OWU in the News

October 8, 2014 | By Ohio Wesleyan University

Brian Rellinger

Sarah Ottney ’06 earns ‘20 Under 40’ Leadership Recognition Award

Ohio Wesleyan students, faculty, staff, and alumni make headlines every day with their expertise and accomplishments. Here are a few of the latest highlights…

Sarah Ottney ’06

Sarah Ottney ’06

Sarah Ottney, newly appointed editor-in-chief for the Toledo (Ohio) Free Press, receives a “20 Under 40” Leadership Recognition Award. She is selected for the honor from a field of 115 candidates from northwest Ohio and southeast Michigan.

At Ohio Wesleyan, Ottney majored in journalism and English (nonfiction writing). A former editor of OWU’s Transcript, she graduated magna cum laude, earned the 2006 Award for Outstanding Journalism Graduate, and received the 2004 Ülle Lewes Prize for Excellence in Non-Fiction Writing.

Learn more about Ottney’s recognition.

Dave Campbell ’94

Dave Campbell ’94

Dave Campbell, founder and CEO of Boxman Studios in North Carolina, discusses the company he created to design, build, and deploy creative solutions using decommissioned shipping containers.

In addition to being featured in the Oct. 3 edition of the Charlotte Business Journal, Campbell’s Boxman Studios is ranked at No. 120 on Inc. Magazine’s annual list of the fastest growing privately held companies in the United States. In 2012, it was named the “Fastest Growing privately held company in Charlotte.”

Read more of the Charlotte Business Journal article, “For Boxman Studios, good things come in big boxes.”

Ben Chojnacki ’07

Ben Chojnacki ’07

Ben Chojnacki joins the northeast Ohio law firm of Walter | Haverfield LLP as an associate in its Public Law Group. He will work in the Cleveland (Ohio) office.

Chojnacki currently serves as the assistant law director for the Village of Waite Hill, and counsels other municipalities and public entities in all aspects of public law. Previously, he worked as an associate at a boutique law firm that represented hospital systems in disputes with the federal government, state governments, and insurance carriers. Before entering private practice, Chojnacki served as a law clerk to the administrative law judges in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Medicare Hearings and Appeals.

At Ohio Wesleyan, he majored in history and minored in sociology-anthropology. Chojnacki earned his law degree from the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law.

Susan Dileno

Susan Dileno

Susan Dileno, OWU’s vice president for enrollment, discusses the University’s test-optional admission policy, which allows prospective students with a high school GPA of 3.0 or better to choose whether to submit standardized test schools.

Dileno tells Columbus Dispatch reporter Collin Binkley that the change encourages strong students with lower test scores to apply if they think Ohio Wesleyan will be a good fit.

“[I]you remove that obstacle, then they tend to apply in greater numbers,” Dileno says. “We dropped standardized testing to drop a wider net for students.”

Read the complete Dispatch article, “More Ohio colleges letting applicants skip ACT, SAT.”

Jake Bonnell ’13

Jake Bonnell ’13

Jake Bonnell, an admission counselor at Millsaps College, writes about the value of a liberal arts education based on his Ohio Wesleyan experience.

In his column, posted on GreatCollegeAdvice.com, Bonnell recounts memorable moments with President Rock Jones, history professor Richard Spall, and more. “I am so thankful for my Liberal Arts experience,” Bonnell writes, “and there is nothing like reliving moments from four incredible years to bring back all of those feelings of appreciation.”

At Ohio Wesleyan, Bonnell majored in history and minored in physical education. He also led the on-campus health advocacy group, ran cross country and track, and served as an intern for the Office of Admission.

Read his complete commentary, “A Liberal Arts Education: The Greatest Thing Ever (An Unbiased Perspective).”

Brian Rellinger

Brian Rellinger

Brian Rellinger, Ed.D., OWU’s chief information officer, discusses the educational potential of Google Glass and other advances in technology in an online news article.

“We are always looking for ways to support our talented faculty and students at OWU,” Rellinger tells writer Allen Weiner. “Our services range from basic course management system support, to flipped classroom technologies and everything in between. We discuss new trends with our faculty to identify opportunities to enhancing teaching and learning. This includes mobile apps, electronic polling systems, etc. Our instructional technologist, David Soliday, actually sits in classes with faculty members that are interested in using technology. He works to match the technology available with the course content and design where it makes sense.”

Read the complete DailyDot.com article, “How Google Glass is bringing the world into the classroom.”