The future of Delaware’s economic development is under new direction as Nic Langford has been tabbed to replace Sean Hughes, who left in December to take the same position in Powell.

Langford, a Topeka, Kansas native, most recently directed economic development in Suffolk, Virginia, and also served as the redevelopment director in Clarksville, Indiana. In Delaware, Langford will be responsible for executing the city’s strategic business plan, developing relationships with local, regional, national, and international businesses, and assisting companies interested in relocating to Delaware or expanding in the city.

“Nic is a great addition to our team and the Delaware business community,” City Manager Tom Homan said. “He has developed small businesses and attracted large employers while working with different levels of government. I am confident Nic will be a tremendous asset to our community and take Delaware to the next level.”

Langford told The Gazette he longed to return to the Midwest and be around “Midwest folks.” Speaking specifically on the opportunity in Delaware, Langford said he was drawn to the city’s “cool” and “unique” downtown.

“You have the cool downtown, which the city has done a tremendous job on in the past 15-20 years of recruiting some really good businesses and filling vacant or underutilized storefronts,” he said. “Now, Delaware has what I would say is the quintessential cool, small-city downtown. It’s able to support a variety of restaurants and boutique retail and all kinds of little shops and offices. It’s beautiful and really fun to walk around. It’s unique in that it attaches directly to Ohio Wesleyan’s beautiful campus, and they have some exciting things going on as well. It’s just a cool opportunity for me, and it’s good to be back and working on deals and being useful and trying to put together some nice development packages and attract some new businesses.”

In addition to the draw of Delaware’s downtown, Langford said he was “very pleased with the camaraderie and general knowledge and skillsets” of the various departments that make up the city’s operation.

While he’s still settling into the role, Langford is already working to update Delaware’s economic development master plan. “Anytime you’re doing one of these large updates or rewrites of a plan, and you’re new to an area, you kind of need to get the feel and the flavor of the place before really making any kinds of large steps of recommendations,” he said.

In general, Langford believes one of his focuses needs to be attracting more hotels to the area to encourage more people to visit Delaware’s downtown events such as First Fridays. “We deserve a nice, boutique, four-star hotel with a nice restaurant and bar,” he said.

Langford added, “We have a pretty good industry mix. We have a good commercial base, a good industrial base, and a solid restaurant base. Overall, there’s a good mix, so it’s really about finding opportunities we can service with our existing utilities that really are going to provide not only aesthetic value but economic value to the city as well. And then trying to be mindful of growth patterns and just trying to follow the tenets of urban planning and working at length with the Planning Department to make sure that economic development planning is on the same page and we’re working to improve the city in incremental but positive steps.”

The timing of Langford’s arrival in Delaware coincides with the city’s struggles to identify funding for infrastructure repairs. Last month, in a discussion about alternatives if an income tax increase is not be supported by the community, hypothetical cuts were considered that included eliminating the $75,000 transfer to the economic development reserve. The discussion also included the role economic development can play in helping the city generate the revenue necessary to maintain roads.

Langford said he is aware of the challenges facing the city but believes he is up to the task of doing his job well under the circumstances.

“Like any municipality, especially ones that go through such immense growth, there’s always going to be some financial pains here and there … I think I am the right candidate for this job,” Langford said. “I’m happy they chose me because I do have a background in doing financial performance analysis. I do have a background in working with projects that give tax credits, and I know how to structure tax credits. I have won billions of dollars in grants from both state and federal entities. Usually, they’re going towards funding projects that are already planned in the capital improvement plan.

“It’s not great to not have a plentiful cash flow, but most municipalities don’t, and you have to work within those confines and find solutions. I view it more as an opportunity to make myself useful and piece together and flesh out how to get these projects done and help deliver good quality of life and give projects to the citizens of Delaware. I’m excited for it, actually.”

Reach Dillon Davis at 740-413-0904. Follow him on X @DillonDavis56.

The Berlin Township Board of Trustees met regularly in the second half of 2023, and here are highlights from the meeting minutes.

• A special meeting was held on July 10 to discuss Sunbury Parkway, routes 36/37, and the Berlin Business Park with the Ohio Department of Transportation and the county. 

• On July 24, the trustees discussed specifications for commercial driveways, specifically 3 Bs and K Road in the city of Sunbury. Jackie Buell was hired as assistant cemetery sexton, and the trustees looked at Welcome to Berlin Township signs. There was also discussion about a Joint Economic Development District with Shawnee Hills, as well as the grand opening of the new Berlin Middle School.

• “Joe Pichert, Assistant Fire Chief of Berlin Township, shared his gratitude for the opportunity to serve the community since October 2004, in his farewell speech,” to start the Aug. 14 meeting. The trustees “thanked him for his service and sacrifice to Berlin Township, especially during the more challenging times.”

There were hearings regarding commercial development on Piatt Road, and the Northport Residential Hotel. It was said that working on the Berlin Business Park “is that it’s not so much what the use is, but what it looks like, smells like, and sounds like.”

• Asphalt estimates for the fire station, township hall and cemetery were given on Aug. 28. An emergency meeting was held the next morning to approve repairs to a fire engine that had a blown head gasket.

• A nearly-seven-hour meeting was held on Sept. 11. Jeff Evans was promoted to assistant road supervisor, Jerry Valentine was appointed assistant zoning inspector, and the Elysian at Alum Creek had a public hearing.

In addition, “R.J. Sabatino with T&R Properties and Berlin Apartments LLC, applicant and owner said he has a few points he would like to enter into the record,” minutes said. “He said they come before the board this evening to review the outstanding issues caused by Berlin Township that they have not experienced with any other township in this county and in the state of Ohio. Also, on a national level in the United States they find no community using such contradictory instructions for zoning permits and allowances for density, setbacks and restrictions when creating overlays and multiuse planning and allowances for density for commercial, industrial and multifamily zones.”

This was countered by residents saying that “the developer purchased the land knowing the land use expectations and knowing what the zoning was at the time,” and they were “getting very frustrated that we have a developer that wants to push something down their throats that is not what they want and not what they approved.” The trustees then unanimously approved a resolution to deny the applicant’s request to re-open the zoning application that had been originally denied on June 12.

• On Sept. 25, the three trustees approved the township’s Comprehensive Land Use Plan and thanked the Delaware County Regional Planning Commission for its help.

• Plans for the Shanahan Road project was presented “where they are proposing to widen Shanahan Road from Route 23 to North Road to three lanes and the county is proposing to build this as a county project with a fixed contribution from both Orange Township and Berlin Township,” Oct. 9 minutes said. They approved the cooperative project agreement. Also at the meeting, a job description for a township administrator position was approved.

Sabatino was at this meeting, not speaking during the public comment portion, but requested three times later if he could speak, and was told he could speak at the public comment portion of the next meeting.

• At the Oct. 23 meeting, it was noted that a trustee corrected some facts about the Berlin Business Park that were in a Columbus Dispatch article.

• Representatives from the Ohio Department of Transportation spoke to the trustees about various projects at their meeting on Nov. 13. The trustees approved widening the culvert on Dale Ford Road.

• The trustees ruled on Nov. 27 that a modification of an approved zoning plan for “properties presented by Rockford Homes” was considered major. There was also discussion of drainage in the Cheshire Market area. The trustees accepted a letter written on behalf of the board to the residents about the “Berlin Township Business Park Overlay Update.”

• The Buckeye Swim Club, 1875 Peachblow Road, requested an extension on submitting their final development plan at the outset of the Dec. 11 meeting. A four-month extension was granted.

• A Dec. 18 special trustee meeting concerned accepting a fact-finding report.

• Organizational and end-of-year meetings were held on Dec. 27. It was said that “Berlin Township filed an appeal in the matter of TowerCo and the lawsuit case regarding the unauthorized cell tower on OLC property. She recently received feedback from a resident who had concerns about the towner and wanted to know more specifics as there appear to be safety concerns… we will continue to make the appeals until we do not have any recourse going forward.”

The trustees are Chair Ron Bullard, Vice Chair Ken O’Brien (who said on Dec. 11 that he would attempt to continue on as a trustee if he can despite being elected as Delaware County treasurer) and executive member Meghan Raehll. Also attending are Fiscal Officer Claudia Smith and Fiscal Officer Assistant Theresa Taylor. The board meets in Township Hall, 3271 Cheshire Road, Delaware.

Assistant Editor Gary Budzak photographs and reports on stories in eastern Delaware County and surrounding areas.

9525 Gibson Dr, Powell, Hart, Sheri L To: Less, Jeffrey & Laura, $635,000

101 Rheem St, Delaware, Hawkins, Donavan J To: Discovery City Holdings Llc, $140,500

7388 Deer Valley Xing, Powell, Edinger, Edward H & Fletcher, David W To: Fisher, Mary Jo Successor Trustee, $465,000

8775 Tayport Dr, Dublin, Kubacki, Randal P & Carolyn J To: Horn @ 4, $635,000

7460 Fulton Creek Rd, Radnor, Payne, Charles Nash To: Belcher, James Ryan Trustee & Meagan Elizabeth Trustee, $800,000

270 Bevan Way, Delaware, D R Horton Indiana Llc To: Smith, Kevin Edward & Ismail, Fatema Haitham, $464,900

6566 Upper Lake Cir, Westerville, Joubert, Michele Trustee To: Baxter, Jeffrey & Constance, $358,500

9318 Muirkirk Dr, Dublin, Rhees, Lisa M Successor Trustee To: Andesrson, John Crawford & Ann Elizabeth Trustees, $406,000

5668 Medallion Dr, Westerville, Wilson, Elizabeth A & Christopher A To: Garey, Phillip M, $760,000

328 Slate Run Dr, Powell, Waltz, Michael & Schons, Sheila To: Studer, Cameron J & Clymer Delaney, $430,000

6345 Pinehurst Pointe, Westerville, Rozek, Peggy H To: Zugschwert, Simon Sharon, $325,000

16651 Murphy Rd, Sunbury, Mormon, Shannon D & Jennifer W To: Gazer, Kelsy Green & Michael Anthony, $549,000

143 Flowering Meadow Dr, Delaware, D R Horton Indiana Llc To: Griffin, Mark & Jennifer, $415,777

6683 Morningside Dr, Lewis Center, Hoffmann, Eric J To: Li Jianhui & Zhou Rong, $565,000

387 Pennsylvania , Delaware, Savage, Megan E & Stevens, Matthew R To: Patacca, David A, $265,000

201 Bucklewell Dr, Delaware, Rockford Homes Inc To: Agregado, Raymond Darby Licauco & Perpetua, Socorro L, $615,263

505 Rochdale Run, Delaware, Fischer Homes Columbus II Llc To: Jones, Alexandreah & Dew Morgan, $313,753

Delaware City Schools was recently awarded the Trusted Learning Environment (TLE) Seal for its privacy policies and practices to protect student information.

The award was given by The Consortium for School Networking (CoSN) and requires “school systems to implement high standards for student data privacy protections around five core practice areas: Leadership, Business, Data Security, Professional Development and Classroom.”

“Delaware City Schools is the latest district in Ohio to leverage CoSN’s Trusted Learning Environment privacy framework to support improvements in their student data privacy practices,” said CoSN CEO Keith Krueger. “We applaud their work and their ongoing commitment to student data privacy.”

Delaware City Schools Chief Technology Officer Jen Fry said the district implemented new elements in each of the five areas, including having up-to-date policies and regulations addressing data privacy; implementing a process for vetting online services for data privacy and security; and putting a process in place to communicate data incidents to appropriate parties.

“The Trusted Learning Environment Seal is a framework of student data privacy best practices,” Fry said. “The TLE framework has provided us with an actionable plan to protect student data privacy in our school district. When you have a plan, you can work toward achieving the action steps one by one.”

Fry said the award demonstrates the district’s “commitment to examining and advancing student data privacy practices to our community.”

“I am proud that we have earned the Trusted Learning Environment Seal,” Fry said. “The seal is a recognition of many changes that we have made and the culture of privacy that we have developed in Delaware City Schools over the last few years. We will continue to examine and improve our practices in the future.”

According to CoSN’s website, seal recipients are required to reapply every two years.

Glenn Battishill can be reached at 740-413-0903.

Friday’s Great Decisions lecture will explore the complex U.S-China trade relationship with a discussion titled “Frenemies: Understanding the U.S.-China Trade Relationship in 2024” from Ji Young Choi, Ph.D., associate professor of politics and government, Ohio Wesleyan University.

China’s economic rise in the past three decades presents a complex “great decision” for the U.S. and the world. China’s current policies of increasing the role of the state in the economy have led some U.S. policymakers to seek to deny China access to U.S. technology and investment. This is seen as a necessary corrective to decades of predatory Chinese economic policies. However, these U.S. policy options must be viewed in a bigger backdrop of continued strong trade relations between our two countries, the broader U.S. and Chinese economic presence in Asia, Africa, and the Americas, a slow-down in the PRC’s economy, a looming demographic challenge for China, and ongoing geopolitical tensions over flashpoints like the status of Taiwan and Chinese military expansion in the South China Sea. What U.S. strategic approach holds the most promise for a successful – and peaceful – future with the People’s Republic of China as we head into the second quarter of the 21st century?

The lecture will take place from noon to 1 p.m. at the William Street United Methodist Church at 28 W. William St., Delaware. Those attending are welcome to bring a brown bag lunch. Coffee and tea will be provided.

The presentation will also be broadcast over Zoom at https://us06web.zoom.us/j/85158448001.

For more information, visit www.greatdecisionsofdelawareoh.com.

The Great Decisions program is a series of free, public lectures from central Ohio foreign policy experts who explore pressing international topics of the day. Sponsored by the Foreign Policy Association, Great Decisions provides a series of eight published essays around which our local presenters base their discussions each week. The presentations include audience question-and-answer periods to engage in thoughtful discussion.

Submitted by Erinn Nicley.

The Delaware County Board of Commissioners met six times in March, and this a summary of what took place:

• Three residents, including Liberty Township Trustee Scott Donaldson, voiced their concerns about semi-truck traffic on state Route 315 at the start of the March 7 meeting. In legislative action, the commissioners acknowledged receipt of a request for annexation of 298.398 acres of land from Trenton Township to the City of Sunbury (this was granted on March 28). A collective bargaining agreement between the county’s 9-1-1 center and the Ohio Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association was approved. Kent King was appointed to the Delaware County Rural Zoning Commission, and John Cruise was appointed to the Delaware-Morrow Mental Health and Recovery Services Board. A Lead Safe Program contract was awarded to Delaware-based Gandee & Associates; and Woolpert Inc. received an agreement for engineering services related to the widening of South Old State Road.

• Kelly Tennant was recognized for 21 years of service to the Delaware County Auditor’s Office at the start of the March 11 meeting. A generator was purchased for the 9-1-1 center. In Genoa Township, right-of-way acquisition services were approved for the Big Walnut/Tussic Street roads and South Old 3C Highway project; along with ditch maintenance for the 42.79-acre Ravines at Hoover. The vacation of a drainage easement for Conservation Club common access driveway in Brown Township was approved, as was a developer’s agreement for Berlin Bluffs sections 1-2 along Cheshire Road, and a change order to the Kilbourne Planned Commercial District.

• Among the resolutions approved on March 14 was a contract between the Delaware County Board of Elections and Westerville-based SCS Consulting Services, Ltd. to train BOE staff and poll officials.

• A disaster and state of emergency was declared by the commissioners at the outset of the March 18 meeting. “Delaware County, Ohio has been impacted by severe weather with tornado damage to homes and public infrastructure spanning across Scioto Township, Delaware Township, City of Delaware, Berlin Township, Berkshire Township, Village of Galena, and Trenton Township,” the resolution read. County staff and representatives from Berkshire, Berlin and Galena gave updates on cleanup from the March 14 natural disaster.

In other business, a subdivider’s agreement was approved for the sanitary sewer improvement plans for Northstar Prestwick Road. Hared Farms, Inc. was awarded the cash lease of county farmland for the season; and Ashland-based DR Lawncare LLC was awarded a contract for roadside mowing. A ditch maintenance petition was awarded for Cheshire Woods, a 55.4-acre subdivision in Berkshire Township. A cooperative agreement was made with Union County for the resurfacing of Moore and Watkins roads.

• Rachel Layne-Schaffer was reappointed to the Ohio Children’s Trust Fund Central Ohio Child Abuse and Child Neglect Regional Prevention Council at the March 21 meeting. Chris Bauserman, Pat Blayney, Tracie Davies, Si Kille and Tom Price were reappointed to the county’s Transportation Improvement District. Lastly, the commissioners okayed a letter of support for Preservation Parks to apply for a grant to restore the Bicentennial Barn at McCammon Creek Park, which can be seen from Interstate 71.

• Blayney and Kille were also reappointed to the Evans Farm New Community Authority Board of Trustees on March 28. Plats of subdivision were approved for Howard Farms section four in Berlin Township.

The Board of Commissioners of Delaware County are President Gary Merrell, Vice President Barb Lewis and Commissioner Jeff Benton.

Assistant Editor Gary Budzak covers the eastern half of Delaware County and surrounding areas. He may be reached at [email protected].

5552 Jessica Ln, Powell, Mi Homes Of Central Ohio Llc To: Epling, Shannon E, $553,003

3211 Logsdon Loop, Delaware, Mi Homes Of Central Ohio Llc To: Bernard, Stephen P & Erin P, $689,507

5496 Winterglow Dr, Powell, Mi Homes Of Central Ohio Llc To: Selvaraj, Vijayaraj & Parthasarathi, Annajeyanthi, $531,640

7067 Steeplebush Ave, Westerville, Thatcher, Michael T To: Harper, Austin & Eryne, $570,000

105 Shay St, Delaware, Vergeldedios, Gelver & Nicole R To: Friesen, Trevor & Desiree, $239,900

1200 Wedgewood Ter, Westerville, Kelley, Michael W & Kimberly R To: Frederick, Tyler Anthony & Black Rhiannon, $520,000

15 Hillside Dr, Delaware, Burke, Benjamin & Natalia To: Budash, Maria & Zapolnik, Andrew, $550,000

6859 Dustin Rd, Galena, Hodgson, Cynthia & Riley B To: Black, Brent, $209,900

2238 Walnut Way, Lewis Center, Kenric Construction Inc To: Sullivan, Maureen C & Kevin F, $125,000

8480 Concord Rd, Delaware, Irelan, Thomas W & Tanya L To: Lyons, Michael G & Angela M, $1,680,000

542 Rochdale Run, Delaware, Colts Run Development Llc To: Williams, Jason S, $318,300

5375 Covington Meadows Dr, Westerville, Gonzalez, Antonio & Tina Marie To: Hartje, Andrew & Sara Ann, $410,000

8970 State Route 37 , Ostrander, Lemaster, Garrett C & Olivia P To: Sears, Jeffrey J & Lori N, $619,000

3099 Coltsbridge Dr, Lewis Center, Kimmins, Connie R To: Mclain, Ian & Walton, Kelsey, $430,000

756 Kingsmead Rd, Westerville, Price, Donna M To: Coley, Randall A & Pamela, $380,000

184 Stockard Loop, Delaware, Osborne, Ronald L Jr & Virginia L To: Reo Restorations Llc, $249,000

Delaware Cooperative Preschool (DCP) is continuing its celebration of 40 years in the community with the second annual Community Day on Saturday, May 4, at Asbury United Methodist Church, located at 55 W. Lincoln Ave.

The festivities will include a “Star Wars” theme in honor of the date, a rummage sale, 30 raffle baskets with $1 tickets, a 50/50 raffle, a bake sale, and activities for children. All proceeds will support the nonprofit preschool. The Community Day is free to attend and will run from 9 a.m. to noon.

“I like to call it a FUNdraiser because of course as a nonprofit, we have financial needs that we need to meet every year,” DCP Board President Maura Atwater told The Gazette. “We try to keep our tuition very reasonable for families. But we want to make this like a wide-open community event that’s free to attend. Essentially, we’re creating this circular economy. We know we have many young families who are outgrowing things all of the time, and I realize that if we gave them an outlet to donate items they’re no longer using, we could repurpose them to generate a little extra income for the school.”

Atwater said the hope is that the fundraiser will allow DCP to reimagine its outdoor space.

“This spring, we got two grants to plant pollinator gardens along the side of the building where our classroom windows face so our children can have a more direct interaction with nature,” she said. “And then we’re also expanding our outdoor play area so they have more options there when they’re out letting off steam during gross motor play. We’re going to open up the fencing a little bit and add some more features for the class next fall.”

DCP was founded in 1984 after a group of families developed a relationship as part of a family playgroup program run by the Delaware Park and Recreation Department at Mingo Park. As their children aged out of the program, the group worked with the city to continue the program through a formalized preschool cooperative.

What started as approximately five families grew to more than 80 families sending their children to preschool at DCP in the 1990s. As a cooperative, parents of the children attending the school would stay while their children were there to help run the program. With the program no longer being supported by the city, the preschool found new homes at various churches before settling in at Asbury United Methodist in 2005.

“It’s very different in that it’s a cooperative,” said Atwater of how DCP differs from traditional preschool settings. “That’s one thing that has not changed since 1984. Every family that enrolls at DCP makes a commitment to send their child and pay tuition but also come and be a part of the educational experience. We have volunteer schedules still, and parents will come and work in the classroom alongside the teachers depending on how often their child attends … That means the families are directly present and understanding the impact of everything their child experiences as they’re in the program.”

In addition to the parents’ involvement, DCP also has committees and a board entirely run by volunteers.

“It’s a very changeable experience from year to year because it really is a function of who the current members are, and there are people who are very passionate about education specifically or maybe about the natural world,” Atwater said. “We’ve had lots of educators and child psychologists, occupational therapists, and speech therapists in our group of families. We’ve also had musicians and firefighters, police officers, and other first responders. So all those community members are in the classroom as parents and working with their kids and getting to know others’ kids, but also bringing their wealth of knowledge about their own careers or vocations and sharing that with the kids as well.”

Because parents are so heavily involved in the school, Atwater said the cooperative element helps to foster a family atmosphere at DCP that may not always be found at other schools.

“I refer to it as a big family,” she said. “We have quarterly meetings, and there aren’t too many times when the whole school is all together because you’re just there on the days your child attends usually. But at our first quarterly meeting in September, I said that this is a family made up of 55 families because that’s really what it is.”

Atwater added, “I see this small preschool community as a microcosm of our wider Delaware community. It’s such a representative cross-section. We have families at every placement in the community, working in all these different sectors, living in all these different neighborhoods. We have families that drive here from Marion, Ostrander and Radnor. It’s just incredible. It’s exciting to know I can walk into my kids’ schools and interact with every corner of life in our county.”

While they may be celebrating 40 years of service in Delaware this year, Atwater believes there are more celebrations to come for DCP, and she’s honored to have played a role in continuing to build its legacy.

“After we had the celebration for the anniversary a couple of weeks ago, I said, ‘Here’s to the next 40 years’ because it’s a proven model,” Atwater said. “I, myself, attended a cooperative preschool in a church basement not unlike this one when I was 3, 4, and 5 years old, so to have come into this community and specifically this board and be able to serve as the president at this milestone year is very gratifying to me.

“I think a lot of community organizations, nonprofits, and educational organizations struggled a lot through the pandemic because we couldn’t even hold classes … It was very difficult and uncharted waters after that lockdown, but I am so proud of our community and particularly the board members I’ve gotten to work with. They’ve been some of the most dedicated, tenacious, creative men and women I’ve met who are so rooted in Delaware at large, but their specific contributions through the love they have for our children are just setting this institution up for continued success. To have been a part of that at all is amazing, but to get to celebrate the 40th anniversary and kind of finish my board tenure on such a high note is personally satisfying, too.”

For more information on DCP and its Community Day, visit www.dcpkids.com.

Reach Dillon Davis at 740-413-0904. Follow him on Twitter @DillonDavis56.

The National Science Foundation (NSF) is awarding a four-year $3 million grant to a consortium of scientists, including Ohio Wesleyan University’s Eric J. Gangloff, to support a new Research and Mentoring for Post Baccalaureates (RaMP) Program.

The funding will create the RaMP Program, which will work to train “the next generation of interdisciplinary scientists to collaboratively address species responses to climate change.”

Gangloff, Ph.D., an OWU assistant professor of Biological Sciences, is a collaborator on the new NSF grant with co-primary recipients at Bridgewater State University in Massachusetts, Michigan State University, Monmouth University in New Jersey, Penn State University, and Susquehanna University in Pennsylvania.

RaMP will create a postbaccalaureate research and mentoring network under the umbrella of the existing NSF-supported Salamander Population and Adaptation Research Collaboration Network (SPARCnet). Gangloff is a research collaborator within SPARCnet.

The primary goals of RaMP are to diversify the 21st-century STEM workforce to produce a new generation of scientists with a broad spectrum of ideas and experiences and to determine “how best to mitigate the impacts of large-scale global change, including land-use shifts, species introductions, atmospheric deposition, and climate change.” Ohio Wesleyan will receive $61,141 of the total award.

The new grant will allow Gangloff to expand his current research at Ohio Wesleyan, for which he earned a three-year $476,342 National Science Foundation grant in 2022. That project, “Success in the Anthropocene: Evolutionary Ecology of the Common Wall Lizard in Ohio,” seeks to identify “how this lizard has flourished in urban environments on a new continent after just 10 of the reptiles were released in Cincinnati in the 1950s,” he said.

“This information can then be used to help prevent the spread of potentially harmful invasive species or to understand how organisms we want to protect may respond to changes in their environment,” Gangloff explained in announcing the work. “The infrastructure and systems established here will form the foundation of a long-term, sustainable research program for Ohio Wesleyan undergraduate students that will be a model for other institutions, with a specific focus on increased participation and success in STEM fields for underrepresented minorities.”

Learn more about Gangloff and his research, and more about Ohio Wesleyan’s Department of Biological Sciences, at www.owu.edu/biologicalsciences.

Submitted by Ohio Wesleyan University.