An analysis led by Kate Stewart, a PhD student in communication at The Ohio State University, found that films that feature teen protagonists tend to depict experiences incongruent to those that real-life adolescents face. Unlike a typical high school student, protagonists in movies, for example, are rarely shown to struggle with the physical aspects of puberty, and typically excel at initiating romantic relationships. 

These findings contribute to the idea that while on-screen representations of youth are vital touchstones, they emphasize largely unfamiliar and unattainable narratives, so that when young viewers compare their lives to what they see in media, they find they don’t measure up. 

Repeated exposure in the movies to idealized portrayals of romantic interaction and body image impacts how teens interact with the world around them, said Stewart.  

“In a perfect world we would see comforting, reassuring, informative depictions of these types of things,” she said. “But if you’re seeing certain depictions over and over again, then it’s going to start to affect how you view things and especially what you may come to expect.”

The study was recently published in the Journal of Children and Media. 

The researchers analyzed 53 popular films released between 2012 to 2021 such as Lady Bird, Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters or The Fault in Our Stars, in which the main character was high school-aged. They coded key elements of puberty found in the movies. 

The main result was that these coming-of-age movies didn’t really include narratives about how real adolescents experience puberty. The large majority of movies exhibited a marked absence of physical puberty traits for both male and female characters, said Stewart.

Of the 53 main characters, both male and female, only two (3.8%) of them dealt with body hair. There were two characters (3.8%) dealing with acne. Among the 28 female leads, two characters dealt with breast development (7.1%) and four characters (14.3%) dealt with menstruation on screen. There were no characters who were depicted navigating growth spurts, changes in muscle development or voice changes. 

The study found that the actors portraying the main characters were typically older than high school students. The ages of the actors playing the lead roles ranged from 16 to 28 years old. Only 10 lead actors were actually high school-aged (14 to 18 years old) at the time of filming. 

And there is a lot of romance in these movies – much more than typically experienced by most adolescents, Stewart said. In most movies (88.7%), the main character had a clear love interest. Across all movies, there were 1,467 shared scenes between the main character and love interest. Of the 47 movies that had a love interest, 78.7% of them showed the main character having a successful romantic pursuit of their love interest.

Despite these choices, normalizing inauthentic experiences like easy romances and false body image expectations certainly isn’t something the movie industry is doing maliciously, said Stewart. 

“It’s kind of a weird disconnect and misalignment between those two big features of adolescence,” she said. 

This study suggests that movies don’t typically provide a realistic view of adolescence, instead offering an aspirational view. That’s not what young viewers want, according to a 2024 report by the Center for Scholars and Storytellers.

It found that many teens are steering away from romance in the movies, as 63.5% of adolescents expressed a preference for stories focused on friendships and platonic relationships, rather than romance unnecessary to advancing the plot. 

In other words, movies dealing with real-world issues with models whose lives are more relatable would be powerful tools for teens navigating extreme developmental changes.

Researchers add that the work serves as a stepping stone to understanding how other types of social norms impact young people’s feelings toward relationships and body image. 

“Our hope is that the industry will begin to weigh those pros and cons of allowing teen audiences to see puberty and more realistic changes,” said Stewart. “By shining a spotlight on this, we’re hoping to move forward and build on what we know about what teens learn from media.” 

Nicole Martins of Indiana University was a co-author. 

Students, neighbors and staff from the Office of Student Life enjoyed music, food and hot cider as they met members of Buckeye Block Watch. The group will patrol the off-campus community and offer resources and information while reporting suspicious activity. They are not sworn law enforcement officers and will not have arrest powers or carry firearms.

“They’re going to be the eyes and the ears. These folks are going to be foot patrol. They’re going to be on bikes, they’re going to be in a vehicle, and they’re going to be spending time in the neighborhood here adjacent to campus,” said TJ Logan, associate vice president for the residential experience, Office of Student Life. “They’re really keeping their eyes open, keeping their ears open, partnering with our students and engaging our students to make sure we’re doing everything we can to keep our students as safe as possible.”

Fourth-year social work major Kayla Klotz, who lives in the University District, said she appreciates the new safety resources deployed by the university.

“I think it’s awesome. My roommates and I have been kind of concerned with the stuff going on in the neighborhood,” she said. “There’s been some scary stuff happening, so to know that someone’s out there or multiple people are out here watching the neighborhood has been kind of comforting.”

Buckeye Block Watch patrols are separate and distinct from the Ohio State University Police Division, Columbus Division of Police, and the non-sworn security patrols Ohio State has in place using Campus Service Officers or private security firms.

Ohio State will provide patrols in the neighborhood on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights from 7 p.m. to 3 a.m. Additional coverage will be added on home football game days. The Buckeye Block Watch team is expected to be highly visible in the community and will be seeking to speak with students and community members.

Protecting the campus community and keeping students, faculty, staff and families informed remain our top priorities. The following new tools help add to an existing toolkit of safety resources:

• Stay Safe, Buckeyes is an online safety class that teaches students how to enhance their own safety through scenario-based exercises. Students can take the interactive course via BuckeyeLearn. Parents and interested community members can watch all 10 videos on YouTube.
  • Classes focus on topics most relevant to students who live and gather off-campus and include crime prevention, crime reporting, when and why the university issues safety notices, mental health, police engagement and the differences between where Ohio State and Columbus police patrol.
• Portable personal safety devices that students can attach to their backpacks or purses and pull to signal a loud alarm. The Office of Student Life is offering thousands of these devices that can attract attention in the case of an emergency. This is in addition to the nearly 5,000 window and door alarms, safety timers and smoke alarm batteries that have already been distributed to students this year. Students can register for a pickup time online to get one of the devices at the Willie J. Young, Sr. Off-Campus and Commuter Student Engagement office in the Ohio Union.
  • Members of the Task Force on Community Safety and Well-Being worked with students, faculty, law enforcement, mental health professionals and other key stakeholders to acquire the devices and build the safety class.
• Increasing access to Ohio State News Alerts – the new communications tool that offers timely updates to students, faculty and staff ­­­– to parents and families of students. These are separate and distinct from Buckeye Alerts. Instead, these brief, timely updates are designed to provide safety tips and information, health resources, timely traffic information and more.
  •  Interested Buckeye family members can click here to subscribe.
• Expanding the Office of Student Life’s Community Ambassador program. Another outcome of the safety task force, ambassadors – students who serve as off-campus advocates and focus on an assigned off-campus area to help promote a safer, engaged and collaborative community ­– is expanding in size and scope.

The university recently expanded Lyft Ride Smart at Ohio State into the Short North area along High Street. Program hours run 9 p.m. to 7 a.m. and the discounted rides are no longer capped each month.

“These new offerings provide students with additional tools and give parents and families more information about what’s happening around campus,” President Kristina M. Johnson said in an email to the campus community.

Other recent additions include increased private security and mobile lighting and camera systems to support police patrols in the off-campus area.

After the tragic death last October of Ohio State student Chase Meola, President Johnson established the Task Force on Community Safety and Well-Being to help identify and implement holistic solutions to safety and well-being in the campus area.

So far, 13 of the task force’s 15 recommendations from the task force have been partially or fully implemented. An overview of safety measures and actions, and how the university has communicated about safety issues, can be seen here via the Department of Public Safety.

Beginning this summer, a social worker from Southeast Healthcare will work in the off-campus area, with a special emphasis on North High Street, to provide outreach and offer resources and support to people who are homeless, housing insecure, or in need of other assistance. Southeast Healthcare, based in Ohio, has a long history of helping the state’s most vulnerable populations.

While the social worker’s coverage area includes campus itself, the person will focus on the adjacent University District area.

Offering proactive social service outreach in the University District is one of the recommendations made in Ohio State’s Task Force on Community Safety and Well-Being. Since its inception in fall 2020, the task force has put forth 15 recommendations that include a variety of strategies, acknowledging that “safety” means different things to different people.

As a highly trained Licensed Independent Social Worker, the person will also supervise College of Social Work undergraduate and graduate students who are acquiring experience as part of their in-the-field training. These students will gain valuable knowledge and build connections to the community, while extending the reach and impact of the new University District social worker.

“There’s a strong need for a dedicated professional to operate in the University District, and I’m thrilled that we can help meet it,” said College of Social Work Dean Tom Gregoire. “Our students will benefit greatly from this initiative and get a personal view of the issues that can lead to housing vulnerability.”

Once established, the social worker will work with community and university partners, including local businesses, law enforcement and students, staff and faculty, to get individuals help and assist with obtaining shelter and permanent supportive housing, counseling and treatment services. The social worker will make public their contact information to more easily connect with community members who may see someone who could use their services.

Ohio State continues to work to build a more empathetic community in the University District. Since February, for example, the Office of Student Life, through a grant from the Center for HumanKindness at the Columbus Foundation, has partnered with the College of Social Work and University District Organization to engage with people who are homeless or housing challenged in the North High Street area. Together, they’ve distributed 1,000 pairs of socks, hundreds of care bags and offered the services of a mobile health clinic operated by Southeast Healthcare. Ohio State has also partnered with the Reeb Avenue Center to distribute food vouchers and bus passes to those who need them.

The university has worked closely with the University District Organization on the new partnership. The nonprofit has helped to identify the needs of the off-campus community.

“Our partners in the University District have often asked how to best help the most vulnerable in the area,” said Matt Hansen, executive director of the University District Organization. “Dedicating a social worker to work full-time with this population is a great step toward providing people services and assistance they may need.”

Campus police officers are working this year with the Starfish Assignment, an organization that fosters connections between law enforcement and the community, on a series of micro-actions to help at-risk children. At the Books and Badges program events, police officers read to elementary school kids and provide every child in the class a copy of the featured book. Another program, Bikes and Badges, delivers free, refurbished bicycles to children who need them.

For Lt. Marjorie Rizalvo, the programs are a chance to highlight why she became a police officer. R and helped coordinate the bike drive.

“For me, as an individual, it comes back to what’s the why. Why did you get into law enforcement? And it’s to help people,” she said. “I know it sounds like it’s a cliché, but it’s true: We have opportunities to serve. You choose if you take it.”

The university can help the Starfish Assignment through the reading initiative and by recycling some of the dozens of bikes that are abandoned on campus. The university recovers hundreds of abandoned bikes each year, working to return them to their owners or donating them to charity.

This year, some of those recovered bikes and others donated by members of the division made their way to the Starfish Assignment and then to neighborhoods in Columbus.

“We have nine police agencies that we work with – they allow us to work with them when they find people who need help. That’s our primary purpose, to help people,” said Starfish Assignment President and Founder Nicole Banks. “The secondary purpose is to try to bring the community and the police closer together.”

Banks said four Bikes and Badges events in 2021 resulted in the donation of 400 bikes to kids in the Linden, Lincoln Park and other neighborhoods. The Ohio State University Police Division helped donate and hand out bikes which were handed out at some of those events.

For some, this outreach effort may seem small, but for Rizalvo, the small effort can have a big impact.

“When you toss a pebble in the river and it creates a ripple effect, you have no idea what the ripple effect does for those down the road,” she said. “For me, that’s even more important now that I’m five to six years from retirement. I want to plant the seeds of my legacy.”

The university spent tens of millions of dollars since March 2020 to combat COVID-19 on campus and faces revenue losses caused by the pandemic in areas including net tuition and fee revenue, auxiliary revenues and athletics. Yet, long-term, Ohio State is poised to rebound, university officials noted in an interim financial report covering July 1, 2020, to March 31, 2020.

The long-term picture is anchored by an increase of nearly $1.4 billion of investment income for Ohio State compared to the previous fiscal year.

The university plans to resume its Annual Merit Compensation Process for faculty and staff, in which eligible employees can receive an increase of up to 2% of their base salary.

The board also heard and approved proposed Tuition Guarantee rates for incoming first-year students. The university plans to increase tuition and fees for incoming Ohio freshmen by 3.8%, a $418 annual change from last year’s rate. This rate will be frozen for four years for these students – representing the sixth straight class of Ohio students to graduate with no tuition and fee increases.

Ohio State will remain the second most affordable for resident undergraduates among selective admission public universities in Ohio and at the median for in-state tuition and fees among public Big Ten schools.

University leadership also shared more plans on reactivating campus in the fall, centered on reinvigorating campus life because of the success of the COVID-19 vaccines. At least 75% of classes will be in person, and class size will be tiered, with classrooms with fewer than 50 students allowing full capacity.

Additionally, residence halls will revert to a more traditional setup, with visitors permitted, increased engagement and an estimated capacity of 15,200 students across campuses, up from 12,600 last academic year. Dining options will also expand, with more than double the amount of capacity for in-facility dining.

“Our plans are on track for a more-normal, in-person semester,” Ohio State President Kristina M. Johnson told trustees on Thursday.

The board also took the following actions:

Provost McPheron honored
The board issued an expression of appreciation to Provost Bruce A. McPheron, who will be ending his term as provost and returning to the faculty in the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences. The board noted McPheron’s contributions as an alumnus, scholar, former dean and provost, where he launched groundbreaking initiatives including the Buckeye Opportunity Program, Teaching Support Program and the Digital Flagship initiative. McPheron has served as provost since December 2015.

Professional services and construction contracts approved
The board authorized the university to enter into and increase professional service and construction contracts for the following projects:

• Campbell Hall renovation
  The project will replace the existing building systems, roof and windows, and will make building envelope improvements eliminating up to $18.5 million in deferred maintenance. Additionally, the renovation of interior spaces (115,000 square feet) will enable the College of Education and Human Ecology’s longtime goal of centralizing teaching, research and administrative functions along Neil Avenue. Trustees approved professional services contracts totaling $4 million, to be paid with state funds.
• College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences, Wooster: Fisher Auditorium renovation
  The project will renovate under-utilized space around the existing auditorium to create a combination of new teaching and outreach functions, a combined campus library and co-located student service functions, creating a new academic, social and cultural hub on campus and addressing $8.1 million in deferred maintenance. Trustees approved professional services contracts totaling $1.2 million, to be paid with state funds.
• Newark: Founders Hall enhancements
  The project will renovate 70,000 square feet of interior classroom and lab spaces that have been relocated to the new Alford Center for Science and Technology. This will allow the campus to meet the demand for growing enrollment and expand academic offerings and address $13.8 million in deferred maintenance. Trustees approved professional services contracts totaling $2.4 million, to be paid with state funds.
• Wexner Medical Center loading dock expansion and renovation
  The project will renovate 28,000 square feet of the existing dock area and add 6,000 square feet; the expanded dock will support the continued growth of the Wexner Medical Center. Trustees approved an increase to professional services totaling $1.3 million, to be paid with auxiliary funds. The total project budget is $16.9 million.
• Energy Advancement and Innovation Center
  The project builds a 66,154-square-foot facility to serve as a cornerstone of the public/private partnership with Ohio State Energy Partners. It includes dedicated lab space, collaborative learning and gathering space and small focused workspace, plus a 210-seat seminar room and a 96-seat café that will serve the Innovation and Research buildings. Trustees approved an increase in professional services and construction contracts totaling $10.4 million, to be paid with university and partner funds. This includes a plan to add a fourth floor of 13,609 square feet, which includes additional lab/research space, testing pod and smaller innovation spaces. The total project budget is $47.1 million.
• Newton Hall renovation and new nursing building
  The project will build approximately 35,000 new square feet to the south of Newton Hall including flexible classrooms, informal learning spaces and offices, and renovate existing space including a new facade, relocation of existing entryway and plaza, and an updated corridor and wellness space. The project will accommodate student and faculty growth and enable the relocation of College of Nursing groups back to Newton from off-campus leased space. Trustees approved an increase of $5.1 million, to be paid with fundraising, university funds and state funds, for a total budget of $30.7 million. The increase will renovate 12,300 square feet of multiple areas on the first floor of Newton Hall and include other updates.

Property transactions approved
Trustees approved the following deals:

• The sale of about 1.44 acres near West Dublin Granville Road, north of the Don Scott Airport. The land is vacant and will be sold to Dave Fox Remodeling Inc., whose office property is adjacent. Ohio State acquired the land in 1968 and the agreed-upon selling price is $500,000.
• The purchase of 149,000 square feet consisting of 3.42 acres of vacated streets and alleys described as 11th Avenue between Neil Avenue and North High Street, together with interconnecting public alleys located between 9th and 11th Avenues, from the City of Columbus. The acquisition will support the goals of creating a walkable campus core by moving traffic from 12th Avenue to 11th Avenue and enable future redevelopment of the block between 10th and 11th Avenues. With the recent purchase of the 75 W. 11th Ave. parcel, the university owns all property on both sides of 11th Avenue. This is necessary to gain ownership of the entire block to execute a project that eliminates parking meters and enables two-way bus and vehicular traffic on 11th Avenue. No purchase price disclosed.
• The purchase of 0.373 acres of land at Hughes Street between Hawthorne Avenue and Phale D. Hale Drive for $20,310 from the City of Columbus. This acquisition supports the university’s plan for redevelopment of land west of Hospital East.
• The leasing of 9.38 acres of property at 420 E. 19th Ave. to Metro Early College High School, which includes a two-story, 95,000-square-foot building formerly known as Indianola Middle School that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The university acquired the property in 2018 from Columbus Public Schools for $2.35 million. In lieu of rent, Metro will acquire necessary funding to renovate the building for educational use and is contingent upon Metro entering into a funding agreement with Battelle and receiving an award for additional funding from the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission.
• A perpetual sewer easement of 2.301 acres located along Olentangy River Road to the City of Columbus to support the city’s Lower Olentangy Tunnel project. The city has compensated the university for the project at $575,138.
• Joint use agreements with the following:
  • Charitable Pharmacy of Central Ohio, a nonprofit, for $50,000 that the university was allocated in the 2020-21 state capital bill for use by the nonprofit. In exchange, Charitable Pharmacy of Central Ohio will use the funds for the construction and renewal of a new facility in Columbus, which the university can use in a variety of ways.
  • Knox County Regional Airport Authority, a government entity, for $900,000 that the university was allocated in the 2020-21 state capital bill for use by the airport. In exchange, Knox County Regional Airport will use the funds for construction of the Knox County Regional Airport Aviation Center, which the university can use for aviation-oriented programs and activities.
  • Ohio Hills Health Services, a nonprofit, for $100,000 that the university was allocated in the 2020-21 state capital bill for use by the nonprofit. In exchange, Ohio Hills Health Services will utilize the funds for construction and capital equipment to outfit the new Monroe Family Health Center in Woodsfield, Ohio, which the university can use to expand its partnerships and activities in Monroe County.
  • PAST Foundation, a nonprofit, for $300,000 that the university was allocated in the 2020-21 state capital bill for use by the nonprofit. In exchange, PAST Foundation will use the funds for construction of a new digital innovation lab in the PAST facility located at 1003 Kinnear Road in Columbus, which the university can use in a variety of ways.

Awarding of Joseph Sullivant Medal
Every five years, the board approves the awarding of the Joseph Sullivant Medal to serve as a memorial to the services of Sullivant, who was a member of the first Board of Trustees and contributed significantly in determining the character and future of Ohio State. The board and president approved the award for N. Geoffrey Parker, Distinguished University Professor and Andreas Dorpalen Professor of European History.

Board of Trustees interim member approved; terms end for Shah, Krueger
The board approved the temporary appointment of Carly G. Sobol to serve on the committees on which Anand Shah currently sits. The governor-appointed terms for Shah and Cheryl L. Krueger ended May 13, 2021, and they’ll continue to serve until their successors are appointed or 60 days has elapsed – whichever is first. Sobol will replace Shah at that time, and his successor will take Sobol’s place when appointed.

Honda, Ohio State partnership recognized
The board formalized Ohio State and Honda’s partnership by signing a memorandum of understanding. Over the past two decades, two of the state’s brightest institutions have collaborated to build a better and brighter future, including partnering on 235 research projects in just the last five years.

New master’s degree in College of Medicine established
The board approved a Master of Science degree in Immunology and Microbial Pathogenesis in the College of Medicine, which will provide graduates with a foundational knowledge of health-related human immunology and microbial pathogenesis.

University Faculty rules, hospital bylaws amended
The board approved amendments to the University Faculty rules to clarify existing non-mandatory review procedures for both probationary and tenured faculty and establish consistent probationary contracts for clinical/teaching/practice faculty, and set a maximum contract of eight years for clinical/teaching/practice professors.

The board also approved Bylaws of the Medical Staff of the Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute and the Bylaws of the Medical Staff of University Hospitals.

Honorary degrees approved
The board approved the awarding of the honorary doctor of science degree to Ellen Ochoa; the awarding of the honorary doctor of public service degree to Joyce Beatty; and the awarding of the honorary doctor of business administration degree to Jamie Dimon, each of whom was honored at spring 2021 commencement.

Faculty personnel actions approved
The board approved the following personnel appointments and reappointments:

• Jeffrey J. Chalmers has been named professor and Helen C. Kurtz Chair in Chemical Engineering in the College of Engineering, effective July 1, 2020, through June 30, 2025.
• Laura Dugan has been named professor and holder of the Ralph Mershon Designated Professorship of Human Security in the College of Arts and Sciences, effective Aug. 15, 2021, through Aug. 14, 2026.
• Todd Gannon has been named professor and holder of the Robert S. Livesey Professorship in Architecture in the College of Engineering, effective March 1, 2018, through May 31, 2021.
• Pierre Giglio has been named associate professor-clinical and Esther Dardinger Endowed Chair in Neuro-Oncology in the College of Medicine, effective June 1, 2021, through June 30, 2025.
• Maria B. Ignatieva has been named professor and holder of the Martha W. Farmer Endowed Professorship in Theatre at Ohio State University, Lima, effective July 1, 2021, through June 30, 2023.
• Dana Renga has been named divisional dean, arts and humanities, in the College of Arts and Sciences, effective July 1, 2021, through June 30, 2026.

Reappointments

• William E. Carson III has been reappointed professor and John B. and Jane T. McCoy Chair in Cancer Research in the College of Medicine, effective July 1, 2021, through June 30, 2025.
• John W. Christman has been reappointed professor and holder of the John A. Prior Professorship in the College of Medicine, effective July 1, 2019, through June 30, 2023.
• Steven K. Clinton has been reappointed professor and Robert A. and Martha O. Schoenlaub Cancer Research Chair in the College of Medicine, effective July 1, 2021, through June 30, 2025.
• Datta V. Gaitonde has been reappointed professor and The John Glenn Endowed Chair for Technology and Space Exploration and Ohio Research Scholar in Advanced Propulsion Systems Integration in the College of Engineering, effective July 1, 2021, through June 30, 2025.
• Patrick L. Green has been reappointed professor and Robert H. Rainier Endowed Chair in Industrial Veterinary Medicine and Research in the College of Veterinary Medicine, effective Jan. 1, 2021, through June 20, 2023.
• Wael N. Jarjour has been reappointed professor-clinical and Martha Morehouse Chair in Arthritis and Immunology Research in the College of Medicine, effective July 1, 2021, through June 30, 2025.
• Sorabh Khandelwal has been reappointed professor and holder of the Samuel J. Kiehl III MD Professorship in Emergency Medicine in the College of Medicine, effective April 1, 2021, through June 30, 2025.
• Susan L. Koletar has been reappointed professor-clinical and holder of the Franke E. and Mary W. Pomerene Professorship in the Prevention and Treatment of Infectious Diseases in the College of Medicine, effective July 1, 2021, through June 30, 2025.
• Peter E. Larsen has been reappointed professor and holder of the Dr. Larry J. Peterson Endowed Professorship in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery in the College of Dentistry, effective Oct. 1, 2019, through Sept. 30, 2023.
• Alan Michaels has been reappointed professor and Edwin M. Cooperman Chair in Law in the Moritz College of Law, effective Jan. 31, 2021, through Jan. 31, 2026.
• W. Jerry Mysiw has been reappointed professor and Dr. Ernest W. Johnson Chair in the College of Medicine, effective July 1, 2021, through June 30, 2022.
• Anil V. Parwani has been reappointed professor-clinical and Donald A. Senhauser, MD, Chair in Pathology in the College of Medicine, effective Dec. 1, 2021, through June 30, 2025.
• Kamal S. Pohar has been reappointed associate professor and Julius Skestos and Diana Skestos Chair in Urology in the College of Medicine, effective Dec. 1, 2021, through June 30, 2025.
• Matthew D. Ringel has been reappointed professor and Ralph W. Kurtz Chair in Hormonology in the College of Medicine, effective July 1, 2021, through June 30, 2025.
• Orlando P. Simonetti has been reappointed professor and holder of the John W. Wolfe Professorship in Cardiovascular Research in the College of Medicine, effective Oct. 1, 2021, through June 30, 2025.
• Marcia M. Worley has been reappointed professor-clinical and holder of the Merrell Dow Professorship in Pharmaceutical Administration in the College of Pharmacy, effective Jan. 31, 2020, through June 30, 2023.

Director of athletics’ contract extended
Gene Smith, Ohio State’s senior vice president and Wolfe Foundation Endowed Athletics Director, agreed to a contract extension that runs from July 1, 2021, through June 30, 2026. Smith has run the department since 2005.

Executive compensation philosophy, strategy approved
The board approved a new Executive Compensation Philosophy and Strategy to replace the Total Compensation and Philosophy for University Executives and the Procedure for Setting and Reviewing Compensation for University Executives.

Interim capital investment plan for fiscal year 2022 approved
The board approved the interim capital investment plan that allows the university to begin or continue capital projects from July 1, 2021, through Aug. 31, 2021; the university has not yet finalized its operating budget for the fiscal year.

Utility system interim capital improvements approved
The board approved the Ohio State Energy Partners fiscal year 2022 interim capital improvements plan and authorization to make capital improvements for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2021; the university has not yet finalized its operating budget for the fiscal year.

Revocation of emeritus status for two professors
The board approved the revocation of emeritus status for Dr. Samson Jacob and Bradley Peterson, in the College of Medicine and College of Arts and Sciences, respectively. University policy says faculty members’ emeritus status can be revoked if they have engaged in serious, dishonorable conduct or caused harm to the university’s reputation.

Interim operating budget for fiscal year 2022 approved
The board approved the interim operating budget for fiscal year 2022, allowing the university to continue to advance its academic and financial goals from July 1, 2021, through Aug. 31, 2021, prior to the operating budget’s finalization and adoption.

Waiver of tuition for certain students approved
The board approved a waiver of tuition for Ohio State students who enroll in university-approved third-party provider or direct enrollment study abroad programs for fiscal year 2022 and fiscal year 2023. Since fiscal year 2015, the university has requested and received a tuition waiver for approved provider programs from the Board of Trustees and the Ohio Department of Higher Education so that students avoid two tuition payments during study abroad.

Amendments to university’s investment policy approved
The board approved amendments to the policy to govern the management of the university’s investment portfolios to better align it with policy best practices and Ohio State’s current investment management strategy. A complete update to the policy last occurred in 2013, with revisions in 2014 and 2016.

University Foundation Report approved
The board approved the report as of March 31, 2021, which includes the establishment of two endowed chairs; seven endowed professorships; one designated professorship; two endowed professorship funds; one endowed fellowship; one endowed scholarship; 28 additional named endowed funds and the revision of 15 named endowed funds.

Committee charters approved
The board approved the revised charter for the Academic Affairs and Student Life Committee, the Audit, Finance and Investment Committee, and the Master Planning and Facilities Committee.

The board also approved the charter for the new Research, Innovation and Strategic Partnership Committee and the new Legal, Risk and Compliance Committee.

Klingbeil reappointed as charter trustee
The board approved the reappointment of James D. Klingbeil as charter trustee of the Board of Trustees for a third three-year term from May 14, 2021, through May 13, 2024.

Establishment of the Farm Financial Management and Policy Institute
The board approved the establishment of the Farm Financial Management and Policy Institute, to be housed in University Extension, College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences, to serve as a unified center for the integration, translation and communication of critical farm financial management and policy issues affecting Ohioans.

Retirement plan amendments confirmed
The board approved changes to the Ohio State retirement plan that expands eligibility for participants and documents amendments made in response to federal COVID-19 legislation. These are the third amendments made to the plans since 2016.

Benchmarks for the Long-Term Investment Pool and university operating funds approved
The board approved new and modified benchmarks to evaluate the investment performance of the Long-Term Investment Pool and removal of the Sharpe ratio benchmark for the pool that had been used to evaluate the risk-adjusted investment performance of the pool.

Authorization for designated officials to buy, sell, assign and transfer securities approved
The board approved a request for designated officials to buy, sell, assign and transfer securities; to deposit or withdraw funds from bank and investment accounts held in the name of Ohio State; to designate depositories; and to execute treasury- and insurance-related agreements. This annual resolution is required by the institutions with which the university does business, and there are no changes from last year’s resolution.

Authorization to establish quasi-endowment fund
The board approved the establishment of the Entrepreneurial and Technology Commercialization Initiatives Endowment Fund, a quasi-endowment fund to provide a permanent source of funding for operations that support the university’s entrepreneurial and technology commercialization initiatives, with an establishment amount of $1 million.

Amended and updated charter for the internal audit department approved
The board approved the amended and updated charter for the internal audit department to ensure comprehensive oversight of the department and the university's operations through the adoption of best practices.

Reappointments to the Self-Insurance Board approved
The board approved the reappointment of six members of the board that oversees the University Self-Insurance Program. The terms end for the members on June 30, 2023. The members are:

• Dr. Arick Forrest
• Reed Fraley
• James Gilmour
• Michael Leach
• Cynthia Powell
• Dr. Andrew Thomas

Center for Slavic and East European Studies, Fisher College of Business department renamed
The board approved the renaming of the Center for Slavic and East European Studies to the Center for Slavic, East European and Eurasian Studies, as the center’s research and teaching mission has expanded to include Central Asia and Eurasia more broadly.

The board also approved the renaming of the Department of Management Sciences in the Fisher College of Business to the Department of Operations and Business Analytics, as the focus of the department has shifted substantially to operations management.

Naming of public university spaces
The board approved the naming of the following university spaces:

• The Prior Family Rotunda in the Jerome Schottenstein Center, in recognition of significant contributions from Kevin and Raegan Prior to the Department of Athletics and the Athletics District.
• In the John and Mary Alford Center for Science and Technology, on the Ohio State Newark campus, the following internal spaces were named in recognition of support from the organizations that contributed to the center’s construction:
  • Ariel Corporation General Chemistry Suite (300, 308, 310, 320)
  • Ariel Corporation Research Corridor (X309C)
  • Gilbert Reese Family Foundation Atrium (X102L)
  • Raymond H. and Beryl Dean Penick Organic Chemistry Suite (305)
  • LeFevre Foundation Biology Suite (265, 275, 285)
  • Newark Campus Development Fund Anatomy Suite (270, 280)
  • Park National Bank and Associates Concourse (X206C)
  • Melissa Warner Bow Earth Sciences Suite (205)
  • Licking Memorial Health Systems Simulation Center (110)
• The Allinson Family Classroom (202) in Parks Hall, in support of the significant contributions to the College of Pharmacy by Russel and Amy Allinson.
• The Clifton J. Latiolais Library (202a) in Parks Hall, in honor of the significant legacy left by Clifton J. Latiolais.
• The Richard C. Hannon ’50 Teaching Laboratory (0152) in the Mars G. Fontana Laboratories, to recognize the continued partnership with Richard C. Hannon Jr. and his contributions to the College of Engineering.
• In the new WOSU Public Media Headquarters at the corner of East 14th Avenue and Pearl Alley, the following internal spaces were named in recognition of support from donors that contributed to the center’s construction:
  • Linda Larrimer and Hugh Westwater Call Screen Room (222)
  • Bill and Mae McCorkle Foundation Master Edit Suite (313)
• The Applewood Village Community Center at the Ohio State College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences, Wooster campus, a renaming of the housing administration building to align with the future vision of the campus.
• The renaming of Founders Hall to Louella Hodges Reese Hall on the Ohio State Newark campus, which honors the commitments and service from the Reese family, led by Louella and J. Gilbert, in the founding and support of the Newark campus.

Dear Ohio State Community Members: 

Over the past months, local and national events have sparked critical and long-overdue conversations about policing, safety and racial justice. Some in our community have called on the university to cut ties with the Columbus Division of Police (CPD). Others have called for the increased presence of CPD in the off-campus neighborhood. Others say we need to entirely change the way that we approach public safety.

The university is hearing you and acknowledges the perspectives that are being shared by students, their families, faculty and staff members, and our community as a whole. The issues currently being discussed are as vital to our society as they are multifaceted and complex.

I want to take the opportunity to address questions and concerns and provide information on the ways we are working to address safety issues on our campuses. 

CPD partnership and police and security patrols

We have heard the calls to disassociate from CPD. We must acknowledge that they have jurisdiction on and off our Columbus campus and are responsible for keeping our students off campus safe. The Ohio State University Police Division (OSUPD) is the primary agency that performs police work on all of our campuses. There is a mutual-aid agreement in place between OSUPD and CPD that benefits the Ohio State community by allowing OSUPD to assist CPD off campus where many students live. This permits our OSUPD officers to have additional influence and opportunities to offer support in the area, learn about and disseminate crime information, and offer university resources. In Columbus, the university also hires individual CPD officers to perform specific services, largely traffic control for athletics events when city streets are being utilized. 

We have also heard calls to expand police presence. During the autumn semester, the university re-engaged with the Community Crime Patrol to increase security in the off-campus area. In the fall and spring, Ohio State also increased off-campus police presence with a combination of OSUPD and CPD officers. Ohio State and the city of Columbus continue to adjust to crime trends by redeploying on-duty patrols and staffing patrols on overtime to add to the police presence in the University District. We know that patrols and policing cannot be the only solution; safety means many different things to many different people, and we must take a holistic approach. 

Task Force on Community Safety and Well-Being

The safety and well-being of our campus and neighboring communities is our top priority, and the university continues to implement a series of recommendations that were made as part of the Task Force on Community Safety and Well-Being. The task force, created in fall 2020, is composed of students, faculty, staff, public safety officials and city and community partners. With a central guiding point that safety means different things to different people, the task force developed a comprehensive list of 15 recommendations that include a variety of strategies from community outreach and engagement to public safety staffing. To date, substantial progress has been made on 13 of those recommendations.

We have quickly implemented task force recommendations, including increased Community Crime Patrols made up of community partners, improved lighting, and expanded discounted ridesharing hours as part of Lyft Ride Smart at Ohio State. In addition to these steps, the university has increased police presence in the off-campus area with a combination of OSUPD and CPD officers and has longer-term plans to increase the staffing of OSUPD to allow for more joint patrol coverage and increased presence of OSUPD officers east of High Street. The task force also continues to advance longer-term recommendations designed to influence the overall safety culture both on and off campus such as expanding community policing programs and initiatives, with a special focus on outreach and interactions with marginalized groups.

Research-based solutions

We continue to provide thought leadership based on research and scholarship, a vital part of our mission as a land-grant university. Earlier this week, Dr. Trevor Brown, dean of the John Glenn College of Public Affairs and executive dean of the university’s professional colleges, presented the results of an independent, eight-month research study evaluating how the city of Columbus and CPD managed and responded to protests in Columbus last summer. I encourage you to read the After-Action Review from former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio Carter Stewart and the Glenn College. The recommendations address the way police train and prepare for protests and large-scale events, and better ways for police to manage and engage with protesters. The recommendations also provide active steps for working toward a reconciliation with those community members who are angry, particularly Black community members.

As a modern land-grant public university, Ohio State honors diverse perspectives, engages on challenging issues and works to improve the well-being of our state, regional, national and global communities. 

Sincerely yours,

Kristina M. Johnson, PhD
President

Ohio State President Kristina M. Johnson and Executive Vice President for Research, Innovation and Knowledge Enterprise Grace Wang addressed a virtual audience of more than 1,500 people as part of a conversation about the challenges and opportunities for the 11 counties in the central Ohio area. Other speakers included Mauro Guillén, author and professor at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania; Brian Lamb, global head of diversity and inclusion at JPMorgan Chase; and Julie Sweet, CEO of Accenture.

Kenny McDonald, president and CEO of One Columbus, acknowledged the challenges of maintaining economic development momentum as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to disrupt operations in the public and private sectors in Ohio and the nation. But he said the event offered the opportunity to “lift our chins and look forward to the future.”

The university will continue to play an important part in that future, said College of Engineering Dean David Williams. Before he introduced Johnson and Wang, Williams noted how the college continues to build the workforce of the region’s future – graduating more than 600 engineers each year to work in the counties One Columbus serves.

Johnson said building a pipeline of talent to work and innovate in Ohio is at the core of the university’s mission.

“Obviously, at The Ohio State University, our participation is a given. The 1862 Morrill Act that created Ohio State and the other land-grant colleges made it clear that part of our purpose was ‘to promote the liberal and practical education of the industrial classes,’” she said. “In other words, to educate young people from all backgrounds, who would work in Ohio businesses and come to lead them.”

Johnson said the university is also a force for research, innovation and entrepreneurship. She pointed to the nearly $1 billion in research expenditures in fiscal year 2020, which yielded 367 invention disclosures and 13 startups.

Wang said the university’s 18,000 faculty, staff and students engaged in research and creative expression and 2.5 million square feet dedicated to research activities make Ohio State a research powerhouse. She highlighted Ohio State’s commitment to convergent research to support the growing needs of the state’s job creators.

“Our research and innovation activities cover all sectors identified by JobsOhio as crucial for the state’s growth, from advanced manufacturing and automotive, to health care and financial services,” she said.

Wang said a well-educated workforce with core competencies in data, data analytics and artificial intelligence is also important – as are flexibility and creativity.

“It also calls for a talent pool that is diverse, creative, collaborative and able to learn in real time, and all the time,” she said. “To put it simply, what we teach, how we teach and how we empower our students to learn today will impact our economic growth tomorrow. That is a non-trivial task, and we must work on it together.”

Despite the pandemic and the challenging national economy, McDonald said he believes the Columbus region has more opportunities than obstacles. He said businesses and governments in the region are prepared to take on challenging issues like the future of housing, transportation and education.

“In the short term, we have a pandemic to recover from. In the long term, the future for this region is very, very bright,” he said.

As Johnson finished her part of the discussion, she also struck an optimistic tone.

“My wife Veronica Meinhard and I are thrilled to be new members of the Columbus community,” she said. “And I look forward to working with all of you on making this the best place in the world to launch a career, to start a business or to grow one into a force to be reckoned with.”

“Ohio State is uniquely positioned to bring together researchers from a variety of backgrounds who are committed to a more sustainable future,” said Ohio State President Kristina M. Johnson. “This facility will advance the great work already happening at the university by fostering the type of collaborative, convergent research that is required when facing a complex problem like climate change.”

The Energy Advancement and Innovation Center is a cornerstone of the Innovation District and will be a hub for Ohio State faculty members, students, alumni, ENGIE Buckeye Operations researchers, local entrepreneurs and industry experts to work together on the next generation of smart energy systems, renewable energy and green mobility solutions.

The $36.7 million project is fully funded by Ohio State Energy Partners, which is contributing a total of $50 million. Of the additional funds, $7.5 million will be used as initial seed money for Ohio State ENGIE Labs projects, $4 million in building operating funds and $1.8 million for west campus infrastructure.

“The West Campus Innovation District continues to expand our research capabilities and will attract both world-class researchers and leading-edge companies to work in close proximity,” said Morley O. Stone, Ohio State’s senior vice president for research. “The Energy Advancement and Innovation Center will encourage new diverse collaborations to propel the next generation of convergent energy research and technology incubation.”

In 2017, Ohio State transferred management of the systems that heat, cool and power the Columbus campus to ENGIE to operate these systems on behalf of Ohio State Energy Partners. The Energy Advancement and Innovation Center is a centerpiece of the partnership, which also included a $1.015 billion upfront payment to the university and a $150 million commitment to support academic priorities.

“This project represents the kind of innovation that will fully leverage Ohio State’s academic strengths with ENGIE’s industry expertise,” said Serdar Tufekci, head of major campuses, ENGIE North America. “We are eager to connect the innovation center to the global energy market and bring together technology, services, data and people to tackle some of the world’s toughest energy and sustainability challenges.”

The center’s focus will be developed by an advisory committee chaired by the university and consisting of members from Ohio State faculty and staff, OSEP and the Columbus community.

The 52,600-square-foot Energy Advancement and Innovation Center will be co-located with the Interdisciplinary Research Facility and delivered in conjunction to ensure consistent design and site construction. The project will include the installation of a direct current (DC) microgrid with future plans to install photovoltaics/solar panels on the roof.

“This center will be a marquee place for faculty, staff and students to work side-by-side-side with a global business leader to bring energy innovation to life and help fulfill Ohio State’s ambition to be a leader in developing durable solutions to the pressing challenges of sustainability,” said Kate Bartter, executive director of Ohio State’s Sustainability Institute.

The facility will include a 210-seat seminar room and a 96-seat cafe to serve the Innovation Center and nearby Interdisciplinary Research Facility. Additional building features include:

• Approximately 14,000 square feet of dedicated lab space
• 14,000 square feet for collaborative learning and gathering space
• 1,000 square feet reserved for be smaller focused workspace
• 3,000 square feet shelled for program expansion

Building design began in September 2019 and will continue through March 2021. Pending Board of Trustees approval, the construction would begin in June 2021 with a facility open date of May 2023.

The circles are a continuation of a physical distancing activation that started on the Oval on the Columbus campus of The Ohio State University. The project is a collaboration between multiple university departments and the Columbus Downtown Development Corporation (CDDC).

“Ohio State is a partner with and a part of the Columbus community. Our students, faculty and staff live, work and play in this community, so we appreciate the partnership with the CDDC and others to help encourage safe and healthy behavior on and off campus,” Ohio State President Kristina M. Johnson said.

A team of university staff and contractors helped paint the 146 circles and 39 Buckeye leaves on the commons grass fields Friday morning. Each circle in the six-acre park is 8 feet in diameter and a minimum of 15 feet apart from the other circles. The goal is to visualize a safe distance from others for those enjoying time in Columbus Commons.

While the park has limited programming because of the COVID-19 pandemic, fitness classes and food trucks still draw people to the area.

“Columbus Commons has been a community gathering space in the heart of downtown since it opened 10 years ago,” said Guy V. Worley, CEO/president of the Columbus Downtown Development Corporation, the nonprofit organization that operates John F. Wolfe Columbus Commons. “Even though people aren’t able to gather as they did in previous years, we’re proud to partner with The Ohio State University to showcase a visual representation of how you can safely connect with others as we all navigate this new normal.”

In addition to the painted circles, digital billboards that read “‘O’ Marks the Spot” are lit up at Columbus Commons to encourage visitors to use the circles and engage on social media using the hashtag #TogetherAsBuckeyes. 

Ohio State is also working with additional community partners to explore expanding the project to other parks in the central Ohio community.

Columbus City Council, Legal Aid Society of Columbus, Ohio State’s Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity, Smart Columbus and Buckeye Interactive developed the Opportunity Port project. The online portal combines technology and legal expertise to guide eligible people through the application process.

“We’re honored that Schmidt Futures has recognized this innovative community collaboration, which will help individuals pursue a better life after a criminal conviction,” said Bruce A. McPheron, Ohio State’s executive vice president and provost. “And we’re especially proud of the contribution that our Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity is making as the project’s principal research partner.”

Opportunity Port was developed to make better use of a provision in Ohio law that allows people convicted of certain misdemeanors and felonies to petition the courts to have their criminal records removed from public view. But the application process is vastly underused and can be confusing, said Hannah Miller, Opportunity Port team lead and legislative assistant to Councilmember Rob Dorans. In 2019, for example, fewer than 2,000 of approximately 10,000 eligible individuals applied.

"A criminal charge or conviction can impact someone's ability to secure housing and employment,” Dorans said. “Opportunity Port fills a vital communication gap between individuals with records and the legal resources they need to seal those records so that they can move forward in life. I'm grateful to Schmidt Futures and the Alliance for the American Dream for helping us make Opportunity Port a reality."

When Schmidt Futures created the Alliance for the American Dream in 2018, Ohio State, Arizona State and the universities of Utah and Wisconsin were selected to anchor community teams charged with finding innovative solutions that expand and strengthen America’s middle class. Ohio State helped develop the Power of Home project in 2018 to support first-time homebuyers.

For the 2020 competition, Opportunity Port was the local finalist. On Sept. 10, the Opportunity Port team and other alliance members pitched their proposals virtually to Eric and Wendy Schmidt in the final round of competition.

Depending on their crime, individuals can apply for record-sealing as soon as one to three years after completing their sentences, including probation, and paying all outstanding fines. The effect of record-sealing on a person’s earning potential can be dramatic. In Michigan, for example, residents whose applications for record-sealing were granted earned 25% more within a year and were less likely to reoffend.

“Far too many of our communities have been left behind by a broken criminal justice system that keeps people trapped in a cycle of running into one barrier after the next,” said Kyle Strickland, senior legal analyst at the Kirwin Institute. “Opportunity Port will help remove barriers in the complicated record-sealing process and open more doors for our residents and families in need of support."

Opportunity Port will help a user complete a five-minute intake form that automatically captures contact and court case information. It then sends the application to a legal aid organization of the user’s choosing to conduct legal review. Afterward, the user electronically signs the application and Opportunity Port submits it to the appropriate clerk of courts on the user’s behalf. The decision to seal a person’s criminal records is ultimately made by the judge and prosecutor in the case.

The Opportunity Port team expects to have the portal available for public use by early 2021 and is currently developing expansion plans.

Schmidt Futures is a philanthropic initiative, founded by Eric and Wendy Schmidt, that finds exceptional people and helps them do more for others together. Schmidt Futures uses tools including gifts, grants, investments and startup activity for charitable, educational and commercial efforts with a public purpose. The initiative connects the efforts of various charitable and non-charitable entities and makes diverse types of capital available to the efforts it supports.

Johnson visited a busy call center staffed by employees who shoulder the responsibility of answering inquiries about testing and general questions about the virus. The new president also spent time with students and staff at the Jesse Owens North Recreation Center, now used for testing students living on and off campus.

“It’s phenomenal. It’s so professional. Everyone is wearing a mask and they are social distancing. It’s very automated,” Johnson said. “You’re in and out in less than 10 to 15 minutes. It’s very quick.”

The testing site has been operational since mid-August. Last week, the site processed more than 10,000 student tests, averaging 104 students every 15 minutes using a constant flow design to minimize wait times. The floor plan and flow are also in use at the Newark, Mansfield and Wooster regional campuses.

“I think it’s going to allow us to really understand who’s been infected, get them treatment as soon as possible and to stop the spread. That’s really our goal,” Johnson said.

She said she is impressed with the university’s commitment to confronting the pandemic on campus and in the community.

“It’s the Buckeye Nation, as I’m learning. They’re strong, they get after it and they make things happen,” she said. “I couldn’t be happier to be president of an organization, an institution, a university that just comes together like this.”

Johnson covered a lot of ground, stopping at labs dedicated to medicine, engineering and the arts: the COVID-19 testing lab in the Biomedical Research Tower, the Spine Research Institute housed in the College of Engineering, and the Advanced Computing Center for the Arts and Design in Sullivant Hall.

While walking across campus between tour stops, Johnson introduced herself to students, faculty and staff. As president-elect, Johnson met with students during move-in.

“That’s the most fun, as you walk around the Oval and you meet students who are so excited to be here. They're so excited to be part of The Ohio State University and to start their education,” she said. “This is really a transition from one part of their life to the rest of their lives. We have the tremendous responsibility of bringing to them all the educational growth and leadership tools that we can, and we’re committed to doing that.”

Johnson is also embracing the transition in her life.

“It is the first official day, but it feels very familiar because I was able to meet a lot of people early on, which was terrific. I still have so many more that I want to meet,” she said. “[My wife] Veronica and I are thrilled to be here. This is our first day, but it’s beginning to feel like home.”

Today, the storm will be moving across Kentucky and Tennessee, and will eventually move through Virginia and out into the Atlantic. While Laura will not directly affect any Ohio State campuses, she will generate some instability in the atmosphere. That, combined with a line of storms moving across the upper Midwest, will help to increase chances for severe weather in Ohio over the next 24 hours.

There is a chance for rain and thunderstorms at all Ohio State campuses throughout the day today and overnight tonight. All campuses are at risk of experiencing a severe thunderstorm, damaging winds and straight-line winds. Torrential rainfall with localized flooding is also a possibility on all campuses.

According to the Wilmington office of the National Weather Service, Ohio could continue to see severe weather until this system moves east later on Saturday.

While Mansfield, Wooster and Marion are at the greatest risk, Lima, Newark and Columbus should also be prepared for torrential rainfall, damaging winds and a severe thunderstorm with heavy lightning.

Please follow @OSU_EMFP on Twitter or check emergency.osu.edu for any updates.

Students, faculty and staff can monitor the current campus conditions online. The website includes a live weather camera, updated weather conditions and current forecasts.

Ohio State is a Storm Ready University: https://www.weather.gov/StormReady

“The new inpatient hospital will serve as a model for 21st-century hospitals by further integrating research, diagnosis, treatment and education,” said Ohio State President-elect Kristina M. Johnson. “Ohio State is advancing the future of health care for a rapidly growing community, and this serves as an investment in the health and wellness of the state of Ohio.”

Pending approval by the board, the hospital will have up to 820 beds in private room settings to elevate patient-centered care, safety and training for the next generation of health care providers.

“I am excited to move forward with the construction of an expanded state-of-the-art hospital facility that reflects the extraordinary care provided by our clinicians and staff. The pandemic has made clear that cutting-edge facilities are necessary to care for patients and families across our region,” said Dr. Hal Paz, executive vice president and chancellor for Health Affairs at The Ohio State University and CEO of Ohio State Wexner Medical Center.

“The new hospital will allow us to serve more patients and align hospital resources with an interprofessional education model and innovative research, allowing us to translate groundbreaking discoveries into patient care more quickly than ever before. Most importantly, this tower positions us to be a leader in the rapidly changing health care landscape by revolutionizing the way care is delivered.”

Renderings of the 26-story (24-floor) hospital, released this week, reveal a sleek glass and brick structure designed to maximize light in patient rooms to improve outcomes. Scheduled to open in early 2026, the hospital has a total project cost of $1.79 billion. Planning is years in the making and advances Framework 2.0, the university’s long-term planning vision that outlines development planning across campus to advance health care, research and the arts.

The facility will provide students, faculty and staff with increased access to leading-edge digital technologies to advance patient care, teaching and research.

The inpatient hospital will be located east of Cannon Drive and will forge stronger connections with The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center – Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute (OSUCCC–James), Rhodes Hall, Doan Hall, the Richard M. Ross Heart Hospital and the Brain and Spine Hospital.

The new inpatient hospital project will include:

• Up to 820 beds, replacing and expanding on the 440 beds in Rhodes Hall and Doan Hall 
• The OSUCCC–James will gain 148 beds – 84 new and 64 resulting from construction backfilling
• 60 neonatal intensive care unit bassinets
• State-of-the-art diagnostic, treatment and inpatient service areas; emergency department; imaging; operating rooms; and critical care and medical/surgical beds
• Renovation of the OSUCCC–James and Ross Heart Hospital for blood bank, support services and building connections

Each patient room will be a private space with a bathroom and pullout couch so that family members can be with their loved ones throughout their hospital stays. A bright indoor café, conservatory garden and outdoor park areas will provide restorative spaces where friends and families can eat, talk and recharge without leaving the medical campus. Conference facilities will serve as the intellectual center of the Wexner Medical Center and seven health sciences colleges, bringing together health care providers, research scientists, faculty and students.

The inpatient hospital joins other Ohio State Wexner Medical Center projects already underway to improve and expand access to academic health care in the region. Outpatient care centers are currently under construction in New Albany and Dublin. Program offerings will include outpatient surgery, endoscopy, primary care, specialty medical and surgical clinics and related support spaces. A third outpatient care center is slated for Ohio State’s West Campus Innovation District. The approximately 385,000-square-foot, cancer-focused facility will include central Ohio’s first proton therapy treatment facility in partnership with Nationwide Children’s Hospital. This month the Ohio State Wexner Medical Center East Hospital opened a surgical expansion, the first phase of a complete remodeling of the facility. 

An off-site Central Sterile Supply building at Kenny and Ackerman roads will also serve Ohio State Wexner Medical Center hospitals and outpatient care centers beginning in summer 2021. An inpatient hospital garage will open in early 2021 and complement the new inpatient hospital with up to 1,900 spaces to serve patients and visitors by replacing the North and South Cannon garages. The additional, proximate parking will help create a more seamless and convenient patient experience.

“The university’s investments across campus, including the new hospital, will create thousands of jobs for skilled-trade workers in the region,” said Jay Kasey, senior vice president in the Office of Administration and Planning. “Our construction teams are managing all projects closely as we continue to be good stewards of our resources.”

Visit Ohio State Environments to see how development advances the university’s overall mission and Time and Change: Building the Future for major construction updates that support Framework 2.0 and the Wexner Medical Center strategic plan.

College students and other members of The Ohio State University community who are facing food insecurity can take advantage of Free Mobile Produce Markets at Tuttle Park Community Center over the next few weeks.

The markets, presented by Columbus Recreation and Parks and the Mid-Ohio Food Collective, will take place from 3:30 to 5 p.m. on Aug. 7, Aug. 21, Sept. 4 and Sept. 25 at the center, located at 240 W. Oakland Ave.

Organizers say they selected Tuttle Park as a Free Mobile Produce Market location because it is easily accessible to Ohio State students and families.

More than a third of college students nationwide say they don’t get enough to eat, according to a 2018 national survey across multiple universities. A 2014 Ohio State survey found that 15 percent of students have a “very low level of food security.”

Mid-Ohio Food Collective provides the produce. The offerings each week will vary but will include a week’s worth of fresh fruits and vegetables.

To ensure the safety of residents and volunteers, Free Mobile Produce Markets are set up as a drive-thru and staffed by volunteers wearing masks and gloves who load the produce directly into the trunk or car.

Additional information on Free Mobile Produce Markets, including financial eligibility requirements, is available at www.GoLunch.club. 

Hospitals

• Each hospitalized patient can have one named visitor of their choice per day, as identified in the patient’s electronic health record. The visitor will be required to wear a provided wristband.

• No visitors under age 18.

• No visitors for COVID-19 positive and suspected COVID-19 patients, except for clergy in end-of-life situations as outlined in our visitor policy.

• Inpatient visitation is permitted between 2 p.m. – 7 p.m., seven days a week.

• All visitors must wear a face mask while in the building.

• We strongly encourage visitors to wash their hands or use hand sanitizer when entering and leaving rooms and hospital buildings.

• We strongly encourage visitors to remain in the patient’s room during their visit and minimize exit and re-entry. Visitors may use public restrooms, the cafeteria and gift shop.

• NOTE: Critical care and other special environments may have additional restrictions.

No visitation is currently permitted, with limited exceptions, in our emergency departments or outpatient facilities.

All visitors to Ohio State Wexner Medical Center hospitals will have their temperature checked and be provided a mask. Visitors must be free of COVID-19 symptoms and have no exposure history.

Please continue to monitor our website for updates: https://wexnermedical.osu.edu/.

In recognition of this incredible generosity, the new music building will be named the Timashev Family Music Building, pending approval by the Board of Trustees.

Equipped with modern performance and practice spaces and venues with the capacity to host world-class performers, visiting faculty and free community-wide performances, the Timashev Family Music Building will be among the most acoustically and technologically advanced facilities in the nation upon its completion in 2022. This new facility, connecting to the existing Weigel Hall, will bring together all music education and instruction under one roof.

“Ratmir and Angela’s wonderful gift through the Timashev Family Foundation will elevate our Columbus campus and university broadly for generations to come,” said President Michael V. Drake. “Through their incredible generosity, they will help cultivate the talents of countless Buckeye students and faculty while inspiring enthusiasts of music and the arts throughout our community and across the world.”

Timashev co-founded Veeam Software, a global leader in cloud data management, whose Americas headquarters are based in Columbus. In 2016, Veeam gifted the College of Arts and Sciences $5 million from the company to support student scholarships, teaching and research in data analytics and chemical physics. Insight Partners, a global venture capital and technology private equity firm, acquired Veeam earlier this year.

“I will always be grateful for the opportunity Ohio State gave me to come over as a graduate student, which defined my career and life,” said Timashev, who also sits on the Ohio State Foundation Board of Directors. “It is my privilege and honor to support Ohio State and its students, who all were given that same great opportunity to become a Buckeye.”

Timashev’s support of the Celeste Laboratory renovation honors his former mentor, Terry Miller, emeritus professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. It was Miller who recruited Timashev to Ohio State.

“Virtually no area of the college remains untouched by Ratmir and Angela’s generosity,” said Gretchen Ritter, executive dean and vice provost of the College of Arts and Sciences. “As a result of this transformational gift, Ohio State students of all majors will have opportunities to study, perform and learn in the world-class Timashev Family Music Building and renovated Celeste Laboratory. We are profoundly grateful for this support of our people and our programs.”

Born in Russia, Timashev studied physics at the top science school in the nation, the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, before coming to Ohio State in 1992. Three years later, Timashev founded Aelita Software with his business partner Andrei Baronov, which they later sold to Quest Software. In 2006, Timashev and Baronov co-founded Veeam.

Now, during this critical moment in the university’s Time and Change: The Ohio State Campaign, Timashev is supporting people and programs, spaces and places — the environments in which Ohio State students and faculty learn, research, gather, perform and thrive.

Importantly, the Timashev Family Music Building will help tell Timashev’s inspiring story of success and of gratitude — the story of an international student who found a home on campus, leveraged his education to become a successful technology entrepreneur, and now serves as a powerful reminder that all are welcome at Ohio State.

According to the National Weather Service in Wilmington, showers and thunderstorms will increase in coverage across the region today. A tornado watch is in effect for parts of central Ohio including Columbus, Marion and Newark until 9 tonight. A flash flood watch for portions of Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky is now in effect through Tuesday evening.

Heavy rainfall is likely. In addition, a strong or severe storm will be possible this afternoon into this evening.

Wind gusts exceeding 35 miles per hour are possible. Expected rainfall totals for the Columbus and regional campuses over the next 48 hours are as follows:

• Columbus/Newark: 2.5 inches
• Marion/Lima: 2 inches
• Mansfield: 1.5 inches
• Wooster: 1 inch

Emergency Management will continue to monitor the Olentangy River throughout this weather event. Low-lying areas on the Columbus campus that are susceptible to flooding may experience temporary flash flooding over the next 36 hours.

Follow @OSU_EMFP on Twitter or check emergency.osu.edu for any updates.

Students, faculty and staff can monitor the current campus conditions online. The website includes a live weather camera, updated weather conditions and current forecasts.

Ohio State is a Storm Ready University: https://www.weather.gov/StormReady

However, with the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak resulting in lost jobs on campus and at area businesses, the food pantry is well stocked to help Ohio State students get groceries. In fact, the BFA has expanded its pantry hours to give students ample access to food and other goods.

“Getting past some of that stigma is more important than ever,” said Debo, the BFA president and a neuroscience major set to graduate in May.

“We’ve always tried to make it a very welcoming place — nobody’s going to judge you. Especially now, these are unprecedented times. It’s one of the best times for students to come and visit, even if you’re just looking to supplement your daily nutrition list.”

The food pantry ­— open solely at its 150 Lincoln Tower location for the time being — is open 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Mondays and Thursdays, 4 to 8 p.m. on Tuesdays and Wednesdays and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday. If those hours don’t accommodate schedules, students can email Student Life’s Buckeye Food Alliance Coordinator Nick Fowler (fowler.318@osu.edu) to schedule a visit any day of the week, including weekends.

BFA extended its hours after seeing a spike in visitors — 72 — the week of the expanded spring break, March 16 through 20, when it was open only two days. In the first two days of the expanded hours, March 23 and 24, the food pantry saw 39 visitors.

Some of the procedural changes include switching to one location, at Lincoln Tower, where the university’s staff can ensure the facility is thoroughly cleaned. The BFA staff is also making pre-packaged grocery bags, including vegan, gluten free, no-dietary restriction and religious-friendly bags, to limit touching of grocery items.

Fowler is also doing the shopping and packaging for students as they arrive with a shopping list to help maintain social distancing and decrease handling of items.

“We really want students to feel comfortable coming in,” Fowler said.

Any student, undergrad or graduate, with a BuckID can visit the pantry, which started in 2016 after a report showed 15% of Ohio State’s undergraduate students, about 7,000, had low food security. BFA started as a student organization but is now part of the Student Life Student Wellness Center.

“The growth of (BFA) has skyrocketed,” said Michaela Martin, the assistant director for the Student Life Student Wellness Center and former adviser to BFA. “Now is a good time for more students to realize the food pantry is here for them.

“Students are transitioning to online learning, figuring out their next job, doing job interviews, graduating and so many things are all up in the air. We’re trying to alleviate a burden. We have food for you, we can help you. This is the time more than ever to utilize the food pantry.”

While BFA is having more visitors, it is also seeing more who want to donate, according to Fowler, who said his inbox is blowing up with people asking how they can help.

“People’s lives have been disrupted but they’re pausing and asking, ‘What about the students?’” Fowler said. “Grocery stores are empty, but people are still taking time to pull from their reserves to make sure our students have food. It’s very humbling to see how much people care about our students. It’s made me grateful to be doing the work I do knowing how important it is to our students and the community.”

If you are interested in donating to BFA’s pantry, money is a good option because it allows the organization flexibility to quickly get items it lacks. To make a monetary donation, visit the Student Food Pantry Fund.

To donate food or goods, email Fowler to coordinate a drop-off or pick up. The organization’s needs vary from day to day, but typically it runs low on spices along with personal care items such as soaps and shampoos, diapers, feminine hygiene products and toiletries. For the moment, BFA is asking anyone interested in volunteering to check in once the COVID-19 threats have passed.

Dear Residence Hall Student,

Thank you again for your cooperation and collaboration this week as we undertake the unprecedented task of working together to move out of the residence halls due to the coronavirus outbreak (COVID-19).

I am writing today to share that the university will provide an appropriate prorated refund of housing and dining to those of you departing the residence halls by Sunday, March 22. Details will follow next week.

As a reminder, the university’s coronavirus website provides information about the virus, the university’s response and important guidance for all members of our community.

I am moved and impressed by the way our entire community is coming together to meet this challenge, and to keep each other safe and healthy.

We will continue to provide updates as circumstances evolve.

Sincerely,

Dr. Drake

“We’re looking for a visionary leader to continue our tremendous momentum,” said Board Chair Gary R. Heminger. “Ohio State is ideally positioned to attract the next great president in higher education.”

As previously announced, Ohio State Trustee Lewis Von Thaer will serve as chair of the Presidential Search Committee. The committee includes two subcommittees: a Presidential Selection Subcommittee and a University Advisory Subcommittee.

“We are committed to a process that is inclusive and brings together our far-reaching Buckeye community,” Von Thaer said.

The Presidential Selection Subcommittee is composed of trustees who serve as chairs or vice chairs of the board’s regular committee structure: Von Thaer (chair), Alex R. Fischer, Hiroyuki Fujita, Erin P. Hoeflinger, Brent R. Porteus, Abigail S. Wexner and John W. Zeiger. It will work in concert with the University Advisory Subcommittee, manage the use of external search firm Isaacson, Miller and ultimately provide a candidate recommendation to the board.

The 20-member University Advisory Subcommittee is composed of students, faculty, staff and community stakeholders. It will be tasked with representing and seeking input from the broader Ohio State community in order to identify the qualities, skills, attributes and experiences desired in a candidate. Susan Olesik, professor of chemistry and biochemistry and faculty representative on the board’s Academic Affairs, Student Life and Research Committee, and David Frantz, faculty emeritus in the Department of English, will co-chair the group.

In addition, members of the University Advisory Subcommittee include:

• Juan Alfonzo, Distinguished Professor, Department of Microbiology
• Anil Arya, Associate Dean, Faculty and Research, and Professor, Department of Accounting and Management Information Systems, Fisher College of Business
• Catherine Baumgardner, Chair, Ohio State Alumni Association Board of Directors
• TJ Beavers, Chief of Staff, Inter-Professional Council
• Michael Coleman, Former Mayor, City of Columbus
• Ben Duwve, Senior Director of Allocations, Undergraduate Student Government
• Michael Eicher, Senior Vice President, Office of Advancement; President, The Ohio State University Foundation
• Lisa Florman, Chair, Department of History of Art
• Donna Ford, Distinguished Professor, Department of Educational Studies
• Joseph Heremans, Member, University Research Committee; Professor, Department of Physics and Department of Materials Science and Engineering; Ohio Eminent Scholar, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
• Andrew Jordan, Chair, University Staff Advisory Committee; Manager of Strategy and Organizational Effectiveness, Department of Recreational Sports, Office of Student Life
• Clark Kellogg, Former Trustee, The Ohio State University
• Peter Mohler, Vice Dean for Research, College of Medicine; Director, Dorothy M. Davis Heart and Lung Research Institute
• Devin Peterson, Distinguished Professor, Department of Food Science and Technology
• Stephen Post, President, Council of Graduate Students
• Sharon Schweikhart, Chair, Faculty Council; Associate Professor and Vice Chair, Health Services Management and Policy, College of Public Health
• Gene Smith, Senior Vice President and Wolfe Foundation Endowed Athletics Director
• Karla Zadnik, Executive Dean for Health Sciences; Dean, College of Optometry

Opportunities for faculty, staff and students to provide input — including public forums for discussion and an online engagement tool — will be available. Additional updates, such as dates and times for Presidential Search Committee meetings, will be added throughout the process on the presidential search website.

“It is important for this process to include the perspectives of our students, faculty and staff, and the broader campus community,” Olesik said.

In November, Drake announced his plans to transition out of the role after continuing to serve through at least the end of the 2019-20 academic year.

Ohio State has seen historic highs in key areas, including: applications, the academic preparedness and diversity of incoming classes to the Columbus campus, retention rates, research expenditures, graduation rates, patient care and support from donors. In addition, the university has established several programs and initiatives to lower costs for students while increasing accessibility and the excellence of a Buckeye education.

Taken together, Von Thaer said, these advancements help position Ohio State to further define the 21st century land-grant university.

“Ohio State could not be better situated than it is today to welcome a new leader,” Von Thaer said. “We look forward to making this important selection for the future of the university and the students, families and communities we serve.”

“The Solar System to Scale” comprises 10 mixed-media kiosks that begin with a “sun” kiosk on Woodruff Avenue outside the Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering and Chemistry Building and end with a “Pluto” kiosk near the Chadwick Arboretum Learning Gardens on West Campus. The spacing between the kiosks is a to-scale representation of each planet’s distance from the sun.

The installation was funded by a gift from alumni M. Andrew and Sandra L. Ross . The Rosses had their first discussion with the university about their vision to bring “The Solar System to Scale” to campus in July 2015. The idea came from Andy’s fascination with space as a child, he said, recalling how he looked up to the sky one night and asked his dad how close the nearest star was. Since that point, he’s never stopped trying to grasp the size of the universe.

“How fun it is to think about the scope of our universe, both in size and distance,” he said. “We’re so pleased to have been a part of this fun art/science installation.”

Although Pluto is no longer counted as one of the eight planets, it was included in the installation to represent the dwarf planets and other planet-like objects in our solar system, said Wayne Schlingman, director of the Arne Slettebak Planetarium.

“Pluto is a fascinating object in our solar system and we’re learning so much about it right now,’ he said.

The artwork was designed by North Carolina-based artist Ivan Toth Depeña, fabricated by Ignition Arts and guided by scientific input from Schlingman and other members of the Department of Astronomy.

“The play of light on glass affords a different experience during the day than at night depending on where the sun is hitting it, which is very much the case for our solar system,” Schlingman said.

The piece was installed at the end of September and is expected to be complete by the end of the year. Each kiosk will be outfitted with accessibility features providing both visual and tactile experiences, as well as a QR code linking to further information about its planet.

The Rosses hope “The Solar System to Scale” will serve as a learning tool not only for Ohio State students, but also local K-12 classes and community groups.

“It’s hard to imagine that if the Earth were the size of a pea, then the separation from the sun to Pluto would be the distance from Koffolt Laboratory to the Chadwick Arboretum,” Schlingman said. “But that’s how big our solar system is, and the distance to the next nearest star is 5,000 times further still. We’ll be using these sculptures to inspire and teach our students for decades to come.”

“The Solar System to Scale” was made possible with partnership from Braun & Steidle Architects, Glasmalerei Peters Studios, Advanced Engineering Consultants and the Gilbane Company.

The Ohio State University released today its Annual Security and Fire Safety Reports, showing an increase in present-day crime reporting on or near the Columbus campus.

Today’s release — with statistics from January 1, 2018, through December 31, 2018 — complies with the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act.

Because the Clery Act requires that incidents are counted in the year they were reported, rather than the year in which they occurred, the statistics also include incidents of sexual abuse by Richard Strauss. Strauss was a university-employed physician from 1978 to 1998. He died in 2005. Strauss’ abuse was the subject of an independent investigation by Perkins Coie LLP made public by Ohio State in May. It detailed acts of sexual abuse against at least 177 former students by Strauss. Perkins Coie provided the majority of Strauss-related data for this year’s security report.

Clery Act requirements

The Clery Act is a federal statute requiring institutions of higher learning that receive federal funding to publish an annual security report by October 1 each year.

It requires the inclusion of reported incidents that occurred on campus, in non-campus university buildings or property owned or controlled by Ohio State or its recognized student organizations, and on public property within or immediately adjacent to and accessible from campus.

In accordance with the Clery Act, colleges and universities are further required to:

• Count incidents in the year they were reported rather than the year in which they occurred.
• Provide statistics reflecting total incidents reported and not the total number of victims. One individual could report multiple incidents, and each of those incidents would be counted separately and then added together toward a total number.
• Include incidents in which an individual shares that another person was the victim of a crime or that multiple people were victims. If no further details are available, a determination is made based on the characterization of the reporting party.

“The university is committed to continued transparency in the vitally important area of campus and community safety,” said Vice President and Chief Compliance Officer Gates Garrity-Rokous. “The Clery Act sets precise direction to disclose reported instances of crime annually, and today’s report has made every attempt to make all reportable crimes known and readily available to the public.”

2018 reporting statistics for Columbus

The statistics include information from Ohio State’s police division and a number of other university officials designated as Campus Security Authorities and local law enforcement agencies.

Crime reports on and near the university’s Columbus campus generally increased in 2018.

Rape reports increased from 72 to 93 in instances unrelated to Strauss. Instances of fondling, also unrelated to Strauss, increased from 30 to 48. University officials cited several factors that may have contributed to these increases, including an ongoing focus on educating faculty, staff and students on reporting.

According to Ohio State’s 2017 Campus Climate survey — the latest data available — 77% of students were somewhat or very knowledgeable about where to make a report of sexual assault or sexual misconduct at Ohio State in 2017, compared to 48% in 2015.

Additionally, 70% of student respondents believed that it was very or extremely likely that a report of sexual assault or sexual misconduct would be taken seriously by campus officials.

Burglary reports increased in 2018 from 49 to 95. The most significant uptick took place in academic, recreational and medical center facilities while residence halls saw a modest increase.

The university issued three Public Safety Notices in 2018 (March, August and December) after recognizing separate rashes of burglary. Police made three arrests related to these crimes.

Burglaries from residence hall suites that involve thefts from multiple rooms count as separate incidents. Ohio State continues to train its police officers in the details of the Clery Act and the Ohio Revised Code to reinforce reporting differences.

Ohio State continues to educate incoming students about safety and offer support resources.

In 2018, the university announced the creation of the Office of Institutional Equity. This centralized office is responsible for support of students, faculty and staff, and Ohio State’s compliance with Title IX, the Americans with Disabilities Act and other federal and state laws, and university policies.

More broadly, the university advanced ongoing efforts to address sexual misconduct, including the launch in 2015 of Buckeyes ACT, a community-wide approach to combat sexual misconduct through action, counseling and support, and training.

In 2016, Ohio State implemented mandatory sexual misconduct prevention education for incoming students. The university expanded this requirement in 2018 to all students, faculty and staff.

Ohio State also continues to conduct annual campus climate surveys that catalog attitudes and experiences related to sexual misconduct, most recently in spring 2019. The survey results will be announced this fall.

The university’s Surviving an Active Aggressor video is required viewing on the new student orientation checklist. Ohio State also launched a new ridesharing initiative prior to the 2019 autumn semester called Lyft Ride Smart at Ohio State. The program offers students discounted rides, on or near campus, between the hours of 9 p.m. and 3 a.m.

Additional safety resources and information are available through the university’s Department of Public Safety and Office of Student Life.

Strauss-related statistics

Strauss’ abuse from decades ago was the subject of an independent investigation by Perkins Coie announced last year by Ohio State. The findings detailed acts of sexual abuse against at least 177 former students and concluded that university personnel at the time had knowledge of complaints and concerns about Strauss’ conduct as early as 1979 but failed to investigate or act meaningfully.

“On behalf of the university, we offer our profound regret and sincere apologies to each person who endured Strauss’ abuse,” President Michael V. Drake wrote when the university released in May the independent report on Strauss’ abuse. “Our institution’s fundamental failure at the time to prevent this abuse was unacceptable — as were the inadequate efforts to thoroughly investigate complaints raised by students and staff members.

“This independent investigation was completed because of the strength and courage of survivors. We thank each of them for their willingness to share their experiences.”

The 2018 crime statistics report complies with the Clery Act — and, in accordance with federal law, counts incidents in the year that they were reported rather than the year in which they occurred. As such, any reports made in 2018 of acts committed by Strauss in the specified locations during his 20-year employment as a physician at Ohio State, from 1978 to 1998, are included in the statistics.

Additionally:

• Per federal law, statistics reflect total incidents reported rather than total number of victims. One individual could report multiple crimes or multiple occurrences of a single crime, for example, and all of those reports would be counted. As evident in the findings of Perkins Coie’s Strauss investigation, several survivors reported recurring abuse.
• To help ensure an accurate accounting for Strauss’ abuse, all reports of incidents have been included. In some instances, former student-athletes indicated that, along with themselves, their teammates had been abused by Strauss decades ago. If no further details were available, a determination was made based on the characterization of the reporting party. These determinations were made by Perkins Coie using Clery Act definitions and based on reports received during its independent investigation and from guidance sought by the university from the U.S. Department of Education. Perkins Coie provided the majority of Strauss-related data for Ohio State’s 2018 security report.

The Strauss-related, Columbus-campus data that include incidents reported in 2018 show 992 instances of fondling and 30 incidents of rape attributable to Strauss. Rape, as defined by the U.S. Department of Education, includes digital and oral penetration.

During the course of the independent investigation, the university learned that one fondling was reported in 1995 and three incidents of fondling reported in 1996 were reported to the university previously. Since the university is unable to find evidence that these reports appeared in the statistics in the Annual Security Report in the year originally reported, it is disclosing them in the university’s 2018 statistics in the interest of transparency.

The figures in this year’s report reflect the most current data provided to the university. It is possible that the university may learn new information through various means, including but not limited to additional reports or litigation that could cause these figures to increase, decrease or be reclassified in accordance with federal law. Should such modifications occur, the university will publish updated statistics in order to keep the campus community informed.

Because the Clery Act counts incidents in the year they were reported rather than the year in which they occurred, additional Strauss-related incidents could be included for the next several years.

An additional 437 instances of fondling and 17 instances of rape attributable to Strauss have been identified thus far in 2019 — bringing the total to date to 1,429 instances of fondling and 47 instances of rape attributable to Strauss.

Following Clery Act requirements, 2019 data are not included in the 2018 report released today. The university is sharing them now as part of its effort to keep the community fully aware and informed, said Katherine Lasher, associate vice president for institutional equity and a member of Ohio State’s national Task Force on Sexual Abuse.

“The more information we have, the more we are able to understand and advance prevention of all forms of discrimination and harassment,” Lasher said.

Ohio State has implemented multiple additional safeguards in the 20 years since Strauss left the university. Details on programs and initiatives are on the university’s Strauss investigation website.

The Roy Lichtenstein sculpture is designed to turn heads and get students and visitors to take notice. President Michael V. Drake said he hopes the public art proves to be inspirational.

“Public art has the profound ability to spark the imagination and to encourage people to pay attention, considering more carefully the environment they occupy,” Drake said at a public dedication of Modern Head this week.

Dozens of students, faculty and staff lined the area between Smith and McPherson laboratories to learn more about the sculpture and the artist.

An Ohio State alumnus, Lichtenstein graduated from the College of Education in 1946 and earned his Master of Fine Art in 1949. Lichtenstein also taught studio art courses at the university between 1946 and 1951.

Lichtenstein first created the Modern Head sculptural form in 1969, and four similar sculptures are located at Yale University, Matsumoto Dental University in Japan, the Israel Museum in Jerusalem and The Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, D.C.

Drake noted the sculpture may have its roots in art history, but it points to the university’s future. He pointed out the face of Modern Head is looking toward Ohio State’s emerging art district.

The sculpture is a gift of the Roy Lichtenstein Foundation. Fabrication was funded by the Ohio Percent for Art Program.

“We hope it’s set to engage students and visitors for many years to come,” said Jack Cowart, executive director of the foundation. “By this, we not only honor Roy, but also the best ambitions of The Ohio State University.”

The gift is part of a continuing commitment to Ohio State from the foundation. In 2017, the foundation announced a $6 million gift to the university to permanently endow two high-level named chairs: the Roy Lichtenstein Foundation Endowed Chair of Art History and the Roy Lichtenstein Endowed Chair of Studio Art.

Carmen Winant was selected as the inaugural Roy Lichtenstein Chair of Studio Art in July 2018, and Jody Patterson was named the first Roy Lichtenstein Foundation Endowed Chair of Art History in August.

Lt. Gov. Jon Husted announced the Ohio Intellectual Property Promise initiative at a press conference today at Ohio State’s Corporate Engagement Office. Ohio IP Promise helps ensure that the state’s public universities are best-in-class when it comes to the transfer of university discoveries to the commercial sector.

“We applaud Lt. Gov. Husted’s ongoing work to foster a climate of innovation in Ohio, and we’re pleased to partner with the Inter-University Council of Ohio and our colleagues around the state to improve the transfer of discoveries to the marketplace,” said President Michael V. Drake. “As a result of this significant initiative, high-impact discoveries made at Ohio universities will go to market more quickly, boosting the state’s economy and fueling economic growth and increased opportunity for Ohioans and beyond.”

Earlier this year, Gov. Mike DeWine’s administration asked the Inter-University Council of Ohio to improve the licensing of intellectual property developed by Ohio public universities in order to strengthen the state’s economy, attract innovative researchers and continue to appeal to investors and entrepreneurs. Under the leadership of Ohio State and the University of Cincinnati, members from the state’s public universities collected ideas from faculty, research officers, entrepreneurs and investors to help achieve those goals.

“Our goal is to make Ohio the most innovative, entrepreneurial state in the Midwest,” Husted said. “This is a tangible step to show the nation and the world that Ohio has its act together, that we have a great university system and we are collaborating with entrepreneurs and investors to commercialize the research happening on our campuses and it will result in a growing, vibrant economy.”

Ohio IP Promise guides universities to follow the following principles:

• Flexible: Provide industry choices for accessing intellectual property developed through sponsored research.
• Transparent: Publish templates for sponsored research and license agreements.
• Simple: Deliver fair and streamlined guidelines for faculty creator startups.
• Clear: Communicate licensing processes on university websites in a clear, prominent way.
• Easy: Provide well-defined university entry points for industry, investors and entrepreneurs.
• Fast: Reduce impediments that hinder the pace of transactions.

“Gov. DeWine and Lt. Gov. Husted challenged our public universities to bring to life their vision for a stronger economy and IP leadership in Ohio,” said Bruce Johnson, president of the Inter-University Council of Ohio. “Our universities have stepped up in a big way, with enthusiasm, creativity and imagination. The residents of Ohio will be the short-term and long-term beneficiaries of this program.”

“This initiative is an example of our commitment to all of our stakeholders – including inventors, companies, entrepreneurs and investors – in fulfilling our land-grant mission to effectively transfer Ohio State’s discoveries and innovations to market where they can impact people’s lives,” says Kevin Taylor, associate vice president of technology commercialization at Ohio State.

Ohio State already has several initiatives in place to help innovators and entrepreneurs. The university’s Accelerator Awards grant program helps develop and validate promising university technologies before the technology is licensed. Faculty inventors can pitch their startup-ready technologies each year at the annual technology showcase, typically held each spring, which is attended by entrepreneurs from across the region. A showcase featuring startups from the university happens each fall to help connect them with potential investors.

The Corporate Engagement Office also created the Buckeye Executive Network to help find experienced entrepreneurs to lead Ohio State startups.

“It was gratifying to hear that [Ohio State] is committed, with a partnership from the entire state of Ohio, to create a transparent process to take inventions, scientific discoveries and find a pathway forward for those to become something that can help Ohioans,” said Shahid Nimjee, associate professor of neurosurgery.

Nimjee is the lead researcher of a new therapy that, when tested in mice and dogs, has proven superior to the standard of care therapy now offered to patients suffering a stroke. He’s established a company to help develop the treatment and bring it to market, working with the university’s Corporate Engagement Office to make it happen.

“I’m in the business of taking care of people. So for me, this is not to develop a product that we can see in a window. This is to develop … therapeutics that can ultimately save lives.”

On July 6, 2017, Ohio State transferred operation of utility systems that deliver heating, cooling and electricity to the Columbus campus to ENGIE Buckeye Operations on behalf of Ohio State Energy Partners.

The partnership included a $1.015 billion upfront payment to the university and a $150 million commitment to support academic priorities.

To date, Ohio State Energy Partners has made tangible progress, including:

• Converting a total of 107,000 indoor light fixtures and 1,700 outdoor light fixtures to energy-efficient LED technology over the past two years.
• Installing more than 375 smart meters to link to an ENGIE Digital Platform. This system will allow ENGIE to monitor the utility system infrastructure throughout campus.
• Making infrastructure improvements to support utility systems for facilities around the Oval, within the Arts District and for health sciences facilities. 
• Beginning to upgrade the energy systems in 14 buildings with a goal to improve their energy efficiency by more than 26% on average.

Heading into year three of the groundbreaking agreement, Ohio State Energy Partners is seeking Board of Trustees approval on a $393 million capital plan for the 2020 fiscal year.

The plan will help advance Ohio State and OSEP sustainability goals, which include improving energy efficiency by at least 25% within 10 years and achieving carbon neutrality by 2050.

In a major next step, the university is planning for a Combined Heat and Power plant, which would provide heating and cooling to parts of the campus core and to the proposed West Campus innovation district. The CHP plant is expected to:

• Cut the university’s Columbus campus carbon emissions by up to 35% in the first full year of plant operation. 
• Create efficiencies to support hot water and chilled water systems.
• Add to the university’s overall resiliency by generating electricity.
• Reduce energy costs.

“The CHP facility generates electricity with combustion turbines and then utilizes the exhaust heat to make steam and heat water, which Ohio State uses to heat campus buildings,” said Serdar Tufekci, OSEP CEO. “The CHP facility will also include a central chiller plant, which will be the first one west of the Olentangy River to provide cooling in midwest campus and West Campus buildings. This combined capacity is both financially and environmentally responsible.”

The proposed CHP plant will reduce the amount of electric power the university must purchase from the electricity markets. Additionally, producing electricity on campus using highly efficient natural-gas fired generators will reduce the total carbon dioxide emissions associated with the campus.

Ohio State’s Board of Trustees approved $10 million for professional services in May and will now consider construction approval. The total project cost, which includes the district heating and cooling loop infrastructure and a new pedestrian bridge across the Olentangy River, is expected to be $278 million with upfront capital costs provided by OSEP. The project has a target completion date of fall 2021.

Additional approval from the Ohio Power and Siting Board is required.

Beyond the sustainability benefits of the comprehensive energy management partnership, Ohio State has invested more than $800 million of the proceeds in endowments that provide ongoing support for student scholarships, faculty excellence and other priorities.

These endowments provide funding for the Buckeye Opportunity Program, which ensures that financial aid covers the cost of tuition and mandatory fees for all Ohio students who receive Pell grants. They also provide funding for the Teaching Support Program, offered through the University Institute for Teaching and Learning, for faculty members.

In addition, academic collaboration between Ohio State and OSEP supports endowed faculty positions, internships, other student scholarships and the energy advancement and innovation center, a hub for technology commercialization that will be developed as part of the West Campus innovation district.

President Michael V. Drake and Executive Vice President and Provost Bruce A. McPheron greeted students near Thompson Library and handed out cookies as part of the year-long celebration of the university’s 150th anniversary.

Drake and McPheron spent time with the students, asking about where they were from and what they were learning at Ohio State. It was part of a busy welcome week to begin the new academic year.

“They love the cookies, but they’re really excited to be here, excited to be in the university, excited to be starting school,” Drake said. “A third or so of the students I met were first-year students on their first day of college, so they’re totally excited.”

The university welcomed another highly talented incoming class with Convocation and a calendar full of events to introduce the students to Ohio State. The class is projected to be among the most prepared, most diverse and largest in university history.

The first day of classes for these students is filled with possibility, McPheron said.

“I’ve been asking students what their first class is like and it’s a mix of excitement … and a little trepidation when they first looked at that syllabus,” he said.

Drake and McPheron offered advice to students beginning their first year of college.

“These are very special days, because this starting is really a transition. So keep your eyes and ears and hearts and minds open and really be present and experience it,” Drake said.

“Just take a deep breath,” McPheron said. “Get to know your professor; get to know your fellow students. It’ll be fine.”

Tanmay Pandit, a graduate student pursuing a master’s degree in finance, said getting involved is the key to success.

“You have to get involved,” he said. “I think what differentiates Ohio State or other schools in the U.S. is the fact that you get the opportunity to get involved. That helps you get to know people, build your network and build skills outside of class as well. So definitely get involved.”

Jessica Davis, a second-year operations management major, recommended students relax and believe in themselves.

“Don’t be nervous. You’ll be fine,” she said. “It can be very intimidating. There are a lot of very smart people here.

“Believe me, I don’t consider myself that smart,” Davis said with a laugh, “and I do just fine. You’ll be fine, just jump in.”

With this second cycle of grant funding, Ohio State will continue to provide high-quality early childhood education and services to Columbus families in low-income households through 2024.

In 2014, Congress appropriated $500 million to fund Early Head Start Child Care Partnership grants nationwide, including $16.5 million to Ohio State, with a goal of partnering with existing child care centers and family child care home providers to raise the quality of early childhood education in the most vulnerable neighborhoods with the highest rates of poverty.

Housed in the Schoenbaum Family Center, Ohio State’s partnership program, known as OSU-EHS, has gained national attention for its unique model, and was featured in January by the Bipartisan Policy Center as one of the top 12 programs in the nation.

“Our staff is passionate about this work and believe that all children, regardless of their zip code or life circumstances, deserve high-quality early education and supportive services to create a successful start in life,” said OSU-EHS director Sherrie Sutton.

The program serves 160 children in 11 child care centers and eight family child care homes. In addition, families of the children also receive comprehensive support through OSU-EHS’ network of 19 university and community agency partners.

By leveraging experts within the community, OSU-EHS is able to provide comprehensive services to address the holistic needs of families, an important two-generation approach proven to improve outcomes for young children. With 80% of the enrolled families earning $800 or less per month, social workers assist with connecting families to critical resources as well as educational and workforce development opportunities while also providing counseling and crisis intervention services.

OSU-EHS also provides significant support to the child care and home partners. In addition to enhanced funding, OSU-EHS has purchased classroom furniture and materials, curriculum and playgrounds for each center. With a focus on quality, the program offers professional development alongside practice-based coaches who work with classroom teachers. For the last three years, the home providers were sent to the National Association for Family Child Care Conference, where one attendee said, “I finally feel like I am part of something and am respected as a professional.” As the program enters the next five-year cycle, 84% of the program’s child care centers and home providers are rated in Ohio’s Step Up to Quality rating system at three stars or higher, and 55 of the teachers have advanced their education.

Reflecting on her time in Ohio State’s Early Head Start program, one mother said that she came into the program during a time when her family was facing many challenges, including homelessness.

“I am a single mother with two children, a toddler and a preschool-aged child. (My family) faced many challenges in 2017. I know that there are many other single parents facing similar challenges to those I experienced. Unfortunately, many times we slip between the cracks and don’t receive the assistance we need.

“I felt empowered because I knew that despite all of my struggles, I was able to keep (my children) in a stable learning environment. I had the peace of mind of knowing that they were receiving high-quality child care. I feel truly blessed to have been a recipient of this program and I look forward to continue watching my children flourish under their care.”

In addition to numerous community partners, Ohio State units involved in the collaborative program include the College of Education and Human Ecology, College of Nursing, College of Optometry, Speech, Language and Hearing Clinic and Nisonger Center.

When students return to school in the Columbus City and South-Western City school districts later this month, new Apple technology will be waiting for them along with teachers who have been trained to teach them how to write computer code.

As part of Apple’s Community Education Initiative, it collaborated with Ohio State’s Digital Flagship and the College of Education and Human Ecology for a week-long Teacher Coding Academy.

The learning initiative brought teachers from the Columbus City Schools, South-Western City Schools and Ohio State University Extension to campus to learn coding by developing an app that solves one of three community challenges: documenting firefighter exposure to chemicals that can cause cancer; matching people to services delivered by nonprofits through the Reeb Avenue Center, and helping residents know more about the Linden Farmers Market, which offers fresh food in a “food desert.”

Educators presented their apps at an app showcase to wrap up the coding academy. Community members and educators listened to the presentations.

Three educators from South-Western City Schools developed an app to help document firefighter exposure to chemicals. Teacher Josh Doran says the coding academy taught him a lot about the potential of Apple products in the classroom.

“What I have learned about what Apple products can do for our students and help them out in the future – it’s amazing, just ... having our kids being able to code on the iPad and having a direct program for them to follow,” Doran said.

Math teacher Mark Colvin is excited about what students can learn during app development.

“I like the app development side of this,” he said. “The community involvement, I think, will be huge in the schools. We’ll be able to get community members in and let our students think more outside of themselves and outside of the school, trying to solve bigger problems than what they face in school.”

Marissa Mulligan and Sue Hogan, OSU Extension educators and 4-H youth development experts for Franklin County, designed an app to help Linden area residents learn about the Linden Farmers Market. The colorful app offered information such as whether vendors take cash or credit, what foods vendors offer, and tips on food storage and recipes.

Students at The Ohio State University Columbus campus have a new late-night travel option. Lyft Ride Smart at Ohio State will launch Aug. 1, and provides discounted rides between the hours of 9 p.m. and 3 a.m.

“This new service offering is a direct result of our work with the Undergraduate Student Government and adds a transportation option our students have been requesting for years,” said Beth Snoke, director of Transportation and Traffic Management.

Lyft Ride Smart replaces the university’s previous Safe Ride program after user demand outgrew service capacity.

“The new program will reduce wait times and allow Ohio State to serve a larger portion of our student population,” Snoke said.

Each month, 10,000 discounted rides will be made available to students on a first-come, first-served basis. Ohio State will contribute $5 per ride, and the remainder will be paid by the rider, with the average cost expected to be $2 or less. Once the monthly allotment of 10,000 discounted rides is exhausted, Lyft’s normal service rates will apply for the remainder of the month. Prices may be impacted by distance, traffic, time of day, special events and prime time rates. To qualify for program discounts, users must select “shared ride” when booking in the Lyft app.

“We [USG] believe this partnership provides students with a service-model that reflects their common means of transportation,” said USG President Kate Greer. “This resource will make ridesharing more accessible, and we really encourage all students to save their subsidized rides for situations when they feel unsafe walking home in the areas around campus.”

Safety remains Ohio State’s top priority and users are encouraged to keep their own safety in mind when using ridesharing by:

• Following the vehicle on GPS via the app
• Visually confirming vehicle info/descriptions matches information in the ridesharing app (license plate, model, etc.)
• Matching the color: Most Lyft drivers have a dashboard display that acts as a beacon, changing color to match the rider’s app and help identify their Lyft more easily
• Asking the driver to say who they are picking up
• If you feel unsafe, leaving the area and contacting law enforcement

When using a program discount, only shared rides can be requested. To qualify for the discounted rate, all rides must start and end inside the designated service area:

• North to Hudson Street
• South to Fifth Avenue
• East to Conrail railroad tracks (past North Fourth Street)
• West to North Star Road
• North boundary west of Olentangy River Road is Ackerman Road

Additional program information, including an FAQ, are available at ttm.osu.edu/ride-smart.

It also gave us technology—discoveries that led to sunglasses, cell phones, freeze-dried food and in-ear thermometers.

But there is still so much we don’t know about the moon. As the world celebrates the 50^th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission, Ohio State News sat down with Wayne Schlingman, director of the Arne Slettebak Planetarium at The Ohio State University, to hear more about what that first moon landing taught us and what we still have to learn about our moon. Watch the video, and read on to see more of what Schlingman had to say.

1.) We still aren’t totally sure how the moon formed.

Astronomers mostly think the moon formed when a giant object, roughly the size of Mars, crashed into the Earth, peeled off a layer of the Earth’s crust and sent it spinning into space, where it fell into orbit around Earth. If this theory is right, those bits of Earth’s crust eventually coalesced into one mass, continued spinning and formed the orb that is now the Earth’s moon, Schlingman said.

“We have a lot of evidence that this is true: Certain isotopes when we measure the lunar surface and the Earth’s surface are similar, so that means they’re connected,” he said. “But it doesn’t answer everything. … We don’t know what’s going on because we don’t know the whole composition of the moon.”

Learning more, Schlingman said, could require drilling into the moon’s mantle and studying the core, taking samples and testing them to see what they are made of. That requires another trip to the moon—something NASA has said it might do as soon as 2024.

2.) There are still a lot of moon rocks left to analyze.

And geologists and other scientists might soon get the chance to see what those rocks say about the moon and its composition.

“The first Apollo mission brought back about 50 pounds of rocks, basically a briefcase filled with rocks,” Schlingman said. “And with the other additional missions we’ve taken, we’ve been able to bring back many more rocks—and many of them have been tested in labs. But some of them, NASA sealed away.”

In 1969, Schlingman said, NASA’s scientists didn’t know what to expect from the moon’s soil and rocks: Would the rocks explode when they interacted with Earth’s atmosphere? Would the astronauts sink up to their knees in lunar dust?

NASA recently announced it would release some of those previously unstudied rocks to scientists, something Schlingman said could unlock even more secrets about the moon’s composition.

“This is exciting, because 50 years ago, we didn’t know what questions to ask about the rocks,” he said. “And now we have better technology and greater understanding: We can analyze these rocks to really get some more answers.”

3.) Water exists on the moon.

But we don’t know exactly how much.

“We know that there is water on the moon—we typically will find it in areas that have not been irradiated by sunlight,” Schlingman said. “So, if we think about it like here on Earth, we take mud and expose it to sunlight and the water bakes out. The same thing happens on the moon … so a lot of the places where we find water on the moon are at the poles, in places that have never seen the light of day.”

Humans have found only frozen water and in small amounts. But because we know less about the far side of the moon—the side that never faces the Earth—it is possible that more water exists there. (Learn more about the far side of the moon in a piece Schlingman wrote earlier this year for The Conversation.)

4.) Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin almost ran out of gas.

“They’re flying this lunar module down to the surface and they notice that their landing surface is actually in a crater, and Neil said, well, we’re not going to land there, we’re going to fly somewhere else,” Schlingman said. “And this is while they have 60 seconds of fuel, total fuel that they can use to land. So, they’re flying along and they’re down to 30 seconds, and then it’s 20 seconds, and they make their landing with about 15 total seconds of fuel left to be able to land their module and still be able to get off the surface.”

When Armstrong landed, he sent a message back to NASA headquarters: “Houston, Tranquility Base here. … The Eagle has landed.”

5.) Humans have left a LOT behind on the moon’s surface.

Including, Schlingman said, a gold olive branch as a symbol of peace, communiques from world leaders, moon rovers, patches honoring astronauts from previous missions, and human excrement (astronauts’ waste has to go somewhere).

And the famous flag that Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin planted on the moon’s surface during that first visit on July 20, 1969?

“It’s probably been bleached white,” Schlingman said. “Think about it: It has been on the surface of the moon for 50 years, exposed to the sun’s radiation nonstop. And we know what happens when we lay stuff out here on the Earth, it just bleaches it white.”

6.) Equipment set up during the Apollo missions is still contributing to science.

The Apollo 11 mission, and Apollo 14 and 15—as well as two missions executed by the Soviet Union—left retroreflectors on the moon for lunar laser ranging experiments.

Scientists direct lasers at the reflectors, and measure the distance to the moon to millimeter precision.

“We still do this weekly from the Earth to measure how the moon is moving away from the Earth; it is a test of gravity,” Schlingman said.

And the Apollo 11 mission also showed how powerful science can be.

“It was the first time that we had an image of what the Earth looked like from the moon, our small little marble in space, and the first time we were able to see that there was one thing that connected us—the Earth,” Schlingman said. “The Apollo 11 mission, it really was for all mankind. Yes, we wanted to win, and yes it was for the USA, but we were unified as a planet in that we wanted to be there.”

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.