Strategic Alignment and Plan

Ohio State ATI’s associate degree programs prepare students to enter the workforce in as little as two years. ATI is able to offer highly-specialized certificate programs that augment our associate degrees and provide a wide array of employment opportunities to graduates. The certifications include the Kubota Certified Technician program, 3M PPE certifications, Snap-On Multimeter credential, and the MikeRoweWorks Foundation Work Ethic Certification. Ohio State ATI in the only institution in Ohio and only one of 20 nationally to offer the MRW Work Ethic Certification. In addition, Ohio State ATI also has worked with more than 60 organization to provide training to their existing workforce to sharpen technical skills and management and leadership strengths.

The CFAES DEI Action Council serves as catalysts to foster inclusiveness within CFAES, provides recommendations, identifies issues, develops goals, engages in difficult conversations, and advises the Dean on matters related to DEI. This council was formed in Autumn 2020 under the leadership of the Assistant Dean and Director for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.

The Rapid Response Task Force is a just in time response team which responds to anomalies in Ohio Agriculture.  The task force uses the strength of the breadth of knowledge in the college and the synergy created by the talents of those in the college to respond to crisis level agriculture issues with immediate attention and solutions.

This is a faculty-led initiative as a sub-award of Purdue’s MENTOR Program. The goal is to create collaborative capacity and advancement of inclusive and intentional mentoring practices. In particular, the team focuses on graduate-level mentoring so a cohort of faculty and PhD students could be created to engage around how identity, values, communication, and power influence mentoring relationships in disciplines where BIPOC, Latinx, LGBTQ+, and women have historically been underrepresented.

eBarns is an Ohio State University Extension program dedicated to advancing livestock production through the use of applied research. This program utilizes modern technologies and information to conduct farm level, applicable research with an educational and demonstration component used to help farmers and their advisors understand how new practices and techniques can improve efficiency and profitability of the livestock and forage enterprise.

This faculty-led Task Force was created to lay the foundation for increasing our knowledge and understanding of our enrollment trends and data, engage faculty in considering our goals for engaging students, and review our enrollment plan for implementation across the college. The task force was also asked to consider the successful and seamless student lifecycle that extends the full range, from awareness (such as in 4-H) to recruiting to retention to alumni engagement. Enrollment needs to focus not only on admitting students, but also on ensuring successful student progression and completion, successful launching of their career, and engaging alumni.

College Cabinet and TIU Heads have been discussing and working to provide guidance regarding faculty distribution of effort with the goal of bringing transparency and consistency regarding the expectations of the various forms of effort (teaching, research, Extension) and approaches to managing distributions so that fairness and equity are central to letters of offer, annual performance reviews and promotion and tenure reviews. The college guidance will then need to be translated at the TIU level in a way that makes sense for each TIU.

Funded through a generous grant funding by Nationwide Insurance, and with partnerships with the OSU Fisher College of Business, Ohio Farm Bureau and Ohio Soybean Council, we will be investing in the leadership capacity of our industry through AgOne, a leadership program aiming to provide individualized leadership programming to increase and diversify the pool of future industry leaders. In addition, we will be conducting action research on the broad leadership succession planning needs of the industry.

The institute is a unified center for the integration, translation, and communication of CFAES’ farm financial management and policy presence. It addresses critical farm financial management and policy issues affecting Ohioans. The institute will engage university academic units, OSU Extension, related support units, and partner expertise to integrate, translate, communicate, and apply research-informed knowledge and best practices in the areas of agricultural marketing, agricultural finance, agricultural production and risk management, human resources, and agricultural policy.

Funded through a generous grant funding by Nationwide Insurance, KX in an online platform bringing together researchers, Extension professionals, decision-makers, and communicators to share, explore, and engage with the world-class research from CFAES.

Funded through a generous grant from Nationwide Insurance, the Land Grant Academy will serve as the training and innovation grounds for heralding the land grant mission. The Land Grant Academy will provide land grant training, engagement, research, and education opportunities to faculty, staff, students, and community partners, broaden our community impact, train current and future land grant leaders, and answer real questions important to our state and region.

Develop a vision focused on building a campus environment rather than individual facilities. It: (1) Aligns facilities investment priorities with the College’s mission and vision– so that it supports current priorities; (2) blends visionary and practical ideas – so that daily decisions are part of a long-term vision; and (3) articulates shared values and principles – so that it can guide future decision-making as things change. Create a road map for CFAES facilities across our three campuses - Columbus, Wooster, and Statewide; Recommendations for: buildings, animal facilities, controlled environments, labs, teaching-meeting-event space, housing, space utilization, and land use, sun-setting plan for space and facilities, etc.

Transform and improve the physical environment across campuses to support, inspire, and improve our work.

The goal of the STARS Program is to propel emerging research leaders – those individuals with the interest, vision, and motivation – to take their research programs to a higher and more collaborative level. The program will provide participants with the information, skills, and connections they need to assemble and lead large-scale teams in the pursuit of major extramural funding.

What was once a joint venture between the OSU Office of Research and CFAES, Stone Lab/Sea Grant is now under the coordination of CFAES and SENR. A plan is being developed to make Stone Lab/Sea Grant an integrated part of SENR and the college.

The mission associate deans have worked to develop a new structure for what was known as International Programs in Agriculture (IPA). Now with a new permanent director, CFAES International Programs aims to coordinate international programming across all mission areas; support faculty with seeking, securing, and managing extramural funds for international research; and enhance the CFAES international network.

The WQI Director coordinates efforts to build support, generate resources, and implement programs that expand the impact of CFAES faculty to address critical water quality issues in Ohio.  The Director supports the work of CFAES faculty and staff, coordinates with other college and OSU water quality programs, and build stronger ties between CFAES and other important water quality programs, efforts, and stakeholders across the state of Ohio, including creating and supporting formal forums that bring together researchers, students, stakeholders, and decision-makers.

Enhance and expand Waterman as a core for teaching, research, and community engagement and a university hub for leading innovative science and public engagement in the food, agricultural, and environmental sciences. Across Lane Avenue from the West Campus Innovation District, its myriad ecosystems, facilities, and programs contribute to our university’s comprehensive focus on understanding and solving seemingly insurmountable problems –from food security to cancer to climate change. Waterman is where our many partners join us to advance knowledge and industry, communicate science, and prepare future leaders.