Former Ohio University Southern professor Jed William Utsinger died Friday, June 21.

Utsinger, who worked at OUS for 23 years, passed at his home in Baltimore on Friday. He served in many roles on the campus, including coordinator of Research and Computer Services. He taught computer science, mathematics and statistics and was instrumental in many campus workforce training initiatives.

“He was instrumental in helping faculty learn how to embrace technology and use it to take our courses outside the traditional classroom,” OUS Dean and Interim Executive Dean of Ohio Regional Higher Education Nicole Pennington said. “We will forever be grateful for what Jed taught all of us. We will remember him fondly.”

Utsinger earned his master’s in business administration from Morehead State in 1987 and received his Bachelor’s in that field from Ohio University in 1983, where he graduated cum laude.

He also had an Associate of Applied Science from the University of Kentucky.

Utsinger was also self employed in management consulting and business development services in the fields of accounting computer services and taxation. He was an instructor at Huntington Junior College and an H&R Block franchise owner and district manager.

Though Utsinger was retired, he was teaching an online course for OUS at the time of his death.

Retired OUS Dean Dan Evans described Utsinger’s wide range of interests.

“Jed was Mr. IT for the campus for many years, and helped the campus transition from mainframe to personal computers tied to the Internet,” Evans said. “Although Jed was well versed in IT, he was not the typical computer geek stereotype. He was quite multifaceted in his interests, a bit of a Renaissance Man.  I was surprised when I first discovered that he was a big fan of Broadway, and traveled to NYC often to catch a few shows.”

Stephanie Burcham, director of the Ohio University Southern Proctorville Center, said she “Can’t keep from smiling each time I think of Jed.

“Some 30 years ago, when I was working as a student ambassador at Ohio University Southern, Jed was one of the staff members who was tasked with providing training and serving as a resource,” she said. “I found myself having lots of questions early on and called on Jed routinely. Thankfully, he proved himself to be both knowledgeable and extremely patient.”

She said this help extended to early in her career.

“As I was beginning to lead campus projects or events, I would always ask Jed to serve on the planning committee,” Burcham said. “Jed was brilliant and shared not only his wealth of knowledge and insights but he was also someone who would commit to helping from the start to finish. I learned so much from him. His attention to detail was incomparable. When working on projects today, I still find myself asking, ‘What questions would Jed be asking?’”

Service details for Utsinger are pending.