Zane State staff graduates from Ohio Leadership Academy

ZANESVILLE – Assistant Professor Helen Rollins and instructor Emily Stainbrook of Zane State College have graduated as fellows from the Ohio Leadership Academy for Student Success.

The academy, sponsored by the Ohio Association of Community Colleges, is the first of its kind in the nation to gather mid-level faculty and staff for a year of training, exchanging ideas and immersion in how to promote student success.

The OACC created the academy in 2019 to reverse mid-level management turnover by strengthening internal advancement pipelines within the state's 23 community colleges. Michigan, New York and Texas are among the states now replicating Ohio's initiative.

The president of each of Ohio's community colleges nominated two employees as fellows. The fellows then met in person six times throughout the year for two-day meetings and worked on group projects between sessions. The sessions, focused specifically on evidence-based strategies for student success, included Ohio's higher education policy landscape and aspects of a presidential leadership curriculum provided by the Washington D.C. based Aspen Institute, one of the program's partners.

The academy was funded by several national organizations, ensuring colleges had minimal expenses to participate.

“I applaud Helen and Emily for their willingness to participate and successfully complete this challenging and worthwhile growth opportunity," said ZSC President Chad Brown. "Through this statewide collaboration, the ability to advance higher ed processes improves by tenfold. The work of this cohort ultimately benefits the students we serve as we all work together to create a promising future for everyone."

“The leadership academy brings together people with different higher ed roles to allow a deeper understanding of how parts of each school mesh to create student success models,” said Laura Rittner, executive director of the OACC's Success Center for Ohio Community Colleges. "The new fellows have learned how to implement transformational changes in their colleges that allow the best chances for students to succeed and excel in their academic pursuits.”

Information and photo submitted by Zane State College.

This article originally appeared on Zanesville Times Recorder: Zane State staff graduates from Ohio Leadership Academy