Lori Stewart Gonzalez: a year-in-review

Photo via Lily Franks/The New Political

This article was published in The New Political’s 2025 Fall Print.

On Sept. 19, Ohio University President Lori Stewart Gonzalez delivered her State of the University Address, sharing progress, news and achievements from the last academic year and goals for the current one. 

As Ohio U moves into this academic year, President Gonzalez laid out major achievements for the university, including reaffirmation of Ohio U’s institutional accreditation by the Higher Learning Commission, the formation of the Institute for Molecular Medicine and Aging, and Ohio U’s ranking as the No.1 best value public education in the state. 

Gonzalez also shared that the university is seeing promising momentum in their Dynamic Strategy. Phase one was implemented last October. This started with the promise that Ohio U employee benefit premiums would be held flat for the next two years, which Gonzalez confirmed is still in effect at the 2025 State of the University Address. Phase one also included increasing the number of students supported through experiential learning awards, finalizing new research faculty, launching a comprehensive workplace survey for faculty, and setting a date for the T1 Academic Summit. Implementation of the Dynamic Strategy will continue over the next two years as a way to guide growth for Ohio U in the changing landscape of higher education. 

“I want you to embrace all this good news,” Gonzalez said after sharing these accomplishments. “Remind yourself every day of the great work we’re doing to hold the door open to higher education to deserving students and to deliver a life-changing student experience.” 

Beyond these accomplishments, though, the end of the last academic year brought forward two important events for Ohio U: the passage of the Advance Ohio Higher Education Act and the unionization of faculty. 

The Advance Ohio Higher Education Act, or SB1, was signed into law in March 2025 and went into effect in June. SB1 made several changes to Ohio public universities, most notably the closing of diversity, equity, and inclusion centers. In April, President Gonzalez announced the university will sunset their Division of Diversity and Inclusion, which included the Multicultural, Pride, and Women’s Centers. 

This announcement sparked discourse from within the student body. Cami Jackson, president of Ohio U’s chapter of the Ohio Student Association (OSA), shared, “I do know people who really took advantage of Multicultural Center, and Pride Center, because they were safe spaces where people who share the same opinions or even the same identity felt safe to sit with each other.” 

Jackson also expressed her frustration at the university's immediate compliance without offering solutions that could help support students who were losing programs that were a safe space for them. The OSA treasurer, Allison Case, said, “I walk past in Baker [Center] now, and they just replace it with things like your space or whatever they put down there, and it's just like that doesn't make up for the centers that we lost.”

Though there is no replacement for the Division of Diversity and Inclusion, in Gonzalez’s statement from April, she charged the Bobcat community with finding new ways for Ohio U to welcome everyone and celebrate diversity. She said, “We must work collectively to preserve the legacy of their work and carry it forever forward.”

Another major development occurred last March, when Ohio U faculty successfully voted to unionize and form the United Academics of Ohio University (UAOU). The university did file an objection with the results of the vote but, in May, the UAOU was certified, which allowed collective bargaining to begin. 

UAOU began negotiations with the University in early August; those negotiations are still ongoing. Regarding the negotiations, Gonzalez said, "While these conversations are ongoing, we remain committed to good faith dialogue that represents our shared mission and our deep respect for the people who make it possible."

Before and throughout the unionization, Ohio U students have expressed much support for UAOU. In February, the Student Senate passed a bill that expressed support for faculty unionization, and Jackson shared that OSA is forming a coalition with the faculty union, saying, “We support them, and we are a joint front.”

As the university continues to work through the implementation of SB1 and negotiations with UAOU, Gonzalez announced several initiatives to help Ohio U move forward. These initiatives include the launching of the Center for Community Impact and expanding alumni mentorship opportunities. She closed her 2025 State of the University address, saying, “For more than 220 years, Ohio has adapted, persevered and led. Today, we are ready to keep moving forward with that same determination and spirit.”