Dean of Ohio University Zanesville Speaks At Rotary

ZANESVILLE, Ohio – The Dean of Ohio University Zanesville spoke at the Noon Rotary today about the OUZ campus and their role in the community.

Dr. Jeremy Webster discussed the present and future of OUZ, and the way higher education is changing to adapt to workforce needs and economic development. For example, he explained how many jobs are being automated by computers and technology. This changes the way the College needs to train students and prepare them to enter the workforce. Webster also said teaching the students better interaction with people could make all the difference in getting job.

“Part of that is making them more comfortable as users of technology. But then also thinking about their majors, and what we call soft skills. The ways in which people interact with people, and that those are the kinds of skills that are actually more important in the workplace than just simply being able to be a nurse or other kinds of professions,” said Dr. Webster.

Ohio University Zanesville is approaching this training by including them in students’ general courses and giving them opportunities to attend workshops and extracurricular activities.

“That helps students not just learn how to interview, but learn other kinds of people skills, digital skills, being able to use Word or Excel, all those kinds of things. And really being proficient so that as technology advances, you feel more comfortable learning each new iteration of whatever’s happening not just from scratch each time,” Webster added.

He included that the changes they have made in the first year classes have been successful with the students engaging more and feeling better prepared for the future.