COLUMBUS -- The Ohio State University Board of Trustees approved today the naming of the Arden Shisler Center for Education and Economic Development (CEED), located on Ohio State's Agricultural Technical Institute (ATI) campus in Wooster. Shisler, who is president and CEO of K & B Transport in Dalton, Ohio, chairs the board of directors for Nationwide, on which he has served since 1984.

The Nationwide Foundation has provided $550,000 to support the CEED, including a recent $300,000 pledge that was part of a larger gift to support several initiatives at Ohio State. In naming the new facility, Ohio State and Nationwide honor Shisler for his key involvement with ATI, as a member of its Key Advisory Council; with the CEED, as both a donor and a member of its campaign committee; with Ohio State's Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center (OARDC); and with the entire university, as a longtime donor and volunteer.

"Mr. Shisler is an outstanding leader in agriculture in the State of Ohio," said James F. Patterson, an Ohio State University trustee who serves with Shisler on the Nationwide board. "When he commits himself to a cause, he does so with tremendous sincerity and dedication. He is greatly respected in Wooster, in Ohio agriculture, and as chair of the Nationwide board."

"The naming of the Shisler Center fittingly honors Arden for his demonstrated leadership and dedication to education and economic development," said Nationwide CEO W. G. Jurgensen. "This is a well deserved recognition and allows Nationwide to reflect and acknowledge our agri-business roots."

Shisler and his wife, Clarice, have themselves provided support for the CEED, as well as for other Ohio State programs, including the Ohio 4-H Foundation and the C. William Swank Chair in Rural and Urban Policy Fund in the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences.

Contacts for additional information:

* John Meyer, assistant vice president and director, University Development, (614) 688-3250 or meyer.12@osu.edu.

* Roger Addleman, director, Development Communications, The Ohio State University, (614) 292-3647 or addleman.1@osu.edu.

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