Overview - Meeting the Need

Ohio joins Alabama, Mississippi, Oklahoma and West Virginia in earning a failing grade for affordability of post high school education according to the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education.

At two-year public colleges, statewide undergraduate tuition and fees in 2004-2005 were $2,965 according to the Ohio Board of Regents.

Tuition and fees at an Ohio two-year public college was one-third greater than the national average (Ohio $2,965 vs. U.S. average $2,076).

The James A. Rhodes Leadership Foundation seeks a $65 million endowment raised from private and public contributions.

The Foundation’s goal is to provide 1100 scholarships each biennium to Ohioans who have secured their high school diploma, a GED and can demonstrate acceptance at one of Ohio’s accredited two-year community or technical colleges.

Two-year colleges and technical institutions are an integral part of a support system for a world class work force.

The Board of Regents reports that 45 percent of all undergraduate college students began their studies in a two-year college.

There are 24 state supported technical and two year colleges in Ohio, part of a state post high school education system crafted four decades ago under the leadership of Gov. James A. Rhodes.

Former Ohio House Speaker Vernal G. Riffe, Jr. and Senate President Stanley J. Aronoff jointly wrote of Rhodes: “As the right man at the right time for Ohio, he (Rhodes) permanently changed for the better the way of the state in education….”

The James A. Rhodes Leadership Foundation Scholarship is a 501c3 charity begun by friends and family of the former governor in 2002.