(North Canton, OH) July 10, 2023) – Beth Williams, department chair of English, Language and Social Sciences at Stark State College, has graduated as fellow of the newest class of the Ohio Leadership Academy for Student Success.

The leadership academy, sponsored by the Ohio Association of Community Colleges, 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 both succeed and excel in their academic pursuits,” she said. Supporting and mentoring talented higher ed administrators is crucial at a time when workers with job-ready degrees are needed in in-demand fields such as healthcare and nursing, business, teaching, and information technology. This demand is also increasing as Ohio welcomes dynamic new companies in the electric vehicle battery, semiconductor and cloud storage sectors.

Nominated by Stark State President Para M. Jones, PhD, Williams met with other fellows six times throughout the year for two-day meetings and worked on group projects between sessions. The sessions, focused 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 partners.

“I applaud Beth Williams for participating in the OACC Leadership Academy,” said Lada Gibson-Shreve, PhD, provost and chief academic officer at Stark State. “She has a strong focus on student success and is an outstanding leader. The Academy provided her with additional leadership growth, insights on leading transformative change and connections to other community college leaders in Ohio.”

The academy 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. It was created 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 states now replicating Ohio’s initiative. The academy was funded by several national organizations, ensuring that colleges had minimal expenses to participate.

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, visit OhioCommunityColleges.org.