for most of the tour. “Through collaborations large and small, Ohio State leverages its resources to enrich lives and to address pressing issues in every county, every neighborhood in Ohio.”

As the state’s flagship land-grant institution of higher learning, The Ohio State University has forged partnerships in each of Ohio’s 88 counties and works aggressively to address Ohio's emerging needs and create opportunities for growth and progress. This year’s Roads Scholars Tour will include visits to the Xunlight/Wright Center for Photovoltaics in Toledo and Wyandot Solar in Upper Sandusky. These facilities, which benefit from Ohio's high-tech Third Frontier program, aim to highlight how the emerging solar energy industry will affect Ohio’s economic and job creation future.

The bus tour will arrive at Ohio State Lima between 11:30-11:40 a.m., Wed., Sept. 9, 2009. Participants will meet with faculty, staff, students and community members during lunch in a speed networking format that allows each Roads Scholar to interact with all the presenters in a small group. The presenters all represent some form of partnership between the University and the community. The speed networking is scheduled to start at 11:45 a.m. in the Reed Hall Cafeteria and will be followed by campus tours. For questions about the Lima leg of the Roads Scholar Tour, contact Pam Joseph at (419) 995-8284 or Lesley King Fry at (419) 995-8671.

Other stops include:

· Mad River Family Practice near Marysville, a growing rural family practice where Ohio State medical students perform residencies

· The university's regional campus in Lima

· Central Catholic High School in Toledo

· Grant Middle School in Marion, which supports a Big Brothers/Big Sisters mentoring partnership

Gee first initiated the Roads Scholars Tours in 1997, and since then, nearly 700 new faculty have traveled to all parts of the state to better understand how its partnerships have improved lives and strengthened the state's economy. One of the president’s strategic goals for the university is enhancing its work with Ohio's communities.

The participants will also interact regularly with alumni in northwest Ohio who will be preparing that week for the Buckeye football team's nationally-televised game against USC.

For information about the overall tour, contact Sandra Kerka at (614) 247-4429. The following events are open to the media:

Wednesday, September 9:

9:30- 10:30 a.m.         Mad River Family Practice, 4879 US Highway 68 South, West Liberty.

11:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m.          Ohio State Lima, Reed Hall, 4240 Campus Drive, Lima.

3- 4 p.m.                      Xunlight Corporation/ Wright Center for Photovoltaics, 3145 Nebraska Avenue, Toledo.

6:45-8:15 p.m.                        Reception featuring House Speaker Pro Tempore Matt Szollosi and Senate Majority Whip Mark Wagoner, Maumee Bay Resort and Conference Center, 1750 State Park Road #2, Oregon

Thursday, September 10:

10-11:30 a.m.              Central Catholic High School, 2550 Cherry Street, Toledo.

1- 2:45 p.m.                Upper Sandusky Area/Wyandot Solar, Masters Building, Wyandot County Fairgrounds, 10171 State Highway 53 N., Upper Sandusky.

3:30- 4:30 p.m.           Grant Middle School (Pride and Life Skills Mentoring Program-Big Brothers/Big Sisters), 420 Presidential Drive, Marion.

           

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