Todd and Racster were invited to lead a session titled, “A Story of Triumph and Oppression: GBLTQ Impacting National Politics and Law.”

The annual conference is one of Ohio State’s most comprehensive conferences and focuses on issues of diversity, cultural inclusion, and acceptance.

Left to right: Kathleen Kerr, Dwayne Todd, and Gregory Roberts, photo courtesy ACPA

CCAD’s Vice President for Student Affairs Dwayne Todd received the Presidential Citation Award at a recent American College Personnel Association (ACPA) conference.

This award, which is rarely given to members of the association, recognizes lifelong service and extraordinary contributions to the profession of student affairs and most particularly to ACPA.

“One of the hallmarks of a great institution is the quality of its people,” said CCAD President Dennison W. Griffith. “Those of us who work with Dwayne Todd know of his professionalism, compassion, and leadership skills.  How splendid, then, to see his national recognition from the ACPA.  It’s nice to see one of our most loved and respected administrators recognized on a national stage by more than 7,000 peers—we’re all very proud.”

The award was presented to Todd on March 5 during the 2013 ACPA 2013 Annual Convention in Las Vegas.

The association, which is headquartered in Washington, D.C., was founded in 1924 to lead the student affairs profession and the higher education community in providing outreach, advocacy, research, and professional development to foster college student learning.

The groups consists of nearly 7,500 members representing 1,200 private and public institutions from across the U.S. and around the world.

Todd has been with CCAD since 2001. In his current position, he oversees residence life; student activities and events; counseling, career, academic support, disability, and campus dining services; student conduct processes, orientation and new student programs, campus safety and security and student insurance programs. He also participates in institutional assessment and planning.

Shoppers at CCAD Winter Art Sale

Twice a year, CCAD invites the community to check out and purchase work from CCAD talent (students, alumni, faculty, and staff). For the April 13 event, the sale will move from a first-come, first-served sign-up process to a juried, art fair format.

“Having our art fair be juried allows us to model after fairs that students will see in their professional careers,” said Dwayne Todd, vice president for student affairs.

In prior years sign-ups were first-come, first-served with spots for the December sale filled in less than three minutes (yeah, it was THAT fast). The winter sale drew more than 1,000 shoppers and raised more than $6,000 toward CCAD’s general scholarship fund

“Changing to this format will allow more students, alumni, faculty, and staff an opportunity to apply,” said Janie Robinson, career services associate. “It also ensures we don’t miss out on showcasing a fantastic artist because they missed the very small sign-up window.”

Submissions from possible vendors will be accepted online through ZAPP (the same service used by GCAC’s popular Columbus Arts Festival). All submissions will then be judged by three jurors, Ken Emerick, Anne Holman, and Laura Kuenzil.

Emerick is the director for individual artist grants and percent for art program at the Ohio Arts Council (OAC). He manages the OAC Individual Excellence Awards, administering the Ohio Percent for Art Public Art program, and coordinating a number of national and international artist residency programs.

Shoppers at CCAD Winter Art Sale

He has been a juror for numerous awards and exhibitions for various Ohio arts organizations, colleges, and universities.

“Work selected should have a combination of some of the following qualities,” Emerick said. “Technical proficiency or craftsmanship, creative and inventive use of the medium, innovation in style and concept, and a reflection of the artist’s unique personal approach and vision as evidenced in the artwork submitted.”

Holman is an adjunct faculty member at CCAD and a Fine Arts alumna (CCAD 2002). She is the owner and creator of Anne Holman Jewelry. She has been featured in fashion columns and magazines nationally and internationally and exhibits her work throughout the U.S.

Kuenzil is the owner of Rivet Gallery located in the short North, Columbus’ arts district. Rivet is a designer toy and art gallery, presenting original work from underground artists, with a new show opening the first Saturday of every month.

Submissions will be accepted for the fair Jan. 25–Feb. 25 with final decisions on who will be participating in the sale by March 15.

The first CCAD juried art fair is Saturday, April 13—enter at 9 a.m. for first-choice admission ($50) and 10 a.m. for general admission ($5).

Designed by CCAD students, Taylor Hicks and Danielle Williams

As fall semester gets into full swing, CCAD students will start seeing the fruits of some labors that began last year. The Market (CCAD’s dining hall) is going green.

“It began with a zero landfill concept,” said Dwayne Todd, vice president of student affairs and dean of students about the Student Government’s work to turn the Market into a sustainable dining center.

“Before we went ahead with any decision about sustainability within the Market we discussed the idea in an open forum with the Student Government last spring,” Todd said.

Danielle Williams, a sophomore Advertising & Graphic Design major and member of the Student Government, was involved with the committee that helped initiate the program.

“I see friends who are at universities that have all these sustainable options and to-go containers, so I figured it was time for our school to initiate a program,” Williams said.

Last year CCAD diners threw out roughly 250 to-go containers a day. This year the Styrofoam to-go containers and wax-lined paper cups are gone and the dining area is trayless and using china plates. The Market has also adopted biodegradable to-go products made out of plant materials instead of synthetics.

CCAD’s dining services recycle cardboard, aluminum, glass, and even grease. The dining service also uses biodegradable trash bags. This means that the trash bags will open and breakdown in a landfill, allowing the contents inside to break down sooner.

“It is great that we had an idea and and presented our feedback and research to Dwayne Todd and he ran with it and helped our idea become a reality,” Williams said.

But the process wasn’t all smooth sailing when they had to reach a decision about funding the project, in particular the to-go containers. A higher level of sustainability comes at a higher cost for the college. So how did they compromise?

The student government worked out a plan for the students. Instead of charging every student a higher fee for their meal plans, they decided to charge 25 cents per to-go container. The extra cost of the new containers is a total of 50 cents per container, so the college is covering half of the cost. In addition, each diner, upon purchase of a meal plan, is offered five free to-go containers.

“The Market was designed to be a social environment and this charge encourages the students to interact in the dining hall, but does not punish those who may need to take their meals with them,” Todd said.

“As a freshman, I remember our trash cans in our dorm would overflow with the old to-go-containers because everyone would just go back to their room to eat their food. With the new facilitates and initiative it will hopefully help foster interactions within our student body and college community,” Williams said.

“I am really excited to watch this initiative progress; we will continue to gather feedback from the program and make adjustments where need be. As a long-term goal, I hope to work towards gaining appropriate recycle bins in the dorms and work study areas,” Williams said.

The green initiative for the Market hopes to be completely rolled out by the end of September. The final piece is the composting dumpster. Then, student-created marketing materials will go up around campus to help explain the new sustainable changes.

So keep your eyes peeled and those sustainable minds conscious!

Students on the quad.

Co-ed residence halls, where men and women live in the same building but not in the same room, have been a standard of college life for decades—the private Ohio liberal arts school Oberlin College made the cover of November 20, 1970, issue of Life magazine when it was one of the first colleges in the country to have co-ed halls. But gender and college housing are in the news again now, as dozens of colleges and universities across the country are offering the option for students to choose their roommates without restrictions on gender. The issue has garnered national coverage in news outlets from the Los Angeles Times to Fox News, and it has been the subject of numerous scholarly articles.

The current movement started as an effort to help gay and transgender students feel comfortable in on-campus housing. But more colleges are embracing the idea because it allows all students, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity, to pick the most compatible roommates.

Students enjoying the sun.

CCAD started offering gender-neutral roommate selection last year after opening its new Design Square Apartments, which have private bedrooms.

“Many of our students share off-campus apartments with roommates of differing genders, and they wanted that same option if they continued to live on campus. Now that we have an apartment building with private bedrooms and bathrooms, the choice to provide such an option was an easy one for us to make,” said Dwayne Todd, vice president of student affairs and dean of students. “Our experience with mixed-gender housing has been virtually problem-free.”

Like most schools, CCAD only provides the gender-neutral roommate selection option to students at a sophomore level or higher. Additionally, CCAD discourages romantic partners from living together. Staff were prepared to make room transfers if couples did move in together and then broke up—but that hasn’t happened. Todd said, “We’ve found that in practically every case, our mixed-gender apartments are comprised of friends and siblings. I suppose some healthy distance is still important to those who are in romantic relationships.”

CCAD students.

Sophomore Animation major David King’s decision to live in an on-campus apartment with three female roommates stemmed from their being well-acquainted their freshman year. “We all became friends when we had foundations classes together,” he said.

Still, living with three women has been an eye-opener. As with any new roommates, “once you live with someone, you see a different side,” King continued. “The fact that they are females means we have some different perspectives on how to deal with relationships and conflict.” He acts as a buffer at times and encourages his roommates to be forthcoming about issues that could brew into larger problems. In addition, they all share their experiences dealing with members of the opposite sex. “I’ve learned a lot about women from hearing their point of view on their relationships,” he said.

“It’s an interesting balance. I think we’ve all benefited from the experience.”

Student Government President David Merz leads the discussion.

What happens when you put 30 CCAD students in a room? Change.

Today CCAD Student Government hosted a spring semester student symposium, a moment for CCAD students to come together in a town hall format to express what is/isn’t working for them.

“The symposium offers students the formal opportunity to tell us the positive and negative things about CCAD,” said Vice President of Student Affairs and Dean of Students Dwayne Todd. “It helps us [the administration] identify issues that need to be addressed and those that have primary importance to students.”

So what was on the docket during today’s meeting? Safety and security, facilities, and printing. What wasn’t? Sustainability—yet every concern had a hint of it in there (these are some seriously eco-conscious students we have on our campus).

Want #1: Maintain safety on campus.
The plan: Since the beginning of the academic year, access to many on-campus buildings has only been available through the “swiping” of a valid CCAD ID card through magnetic card readers at select building entrances. By the end of the summer, virtually all buildings on campus will have “proximity card” readers, which will open a door simply by waiving a card over the reader.
The results: “I feel incredibly safe on campus,” said advertising & graphic design sophomore Lillie Templeton. “I don’t have to worry about anyone following me into the building, or anyone being in the building who shouldn’t be.”

Want #2: Reduce waste caused by to-go containers in dining hall.
The numbers: The student heading up the facilities committee said that, on average, 250 Styrofoam to-go containers are used ever day in the dining hall. (So what’s that mean big picture? More than 90,000 to-go containers are sent to the landfill each year courtesy of CCAD.)
The ideas: Promote the social experience of the dining hall by switching to a biodegradable to-go container that has to be purchased (say, $0.25). It will promote students actually sitting down to have a meal together and reduce the waste—which is pretty much the definition of a win-win.

Want #3: Free color printing.
The catch: “I’m afraid that a lot of people would abuse color printing if it were free,” said Student Government President David Merz. “People would print everything in color, which means a lot of paper would be wasted and ink would need to be changed more often.”
The ideas: Remove the change from the equation. Find some way of paying with the students’ ID card. The direct cost associated with printing will continue to promote responsible use of the on-campus printing equipment.

Other topics discussed included the possibility to have an on-campus composting option; having an all-you-can-eat versus a la carte dining hall (my favorite quote came from advertising & graphic design senior David Merz, “I personally love all you can eat”); adding more microwaves to campus; and the paperwork that goes along with internships.

“Keep in mind that making the changes you want to see is like turning a great big ship,” said faculty member Duncan Snyder. “Because you all have expressed the need, they’ll happen, but it takes time.”

Meet the members of CCAD’s Student Government here.

To see more pictures from the event, “like” us on Facebook.

Dwayne Todd

Dwayne Todd, associate vice president for Student Affairs and dean of students, has been recognized for his outstanding contributions to higher education by one of the premier national associations in the field of student affairs.

The ACPA Foundation, an association of college educators, included Todd among its 2011 Diamond Honorees. He and 16 others will be recognized for outstanding and sustained contributions to higher education and to student affairs at the 2011 ACPA convention in Baltimore, MD.

The Diamond Honoree program, established by the foundation in 1999, is both a recognition program and a fundraiser in support of professional career development. For more information or to make a contribution in honor a member of this year’s class visit ACPAFoundation.org.

To learn more about Todd’s role at the college go to the Senior Staff page at www.ccad.edu.