The Scoop...December 12, 2011
Posted by Jim Krumel
on Dec 12, 2011
Daniel DiBiasio, the new president of Ohio Northern Universty, was the featured speaker at the Dec. 12 meeting of the Lima Rotary Club.
DiBiasio said he has been knocking on a lot of doors since taking over as president in August. He also wants to let people know they should be comfortable knocking on his door. It is part of DiBiasio’s effort to let people know that ONU should be looked upon as more than just a university in Ada. “Our goal is to create and expand our community and regional partnerships,” DiBiasio told members of the Lima Rotary Club on Monday. “We are committed to sharing our resources. I have met the mayor of Lima and other community leaders. If there is an opportunity to better connect the university with any of the surrounding communities, I would love to hear about it.” DiBiasio, 61, took over in August as the 11th president of the 140-year-old university in Ada. He was selected from 75 applicants to replace Ken Baker, who retired after leading the school for 12 years. DiBiasio had been president of Wilmington College in Clinton County, southeast of Dayton, since 1995. He began his career in 1974 as an admissions counselor at Rocky Mountain College in Billings, Mont. He’s also held administrative positions at The Ohio State University and the University of New Hampshire, “As I’m getting to meet people, I’m getting a new respect for the reputation that ONU has developed and why this is such a high-quality university,” he said.DiBiasio also shared some insights about the university and himself: • The $100 million, five-year capital campaign is in its final stage with 95 percent of the goal reached. The money will be used for capital improvements, scholarships and planned giving in the future. • ONU has made the conversion from a quarter system to semesters this year. • The average ACT score for a student attending Ohio Northern is 26.5. • The tuition, room and board of a student attending ONU is around $44,000. The average student receives enough financial aid to pay for about half of that, DiBiasio said. “There’s a difference between the sticker price and the net costs. Those numbers meet somewhere in the middle.” • DiBiasio and his wife, Chris, have been married 35 years. They have two son, Matthew, 27, and Michael, 23. He was born and raised in Lakewood, Ohio. His younger brother, Bob, is the vice president of public relations for the Cleveland Indians. Monday's meeting was called toorder by President Jerry Courtney.