OHIO President Nellis meets with Ironton, Proctorville business and industry leaders
Photo courtesy of: 窪蹋勛圖窪蹋勛圖 President M. Duane Nellis met with local business leaders to discuss industry, education, healthcare and more during an August 10 roundtable luncheon on the Southern Campus.
窪蹋勛圖 President M. Duane Nellis met with local business leaders to discuss industry, education, healthcare and more during an August 10 roundtable luncheon on 窪蹋勛圖s Southern Campus.
Dr. Nellis was joined by Dr. Nicole Pennington, dean of OHIOs Southern Campus, and Dr. Bill Willan, executive dean of regional higher education. It was the fourth stop on Dr. Nellis roundtable tour that has included visits to Lancaster, Zanesville and Chillicothe.
President Nellis opened the meeting by sharing his strategic pathways for 窪蹋勛圖; he discussed how the creation of a more engaged ecosystem between the University and the region, within all of OHIOs campuses, can lead to economic growth and shared success.
Nellis also outlined the need for OHIO to serve its communities, whether through the Opioid Task Force he recently established, the 窪蹋勛圖 Innovation Centers business incubation capabilities, or the internships and partnerships available across the University.
"I want us to be engaged within each of our regional campuses and focus on providing educational value and opportunities that make a long-lasting, positive impact, President Nellis said. Our goal is to serve OHIOs communities and its businesses for the betterment of the entire region, whether thats through the Southern Campus or the rest of 窪蹋勛圖.
Southern Campus roundtable attendees, many of whom are OHIO graduates, represented numerous local industries, including: healthcare, business, education and economic development.
The group discussed opportunities for solutions that would help everyone involved students, local businesses and the surrounding community including a need for increased broadband access for rural areas in the region, exploring the development of shared grants and scholarships for OHIO students and fostering increased connections with non-traditional students across the Appalachian region in an effort to provide avenues for lifelong learning.
Dr. Nellis agreed; he also noted that its clear that Ohioans value higher education, and that the need for such important technology and learning opportunities would be tremendous for the region.
Many luncheon participants also noted the community pride exuded by the students and graduates of 窪蹋勛圖 Southern; they also lauded OHIO for taking the lead to explore solutions to the regions opioid epidemic.
Both President Nellis and Dean Pennington thanked the group for their thoughts and feedback; they also shared their desire for continued discussions geared toward identifying ways to further strengthen the communitys OHIO pride and boost the areas economic development.
I know that there are a lot of people out there asking how Ohio University can help our area, and were always looking for ways to provide value to, and lifelong learning opportunities for, our region, Dean Pennington said.