Our FY14 Annual Report

August 19, 2014

By Eddie Pauline

We are pleased to share with you an overview of our progress and achievements as we close on another year of the Office of Student Life’s Buckeye Leadership Fellows Program (BLF). 

The momentum of what has become the Office of Student Life’s signature professional development experience continues at an impressive pace.

Our second cohort of students has reached alumni status. We can now boast nearly 40 graduates from the program and over 60 students will be participating as we begin our 4th year of programming starting this fall.

Our list of programming partners continues to grow—our leadership challenge partners include billion dollar companies such as the USG Corporation based in Chicago, Illinois and SAS based in Cary, North Carolina. Our students experienced working with Central Ohio businesses and organizations such as the Weinland Park Community Civic Association and the Capital Crossroads Special Improvement District.

We have established “engagement partners” which include the Columbus Chamber of Commerce, Leadership Columbus and Tech Columbus. We have also developed a relationship with the Central Ohio Leadership Academy (COLA) as their curriculum partner. Our students will have an opportunity to mentor high school students through the COLA relationship. These partnerships ensure that we provide the most timely and useful programming to our students.

We are also facilitating meaningful connections between businesses, organizations, and our next generation of leaders through our workshops, leadership challenges and other innovative initiatives.

Internally, we have expanded our staff to now include a full time program coordinator. Sarah Mangia serves in this role and previously served as our Graduate Administrative Associate. We appreciate the Office of Student Life providing the funding for this important position.

Our list of financial supporters has also expanded. In April, a generous anonymous donor provided a $250,000 gift to be used to match any gifts and pledges we secure before the end of the 2014 calendar year. The eventual $500,000 will be used to secure and expand our program so we can make an even bigger impact on Ohio State students. The Buckeye Leadership Fellows Program and its success would not exist without the support of our stakeholders: students, alumni, community partners and university partners.

Our staff and students thank you for your continued support.