Excerpt from the Dayton Daily News
Workforce creation is a priority for the last two years of Gov. Mike DeWine’s term, said Lt. Gov. Jim Tressel as he visited Wright State University’s campus this week.
Tressel is a former Youngstown State University president and retired Ohio State University football coach. He said the biggest item that DeWine asked him to work on was seeing how the state could best prepare Ohioans for the workforce opportunities that have been promised to the state via JobsOhio.
DeWine is term-limited, with his term ending at the end of 2026. He appointed former lieutenant governor Jon Husted to the empty Ohio Senate seat that Vice President J.D. Vance vacated earlier this year. Tressel was named as Husted’s replacement.
“Now it’s our job, as educators – I still consider myself an educator – to make sure that we can collectively get together, assess exactly what are these opportunities,” Tressel said. “You know, we keep saying that we have lots of opportunities; what are they? And what do we need to create?”
Wright State president Sue Edwards said Tressel was a mentor to her as she became a university president in 2020. Tressel served as Youngstown State University president from 2014 to 2023, when he retired.
Tressel said he and Edwards have spoken privately about the importance of a four-year degree to many of these jobs that are coming to Ohio. He said as he’s traveled around the state, there have been “great things” happening in every corner.
