A: It is going very well. We are ahead of our projections. We anticipated 200 students in the first year. We opened in August 2012 with 300 students. As of this spring semester, we have 400 students registered for classes. From a standpoint of enrollment, it is going extremely well.
But we also want students to be successful when they’re here. We are putting a lot of resources into making sure we have support services for them. We have two advisers here, for example, and we’re trying to encourage every student to meet at least once a semester with their adviser on the academic side. We also have three staff members who work on the other things – financial aid, other kinds of academic advising, other support services. We have a great faculty. And we’re actually looking to hire more faculty that will start in the fall, as we grow and expand.
Yes, we’re happy about the numbers of students entering, but we’re going to be most happy when, two years later, we get that completion rate or our students meet the goals that brought them here.
Q: What do you attribute that success to?
A: Many factors. One is the staff. I think we did a very good job early on last summer in creating the awareness that we were coming to town. Second, the community has been very helpful in helping us get the word out. Our message is a little different than some of the other educational institutions. We are a community college. A student can come here if they want to transfer.
Second, we’ve done very well with workforce development. Third is some of our more technical programs. For example, hospitality management. We have an articulation agreement with Miami University Middletown, so if a student completes two years here, there’s an agreement that they then can transfer over and do the four-year degree as well.
Q: Was there a pent-up demand here?
A: Yes. We did a lot of research before we came here and it showed there was demand for the programs we offer here.
Q: Is there a lot of interest from high schoolers for post-secondary classes?
A: An interesting thing — for this year, we really didn't start our recruiting until after April or May. And we didn't open the campus until August. We didn't have a lot of emphasis on the high schools at that time because seniors were about to graduate. That'll be different this year. In fact, we just had a session with high school counselors in the PSEO (Post-Secondary Enrollment Options) area and that was one of the questions. We do have that. It is available here.
Q: What has been the reception from the community?
A: As our president, Dr. (O'dell) Owens says, it's been an amazing partnership. The city of Middletown and Butler County have been supportive, as have community leaders and businesses. I'm happy and thankful that they see us as a partner. We are part of the community. Our success is their success. We are here to help.
Q: Why should students choose Cincinnati State?
A: When we talk to our students, there are two things we heard pretty strongly. One is just convenience. Location. The other thing is the co-op program. We are pretty strong in cooperative education. Many of our programs require it. We really integrate it into the curriculum. They get academic credit for it. We try to get them in their field of studies. Our average age is 28. So we have a wide range of experience in each classroom. Many of our faculty are practitioners, so they have business experience.
And we’re open access. If you feel you’re not academically prepared for college … we are prepared to help you with that. We have academic foundation courses that help bring you up to speed.
Q: How much curriculum input do you get from employers?
A: That's an interesting question. I would say — an awful lot. There are two ways we get feedback. One is through our co-op program. Because we are new, we're just getting started with the co-op program. On our Cincinnati campus, we have co-op coordinators who connect with the business community and then help employers fill the needs they might have. That's when we get feedback.
The other thing is that Dr. Owens meets routinely with a lot of area businesses with our workforce development manager. So he’s getting input on the workforce development side. If we get a sense of what the businesses’ training needs are, then that gives us direction.
Q: Any plans for the other downtown buildings yet?
A: No specific plans. We have some general ideas of what we want. We know what campuses need. We know we need a library. We know we need more computer space. In terms of where it's going to be located, we don't have those details yet. We do know we're going to need more space to offer other programs.
Q: Talk about the region that Cincinnati State Middletown is trying to draw from.
A: We're focused on four counties: Montgomery, Butler, Warren and Preble. That's where we're putting most of our effort and resources. At the same time, we're not limited to those four counties.
Q: Talk about the career path that led you here?
A: I started off in banking at Chase Manhattan Bank and I did mortgage origination as an account executive. I did that for about three years and then went to law school in St. Louis.
I’m originally from St. Louis. As an undergraduate, I went to a school in Nigeria. My father’s from Nigeria. After I graduated from law school, I went into economic development at the St. Louis Development Corp. for the city, sort of a public-private partnership. I worked with developers to help develop St. Louis. While there, I went back to business school and earned my MBA.
Then I moved to Cincinnati for Procter & Gamble and did real estate. I spent about three years there and then I went into education and have been in education since 2005. I started off at the University of Cincinnati. I did corporate relations and helped MBA students get internships. Then I came to Cincinnati State as a faculty member, teaching business law for two years, and then was promoted to associate dean of business. Then, in August, came this assignment.
Q: Who have been your role models?
A: My parents. They're both educators. My father is a retired professor of finance. My mother currently is a counselor, and has been a principal and teacher. They always taught us — my brother and I — about service and that, while teachers will never make a lot of money, you will change lives. As a young person, I was concerned with making money, so that's why I went into law and business. But it turns out that I'm in my real true calling now. My calling is to help others.
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