September 2020 Newsletter

The Chronicle 

Thank you for taking the time to read our monthly newsletter. We would love to hear from you and get your thoughts on what you want as an alumnus of Franklin. You play a major role in advancing Franklin’s mission to provide a high quality education to the broadest possible group of learners, and we will never take that for granted.

Alumni Spotlight

Stacey Armstrong, MBA (’09)

Stacey Armstrong is the chief operating officer (COO) at OhioHealth Riverside Methodist Hospital. Stacey originally joined OhioHealth in 1991, as a medical technologist at Riverside. She then transitioned into management positions that progressed into leadership roles at both Grant and Riverside.

From 2010 to 2015, she gained experience in various vice presidential roles including vice president of ambulatory care services and vice president of operations at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.

Stacey returned to OhioHealth in 2015 to assume the role as vice president, specialty practice operations, OhioHealth Physician Group. Prior to her current role as COO at Riverside, she served as chief operating officer, and then president, at Grant.

In addition to her current role, Stacey is also the co-accountable executive for CareConnect (Epic), OhioHealth’s electronic medical record. She also serves as the operational liaison to the Administrative Fellowship Program, and is the accountable executive for an OhioHealth Joint Venture Endoscopy Board.

Stacey received her bachelor’s degree in medical technology from Indiana University and her MBA from Franklin University.

Stacey lives in Westerville with her husband, Alan. They have four daughters, two sons-in-law and four granddaughters (with a fifth on the way). In her free time, she enjoys reading and spending time at Indian Lake with her family.

Summer Teaching Award Recipients Announced  

Congratulations to this trimester’s recipients of the Robert L. Bailey Teaching Award: Rachel Choudhury, adjunct nursing faculty, and Bruce Trumm, adjunct marketing faculty.

Rachel Choudhury has been an adjunct faculty member at Franklin since 2012. During her time with Franklin, she has taught undergraduate nursing courses domestically and internationally. Her teaching approach includes mentoring and role modeling excellence in nursing care, leadership and education.

Rachel graduated from Otterbein University in 2008 with her master’s degree in nursing administration. She is currently conducting her dissertation as part of the Doctor of Healthcare Administration program at Franklin. In her 20 years as a professional nurse, Rachel worked as a staff nurse in general medical-surgical and oncology specialties, and served as a clinical educator for one of Columbus’ major hospital systems.

Bruce Trumm has been an adjunct instructor at Franklin since 2004. During his time with Franklin he has taught undergraduate and graduate business classes with an emphasis on marketing and international business. He also has served as a visiting scholar at the Modern College of Business and Science in Muscat, Oman, and is currently a content expert in undergraduate global marketing and a certified instructional coach at Franklin.

Bruce graduated with a bachelor’s degree in economics from Union College in Schenectady, New York, He served three years with the U.S. Army that included time as a battery commander on the DMZ in South Korea in 1970. He earned an MBA from the University of Toledo, and is currently a student in the Doctor of Business Administration program at Franklin.

For more information on Rachel and Bruce along with information about the Bailey Award click here.

Two Franklin Faculty Members Receive 2020 Central Ohio Social Justice Awards 

Congratulations to Dr. Chenelle Jones, assistant dean, Community Engagement, and chair, Public Safety programs; and Dr. Alex Heckman, department chair and program chair, Public Administration, on their selection for Educational Advocacy and Public Service 2020 Central Ohio Social Justice Awards.

The Social Justice Awards is an awards ceremony dedicated to honoring outstanding social justice leadership. Recipients are nominated by members of the community and those engaged in the social justice movement for their outstanding work and leadership.

Dr. Chenelle Jones: Education Advocacy Award Within Higher Education

Widely recognized as a superb scholar and important contributor within the community, Dr. Jones’ was named to Columbus Business First’s Forty under 40 list; and she is the author of The New Jane Crow: Mass Incarceration and the Denied Maternity of Black Women, which was chosen as the Outstanding Author Contribution in the 2018 Emerald Literati Awards. 

Dr. Jones received her Ph.D. in the Administration of Justice from Texas Southern University in Houston. Her research interests include race and crime, policing and juvenile delinquency. To further her academic interests, Dr. Jones serves as a member of several community and professional organizations, such as the National Director of Research for the Teen and Police Service (TAPS) Academy, a federally funded program designed to reduce social distance between police officers and youth. She has also written numerous articles and book chapters on public perceptions of the police, race and the administration of justice, and is the co-editor of A Critical Analysis of Race and the Administration of Justice.

Dr. Alex Heckman: Public Service Award (Individual)

As public servant for more than 20 years, Dr. Heckman is noted for his diligence to the community, including serving as a Westerville School Board member, a performance audit manager for the Ohio Auditor of State, and a non-partisan budget and policy analyst for the Ohio legislature. He currently serves the people of Westerville as a member of Westerville City Council and volunteers for Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) of Franklin County. Dr. Heckman’s key accomplishments on City Council include championing multiple programs to help low income residents, enacting a LGBTQ non-discrimination ordinance, and advancing sustainability and public transportation initiatives.

MCM Launches Speaker Series for 20th Anniversary

Register Today for the 20th Anniversary of Franklin’s M.S. in Marketing & Communication (MCM) Program & the launch of Franklin's Marketing Speaker Series! 

In-demand Marketing Skills for You & Your Organization: 2020 & Beyond 
Thursday, Oct. 8, 2020 
Noon-1 p.m. EDT

Join us for this free virtual lunchtime forum on how to BE and ATTRACT the best marketing talent for the market challenges and opportunities of 2020 and beyond!

GUEST PANELISTS: PORTFOLIO CREATIVE CO-CREATORS
•    Catherine Lang-Cline, president 
•    Kristen Harris, chief operations officer 

In 2005, Catherine Lang-Cline and Kristen Harris founded Portfolio Creative after years of working in the creative industry. Since they both served as client and talent, they were able to create a business model that makes sense to both client and talent when finding the right match. Their award-winning creative staffing company now fills a need in Columbus and the surrounding region. Portfolio Creative specializes in assisting clients find the right people for all areas of marketing and advertising with roles such as, but not limited to, copywriters, graphic designers, web designers, fashion designers, traffic coordinators and account managers. These roles can be project, temp, temp-to-hire, or direct hire based on the client’s need. 

Virtual Hiring Events 

The Franklin University Center for Career Development is partnering with the Workforce Development Board of Central Ohio (WDBCO), OhioMeansJobs Columbus-Franklin County (OMJCFC), One Columbus and the Columbus Chamber for the Central Ohio Re-Employment & Resource (CORRE) Virtual Hiring Events. These events are designed to provide you with an opportunity to connect with businesses that have available positions and are ready to hire – all, without leaving the comfort of your home. 

Virtual Event: Thursday, Sept. 24 (8 a.m. EDT)-Saturday, Sept. 26 (11:59 p.m. EDT) (Register to receive the link).

After registering, you will be able to access your profile to review your information and upload a résumé through the add document feature. The link below will return you to the event log-in portal to review your profile and access the event once it goes live on Thursday. You can access the hiring event from 8 a.m. Thursday through 11:59 p.m. Saturday. During the virtual hiring event, you can go through each booth, learn more about the company and apply for available positions. You also can message the employer if you have questions about a position listed.

Have questions or need assistance? Please email careerdev@franklin.edu.

Are You Now Facilitating Hybrid or Distance Learning for Your Child at Home?

We know this spring was tough, and this fall might be a little tougher. Please know, we’re all in this together. At Franklin, we pride ourselves on making sure our students have all the resources they need, and now, we are expanding our database to include Learning Support for Parents. We have developed and continue to expand our database of resources to help parents, family members and friends who have found themselves as distance-learning facilitators for the children in their lives.

Find resources for math, reading & writing, helpful reminders, virtual field trips, and more at www.franklin.edu/parents. Best of all, we’re continually adding resources to this page so make a note to check back on a regular basis.

Don't Wait - Continue Your Education at Franklin - Get Your First Class FREE

Do you have your undergraduate from Franklin? Have you been thinking of returning to school for your master’s degree? We want to help get you started! You can get your first master’s-level course at no cost. That is a $2,680 scholarship to any of Franklin’s master’s programs.  

In addition to the graduate scholarship, you can also take advantage of Franklin’s new Tuition Guarantee. With the guarantee, you can lock-in your tuition from your first term through graduation – as long as you remain actively enrolled. 

You can learn more about the graduate scholarship here! 

Please note: The free class offer is only available to graduates of Franklin’s bachelor’s degree programs.

1902 Campaign Challenge: We're in The Home Stretch 

Thank you to the alumni who have responded to the 1902 Challenge. As we move into our fall term we see the need continue for students who need a little extra boost to complete their degree. The University has made steps toward this goal with our tuition reduction, tuition guarantee and more scholarships. 

If you haven’t made a contribution to The 1902 Campaign, there is still time! The 1902 Campaign enables donors to help students maximize their tuition as every dollar raised will go toward the Make It Possible Fund. The Make It Possible Fund gives alumni a unique opportunity to pay it forward by impacting students who have a financially challenge situation. For every recurring monthly donation of $19.02, an anonymous donor will match the donation—up to $5,000 total. 

To give to the 1902 Campaign click here!

Podcast 

Last month the Office of Community Relations hosted part two of our talk with Dr. Joanna Williamson and Denise Kestner on the topic of “Soft Skills During Difficult Times.” In part one we talked about what soft skills are and why they are important to originations. In, part two our guests break down why soft skills are even more important during difficult times.

This month we have Dr. Bruce Ramsey. Our conversation surrounded Leading for Innovation in the New Normal. 

Future Podcast Featured Guests

• September: Roger Rawlins, Designer Brands Chief Executive Officer  
• October: TBD, Leadership from Landid LLC 
• November: Dr. Christopher Washington, Franklin University Provost 
• December: Dr. David Decker, Franklin University President

You can catch up on all of our podcasts by clicking here to listen!

Office of Community Relations Holds EQ Event with Dr. Doug Ross

Thank you to the many alumni who attended our EQ webinar on Sept. 23. As we continue to offer events virtually we continue to ask for your feedback. Please email aaron.cassady@franklin.edu to provide your feedback on events or for topic ideas! Make sure to check out our upcoming events below:

Upcoming Events 

October. 8: MCM 20th Anniversary Marketing Speaker Series Launch.
November: Understanding your IRA with Dr. Martina Peng
December: Annual Coat Drive (Details TBA)
January: TBA

Did You Know

Always leading in innovation and education, Franklin offered its first online class in 1998!

Your Donation Matters - THANK YOU! 

Team Behind the Newsletter