Impact Update October 2025 - Honors and Awards
Honors and awards accrue to individuals, but at a university, such accolades mean even more. They are important evidence that our college contributes to Ohio State’s mission to engage in innovative teaching, cutting-edge research and service that improve lives.
These most recent achievements reflect faculty dedication to contributing to their fields and to growing the minds of their students who will lead us into tomorrow.
Ding named top scholar in physics education
Lin Ding, Associate Professor of Secondary Education specializing in science education, has been named a 2024 Top Scholar by ScholarGPS for his outstanding performance in the field of physics education research.
His strong publication record, the impact of his work and the notable quality of his scholarly contributions have placed him in the top 0.5% of all scholars worldwide, according to the most recent 2024 ScholarGPS rankings.
Ford moves up in Research.com rankings
Donna Y. Ford, Distinguished Professor of Special, Gifted and Talented Education, moved up in the rankings from Research.com in the discipline of Social Sciences and Humanities. She went from No. 1,026 in the United States last year to No. 919 for 2025.
In terms of her worldwide impact, she moved from No. 2,072 last year to No. 1,902 for 2025. This change reflects the fact that she has published 200 articles that have been cited 13,511 times. Research.com investigated over 17,050 scientists for this ranking.
Piasta honored by Springer Nature
Shayne Piasta, Professor of Elementary and Secondary Education, specializing in reading and literacy in early and middle childhood education, received the Springer Nature Editor of Distinction Award for 2025 for her role as an editor of the journal Reading and Writing. According to the chief scientific officer, Ritu Dhand:
“This award recognises your meticulous assessment of submissions and rigorous management of the peer review process, safeguarding the scientific accuracy of the published record.”
“This award recognises your exceptional service in improving the author experience and ensuring the peer review process is efficient, constructive and fair.”
“By rewarding you, we recognise the vital role you play in managing the peer review process and demonstrate our commitment to showcasing these activities.”
Plasman analyzes Ohio’s career-technical education courses
Jay Plasman, Associate Professor of Workforce Development and Education, was invited by the Thomas B. Fordham Institute to analyze data about the current state of Ohio’s career and technical education (CTE) offerings. The complete report is now available, showing recent trends in CTE participation across the state. Plasman included deep-dive analyses of course-taking patterns, industry-recognized credentials and work-based learning.
Rodgers serves as visiting faculty at Philippine Normal University
Adrian Rodgers, Associate Professor of Secondary Education specializing in English Language Arts, Ohio State Newark Campus, was visiting faculty in residence at the five campuses of Philippine Normal University (PNU) from April to July 2025.
The Philippine university focuses exclusively on teacher education and has five campuses in North Luzon, South Luzon, Manila, Vassayas and Mindanao.
The partnership between PNU and Ohio State is described in the Memorandum of Understanding originated by Rodgers and Binaya Subedi, Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Teaching and Learning.
Sweetland wins lifetime achievement award in education finance
Scott Sweetland, Professor of Educational Administration and Supervision, received the 2025 R. Craig Wood Lifetime Achievement Award for his contributions to education finance from the National Education Finance Academy.
In addition to mentoring, board membership and committee leadership, Sweetland is credited with co-developing computer simulations for teaching school finance and business administration.
Academy leaders remarked extensively about the continuing citation of Scott’s Review of Educational Research article on Human Capital Theory. In the wake of The Great Recession, university leadership called upon Sweetland to chair the university’s Senate Fiscal Committee to assist in remediating impending budget gaps.
Wild recognized for STEM education for blind and low vision
Tiffany Wild, Associate Professor of Elementary and Secondary Education specializing in visual impairment, was honored by the American Foundation of the Blind with the 2025 Corinne Kirchner Research Award.
She was recognized for her ground-breaking research on the conceptual learning of students who are blind or have low vision.
Wild specializes in preparing teachers to instruct K-12 students who are visually impaired. In particular, she focuses on helping teachers refine their teaching methods for science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) for this special population.