Cincinnati State trustees name Dr. O’dell M. Owens as president
August 18, 2010
The board of trustees of Cincinnati State Technical and Community College voted unanimously Wednesday to appoint Dr. O’dell M. Owens as the next president of the College.
He will succeed Dr. John L. Henderson, who has been serving as interim president of Cincinnati State since November, 2007.
"Dr. Owens is the right man for this place at this time. We are confident he will take Cincinnati State to new heights,’’ said Michael Oestreicher, chairman of the board of trustees.
Dr. Owens, the current Hamilton County Coroner, was one of two candidates interviewed by the board following a national search for a successor to Dr. Henderson. Oestreicher said both candidates – Dr. Owens and Dr. Mitchel Livingston, the Vice President for Student Affairs, Chief Diversity Officer and Professor of Educational Studies at the University of Cincinnati – were well qualified for the position at Cincinnati State.
"It took great courage for two very public gentlemen to submit themselves to this very public process,’’ Oestreicher said. “Both proved themselves to be highly qualified men of great vision. Each made us feel their overriding passion and love for education – and in particular accessible education – and the pivotal effect it can have on our community's health, well-being and future. Each demonstrated leadership skills that impressed the Board.’’
Dr. Owens will begin his duties at Cincinnati State with the start of its Early Fall Term on Sept. 7, “upon mutually agreeable terms and conditions to be concluded in a contract subject to the laws, rules and regulations of the State of Ohio,’’ according to the resolution approved by the Cincinnati State Board of Trustees.
Oestreicher praised the service that Dr. Henderson has given Cincinnati State during his extended tenure as interim president.
“I want to thank Dr. Henderson: for your vision, for your leadership, for your generosity of spirit, for your willingness to step into a difficult situation and first lead this school to a new place and then go on to build a strong platform for your successor to take it to even greater heights,’’ Oestreicher said. “He proved to us just what the power and potential of the right person, being in the right place, at the right time can be for this school.’’
The search for a successor to Dr. Henderson was conducted by a nine-member search committee chaired by Cincinnati State trustee Mark Walton, with assistance from a nationally known firm, Isaacson, Miller. The Presidential Search Committee began meeting in May, and screened more than 20 applications and nominations.
Following that process, two candidates were recommended to the board for consideration and visited Cincinnati State for sessions with students, faculty members, staff and others.
Dr. Owens, a native Cincinnatian, attended Woodward High School, Antioch College, and Yale University, where he earned his M.D., a master’s in public health and completed a residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology. He also served at Harvard Medical School as clinical instructor and completed a fellowship in Reproductive Endocrinology.
Upon returning to Cincinnati, he established an in-vitro fertilization program and achieved Cincinnati’s first successful conception and delivery, and first pregnancy, from a frozen embryo. His many awards include being named one of the Bicentennial’s 200 Greater Cincinnatians in recognition of community service, and one of Black Enterprise Magazine’s Top 15 Black Doctors in America. In 2004, Dr. Owens was elected Hamilton County Coroner and re-elected in 2008.
Dr. Owens’ previous board membership includes the Executive Committee of the Yale Medical Student School Alumni, the Board for Antioch College, the Cincinnati Health Department and the University of Cincinnati Board of Trustees. He currently serves as a member of the Board of Directors for the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden, the Greater Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport, and US Bank.
Dr. Owens is actively involved in the Cincinnati community working with disadvantaged youth to motivate them to reach their full potential, and in that role has made frequent television appearances.
