Welcome to the Weekly Roundup, where we bring you the top stories from today’s Dayton Daily News and major stories from the past week you may have missed.

This week, that includes a look at how federal workforce reductions are impacting lives and the economy in the Dayton region, our investigation into how much local universities spend on DEI and what you need to know about the First Four coming to Dayton.

We are also launching the Dayton Daily News Community Gems initiative, highlighting people who give their time and effort to improve the lives of their neighbors and community. Do you know someone like this in your community? Follow this link to nominate them.

Do you have a news tip or an issue you think our reporters should look into? Contact me at Josh.Sweigart@coxinc.com, or you can use our anonymous tipline.

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Federal workforce cuts hit home

President Donald Trump was elected with a promise to reduce federal spending. He is fulfilling that promise with major staff cuts across the federal workforce. While some cheer these efforts to downsize the federal government, others fear the impact it could have on places such as Dayton where federal jobs fuel a large part of our economy. And every job cut impacts both personal livelihoods and government services.

• ‘I loved that job’: In this story, reporter Tom Gnau talks to Dayton-area residents put out of work by the cost-cutting effort. One woman worked at the Dayton VA Medical Center and received great reviews but was let go days before her one-year anniversary. Now she worries about how area veterans will be served.

- “It was a lot. I loved that job. I loved doing the kind of work I felt made a difference,” she said. “There’s a saying — everyone wants to save the world but no one wants to help mom with the dishes. I felt I had a job where I could go in every day and help mom with the dishes.”

• Economy: The Dayton region is more reliant on federal jobs than any other part of Ohio, Tom also found. According to one federal estimate, there are about 22,100-plus civilian federal workers living in the congressional district that includes Montgomery, Greene and part of Clark counties. This is close to 6% of the overall workforce and more than any other district in Ohio.

- Wright-Patterson Air Force Base has doubled its workforce in the past two decades and now employs 38,000 or so military and civilian employees.

• Optimism: U.S. Rep. Mike Turner, the Republican who represents this district, noted that previous efforts to find military efficiency benefited WPAFB with missions elsewhere consolidated here. Plus, Turner and others note efforts to increase defense spending on things that could be done here.

• Other agencies: In total, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is eyeing the reduction of about 80,000 jobs across the department’s national footprint. And the federal hiring freeze is impacting staffing at Dayton-area national parks.

• Context: “I think this is probably the single largest mass layoff event we’ve ever had in U.S. history,” Andrew Stettner, former director of unemployment insurance modernization for the U.S. Department of Labor under former President Joe Biden, told this news outlet.

DEI at area universities

In late January as the Ohio Senate debated a proposal to ban diversity, equity and inclusion programs at public universities, I put in a records request with our local public universities to asses the potential impact of the bill. Today, we report what we found.

• Senate Bill 1: First, some background. Senate Bill 1 has many aspects, including prohibiting faculty from striking and eliminate certain degree programs. This story from when the measure passed the Senate gives a good overview.

• Public records: For this story, we focused on the part of the bill prohibiting public colleges and universities from having diversity, equity and inclusion offices. To assess the impact, I requested from local universities records showing what DEI offices they have, their staffing and budget.

- It took more than a month to obtain all of the records, and even then some university officials said our request — which uses the same language as the bill — is too vague to fully fulfill.

• What we found: Go here for the full story, but here are some highlights:

- Miami University has six departments that are involved in DEI work with a total budget of $3.7 million.

- Wright State University has a Division of Inclusive Excellence with a budget of roughly $650,000

- Central State University — Ohio’s only historically Black university — says it spends zero dollars on diversity, equity and inclusion.

• Zoom out: According to the Inter-University Council of Ohio, which represents Ohio’s public universities, 13 of its 14 member universities report a total of 240.5 DEI full-time equivalent positions and about $27.5 million total in operating expenses.

• Big caveat: Senate Bill 1 doesn’t actually define DEI, leaving it up to each institution to define it for themselves. In our story, we asked the bill’s primary sponsor what it means to him and why he believes it should be banned.

• DEI Debate: Last month, we brought together supporters and opponents of S.B. 1 for perspective from both sides. Read their views here.

First Four coming to Dayton

University of Dayton Arena will be back in the national spotlight this month as the NCAA First Four Tournament returns. Eric Schwartzberg has this story about what it means for the region.

• Economic impact: UD Arena typically sells out for the tournament, attracting approximately 25,000 fans over the two nights of the tournament.

• Big Hoopla: The Big Hoopla, an independent nonprofit, donates 2,000 tickets over the two nights of the tournament to allow local Airmen at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, their families, veterans and local students to experience it.

• Quote: “This is a national event, so the exposure that we get as a community when we host this event is really hard to measure, but it’s very valuable,” said Jacquelyn Powell, president and CEO for Destination Dayton. “It’s something to be able to brag about, to say that we’re able to have this national event here in our community that starts off March Madness for the NCAA.”

• More details: Read Eric’s story for more details about the First Four and Big Hoopla.