The University of Toledo is partnering with Ohio’s 13 other public universities to raise awareness of the value of public higher education and spur efforts to produce more college graduates to close the state’s higher education attainment gap.

The statewide campaign, called Forward Ohio, seeks to mobilize public support for enhanced investment in public higher education and ensure that it is a public policy imperative for state government.

“We know that higher education is a smart investment for the college graduate who will earn $1 million more than a high school graduate over the course of a lifetime,” UT President Sharon L. Gaber said. “It also is a smart investment for the state because Ohio needs a highly skilled workforce to attract and retain the jobs of the future. Public universities like The University of Toledo play an important role in training the majority of those skilled workers.”

Studies indicate that about 66 percent of jobs in Ohio in 2025 will require degree, certificate or other postsecondary workforce credential. Currently, just 44 percent of working-age Ohioans have these credentials.

Currently, just 44 percent of working-age Ohioans have these credentials.The Forward Ohio campaign illustrates how maintaining a strong system of public higher education is essential to closing the attainment gap and meeting the economic and workforce needs of the state’s business community.

The Forward Ohio campaign illustrates how maintaining a strong system of public higher education is essential to closing the attainment gap and meeting the economic and workforce needs of the state’s business community.

In addition to producing the workforce of the future, public universities also have direct economic impacts on their communities. In northwest Ohio, UT is the region’s second-largest employer and has a $3.3 billion annual impact on the community. For every $1 invested by the state into UT, $10 of economic impact is generated to the local economy.

UT also is an exceptional value for our students providing a high-quality education with one of the lowest tuition rates among Ohio’s public universities.

The value of a UT degree has been validated by external sources such as Schools.com, which ranked UT Ohio’s best four-year college when analyzing criteria such as affordability, flexibility and student services. The website LendEDU also ranked UT the top Ohio public college for the lowest student debt. Most recently, Student Loan Hero listed Toledo third in its list of the 20 cheapest cities in the country for college students, a ranking based on cost-of-living data in college towns where students benefit from low room and board costs on and off campus.

“UT and all of Ohio’s public universities provide significant value to our students and to the state,” Gaber said. “I join my fellow university presidents in advocating for enhanced support for strong public higher education to move Ohio forward.”

Visit the Forward Ohio website at www.forwardohio.org for more detailed facts, figures and success stories.

BOARD OF TRUSTEES MEETINGS
Wednesday, May 16, 2018
Driscoll Alumni Center, Schmakel Room
5:30 p.m. Board of Trustees Dinner

Monday, May 21, 2018
Mulford Library, Board Room
4 p.m. Privileging and Credentialing Sub-Committee Meeting
This subcommittee will enter Executive Session immediately upon convening
the meeting to discuss privileged information related to the evaluation of
medical staff personnel appointments.

Any questions may be directed to the Office of University Communications by calling 419.530.2410 or via email to meghan.cunningham@utoledo.edu.

The highest number of students in at least 20 years is eligible to participate in The University of Toledo’s commencement on Saturday, May 5.

The more than 3,000 candidates for degrees will celebrate their achievement at the graduation ceremonies in the Glass Bowl. The undergraduate ceremony is scheduled for 10 a.m. and the graduate ceremony will be 3 p.m.

Included among those soon-to-be alumni is Robert Edgar Barger, who will receive his associate of technical studies degree from University College at the age of 96. He had attended UT after returning from serving in the United States Navy during World War II, but left before finishing his degree. After a recent review of his transcripts, it was determined the veteran met the requirements to graduate with an associate degree. Read more of Barger’s story here.

Chuck Ealey, the football great and businessman, is the commencement speaker and will receive an honorary doctor of humane letters.

As the UT quarterback, Ealey led the undefeated Rockets to 35 victories in three seasons from 1969 to 1971. After graduation, he joined the Canadian Football League and in his seven years in the league played for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, Toronto Argonauts and Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

After hanging up his helmet, Ealey used his degree in economics from UT as a certified financial planner with Investors Group for 30 years. The 1972 UT alumnus also inspires through the Chuck Ealey Foundation, which helps people discover and embrace their undefeated spirit to better themselves and their community.

Dr. Helen Sun, chief technology officer of architecture, engineering and data management at JPMorgan Chase & Co. in Chicago, will address graduate students participating in the afternoon ceremony. She received a PhD in educational technology from UT in 2001.

Those planning to attend commencement are advised to use the west entrance off Secor Road and the south entrance off Dorr Street to avoid congestion on West Bancroft Street.

The public ceremonies also can be viewed live at utoledo.edu/video.

Two successful graduates of The University of Toledo will join the UT Board of Trustees as national members.

Roy V. Armes, a 1975 mechanical engineering graduate of the UT College of Engineering who served as president and CEO of Cooper Tire & Rubber Company in Findlay, and Birdel F. Jackson, III, who graduated from UT in 1968 with a civil engineering degree and founded the B&E Jackson and Associates engineering and consulting firm in Atlanta, will join the UT Board of Trustees effective July 2. Their appointment was approved Monday.

UT established national trustees last year to take advantage of the diverse cultural, geographic, business, professional, public service and civic backgrounds, talents and experiences of friends and alumni of the University. Toledo native and award-winning journalist Christine Brennan was named the first national member. National trustees serve a two-year term without voting privileges.

Armes

“Roy and Birdel are among UT’s most distinguished alumni who are highly respected leaders in their professions,” Board Chair Steven Cavanaugh said. “The perspectives from these accomplished graduates will be invaluable as we make progress on our strategic priorities.”

Armes led Cooper Tire for a decade. He was appointed CEO and president in 2006 and chairman in 2007. He retired in 2016.

Armes’ career also included a variety of roles for the Whirlpool Corp. in the areas of engineering, manufacturing, global procurement and international operations management. He served as corporate vice president and general director of Whirlpool Mexico, vice president of manufacturing technology for Whirlpool Asia, and vice president of manufacturing technology-refrigeration products for Whirlpool Europe.

Armes and his wife, Marcia, were instrumental in establishing the Engineering Leadership Institute in UT’s College of Engineering to help undergraduate engineering students develop leadership skills. The Armes have provided generous support to The University of Toledo.

Jackson

Jackson established B&E Jackson and Associates in 1988 and grew the company into a respected professional consulting firm serving the transportation, aviation and civil engineering industries.

Jackson began his career in the bridge divisions for U.S. Steel in Pittsburgh and the District of Columbia Highway Department. He went on to work for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, General Electric and engineering and architecture firms. He spent much of his career in Atlanta and is a registered professional engineer in Georgia and 13 other states.

Jackson is the president of the Jackson-Davis Foundation, which he established to award scholarships in honor of his grandparents and to make the engineering profession more diverse and inclusive. He has served his alma mater as past president of the UT Alumni Association and University of Toledo Foundation board. Jackson also has been recognized with the UT Alumni Association’s Gold T and Blue T awards.

University of Toledo students, faculty and staff can catch a bus anywhere in the community for free through a new partnership with the Toledo Area Regional Transit Authority.

TARTA will begin managing UT’s bus shuttle services this summer, continuing the same on-campus routes and also providing free access to all TARTA bus routes for every UT student, faculty and staff member with their Rocket ID card. The UT Board of Trustees approved the partnership on Monday.

“We listened to our student leaders who asked us to expand bus services to enhance access to off-campus experiences and we recognize the importance of UT being a leader in connecting to the broader community,” said Larry Kelley, UT executive vice president for finance and administration, and chief financial officer. “Consolidating our campus bus system with our regional transit system will help our students — and all 6,500 employees of the University — get downtown or to the zoo or to area shopping and restaurants more easily. It will allow them to better connect to our community.”

“TARTA is about connecting people with the places they want and need to go. This partnership is a great opportunity for UT students, faculty and staff to be directly connected to the entire metro Toledo community,” TARTA General Manager James Gee said. “The partnership is an example of collaborating to create efficiencies that enhance the vitality of our region overall.”

UT will pay TARTA an annual fee to manage its transit system. The cost is comparable to current operating costs for the University’s bus program and there will be no additional fees for students.

UT expects to save about $2 million that without this partnership would have been required to purchase new vehicles to replace its aging bus fleet. Of UT’s fleet of 16 buses, nine are approaching replacement.

TARTA will continue to employ the UT students to drive campus buses and maintain the GPS system used to track the vehicles along their on-campus routes.

There are 16 Ohio colleges and universities with similar partnerships with their regional transit authorities, however UT’s agreement with TARTA is unique in that faculty and staff also benefit with free access to community bus routes.

Students at The University of Toledo will be dancing the day and night away during RockeTHON Saturday, April 7, from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. in Savage Arena.

RockeTHON is a dance marathon where more than 1,000 students dance to raise funds for children and families at Mercy Children’s Hospital. It’s all “for the kids,” according to the event’s slogan.

During the event, there will be a variety of activities, ranging from mini-competitions to inflatable games. Entertainment involves live bands, dance routines and showcases from student organizations.

During the last hour of the event, families from Children’s’ Miracle Network will share their success stories and how RockeTHON has made a positive impact on their lives.

The annual event has raised more than $1 million for Mercy Children’s Hospital.

BOARD OF TRUSTEES MEETINGS
Wednesday, April 11, 2018
Driscoll Alumni Center, Schmakel Room

5:30 p.m. Board of Trustees Dinner

Monday, April 16, 2018
Driscoll Alumni Center, Schmakel Room

12:30 p.m. Clinical Affairs Committee Meeting
1 p.m. Academic and Student Affairs Committee Meeting
1:15 p.m. Finance and Audit Committee Meeting
1:30 p.m. Trusteeship and Governance Committee Meeting
1:45 p.m. Board of Trustees Meeting
A luncheon for the trustees will be held at noon in the Driscoll Alumni Center Board Room.

Any questions may be directed to the Office of University Communications by calling 419.530.2410 or via email to meghan.cunningham@utoledo.edu.

The University of Toledo College of Nursing improved its place in the U.S. News & World Report list of the top graduate nursing programs in the country.

The recently released 2019 Best Graduate Schools edition lists the master’s program in nursing at 183, up 20 spots from the previous year, and the doctor of nursing practice program is ranked for the first time.

“The significant increase in rank for both our MSN and DNP programs reflects our college’s growing visibility, the quality of our faculty and the increasing excellence of our students,” said Dr. Linda Lewandowski, dean of the UT College of Nursing.

U.S. News ranks programs on criteria such as acceptance rate, GPA, student-faculty ratio and grant funding, among other indicators. Contributing factors to the UT College of Nursing’s increase in the rankings are attracting more highly qualified applicants, graduating more students and strong certification exam pass rates, Lewandowski said.

Graduate training for nurses is building momentum due to the increased complexity of patient care, national conversations about quality and patient safety, and shortages in nursing personnel. In response, UT has added two additional nurse practitioner track specialties — adult gerontology primary care and psychiatric mental health.

UT’s Post-Baccalaureate Doctor of Nursing Practice Program was the first such program in the state when the Ohio Board of Regents approved it in 2012. It is designed to take nurses with a bachelor of science in nursing to the highest level of clinical practice and position them as leaders in the health-care field.

Thursday, February 15, 2018
Driscoll Alumni Center, Schmakel Room
5:30 p.m. Board of Trustees Dinner

Monday, February 19, 2018
Driscoll Alumni Center, Schmakel Room
12:30 p.m. Clinical Affairs Committee Meeting
1:15 p.m. Academic and Student Affairs Committee Meeting
1:30 p.m. Finance and Audit Committee Meeting
1:45 p.m. Trusteeship and Governance Committee Meeting
2 p.m. Board of Trustees Meeting
A luncheon for the trustees will be held at noon in the Driscoll Alumni Center Board Room.
 

More students are enrolled at The University of Toledo this spring semester thanks to increased efforts to support student success.

The total enrollment for spring semester 2018 is 19,236 students, according to official 15-day census numbers. There were 19,221 students enrolled in spring semester 2017.

Spring enrollment reflects an improved undergraduate fall-to-spring-semester retention rate of 90.6 percent for the current 2017-18 academic year. It was 89.3 percent for 2016-17 and 89.1 percent for the 2015-16 academic year.

“Student success is the reason we are here,” UT President Sharon L. Gaber said. “All of us at the University, from the academic colleges to the student affairs staff, are focused on supporting our students in and out of the classroom. I am proud those efforts are having a positive impact on our retention rates and will be reflected in our graduation rates in the future.”

Included in the spring enrollment are 14,860 undergraduate students and 4,376 graduate and professional students. There were 14,858 undergraduates and 4,363 graduate and professional students enrolled in spring 2017.