Patton College of Education’s Aspire Program awarded FY25 grant funding by the Ohio Department of Education

Ohio University’s Patton College of Education’s Aspire Program has been awarded a $379,532 grant by the State of Ohio for the Fiscal Year 2025, enabling the important program to continue offering essential, free instruction for adult learners across Athens and Hocking County.

"Aspire offers a wide range of workforce and skill development opportunities, including job training, employability and computer literacy courses, GED preparation classes and more," said Dr. Lisa Harrison, dean of the Patton College of Education. "Medea Loibl and her team have had a considerable impact on assisting adult learners in Athens and Hocking Counties succeed in their educational and career goals. We are greatly appreciative for the State of Ohio’s continued generous support and look forward to collectively ensuring that our adult learners have the resources and training needed to succeed in their educational and career pursuits."

Last fall, the Aspire Program was honored with the 2023 Chancellor's Award for Outstanding Student Performance by the Ohio Department of Higher Education. Since its inception, the program’s integrated education and training component has experienced an increase of nearly 175 percent, while the post-school education and training category has grown by an impressive 642 percent.

“Last year, we met our enrollment target and were placed third for measurable skill gains out of all Aspire programs in Ohio,” said Medea Loibl, director of the Aspire Program. “Knowing that our work is having such a meaningful impact on workforce development and creating academic pipelines inspires us to keep pushing boundaries for excellence and moving the OHIO community forward.”

OHIO’s Aspire Program is housed within the Stevens Literary Center in the Patton College of Education. Additional details about the program are available online.