Humanities Friend Spotlight:

Bringing the Humanities to Future Generations

The College has many friends who hold a special place in their hearts for the humanities; people who have a deep appreciation for the work the College sets out to do: preparing students to be informed, articulate, critical thinkers, humane citizens, and leaders in a global society. These individuals give time and resources to the College’s efforts, and we would not be successful in our endeavors without their support and genuine interest.

One such special individual is Jared Nodelman, an Ohio State alumnus of the political science program in our sister college, Social and Behavioral Sciences. Jared has had a successful real-estate career, an international consulting career, and currently heads the Jared Robert Nodelman Foundation, a philanthropic organization.

Jared has been a longtime supporter of numerous programs at Ohio State including: the Military Dependent Scholarship (as its founding donor), the James Cancer Hospital, the Department of Surgery’s Wound Healing and Oxygen Therapeutic Program, the John Glenn Institute, and the Wetland Research Park. Although his interests are diverse, Jared places a high value on a liberal arts education. He believes it is important that promising students have the chance to study the humanities and that preserving culture is tantamount. "Culture is what we carry to the next generation," says Nodelman. "It is what makes us human beings. We are fortunate to have universities which serve as a depository of our entire culture."

Very appreciative of his own opportunity to study at Ohio State, in 2001 he established the Jared Robert Nodelman Humanities Scholar Endowed Scholarship Fund to help students explore culture through the humanities. His generous gift created the first-endowed scholarship to benefit undergraduate students participating in the College of Humanities Scholars Program which provides enriched study of the liberal arts for selected students majoring in literature, languages, philosophy, history, culture, and interdisciplinary programs. "Learning to conceptualize with words, express yourself clearly, understand the scientific process, and value a different culture, these are the skills one can take from a humanities education," says Nodelman. His passion for the humanities is matched by his passion for philanthropy. "I have gotten more personal satisfaction from philanthropy than anything else I have ever done. I look at philanthropy as a celebration of life, trying to make things a little bit better. And philanthropic acts always bring wonderful things back to you, especially satisfaction and fulfillment—and how can the worth of those be measured?"