At the Nov. 9 Wesleyan Council on Student Affairs (WCSA) meeting, student representatives were encouraged to invite their classmates to run for student government.
By the start of the full senate, over ten positions remained unapplied for. The application to join WCSA for the next term can be found on their website and is due Nov. 13.
After some brief introductory remarks, senator Jessica Choate, a junior and chair of the residential affairs committee, introduced her “Let There Be Lights” project to the assembly.
In response to concerns about student safety, Chotae organized an early morning walk-through of the Williams Drive area to determine where street lighting could be improved upon or added to.
Choate proposed that lamp assemblies for existing lights be upgraded, LED lighting be added around Williams Drive, LED porch lighting be installed outside fraternity houses and a wall pack be mounted outside the Haycock art building.
Choate also proposed that the $6200 project be funded by WCSA’s rollover funds.
When Choate had finished making her report to the senate, WCSA’s vice president, senior Emma Drongowski, called for a vote.
Students at Ohio Wesleyan almost missed donating blood this semester. But Circle K, a community service club at OWU, collaborated with the American Red Cross to bring the bloodmobile, a donation center on wheels, to campus.
âThe American Red Cross, comes to Ohio Wesleyan three times a year, twice in spring semester and once in fall. This semester the blood drive almost didnât happen,” said Circle K president NâToia Hawkins, a senior. âIt usually takes place in the Benes Rooms, but this semester it was booked. I contacted Fred Moses, the representative for OWU at Red Cross, and he suggested the bloodmobile.â
It was the first time the bloodmobile had come to OWU. Even though âit was easier to set up and very successful,â Hawkins feels that âthere might have been a loss of donors due to lack of space.â
âIt was my first time giving blood in a bloodmobile,” said sophomore Haley Jacobson.
âIt felt strange and claustrophobic at first, being in such a tight space. But the nurses, doctors and volunteers comforted me throughout the experience.â
âOnce I was at the table, I forgot I was in the parking lot of our student center. Overall it was a great experience and I would donate blood in a bloodmobile again,” Jacobson continued.
Sophomore Kimberly Liang said, âIâve always donated blood at a center but this was a completely different experience. It was comfortable but the space was just too tight, but it didnât matter because it all goes to a good cause.â
âA lot of people are unable to donate due to whatever reason, and there are other ways they could help, by providing their time and volunteering at these blood drives,â said a nurse on the mobile, who requested to be anonymous.
The bloodmobile will not be returning for next semester, as the Benes Room has already been booked for the spring semester blood drive.
A search committee has been created to find a new leader of student affairs at Ohio Wesleyan University.
The committee to hire a new dean of students is chaired by psychology professor Vicki DiLillo and will soon begin to engage the campus to determine the needs of the position.
Other faculty members on the committee include professor of fine arts Kristina Bogdanov, professor of zoology Shala Hankison, professor of mathematics Craig Jackson and professor of theatre and dance Ed Kahn.
The committee has not yet met to go over strategies for the search, but plan to convene at the end of this month.
Vicki DiLillo shared her thoughts on the committeeâs current situation.
âThe search committee has been appointed but has not yet met,â DiLillo said. âThis means that we still need to collaboratively develop a position description, discuss the primary characteristics we’re looking for in our future student affairs leader and develop a more specific time frame for this search.â
Rock Jonesâs predicted what the committee would be looking for in a recent campus wide email.
âI anticipate there will be a strong focus on student success and engagement, with measurable outcomes related to retention and graduation rates, in addition to traditional services associated with student affairs,â Jones said. âThe title of the position may change as an outcome of the conversation about the most pressing needs for support of students at this time in Ohio Wesleyan’s history.â
The committee hopes there will be a person selected for the position by spring break.
Professor William Louthan in Gray Chapel. Photo from the OWU website.
Many students know William Louthan as the politics and government professor with a penchant for constitutional law and judicial politics. But in his 43-Âyear tenure at Ohio Wesleyan, he has also served as provost for 14 years and president for one.
Louthan has much to say when it comes to how Ohio Wesleyan has changed in the last few decades, what it was like to be the Provost and then thrust into the presidency, and what âcrucial ingredientâ is lacking in American politics today.
The interview has been condensed for space.
Q: Youâve served many different roles on campus since you began working here in 1972. What brought you to OWU back then?
A: My Ph.D. adviser had graduated from Ohio Wesleyan back in like 1919 or something, and he wanted me to teach at his alma mater. So, he called me and encouraged me to apply for this job, which I did. I came here in June of 1972.
Q: What has kept you at OWU for over 40 years?
A: Well, itâs interesting because when I came here I had never been affiliated in any way with a small college. I was an undergraduate and graduate student at Ohio State, went to law school at Michigan [State University], and I taught at American [University] in Washington D.C. So, although I was a native of OhioâIâm from Akron originallyâI really didnât know much about small liberal arts colleges. I had never lived in or around a small town. But, after having been here just a short period of time, I concluded that being a liberal arts educator was the best of all possible jobs.
Q: Why is that?
A: I think it has mostly to do with the possibility of teaching exclusively undergraduate students, so itâs not a matter of training students to do or be anything, but rather to take people who are between 18 and 22 years old who may or may not yet know what they want to do with their lives and contribute to giving them the kind of education that will serve them well pretty much no matter what they do. I say that and it sounds simplistic, and itâs not something that would ever have occurred to me before I got here. Itâs something I sort of learned on the job.
Q: In what ways has OWU changed since 1972?
A: Obviously, the campus appearance has changed a great deal. And Iâm not referring simply to the new natatorium, or the new fitness center, or the refurbishment of Merrick. When I came here there was no JayWalk, for example. Chappelear Drama Center opened its doors the first month I was here… The student population is smaller now. The faculty and staff population is smaller now. But, the things that do matter havenât changed I think. I noticed when I came here that we had an extremely strong faculty. During the years that I was the Provost, I was convinced we had the strongest faculty of any liberal arts college of our sort. And now that Iâm obviously toward the older end of the generation of faculty members, I look back on where we were and where we are now and Iâm just proud to say I think that among our peers in the GLCA [Great Lakes College Association], the Ohio Five, the United States generally, youâd be very hard-pressed to find a stronger teaching faculty than we have here… We provide the best possible kind of liberal arts education, and I donât think thatâs changed…
Q: You were also Provost for a number of years. What was that like?
A: The Provost is the chief academic officer and the second ranking executive officer. The part about that job that I like and I think the reason that I aspired to do it was the academic side. I think that at a truly strong college or university…there are two things the faculty must be in control of. One of them is faculty personnelâthe hiring, promotion, pay and benefits of its faculty. And the other is the substance of the curriculum. Faculty personnel policies should be developed by the faculty. Academic and curricular requirements should be developed by the faculty. Those things should be done without interference. And itâs the Provostâs job to work with the faculty to implement faculty personnel and academic policies, so thatâs why I aspired to do it and thatâs why I did it for 14 yearsâsimply because I enjoyed it.
Q: Why do you no longer hold that position?
A: Fourteen years is probably long enough for anyone to do it… I was Provost from 1991 to 2005, and in â93 to â94 I was acting president. That was a job that I did not enjoy, but since the Provost is the second ranking executive officer…and the prior president left to go to another job, and it takes frequently a year or more to search for and hire a new president…whoever the Provost happens to be then would normally be the acting president. So, that was the way it was. I more or less had to agree to do it, and I did it. Without boring you with the details of what it takes to be a college president and what you have to do if you are a college president, I can tell you I didnât like it much at all. I was happy to return to being Provost when that ended. But, I was still relatively young when I became Provost, and I never imagined that I would be Provost my entire career. I always expected that I would come back to teaching at some point, because thatâs my first love.
Q: Did anything happen during your year as President that still stands out to you?
A: There were no major issues of crisis for the college as a whole during that year, fortunately. The reason I remember it being a very difficult and demanding year was that, while I was acting president, I was also serving as Provost. We didnât hire someone to be acting Provost, so I was Provost and acting President at the same time. And, I was also on the search committee for the president, so it was almost like a third job…so I just think of those 12 to 15 hour days doing a lot of stuff that wasnât very much fun. But thatâs just the personal side of it… One thing that immediately comes to mind is that there was a student death that occurred on campus, which is always a tragic event, and having to deal with that studentâs parents and friends and faculty and advisers…was very, very difficult. It was a suicide, so thatâs part of what made it very, very difficult… The most painful thing I remember about that entire 14 months was that studentâs death.
Q: How did your interest in politics and government begin?
A: You know, I think it was so long ago it is hard for me to identify a time. I can remember as early as the midÂ-1950s not only being interested in elections, but thinking that I wanted to be a lawyer and go into politics myself. And, I was just fascinated by political figures and elections. I didnât understand a lot of it then. Of course, the way you learned about it back then was much different. There were only three TV networks, black and white TV, and 15-minute to a half hour news programs, and so you werenât saturated with political news and information as you are in the modern era… Having a law degree seemed to be one of the ways you got into politics, and so long before I had any idea what it would actually mean to be a lawyer, I aspired to get a law degree simply so that I could get involved.
Q: You specialize in judicial politics and constitutional law. Is there anything regarding those subjects that most Americans donât know, but should?
A: Lots of things. Frequently people will ask me, âDoes it ever bug you when youâre either teaching common law or talking to people about common law when people articulate strong positions on the Supreme Court decisions that you disagree with?â And my answer is always the same: it doesnât bother me at all when people express informed opinions, no matter how different from my own personal views they may be. What bothers me is people asserting facts, history, contents of decisions inaccurately. Clearly, all Americans are entitled to their own opinions, but they are not entitled to their own facts. I think one of the major problems we have in American politics and government today is that too many people, both on the political left and the political right, talk only with other people who think the same thing they do. They hear a story about what the Supreme Court has decided or what Congress has done thatâs compatible with their own political ideology, so they come to believe it… But the fact is that they are ignorant, and I use the word ignorant here in a non-Âpejorative way. Simply, they donât have the knowledge. They donât know, but they think they know…
Q: Any advice for students looking to pursue careers in politics and government?
A: I think anyone doing that today needs to develop a tolerance for ambiguity and, perhaps more than ever before, a pension for civility. The most notable, crucial ingredient American politics is lacking is civility…in our political discourse. Motivation to change the world and make it a better place is a noble objective, but without a tolerance for ambiguity and a pension for civility youâre not going to get very far, no matter how noble your objectives.
Itâs easy to be green with the new reusable takeout containers in the HamiltonÂ-Williams Food Court. And soon it may be even easier.
The âgreen container program,â implemented by Chartwells and the Wesleyan Council on Student Affairs (WCSA) this fall, allows students to save takeout containers from reaching the landfill by placing a $5 deposit on a reusable container.
âItâs just another step toward a more sustainable campus, and thatâs something we can all get behind,â said junior Jessica Choate, chair of the Residential Affairs committee and the author of WCSAâs endorsement of the program.
According to WCSAâs Oct.12 minutes report, there is a possibility of pulling disposable takeout containers and permanently replacing them with green containers if the program rises in popularity.
Since its startup, the eco container program has saved about 1,100 containers from being thrown away, said Chartwellsâ resident district director Gene Castelli.
âBut there is a long way to go,â Castelli said. âThis is not a decision Chartwells can make, rather, it will be a decision made through student government.â
He estimated that WCSA will not force the green containers until student participation is at about 75%.
Currently, only about 200 of the 80 dozen containers are be used per day, Castelli said.
The number of paper products Chartwells orders weekly varies, Castelli said, but that number would greatly decrease if all of the green containers were used or if they replaced disposable takeout containers.
âWhile reducing the landfill is the goal, the current program is the best environmental course we can take when using disposable containers,â Castelli said.
The Food Courtâs disposable containers are biodegradable, according to Chartwellsâ website, but the green containers reduce landfill waste and can be reused.
The challenge for some students is the responsibility of returning the container, Castelli said.
What students may not realize is that the eco containers can be returned for a refund at any time.
Eco containers have a leakÂresistant design, are highly durable, microwave safe for reheating and cost nothing, if students return them.
However, disposable containers give the Chartwells team time to clean, dry and return containers for service, Castelli said.
Though it may be a while until disposable takeout containers are replaced with eco containers, âthe important fact is for every eco container used, thereâs one less container that gets thrown out,â Castelli said.
Ohio Wesleyanâs redesigned website is up, running and accessible to all your devices (including smartphones).
The website hasnât had a full redesign since 2006 or 2007, according to project manager Lindsay Mauter.
In that decade, how we access the Internet has changed dramatically.
âAll research points to the fact that students begin their college search online, on devices, so it’s important that this website is happening now,â Mauter said.
The Office of Communications collectively decided, along with President Rock Jones, to invest in a full redesign last November, said Will Kopp, OWUâs chief communications officer.
âThe new website will be more attractive, cleaner, better organized, completely compatible with any kind of device, and under one domain, rather than the 70 sub-domains we have now,â he said.
With enrollment on a steady decline, the new website aims to attract more prospective students.
âProspective students use university websites as a way to window shop,â Kopp said. âOur goal is to make them click… find something interesting about our school that makes them want to go deeper into the website.â
Fastspot, the company in charged of the redesign, interviewed students and faculty last January to discover why they think Ohio Wesleyan is unique. Their findings are emphasized in the design.
Photo galleries on the homepage highlight OWUâs abundance of double majors, study abroad opportunities and graduate success.
Each department page features photos of the faculty members and their classrooms.
âProspective students want to know who their faculty is going to be, what their classrooms are going to look like,â Kopp said.
A âfrom our perspectiveâ section displays opinions of faculty, students, and distinguished alumni alongside their photos. These will be updated regularly and faculty are already sending in quotes they want to publish, said Kopp.
Current students will find the same benefits as other users of the site, including easier navigation and better search capability, Mauter said.
Kopp said, âThe website will give current students more opportunity to interact and to be a bigger and more visible part of the community.â
The bottom of the website bares an Instagram feed, where students can have their pictures featured if they tag #OhWooo or #BattlingBishops.
Fastspot made many successful university websites in the past, including that of nearby Kenyon College, Kopp said.
He added that prior to launching, the company will conduct usability tests with people who are not familiar with the university website. They will use those results to fix any last-Âminute navigation issues.
The redesign gives the university more opportunities to grow, and puts us on a level playing field or a notch above our competition, Mauter said.
The communications office will work out any bugs that come up with the website, but encourages students to reach out if they need help or have questions or requests, Mauter and Kopp said.
Ohio Wesleyan womenâs lacrosse assistant coach died Monday morning.
Jim Leake, who was entering his third season as an assistant for the Bishops, had 20 years of coaching experience at the high school lacrosse level.
He most notably started the womenâs lacrosse program at Bishop Watterson High School.
Members of OWUâs womenâs team and the OWU community have not been told details of Leakeâs death. The women on the team appreciate everything he did for the program.
âNot only was he a fantastic lacrosse coach on and off the field but (Leake) was such a caring, funny and genuine person,” womenâs lacrosse player Nicole Sanczyk said. âHis life lessons and advice are with us forever. (He) dedicated his own time for us and we are all so grateful to have such unforgettable memories with him.â
âEverybody loved him.â
Leake was a native of Worthington, Ohio and graduated from Ohio University in 1974.
Check back at owutranscript.com or pick up a copy of the Transcript for updates to the story.
Students can expect one more change to Ohio Wesleyan’s food services this fall. At the Nov. 2 Wesleyan Council on Student Affairs (WCSA) meeting, senators learned that Dominos has become OWU’s off-campus pizza provider.
This means that students can use their off-campus food points for Dominos delivery and takeout.
Senior Jerry Lherisson, president of WCSA, told senators that “Dominos will be checking ID numbers and photos at the door when they are delivering.”
Lherisson went on to tell senators that WCSA has a budget surplus and needs to think of ways to spend the extra money.
“We have a great deal of rollover funds,” Lherisson explained. “When clubs ask for an amount of money and they don’t use it for whatever reason, we have extra cash. Right now we have a large amount of rollover funds.”
When asked about the exact surplus figure, Lherrison and senior Emma Drongowski, vice president of WCSA, said the number hasn’t been finalized, but that it is “substantive.”
Drongowski told senators that potential projects for the surplus budget are “things that are one time costs. It’s not like a long-term program that’s being set up because we don’t have the infrastructure to sustain that kind of thing. But we’re excited to spend this money that is from students, for students.”
Lherisson made it clear that WCSA is open to input from all sources.
“If you have any specific ideas please get comment cards in,” Lherisson said.
After senators took some time to remind students about the upcoming election via social media and email, the meeting adjourned.
At the Oct. 26 Wesleyan Council on Student Affairs full senate, senior Meghan Byram invited her fellow senators and the student body as a whole to participate in this year’s academic forum.
The forum will be held on Nov. 3, at noon, in the Benes Rooms. Topics under discussion will include “online class sessions, academics in general and the way we do academic advising,” said Byram.
“This might be only one of the times that students can talk with faculty members in a formal setting” about those issues, Bryam continued. “We are trying to get as many different people as we can to come to this: different students, faculty and student groups.”
The forum will be OWU’s second.
Emma Drongowksi, a senior and vice president of WCSA, also announced that interim Dean of Students Kurt C. Holmes is forming a committee to evaluate the university’s alcohol policy.
He is “looking for some students to be a part of it. If you have strong opinions or want to learn a little more about how we deal with alcohol, you should get involved with that,” Drongowski said.
Senior Jerry Lherisson, president of WCSA, stood up to clarify his partner’s comment.
“We’re not going to have a massive overhaul on how we assess alcohol here,” Lherisson explained. “This is much more to see how we are in line with state and local laws and to see if there has been any new insights in terms of programming or support.”
After Halloween cookies were distributed, the full senate meeting was adjourned.
Every spring and fall semester, the Career Services hosts a career fair for students of all class years with the hopes of helping them grow their connections and find an internship or even full-time job.
About 56 employers attended this yearâs career fair, which took place on Oct. 23 in the Benes Rooms. Also attending the event were about 31 graduate schools.
Leslie Melton, director of Career Services, said they gather attendees through âa database of employers and the companies they work for which post internship and full time positions as well as graduate school admissions.â
Melton said that in addition to using their database to get employers to attend, Career Services representatives go to networking events and attend other schools career fairs looking for employers that have not yet attended the fair.
Melton went on to say that âabout four or five Ohio Wesleyan alumni were in attendance of the career fair. Usually if the alum cannot attend, they send another representative from their company to attend in their place.â
Melton said the benefit of having an OWU alum attend the event is having a sense of familiarity and likeness on campus. Also, being able to set up meetings on campus with the appropriate people who can help them recruit the necessary students.
Melton said âthe ultimate goal of the career fair is to get familiar with the world of work, gain experience with presenting yourself and possibly growing your connections and find a job.â
Career Services encourages all students to attend the fair including freshman: âsome freshman have been offered internships and all freshman who attend will gain valuable experience.â
Senior Jerry Lherisson said âI have attended a career fair every year since freshman year. I mainly go just to see the opportunities that are out there. It’s a generally good way to network and learn about the breadth and depth of different paths that are possible after graduating Ohio Wesleyan.â
Lherission believes, âat the very least, the career fair exposes students to an aggregate of learning opportunities that they normally wouldn’t have a chance to see in one place.â
According to Melton, of the students that come to the fair looking for full time jobs, every year there are students offered jobs from connections made at the fair.
âLast year, Cincinnatiâs Children’s Research Hospital hired about 6 people from Ohio Wesleyan,â Melton said.
The Career Services marketing intern, senior Jimmy Sanzone, said âI was excited to go and talk with a bunch of different employers, even some that I wasn’t originally considering. It’s a great way to network which has become such a vital part of getting a job after graduating.â
Sanzone said about 300 students were in attendance at the fair.
Career Services will also be holding an internship and summer job fair during the spring semester. Graduate schools will not be in attendance, however everyone is encouraged to attend because fullÂ-time job employers can still appear.
On Jan. 29, the Ohio Foundation of Independent Colleges will be holding a career fair in Columbus. Career Services will be offering transportation to this event.
Another upcoming opportunity is the Teach Ohio fair for teaching positions in April. This fair includes an interview portion and students can be offered positions on the spot at.
Melton said âthe good thing about career fairs is that you get to put yourself in front of an employer and talk in person. Where as when you apply to a job, you can feel like youâre dumping your resume into a pool as applications that may never get looked at.
In the future, Career Services is considering holding a twoÂ-day fair because of the increasing size of the people attending the fair and the limited space on campus.
