Ohio Dominican University

Ohio Dominican names University's 16th President

Robert A. Gervasi, Ph.D

Robert A. Gervasi, Ph.D

Columbus, OH – The Ohio Dominican University (ODU) Board of Trustees has announced that Robert A. Gervasi, Ph.D. will serve as the University’s 16th president. Gervasi will succeed Dr. Peter Cimbolic, who is retiring after seven years as ODU’s president. Gervasi will begin at Ohio Dominican on June 26, 2017.

Gervasi has spent the last nine years serving as president of Quincy University, a private Catholic Franciscan liberal arts university located in Quincy, Illinois. Quincy has approximately 1,300 undergraduate and graduate students.

During Gervasi’s tenure as president, Quincy experienced growth and improvement in numerous areas, including enrollment. In fall 2016, Quincy welcomed its largest class on record. Over the past nine years, enrollment in the university’s Honors Program has increased from 33 to 202 students. Quincy also became a more diverse campus under Gervasi’s leadership, with approximately 17 percent of the university’s student population made up of minority students, compared to five percent in the region. 

“We are tremendously blessed and proud to have an individual of Robert Gervasi’s experience, leadership and enthusiasm serve as Ohio Dominican University’s 16th president,” said Tom Mueller, chair of ODU’s Board of Trustees. “Quincy University has experienced tremendous success and growth under his guidance. As a sitting president, Bob has successfully navigated many of the challenges currently being experienced at small, private Midwestern universities, and we’re excited for him to bring his expertise to Ohio Dominican.”

2012 OFIC Service-Learning Leadership Award recipient Jenelle Krumlauf named to Business First's Forty under 40

Jenelle Krumlauf, founder and president of Nellie’s Catwalk for Kids, and 2012 OFIC Service-Learning Leadership award recipient (Ohio Dominican University '13), has been named to Columbus Business First's Forty under 40 list this year.


Tears of Joy - a student scholar story

Toni Rice, from Columbus, Ohio, is pursuing a Business Administration degree at Ohio Dominican University.  Her aspirations are all focused around giving back, saying, “What I want to do the most is to one day create my own non-profit organization that will help and benefit orphan children as well as children in rough living situations.”  Toni chose ODU for its business program, small class size to ensure more professor to student interaction, and the campus is close to home.  Toni was able to complete her freshman year with a Parent Plus Loan.  Unfortunately, her mother suffered a disabling accident and is now physically unable to work.  As she prepared to enter her sophomore year, Toni learned she was not approved for the Parent Plus Loan because her mother no longer has an income.  Working part-time at Chipotle Mexican Grill, and not knowing how she would be able to pay tuition of about $5,000 per semester, Toni faced the decision of either sitting out of college for a year or transferring to community college until she could afford to return to Ohio Dominican.  When she received her financial award letter, including notification that she had been awarded an Enterprise Holdings Scholarship Toni said, “I literally cried tears of joy. Not only does this scholarship cover the rest of my tuition, but it leaves me with a credit which I can use towards my school books.  I feel as if I can’t possibly thank you enough for giving me this opportunity.  I truly thank you with all of my heart for this scholarship and look forward to proving so through my grades this semester.”  With the scholarship funding provided by Enterprise Holdings through The Ohio Scholars Program®, Toni is making steady progress toward successfully achieving her bachelor’s degree.


To help a student from your community go to college, click here to learn more.