In 1962, then candidate James Rhodes promised a future where every Ohioan was within 30 miles of an institution of higher learning. Did Ohio get there in the last 40 years?
In order to find out, I created a dataset of all the universities, colleges, branch campuses, and community colleges in Ohio, as well as a few schools near the boundaries of Ohio to visually assess how much of the state is within 30 miles of a post-secondary school. Using Multiple Ring Buffers, I shaded all areas within 20 and 30 miles of the locations of the universities. The resulting map is below (Figure 1).
While the overwhelming majority of the state is in fact covered, there are some areas that are farther than 30 miles from a post-secondary school. Those areas are along the western border (which is generally rural with a lot of farmland) and a few counties east of Cincinnati. Both of these areas are at least one county away from a major population center, where there are options.
So 40 years later, no, not every Ohioan is within 30 miles of a college or university campus.
Christina O'Malley, PhD 