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KSU campus looks toward Chardon for expansion
(by Joseph Koziol Jr. - November 11, 2010)
KSU campus looks toward Chardon for expansion
By JOSEPH KOZIOL JR.
Education opportunities could be expanding into the Chardon area.
David Mohan, dean of the Geauga campus of Kent State University, approached Geauga County Commissioners last week with "very preliminary" discussion on offering classes somewhere in the Chardon area. He said the idea is to offer "entry-level" classes for those seeking to further their education.
Talks also have begun between Mr. Mohan and Chardon Mayor Phillip King about a possible home for the classes, he said.
County Commissioners said they would offer their support to the effort.
"Anytime you have an educated work force, it is more attractive to employers," Commissioner Tracy Jemison said.
To find that new home, Mr. Mohan said, will take cooperation like he found in the city of Twinsburg.
He said the KSU Geauga branch began offering classes in the city of Twinsburg in 1990 in the former Chrysler plant. In 1996, he said, the city provided a generous offer of an old 1921 school building for $1 a year. It eventually served 900 students.
Mr. Mohan said the campus is in the process of building a 44,000-square-foot building in that city to serve those and future students.
He said he would be seeking a similar arrangement in the Chardon area for a building to set up classes. He said he would be approaching the city, county and Chardon Township to see if any appropriate buildings are available.
"That's what we're going to need here -- cooperation," Mr. Mohan said. "We'd like to be in Chardon by the fall semester, if we can find the right building at the right price."
There is no intention, he said, of building another campus in Chardon, or even what the university has done in Twinsburg.
He said the operation will have offerings to those in the area who may wish to take a class during their lunch break or in the evening hours. He said all classes will be for credits and get them started toward an associate degree.
"The idea is to get them started," Mr. Mohan said. "We're starting small and making sure it works for everyone."
"It's a great idea to explore," Mr. Jemison said.
Mr. Mohan said 50 percent of the students at the campus are non-traditional students, who work or are raising families. He said the introductory classes offered in the Chardon area eventually may bring more people to the Geauga campus in Burton.
The Chardon Area Chamber of Commerce also has shown support for the idea, he said.
Mr. Mohan said that when he took over the Geauga campus six years ago, student enrollment was about 700 in Burton and Twinsburg. He said the two centers now attract 2,200 students. It also had significant debt, which has been retired.
He said the Geauga campus employs 15 tenured, 15 non-tenured and 80- adjunct professors and has grown from a $4 million budget to $10.4 million.
For three straight years, he said, the campus has been the fastest growing in the state. Over the last four years, he said, the campus has received $1 million in donations.
"People are really getting behind the campus," Mr. Mohan said.
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