Meg Storrs, administrative assistant for the Southern State Community College Nursing Department, has graduated as a fellow of the newest class of the Ohio Leadership Academy for Student Success.
Sponsored by the Ohio Association of Community Colleges, 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.
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.
Each fellow of the course was nominated by their institution’s president. They 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, including 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 partners of the program.
“The OACC Leadership Academy was a tremendous learning experience and I am grateful to the college for the chance to participate and represent our institution,” said Storrs. “What I hope to express to our students and community is that Southern State is everyone’s college. Education and workforce development in rural areas are doubly important — now more than ever. Through OACC I am better prepared to support our students in meaningful ways and to view the challenges we are all facing as occasions for innovation,” she adds.
The academy was funded by several national organizations, ensuring that colleges had minimal expenses to participate.
“Southern State is honored to be a part of the OACC and appreciates the unique opportunities, such as the Leadership Academy, that OACC extends to its members. Further, the college is privileged to have young professionals like Meg, who earnestly desire to be the change they wish to see in the world and commit their time to shaping their leadership toward those ends,” said SSCC President Dr. Nicole Roades. “I am thankful that Meg accepted the nomination to be a part of this Academy, and I look forward to her continued professional growth within the college,” Roades added.
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.
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 www.OhioCommunityColleges.Org.
Submitted by Elizabeth Burkard, director of marketing, Southern State Community College.
