Learn about the Ohio University - University of Bayreuth connection.
From the recent national league table of the Alexander von Humboldt-Foundation, it is once again clear that the University of Bayreuth and its surroundings continue to attract innovative research projects and top-class scholars from abroad. Some of those scholars are frequent visitors or permanent university guests, whilst others stay for research work.
For some of its guests, the University of Bayreuth was and is a second home, an academic home where they are able to progress in their chosen field of research. Dr. Bradley David Ridpath is an example.
In an interview with the International Office, he explains his motives for returning to the University and the town of Bayreuth.
His connection with Franconia began in 1983, when he was stationed as a U.S. soldier in Würzburg. But much has changed since then. David Ridpath’s wife is Franconian and her family lives in the region. Since marrying her, he regularly spends extended periods living in Franconia.
He studied and graduated in the USA, going on to fulfill his dream of working in the sport industry, before beginning work in sport management research. He decided upon the University of Bayreuth, due to his own ties to Franconia as well as the specialist fields and reputation of the institution.
He feels both welcome and well-received. He is also full of praise for the University Administration, the Faculty for Law, Business and Economics and the Sport Institute: “They go out of their way to help and it is nice to have the support system here”, said Ridpath.
In terms of his research, he justifies the choice of Bayreuth as the location for his sabbatical in a common feature of both institutions: the Ohio University and the University of Bayreuth are both at the forefront of curriculum development in sports studies.
This connection means that David Ridpath had already been working closely with certain members of the Sport Institute for several years, including Prof. Dr. Herbert Woratschek. A partnership was formed between the institutions in 2009, which has since been strengthened and expanded by several visits. Moreover, the University of Bayreuth offers him the ideal base for his research project on European club sports, by virtue of its central location at the heart of Europe.
A focus of this collaboration is the Business Consulting Project, whereby students and academic staff work with the manufacturer of sports equipment Adidas to find solutions for practical issues. The cooperation between the Universities of Ohio and Bayreuth is constantly moving forward and both are hopeful that they will be able to establish an exciting and unique Dual Degree Programme in the near future, in the field of Sports Management.
This programme will also offer students of the University of Bayreuth the possibility of spending part of their studies at the University of Ohio. David Ridpath also sees the fact that courses at the Bayreuth institute are, in part, offered in English as a great advantage.
He feels at home on campus, which he describes as “friendly, open, inviting and international”, as many of the university’s students come from abroad.
In this way, both the campus and the region have become his new second home: “This is the Franconia I re- member. My second home.”
