OHIO honors its 21st President on his official retirement

Ohio University President Lori Stewart Gonzalez honored President Emeritus and Trustee Professor M. Duane Nellis recently for his official retirement.

The 21st President of Ohio University, Nellis served in this role from 2017 to 2021 and then transitioned to teaching and research in the Geography Department in the College of Arts and Sciences. He is officially retiring at the end of the fall semester.

“We want to thank you for all that you have done for Ohio University,” President Gonzalez said at the Nov. 25 retirement reception. She also expressed her gratitude to Nellis’ wife, Ruthie, for her outstanding support for Ohio University and the community.

Ohio University accomplished a great deal under Nellis’ leadership, including developing the highly-successful OHIO Honors Program to complement the nationally recognized Honors Tutorial College.

As president, Nellis also created the position of vice president of diversity and inclusion as part of OHIO’s efforts to elevate access and inclusion for all students. Under his leadership, the University launched successful initiatives like the OHIO Admissions Promise, the OHIO Guarantee Plus, and rebranding the University to focus on “Forever OHIO.” Nellis also provided oversight for new state-of-the-art learning spaces for students, including the Chemistry Building, Esports Lab, the Sook Academic Center, the Academic Engagement Center in the former president’s residence, and initial phases of the newly renovated Clippinger Laboratories.  The University also completed the new Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine building ‘Heritage Hall’ during his tenure.

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President Gonzalez said that she has enjoyed talking with Nellis and gaining insights from his experiences during her time as president.

Nellis, who is recognized internationally for his research that utilizes satellite data and geographic information systems to analyze various dimensions of the Earth's land surface, has had a distinguished career as a researcher, professor, administrator and university president. He served as the president of Texas Tech University and the University of Idaho before coming to Ohio University and said that he and Ruthie were grateful for their time at OHIO.

“This is such a special university,” Nellis said. He thanked OHIO students, faculty, staff and alumni for their support over the years and said he was proud of all the University has accomplished. For example, during his tenure OHIO moved toward becoming an R1-Very High Research Activity University and was named as an R1 Very High Research Activity Institution in 2021. 

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“This effort took the support of people all across the University community,” Nellis said.

Nellis also reflected on his time as president during the COVID-19 pandemic, highlighting the rapid and significant changes the University had to make. Those changes were successful due to the efforts of many, and several have since been adapted further into how the University operates today.

After stepping down as president in 2021, Nellis has enjoyed focusing on teaching and said he is grateful for the opportunity to be a classroom teacher again.

“I went into higher education to become a professor,” he said. “Our students are such a joy to work with.”

As he enters retirement, Nellis is grateful for his time at Ohio University and is proud to be Forever OHIO. 

“You were all so supportive and I really appreciate that support,” he said.