Staff and Faculty Acknowledgements

When unjust killings against a black person take center stage in the media, it creates a deep-seated pain that stems from years of inherited racial trauma. As time moves on and the news stories' subjects change, black professionals are still aching for the lives taken while experiencing increasing frustration and fear for the lives of their families and themselves—all the while expected to complete their job expectations optimally.

While facing these realities, Josie Evans- Phillips, Assistant Dean of Inclusive Innovations and Community Partnerships within the College of Education, Criminal Justice, Human Services, and Information Technology (CECH), has remained resilient. She continues to reach out to community groups to find opportunities for students of color and work alongside her internal peers to facilitate uncomfortable conversations.

In the spring of 2020, Dr. Sarah Manchak faced a racial dilemma. While Manchak was teaching a course, a student wrote an inappropriate message regarding race during an online lecture. Shortly after, she presented Evans-Phillips with this circumstance, to which she began receiving the help she needed to tackle the issue. She and Manchak came to terms with approaching this situation, what should be said, and how to conduct the meeting. 

CECH Director of Student Recruitment and Marketing rethinks business operations during the pandemic

During the COVID-19 pandemic, colleges and universities worldwide had to reconfigure their recruitment and marketing plans to maintain positive enrollment numbers. Although community colleges and many four-year universities experienced an overall decline of 2.5% of fall enrollment in 2020 (Inside Higher Ed, 2020), the University of Cincinnati made record enrollment despite coronavirus pressures with an 11% increase the past decade (Biz Journals, 2020).

With a quick response from the president's office at the beginning of the pandemic, and senior leadership throughout the university making swift and responsive decisions, UC more than exceeded its enrollment expectations. The enrollment success is mostly due to cultivating a blended online learning and operating environment and establishing innovative and unique recruiting and marketing tactics that would meet the moment's need. For the College of Education, Criminal Justice, Human Services, and Information Technology (CECH), Director of Student Recruitment and Marketing, Teneisha Dyer, faced the challenge head-on. Strong relationship-building skills, thinking "outside of the box," and determination, Dyer, led CECH's recruitment team to a 6% increase over prior year (undergraduate and graduate combined).

When UC responded to the global pandemic by closing its offices and moving to a remote environment, Dyer had a planned vacation that she selflessly dropped to ensure a seamless transition for her team. Before working remotely was primarily decided, Dyer was one of the college's first leaders to make that decision out of concern for her team's health. "I knew I had to make sure my team and their families were safe. It wasn't a second thought that my team would work from home".

As the team set up their home offices to become fully operational, Dyer got right to work. In-person events swiftly turned virtual; she worked with the senior leadership within CECH to develop creative financial opportunities to incentivize students to confirm their acceptance. She charged the recruitment and marketing team to think of ways to leverage social media to reach and engage students. Out of that effort came "Meet Your Major," a recruitment campaign/event carried out via Facebook. The event consists of live sessions through Facebook where admitted students and their families would have an ample opportunity to connect with faculty and current students to learn more about their expectations once they began the fall. "We truly capitalized and leveraged the platforms that we had access to, whether it is zoom or texting capabilities, and I was the first of the university to do that."

Since the early 2000s, collegiate institutions began noticing a lack of ethnic diversity within the campus setting. In 2000, only 111,000 Hispanic students enrolled in bachelor's programs across the nation (Postsecondary National Policy Institute). Compared to today's enrollment numbers, where over 292,000 Hispanic students enrolled in secondary degrees, the prevalence of the Latino community continues to grow at the university level. At the University of Cincinnati, the shift towards a culturally rich learning environment has followed suit, with many campus resources and faculty contributions.  

Michael Odio, an Associate Professor in Sport Administration within the School of Human Services, spends his time advocating tediously for opportunities for Latinos on campus. However, he began his academic career studying the inner workings of how labor is managed in sport. This interest in the sport industry allowed Odio to pursue the various issues that impacted every employee involved, from interns and seasonal stadium workers to the organizers of the World Cup and Super Bowl. As the son of Cuban immigrants who had lived in cities with large Latino populations like Miami and Houston, his transition to Cincinnati led to deeper reflections about cultural and racial disparities in the United States.

Soon after arriving in Cincinnati, Odio engaged with the Cincinnati Latino community through attending various meetings and events hosted by groups such as The Greater Cincinnati Latino Coalition, The Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, and other volunteering-focused groups aimed to propel the Latino community into a culture of equal opportunity within the city.