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AU earns five “Best Online” program rankings from U.S. News
ASHLAND, Ohio – Ashland University earned “Best Online” distinction in five categories from the highly-respected U.S. News & World Report’s 2023 program rankings. The rankings were announced on Tuesday. U.S. News, in its 11th year collecting data from distance education master’s and bachelor’s degree completion programs, assessed more than 1,800 online degree programs. The rankings measure overall academic quality, in addition to services offered remotely…
Hundreds of graduates learn about “golf balls of life,” join AU alumni family
ASHLAND, Ohio – Kristen Maurer used an unusual prop, a glass jar she termed the “golf balls of life,” to illustrate one of the tips she offered to the hundreds of Ashland University graduates in attendance during Saturday morning’s 2022 Winter Commencement ceremony inside the Niss Athletic Center. Maurer, the 2022 Milken Educator Award recipient for the state of Ohio and a 2014 AU alumna, was the keynote speaker before six doctorate degrees, 211 master’s…
Soon-to-be AU grad and middle school teacher makes hundreds of Christmas shoeboxes in free time
Ever since she was a little girl, Jessica Barnes has wanted to be a teacher, growing up drawing diagrams of her future classroom and coming up with homework ideas. “I’ve just always loved learning and I feel it is a way to use my creativity to give back,” said Barnes, who will receive her bachelor’s degree in education during Ashland University’s winter commencement Saturday, Dec. 17. Because the 22-year-old has always wanted to help children as a teacher,…
AU introduces Ukrainian Freedom Scholar program, offers safe haven to students from Ukraine
ASHLAND, Ohio – Ashland University has offered full scholarships to five high school graduates from Ukraine who were displaced or unable to enroll in higher education institutions in their home country due to the Russia-Ukraine war. The first four recipients of this inspiring new initiative—the Ukrainian Freedom Scholar program—will begin their undergraduate studies at Ashland in January 2023. Launched in June 2022 by a small group of faculty and staff from…
Award-winning educator to give AU’s commencement address for December graduates
ASHLAND, Ohio – Kristen Maurer, Ohio’s 2022 Milken Educator Award recipient, will give the keynote address at Ashland University’s Winter 2022 Commencement, which will be held Saturday, Dec. 17, in the Niss Athletic Center. The ceremony, for both undergraduate and graduate students, will begin at 10 a.m. No tickets are required. Commencement will be live streamed here starting at 9:45 a.m., so that families and friends unable to attend can still watch their…
AU Board of Trustees announces one-year extension of President Campo’s contract
ASHLAND, Ohio – The Ashland University Board of Trustees approved to extend the contract of President Carlos Campo for an additional year during its Oct. 21 board meeting. Campo will now serve as president of AU through at least May 2025. “The Board of Trustees is happy to announce that it has exercised an additional one-year option to extend the term of President Campo through May 2025,” stated Jim Hess, chair of the AU Board of Trustees. “We believe adding…
After series of "something else’s" Corbett reaches longtime goal of earning master’s at age 58
Sherry Corbett always wanted to earn a master’s degree, but for years something else took precedence – until this year. In May, Corbett, 58, earned a Master of Education in Curriculum and Instruction with a concentration in teaching and learning in the 21st century through Ashland University online classes. “I could not afford to complete my master’s were I to have to do it in person and/or attend during the day, as I not only have to work, but I do not want…
Klinger’s ESSN nonprofit provides expertise on school safety
ASHLAND, Ohio – Amy Klinger’s passion for school safety began about 15 years ago when she was a principal and her oldest son had just joined the volunteer fire department in their small town in northwestern Ohio. “He had so much training at 18 years old in this little rural fire department and I was running a school with hundreds and hundreds of kids and I had no training,” she said. “At my school I was the first responder until the firefighters/EMTs showed…
Pair of Ashland alumnae win Milken Educator Awards
ASHLAND, Ohio – Two Ashland University alumnae—Kristen Maurer (pictured right) and Jamie Karaffa (left)—received Milken Educators Awards, dubbed as the “Oscars of Teaching,” this spring. Maurer graduated from AU with a bachelor’s degree in early childhood education in 2014, while Karaffa earned a master’s degree in American history and government in 2021. An initiative of the Milken Family Foundation, Milken Educator Awards provide recognition and a one-time…
AU names Vernon-Dotson as dean of College of Education
ASHLAND, Ohio – Ashland University is pleased to announce that Lisa Vernon-Dotson will be the new dean of the Dwight Schar College of Education. She will officially begin her leadership of the college on July 1, taking over for Steve Denney who served as interim dean during the 2021-22 academic year. “We are very excited to welcome this very accomplished scholar-leader to Ashland University. We expect Dr. Vernon-Dotson will enhance the meaningful work of the…
