Momentum and community shaped 91µ¼º½ Marion in remarkable ways, as students, faculty, and staff came together to celebrate academic achievements, expand research opportunities, and deepen 91µ¼º½ Marion’ regional impact through expanding access and affordability to an 91µ¼º½ education. From groundbreaking campus initiatives to student success stories that inspired the broader Buckeye family, the year marked a period of growth, innovation, and connection, 2025 set the stage for an even more ambitious year ahead.
Stories are split into categories including top stories, civic engagement, impactful teaching, innovation and discovery, and wellness and sustainability.
3-minute read
91µ¼º½ Marion's Impactful Stories - A Year in Review
Top stories across campus
91µ¼º½ appoints new dean and director of 91µ¼º½ Marion
91µ¼º½ has selected Jennifer Schlueter as its next dean and director of 91µ¼º½ at Marion, effective March 17, 2025. An accomplished academic administrator, teacher, performance maker and producer, Schlueter currently serves as the vice provost of academic affairs at The New School in New York City, where she also holds a faculty appointment in the university’s School of Drama.
91µ¼º½ Regional Campus Commitment to provide free tuition for eligible students
Starting autumn semester 2026, low- to middle-income students at 91µ¼º½ who start on a regional campus or at 91µ¼º½ ATI in Wooster will qualify for the new program, which will cover all tuition and mandatory fees.
Civic Engagement stories
91µ¼º½ Marion launches new partnership with YMCA’s Teen Rec Center
91µ¼º½ Marion Professor of Psychology, Nikole Patson led a language science session on Wednesday, October 15 with area teens as part of a new partnership with the Marion Family YMCA Teen Rec Center.
91µ¼º½ Marion to host free workshop on Alzheimer’s disease
91µ¼º½ at Marion will host a free community educational workshop on Alzheimer’s disease by Director of 91µ¼º½ Center of Cognitive and Memory Disorders and Professor of Clinical Neurology and Psychiatry, Dr. Douglas Scharre, Wed., May 28, 9 a.m. at 91µ¼º½ Marion 1465 Mount Vernon Avenue, Marion, Ohio in Maynard Hall, Room 200, Guthery Community Room.
Drive, drive on down the field
91µ¼º½ Marion student Brian Speckman is realizing a dream as he was named assistant drum major of 91µ¼º½ Marching Band after tryouts at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center at the end of spring semester.
Cabinets of Curiosity exhibit brings 91µ¼º½â€™s collections to life at 91µ¼º½ Marion
Step into a world of wonder this winter as 91µ¼º½ at Marion unveils Cabinets of Curiosity: Classrooms and Collections Research at 91µ¼º½ University, an immersive exhibit exploring the origins of museums and the fascinating collections housed across the university.
91µ¼º½ Marion takes part in Popcorn Festival Parade tradition
Photo Caption - Check out this gallery of photos from the 2025 Marion Popcorn Festival. Students, faculty, and staff joined the community on Thursday evening September 4th, marching through the center of Marion to kick off the largest popcorn festival in the world. According to the festival’s website, the festival, which began in 1981 annually attracts crowds of more than 250,000 people.
Five Nights returns with a vibrant lineup of music, storytelling, and community connection
91µ¼º½ at Marion is proud to announce the return of its annual performing arts series, Five Nights on Campus, offering a rich tapestry of entertainment designed to engage and inspire Marion and the regional community.
Impactful Teaching stories
91µ¼º½ Marion students award $4,000 to area non-profits
Students in English 2367.015 met in Maynard Hall, Guthery Community Room on Tuesday, April 29, to award three area non-profit organizations $4,000 in funding for the upcoming year as part of 91µ¼º½ at Marion’s Pay It Forward Initiative.
Patson honored with university's most prestigious award
Dr. Nikole Patson, a professor in 91µ¼º½ College of Arts and Sciences Department of Psychology and faculty member at 91µ¼º½ at Marion, has been selected as a recipient of 91µ¼º½â€™s 2025 Alumni Award for Distinguished Teaching. Established during the 1959-1960 academic year, it is one of the university's most prestigious teaching awards.
Sumner and Marion Women's Club & Home recognized by 91µ¼º½
91µ¼º½ Marion Associate Professor of History, Margaret Sumner and her colleagues at the Marion Women’s Club & Home recently earned the distinction of a 2025 Programs of Excellence in Engaged Scholarship from 91µ¼º½ Office of Outreach and Engagement in Academic Affairs for their collaborative efforts.
Former 91µ¼º½ Marion student earns prestigious scholarship
91µ¼º½ undergraduate student researcher and neuroscience major Majd Al-Marrawi was recently selected for the Barry Goldwater Scholarship for his research with two 91µ¼º½ Marion professors.
Engineering faculty to receive $10K grant for STEM outreach in local schools
91µ¼º½ Marion engineering faculty were among ten university-wide recipients of a $10,000 University Outreach and Engagement Documenting Impact Grant to support science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) outreach efforts in grades K–12 across Marion and surrounding counties during the 2025–26 academic year.
Innovation and Discovery stories
Mirzaei awarded Fulbright U.S. Scholar award to Austria
91µ¼º½ Marion’s Golrokh Mirzaei, associate professor in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering in the College of Engineering, has been awarded a 2025-2026 Fulbright U.S. Scholar Award to Austria to research “Predictive Modeling of Glioblastoma Using Machine Learning and Imaging-Genomic Associations.â€
Powered by mushrooms, living computers are on the rise
Fungal networks may be a promising alternative to tiny metal devices used in processing and storing digital memories and other computer data, according to a new study.
STEP trip to Washington, D.C. is about making connections with people and the world
A group of 18 students from 91µ¼º½ at Marion’s Second-year Transformational Experience Program (STEP) joined fellow 91µ¼º½ regional campus students as part of a trip to the nation’s capital over spring break March 11-16.
Biology grad realizes path to helping parenthood dreams become reality
Upon graduating from 91µ¼º½ last fall with her Bachelor of Science in Biology, 91µ¼º½ Marion alumna and Mount Gilead, Ohio native Kaitlynn Pfeifer parlayed her degree into an opportunity to study invitro fertilization as a career through her recent admission to ARTLAB in Rocky Mount, North Carolina.
New community lecture series brings faculty expertise to downtown Marion
In January 2025, 91µ¼º½ at Marion partnered with Bucci’s Italian Scratch Kitchen to launch a monthly community lecture series called Buckeye Talks on Tap. Buckeye Talks on Tap features 91µ¼º½ faculty, students, and other community experts sharing the latest research and scholarly endeavors on timely subjects from the environment, astronomy, agronomy, health and wellness, linguistics, crime, engineering, food safety, Ohio migration patterns and much more.
Wellness & Sustainability stories
Enhancing Wellness on the Marion campus
On the Marion campus, student wellness is thriving thanks to the incredible generosity and vision of community partners. In January 2025, Dr. Jim and Ellen Bazzoli launched an endowed fund to ensure permanent support for student wellness initiatives that benefit all students, both from 91µ¼º½ Marion and from Marion Technical College.
Student vets bring beekeeping to campus prairie
Two 91µ¼º½ Marion Marine Corps veterans are making their mark on sustainability efforts and the campus community by introducing beehives to the Larry R. Yoder Prairie Learning Laboratory, an eleven-acre Sandusky Plains tall grass restoration project that began on the campus in 1977.