Findlay Focus. the. An Early Start. Space Camp. Organizational Leadership Certificate OWENS COMMUNITY COLLEGE FINDLAY-AREA CAMPUS

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1 Findlay Focus OWENS COMMUNITY COLLEGE FINDLAY-AREA CAMPUS the VOLUME 4 ISSUE 2 SPRING 2009 An Early Start Organizational Leadership Certificate Space Camp FINDLAY FOCUS SPRING

2 A Note from the Dean: JUDY ENNIS EXECUTIVE DEAN In my yard, the tulips are just beginning to poke their green tips through the frozen soil and I know spring is just around the corner. Every year it makes me think of new beginnings and opportunities. I am pleased to welcome our new staff in Findlay and know that they will add tremendously to the ways we benefit students. I am so proud of our hard-working staff and faculty who continue to strive to go above and beyond and maintain their enthusiasm as if they were new here. I enjoy hearing the many stories of student success and their new beginning as they enroll or graduate and continue their journeys. And I always relish the new courses and programs we offer, because it reminds me that we are always growing and reaching higher. our students, we have had record enrollment every year, we have had dramatic increase in the number of classes that students have available to study and we have become a true Community College. Every day it has been a joy and a privilege to come to this campus and work with the awesome faculty, staff and students that are Owens Findlay. The entire Findlay area community has reached out and welcomed me without reservation and made me a part of them. The memories that I have of this wonderful four year adventure will always be my crowning glory. And so to everyone who has made this the wonderful experience it has been I say a sincere and humble thank you and goodbye. I will miss each one of you. For the past four years I have been afforded an opportunity that many can only dream about and that is to be a part of the Findlay-area Campus of Owens. Together we have moved an entire campus without any distributions of service to IN THIS ISSUE: Organizational Leadership 3 Learning Accreditations 3 An Early Start 4 New Faces In Findlay 6 Space Camp 7 New Exhibits 8 2 OWENS COMMUNITY COLLEGE FINDLAY-AREA CAMPUS

3 Organizational Leadership Today s highly competitive business environment requires energetic and highly skilled leaders who can add value and create high performance work teams and organizations. Owens Organizational Leadership certificate is designed to create the foundations of knowledge, personal skills and competencies to develop an individual s leadership abilities. It is essential to stand out in the workplace, and this certificate program covers everything from improving interviewing skills, developing listening and presentation skills, conflict resolution, negotiation, leadership and much more. The Organizational Leadership Certificate focuses on developing and preparing students for both the people and leadership challenges in modern organizations and their application to organizational and community development. The certificate in organizational leadership has an appeal to me because it prepares leaders who can go into a wide range of career fields, said Sarah Metzger, a student in the class. This certificate can be a huge asset to anyone not just business professionals, because it teaches students how to develop as a leader and how to improve and benefit all relationships, said Gretchen Carroll, Professor of Organizational Leadership. Owens modeled this program after some of the best Organizational Leadership programs in the country, and it is very unique because it does not have exams, rather the grades are based on projects such as presentations and journaling. The Organizational Leadership Certificate takes a year to complete, as two classes are offered per semester. The schedule of the classes is very convenient, offered in the evenings, one class following the other. This means the students only have to come to campus once a week, which can be a huge save on time and gas. Organizational Leadership will be offered for the first time this Fall on the Findlay-area Campus. Space is limited, so sign up now. The program covers everything necessary to develop into an excellent leader and succeed in the workplace. Some of the topics covered include critical thinking skills and how to develop them while recognizing and incorporating feelings, values and behaviors. It also covers how to improve job satisfaction and what different age groups find most important in a workplace, which give the students the skills to manage and get along with everyone in the office. Learning Accreditations The School of Technology at Owens will be undergoing a new national accreditation process. Owens Community College will be the first two-year school in the nation to use the Outcomes Assessment model from the National Association of Industrial Technology. The NAIT will be visiting both the Findlay-area and Toledo-area campuses to asses the progress made in the School of Technology in the last few years. We have been making sure that we meet certain standards and are surpassing other schools, said Glenn Rettig, Associate Dean/Chair Engineering Technologies on the Findlay-area Campus. NAIT will be looking to make sure that Owens faculty members are meeting rigourous standards to teaching and students are learning the materials they will need when they graduate. After the evaluation, Owens will receive feedback on its program strengths and areas for improvement from the NAIT. They have the potential to receive further accreditation for four more years. The accreditation process is important because it makes sure that our graduates have the knowledge and skills necessary to work in their fields and have met a higher standard of learning, said Rettig. Owens is a fully-accredited two-year, state-assisted institution of higher education. All of our programs undergo accreditation reviews periodically to ensure they meet high standards of education. FINDLAY FOCUS SPRING

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5 An Early Start Imagine getting a high school and college diploma at the same time. This is an exciting reality for 18 year-old McComb resident, Jon Lucas. He will receive an Associate degree in Sociology from Owens Community College and a high school diploma from McComb High School this Spring. Lucas was looking for more of a challenge in high school, and discovered the Post Secondary Option program at Owens, a program that allows high school students to take college courses for both high school and college credit. In his first semester at Owens, Lucas only took one class, and as he became more comfortable, he increased his course load. This semester, he only goes to high school for band and is a full-time student at Owens, enrolled in five courses. The transition was difficult at first, because college is definitely not as easy as high school. Once I overcame my biggest challenges of learning how to write at the college level and getting organized, I was able to enjoy the challenge of college, said Lucas. In addition to taking classes, Lucas is an Eagle Scout, member of the Quiz Bowl team, president of the Drama Club, a member of the National Honor Society, and he plays the bagpipe and trumpet. Lucas was also named State Youth and National Youth Carrier of The Year by the Newspaper Association of America, a major trade group. Criteria for this award is based on newspaper route management, community involvement, extra-curricular activities, academics and moral character. Lucas enjoyed his experience at Owens, and is thrilled to have earned a college degree while still in high school. His advice to any students following a similar path: keep close ties with high school friends and teachers who provide guidance and support, because you never know when you will need it. Lucas plans to attend Bluffton University in the Fall, and will major in Social Work, where it will only take him two and half to three years to complete his degree. His favorite course at Owens was Sociology 101 with Dr. Jack Raymond because he encouraged him to really think about every situation, examine each detail and figure out why things make sense. Once I overcame my biggest challenges of learning how to write at the college level and getting organized, I was able to enjoy the challenge of college. Jon Lucas FINDLAY FOCUS SPRING

6 New Faces in Findlay There are new faces on the Findlay-area Campus. We would like to take the opportunity to welcome the new staff who have joined the Owens team and congratulate them on their new positions. Tinola Mayfield-Guerrero has been an adjunct instructor of Sociology and Philosophy at Owens for several years. She recently joined Owens as the Interim Chair of Arts and Sciences on the Findlay-area Campus. She enjoys working as an advocate and leader for students and faculty while seeing the Fine Arts and Sciences grow on the Findlay-area campus. From the moment I took a class at Owens, I knew this was a wonderful place to be and that I wanted to teach here, said Mayfield-Guerrero. Tinola Mayfield-Guerrero Marie Vasquez-Brooks recently joined Owens Community College as the new Chair of Allied Health. Born in Toledo and raised in Perrysburg, Vasquez-Brooks previously worked in Alexandria, VA as a manager of Physical Education and Wellness at the YMCA. Her new position will serve as a resource to the staff and it gives them the opportunity to put a face on health and wellness on the Findlay Campus. Owens has a fantastic facility and I would like to reach out to the Findlay Community and make sure that Allied Health Owens has strong recognition and a commitment to our community. Marie Vasquez-Brooks James Katzner was recently hired as Interim Coordinator of Career Services and Student Activities in Findlay. James comes to Owens with Masters Degrees in Education Policy and Career and Technology Education and has a strong background in adult education and career development. He has taught and advised many different age groups, most recently as an FYE instructor and Student Success Mentor at Owens, and has experience as a camp director. College prepares students for their career, and I believe my goal of involving something career related in all student activities will be very beneficial to the students, says Katzner. James Katzner 6 OWENS COMMUNITY COLLEGE FINDLAY-AREA CAMPUS

7 Space Camp at Owens Owens Community College Workforce and Community Services is offering several new and exciting community education classes for both adults and children this spring and summer. Owens is partnering with the Challenger Center for Space Science Education to offer three integrated science-and-math camps at its Findlay-area Campus. Using a space exploration theme, students will learn math, science and technology in a way that will make them love it for life. Rocketry Camp: Level 1 is a camp for children ages 10 and up. It gives them the opportunity to explore the principles of flight by building and launching their own model rocket. Students will learn about tracking and calculating the flight path of the rocket as well. The class fee is $161 and will be held June from 8:30 a.m. - 12:15 p.m. Crater Kids Camp is for children ages 6 8. The week begins with a launch to the moon. Then children will explore craters, build lunar rovers and create edible solar systems. Finally, they will return to Earth and share the journey through song, art and language experience. The class fee is $84 and it will be held July 6-9 from 9 a.m. 12 p.m. Flight Specialists Camp is for children ages 7 & up. They will create model airplanes and rockets as they experience Newton s Laws of Motion and navigate a dirigible through a flight plan. The class fee is $140, and will be held Aug. 3-7 from 9 a.m p.m. Owens Community College and TechKnowLogix will hold a series of automation maintenance classes designed for maintenance people of all backgrounds to better understand and repair the newest equipment in their factories. The classes are designed for practicing maintenance specialists with little or no experience in the following areas. The Programmable Logic Controllers course focuses on wiring, monitoring of I/O, troubleshooting techniques, software instructions, and going online to view ladders and tables. It will be held May Variable Frequency Drives are used in nearly all of the machinery in any industry today. The training focuses on the following areas from a daily maintenance viewpoint: wiring, monitoring of I/O, troubleshooting techniques, parameters, and interfacing to program logic controllers, and will be held April 27 - May 1. FINDLAY FOCUS SPRING

8 FINDLAY-AREA CAMPUS P.O. Box 10,000 Toledo, OH New Exhibits Do you remember your favorite childhood book? For most children, their favorite part of the book is the pictures, and now you can re-experience those illustrations in their original form by visiting the Findlay Library Gallery this month. The featured exhibit is original artwork from children s picture books loaned from the University of Findlay s Mazza Museum. The exhibit is titled Pets I Have Known (and Loved) and will be on display until April 24. This display of pets will include Clifford the big red dog along with other dogs and cats, and even a goat and a gander. In lieu of a reception, children from the Childcare Center were invited for a party complete with snacks, stories, and even pets! It is an exciting and unique event that is always a thrill for both children and adults as they view the familiar illustrations of their favorite storybook characters, says Gail McCain, Library and Gallery Manager. The final exhibit of the school year will be Owens Student Work, on display April 27-May 8. It will include drawings, paintings, and photography. A reception and gallery talk will be held on Tuesday, April 28 from 5:00-7:00 p.m. Where are YOU? WHAT ARE YOU DOING? Please send information about your professional accomplishments to: Findlay-Area Campus Dean Judy Ennis Owens Community College 3200 Bright Road Findlay, OH Call: (567) judith_ennis@owens.edu Name Graduation Year/Major Address City, State, Zip Phone Position/Title Place of Employment News