The Ohio State University Agricultural Technical Institute will confer 139 degrees and certificates to graduates at its 40th commencement exercises on Saturday, May 4 at 11 a.m. at Fisher Auditorium.
This year’s commencement speaker is the Honorable Robert Gibbs, U.S. Representative for the 7th District of Ohio and was sworn into office January 5, 2011. Gibbs is a member of Ohio State ATI’s first graduating class in 1974.
A resident of Holmes County for 38 years, Bob brings three decades of business and leadership experience to Congress. A graduate of Bay Village Senior High School, Bob graduated from The Ohio State University Agricultural Technical Institute in 1974. He worked in the animal science department at the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center in Wooster before venturing out on his own as a self-employed farmer, predominately producing market hogs. He and his wife, Jody, have been married 37 years and have three grown children.
As the owner/operator of Hidden Hollow Farms, Bob began to take an active role in promoting agriculture throughout Ohio. From 1985-2001, Bob served on the Board of Trustees of the Ohio Farm Bureau, making him one of the more well-known and informed advocates of agriculture in Ohio. He also served as President of the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation for two terms starting in 1999.