New fund named in honor of Titsworth, Harter to provide OHIO students with experiential learning opportunities

A new fund will provide Ohio University students with unique learning opportunities designed to give them an edge as they begin their careers.

And while the fund is new this year, it is named in honor of two longtime Ohio University professors and leaders who have been helping students begin successful careers for over two decades.

The Scott Titsworth and Lynn Harter Launchpad: The Scripps Student Experience Fund was officially announced during the spring semester as a surprise honor for Titsworth and Harter.

Titsworth served as dean of the Scripps College of Communication for 15 years before announcing his decision earlier this year to return to teaching. He first joined Ohio University in 2001 and has received numerous honors for his work, including being named a University Professor in 2009 and a Presidential Teacher in 2009. The Presidential Teacher award is the highest teaching honor awarded at Ohio University. Titsworth also is the host of the "Teaching Matters" podcast.

Harter is a professor in the School of Communication Studies and the co-director of the Barbara Geralds Institute for Storytelling and Social Impact. She also teaches in the Open Book Project of the Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine, a narrative medicine elective track. Harter has taught at Ohio University since 2001 and also received numerous awards for her work. She is also the co-producer and director of the Emmy award-winning documentary series “The Courage of Creativity” and co-producer and host of the “Defining Moments” podcast in partnership with the academic journal “Health Communication.”

The new scholarship fund will honor the work of these dedicated teachers by helping students take part in important learning opportunities that will help them as they begin their careers.

"Over the years, my students have taught me that learning is not something we acquire and possess," Harter said. "It is something we deepen through encounters with people, places, and experiences that challenge what we think we know. I am profoundly humbled that others would establish this fund in our names. My hope is that it creates opportunities for students to venture beyond the classroom and explore ideas alongside others amid the messy work of living."

Scott Titsworth and Lynn Harter Launchpad: The Scripps Student Experience Fund 

Today’s employers want to hire college graduates who already have hands-on experience, and research tells us that’s precisely what students say they need most.

Students want experiential learning opportunities that give them a competitive edge as they enter the job market, but many of these experiences cost money and or require students to pay for housing and other expenses that can make them unattainable for those who may need to work part-time jobs to pay for college

That’s the purpose of the Scott Titsworth and Lynn Harter Launchpad: The Scripps Student Experience Fund. It’s designed to hurdle this cost barrier, enabling students to gain practical workplace experience that will enable them to hit the ground running in a post-graduation job.

While internships are at the top of the list when it comes to experiential learning, Ohio University also offers study-away programs, leadership programs, community engagement opportunities, and research and creative activity experiences to help students get the training and proficiency they need to excel in the workforce.

The Titsworth and Harter Launchpad Fund will provide crucial financial assistance so students can afford to participate in these important programs. 

"Throughout my career, I have believed that education is ultimately about possibility and helping students discover strengths they may not yet see in themselves. Too often, however, financial barriers can place transformative opportunities just out of reach," Titsworth said. "I am deeply grateful that colleagues and friends would create this fund in our honor. If it helps make internships, research, community engagement, and other experiential learning opportunities more accessible to students, then it reflects the very best of what a university can be."

Creating the Launchpad to help OHIO students

The scholarship fund was created by donors who wanted to support Scripps College of Communication students while also honoring Titsworth and Harter for their dedication to Ohio University and its students.

OHIO alumnus Dayna Liberati DiRienzo is a member of the Scripps College of Communication Dean’s Advisory Council (DAC) that researched and then decided to start the Titsworth and Harter Launchpad fund. 

“We (the DAC) had learned about some students who were unable to take advantage of some cool internship experiences because they couldn't afford to keep an apartment in Athens and pay to live in D.C., LA, or New York at the same time,” DiRienzo said. The DAC also heard from students who explained to them how important these experiences had been to them.

“We all felt that these experiential learning activities were so critical to a student's professional development that it would be a crime to have something as simple as rent or personal expenses come in the way of a student being able to take advantage of an amazing opportunity,” DiRienzo said. She donated $5,000 to start the fund and was very happy that this important fund was named in honor of Titsworth and Harter.

Michelle Payne said that her family decided to endow the scholarship fund because it embodies their desire to help students get out of the classroom and to be launched into even bigger experiences.

“Our parents, Barbara (Geralds) and Steve Schoonover both came from very humble beginnings and low-income families. They always gave back to students, because they wanted them to have life experiences, regardless of their financial situation,” Payne said. The Schoolover Center at OHIO is named after Steve Schoonover.

The Schoonover Family was also very proud to be a part of the scholarship fund named in honor of Harter and Titsworth.

“Our family has had the privilege of getting to know both of them over the last 15 years. They both give so much meaning to the word teach. They both truly transform students,” Payne said.

“They do not just impart teaching and knowledge, but they see potential, they believe in students and then they help their students believe and feel confident enough to soar,” Payne said. “What a gift of hope and confidence they have given to so many students.”

How you can support the fund

People from all across the Ohio University community are invited to contribute to this new fund.  By contributing to the Titsworth and Harter Launchpad Fund, you ensure that ambitious, hard-working students will gain a crucial advantage as they seek to start their careers.

• You can donate to the Titsworth and Harter Launchpad Fund here.

For more information, please contact Cheri Russo at russoc@ohio.edu,