Alumni Hall of Fame Awards
About the Alumni Hall of Fame Awards
Sponsored by the Owens Community College Foundation, the Alumni Hall of Fame Awards are prestigious honors presented annually to recognize the achievement of outstanding Owens alumni who have excelled personally and professionally, making a continued and significant difference in their community on a local, state, national or international level.
Class of 2026 Alumni Hall of Fame Award Recipients
School of Liberal Arts
Andrew R. Kleopfer
2018, Associate of Arts (Communications)
2020, Bachelor of Arts (Theatre/Acting)
Expected 2027, Master of Arts (Theatre and Dance – Teaching Artistry)
Andrew Kleopfer’s path from Owens Community College student to performing arts educator reflects a deep commitment to creative education and community-centered storytelling. After earning his Associate of Arts in Communication Studies from Owens in 2018—where he was inducted into the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society—Kleopfer went on to earn a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre/Acting from the University of Toledo and is currently pursuing a Master of Arts in Theatre and Dance Teaching Artistry at Wayne State University.
His professional acting career took him to Chicago, where he was an alumnus member of both Oil Lamp Theatre and Three Brothers Theatre, building the artistic foundation he now brings into the classroom. He returned to the Toledo area and is currently a Performing Arts Teacher at Whitmer High School, where he has developed a comprehensive CTE performing arts curriculum emphasizing creative risk-taking, ensemble work and student-devised original productions.
A highlight of his early tenure at Whitmer was an inaugural Festival of Student Work, a one-of-a-kind evening of original performances, spoken word and reimagined scenes created entirely by his students. He also founded The Lords of Drawing, a fully licensed LLC touring theatre company based in Northwest Ohio. Prior to his current role, Andrew worked as a substitute teacher at the Toledo School for the Arts, where he supported a positive learning environment and reinforced strong communication and classroom management practices.
Kleopfer has maintained a strong connection to Owens since graduation, appearing in several Owens productions and mentoring current students. He is also a published poet, with his collection “The Eternal Optimist” released in 2023.
School of Business, Hospitality Management and Public Safety
Edward J. Kubiak
PMI-ACP, MBA
1997, Associate of Applied Business
Bachelor of Science (Business Management)
Master of Business Administration
Edward Kubiak’s relationship with Owens Community College spans more than three decades, first as a student, then as a longtime adjunct instructor and, most recently, as a full-time faculty member. That arc is a testament to both his loyalty to the institution and the breadth of a career that has taken him from the college’s computer lab to leading global software development teams across four countries.
Kubiak enrolled at Owens in 1995, earning his Associate Degree in Applied Business in 1997 while also working in the campus Computer Lab to support fellow students. He later completed a Bachelor of Science in Business Management at the University of Findlay and a Master of Business Administration from Bowling Green State University. He holds the PMI Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP) credential and is a Certified ScrumMaster.
His industry career culminated in a 17-year tenure at InMoment, where he rose to Senior Director of Software Engineering, overseeing global agile development teams in the U.S., U.K., Germany and India and generating more than $1 million in annual savings through strategic vendor transitions. He was a two-time nominee and recipient of the company’s President’s Award.
Throughout his corporate career, Kubiak never stopped teaching. He served as an adjunct instructor at Owens for more than 20 years before transitioning to a full-time role in January 2026 as Computer Information Services Instructor and Coordinator in the School of STEM, where he also serves as Owens’ representative for the Ohio Cyber Range.
School of Nursing and Health Professions
Nilgün Sezginiş,
Ph.D., MPH, RHIA,
FAHIMA, CCS-P
2004, Associate of Applied Science (Health Information Technologies)
2006, Bachelor of Science (Health Care Management)
2008, Master of Public Health (Administration)
Dr. Nilgün Sezginiş began her college journey as an adult learner, balancing a full-time career as a medical coding specialist with coursework at Owens Community College. She earned her Associate of Applied Science in Health Information Technologies in 2004 and has spent the two decades since building one of the most decorated careers in health information management/public health education in the region.
After graduating from Owens, where she was inducted into the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society, Dr. Sezginiş served as an adjunct instructor in Owens’ Health Information Technology program from 2004 to 2008. She went on to earn a Bachelor of Science in Health Care Management from Franklin University (summa cum laude), a Master of Public Health from the Northwest Ohio Consortium for Public Health (summa cum laude), and a Ph.D. in Health Education from the University of Toledo in 2020, completed while serving as a full-time program director and maintaining a five-course teaching load.
Since 2013, Dr. Sezginiş has served as Senior Lecturer and Program Director of the Health Information Administration program at the University of Toledo, where she created the university’s first fully online Quality Matters-certified baccalaureate program. She has published four peer-reviewed journal articles and earned numerous honors, including the 2024 American Health Information Management Association Fellow designation, the 2022 University of Toledo Distinguished University Lecturer title, the Alice H. Skeens Outstanding University Woman Award, and the 2021 Ohio Health Information Management Association Professional Achievement Award.
Beyond academia, she has served on the Wood County Board of Health since 2013, where she was instrumental with the start of the dental health clinic — including as Board President in 2024-2025, Vice President in 2022-2023, and volunteers at vaccination clinics as a Medical Reserve Corps member and as a translator for Turkish-speaking refugees through US Together, Inc.
School of Science, Technology, Engineering and Math
Mark White
1992, Associate of Applied Science (Automotive Technology)
Mark White graduated from Owens Community College in 1992 with an Associate of Applied Science in Automotive Technology and immediately set about building a career defined by technical excellence and a passion for lifting others. Within a year of graduation, he earned ASE Master Automotive Technician certification, later adding Advanced Engine Performance, Alternative Fuels and Public Transit credentials.
After a decade working as a lead technician and trainer in independent repair facilities—and a brief stint as a technical equipment trainer for Snap-On Tools—White discovered that teaching, not selling, was his calling. He completed the University of Toledo’s Career Technical Education program in 2004 and was hired as the automotive instructor at Whitmer High School in Washington Local Schools, where he spent 15 years transforming a struggling program. Enrollment grew from 45 students to 150, with a waiting list. He replaced 15 non-functioning shop vehicles, secured Snap-On tool sets for all juniors and seniors, launched a freshman small-engines curriculum and established a senior work-placement pipeline connecting every graduating student to a local automotive shop.
White remained connected to Owens, returning as an adjunct instructor from 2005 to 2010 to teach brakes and electrical systems. He later co-developed a public transit technician training program with TARTA and joined Ohio Virtual Academy in 2019, where he served as a career counselor before stepping in to revitalize the Engineering & Design pathway, a role he now holds full-time.
A SkillsUSA district coordinator, longtime mentor to former students and dedicated community volunteer, White credits Owens as the foundation of everything that followed.