James S. Biddle, former Ohio State Lima dean and director, has died.
Dr. Biddle served in the U.S. Army before going to college in mathematics. He started at The Ohio State University as the regional campus mathematics coordinator from 1968-1970 before becoming Lima’s dean and director. He taught throughout his tenure at the university and was also the founding president of Lima Technical College.
Dr. Biddle was a carpenter before he became an educator. He went back to those woody roots in 1981 when he took up woodworking as a hobby. In the Lima community, he was the founding president of Sunrise Sertoma Club and a member of the Bath Local School Board. He was the inaugural coordinating dean for the regional campuses, a position he served in from 1986-1988, when he left the university to serve as director of the Ohio Student Loan Commission.
To give you a little perspective, when Dr. Biddle started at Ohio State, Galvin Hall and what is today Reed Hall were the only complete buildings on campus. When he left, the programs and campus footprint had grown, but the road now known as Biddle Drive was not yet complete and all campus traffic came in the Mumaugh Road entrance.
Dr. Biddle is survived by his wife Judith.
