A new leader for Owens
Search for next president at Owens Community College every bit as important to region as University of Toledo’s search.
The Editorial Board
Fri, 22 May 2020 04:00:00 GMT
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Much attention has been paid to the search for a new leader at the University of Toledo, but the announcement that Owens Community College President Steve Robinson will leave for a new job later this summer means that another key educational institution will be in search of a new top executive.
And like the University of Toledo, Owens plays a unique and vital role in the northwest Ohio ecosystem of higher education. Owens’ board of trustees must find the right new president who can lead the school through several challenges in the coming years.
Steve Robinson was not at the Owens helm long, being named president in April, 2018 after serving as interim president since 2017. But Mr. Robinson’s energetic leadership and focus on student success and the needs of the region were what Owens needed.
The opioid epidemic of recent years has contributed to a longstanding difficulty for companies that cannot fill jobs with skilled workers.
Owens Community College — with its nursing, criminal justice, hospitality, manufacturing, and other programs — produces the skilled workers that these companies need. It is the school that offers training to local students so they can stay in the area and fill local jobs.
It is an institution vital for the economic development and growth of the region.
And Owens has had its struggles in recent years. Mr. Robinson’s short tenure began as Owens was emerging from the state’s fiscal watch list with hopes of turning around a long slide in enrollment.
As with the economic crisis of a decade ago, recovering from the coronavirus crisis will require local students to be able to get quality, affordable secondary education close to home. Owens Community College has a role to play in that and in the long-term growth of the region.
Mr. Robinson was praised by college trustees for his able hand as a member of the senior leadership team that developed and executed the plan that brought Owens Community College out of fiscal watch.
Now, as the school must once again search for a new leader, those trustees must look for an experienced leader who can keep Owens on a good financial footing and grow the programs that the region’s students and employers need.