Board awards tenure to five faculty members

Five Cincinnati State faculty members were awarded tenure by a unanimous vote of the College Board of Trustees at the February 23, 2021, Board meeting.

The newly-tenured faculty members are:

Kelly Hubbard, Early Childhood Education (Humanities & Sciences)

• Kelly is the Program Chair for Early Childhood Education (ECE) and has over 15 years of professional experience in public and private childhood education programs.
• She helped lead the successful effort to achieve accreditation for ECE from the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC).
• She serves on the Ohio Department of Higher Education statewide curriculum review committee.
• Kelly earned her master’s degree in Early Childhood Education from Ball State University.
   

Candice Jones, Dietetic Technology (Business Technologies)

• Candice serves as Program Chair for the Dietetic Technology and Pre-Nutrition Science programs and has 13 years experience in the field.
• She is an academic and community advocate for diversity, equity, and inclusion practices among health care providers, and has worked with numerous community organizations, as well as serving on Health & Nutrition Advisory Boards at the University of Cincinnati and Xavier University.
• She has established partnerships with 12 new clinical and food service affiliation sites.
• Candice holds a master’s degree in Health Promotion & Education from the University of Cincinnati. 

Jessica Loomis, Biology (Health & Public Safety)

• As a member of the Biology Department, Jessi has provided oversight for College Credit Plus Biology courses offered by Cincinnati State at 15 partner high schools, ensuring that Cincinnati State’s CCP high school biology teachers are prepared and supported in meeting Ohio Department of Higher Education standards.
• She played a key role in updating and maintaining curricula for Anatomy & Physiology classes and labs, and transitioning A&P courses to all-remote delivery.
• She also serves as chair of the College-wide Scholarship Committee.
• Jessi’s master’s degree in Biology is from the University of Cincinnati.

LaVon Moore, Surgical Technology (Health & Public Safety)

• LaVon is the Program Chair for Surgical Technology, and she has more than 30 years of operating room experience as a Certified Surgical Technologist.
• She successfully led the effort for program reaccreditation from the Accreditation Review Council on Education in Surgical Technology and Surgical Assisting (ARC/STSA).
• Through community and high school outreach, she has increased program enrollment.
• LaVon is a Cincinnati State graduate with a bachelor’s degree from Thomas More University as well as professional certification.

Barbara Ratliff, Practical Nursing (Health & Public Safety)

• Barb serves as Program Chair for the Practical Nursing Certificate and has extensive Nursing experience.
• She led the project to obtain full approval for the certificate program from the Ohio Board of Nursing.
• She serves as one of only two educators on the statewide Ohio Board of Nursing Education Advisory Committee.
• Barb’s master’s degree in Science is from Walden University.

Prior to the Trustees’ vote, Provost Robbin Hoopes discussed the tenure candidates’ achievements and noted that all five have made “consistent and valuable contributions” to the College in addition to demonstrating excellence in teaching.

President Monica Posey noted that all of the tenure candidates “stepped up” to support student learning during the pandemic, and that the graduates of the programs represented are important to the ongoing success and well-being of the Greater Cincinnati community.

Board of Trustees Chair George Vincent commented that the tenure applicants were “very strong candidates” and he and other Board members “enthusiastically” endorsed the recommended candidates.

How tenure is achieved:

To be eligible for tenure, faculty members must complete five years of full-time service.

Then, the faculty members complete a six-month review process. During that time their qualifications and contributions to the College are examined by the Faculty Tenure Committee, the division Dean, the Provost, and the President. The Board’s vote is the final step in the review process.

The process steps leading to tenure are defined in the AAUP Unit 1 Collective Bargaining Agreement, which states that tenure is awarded in recognition of “demonstrated excellence and consistent contributions” to the College.

Following the award of tenure, a faculty member may use the title “Professor.”