Jeff Jordan
William Oxley Thompson Award
B.S. Business Administration, 1995
Whether serving as a registered basketball official for the Ohio High School Athletic Association or as director of finance and management services for the Ohio Department of Education, Jeff Jordan combines his interest in keeping track of the numbers with his love of education.
In the 12 years since he graduated from Ohio State, Jordan has scored a number of career advancements, from assistant auditor for the Ohio Auditor of State to deputy auditor, then to associate director of grants management for the Department of Education, and finally to his current position.
During his service with the auditor’s office, which also included time as auditor-in-charge, Jordan evaluated the financial controls and compliance of agencies including the Ohio Department of Education, Ohio Student Aid Commission, and Ohio School Facilities Commission. He made recommendations to improve controls of taxpayer funds and noted instances of noncompliance in operations. He received several commendations for his work.
As the associate director of grants management, Jordan oversaw $1 billion in federal and state grant funds and helped develop the Comprehensive Continuous Improvement Plan (CCIP), which provided an Internet access point for Ohio’s educational institutions to apply for funding and report financial activities to the Department of Education.
More than 200,000 financial requests for payment have been made through the CCIP program, at a speed eight times faster than the former system’s paper-and-ink process. Because of its technological advancement, CCIP was a contender for the Harvard Innovations in Government awards program honors.
Jordan continues to serve the interests of Ohio’s school students by offering specialized expertise in the area of school funding, including postsecondary enrollment options for public and nonpublic school students, while providing oversight for districts with fiscal watch, caution, or emergency status. He also retains responsibility for the Office of Grants Management, which oversees nearly 50 school grant programs.
Since 2001, Jordan has served as the state superintendent of public instruction’s representative to the Ohio High School Athletic Association’s board of control, the governing body of interscholastic athletes. Jordan serves on several committees and chairs the audit committee.
Jordan volunteers with a variety of community organizations, including positions as the judicial and state government section consultant for the American Legion Buckeye Boys’ State program, and vice president and member of the board of governors of the Ohio State Marching Band’s alumni society. He belongs to the Central Ohio Basketball Officials Association and has held membership in organizations including the Government Finance Officers Association, the Association of Education Federal Financial Administrators, and the Association of Government Accountants.
While serving as a softball umpire for Ohio State’s intramural and recreational sports program in 1995, Jeff met his wife, Robin, who was also an umpire. Buckeyes through and through, they were married at the Ohio State Faculty Club in 2000. They live with their young son in Morrow County near Chesterville.
