OACC awards Wean Foundation, its former president

Staff report

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The Ohio Association of Community Colleges recently bestowed the Terry M. Thomas Friend of Community Colleges Award on the Raymond John Wean Foundation and its former president Joel Ratner, supporters of Eastern Gateway Community College.

Patricia Fletcher, Eastern Gateway trustee, also received the OACC Trustees’ Richard N. Adams Trustee Leadership Award during the OACC annual meeting in Columbus.

The Wean Foundation and Ratner received the award, which is presented annually to someone who has had a major, positive impact on community colleges in Ohio.

The award is named in honor of the OACC’s founding executive director.

Individuals selected to receive this award embody the qualities and characteristics that Thomas has demonstrated throughout his years of service.

Ratner and the foundation saw the opportunity for the establishment of a community college in the greater Mahoning Valley, the largest area in Ohio not served by a community college.

They determined to support the expansion of the former Jefferson Community College into Eastern Gateway.

The foundation provided grants for the planning and implementation of the expansion of Eastern Gateway in Columbiana, Mahoning and Trumbull counties.

The early expansion efforts were supported by Ratner and other foundation officials serving on the main implementation committee as well as subcommittees.

They continue their support of the college’s growth and are excited about the impact the college will have in the Mahoning Valley, according to the board’s nomination.

They believe the community college is a needed tool for the continued development of the Mahoning Valley.

Fletcher of Steubenville was chosen for the educational leadership award named in honor of Dr. Richard N. Adams, a model of trustee engagement.

The individuals who receive this award have, over a period of time, demonstrated an active commitment to, and participation in, trustee education and engagement.

For more than 21 years, Fletcher has served as a community college trustee, first for Jefferson Community College and now for Eastern Gateway.

She was elected by her fellow trustees to several terms as vice chairman for the JCC board.

Fletcher has represented the board at college functions such as commencement, honors convocation, employee recognition, All-Ohio luncheons and dedicated college events.

Also, she has served on the college’s Strategic Planning Team, lending her years of experience in education to this important process for the college.

Fletcher has represented trustees at various forums sponsored by the OACC and the Ohio Board of Regents and has attended legislative workshops sponsored by the American Association of Community College Trustees in Washington, D.C.

With 34 years’ experience in education, Fletcher used her expertise to further the interests of Eastern Gateway and the community-college movement, according to the nomination from the college’s trustees.