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Left: Rachel Carlisle, Director of Regional Campus
Enrollment Management and
Student Services; Dr. Amanda Bylczynski,
Professor of History
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Two Edison State Employees Selected for Statewide Leadership Academy
Academy Is First in Nation to Immerse Mid-Level Leaders in Success Models
Two leaders from Edison State Community College have graduated as
fellows of the first Ohio Leadership Academy for Student Success.
Dr. Amanda Bylczynski, Professor of History, and Rachel Carlisle,
Director of Regional Campus Enrollment Management and Student Services,
were among more than 40 leaders representing all of Ohio’s community
colleges that graduated Oct. 2, 2020, 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 Colleges. “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 in person and then online as the pandemic took
hold. 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.
Dr. Bylczynski stated, “I am so thankful I was able to be part of the
inaugural class. The academy was a wonderful opportunity to collaborate
with colleagues from around the state about issues and trends in higher
education surrounding student success. My experience of working with
these leaders and learning from the OACC training sessions has helped
me to redefine my views of leadership, and the roles faculty can play
as leaders in the community college.”
Carlisle echoed Dr. Bylczynski’s sentiments. “Participating in the OACC
Leadership Academy provided me with a wealth of knowledge that I will
be able to utilize throughout my career in higher education, and I
appreciated that the academy focused on using leadership to positively
influence student success. I felt that the concepts and best practices
reviewed in the academy aligned with Edison State’s ongoing efforts to
provide the best support services possible to our students, with
post-graduation success in mind.”
The academy was funded by several national organizations, so colleges
had minimal expenses to participate. Next year’s academy will begin
early in 2021, Rittner said, in the hopes that some sessions can be
held in person.
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.
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