When Mark Kleffner finds things he is interested in and good at, he sticks with them and shares his expertise. Ask his softball team and bowling buddies. He is there for his passions for the long haul.
Or ask his longtime community partners at the United Way or Allen County Museum. His commitment stretches into decades.
Or most importantly, ask the students he has talked to over the last 30 years about geology, fossils, rocks, conodonts and all other things that come out of the ground. His range is broad, from pre-K to learning in retirement. Whoever wanted to find out more about the earth could expect a visit from the professor wearing a Snoopy tie and dubbed “The Dinosaur Man” by generations of learners.
The countless classes preparing teachers to share the wonders of earth science, the trips out to elementary classrooms, high school labs, retirement homes and public events led Dr. Kleffner to the 2025 Violet I. Meek Town and Gown Award at The Ohio State University at Lima.
“Having worked with Dr. Kleffner for a great many years and observed him at work on campus and in the community, it is abundantly clear that he demonstrates all the qualities this award was created to honor: a collaborative spirit, a consistent advocate for higher education, and a commitment to the reciprocal relationship of the ‘Town and Gown,’” said one of his nominators, Dr. Allison Gilmore, former associate dean and history professor at Ohio State Lima. “Mark is dedicated to the success of Ohio State Lima, committed to ensuring the well-being and advancing the understanding of his students, persistent as an advocate for the university in Lima and the surrounding region, determined to forge ties between the campus and the wider business and educational community, and remarkable in his efforts to bring his training as a paleontologist into K-12 classrooms and a variety of public forums throughout the area.”
The Town and Gown Award honorees personify the idea of Disciplina in civitatem, or education for citizenship, the motto of The Ohio State University. Kleffner is the 19th recipient.
Kleffner’s enthusiasm for the topic makes it easier for him to meet his audiences where they are from pre-K tots eager to dig for fossils to teachers looking for ways to draw in their own students. One of his nominators remembers what his daughter had to say about Kleffner’s geology class.
“To paraphrase, she said that she did not really care about geology going into the class, but that Dr. Kleffner got so excited about the subject matter, she immediately wanted to know more,” said Roger Nimps, retired assistant dean and history lecturer. “Mark finds joy in geology, in his work, and he wants to share that sense of wonder. That journey has been to our benefit.”
Kleffner really does love what he does and what he can share with his community. So much so that he was surprised to be honored for doing what comes naturally to him.
“I'm amazed that I'm being honored for something that I just would do because it's so fun,” he said. “If there's anything to take about a lesson in life, it is something I heard in a commencement speech: Find a career in which you enrich other people's lives in some way, you enrich your own life as a result, it comes more or less naturally to you, and it gives you a purpose. If you got those things, you've got a wonderful life.”
Biography of Dr. Mark Kleffner
Dr. Mark A. Kleffner has been a geology professor and associate dean on the Ohio State Lima campus since 1989 and 2020, respectively. Prior to serving as associate dean, Mark taught all geology courses offered on the Lima campus almost every quarter or semester from 1989-2020, including an introductory geology course for non-science majors over 100 times and courses covering the state standards in geology for area teachers and education majors every summer for more than 20 years. He is a recipient of the Alumni Award for Distinguished Teaching.
Mark is a paleontologist/stratigrapher whose research has focused on Silurian rocks and conodonts mainly from the North American midcontinent. Mark has authored or co-authored numerous journal articles, field trip guides, and abstracts on those topics and has benefitted from the support of two National Science Foundation grants.
Mark and his wife, Carol, moved to Lima in 1989 and spent the next 30 years raising their three children, Katherine, William and Mary, and watching them participate in plays, band and choir concerts, sporting events, quiz bowls, science Olympiads, and graduation ceremonies, while attending preschool through high school and college at Ohio State Lima.
Mark has been the Ohio State Lima Campaign Coordinator for the United Way of Greater Lima (UWGL) since 1995 and has also served on the UWGL Allocations Committee and Campaign Cabinet and participated in the Annual Day of Caring. He is a United Way of Greater Lima Paul Woehlke Volunteer Achievement Award winner. He collaborates with the Allen County Museum to celebrate National Fossil Day and presents at additional museum events. Countless preschoolers to senior citizens have attended Mark’s hands-on presentations on numerous geology topics at a variety of venues throughout west-central Ohio since he has been at Ohio State Lima.
Past winners of the Violet I. Meek Town and Gown Award
David S. Adams, associate professor emeritus of sociology
Tom Francis, a popular media personality in Lima whose activities centered around his commitment to the university and the community
Clyde Rauch, the president of Tuttle Services who has worked diligently with Ohio State Lima and its co-located institution
Bob Schulte, co-owner and Executive President of Spherion of Lima, Inc., and past campaign co-chair for Ohio State Lima’s comprehensive campaign
William V. Ackerman, associate professor emeritus of geography
Jaye E. McCain, a financial advisor for Edward Jones and Associates, past campaign co-chair for Ohio State Lima’s comprehensive campaign and past board chair
Dr. Jon E. Rockhold, a former special assistant to the dean and director with a strong record of outstanding professional leadership in the community
Ora “Bud” Winzenried, past president of Kenton Structural and Ornamental Iron Works and a former member of the Board of Directors of the Ohio State Alumni Association
Mayor David J. Berger, mayor of the City of Lima who helped form the Joint Higher Education Task Force, which aimed to retain an Ohio State presence in Lima in the form of a four-year university
William D. Angel, associate professor emeritus of political science
Joyce Tracy, adult educator at Apollo Career Center and workforce development and education advocate
William J. Sullivan, associate professor emeritus of English at Ohio State and longtime supporter of the arts in Lima and Allen County
George Brooks, the Market President of Northern Ohio at First Financial Bank, Van Wert, and a longtime supporter of the Ohio State Lima campus
Roger Nimps, former assistant dean and lecturer in history
Martha “Martie” MacDonell, philanthropist and patron of the arts
William “Bill” Timmermeister, philanthropist and business owner
Karen Grothouse, local business and community leader and Ohio State Lima alumna
John R. Snyder, former Ohio State Lima dean and director and a professor emeritus in the Department of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences
