As an associate professor with The Ohio State University College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences (CFAES), Fox serves as OSU Extension's director of strategic initiatives and urban engagement. Her career with The Ohio State University (OSU) began in 1998, when she served in a program leadership position at the OSU South Centers. Through a national search in 2014, she was selected to serve as a member of OSU Extension’s Administrative Cabinet, with a focus on statewide urban engagement and leadership for Ohio’s central region. Since 2018, the leadership role continues to focus on Ohio’s urban influence, as well as on strategic initiatives.
As an Extension administrator in OSU’s College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences (CFAES), Fox balances her leadership role with her commitments to teaching, research, and service.
Teaching: She created the curriculum for the national Leadership in the City course, engaging with urban Extension professionals in 27 states. She recently co-taught a capstone course in leadership for the Department of Agricultural Communication, Education, and Leadership (ACEL).
Research: Her research focuses on urban and rural community engagement, entrepreneurial leadership, and organizational strategy. In addition to generating more than $1.6 million in funding and publishing 22 scholarly and creative works, she recently contributed to a book chapter on the role of the social sciences in Extension and served as guest editor for an urban-themed issue of the Journal of Human Sciences and Extension (JHSE).
Service: She has served on The Ohio State University Senate, the Steering Committee for the National Urban Extension Leaders (NUEL), the Board of Directors for the National Association of Community Development Extension Professionals (NACDEP), the Extension Journal Inc. Board of Directors, and two times as guest editor of the urban-themed issue of the Journal of Human Sciences and Extension (JHSE). She supervised and advised graduate students in the Department of Agricultural, Education, and Leadership (ACEL). Her dedication to the student experience extended to an Extension partnership with OSU’s Office of Student Life. She received the 2018 Educational Technology Award from the National Association of Community Development Extension Professionals (NACDEP) and the 2019 National Urban Extension Leader Award – a recognition selected for one professional every two years.
Fox holds a Ph.D. in human and community resource development and an M.B.A. in global management. Her background includes working in Africa, Asia, Australia, and Europe. Prior to working with Ohio State, she served as the executive director for an international trade association and a marketing manager for a worldwide nonprofit organization.
Her consistent commitment to strategic capacity building and urban engagement contributes to OSU’s Land-Grant University mission.