OSU-Lima dean visits VW school facilities

DAVE MOSIER/independent editor

Ohio State University-Lima Dean Charlene Gilbert visited Van Wert schools on Tuesday and was impressed by some of the programs she saw here, as well as excited about the possibility of partnering with local educators.

“There are a tremendous amount of educational resources in this county for its citizens and I hope OSU-Lima can be another resource for students and adults who are wanting to complete a bachelor’s degree or go back to graduate school,” Gilbert said, noting that her campus has nine bachelor’s degree programs, as well as an engineering program, and also offers a master’s of social work post-graduate degree. “It seems like there is a lot of energy in this county for education and that’s exciting to see.”

Dean Gilbert toured a number of areas and classrooms at Van Wert High School and Middle School and was given information on the schools’ STEM programs, such as the Project Lead the Way pre-engineering and Biomedical programs.

She said she was also greatly impressed by the level of educational facilities in Van Wert, noting that the high school-middle school complex, including the Niswonger Performing Arts Center, and Vantage’s facility improvements were proof of local residents’ support of education.

“It’s clear that the people of this community have invested a lot in their educational resources for their citizens,” Dean Gilbert noted.

While she toured several interesting programs, including the welding, and industrial programs at Vantage, the new OSU-Lima dean said she was particularly impressed with the Robotics Team at Van Wert High School, and its accomplishments over the past few years.

“They are like rock stars,” she noted, adding that she hoped Robotics Team members would visit the OSU-Lima campus’ engineering area.

“They are exactly the type of students we are looking for,” Dean Gilbert said.

The Van Wert visit is part of a effort by the new OSU-Lima dean to familiarize herself with area educational facilities and programs, while also pursuing partnership opportunities with area educators.

With the growth of post-high school education in the area, including area partnerships with community colleges such as Northwest State Community College, Rhodes State University and the University of Northwest Ohio (UNOH), as well as Wright State University’s Lake Campus, such partnerships are necessary for OSU-Lima to grow in the coming years.

Dean Gilbert said the Lima campus has many advantages, including an automatic entrée to the OSU main campus in Columbus for Lima campus students who maintain a 2.0 grade point average.