To help address a rapidly growing workforce demand in the technology sector, Ohio Dominican University (ODU) has added three new technology-focused Bachelor of Science degree programs to its major areas of study.
Students now have the option of pursuing undergraduate degrees in cybersecurity, information technology or data science.
For assistance in developing these programs, ODU collaborated with Rize, an education company that seeks to prepare college students for careers in fast-growing fields. Courses in each of the new programs have been designed by academic and industry leaders vetted by ODU.
The cybersecurity program will equip students with the information, knowledge and skills they need to understand sophisticated methods that people with harmful intent use to gain access to locked computer networks and systems; identify modern and effective ways to secure systems from unauthorized access; and understand how to respond to a cybersecurity incident in a way that minimizes the impact to an organization and stakeholders.
The data science program will equip students with knowledge, tools, techniques and experiences related to querying, cleaning and analyzing data, using industry staples such as Python, SQL, R, and Tableau. In addition, students will understand the ethical and professional issues surrounding the collection, analysis, use, sharing and presentation of data.
The information technology program will prepare students to apply IT support to improve business practices while managing and maintaining the computing infrastructure on which organizational systems operate. Students will gain skills, including web development, database management, operating system knowledge, programming, technical writing and hardware deployment to ensure that processes reliant upon technology are not disrupted.
To learn more about any of the three majors, go to www.ohiodominican.edu and click on the links to each major.
ODU to host Health Day
Ohio Dominican University (ODU) and Central Ohio Primary Care (COPC) have partnered to host a community health day on Thursday, Oct. 6 for students, faculty, staff and residents of the area surrounding campus in northeast Columbus. The event will take place from 3 to 7 p.m. in front of Erskine Hall on ODU’s Oval at 1216 Sunbury Road, Columbus. Free parking will be available in the gold lot.
This free event will feature dozens of health-related vendors, services and family-friendly activities including health screenings, health provider information, yard games, free food, inflatable slides, touch-a-truck and more.
Representatives from several central Ohio health organizations, agencies and partners will be on hand, including the Franklin County Office on Aging, CareSource, Lifeline of Ohio, LifeCare Alliance, Central Ohio Trauma Association, National Alliance on Mental Illness, American Heart Association, ODU’s physician assistant studies program, OCALI Autism Awareness and Stop the Violence.
In April 2021, COPC opened a Care Forward Center on the ODU campus. The center provides adult and pediatric primary care to ODU staff and students and residents of the surrounding community. In addition to treating patients, the center provides ODU students with opportunities to gain hands-on experience in a health care setting. Students in ODU’s master of science in physician assistant studies program have access to clinical rotations in the center.
Franciscan honored by college guide
U.S. News & World Report’s 2022-23 Best Colleges Guidebook has ranked Franciscan University of Steubenville 26th among 167 Midwestern universities. Among the leading factors for the ranking are an 86 percent first-year retention rate, a 72 percent graduation rate, and a 14-to-1 student/faculty ratio.
The ranking also reflects the growth of the university, which this fall welcomed its largest incoming class — almost 750 new full-time undergraduate students. Online class numbers also have increased, with a record-breaking 1,050 students enrolled. Including on-campus and online undergraduate and graduate students, total enrollment for the fall of 2022 has reached a record of 3,650.
In addition, U.S. News listed Franciscan 11th among best value universities in the Midwest. This listing rates academic quality relative to the amount of financial aid a student receives that does not have to be paid back.
The magazine also ranked Franciscan ninth among best colleges for veterans, which lists schools that make pursuing a college education more affordable for veterans and active-duty service members.
Saint Paul’s Outreach names new president
Saint Paul’s Outreach (SPO) has appointed David Fischer as its new president, succeeding Gordon DeMarais, who was a co-founder of the organization in 1985. DeMarais will continue to serve the mission of SPO by helping support Fischer and the SPO board of directors.
Fischer was an SPO missionary from 2001 to 2003. During that time, he also worked in the campus ministry office at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota. He then attended the university’s law school and was admitted to the Minnesota State Bar in 2006.
For the next nine years, he focused primarily on economic development and growth for a variety of organizations whose mission is to make a positive impact on culture; most notably as legal affairs director for the Catholic Community Foundation of Minnesota. He was SPO’s vice president for advancement from 2015 to 2020 and was appointed executive vice president in 2021.
SPO, based in the Minnesota state capital, was founded in 1985 to train full-time lay missionaries and student leaders to build communities that reach out and invite college students and young adults into a transformative relationship with Christ, forming lifelong disciples. There are SPO communities at Ohio State University and the University of Cincinnati and in Arizona, Florida, Kansas, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey and Texas.
