Academic & Campus News

Clayton Hall now features modern-day comforts such as air conditioning and two-person suites with private bathrooms, as well as new windows and LED lighting to improve energy efficiency.

MAJOR RENOVATION TO CLAYTON HALL,

SEVERAL BEAUTIFICATION PROJECTS IN THE WORKS

Ashland University completed a major renovation to one of its largest residence halls this summer and is also undertaking a series of campus beautification projects that together will transform the main campus into a safer, more accessible and more picturesque environment. These enhancements are being made possible by two significant financial gifts, totaling nearly $20 million, from Dwight Schar ’64.

A large-scale facelift to Clayton Hall has converted the nine-story, co-ed facility that can house up to 266 upperclassmen into a modern-day living space. Schar’s $8.4 million in funding was used to make it fully air conditioned for the first time and every floor features a series of two-person suites, each with a private bathroom. Additionally, a new roof, new windows and LED lighting have been installed to make it a much more energyefficient building.

“As we renovate, reconfigure and refresh Clayton Hall, we are creating the more comfortable, private and independent living spaces that students are looking for. This renovation will give new life to the 50-plus-yearold residence hall,” said Rick Ewing, vice president of operations and planning.

A second major gift of $10.4 million from Schar will result in a number of beautification updates to help enhance the campus. Some of these projects are in progress and others will take place throughout the 2022-23 academic year: 4 Library Café – A café will be added to the first floor of the iconic Archer Library as part of the general library renovation project. This new glassed-in atrium structure will enclose the existing northern patio and create an inviting presence for students as well as the entire Ashland community. 4 Convocation Center Plazas – Outside the John C.

Myers Convocation Center, two outdoor plazas will be constructed, one adjacent to the Lower Convo entrance and one adjacent to the Upper Convo entrance. These additions will create highly functional and attractive spaces at one of the most frequently accessed buildings on campus. 4 Claremont Ave. Streetscape and Pedestrian

Bridge – These two highly visible elements of campus are overdue for some aesthetic improvements. Major landscaping and sidewalk upgrades will be completed on each side of Claremont Ave. to soften this area and improve pedestrian safety. Plus, the pedestrian bridge will be refurbished in another significant effort to vastly improve this side of campus. 4 Avenue of Eagles – The central pedestrian area through campus will undergo a transformation, reworking the walkway between the academic corridor and the student center. The reconstructed pathway will improve accessibility through the center of campus and include an arch to enhance brand identity in that area of campus.

4 Jefferson Street Area – Transitioning Jefferson St. from a cut-through street between Claremont Ave. and Broad St. into a pedestrian walkway to the athletic complex will be more visually appealing and add to the atmosphere on game days.

4 Welcome Center Parking Lot – A parking lot between the

Gill Welcome Center and the Military and Veteran Resource

Center will be expanded to 125 spaces and redeveloped to provide a convenient and well-landscaped area for campus visitors and commuter students.

4 Brick Walkway Replacements – The brick sidewalks in front of Founders Hall and on the Quad will be replaced. This effort will include the reconstruction of both Jones’ Terrace and the Quad flagpole plaza.

4 Wayfinding and Branding Signage – An extensive effort is in progress to improve and refresh the signage throughout campus, while also achieving consistent branding and messaging. “The historically distinctive beauty of the Ashland University campus will be enhanced on a grand scale with these beautification projects, while at the same time improving safety, accessibility and functionality for the campus community and visitors,” noted Ewing.

THREE NEW DEANS APPOINTED

AS WELL AS LEADER OF DEI

Ashland University has welcomed four senior-level leadership additions over the past few months, as Lisa Vernon-Dotson was named the new dean of the Dwight Schar College of Education, Katherine T. Brown the dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, Shawn Orr the dean of eAshland and Brielle Nettles the executive director for diversity, equity and inclusive excellence. Vernon-Dotson came to AU from Rowan University in Glassboro, N.J., where she served since 2014. She was associate dean for Rowan’s College of Education as well as a professor and chair of the department of interdisciplinary and inclusive education. Vernon-Dotson has also held faculty and/or administration positions at Coastal Carolina University, Duquesne University and Hampton University. She has taught at both the undergraduate and graduate level, chaired multiple dissertation committees and been a consultant on accreditation for several universities.

Brown had been in various roles at Walsh University since 2011, including as dean of the School of Arts and Sciences since July 2021. She began at Walsh as an assistant professor of art history and advanced up the ranks to an award of full professor in 2020. Her leadership roles there included being the director of the honors program for one year and leading five Global Learning programs to Rome and London. She was also a visiting scholar at the American Academy in Rome during the summer of 2019 and currently serves on the board of the Italian Art Society. Orr was the interim dean of eAshland, which offers non-credit-bearing programming, professional learning services, workforce development, English language learning and the dual-enrollment College Credit Plus program, prior to her permanent appointment. She will also provide oversight of the Center of Innovation and Teaching Excellence and LearnAU, while remaining an assistant professor of communication studies. Orr, with more than 25 years of higher education experience as both a faculty member and administrator, is a leader in faculty development and online/hybrid learning, and has developed and taught 20-plus business and communication courses across multiple modalities at several different institutions. Nettles is excited to be joining AU at what she aptly describes as an “important time of institutional growth” and looks forward to making an impact with “the meaningful work set before (her).” She served as the director of student equity and inclusion at Clark College in Vancouver, Wash., and as the associate director of the Greenfield Intercultural Center at the University of Pennsylvania, in addition to roles at the Maryland Institute College of Art and Fordham University. She has provided consultation and training to leaders in higher education, reviewed policies with a DEI lens, identified barriers to equity and recommended changes based on DEI research and best practices.

Lisa Vernon-Dotson

Dean, Dwight Schar College of Education

Katherine T. Brown

Dean, College of Arts & Sciences

Shawn Orr

Dean, eAshland

For its exceptional emphasis and support of military-connected students, Ashland was awarded a Collegiate Purple Star from the Ohio Department of Higher Education.

ASHLAND A MEMBER OF FIRST CLASS OF

COLLEGIATE PURPLE STAR CAMPUSES

Ashland University was awarded a Collegiate Purple Star by the Ohio Department of Higher Education this May. Ohio became the first state in the nation to adopt a Collegiate Purple Star designation, and Ashland was one of nine independent colleges and universities (33 total, including public colleges and universities) in Ohio to earn the honor.

The Collegiate Purple Star recognizes colleges and universities that are supportive and inclusive of militaryconnected students. The designations were determined by an advisory committee, which reviewed applications and recommendations, and the designation will be active for a period of three years.

Due to Ashland’s exceptionally strong emphasis and support of military-connected students, highlighted by its Jack W. Liebert Military and Veteran Resource Center, Carlos Campo was one of three college presidents requested to make remarks during the conference call announcing the statewide recipients. “Ashland is privileged to be among the schools in the inaugural class to receive the Purple Star designation. We would like to recognize Randy Spade for his leadership as the executive director of the Jack Liebert Military and Veterans Resource Center and also thank Deborah Liebert Karl, whose generosity helped us honor her father and establish the center,” he said. Criteria for being chosen as a Collegiate Purple Star include having a dedicated military/veteran point of contact and/or office on campus, establishing priority registration for veterans and service members, surveying student veterans and service members and their families about needs and challenges and allowing for the establishment of student-led groups and organizations for veterans and service members.

Ashland meets those criteria and then some. Its Jack W. Liebert Military and Veteran Resource Center opened in 2020, after years of planning and development, and serves as a hub for military-connected students to transition from military service to campus life. Support for student veterans includes assistance with the admission process, registration and GI Bill processing, financial aid, academic advising, mental health counseling, career development and more. The Jack, as it is affectionately known on campus, also includes spaces for military students to study, as well as to relax and share a sense of camaraderie.

“Ashland is honored to receive this Purple Star designation from the state of Ohio. It affirms our commitment to our military families and we are so grateful to be among the first recipients of this very special award,” said Spade.

PAIR OF ALUMNAE WIN

MILKEN EDUCATOR AWARDS

Two Ashland University alumnae – Kristen Maurer and Jamie Karaffa – received Milken Educators Awards, dubbed as the “Oscars of Teaching,” this spring. Maurer graduated from AU with a bachelor’s degree in early childhood education in 2014, while Karaffa earned a master’s degree in American history and government in 2021.

An initiative of the Milken Family Foundation, Milken Educator Awards provide recognition and a one-time, unrestricted financial reward of $25,000 to individual elementary and secondary school teachers, principals and specialists from around the U.S. who are furthering excellence in education. Recipients are heralded in early to mid-career for what they have achieved and for the promise of what they will accomplish.

Maurer, this year’s lone Milken Educator Award recipient who teaches in Ohio, is a kindergarten teacher at Midvale Elementary, part of Indian Valley Local Schools in Tuscarawas County, where she was once a student herself. Described as expressive, caring and genuine by her colleagues, Maurer makes learning interactive and fun by prioritizing differentiated instruction to fit student needs. Whether in-person, remote or hybrid learning, she balances science-backed literacy instruction with character-building to prepare students for success in school and life.

“There are not enough words to describe how honored I am to win such a prestigious award. I was completely shocked and … seeing how happy my family and friends and even my students were for me to win this award made my entire world,” she said.

Kristen Maurer ’14

Midvale Elementary

Jamie Karaffa ’21

Whittier Middle School

Karaffa has been an eighth-grade social studies teacher at Whittier Middle School in Poland, Maine, since 2014. She is lauded for her ability to help students understand the connections between history and their own lives and for preparing them for long-term research projects that they present at the school’s National History Day. Students learn the essentials of research, including locating sources and evaluating their reliability, forming thesis statements, finding evidence to support their ideas and structuring their arguments in a clear, compelling way. Many have been recognized for their work, including one project that was displayed at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History.

“My gosh, that’s a huge honor to be considered one of the top educators,” she said of the award. “I’ve worked really hard in the history realm, doing the MAHG program, which (through) my understanding and my experience is one of the hardest master’s programs. Doing that hard program and earning the James Madison Fellowship, I think that made me feel good in my place as a (historian), but now I can feel like I’m being recognized for the teacher I am and not just the subject I teach.”

ASHLAND ALUMNA, FACULTY MEMBER EACH

HONORED BY OHIO ARTS COUNCIL

An Ashland University alumna and an AU faculty member were recognized by the Ohio Arts Council with Individual Excellence Awards, a peer recognition program for a creative artist’s body of work. Ashley Bethard ‘08, who was recently promoted to editor and chief content officer of the Dayton Daily News, and Kelly Sundberg, an assistant professor of English, were both honored for their work in the non fiction category. Bethard was awarded for a book she has been working on about the loss of a sibling due to a heroin-fentanyl overdose. A distressing subject, she explores themes such as family, place, grief and land, and how they are interwoven. One part of the winning submission was an essay, “Grief Work,” which has been published in “VIDA Review.” “I’m incredibly honored to receive a grant from the Ohio Arts Council. For the last few years, I’ve been working on a draft of a book about the loss of my sibling … it’s a book about the complicated ways we love and feel loss,” Bethard stated. “I plan to use the grant to take some time away to write — to really tap into that quiet, focused state that I need to move this draft closer to completion.” Sundberg is an AU professor who also teaches in MFA in Creative Writing program. She plans to use the grant to complete her second book, tentatively titled “The Answer Is Always in the Wound.” It is a collection of linked essays about post-traumatic stress disorder. Sundberg’s first book, a memoir, “Goodbye, Sweet Girl: A Story of Domestic Violence and Survival,” was critically acclaimed. “The honor means a great deal to me because I’m working on very difficult material that can be hard to execute in a lyrical manner, and the validation of a jury of peers who recognize both my efforts and accomplishments gives me new energy to finish this book,” said Sundberg. “I plan to use the grant money to fund dedicated time during the summer for my research and writing, and I’m grateful to the Ohio Arts Council for both this recognition and the incredible amount they do to support the arts in Ohio.” The Ohio Arts Council is a state agency that funds and supports quality arts experiences to strengthen Ohio communities culturally, educationally and economically. The OAC’s Individual Excellence Awards program supports artists’ growth and development and recognizes their work in Ohio and beyond.