LIMA — Ohio State University-Lima professor of history and Assistant Dean Roger Nimps insists he is just another part in an efficient machine at the campus.
Many of his coworkers feel otherwise.
Nimps was named the 14th recipient of the annual Violet I. Meek Town and Gown Award during a small ceremony and reception in the Student Activities Center at the campus. The award is given annually to an OSU-Lima employee that works to connect community and campus.
“In my case, this award is a celebration of team efforts,” Nimps said.
When Nimps was recently notified he had been named the winner, he immediately began suggesting other people he thought we more worthy of the honor. History professor Tom Ingersoll said it was that kind of humility that made Nimps worthy of the award.
“That is how he is,” Ingersoll said. “He is very giving and very self-sacrificing. If there is something going on, you are going to find him there in some capacity. He never wants the credit.”
Meek, a prior Dean at the campus that founded the award, said she saw potential right away in Nimps. Both came to the campus at the same time, in 1994.
“I knew there was potential there,” Meek said. “It was a pleasure to have worked with Roger. There has been a lot of growth. Roger has a way of seeing old things in a new way.”
Nimps has worked on bringing many speakers to Lima, including a Pulitzer prize-winning author and a curator from the Smithsonian. He also has organized student trips to the Underground Railroad historical site in Ripley. He has also served on several local boards, including the Lima Symphony Orchestra and the Allen County Museum. In his love for history, he has been the lead in bringing several Ohio Chautauquas to Lima, a week-long living history event. He and his wife, Allison, have two daughters, both OSU graduates.
“We weren’t sure we were going to stay here,” Nimps said. “We found a fit, and it was the right fit for me and my family. The campus embraced us.”
Also, Alexander Sciranka was honored with the Violet E. Meek Student Leadership Award. Sciranka is a graduating senior at OSU-Lima.
“I was a little surprised,” Sciranka said of winning the award. “It was an honor.”
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