Statehouse Falcons

Statehouse Falcons Promoting Bowling Green State University with State Government

The voices of Bowling Green State University leadership is amplified by a group of active and committed university alumni working in and around state government known as the Statehouse Falcons.  This organization existed for years but now is taking on a new, more expanded role under the leadership of President Mary Ellen Mazey.  President Mazey recently convened a core group of Statehouse Falcons to create a Board of Advisors for the organization that included current and former members of the Ohio General Assembly, a member of the Governor’s Cabinet, legislative and agency staff and lobbyists with decades of experience representing clients before state government.

The Statehouse Falcons is an alumnus driven group that in years past participated in an annual Statehouse Reception.  That role still exists, but, based upon the input of the Statehouse Falcons Board of Advisors, the role is increasing to include connecting students with internships and job opportunities as well as advocacy for university priorities.

This expanded role for the Statehouse Falcons comes at a critical time for Bowling Green State University.  The economic challenges facing the nation have hit higher education hard as they have everyone else.  Fortunately, Bowling Green State University and all of Ohio higher education have enjoyed a strong partnership with Governor John Kasich and both Democratic and Republican lawmakers in the Ohio General Assembly.  A recent state of Ohio Capital Bill provided millions in funding for multiple Bowling Green State University projects and the state of Ohio operating budget actually provided an increase in funding for higher education’s prime state supplement. 

Please contact David Robinson at drobinson@montrosegroupllc.com if you wish to join the Statehouse Falcons.

$18,000,000 State of Ohio Capital Bill To Rebuild Historic Moseley Hall

The Ohio General Assembly and Governor John Kasich approved state legislation awarding Bowling Green State University $18,000,000 in funding for a range of capital bill projects.  The majority of this funding, $13,000,000 was awarded to the redeveloping of one of the university’s crown architectural jewels- Moseley Hall.  Constructed in 1916 as a science and agriculture building, it was one of the original structures at the university.  The state of Ohio Capital Bill funding will go a long way to supporting the overall $23,200,000  in construction costs to completely renovate the inside of the building to create world class instructional laboratory space for biology, chemistry and other science disciplines.

The Moseley Hall Science Laboratories project will serve a broad spectrum of students.  In addition to serving science majors, faculty from BGSU’s world class biology and chemistry departments will support the education of students from the growing academic programs in the health professions, the College of Education and Human Development, and other academic units of the university.  BGSU already graduates more teachers in the Science Technology Education and Math (STEM) fields than any other Ohio university and the Moseley Hall Science Laboratories project will position the university to recruit nationally for these students.

Besides saving one of the campus’ original buildings, the prime strength of the Moseley Hall renovation is the prime roles it will play in supporting Ohio’s economic development. The Moseley Hall Science Laboratories will develop workers in the STEM fields.  STEM jobs will grow by 17% compared to 9.8% for non-STEM and STEM workers earn 26% more than non-STEM.  More than 2/3 of STEM workers need a college degree, compared to 1/3 of non-STEM workers.  Dayton will benefit from the Moseley Hall renovation as they are in the top 10 for STEM workers nationally.

The redevelopment of Moseley Hall will meet an immediate Ohio workforce need.  The state of Ohio has 13,000 open information technology jobs, 15,000 health care jobs and 28,000 open jobs positions requesting an accounting background.  The Moseley Hall Science Laboratories facility positions Ohio to develop graduates qualified that fill the thousands of open jobs in these STEM related occupations. The redevelopment of Moseley Hall positions Ohio to build world class programs and develop workers in booming energy industry.  The energy industry has a $6,000,000,000 economic impact on Northwest Ohio and the shale development in eastern Ohio is driving the state’s economic recovery and 5 of the state’s 10 largest employers are hospitals.  This economic growth does not happens without college educated workers in the science disciplines, such as chemistry, biology, forensics, medical technology, anatomy and physiology.

Look for the redevelopment of Moseley Hall and many other capital projects on the Bowling Green State University campus as the land use Master Plan is implemented over the coming years.  Of course, Bowling Green State University is thankful to state government leaders for their strong support of the Capital Bill and other funding efforts.

BGSU Connects Students with State Government Internship and Job Prospects

Over fifty students met with twenty state government agency leaders to discuss Columbus internship and job prospects during a recent BGSU Columbus Internship Mixer in the Ohio Statehouse.  Bowling Green State University is not only a leader in educating their students but also in placing them in jobs where they can use their education.

During the 2012-2013 academic year, approximately 4,000 students participated in BGSU co-op and internship programs.  Students participating in co-ops and internships are more likely to be employed when graduating – nationally 58.6% of interns are converted into full-time hires (NACE, 2012). 73.7% of employers prefer to hire candidates with relevant work experience and 55% of employers prefer work experience from an internship or co-op assignment (NACE, 2012).  Bowling Green State University is committed to internships and co-ops as demonstrated by the Falcon Internship Guarantee. BGSU guarantees students who complete the Falcon Internship Preparation Program, and meet the identified criteria, the opportunity to participate in an internship or other experiential learning activity during their undergraduate career.  A major opportunity for Bowling Green State University students is to participate in government service in state of Ohio government.

The BGSU Columbus Internship Program’s goal is to connect students with networking, co-op, internship and job opportunities in Central Ohio with local and state government and organizations working in and around government. Local and state government is big business in Ohio and students working in this field will come from a range of fields well beyond political science and public administration. State government offers opportunities for a wide range of students in varied occupations including: accounting & finance; construction management; counseling; criminal justice; education; environmental sciences; fire & ems; forensics; health care; human resources; information technology; insurance; marketing; public administration; public relations; and  purchasing/supply chain management.

To support student job placement and build a strong Falcon network in state government, staff members of the Ohio General Assembly and state government agencies were approached about participating in a BGSU Columbus Internship Program Mixer.  The purpose of this gathering was to introduce Bowling Green State University students to state government leaders and offer a networking opportunity for both students and state government leaders looking for job prospects.  The response to this first BGSU Columbus Internship Program Mixer was overwhelming.  Job prospects for Bowling Green State University students looks strong as the university Career Center now works to link specific students with specific job opportunities staring in the summer of 2014.

Students or state government leaders interested in finding employment opportunities or employees respectively should visit http://www.bgsu.edu/career-center/employers/post-a-job-or-internship.html to post available positions or contact the Career Center directly at 419-372-2356.

2014 Statehouse Falcons Reception Connects Students and Policy Makers

Over 150 Bowling Green State University students, alumni, staff and members and staff of the Ohio General Assembly and state agencies gathered in Columbus for the annual Statehouse Falcons Reception.  Bowling Green State University President Mary Ellen Mazey welcomed this record setting crowd to the 2014 Statehouse Falcons Reception and Steve Buehrer, 1989 BGSU graduate and current Administrator for the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation, acted as the event’s emcee.

The large crowd gathered to network and support Bowling Green State University with state government leaders was not the only thing worth celebrating at this year’s Statehouse Falcons Reception.  The crowd heard from President Mary Ellen Mazey regarding several exciting public-private-partnerships that built a new Falcon Health Center, remodeled Recreation Center and new Ohio Attorney General Bureau of Criminal Investigation Center all built or under construction without traditional university funding.  President Mazey also thanked state policy makers for their support of the State of Ohio Capital Bill and all their efforts to support Bowling Green State University.

Bowling Green State University’s support for veterans was also on display.  Josh Noblet, a BGSU senior history major with a political science minor from Galion, Ohio, shared his experience as a returning veteran to campus.  Josh is a sergeant serving in the Ohio National Guard and he is one of BGSU’s two new peer mentors in our partnership with the Veterans Administration for the PAVE program (Peer Advisors for Veterans Education). President Mazey also announced next year the university will have a new Veterans Center to better serve the 600 student veterans.

Finally, Bob Sebo, Bowling Green State University alumni and former Board of Trustee member awarded the Statehouse Falcons Legislative Achievement Award to Ohio House Speaker Bill Batchelder.  Speaker Batchelder has been a strong supporter of Bowling Green State University and higher education during his nearly forty year legislative career.  Governor John Kasich was present through a video presented congratulating Speaker Batchelder on his award.  The Statehouse Falcon Alumni award was given to State Senator Randy Gardner.  Senator Gardner has long been a strong presence on campus, a major support for Bowling Green State University in the Statehouse and a proud two time university alumni.

The 2014 Statehouse Falcons Reception was a huge success and plans are underway for a bigger and better event in 2015!!