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�Ը������� University President Todd Diacon is making the case for why �Ը�������’s Regional Campus system matters, not just to the students it serves, but to the communities built around it.

Speaking after a statewide gathering of public university leaders in Columbus, Ohio, Diacon pointed to �Ը�������’s eight campuses, which stretch from Ashtabula in the northeast to Tuscarawas County two hours to the south, as proof that the university’s reach is one of its greatest strengths.

“They are important members of their communities,” Diacon said of the Regional Campuses, noting their impact goes well beyond jobs to the tax base of the towns they call home.

Watch Diacon’s interview with News 5 Cleveland (WEWS-TV):

Diacon also used the moment to reaffirm �Ը�������’s core mission and its recent momentum. He described the university as an access institution that serves students regardless of family wealth, and he pointed to enrollment gains in one of �Ը�������’s signature programs as proof the approach is working: this fall’s nursing program brought in its largest first-year class in a decade.

Diacon attended the Columbus event as Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine addressed two- and four-year college presidents and trustees on the future of Ohio’s higher education system, amid ongoing statewide conversation this year about proposals to consolidate or close some public universities. DeWine told the room that closing or consolidating Ohio’s public universities “can’t and won’t happen.”

Diacon met the moment with confidence, pointing to �Ը�������’s culture of letting its work speak for itself.

“We just go about doing our work,” he said — the same steady, student-first focus he credits for the university’s momentum this year.