The Williamsonian Winter 2017 | Page 7

Williamson Wins 1st Place In ‘ Ethical Leadership ’ Category Of Competition

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It is especially gratifying that we won the top award in a category that stresses ethics and leadership , two character traits we emphasize in all that we do at Williamson .”

Thomas Wisneski , vice president of research and assessment , said “ We received $ 5,000 as a first-place winner , but more importantly , this award further validates our approach to education in a meaningful way .”

In the first step of the competition , Wisneski submitted a lengthy application describing Williamson ’ s approach to education entitled “ Synchronizing Vocational Education and Character Development to Impact Employability .” It was one of 500 applications submitted from colleges and universities around the globe and was selected to be on the shortlist for a presentation in the competition .

Wisneski , who made Williamson ’ s presentation , entitled “ Williamson : Success Through Traditional Innovation ,” said most of the categories focused on technological innovation , but pointed out that sometimes approaches that have worked in the past or possibly in the margins can be adapted for current application .

“ Because we are not well known our approach to education can be seen as innovative . We provide a model that should find wide application to nurture employability and promote ethical leadership . Since 1891 , Williamson has pursued an innovative approach to vocational training through an immersive educational environment focused on character development . “ The success of our approach to education has been validated in several ways : We have a remarkable yield rate , with 94 percent of our applicants accepting enrollment ; we have a graduation rate of 74 percent , which is more than double the 29 percent national average ; and our job placement rate has been 98.8 percent over the last five years .”

Additionally , he said , Williamson ’ s model has been independently corroborated by a 3-year , $ 2.5 million study funded by the John Templeton Foundation and conducted by the Institute for Applied Research in Youth Development at Tufts University that demonstrated that Williamson provides a model of how a trade education can be an invaluable tool in enriching the lives of diverse Americans , a model that should be followed by other schools .

Wisneski ’ s presentation was limited to a 2-minute video and 5-minute talk in which he focused on two aspects of Williamson ’ s approach to education : our apprenticeship model , in which students begin as an apprentice their freshman year , become independent workers as juniors , and become supervisors as seniors , and our highly structured immersive program designed to develop character-driven leadership .

Williamson ’ s award , which was presented for the first time at this year ’ s conference , was sponsored by the World Economic Forum , which wanted to acknowledge success in encouraging students to adopt leadership roles ; interrogate the question of leadership , examining and critiquing current leaders and models of leadership ; examine the ethical implications and consequences of leadership and the decisions with which leaders are faced ; and initiate projects in which they direct leadership qualities towards pursuits with positive ethical outcomes .

They further stated that it is not enough to equip students with the skills necessary to become leaders . It is also necessary that tomorrow ’ s leaders be conscientious , responsible , and morally conscious .

Through a contact of trustee Ed Mahoney , President Michael Rounds and Arlene Snyder , vice president for institutional advancement , were made aware of the Reimagine Education 2016 competition . Michele Minicozzi , director of grants and research , coordinated the submission of the school ’ s application , and Ross Deitrich , creative director , built our PowerPoint presentation and directed our video .

Williamson Is Now In The ‘ Power Library ’

You can now explore some of Williamson ’ s historic photographs and documents in the comfort of your home on your computer by visiting Power Library , Pennsylvania ’ s Electronic Library , thanks to the efforts of Lesley Carey , Williamson ’ s archivest .

Hundreds of other collections from across Pennsylvania are also available at this site .

To see Williamson ’ s collection , go to : http :// digitalcollections . powerlibrary . org / cdm / landingpage / collection / awsmt-wtsh .

Rowan Hall Dining Room Is Expanding

An architect ’ s rendering of the expanded dining room in Rowan Hall .

Work will begin this spring on the expansion of the dining room from its current capacity of 220 to 367 , allowing for the entire student body to eat at once as well as many others .

The new dining room , in addition to being capable of hosting large events , will also include a small private dining room for special luncheon meetings , have improved traffic flow , and a new food line . It will also include new tables and chairs and some new equipment .

The creation of a lower level below the dining room is also included in the

Williamson History Book Is Now Available

Williamson College of the Trades , a history book written by Neumann University history instructor Andrew Miller , featuring a foreward by President Michael Rounds , and printed by Arcadia Publishing , is now available .

Miller spent one and a half years researching and writing the book about Williamson ’ s past and gathering the photographs , many of which are rare .

Miller is giving talks on the book at 2 p . m ., on March 3 , at the Middletown Free Library , 21 Pennell Road , Lima ; project that will house Health Services , the chaplain ’ s office , a 30-seat conference room , and allow for the expansion of the Student Clothes Closet .

The project is being funded through a generous donation by Lee Rowan to the “ Building for the Future ” capital campaign . The architectural design was completed by Kevin Blackney 7W6 of the firm Blackney Hayes Architects . Work will be completed by Wohlsen Construction Co ., of Lancaster . The new facilities will be available for use by fall semester 2017 .

and at 7 p . m ., Monday , March 20 , at Lima Estates , 411 Middletown Road , Media , PA .

Williamson is selling the book for $ 20.00 at various special events , such as Alumni Day and Homecoming , and the College Store in person or online at https :// www . williamson . edu / store / williamson-history-book /.

It is also available for $ 21.95 at Arcadia ( arcadiapublishing . com ), Amazon ( Amazon . com ), and Barnes & Nobel ( BarnesandNoble . com ).

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Commencement Awards Omission

James T . Jensen 1W6 was inadvertently left off the list of seniors who received the Academic Honors Award for attaining a cumulative grade point average of 3.5 or better at the 123rd Commencement on June 3 in the fall 2016 issue of the Williamsonian . We regret the error .

Andrew Miller ( left ), the Neumann University history instructor who wrote Williamson College of the Trades , in the lobby of Rowan Hall with his book and President Michael Rounds .