1
NOT JUST A PIPE DREAM INSIDE:
Spring 2016
> Sinclair Takes Unmanned Aerial Systems to New Heights > Regional Grants Reflect Local Business Needs, Institutional Strengths >SPRING Global2016 Connections Add New Dynamic to History Course > Napoleon High School Senior Already Building a Successful College Career
Volume 4 Issue 2
SPRING 2016
3 Visiting campuses across Ohio always provides an important reminder of the great things students are doing to make life better for others as they prepare themselves for exciting careers. This spring was no exception as I visited some of our public colleges and universities to see how our campuses are collaborating with local educators and regional workforce partners to prepare students for rewarding careers.
RED BORDERS
In this issue of ConnectED, you’ll learn how educators worked with a Marietta manufacturer to head off a talent drought, and how a Dayton-area community college eyes the horizon of unmanned flight. See how new state-funded initiatives are tailored to meet unique workforce challenges throughout Ohio, and how students are covering the globe without leaving Zanesville. ConnectED is published quarterly to share how Ohio’s two-year and four-year schools are finding innovative ways to prepare students for a changing landscape of career choices, and to help them achieve their goals as affordably and efficiently as possible. Don’t hesitate to contact us with your story ideas. The best ideas are worth sharing, and duplicating throughout Ohio’s higher education network.
John Carey
Chancellor, Ohio Department of Higher Education
Not Just a Pipe Dream Washington County Career Center’s apprenticeship program with Pioneer Pipe
Sinclair Takes Unmanned Aerial Systems to New Heights Allen County high school students join in fun skills competition, learn about manufacturing careers
RAPIDS Grants Reflect Local Business Needs, Institutional Strengths $5 million in Regionally Aligned Priorities in Delivering Skills (RAPIDS) grants have been awarded across Ohio
Global Connections Add New Dynamic to History Course Students participated in an interdisciplinary – and internationally focused – course during spring semester
Napoleon High School Senior Already Building a Successful College Career Ben Bowes took advantage of Ohio’s College Credit Plus program
4 6 8 10 12 SPRING 2016
4
NOT JUST A PIPE DREAM “This just couldn’t happen without so many people going the extra mile, keeping an open mind and holding all parties accountable,” said Washington County Career Center Superintendent Dennis Blatt. That’s been the winning formula for the Washington
County
Career
Center’s
apprenticeship program with Pioneer Pipe. What started four years ago as a creative way to solve an anticipated future labor shortage has evolved into a practical demonstration of how educators and industry can work together to spark local economic growth and create well-paying jobs for its young Pioneer Pipe founder Dave Archer saw it
citizens and their families.
coming; a looming labor shortage that could cripple the burgeoning gas and oil industry
Of
course,
Pioneer
in Ohio and beyond. Something had to be
acknowledge
done to find trained welders.
investment; in fact, Pioneer’s CEO and
its
Pipe
own
is
return
first on
to this
CFO Matt Hiverding is both surprised and What started as a series of well-timed phone
pleased with the return on the company’s
calls evolved quickly into a win-win-win for
initial $600,000 investment.
students and their families, the Washington County Career Center and a major Marietta
“With
employer. And it’s easy to see why; during
of
the past four years, the Washington County
Superintendent Blatt and welding instructor
Career Center, working in partnership with
Keelan McLeish, we were able to build a
Pioneer Pipe Manufacturing in Marietta, has
state-of-the-art training shop on the first
launched the vocational careers of 40 young
floor of our plant in record time — about six
men whose futures are as bright as the tools
weeks — after receiving the Department of
they are trained to use.
Education’s OK to proceed,” Hiverding said.
SPRING 2016
the
help
administrators
of
a
and
talented
team
instructors
in
5
“To our surprise, the return on that initial investment has been much quicker than we thought possible – about two-and-a-half years.” And the return has been realized by the student apprentices, as well. Participants have earned a program completion success rate of about 80 percent, with 40 of the 50 students completing the yearlong program. “The program is not an easy one,” said McLeish. “Students earn seven certifications in welding in an accelerated program while they remain involved in normal high school activities. They rise to meet high expectations; it’s a tribute to the character of these young people.” Throughout their training, the students will receive a total of seven welding certifications, four American Petrolium Institute certifications and three American Society of Mechanical Engineers certifications. In addition, once they graduate, the students will become second-year apprentices receiving a 60 percent journeyman’s package in Plumbers and Pipefitters Local 168. From there, the students will apprentice for an additional three years at Pioneer Pipe. The students’ investment of time, effort and dedication has been richly rewarded as well. On completion of the program, students can begin their careers well prepared to advance in a financially rewarding career. Certified welders begin earning about $38 per hour, a rate of pay that increases with experience and time, rising to more than $60 per hour. “Welders are in high demand these days in Marietta, and throughout the region and the country,” Hiverding said. “With their welding skills, these young people can work anywhere in the country, but we sure hope they stay right here in Marietta.” Of course, so do their families — and the state of Ohio.
SPRING 2016
SPRING 2016
6
SINCLAIR TAKES UNMANNED AERIAL SYSTEMS TO NEW HEIGHTS Ryan Honeyman, Sinclair Workforce Development
On the first floor of Building 13 at Sinclair Community College’s downtown Dayton campus, rows of brightly colored quad-copters, fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and control systems are on display in the recently renovated Sensors, Avionics and Maintenance Lab of the National UAS Training and Certification Center. In August of 2015, Sinclair officially opened the doors of the Center, a significant step in creating one of the most comprehensive and pioneering facilities dedicated to the advancement of unmanned aerial systems (UAS) technologies. Created through a $5 million investment, the Center provides students with the ability to work with new UAS technologies in an immersive and hands-on environment. The 28,000-square-foot facility offers space for research, development and training on vehicles and components, all supported by leading-edge technologies and instruction. During the initial launch of the program in 2008, Sinclair positioned itself at the forefront of UAS innovation, creating partnerships, developing leading curriculum and investing significantly to establish a nationally prominent program dedicated to meeting the needs of the growing UAS industry. Studies on the growth of the UAS conducted through the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI) have estimated that over the next 10 years, the UAS industry is expected to create more than 100,000 jobs with an economic impact of nearly $90 billion. “Our goal was to create a strong foundation that would position the Dayton region as a leader in this emerging field,” said Deb Norris, senior vice president for Sinclair Workforce
SPRING 2016
7
Development. “We viewed the development of our UAS program as an exciting opportunity for students to get the kind of training that would meet the industry’s projected needs for a trained workforce and as a way to build partnerships that would enable a sustainable future and encourage investment in the region.” By 2009, the program began offering one- and two-day workforce development courses covering topics such as Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) standards and regulations, precision agriculture and geospatial information. Sinclair’s curriculum progressed to offer the first UAS Short-Term Technical Certificate program in the state of Ohio, as well as an Associate of Applied Science in UAS degree. A recent proposal by Ohio Governor John R. Kasich that would allow for community colleges to begin offering bachelor’s degrees has the college exploring the option of adding a four-year degree focusing on UAS. The degree would be a technical baccalaureate degree in aviation with a major in UAS, preparing students for a variety of roles in the industry, including flight operations, maintenance, data analysis, sensor operations and testing, precision agriculture and infrastructure inspection. “Leveraging our capabilities and resources in UAS has allowed us to really accelerate the growth of our program at Sinclair,” said Dr. Andrew Shepherd, UAS program director for Sinclair. “In addition to the launch of the Center, which also offers two indoor flying facilities for testing UAS and related technologies, Sinclair also holds multiple Certificates of Authorization (COAs) from the Federal Aviation Administration that allow for flight operations at select locations throughout Ohio, as well as a Section 333 Exemption, which permits national operations.” The program has also gained national prominence for Sinclair, which has become the first community college in the nation to be admitted into the FAA’s UAS Center of Excellence and the National Science Foundation’s Center for Unmanned Aircraft Systems. “Our affiliations with these national centers provide us with the ability to work with some of the top leaders and innovators who are working to advance UAS applications through the world,” Shepherd said.
SPRING 2016
SPRING 2016
8
RAPIDS GRANTS REFLECT LOCAL BUSINESS NEEDS, INSTITUTIONAL STRENGTHS SPRING 2016
9
3-D printers can’t actually make new skin; at least not yet. But creative innovators at Miami University are using 3-D printers to train health care workers to prevent one of the most serious health hazards in long-term care facilities — pressure sores. Thanks to strategic investments from the Ohio Department of Higher Education and creative university collaborators in southwest Ohio, the future of wound care will be changed forever, much to the relief of long-term care patients and their families. Over the past six months, $5 million in Regionally Aligned Priorities in Delivering Skills (RAPIDS) grants have been awarded across Ohio; the $1 million shared by Miami University, the University of Cincinnati and Cincinnati State Technical and Community College is being put to use in the medical and modern manufacturing fields. “The goal is to get regional universities to look for high-end equipment and infrastructure to align with workforce needs in the region,” said James Oris, Miami’s associate provost for research. “3-D printing is where we’re headed in terms of cost-efficient and modern manufacturing.” Bioengineers at Miami will use the 3-D printers to develop simulators used to train workers in nursing homes to monitor the condition of patients’ skin. This will allow for quick recognition of suspicious areas before pressure sores actually form, critical in the prevention and treatment of the problem. Socalled bed sores often are preventable, but remain a serious and costly medical problem in nursing homes. The annual cost of treatment exceeds $3 billion, so the value of prevention is clear. Jessica Sparks, associate professor of chemical, paper and biomedical engineering at Miami University, said the technology is used to scan areas of the body prone to developing problems and to reproduce tell-tale images from the skin of people from different ethnicity so workers can learn to recognize the signs for earlier intervention. The simulators will be developed for commercial use, and will have implications for workforce development and training. Sparks said numerous long-term care facilities are interested in training their staffs once the training curriculum is available. RAPIDS grants reflect the strengths of individual institutions and the business needs of their home communities. Cincinnati State will use RAPIDS grant money to expand workforce training in modern manufacturing, and the University of Cincinnati will build on its involvement in aerospace engineering. Meanwhile, in northwest Ohio, a $1 million RAPIDS grant will be used to provide mobile training units for the Advanced Manufacturing Training Center operated by the University of Toledo, Terra State Community College and Northwest State Community College, expanding the reach of the University of Toledo’s Scott Park Campus for workforce training in the region. Northeastern and central Ohio grants are being used to place telemedicine training units in classrooms, labs and training settings across the regions for students as well as incumbent healthcare workers. The southeast Ohio award is to be used for worker training in the energy industry through a collaborative formed by Washington State Community College, Zane State Community College, Belmont College and Eastern Gateway Community College.
SPRING 2016
SPRING 2016
10
GLOBAL CONNECTIONS ADD NEW DYNAMIC TO HISTORY COURSE Story and photo by Christine Shaw, Ohio University Students across Ohio University’s regional campuses and two students doing a semester abroad in Salzburg, Austria participated in an interdisciplinary – and internationally focused – course during spring semester. Among those students were OU-Zanesville history majors Troy Jones, Jared Keirns and Lauren Williams. “This course was different than any other course I’ve taken,” said Keirns, a senior. He added that the course incorporated projects with students from different locations and included mentoring by teacher candidates from Austria. “Incorporating technology and partnering with collaborators in other parts of the world adds another skillset to my education.” The pilot course, taught by Dr. Korcaighe Hale, associate professor of history, and Dr. Jenifer Cushman, dean and associate professor of German (both at the Zanesville campus), was designed to engage students with peers abroad through technology that emphasized student collaboration. Pedagogically, it approximated the benefits of overseas learning without the expense and complications of travel abroad. Jones, a junior, said, “It was great to see the material and then reinforce it through different perspectives and in multiple ways.” Throughout the module-based course entitled “Europe between the World Wars,” and the associated “Special Topics in Modern Languages,” students were presented with content that blended history and culture, incorporating technology to enhance their learning experience. “Adobe Connect allowed for one-on-one discussions, which was more comfortable for me,” said Williams, a College Credit Plus junior from Zanesville High School. “I appreciated the Austrian facilitators helping to keep our group projects moving.” Jones found the blending of culture, arts and history a unique approach and enjoyed the use of technology. “I liked how the course incorporated new things like Adobe Connect and WebEx so we could experience guest speakers we might not otherwise have in a traditional history class,” he said.
SPRING 2016
11 SPRING 2016
Lauren Williams (right) discusses with Troy Jones elements of a piece of artwork, which was the subject of her group’s narrated PowerPoint. Williams worked with Jesson Hill and Mitchell Moore remotely on the project as part of the Collaborative Online International Learning course.
“Having speakers who discussed various aspects of the art or film solidified the historical context and the personal perspective of what the people likely felt, under the Third Reich, for example,” Williams added. Using web conferencing, Cushman and Hale arranged for experts in art history, theater and modern languages to enrich the discussion of the curriculum, and aid the students in their group projects, which examined the artistic and cultural movements of the period. In one such meeting, Professor Nik Sathe conferenced in from Salzburg and presented a discussion and close reading of the film “The Blue Angel,” which the students had watched for homework. “The discussion about the archetypes of the characters and how they translate over culture bridged the importance of the downfall of the character that Americans are likely to have missed,” Jones said. The global and interdisciplinary philosophy used in this course is being expanded to additional courses over the coming year. The courses that will be updated to intensify engagement of cultural perspectives include “American Literature 1918 to Present,” “Introduction to Astronomy” and several communications courses. For more information about Ohio University’s Collaborative Online International Learning Initiative, contact Cushman at cushmanj@ohio.edu.
SPRING 2016
SPRING 2016
12
NAPOLEON HIGH SCHOOL SENIOR ALREADY BUILDING A SUCCESSFUL COLLEGE CAREER By Caronline Cannon
Ben Bowes, a senior at Napoleon High School, likely will need only two years at the University of Toledo to earn his bachelor’s degree in engineering. Thanks to Ohio’s College Credit Plus program, Ben already completed his first two years of college coursework at Northwest State Community College while still in high school. Ben actually began his college experience much
earlier. As
a
preschooler,
he’d
occasionally visit his father’s science lab at nearby Terra State Community College, where the elder Bowes taught engineering.
SPRING 2016
13
“I want to make an impact on society with the things I build” “This early exposure to science really sparked my interest in building things,” Ben said of his early immersion in Terra’s science lab. From there, his interest has only grown. When not in high school or college classes, Ben works part time at Napoleon-based Automatic Feed Corporation, a privately owned design manufacturer of coil processing equipment that serves the automotive industry. He met Peter Beck, the company’s vice president, when both were involved with a STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) partnership the company built with Napoleon City Schools and Northwest State. The program, now in its second year, operates out of Automatic Feed’s headquarters and focuses on skill-based careers. “Ben is an eager learner and enthusiastically embraces the practical applications of what he’s learned in college, in high school and, frankly, at home,” Beck said. “Ben has the qualities and characteristics that lead to success; he brings his best to every project, and takes a lot of pride in solving the kind of practical problems that arise in a manufacturing environment.” Ben has his own thoughts about what has contributed to his early success. “Being trustworthy, doing everything to the best of my ability and hard work are some of the most important characteristics a person can have,” Ben said. “If something has my name on it, I want to make sure it is perfect.” Ben will take the practical experience he’s had at Automatic Feed with him as he continues classes this fall. He’ll also take two scholarships; the Phi Theta Kappa scholarship and the renewable transfer scholarship will be awarded for both years that he attends the University of Toledo. For as much as he enjoys learning, Ben said he takes nothing for granted. After graduating with a mechanical engineering degree, Ben plans to attend graduate school to receive a master’s degree in business. “I want to make an impact on society with the things I build,” he said.
SPRING 2016
SPRING 2016
14
. n o i t a r i m ad
Make your summer a joy to remember. While summer’s only three months long, Ohio has an abundance of outdoor activities that will help you create priceless memories to last a lifetime. Download or order the FREE 2016 Ohio Travel Guide at ohio.org to find out more. Brandywine Falls in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park SPRING 2016
15
A special thank you to all of those who contributed stories, articles and quotes: Not Just a Pipe Dream Keelan McLeish
Washington County Career Center
Dennis Blatt
Washington County Career Center
Sinclair Takes Unmanned Aerial Systems to New Heights Ryan Honeyman Deb Norris Dr. Andrew Shepherd Sinclair Workforce Development
Sinclair Community College
Sinclair Community College
RAPIDS Grants Reflect Local Business Needs, Institutional Strengths Jessica Sparks James Oris Miami University
Miami University
Global Connections Add New Dynamic to History Course Christine Shaw Lauren Williams Ohio University - Zanesville
Ohio University - Zanesville
Troy Jones Jared Keirns Ohio University - Zanesville
Ohio University - Zanesville
Napoleon High School Senior Already Building a Successful College Career Ben Bowes Caroline Cannon Napoleon High School
The Ohio Department of Higher Education
Thank you for reading ConnectED. We appreciate any suggestions or ideas to improve this newsletter. We welcome story ideas, links to articles of interest, and news releases. Please send story ideas to Jeff Robinson at jrobinson@highered.ohio.gov.
SPRING 2016
SPRING 2016