 Hi everybody and welcome back to the main stage. I have the pleasure of introducing Tim Watson Who is with the Ohio ETD Association? They're one of our proud sponsors and Tim welcome and I'll turn the floor over to you Great. Thank you so much. John. Great seeing you. Good afternoon everyone I am Tim Watson the director of graduation services in the graduate school with the Ohio State University I'm happy to join you all for the day really great to get together again I'm also addressing you today though on behalf of the 30 plus member institutions from the state of Ohio that are part of the Ohio Link ETD consortium and members of the Ohio Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Association on behalf of the Ohio ETD member institutions It's a pleasure to welcome you to the 2021 US ETDA conference Our Ohio consortium is delighted to be able to help sponsor this event and like you look forward to hearing from the many presenters during today's sessions Well, it would have been wonderful to get together in person We feel privileged to join everyone today and continue the journey of expanding the ETD field and discussing the opportunities for the future And looking at the selection of topics that are covered today and tomorrow You know I'm always emboldened to see that many of these discussions center around some of the same issues or topics that We've discussed here at OSU and I'm sure you're your university as well Some of these topics have been discussed in the ETD field for some time While new challenges are always on the horizon as we know I've been involved with the submission of ETDs for 20 years and can tell you that Some of the best advice and guidance I've received with our own ETD process has come from The group of ETD professionals such as we have gathered here for this conference It's always just helpful to know that others are experiencing some of the same challenges At times over the years I felt like you know, we maybe weren't doing something right or you know We weren't focusing on something right, but I've attended various conferences and you know They just became a great resource where I learned that others who tackled similar issues and were willing to offer Suggestions and options, you know, this has been true at the national level but but also For the Ohio schools who are part of the state consortium that has existed for 15 years and to this day We still share ideas discuss topics not only through the Ohio Link ETD council Which has made up of ETD representatives from Ohio institutions and in conjunction with Ohio Link the state library network But also from the professional and social ties that we've developed over time seeing John seeing Terry seeing other folks, you know, it's just always great and and it's like seeing old friends again And that's just always been one of the positives for me about all this This allows us to reach out to each other for, you know A piece of advice that that might help us to move forward in our own jobs You know, and I've been I've been at this for 40 years here at OSU and I can tell you that some of the most rewarding Interactions and relationships I've had with people that have come from the ETD realm and I've always really really treasured that a lot So I hope you are continuing your your own connections Over the next couple days here and can certainly establish new ones. It's always great to to see new faces It's really what keeps this whole process moving forward So again, thanks to John and the US ETDA board for their efforts in making this conference possible You'll enjoy the conference in the day and and certainly look forward to hopefully seeing you all next year in Cleveland We're excited that hopefully this will will come off next year in Cleveland in Ohio And we would look forward to seeing you all at that time. So thanks very much Great. Thank you so much Tim, and we really do hope to see you next fall in Cleveland so Alright gang, we're gonna hop over then to the next the sessions and we have three concurrent sessions going on starting at 310 and thanks again