2 minute read
Engaging Organizations and Corporations
BUSINESS SUPPORT // BY BOB SANDRICK
A new office at Baldwin Wallace brings new business services.
Baldwin Wallace University in Berea has more to offer businesses and nonprofits than just talent recruitment. The problem is that many organizations, including some already working with the school, don’t realize that.
That’s why the university opened the Office for Corporate and Organizational Engagement. Business and nonprofit leaders now have a place where they can learn about all of the ways Baldwin Wallace can help them.
“Baldwin Wallace has a long track record of working successfully with companies and nonprofits,” says Lacey Kogelnik, executive director for corporate and organizational engagement. “We actually do it well.
“The point of this initiative is to make it easier and more seamless for businesses,” Kogelnik adds. “My job is to help them navigate the university so they don’t have to figure it out on their own.”
The office, which opened last fall, is housed in the existing Center for Innovation and Growth and uses classroom space the center no longer needs due to classroom expansion at other parts of the campus.
For years, Baldwin Wallace has provided a variety of services — including marketing, research and professional development, as well as talent recruitment — for companies and nonprofits.
For example, Sherwin-Williams Co., in addition to recruiting future employees at Baldwin Wallace, sends its managers to the university’s Leading for Business Results (LBR) leadership development program, offered through the School of Business and Center for Professional Development. About 30 to 40 Sherwin-Williams employees from around the world attend the LBR program at any given time.
“LBR is at the point in the career pathway where people move from managing others to managing managers,” Kogelnik says. “Over 800 people have gone through the program since its implementation.”
Baldwin Wallace has also partnered with FirstEnergy, Swagelok, OEC, Parker Hannifin and Westfield Group on student-supported consulting projects led by faculty members. The school can perform market research for a potential new product or service, for example, or collaborate on company-sponsored research projects.
It was Baldwin Wallace President Robert Helmer who recognized the need to increase awareness of the university’s offerings to businesses and nonprofits and create a single access point — the Office for Corporate and Organizational Engagement — for those offerings.
Kogelnik was chosen to head the office because of her experience at Baldwin Wallace. She has worked at the university for 17 years and was previously director of the school’s Center for Innovation and Growth.
“I have a pretty deep knowledge of the university,” Kogelnik says. “If I don’t know the answer, I know who to call. We have faculty and staff across campus who have the knowledge, including a core group of 35 who are working with me on this initiative.”
When companies or organizations call the engagement office for one reason, let’s say recruitment, Kogelnik will talk with them to get a better understanding of their needs. Then she will assemble an engagement team to determine how to meet those needs. Baldwin Wallace can even come up with customized solutions.
“That’s our sweet spot, customized solutions,” Kogelnik says. “We are nimble, and we have experts across the campus. If you have a need, I’m confident we have an expert to help.”
Kogelnik wants the new office to be a go-to resource for businesses and nonprofits.
“I believe in Baldwin Wallace, the institution and the people, and I believe we can make a positive contribution to the community,” Kogelnik says.
