Ohio House Honors Glenn College’s ‘Ambitious Standards’

Published Date May 22, 2026

News Type College News

Former Glenn College Dean Trevor Brown, left, Ohio State interim executive vice president and provost, accepts the Ohio House commendation alongside (from left) Rep. Allison Russo, Acting Dean Stephanie Moulton and Rep. Christine Cockley. (Credit: Lily Li)

By Joan Slattery Wall

The John Glenn College of Public Affairs received a commendation honoring its 10^th anniversary of official college status from the Ohio House of Representatives.

Representatives Allison Russo and Christine Cockley presented the honor at the college’s end-of-year faculty and staff meeting May 15.

The commendation notes “the school is deserving of tremendous praise for inspiring citizenship, developing leadership and creating a pathway for individuals to pursue opportunities in numerous in-demand fields.”

A Defining Decade

In 2015, the then-John Glenn School of Public Affairs gained official college status, a sweeping change aimed at amplifying the former school’s mission to inspire citizenship and develop leadership. Learn how the change opened doors for more meaningful university and community collaborations and advanced curricular offerings for students.

“For the past decade, the remarkable people who have comprised The Ohio State University John Glenn College of Public Affairs have championed ambitious standards and encouraged lofty goals,” the commendation reads. “All those who currently direct and sustain the institution have supported its many edifying works and programs, and they have served Ohioans with vision, proving daily that they understand the importance of positioning our state for success in the future.”

“It’s truly an honor to receive this commendation from the Ohio Statehouse,” said Acting Dean Stephanie Moulton. “We are honored to serve the state of Ohio and uphold a shared commitment to public service.”

“Since its founding as a division at Ohio State in 1969 to becoming a college in 2015,” she said, “the Glenn College continues its dedication to fostering our students’ passion for public service and advancing public impact for our local, state and national government and nonprofit partners.”

Russo, whose house district includes Ohio State, thanked the college for success in her own career.

“From the moment I decided to run for office the first time, I participated in the Glenn College Public Leadership Academy for Elected Officials. I’ve also worked with a number of your students as interns, legislative aids and pages in the House. Every day that I have served in the Legislature for the last eight years, I see really good vision,” she said.

“I think of this college coming to life in the students you are producing and the training programs you are producing for good public leaders in this state,” Russo said. “Thank you for the work you have done and will continue to do.”

Cockley participated in the Glenn College Washington Academic Internship Program (WAIP) while earning her Bachelor of Arts in Public Management, Leadership and Policy and later received her Master of Public Administration, Washington, D.C., from the college.

Leadership from Volunteerism to the Statehouse

Read about Rep. Christine Cockley’s first year in the Ohio House of Representatives.

“When I went to orientation at the Statehouse, I felt like I was prepared to be a state rep, and it’s because of all of you,” Cockley said. “It’s because of the education at the Glenn College and internships and professors along the way.”

“What an honor it is to receive this and to be honored by two of our esteemed alumni,” former dean Trevor Brown, Ohio State interim executive vice president and provost, said.

“This is a team,” Brown told faculty and staff at the meeting. “This is not born out of one person or couple of us, it’s all of you and the people who came beforehand.”

He recalled the college’s origins as a division, school and institute.

“It’s amazing that we took those pieces,” Brown said, “and built them into something that was really fundamental and instrumental in moving this university forward.”

Learn more about the Glenn College’s Public Leadership Academy for Elected Officials.