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Owens to Host Ohio Two-Year College Conference for First Time in More Than 20 Years

Dr. Michael Pfahl, Owens Associate Vice President of Academic Affairs

Owens Community College will host the Ohio Association of Two-Year Colleges conference Friday, October 9, the first time in more than two decades the statewide event has come to campus.

The OATYC is made up of faculty and staff from state-assisted two-year colleges and university branch campuses conferring associate degrees. Seventy-nine individuals from 14 schools will attend, along with five OATYC board members, including the president.

After registration and breakfast in Heritage Hall, the day opens with an unusual keynote: a panel of 10 high school juniors and seniors from Toledo Public Schools and Penta Career Center, who will tell an audience of college faculty and staff what higher education means to them.

Dr. Michael Pfahl, Owens associate vice president of academic affairs, proposed the format because faculty members usually do not know why a student chose to attend a particular school. His goal is for the students’ viewpoints to set the tone for the rest of the day.

“The students were asked to be honest and state what each believes, even if that statement includes, ‘I have no interest in college,’” Pfahl said. “Those unfiltered thoughts and perspectives need to be heard if we are to understand the modern higher educational context and undertake the necessary planning and actions to exist within it.”

The theme of the conference is “Through the Looking Glass: Reimaging Higher Education’s Classrooms, Connections and Communities,” referencing the 19^th century literary work of Lewis Carroll. The choice was no accident, according to Pfahl, who said current issues faced by institutions of higher education require “innovate approaches to student success, institutional resilience and community building.”

“Our conference theme was chosen specifically for this work since we all know what the issues are, and we wanted attendees to bring solutions and not revisit or restate the problems,” Pfahl added.

The primary goal, he said, is to challenge perspectives. From there, the conference is meant to spark new ideas and solutions and give attendees the confidence to pursue them.

Following the keynote, the day’s schedule includes three 50-minute sessions that explore topics such as artificial intelligence, multidisciplinary teaching and student engagement.

“With a single-day conference, we have limited time, so it is important to bring presentations that cut to the heart of a situation and give participants the space to make connections, both with each other and among ideas,” Pfahl said.

“I use the phrase ‘shaking up the snow globe’ often, and that is what the conference purports to do. It is also my hope attendees return to their institutions to do the same. If we are meant to deal with contradicting legal requirements or adverse fiscal situations, then we are much like Alice finding her way through Wonderland. Openness to imagination and willingness to make an attempt could carry us all a long way, just like it did for her.”

Pfahl said hosting is also an opportunity for Owens to showcase its Toledo-area Campus and to convene colleagues from around the state in an environment where “the next generation of strategies and activities could be developed.”

Pfahl received the assignment more than two years ago and has been steadily working toward the event since then. He credited a weekly work schedule and regular meetings with the Owens Center for Teaching and Innovation Committee with keeping planning on track.

“We might not solve everything in a day,” Pfahl said, “but the next steps toward a different future will start here at Owens.”