Jennings Hall Courtyard Renovation
The renovation of the Jennings Courtyard is in its final stages and is already enhancing opportunities for both informal and formal learning. Beginning in Spring 2023, Associate Professor Alison Bennett and Barb Shardy led a collaborative effort to reimagine the courtyard, engaging faculty, staff, and students from multiple colleges to better understand how the space could support teaching, learning, and community-building.
Their research revealed several key needs, including increased shade and seating, the incorporation of native plants connected to course content taught in the building, and a reliable system for watering those plantings. Based on these findings, Bennett secured funding through an IPPLG Framework Space Grant and the OSU Sustainability Fund to support a comprehensive redesign. The project includes a self-watering system for planting beds, new seating, trellises, and the addition of native plants.
Construction began in 2025 with the installation of the self-watering system and concrete bases for trellises in six interior beds. While the trellises took time to arrive, we celebrated their installation, along with new tables and benches, in autumn 2025. Students began using the updated space almost immediately!
The final phase of the renovation will take place in May 2026, when native vegetation will be planted in the courtyard beds. Signage highlighting the plants and educating visitors about the courtyard will be ordered and installed, completing a transformation that supports learning, sustainability, and community-building.
If you’d like to get involved, please join us for a composting and planting party the 14th and 15th of May beginning at 10am. We’d love to see you there!
MBD Open House
The Museum of Biological Diversity brought back the annual Open House this year for the first time since 2019. The Open House took place on Saturday, March 28 from 10 am to 3 pm. With the help of 225 staff and volunteers we welcomed 1,633 guests to explore the collections and exhibits throughout the museum. Frequent comments overheard in the hallways included how excited folks were that the open house was back and admiration for the volunteer t-shirts designed by grad student, Shelby Moshier. Including the museum’s own collections and labs, 23 different groups participated in the Open House. There was a wonderful variety of displays and activities ranging from facts about invasive species to live insects to a fish sketching station. We’re so grateful for everyone who visited, pitched in, and made the 2026 Open House possible!
Volunteers/Staff: 225
Visitors: 1633
Participating groups: 23 total
- Hellmann Lab
- Dr. Jon Bossley
- Dr. Megan Meuti
- Bagley Lab
- Slate Lab
- Adams Lab
- Hovick Lab
- OSU Insectary
- OSU Aquatic Ecology Lab
- EEOB Advisory Committee
- CEMAS
- Karen Goodell Lab
- Brian Zimmerman/Fishes of the Ohio River tank
- Tetrapods Collection
- Fish Collection/Santos Lab
- Insect Collection
- Acarology Collection
- Invertebrate Collection
- Herbarium
- Tim Berra
- The Watters Aquatic Conversation Center
- Marion Campus Prairie/Susan Gershman
- Grandview Public Library
Retirements
Dr. Lisle Gibbs - Problems in evolutionary biology, molecular ecology, and conservation genetics through a combination of field work, lab analyses of genetic and protein variation, and statistical modeling of genetic data.
Dr. Norm Johnson - Systematics of the Platygastroidea, an economically important and biologically fascinating group of parasitic wasps; biodiversity informatics, the collection, storage, management, analysis, and dissemination of data on the distribution of species around the world.
Dr. Roman Lanno - Applied and theoretical aspects of determining the bioavailability of chemicals in the environment, particularly in soil systems.