Janet M. Box-Steffensmeier, interim executive dean and vice provost; Luis Casian, dean for natural and mathematical sciences/graduate education; Peter Hahn, dean for arts and humanities/outreach and engagement; Morton O'Kelly, dean for social and behavioral sciences/research and creative inquiry; and Trevon Logan, faculty fellow for special priorities, sent the following message to Arts and Sciences faculty and staff.

Outreach and Engagement has been a vital component of Ohio State’s land-grant mission since the university’s founding. In our 2017-2022 strategic plan, the College of Arts and Sciences affirmed the importance of outreach and engagement as one of five strategic focus areas. We have a long legacy and steadfast commitment to facilitating partnerships and collaborations and recognize the important role our community plays in improving our programs and students’ success.
 
Last year, the college conducted a survey of outreach and engagement activities, which revealed that faculty and staff support this mission most often at the department, school or center level through diverse initiatives, with diverse operating structures and budgets.
 
Toward the end of leveraging our strengths in outreach and engagement, we have created a new, electronic database to collect data and details about outreach and engagement activities across the college. We request that faculty, associated faculty, and staff who are engaged in outreach and engagement share their activities through this tool, found here: https://asccentral.osu.edu/outreach.
 
This information will inspire college communications and storytelling extolling the excellence of the Arts and Sciences, and, as a next step, this database could potentially be accessed by the public to identify opportunities in the college. The data will also allow us to identify strategic patterns and potential synergies, as we work toward our shared goal of engaging with communities for reciprocal benefit. As a result, your participation in sharing outreach and engagement activities will be valued and appreciated.