Mike Schmidt, Vice President of Hodge Cramer & Associates, Inc., will be presenting the results of the feasibility study for faculty and staff on June 2 at 9 a.m. in Washington State’s Graham Auditorium. The results of the study are expected to help the college make a determination about the amount of money raised through gifts that would be required to build a proposed $13 million health sciences building.

The Foundation Board hired Hodge Cramer, consultants based in Dublin, Ohio, to help determine how much the Board could reasonably expect to raise in contributions from our friends and neighbors in Marietta and the surrounding area to build the proposed $13 million health sciences building.  Our consultant, Mike Schmidt, has been interviewing faculty, staff, Trustees, Foundation Board members, and community members over the past seven weeks to learn their thoughts about the value of the project as well as what they consider to be the college’s strengths, its value to the surrounding area, and the health science building’s value to the community and workforce development.

On Wednesday, May 14, students were recognized for academic achievement during the annual Honor’s Night Outstanding Student Recognition Ceremony.

According to President Hatfield, a high price on education beyond high school has been set by the Chancellor Eric Fingerhut. The President admonished the crowd of family and friends that change is the constant and as a community we need to be flexible to change and prepare to be more adaptive.“The more education you have the more enlightened you are to options. Higher education pays off in a lot of ways,” said Hatfield.

Students were recognized for their achievements to the Dean’s list, earning a g.p.a. of 3.5 to 3.99, President’s list, earning a g.p.a. of 4.0 and the National Dean’s list. Students were also recognized for participation in Phi Theta Kappa, Student Senate and for any scholarships or awards.

Ambitious honor students need not look any further, for the Honor Scholarship at Washington State Community College provides an excellent way to save money and earn transferable credit toward other institutions.

The award is an institutional scholarship of a renewable $2,500 for five quarters for students who are residents of Washington or Morgan County. Students must have a cumulative g.p.a. of at least 3.5 or an ACT score of 25 or higher, and a FAFSA letter of acceptance in order to receive the scholarship.  

Over the past year, Washington State has awarded $77,500 in honor scholarships to students: $67,500 in Washington County and $10,000 in Morgan County. While local students may desire the benefits of a state or private four-year college, the local community option may offer the greatest financial solution. Tisa Offenberger, a soon-to-be Washington State student from Waterford, Ohio, spent a year at Wilmington College with little money to support herself. She said, “I didn’t really like the dorm-life there. But, really, I couldn’t afford it. [The Honor Scholarship] saved me a lot of money. This will help me get an apartment now—to finally be on my own.”

Emily Schuck, the director of financial aid at Washington State, believes that today’s college students are faced with financial dilemmas now more than ever. “Paying for college is not so last minute anymore,” said Schuck. “Now, it’s a value thing. You have to ask, how do you want to spend your money? Where do you see yourself after you graduate?” With tuition remaining static at $76 per credit hour in-state, Schuck would expect to see more students taking advantage of the scholarship’s benefit. For students like Tisa Offenberger, this could be their first step toward financial liberation and independence.  

After four years of participation in the Academic Quality Improvement Program, the AQIP Planning Team, the Executive Committee, and the 2007 AQIP Strategy Forum Team are recommending a change in focus. It is time to officially move from continuous improvement as an accreditation strategy to continuous improvement as an aspect of institutional culture.
Continuous improvement has long been a hallmark of Washington State Community College. Without a doubt, we are all working each day to make our services, classes, and experiences better for our students and other stakeholders. The AQIP process has resulted in documentation of six major action projects and more than 40 “mini-projects” aimed at making our institution better, but we are not currently recognizing the many other non-AQIP improvements we make each year.
So look for three changes as we move into the 2008-2009 academic year: (1) the AQIP Planning Team will be renamed the Continuous Improvement Team, and the group will broaden its focus beyond accreditation-related projects; (2) we will work to capture information regarding all of our continuous improvement efforts, and you will soon have access to a simple way to report your continuous improvement efforts online; and (3) you will now see a monthly column in On Campus to keep you informed continuous improvement efforts across campus.

Join us on Saturday, May 31 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the WSCC lower parking lot to shop or to volunteer! The Humane Society will be on-campus to show off their puppies and host their 2nd Annual Adopt-a-Thon at Washington State. If any group, organization, or individual would like to set up a table to sell items, please contact Mary Ann Abbott (mabbott@wscc.edu). The fee to sell is $10 and all the money earned is yours to keep! All profits made at the Phi Theta Kappa table will be donated to the Humane Society of the Ohio Valley. If you would like to donate items to the sale, please drop them off in the barrels in front of AS 237 or bring them to the lower lot on Saturday, May 31 between 9 a.m. and 10 p.m.

The Marketing and Communications department has hired three interns for the Summer.

Steve Moore, a senior at Marietta College, majors in advertising public relations with a minor in psychology. This small-town man—from Centerburg, Ohio—is the president of the Marietta College chapter of the American Advertising Federation, also known as the River City Advertising Federation. After he graduates this December, Steve plans on pursuing a career in advertising at an agency, hopefully, in the Central Ohio area. When he isn’t at his desk working hard on a project for Jeri Knowlton, you can find him in the gym working out, or managing an amateur paintball team that he helped create in 2006.

Reece Churilla is an upcoming senior at Marietta College pursuing a major in journalism. Another small-town man, he hails from Whipple, Ohio, and hopes to write creatively in a future career. Reece is the social chair for Lambda Chi Alpha, the Marietta chapter, where he spends a great deal of time DJ-ing and throwing parties. He is a fan of film and music, saving up to study electronic music production in New York in an effort to upgrade his technical knowledge and transform his passion (and amateur/make-shift studio) into something worthwhile.

Ashley Reed is a 2008 graduate of Marietta College with a double major in marketing and advertising/public relations, and a minor in leadership studies. From the small town of Sharon Center, Ohio, she finds Marietta to be a nice beginning, but hopes to move to New York City or Chicago and pursue a career in pharmaceutical sales. Ashley is currently employed at Western and Southern Financial Group in Parkersburg and Bruster’s in Marietta. In her rare moments of free time, she enjoys travel and the outdoors, photography, listening to music, and taking long walks with her dog, Isabelle.