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Updated: 7:17 p.m.
Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2015 | Posted: 4:18 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2015
O’dell Owens leaving Cincinnati State
By http://www.journal-news.com/staff/ed-richter/" rel="nofollow - Staff Writer
MIDDLETOWN —
Dr.
O’dell Owens is leaving his job as president of Cincinnati
State, which operates a branch campus
in Middletown.
Owens
was hired Tuesday as the medical director for the Cincinnati Health Department,
according to Jean Gould, Cincinnati
State’s vice president of
marketing and communication.
Wednesday
marked Owens’ last day as president at the university, she said.
“I’ve
decided, after devoting five great years to Cincinnati State,
it was time for me to move on,” Owens said in a press release. “The Board of
Trustees is moving in a new direction that would not require all the talents
and expertise that I have used for the past five years. It is time to bring in
someone who can take Cincinnati
State to the next level.”
Provost
Monica Posey will serve as interim president, according to Cathy Crain, the
college’s board chairwoman.
Crain
said a national search will be launched to find a permanent successor to Owens.
“The
Board would like to thank Dr. Owens for the contributions he has made, raising
the stature of the institution and bringing all of our political and corporate
friends to campus making them aware of the college’s initiatives and
achievements,” Crain said.
Dr.
Owens was named the fifth president of Cincinnati State
in August 2010. At that time he was serving a second term as Hamilton County
Coroner.
T.
Duane Gordon, executive director of the Middletown Community Foundation and a
member of the Cincinnati State Middletown Advisory Committee, said at their
meeting last week, Owens asked everyone to keep the news private until it was
announced.
“Dr.
Owens had worked quite diligently developing a relationship with local leaders
in the Middletown area as he led the creation
and growth of the Middletown campus of Cincinnati State,” Gordon said. “He was a true champion
of the idea of the Middletown
campus after it was handed over to him by his predecessor and his board. He was
an innovator, as evidenced by the unique business partnership that made the
campus possible with no financial risk to Cincinnati State.”
Gordon
said Owens’ personal story, which he shared so eloquently at various meetings
and banquets throughout Middletown
the past several years, of being told as a child that he was too stupid for
college really informed his passion for helping those who did not see
themselves as “college material” to take a chance and further their education.
“I
think over the past several years of his tenure there, he really helped shape
the college – and especially the Middletown
campus – into a place where the people who were not comfortable in a
traditional college environment could find that they did belong,” Gordon said.
Sam
Ison, Middletown City Schools superintendent, said the district enjoyed working
with Owens over the past few years.
“He
understood what we were trying to do with our students after they graduate and
while they were in school,” Ison said. “The Midd State Academy program was developed and has
been very positive experience… He was able to connect his story of his life
with our students here and served as a role model for us.”
Ison
said he anticipates the partnership between Cincinnati State
and the school district to continue to grow and continue to be a positive
relationship as it has been.
“Dr.
Owens made a huge impact for us – he drove the new campus in Middletown
forward,” said Denise Hamet, Middletown’s
economic development director. “He gave confidence to all of us that we could
do this. We value the Cincinnati
State team, and we
continue to enjoy a great relationship with them. The campus is creating unique
partnerships and programs that continue to benefit Middletown.”
Hamet
said the city is focusing its economic development efforts on workforce
development as a top priority and that the city’s our access to two higher
educational institutions as well as two joint vocational schools really gives
the community an advantage.
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