For Immediate Release

Aug. 18, 2012

Contact: Pam Joseph (419) 995-8284

Ohio State Lima introduces new faculty and staff to campus

New faculty and staff welcomed officially at Opening Day Meeting Aug. 21

Scott Chaffins, Lecturer in Chemistry

Scott Chaffins returns to the Lima Campus as a Chemistry lecturer. He began his chemistry career as a student at Ohio State Lima. After graduating from Ohio State, Chaffins did graduate work at Bowling Green State University, where he worked under a fellowship from the NASA Lewis Research Center (now the John Glenn Research Center) on the development of more economical and efficient electrode materials in support of spacecraft fuel technologies. Chaffins has worked for the Battelle Memorial Institute, the Husky Refinery, Fort Amanda Specialties and Rhodes State College.

Alysia Freewalt, Academic Advisor

Alysia Freewalt has been named the permanent Academic Advisor for the College of Education and Human Ecology at The Ohio State University at Lima. She began work on campus as a Semester Conversion Specialist in November 2011.

Freewalt graduated Magna Cum Laude from Ohio State with a Bachelor of Sciences in Education in 2011. She is a native of St. Marys.

David Hartwig, Lecturer in English

David Hartwig joins the Ohio State Lima English Department as a lecturer. Hartwig holds a Bachelor of Arts in English and Political Science from the University of Notre Dame and a Master of Arts in Shakespeare Studies from the University of Birmingham’s Shakespeare Institute in Stratford-upon-Avon. Hartwig also completed his PhD work in England at the University of Warwick in Coventry. His academic interests have led him to write reviews of major Shakespearean productions for Cahiers Elisabethains, Green Letters, and the Internet Shakespeare Editions site. He has also been an actor and director on numerous theatre productions in the United States and the United Kingdom. Hartwig currently lives in Dublin, Ohio.

Jeanne Kuhler, Lecturer in Chemistry

Jeanne Kuhler will join the Ohio State Lima faculty as a Chemistry Lecturer. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Chemistry from Indiana University, her Master of Science degree from Yale University and her PhD from Texas Tech University. Kuhler has worked in both industry and the academic world, most recently at the University of Kentucky. Her research interests have included computational studies, cheminformatics/bioinformatics for drug design, kinetics studies, and organic synthesis for energy storage applications using environmentally-friendly catalysts. Her real strength, however, is translating the complexities of Organic Chemistry for undergraduate students, as evidenced by the two teaching awards she has received in her academic career.

Alyson Nye, Admissions Counselor

Alyson Nye is Ohio State Lima’s newest Admissions Counselor. In her new role, Nye will plan Admissions events and work with prospective students from Hardin County south to Dayton.

Nye graduated from Ohio State with a Bachelor’s degree in Communications with minors in Business Administration and Dance.

Michael Reagon, Assistant Professor in Evolution, Ecology and Organismal Biology

Michael Reagon is Ohio State Lima’s new assistant professor in Evolution, Ecology and Organismal Biology. His teaching and research focus are in ecology, plant biology and evolution. Reagon earned a Bachelor of Science in Biology from Antioch College. He worked for four years in the hazardous waste removal industry before returning to graduate school at Ohio State, where he completed his PhD under the direction of Dr. Allison Snow. Reagon comes to Ohio State Lima after a three-year post-doc at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst.

Megan Sanderson, Office of Technology Services

Megan Sanderson is Ohio State Lima’s new Distance Education and Educational Technology Specialist. Sanderson earned her Psychology degree from Ohio State in 2002 and went to work for Westwood Behavioral Health Center in Van Wert for six years, providing mental health community support services. She returned to Ohio State Lima to earn her Master of Education degree in 2011. Sanderson is a Celina native currently living in Spencerville.

Matt Music, Ryan Powell, Paul Sexton, Facilities

Matt Music, of Lima, has joined the Facilities Department as the Cook Hall Custodian. Music is a graduate of Bath High School and is also trained in auto-body repair.

Ryan Powell, of Findlay, has joined the Facilities Department as a laborer. Powell is a graduate of Liberty-Benton High School.

Paul Sexton, of Lima, is the new campus electrician. Sexton is a graduate of Elida High School and began his electrical training at Apollo Career Center.

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Editors’ Note: Photos of each faculty/staff member are attached.