Two leaders from Hocking College have graduated as fellows of the second Ohio Leadership Academy for Student Success.
Brittany Ross, Senior Accountant & Fiscal Auditor in Fiscal Services at Hocking College and Rob Weiler, Director of Enrollment Management at Hocking College were among more than 40 leaders representing all of Ohio's community colleges that graduated June 15, 2022, as part of the academy organized by the Ohio Association of Community Colleges (OACC). It is the first of its kind in the nation to gather mid-level administrators, faculty and staff for a year of training, exchanging ideas and immersion in how to promote student success.
"The fellows learned how to more effectively lead the many changes underway at our colleges - transformational changes - to improve student success," said Laura Rittner, executive director of the OACC's Success Center for Ohio Community College. "We brought together people who have different roles at colleges so they could have a deeper understanding of how college leaders can work together to usher in these student success models."
The president of each of the state's community colleges could nominate two employees as fellows. They met six times throughout the year for two-day meetings, first online and then in person. Sessions were relevant to Ohio specifically and included aspects of the Aspen institute's presidential leadership curriculum. Fellows also worked on projects in small groups between sessions.
"The leadership academy provided myself and all of the fellows an opportunity to view student success through a broader lens and perspective, beyond individual institutions and more importantly, internal departments. It challenged me to evaluate how we can influence transformational change from where we are currently within our institutions, ultimately leading to sustainable student success innovation," said Rob Weiler.
The academy was funded by several national organizations, so colleges had minimal expenses to participate. The next academy will begin in July 2022 with over 40 new fellows supported by their colleges and the growing alumni network from the program.
The OACC represents the presidents and trustees of the state's 23 public two-year institutions that work to advance community colleges through policy advocacy and professional development. For more information, please visit www.OhioCommunityColleges.Org.
For more information on Hocking College email admissions@hocking.edu or call 740-753-7050.