Recently highlighted in the Fall 2026 issue of the Ohio State Alumni Magazine, education at Ohio State Marion extends far beyond traditional classroom walls. The entire campus serves as a hands-on environmental learning lab, connecting students directly with the natural world.

OSU Anthropology Professor Dr. Anna Willow serves as the faculty director of Marion's Environmental Learning Labs. An expert in environmental anthropology who studies how communities respond to ecological changes, Willow advocates for viewing the entire campus, every building and prairie path, as an opportunity for learning. Her goal is to embed place-based ecological literacy across all fields of study so future leaders make sustainable decisions wherever their careers take them.

"Students leave. That’s the hardest part. Still, new ones arrive every year, step into the prairie and begin learning from the land." — Professor Anna Willow