The Five Colleges of Ohio
www.ohio5.org
Allen House
Gambier OH 43022
Tel: 740-427-5377 or -5234
Fax: 740-427-5390

2008 - 2009 Board of Trustees

Chair
S. Georgia Nugent, Kenyon College

Grant H. Cornwell, The College of Wooster
Dale T. Knobel, Denison University
Marvin Krislov, Oberlin College
Rockwell F. Jones, Ohio Wesleyan University

Booklet 2008-2009

The Five Colleges of Ohio Consortium

• is a focal point for an ongoing, constructive conversation among people at the five institutions about issues and opportunities of mutual concern.
• forms a basis for trust and understanding, and thus, a foundation for programs that will enhance the member institutions.
• creates bonds among the institutions that are stimulating us to challenge the status quo and think about how we might be better both collectively and individually.
• provides a forum for the Presidents to initiate public dialogue about consortial innovations and the value of a liberal arts education.

History

• The five colleges have been affiliated as members of state, regional, and national educational and athletic organizations for some years.
• Discussion to formalize the consortium began in 1993, with a focus on the creation of a consortial library and the cooperative use of technology.
• A grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, awarded in June 1995, provided for the development of a joint library system, establishment of an administrative structure, and investigation of the benefits and methods for sharing digital images and multimedia resources.
• The college presidents signed papers of incorporation on 30 June 1995, establishing The Five Colleges of Ohio, Inc. as a legal entity.

Statement of Purpose

• foster closer cooperation and understanding,
• coordinate operating functions and administrative services,
  
• develop collaborative academic programs and resource sharing, and
• enhance quality while reducing individual and collective operating and capital costs.

Philosophy

The Five Colleges of Ohio Library Directors crafted a statement that communicates the value of the consortium and collaborative activities:

Never again can our libraries stand completely alone in terms of library collections and other resources. We, therefore, reaffirm The Five Colleges of Ohio libraries' overall commitment to cooperation and mutual enrichment. We believe that any small loss of local control is well worth the many benefits we gain through our collaboration.

Leadership and Administrative Structure

• Board of Directors: the College Presidents
• Operating Committee: the Chief Financial Officers
• Academic Committee: the Chief Academic Officers
• Employees: Executive Director, Executive Assistant, CONStor Library Storage Assistant, and Library Systems Manager.

Active Consortial Groups

• College Presidents meet semi-annually.
• Chief Financial Officers meet five times a year.
• Academic Officers meet three times a year
• Environmental Safety and Health Managers meet monthly.
• Information and Technology Officers meet annually.
• Library Directors meet quarterly..
• Library Subcommittees meet two-six times a year.
• Risk Managers meet quarterly.
• Security Directors meet annually.
• Informal groups meet and correspond as needed: Controllers, Development and Foundation Relations, Human Resources, Information and Technology, Networking and Telecommunications, Public Relations, Purchasing, and Security.

Observations About Cooperation

• Each member college is encouraged to build on its own individuality and strengths.
• Together we look to expand into areas where we couldn't otherwise afford to venture; the consortium promotes risk-taking and cost-savings.
• We see our relationships as a conversation and a process.
• The consortium defines a dynamic, not static, future.
• We have learned to look to each other for assistance and an attitude of sharing has developed between colleagues.
• By fostering joint problem solving and support, the consortium has become an informal professional development network.

Library Projects and Programs

• In 1995, with funding from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the consortium initiated programs focused on the libraries.
  Denison, Kenyon, Ohio Wesleyan, and Wooster created CONSORT, a joint library system and catalog.
  
  
• Since 2000, The five colleges cooperatively operate the CONStor Library Depository in Newark, Ohio.
  
  
• With additional Mellon Foundation support, they also established campus and consortial programs in Information Literacy (12/99-10/03).
  
  
• In 2003, Denison and Kenyon received a Mellon Foundation grant to improve access to information resources by jointly redesigning and combining the technical services departments.
  
  
• In 2006, the libraries began a study of the management of lesser-used materials, resulting in a strategic plan ofr the next generation consortial libraries.

Additional Areas of Cooperative Activity

• Environmental health and safety for coordinated development of management systems and training.
  
  
• Joint licensing of academic software for managing cost increases while offering users greater benefits.
  
  
• Physical plant and custodial services for training and safety programs.
  
  
• Risk management for cooperative emergency preparedness, employment practices, insurance, and loss prevention.
  
  
• Student art biennial organized by The College of Wooster Art Museum provides an opportunity for students to enter works of art into a juried show.
  
  
• Videoconferencing for teaching, faculty seminars, interviews, meetings.
  
  
• Website (www.ohio5.org) links to general information, library reports and policies, program descriptions, and employment openings. The faculty and administrative jobs listing combines postings from the five colleges by area. This site receives several thousand visits each month.

Consortial Grants

• Library Collaboration and Consortial Organization, 6/95. $840,000 from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to create a joint library system, incorporate the consortium, and study the use of shared digital images.
  
  
• Language Teaching with Technology, 6/96. $750,000 from the Mellon Foundation to foster collaborations among faculty for course design and applications of teaching technology.
  
  
• Language Technology Classrooms, 12/96. $250,000 from the Charles E. Culpeper Foundation to create language classrooms on each campus equipped with modern instructional technology.
  
  
• Information Literacy: Web Tutorial, 12/98. $50,000 from the Foundation for Independent Higher Education and AT&T to develop information literacy web tutorials, to increase students' understanding of how information is produced, accessed, evaluated, and used.
  
  
• Strategic Planning and Implementation, 7/99. $32,000 from the Mellon Foundation to support strategic-planning activities.
  
  
• Information Literacy: Curricular Integration, 12/99. $475,000 from the Mellon Foundation to build partnerships between librarians and faculty that foster curricular innovations leading to increases in students' capabilities in using information resources.
  
  
• Cooperative Collection Development, 1/01. $325,000 from the Mellon Foundation to analyze the existing library collections to determine strengths, weaknesses, and areas of duplication and to support the operation of CONStor, the joint library storage facility.
  
  
• Language Multimedia Project Dissemination, 7/02. $10,000 from the National Institute for Technology in Liberal Education (NITLE) to distribute CDs of the language technology projects to all Mellon Foundation liberal arts colleges.
  
  
• George B. Storer Foundation Scholarships. Gifts ($250,000 in 2003-04 and $500,000 in 2004-05 and 2005-06) to the colleges to annually provide scholarships for ten upperclass students with GPAs of 3.5 or better.
  
  
• Library Technical Services Work Redesign, 11/03. $100,000 to Denison and Kenyon from the Mellon Foundation to improve access to information resources by jointly redesigning the technical services departments.
  
  
• Pollution Prevention on the College Campus, 5/04. $50,000 from the OhioEPA Office of Environmental Education to provide pollution prevention faculty development programs in the science, art, and theater departments.
  
  
• Slips, Trips, and Falls, 11/04. $2,000 to Denison, Oberlin, Ohio Wesleyan, and Wooster from United Educators Insurance Company to provide training to physical plant, custodial services, and food service employees.
  
  
• Value-Added Assessment, 6/05. $25,000 from the Teagle Foundation for two workshops and the assistance of an assessment expert.
  
  
• June 2006 The Teagle Foundation awarded $297,353 grant to develop new ways to assess two core outcomes of a liberal arts education: creativity and critical thinking.
  

Further Information

Susan Palmer, Executive Director, at 740-427-5234 or palmers@kenyon.edu for further information or to discuss future endeavors.

	102 Allen House, Kenyon College, Gambier, OH 43022
	telephone:740-427-5377 email: howardb@kenyon.edu © 2008 Five Colleges of Ohio