Governor DeWine Forms Steering Group for Ohio Application for U.S. Space Academy
(COLUMBUS, Ohio)—Ohio Governor Mike DeWine announced today that he is forming a steering group to work on Ohio’s application to be the future home of the U.S. Space Academy.
NASA has published a Request for Information (RFI) seeking input from governors or their designees interested in hosting and sponsoring the up-and-coming academy in their state. Criteria to be considered will include infrastructure, partnerships, community support, and support for the vision of a United States Space Academy to develop the elite caliber of students who will become our future space leaders.
The formation of the steering group will ensure Ohio’s effort is coordinated and reinforce Ohio’s unique advantages in national security and space astronautics, making it an ideal location for the proposed Academy.
“A Space Academy is essential to our Nation’s preeminence in air and space -- and Ohio is not only the birthplace of aviation – we continue to be on the leading edge of aerospace and defense,” said Ohio Governor Mike DeWine. “Because of their leadership role in Air and Space and their critical proximity, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Glenn Research Center make Ohio the ideal location for the U.S. Space Academy. These unique sites, along with Ohio’s educational and workforce assets, have the ‘right stuff’ to bolster space research and development, space intelligence, space education, as well as protect our national security interests.”
Governor DeWine has named eleven experts to the steering group, which will be chaired by Ohio Department of Development Director Lydia Mihalik.
Members of the steering group will include:
- Chair: Lydia Mihalik, Director of the Ohio Department of Development
- Vice Chair: Mike Duffey, Chancellor of the Ohio Department of Higher Education
- JP Nauseef, CEO of Jobs Ohio
- Matt Dolan, CEO of Team NEO
- Jeff Hoagland, President and CEO of the Dayton Development Coalition
- General Lester Lyles (Ret.), Advisor to Jobs Ohio and Governor DeWine
- Lt. General (Ret.) JT Thompson
- Jim Free, retired NASA Senior Civilian
- Colonel (Ret.) Joe Zeis, Aerospace and Defense Advisor to Governor Mike DeWine
- Meghan Wadsworth, Assistant Policy Director, Office of Ohio Governor Mike DeWine
- John Horack, Vice President for Research, the Ohio State University
The steering group will work quickly to help prepare Ohio’s response to the RFI issued by the federal government, which is due by 6 p.m. EDT on Monday, Oct. 26.
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