On April 27, Professor Paul Reitter was recognized as a recipient of the University’s Distinguished Diversity Enhancement Award at a ceremony attended by President Drake and Provost McPheron. This award, which was presented to five individuals on the campus, recognizes contributions for exceptional diversity efforts and outstanding engagement to promote diversity.

Paul received the award for numerous initiatives over the past few years when he was Director of the Humanities Institute. The most important of these initiatives was a course titled “Our Journey, Our Selves,” which was offered to two audiences. The first were the families of Ohio State’s Young Scholars Program, which consists of low-income students who are the first in their family to be involved in higher education.

The second were women in Franklin County Court’s CATCH (Changing Actions to Change Habits) program, most of whom were victims of human trafficking. The CATCH population represents a vulnerable and volatile constituency for education in the humanities, and it was important to Paul that these individuals have access to an experience that could alter their outlook on the world. “Our Journey, Our Selves” enables these otherwise marginalized individuals to see themselves as full members of a broader human community, capable of realizing personal goals and contributing to a common good.

Since Paul is on leave this term in Berlin as the recipient of a prestigious American Academy in Berlin fellowship, Robert Holub, chair of GLL, accepted the award on his behalf.
“Paul has been an outstanding scholar since his arrival at Ohio State,” Holub commented, “but his commitment to diversity and to the Columbus community was something few of his colleagues recognized. That should now change. GLL is extremely proud to see Paul receive this well-deserved honor.”

Read more about this year's Distinguished Diversity Enhancement Award recipients.