February 2020
The Chronicle
Thank you for taking the time to read our monthly newsletter. We would love to hear from you and get your thoughts on what you want as an alumnus of Franklin. You play a major role in advancing Franklin’s mission to provide a high quality education to the broadest possible group of learners, and we will never take that for granted.
Alumni Spotlight
Robert Coles, is an award-winning creative director. In 2018, Robert became director of creative services at Stanford University. In his role, he oversees brand management for over 150 university brands and identities. He directs a full-service creative operation focused on identity development and management, graphic design, digital and social design, environmental graphics, photography, video production, as well as in-house production.
Since joining Stanford, Robert has developed key campaigns including the launch campaign for Cardinal Café in Redwood City, Stanford’s first off-campus retail café. He has led major promotional campaigns and identity efforts for new initiatives including the Stanford Food Institute, Stanford Women’s Leadership Summit, and 2020 Ivy Plus Conference, which rotates annually between each Ivy League school and Stanford.
Robert is a 2003 graduate of Franklin, earning his M.S. degree in Marketing + Communication. He has also served in various director roles throughout his career, including as director of creative services & brand management for Franklin, and as director of creative services & enrollment marketing at Columbus College of Art & Design. He began his career at Victoria’s Secret and has since built his own company, Brand Creative Consulting.
White Belt Training a Great Success
In late January, the Office of Community Relations invited our alumni to attend its Six Sigma White Belt training. More than 100 alumni attendees participated in the workshop, gaining an understanding of how to use Six Sigma concepts to streamline and strengthen manufacturing and service industries. Skills shared in this program were designed to enable participants to understand how Six Sigma concepts can improve quality and reduce cost while refining customer satisfaction across all industries. With such great demand, the Office of Community Relations is working on a second date on a Saturday morning in April. If you are interested in the April session please email aaron.cassady@franklin.edu.
Seats Remain for Alumni Night at the Blue Jackets
Less than 10 seats remain for our alumni night at the Columbus Blue Jackets on Monday, Feb. 24. Join nearly 150 Franklin alumni by securing up to two seats today! When you reserve your spot, we ask that you join others in donating $10 per RSVP to the Make It Possible Fund!.
Project Management Workshop Coming March 7
Continuing its monthly social and professional development series, the Office of Community Relations will host a Project Management class on Saturday, March 7. Giving back to his alma mater, Franklin alumnus and project management expert John Stinnett will share skills developed within his own career to help others improve their project management approach. In this course alumni will learn how to use relevant project management skills across any industry. Register for this event today!
Continuing Your Education at Franklin
Time is running out to take advantage of Franklin’s Road to Graduate School Scholarship. If you are considering getting your master’s degree, now is the perfect time to act. There is one term remaining for alumni to claim a Road to Graduate School Scholarship. This $2,680 scholarship covers the cost of your first master's-level course in any of our 18 programs for the summer 2020 term.
Center for Career Development Tips for Phone Interviews
People often say, “I'm not concerned about the telephone interview. I'll do well in the face-to-face." However, they neglect to consider that if they don't do well during the phone interview, they may never get to the face-to-face round. Treat a phone interview with the same level of importance as you would an in-person interview:
- Use open body language, even if they can’t see you
- Smile, because you will sound happier
- Be animated- if that fits your personality
- Be as true to your in-person self as possible
- Finally, use headphones so your hands are free, just like they would be in person. Don't use speaker phone because it often gets distorted and sounds raspy.
Telephone interview questions have become more difficult. Rather than simple screening questions, expect behavioral-based questions. Prepare for telephone interviews like you would face-to-face ones. Do your research!
Generally the interviewer is trying to obtain four bits of information from you, so anticipate some version of the following questions:
- Do you have the skills and experience to do the job?
- Are you motivated and well liked?
- Why did you leave your last company?
- What is your salary expectation?
And finally, be sure to follow up with a quick note to the interviewer the day of the phone screen thanking them for their time.
5th Annual CBusStudentHack Coding for Community Contest Kicks Off
Franklin University and its branch campus Urbana University kicked off the 2020 CBusStudentHack Coding for Community: Securing our Community Hackathon on Jan. 29, 2020. The two-month programming contest for central Ohio-area high school students places participants in teams to create an app that addresses a real-word problems.
Throughout the competition, the student teams will use coding software to develop their own apps. The apps must be focused on securing our community. The students’ work will be judged on software quality, the potential impact on peacebuilding, execution and creativity. A team of central Ohio-area leaders will serve as judges, and winners will be announced at a finale event on April 1.
Each team member that completes the contest and presents a project in the finale event will be eligible for a $30,000 scholarship to Franklin University or a $40,000 scholarship to Urbana University (Scholarship applies toward select majors.).
The CBusStudentHack couldn’t happen without community support! Franklin extends a special thank you to this year’s featured partner Battelle.
To learn more about this story click here.
Podcast
Launched in July 2019, the podcast has been extremely well received and we're not done yet! The team is hard at work identifying and scheduling topics for the rest of the year. We encourage you to download and share the podcast.
This month we sat down with Dr. Alyncia Bowen, dean, Ross College of Business and Program Chair, Doctoral Healthcare Administration, Healthcare Management. Dr. Bowen shares her insights on breaking barriers as an African-American woman breaking the glass ceiling in higher education and health care.
Dr. Bowen’s podcast will publish on Friday Feb. 21.
You can catch up on all of our podcasts by clicking here to listen!
Clocktower Magazine Coming Back
Be on the look out next month for our newest edition of Clocktower Magazine!
Did You Know
Franklin is Ohio's #1 adult-focused university. As a proud graduate, we're betting you already knew that, but now it's a fact according to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) Integrated Postsecondary Education Database (IPEDS).
Upcoming Events
Feb. 24, 2020: Blue Jackets Night
March 7, 2020: Project Management Workshop
April (date TBD): White Belt Training
Click here for all Center for Career Services events
Happy Valentine's Day!
The Office of Community Relations loves fun facts and Valentine's day has many! Here are a few we found interesting:
- 3% of pet owners will give gifts to their pets on this day
- Around One billion cards are exchanged each year on this day
- Groundhog Day was originally on Feb. 14
- It is estimated that teachers receive the most valentines
We wish all of our alumni and friends a Happy Valentines Day.
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