Dear Ohio State Mansfield Colleagues,
Perhaps the biggest news to report from the past two weeks actually occurs tomorrow, as President Gee comes to the Ohio State Mansfield campus for a visit. The President will begin his day with a quick tour of campus, and will then attend staff and faculty forums, a lunch with students and a viewing of the Student Art Exhibition, a call upon our Ohio State Board Alumni group meeting, a pep rally at Mansfield Senior High School, and a meeting with members of the Ohio State University Advocates Group. This very exciting day will end with a community reception to be held in President Gee’s honor from 4:30 to 6:00 p.m. in Founder’s Auditorium. The jam packed nature of this day is the main reason for sending out this biweekly report a day earlier than usual… we are just going to be so darn busy tomorrow!
In other “Big News,” I am pleased to report that our campus has now successfully completed all of the “Big 3” tasks we have been working on throughout the 2011-2012 academic year. In my last biweekly report, I noted that our faculty had approved the revision of our Appointment, Promotion, and Tenure (APT) document. I now can report that the remaining two tasks also have reached completion status. Work on our Campus Implementation Plan (CIP) was completed and sent on to the Office of Academic Affairs last Friday, and yesterday the Pattern of Administration (POA) document was approved by the Executive Committee. Much appreciation is expressed to Ken Sigler, Terri Fisher, Terri Winnick, Donna Hight, and Carol Freytag for their leadership of the CIP sub-committees. In turn, the campus is deeply indebted to Dawn Kitchen and Heather Tanner for their guidance of and direction on the POA revision effort!
Last Wednesday, Ohio State Mansfield joined North Central State College and Ashland University in co-hosting the Richland County Regional Workforce Summit held at the Kehoe Center. Kudos are extended in particular to President Don Plotts, who assembled almost 150 manufacturers, educators, politicians, and other community leaders in a brainstorming session on the future outlook of our geographic area. The data-driven nature of this event was most appreciated (our campus provided the logistical support for this; thanks to Mike Collura and David Au for their very capable technical assistance with the clicker system employed for this event). Particularly noteworthy was the assembly’s strong encouragement of parent engagement efforts, which fits well with the upcoming hire of our Family Engagement Specialist, as well as their endorsement of more internship opportunities through partnerships with local businesses. This latter outcome of the Summit aligns nicely with our Capital Campaign goal of increased scholarship funds that will support such internships, practicums, and cooperative experiences for our students.
The other big events this week include today’s Student Research Forum in the Epperson Atrium and tonight’s Honors Convocation in the Conard Performance Hall. The Research Forum will include exhibits of student research posters, pieces of art, award-winning writings, senior theses and other remarkable examples of student scholarship. Later in the evening, the Honors Convocation will allow our campus community to recognize a number of scholarship and award recipients. And speaking of awards, I am delighted to note that we had two OSU Mansfield faculty members whose students won first place in the Denman Undergraduate Research Forum held last week on the OSU Columbus campus. Carol Landry, Assistant Professor in Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology, is the advisor of Erin Richardson, who won first place in the Biological section. Dawn Kitchen, Associate Professor of Anthropology, is the advisor of Allison Hagley, who was awarded top honors in the Social and Behavioral Sciences section. I also want to note that Allison had two research assistants from Ohio State Mansfield – Wali Shariff and Ashley Hawkins – who helped collect data from the Richland Dog Pound for this work. These are truly exceptional students engaged in exceptional work (and with exceptional faculty to boot!).
On a final note, please remember that next week (May 22, 23, and 24) is the “Beginning Anew” dialogue that will examine how our campus, the Mansfield School District, and the greater Mansfield community can create a lasting partnership that focuses on healthy youth development. If you do not make any other event, I truly hope to see you at the May 22nd lecture in Riedl Hall on “The Initiation of Scholars: A Rites of Passage Approach to Academic Performance.” Dr. David Blumenkrantz, Executive Director of the Center for the Advancement of Youth, Family, and Community Services, will be providing this talk in Riedl Hall, with a reception to follow immediately afterward.
