KALIDA — Ohio State University Provost Bruce McPheron and a group of university faculty and staff toured Unverferth Manufacturing Co. on Thursday as part of an expedition across northwest Ohio.
The Roads Scholars Tour is two-day, traveling seminar that takes faculty, administrators and community partners through a region of Ohio. As part of the tour, OSU faculty and staff meet with community partners the university collaborates with, talk with current and future Ohio State students, learn from business and community leaders, and get acquainted with others who may be partners for future projects.
Thursday’s trip to Unverferth was the third stop on the first day of the tour, which also included visits to COSI in Columbus, the Transportation Research Center in East Liberty and the Toledo Zoo.
“We think this is a great adventure to get our faculty out into other parts of the state,” McPheron said. “We staged the stops in a way that showed different elements of what Ohio is all about.”
At Unverferth, McPheron and some 50 faculty and staff sat in on a panel discussion with the company’s management team, and toured the facility. McPheron called the company a “terrific family-owned business.”
“This is a terrific example of how great ideas build on themselves,” he said. “It started with somebody taking a chance four generation ago, and now the company is building on itself and coming up with new products and acquisitions to expand its geographic footprint.”
McPheron added that OSU has a “great relationship” with Unverferth, as the company and the university collaborate on a number of projects and initiatives.
On Friday, the group will visit the Toledo Museum of Art, the Andersons Inc. in Maumee and Cooper Tire in Findlay.
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