2014/15 Annual Report/Case Statement

The 2014/15 OFIC Annual Campaign was record-breaking. See how your gifts are changing the lives of the 95,000 students attending our member colleges and universities in our annual report/case statement. Also, find out how Ohio's independent colleges are making a difference by viewing the latest statistics in our graphs & supporting materials.


The University of Mount Union is top in Ohio on "50 Best Colleges for Female Athletes" list

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The University of Mount Union is on a list of "50 Best Colleges for Female Athletes" in a ranking done by niche.com.

The Purple Raiders were the highest ranked Ohio school at No. 28, three spots ahead of Ohio State.

The rankings are out of 703 colleges based on NCAA Championship appearances, percentage of female students participating in varsity sports, and over 200,000 student opinions from nearly 75,000 students.

Value of a college degree becomes more evident than ever (MSN Money)

© Andrew Rich/Getty Images 

© Andrew Rich/Getty Images 

Factory jobs dwindled over the past several decades, and instead of low-skill, low-wage service work filling the void left by manufacturing's decline, a new report shows that college-educated workers have taken over a much bigger share of the economy. 

While the makeup of the labor force has changed, the shift has not been from a manufacturing-driven economy to one underpinned by legions of people in dead-end fast-food jobs. Rather, the country's economic value is now largely propped up by college graduates.

For the report, published Monday by Georgetown University's Center on Education and the Workforce, Georgetown's Anthony Carnevale and Stephen Rose analyzed several sets of government data to show that job opportunities for college-educated workers have grown, and college graduates produce more than half of the country's economic value. From 1967 to 2007, the share of high- skill management and professional jobs rose 14 percent, and that those jobs represent 35 percent of all U.S. jobs. Over the same period, opportunities for low-skill workers declined 10 percent. These low-skill labor roles, such as fast-food server, retail worker, and dishwasher, now make up only 29 percent of jobs...

2012 OFIC Service-Learning Leadership Award recipient Jenelle Krumlauf named to Business First's Forty under 40

Jenelle Krumlauf, founder and president of Nellie’s Catwalk for Kids, and 2012 OFIC Service-Learning Leadership award recipient (Ohio Dominican University '13), has been named to Columbus Business First's Forty under 40 list this year.


Ashland University Names New President

ASHLAND, Ohio – The Ashland University Board of Trustees has announced that it has hired Dr. Carlos Campo as the 30th president of Ashland University. Campo has considerable experience in higher education, including serving as president of Regent University. He will start in his new role on June 1, 2015.

“We have conducted a thorough, national search for our next leader, and we are very excited to be able to announce that Dr. Carlos Campo has been selected to serve as the next president of Ashland University,” said AU Board Chair Lisa Miller. “Dr. Campo is a proven, highly motivated and accomplished higher education professional with more than 25 years of exemplary experience, from professor to university president.”

Campo replaces Dr. William Crothers, who is serving as an interim president for one year while the board launched a national search for the new president.

The newly selected president and his wife, Karen, said they were anxious to get settled in Ashland.

“Karen and I look forward to getting to know the Ashland community,” Campo said. “In our brief visit, we were impressed by how kindly we were treated and the real sense of community we felt.”

Campo also noted that “the Ashland University community blends excellence and tradition in such a way that reflected their commitment to quality and the individual. We are honored and blessed to become a part of Eagle Nation.”


We don’t need more STEM majors...

We don’t need more STEM majors. We need more STEM majors with liberal arts training.

The ability to draw from other disciplines produces better scientists. (The Washington Post)

In business and at every level of government, we hear how important it is to graduate more students majoring in science, technology, engineering and math, as our nation’s competitiveness depends on it...

2015 OFIC Hall of Excellence Inductees Announced

The OFIC Selection Committee for the 2015 Hall of Excellence and Earl F. Morris Trustee Award has met and selected this year’s inductees. 

                                         The 2015 inductees to the OFIC Hall of Excellence will be:

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Paul W. Lingle (Wittenberg University)
Owner & President, Lingle Real Estate
President, Meadow Park Inc
President, Bayberry Development Group

 

 

Sidney Mishkin (Wilmington College)
Mishkin + Duvall (Retired Attorney)

 

 

 

Gregory L. Moore (Ohio Wesleyan University)
Editor-in-Chief, The Denver Post and Central Editor of Digital First Media

 

 


Lt. General Loren Reno (Cedarville University)
Dean, School of Business Administration at Cedarville University and 3-Star General (Retired) U.S. Air Force

 

 

The recipient of The Ohio Foundation of Independent Colleges’
Earl F. Morris Trustee Award is:


Dr. C. Richard Beckett
Board of Trustees, The University of Findlay (1985 to present)
 

An OFIC volunteer will also be recognized for exceptional and dedicated service to OFIC and its mission to provide access to private higher education for Ohio’s students.  To be honored as Volunteer of the Year is:

Jeffrey E. Hastings
Market President, Central Ohio, and Manager of Commercial Banking
U.S. Bank


Additionally, a student from an OFIC member institution will be recognized for initiative, achievement and excellence in service-learning. 

This year’s recipient of the 2015 OFIC Student Service-Learning Leadership Award is Rachel Auerbach from Denison University. Rachel is a double major in Environmental Studies and Women's Studies. 

For more information about the Evening of Excellence, read more here.

Dr. Richard Merriman Named 12th President of the University of Mount Union

ALLIANCE, Ohio – Dr. W. Richard Merriman Jr., president of Southwestern College in Winfield, Kansas, has been named the 12th president of the University of Mount Union, announced Randall Hunt, chair of the Mount Union Board of Trustees and Allen Green, chair of the Presidential Search Committee. The appointment, which concludes a six-month nationwide search, comes upon unanimous decision of trustees during a special meeting of the Board.

 

Merriman, who has served in his current capacity at Southwestern College since 1998, will succeed Dr. Richard F. Giese, who announced his intention to step down as president this past January at the conclusion of his contract in June, 2015. After a successful 10-year tenure, he and his wife, Sandra, look forward to relocating to Virginia to enjoy quality time with their son, daughter-in-law and grandsons. 

“I am certain Dr. Merriman is the right leader for Mount Union at this time in our history,” said Green. “He brings with him the necessary experience to build upon the incredible foundation that has been built under Dr. Giese’s direction and further guide the University into the future. He has a keen understanding of the institution’s strengths and challenges and a proven track record of innovation and success. We are pleased to welcome someone of his caliber to the Mount Union community.” 

Merriman will begin his official duties as president of Mount Union on July 1, 2015. 

Tears of Joy - a student scholar story

Toni Rice, from Columbus, Ohio, is pursuing a Business Administration degree at Ohio Dominican University.  Her aspirations are all focused around giving back, saying, “What I want to do the most is to one day create my own non-profit organization that will help and benefit orphan children as well as children in rough living situations.”  Toni chose ODU for its business program, small class size to ensure more professor to student interaction, and the campus is close to home.  Toni was able to complete her freshman year with a Parent Plus Loan.  Unfortunately, her mother suffered a disabling accident and is now physically unable to work.  As she prepared to enter her sophomore year, Toni learned she was not approved for the Parent Plus Loan because her mother no longer has an income.  Working part-time at Chipotle Mexican Grill, and not knowing how she would be able to pay tuition of about $5,000 per semester, Toni faced the decision of either sitting out of college for a year or transferring to community college until she could afford to return to Ohio Dominican.  When she received her financial award letter, including notification that she had been awarded an Enterprise Holdings Scholarship Toni said, “I literally cried tears of joy. Not only does this scholarship cover the rest of my tuition, but it leaves me with a credit which I can use towards my school books.  I feel as if I can’t possibly thank you enough for giving me this opportunity.  I truly thank you with all of my heart for this scholarship and look forward to proving so through my grades this semester.”  With the scholarship funding provided by Enterprise Holdings through The Ohio Scholars Program®, Toni is making steady progress toward successfully achieving her bachelor’s degree.


To help a student from your community go to college, click here to learn more.

Workforce Development Roundtables - Summary

Dayton 10/9/2014    Cleveland 10/20/2014    Columbus 11/13/2014

TOPIC SUMMARY

I. How do “soft skills”, such as communication competencies, critical-thinking ability and leadership acumen, influence our hiring decisions?

-“Soft skills” are highly valued in all represented businesses.

-The group acknowledged that liberal arts classes help in the development of critical thinking skills.

-Companies that prize well-prepared graduates in technological areas acknowledge that the liberal arts experience helps tech grads with the development of soft skills, writing and critical thinking but at the expense of more classroom time in the tech areas.

-Colleges should look at developing three-minute mock interviews with students to help them present themselves to HR officers and to prepare them for selling themselves and eventually their companies.

-Companies are resorting to in-house training of recent college graduates to help them with soft skill development. This has become more common among technology and engineering- based companies but may be worth having colleges address this issue while students are still on campus.

-When companies hire graduates they come equipped with basic technical skills and need technical training specific to that industry. Most companies are well equipped to do technical training because it is at the heart of their core competencies. Soft skills are more difficult to train and the company may need to go outside their organization to acquire that training. For this reason soft skills are often a higher priority in the hiring decision.

II. What are the primary talent acquisition concerns corporate Ohio is experiencing?

-There is a realization that strengthening Ohio’s colleges and universities helps to create stronger economic outcomes for Ohio.

-Building Ohio’s brand to make it more attractive will help keep our graduates in the state and can help bring more students here for college.

-Recruiting new hires with the right balance of talent, humility, approachability and appreciation for the professional journey can be challenging.

-It is important for Ohio to reach out to students in high school and even earlier grades to help them understand the importance of college and to link that to potential employment opportunities.

-Locating STEM students as interns or graduates to make them aware of available professions in their fields is still a challenge.

-Intern and co-op programs are valuable to students, parents and Ohio companies. The student has an opportunity to see if the job they are preparing for at graduation is right for them. This allows students to make an early mid-stream correction in their course of study toward a better fit. Early decisions cost parents less in tuition. Companies have the benefit of smart, energetic temporary employees working for them with the opportunity to hire those that fit their organization.

III. How do we identify and connect with STEM Graduates (Science, Technology, Engineering & Math majors)?

-Leadership is needed at the college level to expand ‘team experiences’.

 -The demand for STEM talent is growing rapidly. In Columbus, this was largely centered on technology, computer science, and logistics. In Cleveland, the engineering and chemistry focus was stronger.

-The opportunity for more businesses to locate research facilities on OFIC campuses needs to be encouraged. The students and faculty are there and corporate Ohio is looking for opportunities to partner with colleges that can enhance their research, strengthen their personnel and create win-win outcomes.

 -More Ohio companies need to embrace support of scholarships for STEM majors and offer internships and co-ops to better connect those opportunities in business/industry with college students.

 -Start-up company incubators based on college campuses are a great way to connect large Fortune 500 companies with start up companies developing new technology. They also engage college research and graduate students particularly in the STEM areas.

 IV. How will evolving technology influence our future hiring needs?

- We are educating students today for technologies we don’t even know about yet. Core strength in STEM basics and teaching students to learn how to learn will create the nimble workforce of the future.

 -There is a significant lack of human capital in computer technology and this is especially true among women and minorities.

-Educating students for future technologies seems to be part of the critical thinking development that private colleges do especially well.

-We need an easy way to access talent for internships, co-ops and long term employment.

-New hires outside of technology can add a great deal to the mix. Many technology companies seek bright, literate, savvy recent college grads they can train internally to advance into the technology of the moment.

For more information about how companies are taking advantage of strategic investments to drive human capital, visit 'support students'.

OFIC announces Libbey Inc. Diversity Awards - Request for Proposals

OFIC is pleased to announce that Libbey Inc. will award three grants of $2,500 each to support diversity programs on member campuses to be implemented during the 2014-15 academic year.  An RFP detailing eligible programs and proposal guidelines follows:

Three $2,500 grants will be awarded for programs that address issues of diversity and inclusion and are designed to engage, enlighten and connect minority and non-minority students.  Programs may be aimed at addressing all forms of diversity (ethnic, gender, national origin (language barriers), sexual orientation, etc.).  Your proposal may replicate a program that has worked well on other campuses, or you may propose a new program intended to advance change and the embracing of diversity on your campus.  You may also propose use of this grant money to enhance the funding of a successful existing program.  Programs that impact current students, faculty, staff, alumni or trustees will all be considered.  Your institution may submit more than one proposal for consideration of an award.     

Guidelines:     

•  No application longer than one page will be considered.
•  No idea should be considered too big or too small.
•  Proposals should include a preliminary budget      
•  A report of no more than one page on the status or outcome of the selected programs including explanation of fund usage must be submitted by June 1, 2015.  Funded program directors will be required to present a 5-minute outline of their programs at the fall 2015 Diversity Forum.   

OFIC member institutions are invited to submit proposals no later than December 12, 2014. Each proposal must have one primary applicant who will receive grant funds and be responsible for reporting.  Proposals must be signed by the primary applicant and the college/university president.  Programs selected for funding will be announced by January 12, 2015. 

Proposals should be sent to:

The Ohio Foundation of Independent Colleges
250 E. Broad St., Suite 1700, Columbus, OH  43215

FAX 614-469-4733/email: Joanne Moriarty moriarty@ofic.org