The power of giving extends beyond the classroom: expanding learning, reaching local neighborhoods and helping build our common future. It is because of you that we are able to make such an impact on the lives of our students, faculty, community and beyond. Read some of our inspiring stories below.
Agostini is awarded Nobel Prize, while Ohio State cheers
Pierre Agostini, emeritus professor in the Department of Physics, was awarded the 2023 Nobel Prize in Physics. Agostini runs the DiMauro-Agostini Atomic Physics Research Group at Ohio State, alongside Louis DiMauro, who holds the Dr. Edward E. and Sylvia Hagenlocker Chair in Physics. Read more about their lab and award-winning research.
New Theatre, Film, and Media Arts building completes Arts District on campus
Ohio State’s new Arts District brings together all visual and performing arts disciplines. The new home of the Department of Theatre, Film, and Media Arts opened this fall and completed the project. Take a look inside this state-of-the-art space where students’ ideas can flourish.
Sports and Society Initiative brings student journalists to Women’s Final Four
The School of Communication’s Sports and Society Initiative (SSI) offers unique programming and real-world experiences to students interested in the sports industry. Partnerships and industry professionals giving their time and expertise are integral to the success of SSI students and give them incredible opportunities, like working on the media relations team at the Women’s Final Four Tournament in Cleveland this spring.
Ohio State students travel to Dubai for climate conference
This past December, 10 Ohio State undergraduates traveled to Dubai to participate in the 28th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28). This incredible opportunity was supported by the Ronald and Deborah Ratner Distinguished Teaching Award, which 2023 recipient Bart Elmore, associate professor in the Department of History, used to make this trip possible.
Ohio State Art faculty honored at Whitney Biennial in New York City
Two faculty members in the Department of Art — Assistant Professor Dionne Lee and Associate Professor Carmen Winant — were selected for the 2024 Whitney Museum of American Art Biennial. Winant holds the Roy Lichtenstein Chair in Studio Art, which has provided support for her work.
Amgen STEM Learning Center expands resources for Ohio State STEM students
A generous $2 million gift from Amgen, one of the world’s leading biotechnology companies, is opening doors for Ohio State students in STEM. Supporting both the College of Arts and Sciences and the College of Engineering, this gift will create scholarships for natural and mathematical sciences majors and open the Amgen STEM Learning Center, an interdisciplinary center that is the first of its kind for the College of Arts and Sciences.
Alum James Johnson endows new scholarship in Arts and Sciences
James “JJ” Johnson ’73 pledged this year to create the James and Andrew Johnson Family Endowed Scholarship Fund. This generous gift will provide scholarships to Ohio State students, particularly those from Johnson’s own alma mater, Wheelersburg High School in Scioto County, Ohio.
Behind the scenes of TBDBITL with Director Chris Hoch
Christopher Hoch is the Endowed Chair for Director of The Ohio State University Marching Band, but you may know him as the man behind The Best Damn Band in the Land (TBDBITL). Take a peek behind the curtain and learn how he creates the marching band’s football halftime shows.
Arts and Sciences Alumni Awards celebrate outstanding alumni
This year’s Arts and Sciences Alumni Awards celebrated five of the college’s extraordinary alumni, whose successes and service exemplify an Arts and Sciences education. Learn more about how these Arts and Sciences alumni are paving the way for the future.
Alumni Awards recognize distinguished alumni for service, achievements
Each spring, the Alumni Awards recognize a distinguished few of our more than 220,000 living alumni whose accomplishments are tangible evidence of the lasting value of an Arts and Sciences education.
This April, we celebrated the extraordinary successes and service of five individuals with backgrounds and careers in business and leadership, law and public service, chemistry, geology and corporate and community engagement.
31st annual Fergus Family Art Exhibition showcases donor impact on the arts
This January marked the 31st annual Fergus Family Art Exhibition, where 15 talented students from across the College of Arts and Sciences were selected to show their work at the Hopkins Hall Gallery on campus. This exhibition and many other opportunities for arts students are possible through the generosity of the Fergus family.
Friends of Arts and Sciences in memoriam: Sander Flaum, Norm Earhart and Bob Katz
Earlier this year, the College of Arts and Sciences lost three generous donors and volunteers in quick succession. While this tribute does not encompass all those who have passed, we are proud to share the story of how these three friends of the college impacted physics, speech and hearing, and the marching band.
Soul mates and science: At Ohio State, Howard Johnson found 2 loves
Howard Johnson’s willingness to forge new paths led him to a highly decorated career as a professor, microbiologist and immunologist. Read more about Johnson’s story and his hopes for future problem-solvers to flourish with help from his endowment, which supports research in fields such as biophysics, molecular genetics and gene activation.
College appoints first Arts and Sciences Alumni Professorships made possible by generous estate gift
Professor Matthew Sullivan runs an Ohio State lab that studies viruses in various environments to understand their ecosystem roles, helping to fight superbugs and other nuisance bacteria. Learn more about his groundbreaking work on the world stage thanks to the generous funding of an estate gift.
Alumni generosity supports Ohio State gun violence research
An estate gift from two Ohio State alumni who graduated in the 1930s is helping a researcher today study how media affects gun violence, particularly in children. Read more about how their gift established the Margaret Hall and Robert Randall Rinehart Chair and the important research the current chairholder, Dr. Brad Bushman, is conducting.
Donor-supported center enhances writing and communications course for STEM majors
The Center for the Study and Teaching of Writing (CSTW) fosters excellence in these skills at the university. Contributions from donors allow the center to reach more students and faculty than ever before in creative and interdisciplinary ways — such as a collaborative course offered to science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) students to help them improve their writing and communication skills beyond a traditional STEM education.
Reflections on a year in the Timashev Family Music Building
The Timashev Family Music Building opened to students, faculty and the public in autumn 2022. This state-of-the-art facility brings together all School of Music education and instruction under one roof and welcomes the community to campus. Learn more about School of Music student CJ McGhee’s favorite experiences in the new facility as he reflects on his senior year in the Music Education program, and hear from School of Music director Michael Ibrahim, who walks you through some of the most exciting spaces in the new facility, made possible by donor support.
If you have any questions about your giving, please contact the Arts and Sciences Advancement team at ascadvancement@osu.edu.