Ohio Association of Two-Year Colleges

Conference 2012 

Our annual conference will be hosted this year by Lorain County Community College on Friday, October 12, 2012.  The theme for this year's conference is "Creative 'Spaces' for Quality Engagement."  Make plans to join us!  We will have approximately 40 conference presentations in just over half a day! 

Register Now!
We are now accepting conference registrations.  Download the registration form and register now. Register before September 28, 2012 to receive the early bird registration rate of $80.  After September 28, registration will be $90.  If you plan to come up the night before, here is a list of the preferred conference hotels as well as directions to LCCC.

Keynote Speaker
Joe Williams is the Head of Access Services for the University Libraries at the University of North Carolina, Greensboro. Williams is the author of “Teaching With Technology: An Academic Librarian’s Guide” (2007) and he is also the editor of the Journal of Learning Spaces. His current research is around Learning Space Planning and and its impact on student learning.

More about the Conference
This year’s theme, "Creative 'Spaces' for Quality Engagement," highlights how successful educational experiences should take the environment into account.  The emphasis on this theme is "spaces," which can be thought of as formal or informal, actual or virtual spaces.  How can these spaces enhance student to student, instructor to student and content to student interaction?
 

We have received nearly 50 conference presentation proposals from among the following topics: 
●  Pedagogical issues related to the creative use of the physical spaces in the classroom
● Visual Spatial Learning methods
● Use of virtual mediums for distance education (e.g., SecondLife)
● Descriptions of non-traditional spaces in two-year college education (i.e., science, nursing, reading or math labs, culinary arts classrooms, criminal justice and police science classrooms, etc.)
● Use of informal study spaces on campus or in the virtual world
● New kinds of faculty development spaces
● Spaces devoted to student veterans
● Descriptions of capital improvement plans to foster student to student, instructor to student and content to student interaction

Conference questions may be directed to conference chair Mary DiGiandomenico.

Teaching Awards
Please join us at the conference as we recognize all nominees for the Full-time Teacher-of-the-Year Award and for the Adjunct Teacher-of-the-Year Award.  All nominees will be celebrated and recognized during the conference luncheon.  And, of course, we will announce the winners at that time.  Please contact Dr. Tim Vierheller for additional questions.  The nomination process for 2011-2012 is now closed. 

At the 2011 conference, the OATYC recognized and celebrated 32 nominees for full- and part-time Ohio two-year college teachers of the year.  The top teachers were as follows: Angela M. Heaton (article about Heaton's award) of Rhodes State College for the full-time award and Charlene McDaniel of Cincinnati State Community and Technical College for the adjunct award.  Congratulations to both winners and to all 32 finalists!

Teaching Grant  

The Teaching Grant supports two-year college faculty in developing projects that enhance teaching and learning in their classrooms. Please download the directions and key dates.  The Call for Proposals is now closed.  For questions, contact Vicki Rostedt.

The OATYC awarded two teaching grants in 2011.  Janet Thompson of the University of Akron won for her proposal "Finding Density – A Laboratory Experience to Promote Success in Basic Math."  Also winning the award was Jeneen Furaha Henry-Jones, of Sinclair  Community College, who won for her proposal "Facing Fears: Affect, eBooks, and the Digital Divide."  Congratulations to both winners! The teaching grant is awarded each year to the faculty member who submits a proposal that best enhances teaching and learning in his or her classroom. 

Davis-Zimmerman Student Scholarship
The first Davis - Zimmerman Student Scholarship was awarded at the 2011 conference.  The inaugural scholarship recipients were Rhodes State College students Rickie Contreras and Danielle Jenkins, who shared the award. Congratulations to both recipients!  This year's recipient will be a student from 2012 conference host Lorain County Community College. 

Journal
The OATYC annually publishes a refereed journal.  Please consider submitting your research and/or conference paper to our refereed journal.  Submissions are accepted year-round, and proposals are blind reviewed for acceptance.  Journal submission information is available. 

OACC
Information for trustees of Ohio's two-year colleges is provided by the Ohio Association of Community Colleges which was founded in 1993 as a forum for sound trustee training, communication, and trustee-president cooperation.

OFSCTC
The Ohio Faculty Senate of Community and Technical Colleges, established in 1995, is made up of representatives chosen by the faculty from each two-year college in Ohio.   The OFSCTC, which meets five times annually in the offices of the Regents, provides the voice and perspective of the two-year faculty to the Chancellor and Regents on the relevant issues facing higher education.

University System of Ohio
The University System of Ohio was launched in August 2007 to promote Ohio's network of public colleges and universities--which includes 13 universities with 24 branch campuses, a public medical school, and 23 two-year technical and community colleges--working in a collaborative, cooperative environment across the state. 

AACC
The American Association of Community Colleges is the primary national advocacy organization for community colleges, with the mission of "building a nation of learners." 

Historical Slide Show
Please enjoy a short historical slide show of photos showing the growth of Ohio's two-year college system. This slide show was compiled for our 40th anniversary conference (2007) by Board member Vicki Rostedt and her team at Summit College of the University of Akron.