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 Ohio University was recently named a national winner of the 2015 GameDay Recycling Challenge, which engages hundreds of thousands of collegiate football fans in a waste reduction and recycling competition every fall.
OHIO was named the national winner in the diversion rate category, which measures recycling and organics recovery as a percentage of total trash. OHIO's diversion rate was nearly 96 percent.
 "The GameDay effort was led by Campus Recycling and the Appalachia Ohio Zero Waste Initiative, a program of the Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Affairs," Ohio University Recycling and Refuse Manager Andrew Ladd said. "However, we could not have been successful without the commitment and collaboration of OHIO Athletics, Grounds Services, the local Boy Scouts, The Marching 110 and their supporters, dozens of student volunteers and of course the active participation of the fans."
The competition pitted 99 colleges and universities against each other in a fun and friendly way with the goal of engaging fans to reduce their game-day waste, while composting and recycling more. GameDay Recycling Challenge fans recycled or composted nearly 2.5 million pounds of game-day waste during the course of the fall season.
More than 22,000 fans attended the Oct. 17, 2015, Bobcat football game and recycled and composted 7,225 pounds of materials.
"Substantial progress has been made in moving major athletic events toward Zero Waste," Ladd said. "Ohio University is again demonstrating to the nation that reducing what we send to the landfill to near zero levels is possible and valuable. When Bobcats come together, we can achieve anything."
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Eight years after its founding, TechGROWTH Ohio launched a newly redesigned website. Now visitors to techgrowthohio.com will see revamped content sections, new and improved graphics, an option to sign up for TechGROWTH Ohio's newsletter and testimonials, videos and upcoming events. The new website will reflect TechGROWTH's mission to serve as a portal for entrepreneurship information and activities in Southeastern Ohio.
TechGROWTH Ohio is a $40 million public-private partnership between the Ohio Third Frontier program, Ohio University and the private investment community. It is one of the Ohio Third Frontier Program's regional entrepreneurial signature programs designed to provide business expertise, services and investments for start-up companies - in this case, in the 20-county Southeast Ohio area. As one of the premier programs of the Ohio University Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Affairs, TechGROWTH Ohio is part of an entrepreneurial ecosystem that includes programs supporting university and regional technology commercialization and small business incubation.
TechGROWTH Ohio has generated $232 million in economic activity since 2007 and nearly 250 new, high-paying jobs in the region. In addition, TechGROWTH Ohio has engaged with more than 850 entrepreneurs, with 525 of those qualifying for intensive operational assistance and more than 88 companies receiving financial support to speed their path toward sustainable businesses, creating wealth, jobs and economic activity in Appalachian Ohio.
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 The Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Affairs has a mission to enhance the innovation environment at Ohio University and throughout the region, according to Dean Dr. Mark Weinberg.
As Founding Dean, Dr. Weinberg provides strategic oversight of the economic development including business technical assistance programs and "equity funding for high-growth businesses in the Appalachian Region."
The Voinovich School works to "build regional prosperity and quality of life," according to Dean Weinberg.
The school also has been instrumental in developing an innovation ecosystem through TechGROWTH Ohio. Since 2007, it has brought in $232 million in investment funds and over the past seven years, it has generated about $1 billion in economic activity, according to Dean Weinberg.
In addition, the academic mission of the School has been integrated with its outreach purposes. Weinberg told WOUB's Tom Hodson that students not only learn in the classrooms but they are engaged in active learning with outside entities.
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 Around 60 Ohio University alumni attended a Washington Policy Forum kickoff event in Washington, D.C., on Thursday, Jan. 28 in the Capitol Visitor's Center. Organized by the College of Arts and Sciences, the Scripps College of Communication, the Ohio University Alumni Association and the Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Affairs, the quarterly forums aim to reconnect alumni in the nation's capital to Ohio University.
The first of this year's forums featured panelists who discussed the 2016 presidential candidates with specific comparisons on issues such as immigration, the economy, jobs and healthcare, as well as the unprecedented campaign environment. Alumni Doug Dziak and David Hoover led the discussion. Dziak, a government relations specialist and political law attorney at Nixon Peabody, earned degrees from the College of Arts and Sciences in 1993 and 1995. Hoover, vice president of legislative affairs with NTCA-The Rural Broadband Association, is a 1993 graduate of the Scripps College of Communication. Read on for a photo essay from the forum.
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Student organization Enactus Ohio University was awarded a grant of $1,500 by the Women's Economic Empowerment Project Partnership, an Enactus program sponsored by the Walmart Foundation, to design and execute a workforce development program in the Athens area.
Enactus Ohio University plans to develop a program to empower single mothers in the Southeastern Ohio area by providing job preparedness training, such as resume writing and job search assistance; personal skills building, such as communication, professionalism and self-confidence; and, childcare services.
Knowing that 66.2 percent of female-headed households in Athens County with children under the age of 18 live below the poverty line, Enactus Ohio University recognized an opportunity to make an impact. They proposed the idea for a co-housing community in Athens to host single mothers and their children for up to a year and provide a supportive environment, in addition to job training sessions, mentorship opportunities and childcare for single mothers in the area. The money provided by the grant will be used to develop and implement these proposed initiatives.
Enactus is a national student organization dedicated to improving the lives of individuals and communities through social entrepreneurship and innovation. The "Final Impact Report" on Enactus Ohio University's project, due April 13, 2016, will be evaluated and has the chance to win a national grand prize cash award at the 2016 Enactus United States National Exposition in St. Louis May 15-17, 2016.
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After a three-year evaluation, researchers at the Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Affairs have shown that a federally funded program to reduce obesity among adults in northeastern Ohio is an effective way to improve health.
In June 2015, the Voinovich School completed a study of the Trinity Hospital Twin City's Fit for Life program, which offers a multi-agency approach to reduce the number of overweight and obese adults in Tuscarawas County and in nearby replication sites, which vary in location from year to year based upon needs and resources. During the three-month program, participants meet for 60 to 90 minute classes once a week to discuss not only nutrition and fitness, but also stress management, healthy aging, disease prevention, and other wellness factors not typically covered in traditional weight-loss programs. Participants also follow customized nutrition and fitness plans developed specifically for them by the Fit for Life team.
 Dr. Timothy McKnight, certified family physician with Trinity Hospital Twin City, created the program in 2006, at which point it was offered only in Tuscarawas County. However, the program soon received funding from the federal Health Resources and Services Administration's Office of Rural Health Policy to expand into surrounding counties and conduct the research necessary to turn the program into a replicable best practice. That was when the Fit for Life grant coordinator, Jennifer Demuth, contacted the School to request that a research team evaluate the program. Demuth was familiar with the efficacy of the Voinovich School's work prior to this evaluation, as she had previously worked on projects with Voinovich School staff.
Beginning in 2012, the Voinovich School's evaluation team gauged the effectiveness of Fit for Life's use of resources, measured improvement in the health of program participants, and assessed the success of the program's replication sites. At least one student assisted the evaluation each year, including graduate assistants, students in the Master of Public Administration program, and Voinovich Undergraduate Research Scholars.
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 Healthy, local food is something everyone should have access to. This is the driving message behind the Athens non-profit Community Food Initiatives (CFI). Executive Director Mary Nally is the leader of the community based organization.
Nally grew up in Meigs County. She has a degree in social work and a Master of Science in Environmental Studies. The diversity of her educational background is one of many reasons why she is such an effective leading force at CFI.
Growing up in Appalachian Ohio exposed her to the poverty throughout the region. Athens County has one of the highest poverty rates in Ohio, with 31.7 percent of the population at or below the poverty line (ODSA). It was this firsthand knowledge that led her to social work and later to CFI.
While working on her master's thesis at the Voinovich School, Nally became interested in ecological citizenship, which focuses on reducing a person's ecological footprint and encouraging personal responsibility for the environment. Her research involved studying the West Side Community Gardens (formerly managed by CFI) and led her to the question, "Does participating in community gardens give people tools to become an ecological citizen?"
CFI works to increase food security in southeast Ohio by empowering individuals through a multitude of diverse programs. These programs include community gardens, school gardens, the Youth Entrepreneurs at Hope (YEAH) kids program and the Donation Station, which all aim to create ways for people to connect with their food systems and inspire individuals to create change in their community.
Since appointing Nally as the executive director, CFI has expanded many programs to reach more people and even created a seed company called the Southeast Ohio Seed Savers. The range of programs allows individuals to choose areas that interest them specifically. Nally wants CFI to feel inclusive, involving the entire community, so that every member can feel a sense of ownership and responsibility for the organization.
"I want to give people the opportunity to see themselves succeed," Nally said. Individual and community empowerment are the heart of her philosophy and a goal of CFI programs.
Read More
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Ranked in the top 50 innovative public affairs schools in the U.S. by Best Value Schools, the Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Affairs finds researched-based solutions to challenges facing communities, the economy and the environment. By blending real-world problem solving and government, nonprofit sector and industry partnerships with education, students are offered unique learning opportunities as they prepare for careers serving the public interest in Ohio University's rural region and beyond.
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Voinovich School in the News
In an interview with Circle of Blue, Voinovich School faculty Dr. Geoff Dabelko noted that people have migrated in response to environmental changes for millennia.
Allowing for greater mobility, both short-term, to take advantage of seasonal work, or long-term, to flee a swamped homeland, could be a response to drought or to rising seas. The political difficulty of such actions would require a deft touch.
"We have to see migration as part of the solution, not just as the problem," Dabelko said. "It's not just a threat but an opportunity."
"Ohio University and collaborating community partner Rural Action will assist stakeholders to plan, design and write grants for water quality improvement projects by utilizing funds available through EPA grant programs,"
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John Glazer, director of TechGROWTH Ohio, was presented with the Holzaepfel Economic Growth award at the Athens Area Chamber of Commerce dinner on Jan. 28.
Presenter Geoff Morgan praised his work and said, "Since 2007, TechGROWTH has assisted more than 500 companies, raised in excess of $30 million in seed and angel capital, and invested $6.2 million in 12 portfolio companies. The economic impact of their activities is measured in the hundreds of millions of dollars."
"We've really been able to transform the entrepreneurial culture of the region, not only internally but through multiple partnerships."
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Impact & Innovation is written and created by undergraduate students Diana Wiebe, M.C. Tilton, Jasmine Grillmeier and Daniel Kington.
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TechGROWTH Ohio launches new website
Enactus awarded grant to create workforce development program for single mothers
