C. William (Bill) Swank (1931-2019) worked at the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation for over 40 years, including as Executive Vice President from 1968 to 1996. A distinguished alumnus (B.A., M.A., and Ph.D.) of The Ohio State University and an Air Force veteran, Bill recognized early in his career that rural and urban communities are deeply connected and that solving their shared challenges requires thoughtful, objective research. In 1995, the Nationwide Foundation and The Ohio State University College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences, along with friends, colleagues, and members of the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation, established an endowment to create the C. William Swank Chair in Rural-Urban Policy.
Dr. Lawrence Libby became the first holder of the Swank Chair in 1997. His research examined competition for land and water between rural and urban communities, environmental policies affecting agriculture, and the economic performance of natural resource institutions. He led the program until 2005, when he was named Interim Director of the John Glenn School of Public Affairs at Ohio State.
Dr. Mark Partridge assumed the role of the second Swank Chair in 2005. His research investigated rural-urban interdependence, why some communities grow faster than others, and innovations in regional policy and governance. He published over 100 academic articles during his career, as well as the book "The Geography of American Poverty: Is There a Role for Place-Based Policy?" Under his leadership, the program received funding from prestigious organizations including the National Science Foundation, the World Bank, the US Department of Agriculture, and the Brookings Institution. Dr. Patridge retired in 2024.
Dr. Gabriel E. Lade was appointed as the third Swank Chair in 2025. Dr. Lade’s research studies impacts of renewable energy and agri-environmental policy, the value of rural and urban water quality, and land-use management. Dr. Lade takes over as Swank chair, focusing on continuing the program’s mission to produce actionable applied economic research on the issues shaping the future of rural and urban communities, while training the next generation of students working on rural-urban economic challenges.