OARnet hosted its semi-annual Member Meeting on May 13 in conjunction with the Ohio Higher Education Computing Council (OHECC) annual conference held at The University of Toledo in Toledo, Ohio. The event featured a panel discussion about how various higher education institutions in Ohio are developing frameworks for artificial intelligence (AI) adoption on their campuses, as well as an overview of OARnet’s modernized business model for members.
Bill MCreary, vice president, chief information officer, and chief technology officer for UToledo started the meeting by providing a warm welcome to all participants, and OARnet leadership offered updates on several initiatives:
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OARnet participated in meetings with the National Science Foundation and the U.S. Department of Energy on major new efforts to support AI science and workforce development, such as the National AI Research Resource (NAIRR) and the Genesis Mission. Executive Director Pankaj Shah highlighted current funding opportunities, which seek a “Quadruple Helix” of partnerships between academia, government entities, private industry, and civil society.
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Nine Ohio higher education institutions submitted proposals for the Healthcare Connect Fund (HCF) program administered by the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC). HCF provides a 65% discount on eligible broadband connectivity expenses for rural health care providers. These nine institutions joined the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) consortium, which helps with administrative processes including applications to USAC. OARnet spotlighted this opportunity during its fall Member Meeting in November 2025 and hosted an information session to help institutions learn how to participate in the program. The next funding cycle application process begins in November/December 2026.
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OARnet continues to make progress on advancing its infrastructure, including its statewide backbone upgrade to 400 Gigabits per second (Gbps) connectivity, a cybersecurity pilot project for its Network Operations Center, and its emergency communications network initiative with the State of Ohio, as well as increased capacity and redundancy to cloud providers.
Leadership also detailed OARnet’s new, modernized business model, which will collectively save members $525,000 in FY27. Informed by proven approaches used by peer research and education networks and the telecommunications industry, the new friction-free model offers predictable budgets, clearer alignment of cost and value, simplified bandwidth tiers, and market alignment.
In addition, the Member Meeting featured a panel discussion on campus AI ecosystems with Dave Renner, senior director of cloud and platform services at The Ohio State University, Dave Smith, director of IT for security at University of Mount Union, and Scott McCollum, chief information officer at Sinclair College. The panelists described how their institutions are evaluating new technologies, making purchasing decisions, training faculty and students, and considering legal and security issues when implementing AI tools and workflows on their campuses. Their goal is to create a university environment in which students can learn how to properly use AI technologies that will allow them to succeed in the workforce, while also ensuring that these tools are used safely and securely.
The Inter-University Council Purchasing Group also made a presentation at the Member Meeting about its efforts to encourage shared services and purchases among Ohio’s higher education institutions to save money, avoid duplication of effort, and help address common challenges in areas such as cybersecurity and regulatory compliance.
Members can contact their Business Relationship Manager with any follow-up questions or comments about the content of the meeting. The fall 2026 OARnet Member Meeting will be held on Thursday, Nov. 5, at the Ohio Technology Consortium facility in Columbus, Ohio.
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Written by Andrea Gibson
Photos by Lexi Biasi
Since 1987, OARnet has delivered technology-based solutions that reduce costs, increase productivity and improve customer service. As a division of the Ohio Department of Higher Education's Ohio Technology Consortium, OARnet serves Ohio's education, health care, public broadcasting and government communities. Other members of the consortium include the Ohio Supercomputer Center and OhioLINK.
