Dean's Office

Jason Opal, Dean and Director

Jason Opal is the Dean and Director of The Ohio State University at Mansfield.  A graduate of Cornell and Brandeis, he is an historian of early America and of infectious diseases who has taught at Colby College in Maine and at McGill University in Canada, where he served as Chair of the Department of History and Classical Studies, a University Harassment Assessor and Provost’s Mentor, and as Associate Dean of Graduate Studies. He is the author/editor of three books and over a dozen articles on the early United States and of more than sixty editorials on subjects ranging from constitutional law to measles. Jason is passionate about improving and updating higher education and loves both the energy and the peace of The Ohio State University at Mansfield. In addition to his academic and administrative work, he likes running, hiking, fishing, and spending time with his wife and two children.  

Dr. Dawn Kitchen, Associate Dean

Dr. Dawn Kitchen completed a bachelor’s degree in Biology from a regional campus of the University of Wisconsin, a Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota’s Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, and a post-doctoral research position in the University of Pennsylvania’s Psychology Department. She conducted her dissertation research in Belize, Central America on howler monkey vocal communication and her post-doctoral research on the social and vocal behavior of baboons in Botswana, Africa. Dr. Kitchen joined Ohio State in 2004. She is a Professor of Anthropology, holds a courtesy appointment in the Department of Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology, and serves as the Associate Dean of academic affairs on the Mansfield campus. Dr. Kitchen has advised nine PhD and master’s students, is the author of 25 journal articles and 10 book chapters, and the recipient of Ohio State Mansfield’s Excellence in Scholarship, Teaching, and Service Awards. Dr. Kitchen teaches courses in Physical and Cultural Anthropology and Comparative Psychology. She and her husband live in Mansfield and their sons attend Mansfield City Schools and Ohio State University.

Shelly Frank, Executive Assistant to the Dean and Director

As Executive Assistant to the Dean and Director at The Ohio State University at Mansfield, Shelly directly supports the daily operation of this campus in all areas managed by the dean. This includes all departments and services that assist students, faculty, staff, our Mansfield Board, all Ohio State University offices, our alumni, our co-located campus, and the communities we serve locally and throughout northeast Ohio. Her previous experiences in banking and law have been valuable in this position. She also supervises our faculty services office staff.

Cindy Wood, Director of Development and Community Relations

Cindy Wood is the Director of Community Relations and Development at Ohio State Mansfield, overseeing Mansfield’s advancement strategies with focus on increasing resources to address the campus’s programming and capital priorities. Cindy works at a high collaborative level with the community as the campus seeks to grow and expand stakeholder and community partner engagement. She brings 25 years of diverse experience in non-profit management, workforce development, and in the private sector. All of her work experiences had recurring themes of program innovation, community partnerships, and organizational change management.

Prior to moving to Mansfield in 2016, she served as the CEO of the Veterans Memorial Civic and Convention Center of Lima/Allen County, a performing arts and convention center. Part of her tenure included successfully lobbying for state legislation (HB 483) enabling Allen County Commissioners to increase lodging tax for operations and capital needs of the VMCC.

She is a graduate of The Ohio State University Fisher College of Business and Bowling Green State University. Her professional background includes workforce development partnerships with JFS/Allen County, as corporate training coordinator with a local two-year college onsite at Ford Lima Engine Plant, and as Regional Director with the local Girl Scout Council through its merger process. She served with the US Army Reserve from 1988 to 1996, serving with the 346th Psychological Operations Company in Columbus, Ohio as Psychological Operations Sergeant and Interrogation Sergeant.