September 16, 2024 • 17 mins
MANSFIELD, Ohio The Ohio State University has selected Jason Opal as its next dean and director of The Ohio State University at Mansfield, effective Aug. 15. Opal currently serves as associate dean of graduate studies in the Faculty of Arts at McGill University, one of Canada’s leading public research institutions. A scholar and historian of early America and infectious diseases, he is a professor in McGill’s Department of History and Classics with 20 years of academic experience.
At Ohio State Mansfield, Opal will lead efforts to extend and amplify the university’s commitment to student success, innovation in teaching and learning, research opportunities and community engagement.“
Jason is an experienced leader who is passionate about improving the student experience,” said Ryan J. Schmiesing, senior vice provost for external engagement. “I look forward to collaborating with him as our regional campuses continue to engage with stakeholders across the state to identify opportunities, enhance student outcomes and fulfill workforce needs.
”In addition to his scholarship, Opal will bring extensive administrative experience to the Mansfield campus. In his role as associate dean at McGill, Opal is responsible for overseeing graduate programs and improving the student experience for McGill’s largest academic unit. Before joining the dean’s office, Opal served as chair of the Department of History and Classics, the largest department in the Faculty of Arts. Before joining McGill in 2009, he was an assistant professor at Colby College in Waterville, Maine.
“The Mansfield campus combines all the good things of a small campus with all the benefits and resources of a powerhouse university,” said Opal. “That’s a rare combination, and I wanted to be a part of it.”
Ohio State Mansfield is a thriving model for sustainability, experiential education, and hands-on research. The campus has a 20-acre sugar bush for maple syrup production; vernal pools, pine plantations, wetlands and stream heads; and an EcoLab in collaboration with the School of Environment and Natural Resources.
More than 1,500 first-year Ohio State students start their academic journeys on a regional campus. Students can complete the first one to three years of any of Ohio State’s 200-plus majors on the Mansfield campus before transitioning to the Columbus campus to complete their degree. Twelve majors can be completed at Ohio State Mansfield.
Opal also looks forward to being part of the Mansfield community and serving in Ohio State Mansfield’s smaller-campus environment, known for its strong faculty-student connections and holistic student support.
“My first teaching job was at such a campus, and I love the creative interactions and supportive feel that those kinds of schools can provide,” said Opal. “The faculty and staff at Mansfield are passionate about their students, their writing and their projects. My goal will be to share that enthusiasm and to enable the faculty, staff and students to flourish.”
Opal earned his bachelor’s degree from Cornell University and his master’s and doctoral degrees from Brandeis University. He has published or edited three books, written numerous scholarly articles and chapters, and been tapped by American, Canadian and French radio and TV networks to provide historical clarity to pressing issues.“We are grateful for all who supported the search, including the search advisory committee, chaired by David Horn, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences,” said Karla Zadnik, interim executive vice president and provost. “We are also especially appreciative of Eric Anderman and his dedicated service as interim dean and director of Ohio State Mansfield over the past two years.”
At Ohio State Mansfield, Opal will lead efforts to extend and amplify the university’s commitment to student success, innovation in teaching and learning, research opportunities and community engagement.“
Jason is an experienced leader who is passionate about improving the student experience,” said Ryan J. Schmiesing, senior vice provost for external engagement. “I look forward to collaborating with him as our regional campuses continue to engage with stakeholders across the state to identify opportunities, enhance student outcomes and fulfill workforce needs.
”In addition to his scholarship, Opal will bring extensive administrative experience to the Mansfield campus. In his role as associate dean at McGill, Opal is responsible for overseeing graduate programs and improving the student experience for McGill’s largest academic unit. Before joining the dean’s office, Opal served as chair of the Department of History and Classics, the largest department in the Faculty of Arts. Before joining McGill in 2009, he was an assistant professor at Colby College in Waterville, Maine.
“The Mansfield campus combines all the good things of a small campus with all the benefits and resources of a powerhouse university,” said Opal. “That’s a rare combination, and I wanted to be a part of it.”
Ohio State Mansfield is a thriving model for sustainability, experiential education, and hands-on research. The campus has a 20-acre sugar bush for maple syrup production; vernal pools, pine plantations, wetlands and stream heads; and an EcoLab in collaboration with the School of Environment and Natural Resources.
More than 1,500 first-year Ohio State students start their academic journeys on a regional campus. Students can complete the first one to three years of any of Ohio State’s 200-plus majors on the Mansfield campus before transitioning to the Columbus campus to complete their degree. Twelve majors can be completed at Ohio State Mansfield.
Opal also looks forward to being part of the Mansfield community and serving in Ohio State Mansfield’s smaller-campus environment, known for its strong faculty-student connections and holistic student support.
“My first teaching job was at such a campus, and I love the creative interactions and supportive feel that those kinds of schools can provide,” said Opal. “The faculty and staff at Mansfield are passionate about their students, their writing and their projects. My goal will be to share that enthusiasm and to enable the faculty, staff and students to flourish.”
Opal earned his bachelor’s degree from Cornell University and his master’s and doctoral degrees from Brandeis University. He has published or edited three books, written numerous scholarly articles and chapters, and been tapped by American, Canadian and French radio and TV networks to provide historical clarity to pressing issues.“We are grateful for all who supported the search, including the search advisory committee, chaired by David Horn, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences,” said Karla Zadnik, interim executive vice president and provost. “We are also especially appreciative of Eric Anderman and his dedicated service as interim dean and director of Ohio State Mansfield over the past two years.”
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
The CEO you should know, brought to you by Roby
Foster Miller Eric Insurance. This week's CEO Jason Ople, Dean
and Director of the Ohio State University at Mansfield. We're
excited this morning. Is we welcome into the studio the
new dean and Director of the Ohio State University at Mansfield,
(00:24):
Jason Ople. Good morning, and thank you for being here.
Speaker 2 (00:27):
Good morning, seet. It's great to be here.
Speaker 3 (00:28):
Yeah, it's great to see you.
Speaker 1 (00:30):
Heard the name. Just recently taking over. How long have
you been in the role.
Speaker 2 (00:34):
I've been on the job since August fifteenth, and so
it's still new, but it's going really well so far.
Speaker 1 (00:40):
We're going to dive in talk all about it. The
one thing I know, just talking with you before we
turn the microphones on, you seem to be really excited
to be in this role.
Speaker 2 (00:48):
I love the job. It's a lot of challenges, but
it's like I expected in the best way. Great job.
Speaker 1 (00:54):
All right, So let's begin and learn a little bit
about Ohio State University at Mansfield, which has been in
this community for quite some time. Can you tell us
kind of when everything got started?
Speaker 2 (01:05):
Sure? So, the Ohio State University itself founded in the
eighteen seventies as a land grand institution, and then in
the nineteen fifties nineteen fifty six specifically the Houstitate University
opened up some regional campuses, including one here in Mansfield.
And so we've been around for a while. A lot
of changes over the years, but we've stuck with this
mission of being a land grant institution, of being a
(01:26):
kind of top flight flagship university with a really small
campus field.
Speaker 1 (01:31):
Now, as we talk about Ohio State University at Mansfield
Ballpark for us right now, roughly how many students I'm
sure this varies, you know, but roughly how many do
you have?
Speaker 2 (01:42):
So around nine hundred and basically, you know, around three
hundred and fifty or so tend to live on campus
or right near campus. We have some apartment buildings nearby.
Others commute based on their needs. So that's the community
we're talking about it.
Speaker 3 (01:53):
It's nice housing around campus too, absolutely.
Speaker 2 (01:56):
Yes, and we're working on some of the pathways to it.
And I knew I would. Another thing I love about
the job is that when I came here on August fifteenth,
I did see three deer before I saw a person,
So it's a very quiet and peaceful campus.
Speaker 1 (02:07):
Yeah, I'm glad you bring that up. I of course,
you know, I'll broadcast football, basketball games. I'll come back
to the radio station on the front lawn and they'll
be five deer.
Speaker 2 (02:15):
There are a lot of deer.
Speaker 3 (02:16):
No shortage, absolutely all right.
Speaker 1 (02:18):
So how many teachers faculty does the OSU at Mansfield
campus have?
Speaker 2 (02:23):
So around fifty And one really important thing to know
is that so about about little more than half of
those are professors of Ohio State University and they're full
fully OSU professors. I myself am appointed in the history department,
So we're just os you professors who do what they're
teaching at Mansfield. We also have some clinical professors who
(02:43):
do work with robotics. We have professors who are concentrating
on our engineering programs. But it's basically a factive around
fifty and the scale is just fantastic.
Speaker 1 (02:52):
Awesome to hear this morning the voice of the new
Dean and Director of the Ohio State University at Mansfield,
Jason ople He is this week's CEO. You should know
you mentioned nice campus setting there, you get trees, of course,
you have North Central State College.
Speaker 3 (03:07):
You your partner right beside you.
Speaker 2 (03:08):
Absolutely, we have very good relation with them. So there's
you know, there's students from NCI State who are around.
But the thing about it that's really fantastic is that
you know, OSU in general is this huge institution, sixty
five thousand students, six hundred thousand alum. But OSU Mansfield
is this idyllic, very quiet campus and that means small classes.
It means you need get to know the professors really well,
(03:29):
and if they wanted to get to know me, I
have office hours Monday afternoons.
Speaker 3 (03:33):
Great.
Speaker 1 (03:33):
Now, Jason, I want to talk a little bit further
about Ohio State Mansfield and how far do the students
come from, you know, locally and I know others come
from across the state.
Speaker 2 (03:45):
Yes, so there's a good I would say, you know,
the majority are from the area. They're from Richland County,
that's the predominant place, but you know, within a ten
to fifteen mile radius of Mansfield. Then there's also a
large number of students who come from Cuyahoga County, from
from Greater Cleveland. And this is because you know, basically
the region regional campuses work that way. They kind of
draw from their region. So you could say that Ohio
(04:07):
State University Mansfield is also kind of like the Ohio
State University Northeastern Ohio.
Speaker 1 (04:11):
All right, now, I didn't know this, and I'll let
you share about this. Ohio State Mansville one of many
regional campuses. But you were telling me all the regional
campuses have a new data and director right now.
Speaker 2 (04:22):
That's right, And I should say there's only four regional campuses,
and this is a smaller size than the model, for example,
in Pennsylvania. It's a better model because each campus is
really sort of freestanding. We all all are new in
our role and this has been great because we're you know,
we go through stuff together. We text each other to
say things like wayment, does this make sense? And what
about that? So we're a team and we have the
(04:43):
full support of the new president of Ohio State University.
He interviewed me even before I set foot on campus.
He's taken this very very seriously. He wants the regionals
to be at the center of Ohio State University's goal,
which I think is absolutely attainable, which is to be
the best land grant university in the United States.
Speaker 1 (05:00):
Well, it's really cool for you taking over the role.
You mentioned other regional campuses, you know, for Ohio State
not only have new data and directors, but with you know,
the overall university having a new president, but sounds you know,
he's really excited about the regional campuses.
Speaker 2 (05:15):
Absolutely, and it's a really important reason for this. So
the land grant mission. For those of who you know,
he might not know this, it's a kind of a
higher ed thing. The land grant idea is that students
from the states that support the states, so people of
Ohio have pretty much open access to extremely high quality
education that's both practical, designed for originally agriculture or manufacturing.
(05:37):
It's that plus liberal arts background. And the idea is
that it's accessible, it's open, but it's the highest quality possible.
And that's the land grant mission. And the president understands
you've got to have a university that serves the entire
state of Ohio. You can't just be in Columbus, as
awesome as that is, you need to have the whole
state and OSU Mansfield is that for this part of Ohio.
Speaker 1 (05:58):
Well, as we talk about the Ohio University at Mansfield,
we hear this morning from their new dean and director
Jason Ople this week's CEO. You should know, over the
recent years, and I'm sure going on right now, there
have been a lot of recent renovations going on. What
all can you share in what's going on now?
Speaker 2 (06:13):
Sure? So the campus is sort of one side of
NC State, the other side of Ohio State University on
our side of campus. What we're basically doing is some
kind of facelifting operations. We're putting in some you know
OSU signage, just some proud scarlet and gray up flags, banners,
that kind of thing. There's some renovations also in some
of the main academic buildings, and these are all nestled
(06:34):
in between a pollinator site. We have this really lovely
sort of biology lab that's working on the campus itself,
as well as a micro farm that's relocated between some
of the buildings. So it's really kind of a as
I say, it's really quite an idyllic college that's an
open access place for the people of Ohio.
Speaker 1 (06:51):
Awesome to hear about the Ohio State University and Mansfield.
Speaker 3 (06:54):
But let's step away from.
Speaker 1 (06:56):
Work and find out more about their new dean, and
so let's step all the way back to the very beginning.
I'm sure many people are wanting to know. Tell us
where was Jason opleborn.
Speaker 2 (07:09):
I was born in Albany, New York, Okay, and my
dad was a doctor in the US Army, so I
was known as an army brat. We would move around
every year to different bases where my dad took care
of the troops. So I lived in Colorado, Kansas, Maryland,
Kansas again, a couple other places, always in the US.
But then we settled in New England when my dad
(07:30):
finished his service, and so I grew up with this
very kind of all over the place way. But my
wife of twenty one years is from Ohio, so we're
very happy to be coming home both to the United
States as all I'll say, we've been in Canada for
a while and to Ohio.
Speaker 1 (07:45):
All right, terrific, all right. So we found out were
born in Albany, New York. Next, people are wondering where
did you go to high school.
Speaker 2 (07:53):
I went to high school in Rhode Island, the biggest
little state in the Union, a curious little place south
of Massachusetts. So I went there, and then I was
very lucky to go to Cornell University, part of which
actually is a land grant institution has that part of it.
I went to graduate school in the Boston area and
then I've had had two academic jobs, you know, real
jobs after college since then. This is my third and
(08:17):
it's by far my favorite already.
Speaker 1 (08:19):
All right, So you mentioned you were working in Canada
before you came here to Mansfield. To explain a little
bit where you were working there?
Speaker 3 (08:27):
Where?
Speaker 2 (08:27):
Sure, So I was at McGill University in Montreal, I
should say, though before that, I was at Colby College
in Maine. That was my first academic job. It actually
the campus actually reminds me of OSU Mansfield. But I
was at Colby. A great job in a lot of ways.
We moved, Holly and I decided to move to Montreal
and we were there for thirteen years. We raised their
kids or partly raised them up there, and it was
(08:49):
great in many ways. But it's never going to be home.
Homes the United States and homes is Ohio.
Speaker 3 (08:55):
All right, So you were in Montreal.
Speaker 1 (08:58):
Talk about what drew you to apply for the job
here at OSU Mansfield.
Speaker 2 (09:03):
So I basically kind of backed into academic administration or leadership.
I'm a history profit by a trade it's my day job.
But I just got involved in various things to help
actually mostly help graduate students be able to pay their
way through their studies. And so I got into the
roles of being like an associate dean. I was looking
for a job as a dean. This job drew me
(09:23):
for two reasons. The first is that the job of
a dean and director of a regional campus of the
Ohio State University is actually more like being the president
of a small college than being a regular dean, and
I love that so and the campus itself is so exciting.
The fact that the president is so that the regionals
are so central to his mission drew me. And the
(09:46):
fact that it's Ohio it really is. It's you know,
as I say, was, I don't really have a particular
home besides the United States, but my wife does, and
it's become mine.
Speaker 1 (09:54):
Too awesome to hear the story of Jason ople this
morning new dean and director of the Ohio State University
at Mansfield.
Speaker 3 (10:01):
He is this week's CEO.
Speaker 1 (10:03):
You should know, all right, So while we're on the
topic of you, you did mention wife I don't know,
and you did actually did bring up kids, but you
didn't tell us how many, So if you would tell
us a bit more about Jason and the family.
Speaker 2 (10:13):
Sure, we have two kids, Anya and Luke, and they are,
you know, center of the world type stuff for us.
They two are very very happy to be you know,
they have deep roots in Ohio as well because of
my wife's family, and we are a tight knit crew
and we're very very happy to be coming home. All right.
Speaker 1 (10:30):
Now, when you are not working, what do you do
in your spare time? What are the hobbies for Jason ople.
Speaker 2 (10:35):
So I should say when I was in Montreal, the
only hobby that I took on was to learn the
French language. Not to be fancy, but because the kids
by law had to go to school in French. That's
all I did for like two years. My spare time
was to learn that language as well as I could.
But what I really like to do, besides spending time
with the kids and Holly, is to I'm a big runner.
I like to do runs and walks, and I love
(10:58):
to work on houses. So you just have this thing
about really trying to be proud of your home to
keep up with it. I'm not particularly gifted as a
home renovator, but I'm really motivated and so usually enthusiasm
can overcome my incompetence.
Speaker 3 (11:13):
All you'll be spotted at the local hardware.
Speaker 2 (11:15):
Sto right, I was just there on inside, all right.
Speaker 1 (11:17):
Terrific, all right, So as we get back to work
before we let them go. Been terrific and great to
learn the story of Jason ople the new dean and
director at Ohio State Mansfield. Recently, you guys had some
big news. We had it on the air recently in
terms of a degree you can get right here in Mansfield.
So if you would, if people miss the news, I
know we have the information on our website, but share
(11:39):
with us. So what's new here degree wise at the campus?
Speaker 2 (11:42):
So very exciting. There's a new the biology major. It's
now fully completable on campus, which means you can come
to High State University, Mansfield get a degree from the
College of Arts and Sciences of the Ohio State University
as is either a BS or a BA in two
different tracks in biology. One of those tracks profession jobs decisions,
assistant doctor, nurse practitioner, and then there's also a general
(12:06):
biology track for research for all kinds of professions in
that field. And the great thing about this again, is
that this is it's an OSU degree. It's OSU biology
biologists you're teaching. You. I interview all those professors and
I know that they are top notch academics. And it's
much more accessible and it's much more small scale and
available right here in Mansfield. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (12:26):
Really cool to be able.
Speaker 1 (12:28):
You talk about, you know, high State University and all
of the options you have, but you don't have to
leave the Mansfield campus.
Speaker 3 (12:33):
That's really cool.
Speaker 2 (12:34):
You do not. So a lot of students, you know,
a third of students are so come to Ohio State University,
Mansfield and then they go to Columbus for to complete
their degree. And that's fine and great. Others for all
kinds of reasons stay on campus. They in our small, idyllic,
quiet place. But either way, you graduate an Ohio State
University degree, you enter a vast Buckeye nation of now
(12:55):
six hundred thousand alum and I'm just extremely proud of
you part of that.
Speaker 1 (12:59):
Well, before I let you go, a couple things real
quick and a great chance this morning with Jason ople
new diena director of Ohio State Mansfield. It's funny and
a lot lot of times you know, it may be
a college football Saturday night Ohio State, you know, primetime spotlight.
But it's funny you go across the country, maybe the
bowl game, maybe they're in California, Texas, wherever they're at,
but you see buck Eye Nation everywhere.
Speaker 2 (13:21):
That is absolutely right. I'll just say something about that.
You have to be outside the United States to understand this,
as I was in Canada. But one of the great
strengths of the United States is that it has these
regional patriotisms. We all know our national idea is a
bit divisive, okay, but we can all agree in our
regional patriotism. People are proud to be from Ohio. They're
(13:41):
proud to be from other states too, but Ohio's got
a particular thing about it, and to be responsible for
one of the institutions of which Ohioans are most proud
is fills me with purpose every day.
Speaker 3 (13:53):
Now, have you been to a game at Ohio Stadium?
Speaker 2 (13:55):
Not yet? I'm going on October fifth.
Speaker 3 (13:56):
Okay, good, I was going to say I was.
Speaker 1 (13:58):
If you haven't been, really cool, I've been, you know,
as we're an affiliate of you know, the broadcast of
the games. So I've been down on the field and
there is nothing like being in the horseshoe.
Speaker 2 (14:07):
It appears that way. I'm super excited for the game.
And what I try to tell the students is, you know,
all right, do tell the students is you're every bit
of part of that nation. You're every bit a part
of that massive kind of world, and you're also a
student at this small, quiet, really supportive campus. And like
I say, you know, students over use the word amazing,
but there's something kind of amazing about that, something good
(14:28):
under the sun.
Speaker 1 (14:29):
It's really cool too when you think about it. You
know somebody who's went to Ohio State and you know
they are in Ohio State graduate when they tell you
they are from the Ohio State University.
Speaker 2 (14:40):
There's no question about that. And it's quite a thing
to be to be a part of. Even though I
wasn't it wasn't raised in it, I've come to just
just love it.
Speaker 3 (14:47):
Yeah, awesome.
Speaker 1 (14:48):
Well we got to let them go this morning, but
I want to let him throw out a little more information.
Jason ople new Dean and Director Ohio State University at Mansfield.
This week's CEO. You should know somebody wants to take
a tour of the beautiful campus. They want to get
more information, they want to think about, you know, taking classes,
getting enroled. How do they get it started? I'm sure
they go to the website.
Speaker 2 (15:08):
It's super easy. So really just go to Ohio State
University and you'll just see at the bottom of the
page the different chemises, so you know there's it's not
a main campus versus other campus. It's just all the
campuses and just click on Mansfield that I'll take us
right to our site. We have all kinds of tours.
I myself, We'll be proud to meet you. For our tours,
we go into classrooms, we talk to profs, talk to students,
(15:28):
show you around the beautiful campus. That's super easy. You
can email me I'm Opal dot one at OSU dot EEDU,
or you can be in touch with any of our
staff right there on the website and we'll get you
going again. The concept the mission is an open access
place for a top flight university for the people of Ohio.
Speaker 1 (15:44):
Now, as I let you go, I always like to
let people talk about their organization and kind of you know,
what makes you special. So I know for O High
State Mansfield, you have that world class education, right here.
You know, you mentioned small class sizes, you got the professor,
you know them really well type thing. But if you
but what kind of sets Osu Man's field.
Speaker 2 (16:01):
Apart, I would say what SE's Osu Man's field apart
is the extreme passion of the professors. I mean, they
are committed to this vision, they understand it. They are
all in on their teaching and their research in this
both right. So they it's not so that they kind
of like regurgitate or talk about stuff that they know.
They're actually creating knowledge with the students. They're all in
(16:22):
on it. The students pick up on that, and that
makes the place, even though it's really quiet and tranquil
and accessible and kind of easy, it's also exciting and
bubbly and energetic. And I just love that. And so
a lot of times what I'll do between my meetings
is I'll just walk around campus, sit down at one
of the cafes, and do emails there, because just to
be around it is really quite a thing. Like I say,
(16:43):
it's something good under the sun, something something that's going
well awesome.
Speaker 3 (16:46):
Now I should through this out there too. How is it?
Speaker 1 (16:49):
How is your welcome being to the Man's foot are.
I'm sure you've talked with a lot of people in town.
Speaker 2 (16:53):
It's remarkable. I mean, people are so welcoming and there's
a genuine you know, it's it's not something that's that's
fake or kind of performance. They're genuinely glad to have
OSU Mansfield here, as you should you know, college campuses
are great for communities. They really really do all kinds
of stuff for them. So people are genuinely happy and
they have the sense of we are in this together,
(17:13):
We're part of the Black Eye Nation, and it creates
a camaraderie right away.
Speaker 1 (17:17):
Well, great to learn the story of Jason ople new
deanon director at the Ohio State University at Mansfield this week.
CEO you should know, Well, we appreciate your time coming
into the studio. Again, great to learn about you and
we wish you continued success. Many thanks, Jason Ople Deanon,
director of OSU Mansfield, the CEO you should know, rita bio,
(17:41):
see a photo and here the extended interview at WMA
n FM dot com.
Speaker 2 (17:46):
Leading means having a vision and sharing it with others.
Speaker 3 (17:49):
I'm John Roby of RFI Insurance. We're excited to bring
you this program featuring CEOs from our area who will
share the thoughts on what it means to work and
live in north central Ohio.
The CEO you should know, brought to you by Roby
Foster Miller Eric Insurance. This week's CEO Jason Ople, Dean
and Director of the Ohio State University at Mansfield. We're
excited this morning. Is we welcome into the studio the
new dean and Director of the Ohio State University at Mansfield,
(00:24):
Jason Ople. Good morning, and thank you for being here.
Speaker 2 (00:27):
Good morning, seet. It's great to be here.
Speaker 3 (00:28):
Yeah, it's great to see you.
Speaker 1 (00:30):
Heard the name. Just recently taking over. How long have
you been in the role.
Speaker 2 (00:34):
I've been on the job since August fifteenth, and so
it's still new, but it's going really well so far.
Speaker 1 (00:40):
We're going to dive in talk all about it. The
one thing I know, just talking with you before we
turn the microphones on, you seem to be really excited
to be in this role.
Speaker 2 (00:48):
I love the job. It's a lot of challenges, but
it's like I expected in the best way. Great job.
Speaker 1 (00:54):
All right, So let's begin and learn a little bit
about Ohio State University at Mansfield, which has been in
this community for quite some time. Can you tell us
kind of when everything got started?
Speaker 2 (01:05):
Sure? So, the Ohio State University itself founded in the
eighteen seventies as a land grand institution, and then in
the nineteen fifties nineteen fifty six specifically the Houstitate University
opened up some regional campuses, including one here in Mansfield.
And so we've been around for a while. A lot
of changes over the years, but we've stuck with this
mission of being a land grant institution, of being a
(01:26):
kind of top flight flagship university with a really small
campus field.
Speaker 1 (01:31):
Now, as we talk about Ohio State University at Mansfield
Ballpark for us right now, roughly how many students I'm
sure this varies, you know, but roughly how many do
you have?
Speaker 2 (01:42):
So around nine hundred and basically, you know, around three
hundred and fifty or so tend to live on campus
or right near campus. We have some apartment buildings nearby.
Others commute based on their needs. So that's the community
we're talking about it.
Speaker 3 (01:53):
It's nice housing around campus too, absolutely.
Speaker 2 (01:56):
Yes, and we're working on some of the pathways to it.
And I knew I would. Another thing I love about
the job is that when I came here on August fifteenth,
I did see three deer before I saw a person,
So it's a very quiet and peaceful campus.
Speaker 1 (02:07):
Yeah, I'm glad you bring that up. I of course,
you know, I'll broadcast football, basketball games. I'll come back
to the radio station on the front lawn and they'll
be five deer.
Speaker 2 (02:15):
There are a lot of deer.
Speaker 3 (02:16):
No shortage, absolutely all right.
Speaker 1 (02:18):
So how many teachers faculty does the OSU at Mansfield
campus have?
Speaker 2 (02:23):
So around fifty And one really important thing to know
is that so about about little more than half of
those are professors of Ohio State University and they're full
fully OSU professors. I myself am appointed in the history department,
So we're just os you professors who do what they're
teaching at Mansfield. We also have some clinical professors who
(02:43):
do work with robotics. We have professors who are concentrating
on our engineering programs. But it's basically a factive around
fifty and the scale is just fantastic.
Speaker 1 (02:52):
Awesome to hear this morning the voice of the new
Dean and Director of the Ohio State University at Mansfield,
Jason ople He is this week's CEO. You should know
you mentioned nice campus setting there, you get trees, of course,
you have North Central State College.
Speaker 3 (03:07):
You your partner right beside you.
Speaker 2 (03:08):
Absolutely, we have very good relation with them. So there's
you know, there's students from NCI State who are around.
But the thing about it that's really fantastic is that
you know, OSU in general is this huge institution, sixty
five thousand students, six hundred thousand alum. But OSU Mansfield
is this idyllic, very quiet campus and that means small classes.
It means you need get to know the professors really well,
(03:29):
and if they wanted to get to know me, I
have office hours Monday afternoons.
Speaker 3 (03:33):
Great.
Speaker 1 (03:33):
Now, Jason, I want to talk a little bit further
about Ohio State Mansfield and how far do the students
come from, you know, locally and I know others come
from across the state.
Speaker 2 (03:45):
Yes, so there's a good I would say, you know,
the majority are from the area. They're from Richland County,
that's the predominant place, but you know, within a ten
to fifteen mile radius of Mansfield. Then there's also a
large number of students who come from Cuyahoga County, from
from Greater Cleveland. And this is because you know, basically
the region regional campuses work that way. They kind of
draw from their region. So you could say that Ohio
(04:07):
State University Mansfield is also kind of like the Ohio
State University Northeastern Ohio.
Speaker 1 (04:11):
All right, now, I didn't know this, and I'll let
you share about this. Ohio State Mansville one of many
regional campuses. But you were telling me all the regional
campuses have a new data and director right now.
Speaker 2 (04:22):
That's right, And I should say there's only four regional campuses,
and this is a smaller size than the model, for example,
in Pennsylvania. It's a better model because each campus is
really sort of freestanding. We all all are new in
our role and this has been great because we're you know,
we go through stuff together. We text each other to
say things like wayment, does this make sense? And what
about that? So we're a team and we have the
(04:43):
full support of the new president of Ohio State University.
He interviewed me even before I set foot on campus.
He's taken this very very seriously. He wants the regionals
to be at the center of Ohio State University's goal,
which I think is absolutely attainable, which is to be
the best land grant university in the United States.
Speaker 1 (05:00):
Well, it's really cool for you taking over the role.
You mentioned other regional campuses, you know, for Ohio State
not only have new data and directors, but with you know,
the overall university having a new president, but sounds you know,
he's really excited about the regional campuses.
Speaker 2 (05:15):
Absolutely, and it's a really important reason for this. So
the land grant mission. For those of who you know,
he might not know this, it's a kind of a
higher ed thing. The land grant idea is that students
from the states that support the states, so people of
Ohio have pretty much open access to extremely high quality
education that's both practical, designed for originally agriculture or manufacturing.
(05:37):
It's that plus liberal arts background. And the idea is
that it's accessible, it's open, but it's the highest quality possible.
And that's the land grant mission. And the president understands
you've got to have a university that serves the entire
state of Ohio. You can't just be in Columbus, as
awesome as that is, you need to have the whole
state and OSU Mansfield is that for this part of Ohio.
Speaker 1 (05:58):
Well, as we talk about the Ohio University at Mansfield,
we hear this morning from their new dean and director
Jason Ople this week's CEO. You should know, over the
recent years, and I'm sure going on right now, there
have been a lot of recent renovations going on. What
all can you share in what's going on now?
Speaker 2 (06:13):
Sure? So the campus is sort of one side of
NC State, the other side of Ohio State University on
our side of campus. What we're basically doing is some
kind of facelifting operations. We're putting in some you know
OSU signage, just some proud scarlet and gray up flags, banners,
that kind of thing. There's some renovations also in some
of the main academic buildings, and these are all nestled
(06:34):
in between a pollinator site. We have this really lovely
sort of biology lab that's working on the campus itself,
as well as a micro farm that's relocated between some
of the buildings. So it's really kind of a as
I say, it's really quite an idyllic college that's an
open access place for the people of Ohio.
Speaker 1 (06:51):
Awesome to hear about the Ohio State University and Mansfield.
Speaker 3 (06:54):
But let's step away from.
Speaker 1 (06:56):
Work and find out more about their new dean, and
so let's step all the way back to the very beginning.
I'm sure many people are wanting to know. Tell us
where was Jason opleborn.
Speaker 2 (07:09):
I was born in Albany, New York, Okay, and my
dad was a doctor in the US Army, so I
was known as an army brat. We would move around
every year to different bases where my dad took care
of the troops. So I lived in Colorado, Kansas, Maryland,
Kansas again, a couple other places, always in the US.
But then we settled in New England when my dad
(07:30):
finished his service, and so I grew up with this
very kind of all over the place way. But my
wife of twenty one years is from Ohio, so we're
very happy to be coming home both to the United
States as all I'll say, we've been in Canada for
a while and to Ohio.
Speaker 1 (07:45):
All right, terrific, all right. So we found out were
born in Albany, New York. Next, people are wondering where
did you go to high school.
Speaker 2 (07:53):
I went to high school in Rhode Island, the biggest
little state in the Union, a curious little place south
of Massachusetts. So I went there, and then I was
very lucky to go to Cornell University, part of which
actually is a land grant institution has that part of it.
I went to graduate school in the Boston area and
then I've had had two academic jobs, you know, real
jobs after college since then. This is my third and
(08:17):
it's by far my favorite already.
Speaker 1 (08:19):
All right, So you mentioned you were working in Canada
before you came here to Mansfield. To explain a little
bit where you were working there?
Speaker 3 (08:27):
Where?
Speaker 2 (08:27):
Sure, So I was at McGill University in Montreal, I
should say, though before that, I was at Colby College
in Maine. That was my first academic job. It actually
the campus actually reminds me of OSU Mansfield. But I
was at Colby. A great job in a lot of ways.
We moved, Holly and I decided to move to Montreal
and we were there for thirteen years. We raised their
kids or partly raised them up there, and it was
(08:49):
great in many ways. But it's never going to be home.
Homes the United States and homes is Ohio.
Speaker 3 (08:55):
All right, So you were in Montreal.
Speaker 1 (08:58):
Talk about what drew you to apply for the job
here at OSU Mansfield.
Speaker 2 (09:03):
So I basically kind of backed into academic administration or leadership.
I'm a history profit by a trade it's my day job.
But I just got involved in various things to help
actually mostly help graduate students be able to pay their
way through their studies. And so I got into the
roles of being like an associate dean. I was looking
for a job as a dean. This job drew me
(09:23):
for two reasons. The first is that the job of
a dean and director of a regional campus of the
Ohio State University is actually more like being the president
of a small college than being a regular dean, and
I love that so and the campus itself is so exciting.
The fact that the president is so that the regionals
are so central to his mission drew me. And the
(09:46):
fact that it's Ohio it really is. It's you know,
as I say, was, I don't really have a particular
home besides the United States, but my wife does, and
it's become mine.
Speaker 1 (09:54):
Too awesome to hear the story of Jason ople this
morning new dean and director of the Ohio State University
at Mansfield.
Speaker 3 (10:01):
He is this week's CEO.
Speaker 1 (10:03):
You should know, all right, So while we're on the
topic of you, you did mention wife I don't know,
and you did actually did bring up kids, but you
didn't tell us how many, So if you would tell
us a bit more about Jason and the family.
Speaker 2 (10:13):
Sure, we have two kids, Anya and Luke, and they are,
you know, center of the world type stuff for us.
They two are very very happy to be you know,
they have deep roots in Ohio as well because of
my wife's family, and we are a tight knit crew
and we're very very happy to be coming home. All right.
Speaker 1 (10:30):
Now, when you are not working, what do you do
in your spare time? What are the hobbies for Jason ople.
Speaker 2 (10:35):
So I should say when I was in Montreal, the
only hobby that I took on was to learn the
French language. Not to be fancy, but because the kids
by law had to go to school in French. That's
all I did for like two years. My spare time
was to learn that language as well as I could.
But what I really like to do, besides spending time
with the kids and Holly, is to I'm a big runner.
I like to do runs and walks, and I love
(10:58):
to work on houses. So you just have this thing
about really trying to be proud of your home to
keep up with it. I'm not particularly gifted as a
home renovator, but I'm really motivated and so usually enthusiasm
can overcome my incompetence.
Speaker 3 (11:13):
All you'll be spotted at the local hardware.
Speaker 2 (11:15):
Sto right, I was just there on inside, all right.
Speaker 1 (11:17):
Terrific, all right, So as we get back to work
before we let them go. Been terrific and great to
learn the story of Jason ople the new dean and
director at Ohio State Mansfield. Recently, you guys had some
big news. We had it on the air recently in
terms of a degree you can get right here in Mansfield.
So if you would, if people miss the news, I
know we have the information on our website, but share
(11:39):
with us. So what's new here degree wise at the campus?
Speaker 2 (11:42):
So very exciting. There's a new the biology major. It's
now fully completable on campus, which means you can come
to High State University, Mansfield get a degree from the
College of Arts and Sciences of the Ohio State University
as is either a BS or a BA in two
different tracks in biology. One of those tracks profession jobs decisions,
assistant doctor, nurse practitioner, and then there's also a general
(12:06):
biology track for research for all kinds of professions in
that field. And the great thing about this again, is
that this is it's an OSU degree. It's OSU biology
biologists you're teaching. You. I interview all those professors and
I know that they are top notch academics. And it's
much more accessible and it's much more small scale and
available right here in Mansfield. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (12:26):
Really cool to be able.
Speaker 1 (12:28):
You talk about, you know, high State University and all
of the options you have, but you don't have to
leave the Mansfield campus.
Speaker 3 (12:33):
That's really cool.
Speaker 2 (12:34):
You do not. So a lot of students, you know,
a third of students are so come to Ohio State University,
Mansfield and then they go to Columbus for to complete
their degree. And that's fine and great. Others for all
kinds of reasons stay on campus. They in our small, idyllic,
quiet place. But either way, you graduate an Ohio State
University degree, you enter a vast Buckeye nation of now
(12:55):
six hundred thousand alum and I'm just extremely proud of
you part of that.
Speaker 1 (12:59):
Well, before I let you go, a couple things real
quick and a great chance this morning with Jason ople
new diena director of Ohio State Mansfield. It's funny and
a lot lot of times you know, it may be
a college football Saturday night Ohio State, you know, primetime spotlight.
But it's funny you go across the country, maybe the
bowl game, maybe they're in California, Texas, wherever they're at,
but you see buck Eye Nation everywhere.
Speaker 2 (13:21):
That is absolutely right. I'll just say something about that.
You have to be outside the United States to understand this,
as I was in Canada. But one of the great
strengths of the United States is that it has these
regional patriotisms. We all know our national idea is a
bit divisive, okay, but we can all agree in our
regional patriotism. People are proud to be from Ohio. They're
(13:41):
proud to be from other states too, but Ohio's got
a particular thing about it, and to be responsible for
one of the institutions of which Ohioans are most proud
is fills me with purpose every day.
Speaker 3 (13:53):
Now, have you been to a game at Ohio Stadium?
Speaker 2 (13:55):
Not yet? I'm going on October fifth.
Speaker 3 (13:56):
Okay, good, I was going to say I was.
Speaker 1 (13:58):
If you haven't been, really cool, I've been, you know,
as we're an affiliate of you know, the broadcast of
the games. So I've been down on the field and
there is nothing like being in the horseshoe.
Speaker 2 (14:07):
It appears that way. I'm super excited for the game.
And what I try to tell the students is, you know,
all right, do tell the students is you're every bit
of part of that nation. You're every bit a part
of that massive kind of world, and you're also a
student at this small, quiet, really supportive campus. And like
I say, you know, students over use the word amazing,
but there's something kind of amazing about that, something good
(14:28):
under the sun.
Speaker 1 (14:29):
It's really cool too when you think about it. You
know somebody who's went to Ohio State and you know
they are in Ohio State graduate when they tell you
they are from the Ohio State University.
Speaker 2 (14:40):
There's no question about that. And it's quite a thing
to be to be a part of. Even though I
wasn't it wasn't raised in it, I've come to just
just love it.
Speaker 3 (14:47):
Yeah, awesome.
Speaker 1 (14:48):
Well we got to let them go this morning, but
I want to let him throw out a little more information.
Jason ople new Dean and Director Ohio State University at Mansfield.
This week's CEO. You should know somebody wants to take
a tour of the beautiful campus. They want to get
more information, they want to think about, you know, taking classes,
getting enroled. How do they get it started? I'm sure
they go to the website.
Speaker 2 (15:08):
It's super easy. So really just go to Ohio State
University and you'll just see at the bottom of the
page the different chemises, so you know there's it's not
a main campus versus other campus. It's just all the
campuses and just click on Mansfield that I'll take us
right to our site. We have all kinds of tours.
I myself, We'll be proud to meet you. For our tours,
we go into classrooms, we talk to profs, talk to students,
(15:28):
show you around the beautiful campus. That's super easy. You
can email me I'm Opal dot one at OSU dot EEDU,
or you can be in touch with any of our
staff right there on the website and we'll get you
going again. The concept the mission is an open access
place for a top flight university for the people of Ohio.
Speaker 1 (15:44):
Now, as I let you go, I always like to
let people talk about their organization and kind of you know,
what makes you special. So I know for O High
State Mansfield, you have that world class education, right here.
You know, you mentioned small class sizes, you got the professor,
you know them really well type thing. But if you
but what kind of sets Osu Man's field.
Speaker 2 (16:01):
Apart, I would say what SE's Osu Man's field apart
is the extreme passion of the professors. I mean, they
are committed to this vision, they understand it. They are
all in on their teaching and their research in this
both right. So they it's not so that they kind
of like regurgitate or talk about stuff that they know.
They're actually creating knowledge with the students. They're all in
(16:22):
on it. The students pick up on that, and that
makes the place, even though it's really quiet and tranquil
and accessible and kind of easy, it's also exciting and
bubbly and energetic. And I just love that. And so
a lot of times what I'll do between my meetings
is I'll just walk around campus, sit down at one
of the cafes, and do emails there, because just to
be around it is really quite a thing. Like I say,
(16:43):
it's something good under the sun, something something that's going
well awesome.
Speaker 3 (16:46):
Now I should through this out there too. How is it?
Speaker 1 (16:49):
How is your welcome being to the Man's foot are.
I'm sure you've talked with a lot of people in town.
Speaker 2 (16:53):
It's remarkable. I mean, people are so welcoming and there's
a genuine you know, it's it's not something that's that's
fake or kind of performance. They're genuinely glad to have
OSU Mansfield here, as you should you know, college campuses
are great for communities. They really really do all kinds
of stuff for them. So people are genuinely happy and
they have the sense of we are in this together,
(17:13):
We're part of the Black Eye Nation, and it creates
a camaraderie right away.
Speaker 1 (17:17):
Well, great to learn the story of Jason ople new
deanon director at the Ohio State University at Mansfield this week.
CEO you should know, Well, we appreciate your time coming
into the studio. Again, great to learn about you and
we wish you continued success. Many thanks, Jason Ople Deanon,
director of OSU Mansfield, the CEO you should know, rita bio,
(17:41):
see a photo and here the extended interview at WMA
n FM dot com.
Speaker 2 (17:46):
Leading means having a vision and sharing it with others.
Speaker 3 (17:49):
I'm John Roby of RFI Insurance. We're excited to bring
you this program featuring CEOs from our area who will
share the thoughts on what it means to work and
live in north central Ohio.
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