Jeffrey C. Cole (2020)
Jeff Cole was appointed to the Board of Trustees by Governor John Kasich in 2014.
Trustee Cole presently serves as Vice Chair of the Academic and Student Affairs Committee
and is a member of the Finance and Audit Committee as well as the Trusteeship and
Governance Committee.
He is Senior Director of Corporate Communications for Dana, Incorporated, a multi-national supplier to the world’s vehicle manufacturers. In this role, Jeff is responsible for global public relations, advertising, special events, branding, community relations, and government affairs programs for the Fortune 500 company. He also serves as the primary spokesman for the company, where he has worked since 1997.
Before joining Dana, Jeff was employed at The University of Toledo as a Development Officer during the University’s $51 million capital campaign and as an Admissions Counselor when UT was the fastest-growing state university in Ohio. During this time, he was elected Chair of the Professional Staff Council and earned the Lancelot Thompson Service to Students award. For the better part of 20 years, he also taught public relations and journalism courses at UT, where he also earned a bachelor’s degree in communication and a master’s degree in education. As a student, Jeff was President of Student Government, Editor-in-Chief of The Collegian student newspaper, and Head Manager of the men's basketball team. He was also inducted into Blue Key National Honor Society, which recognizes UT’s Top 13 student leaders.
As an alumnus, Jeff served as a community member of the Academic Affairs and Student Life committees of the UT Board of trustees and was a member of the UT Alumni Association National Board of Trustees. He was named the University’s Outstanding Young Alumnus in 1994 and has been recognized a Distinguished Alumnus by the Department of Communication.
Jeff serves on the Board of Directors of the Dana Foundation and the Press Club of Toledo, of which he is a past President. He is a past Chairman of the Collegian Media Foundation, which publishes the Independent Collegian, UT’s student newspaper, and was Vice Chairman of the boards of the Alzheimer’s Association of Northwest Ohio and Mobile Meals of Greater Toledo. In addition, he has previously served as a member of the boards of the Greater Toledo Area Chapter of the American Red Cross, the Marathon Classic LPGA tournament, the Aspire Initiative operating committee, and the St. Francis de Sales High School Alumni Association.
Jeff is accredited in public relations and is a member of the Public Relations Society of America, the Automotive Press Association, the Automotive Public Relations Council, and the Society of Professional Journalists. He is also a member of Corpus Christi University Parish in Toledo.