astronomers at The Ohio State University showed that the survey, nicknamed TESS, could also be used to monitor a particular type of supernova, giving scientists more clues about what causes white dwarf stars to explode—and about the elements those explosions leave behind.

“We have known for years that these stars explode, but we have terrible ideas of why they explode,” said Patrick Vallely, lead author of the study and an Ohio State astronomy graduate student. “The big thing here is that we are able to show that this supernova isn’t consistent with having a white dwarf (take mass) directly from a standard star companion and explode into it—the kind of standard idea that had led to people trying to find hydrogen signatures in the first place. That is, because the TESS light curve doesn’t show any evidence of the explosion slamming into the surface of a companion, and because the hydrogen signatures in the SALT spectra don’t evolve like the other elements, we can rule out that standard model.”

Their research, detailed in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, represents the first published findings about a supernova observed using TESS, and add new insights to long-held theories about the elements left behind after a white dwarf star explodes into a supernova.

Those elements have long troubled astronomers.

A white dwarf explodes into a specific type of supernova, a 1a, after gathering mass from a nearby companion star and growing too big to remain stable, astronomers believe. But if that is true, then the explosion should, astronomers have theorized, leave behind trace elements of hydrogen, a crucial building block of stars and the entire universe. (White dwarf stars, by their nature, have already burned through their own hydrogen and so would not be a source of hydrogen in a supernova.)

But until this TESS-based observation of a supernova, astronomers had never seen those hydrogen traces in the explosion’s aftermath: This supernova is the first of its type in which astronomers have measured hydrogen. That hydrogen, first reported by a team from the Observatories of the Carnegie Institution for Science, could change the nature of what astronomers know about white dwarf supernovae.

“The most interesting thing about this particular supernova is the hydrogen we saw in its spectra (the elements the explosion leaves behind),” Vallely said. “We’ve been looking for hydrogen and helium in the spectra of this type of supernova for years—those elements help us understand what caused the supernova in the first place.”

The hydrogen could mean that the white dwarf consumed a nearby star. In that scenario, the second star would be a normal star in the middle of its lifespan—not a second white dwarf. But when astronomers measured the light curve from this supernova, the curve indicated that the second star was in fact a second white dwarf. So where did the hydrogen come from?

Professor of Astronomy Kris Stanek, Vallely’s adviser at Ohio State and a co-author on this paper, said it is possible that the hydrogen came from a companion star—a standard, regular star—but he thinks it is more likely that the hydrogen came from a third star that happened to be near the exploding white dwarf and was consumed in the supernova by chance.

“We would think that because we see this hydrogen, it means that the white dwarf consumed a second star and exploded, but based on the light curve we saw from this supernova, that might not be true,” Stanek said.

“Based on the light curve, the most likely thing that happened, we think, is that the hydrogen might be coming from a third star in the system,” Stanek added. “So the prevailing scenario, at least at Ohio State right now, is that the way to make a Type Ia (pronounced 1-A) supernova is by having two white dwarf stars interacting—colliding even. But also having a third star that provides the hydrogen.”

For the Ohio State research, Vallely, Stanek and a team of astronomers from around the world combined data from TESS, a 10-centimeter-diameter telescope, with data from the All-Sky Automated Survey for Supernovae (ASAS-SN for short.) ASAS-SN is led by Ohio State and is made up of small telescopes around the world watching the sky for supernovae in far-away galaxies.

TESS, by comparison, is designed to search the skies for planets in our nearby galaxy—and to provide data much more quickly than previous satellite telescopes. That means that the Ohio State team was able to use data from TESS to see what was happening around the supernova in the first moments after it exploded—an unprecedented opportunity.

The team combined data from TESS and ASAS-SN with data from the South African Large Telescope to evaluate the elements left behind in the supernova’s wake. They found both hydrogen and helium there, two indicators that the exploding star had somehow consumed a nearby companion star.

“What is really cool about these results is, when we combine the data, we can learn new things,” Stanek said. “And this supernova is the first exciting case of that synergy.”

The supernova this team observed was a Type Ia, a type of supernova that can occur when two stars orbit one another—what astronomers call a binary system. In some cases of a Type I supernova, one of those stars is a white dwarf.

A white dwarf has burned off all its nuclear fuel, leaving behind only a very hot core. (White dwarf temperatures exceed 100,000 degrees Kelvin—nearly 200,000 degrees Fahrenheit.) Unless the star grows bigger by stealing bits of energy and matter from a nearby star, the white dwarf spends the next billion years cooling down before turning into a lump of black carbon.

But if the white dwarf and another star are in a binary system, the white dwarf slowly takes mass from the other star until, eventually, the white dwarf explodes into a supernova.

Type I supernovae are important for space science—they help astronomers measure distance in space, and help them calculate how quickly the universe is expanding (a discovery so important that it won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2011.)

“These are the most famous type of supernova—they led to dark energy being discovered in the 1990s,” Vallely said. “They are responsible for the existence of so many elements in the universe. But we don’t really understand the physics behind them that well. And that’s what I really like about combining TESS and ASAS-SN here, that we can build up this data and use it to figure out a little more about these supernovae.”

Scientists broadly agree that the companion star leads to a white dwarf supernova, but the mechanism of that explosion, and the makeup of the companion star, are less clear.

This finding, Stanek said, provides some evidence that the companion star in this type of supernova is likely another white dwarf.

“We are seeing something new in this data, and it helps our understanding of the Ia supernova phenomenon,” he said. “And we can explain this all in terms of the scenarios we already have—we just need to allow for the third star in this case to be the source of the hydrogen.”

ASAS-SN is supported by Las Cumbres Observatory and funded in part by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, the National Science Foundation, the Mt. Cuba Astronomical Foundation, the Center for Cosmology and AstroParticle Physics at Ohio State, the Chinese Academy of Sciences South American Center for Astronomy and the Villum Fonden in Denmark.