About the Office of University Outreach & Engagement
Mutually beneficial partnerships and collaborations are central to both the definition of outreach and engagement and how the Office of University Outreach and Engagement does its work. We exist to work in collaboration with faculty, staff, students, and units to enrich Ohio State’s partnerships with the community and to embed outreach and engagement into colleges and departments. We are pleased to work with the following affiliated programs that are also housed in our offices in Stillman Hall:
- Service-Learning Initiative supports the integration of outreach and engagement into teaching.
- Project GRO enhances the integration of outreach and engagement into research grant proposals.
- OSU CARES/OSU Extension helps units expand their service through partnerships within the university and across Ohio.
University Outreach & Engagement and Affiliated Programs
The following diagram illustrates University Outreach and Engagement’s relationship with the affiliated programs and other offices on campus.
Functions of University Outreach & Engagement and Affilated Programs
- Seeding outreach and engagement through grants, consulting with faculty
- Providing a point of contact for faculty, staff, students, and community
- Offering outreach-related professional development through seminars, Patterson lecture, Roads Scholars tour
- Giving administrative leadership with reports and policy development
- Having outreach-related national involvement through the Outreach Scholarship Partnership, NASULGC and CIC committee on engagement, HENCE, and other national affiliations
- Providing communications/cataloguing through reports, database, news releases, web presence
Staff
Bobby Moser (full bio - PDF, 84KB)
Vice President, University Outreach, e-mail
Bobby D. Moser has been involved in outreach and engagement throughout his career, first as an Extension agent and later director of Ohio State University Extension. He served as chair of the Ohio State University President’s Council for Outreach and Engagement and the Outreach and Engagement Steering Committee, forerunners of the Office of University Outreach and Engagement, and was named vice president for University Outreach in 2001.
Karen Bruns (full bio - PDF, 95KB)
Leader, University Outreach and Engagement
and OSU CARES, e-mail, 614/292-9613
Karen works closely with the leadership team, develops and implements educational programs and a grants program for faculty/staff, and fosters university/community partnerships. She also gives lead to Ohio State’s involvement in a partnership with Penn State, University of Wisconsin-Extension/UW Colleges, and the University of Georgia to foster a national dialogue on engagement through the annual Outreach Scholarship conferences.
Sandra Kerka, Communications Manager, e-mail, 614/247-4429
Sandra manages public relations, publications, and websites for University Outreach and Engagement, the P-12 Project, and the Service-Learning Initiative. Previously, she managed publications and database processing as associate director of the ERIC Clearinghouse on Adult, Career, and Vocational Education and was a writer and editor for LearningWork Connection. She has a BA in Medieval and Renaissance Studies from Ohio State and an MS in library science from Case Western Reserve University. She nourishes the right side of her brain with dance, quilting, gardening, and volunteering for the Spirituality Network.
Bethany Christoff, Program Coordinator, e-mail, 614/247-4439
Bethany is program coordinator for University Outreach and Engagement and the Service-Learning Initiative. Prior to working at Ohio State, she was an outreach specialist with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. Bethany has a BA in Biology from the University of Northern Iowa and an MS in Environmental Science and Policy from the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. Bethany enjoys training for and participating in triathlons and continues to take courses in Environmental Science at Ohio State.
Susi Murnane-Hughes, Office Associate, e-mail, 614/688-3041
Susi has worked at OSU for 10 years. Before Ohio State, she worked in information systems management, computer programming, and systems analysis, switching to accounting when she came to the OSU Chemistry Department. For University Outreach and Engagement she is responsible for fiscal reconciliations, purchasing, and journal entry creation. Her hobby is gardening, for which she won a Hilltop Beautification award, but her passion is working to end the pain and suffering of cats and kittens caused by overpopulation.
Vicki Reed, Office Assistant, e-mail, 614/688-3041
For University Outreach and Engagement, Service-Learning Initiative, and Project GRO, Vicki answers the phone, schedules meetings, makes travel arrangements, and performs other office duties. She has worked in computer and office operations for a variety of businesses such as a lingerie company, museum, advertising agency, and public library. She recently bought a perfectly good house that was going to be torn down and had it moved to another location. "I call it my biggest recycling project!" She loves to travel, read, and do crossword puzzles.
Terri Fisher, Office Associate, e-mail, 614/688-4486
Terri divides her time each week between OSU CARES/OSU Extension and University Outreach and Engagement. She handles all day-to-day office operations for OSU CARES and works on special projects for Outreach and Engagement. She previously worked in the College of Medicine. She graduated from Bowling Green State University with a BS in Education and has taken graduate-level classes at OSU since her tenure here. She enjoys spending time with her family, reading, and traveling.
