Hawk's Nest: ATI's 18-hole classroom

Golf pro Chris McCormack isn't the only person teaching at Hawk's Nest Golf Course these days. ATI is taking advantage of its newest acquisition by using the course as a learning laboratory for a variety of classes.

The 193-acre public course was given in 2007 to ATI by Earl and Betty Hawkins of Wooster, who built the course in 1993. The gift, valued at $4.6 million, was the largest in ATI's history. 

One of the biggest advantages Hawk's Nest offers over teaching turfgrass courses on ATI's grounds is the sheer number of opportunities for students to gain hands-on experience. Before Hawk's Nest, students in a turf practicum class might each get to take one pass over a green with a mower. "When you only have one green, there's only so much that can be done," said Terry Lanker, chair of ATI's horticultural technologies division, in reference to the golf laboratory facility on ATI's campus. "There are plenty of greens at Hawk's Nest for students to work on."

Students have undertaken a number of significant projects at Hawk's Nest as part of their coursework. They have reconstructed one of the greens to improve the grade, installed new drainage in a bunker, replaced part of the irrigation system at the club house, and are in the process of establishing a sod nursery. This year, students will create beds around each of the tee signs to make mowing easier for the grounds crew and install new landscaping near the course restroom facilities.

Turfgrass students follow an unusual schedule during spring quarter, with five weeks of classes being followed by the first five weeks of a 15-week internship. By using Hawk's Nest as a teaching location, ATI has been able to create a package of five-week courses that allow the students to spend the entire day at the golf course and make very efficient use of their time. Courses offered this spring were turf practices, irrigation and draining, golf course organization and management, practicum, and oral communications.

A wireless network has been installed in the club house to allow students to make use of laptops--their own or ones ATI makes available for them to borrow--during breaks between classes.

While classes in the turfgrass management curriculum are an obvious fit for Hawk's Nest, a number of other programs are also making use of the golf course. Faculty members have conducted labs and classes in construction, soils, plant ID, plant pathology, and environmental sciences. ATI also offered a university physical education class, Golf 2, at Hawk's Nest.

"The acquisition of Hawk's Nest has far exceeded our expectations from both a financial perspective and in terms of its impact on our academic programs," said Rhonda Billman, ATI assistant director. Enrollment in the turfgrass management program has experienced a 47 percent increase from 2007 to 2009.

Also of note: Golf Digest's Places to Play has awarded Hawk's Nest a rating of 4.5 out of 5 stars each year since 2004, placing it among North America's 201 best public-access courses. Only 16 courses, including legendary courses such as Pebble Beach and Pinehurst #2, have achieved all 5 stars.

--By Frances Whited

ATI hosts art exhibition focusing on diversity

For the third year in a row, Ohio State ATI hosted "Embracing Our Differences Ohio," an outdoor art display that celebrates the positive nature of diversity. The display comprised 39 billboard-sized pieces of artwork created by members of the Wooster community.

The concept of "Embracing Our Differences" originated in Sarasota, Florida, in 2004. Some Wooster residents vacationing in Sarasota saw the exhibit and were so moved by it, they became determined to undertake a similar project in Wooster. In 2006, ATI and the other educational institutions in Wayne County were asked to provide promotional support for the exhibition, but ATI's involvement soon became much greater.

The steering committee initially approached the City of Wooster about hosting the exhibition in one of the city parks, but the city was unable to accommodate them. Stephen Nameth, ATI director, stepped up to the plate and offered ATI's large front lawn as the exhibition site. He also enlisted the help of students in ATI's construction management program in building the large steel frames on which the 16-by-12-foot pieces of art were displayed.

 "It was really exciting to watch the front lawn being transformed as the artwork was installed," Nameth said. "The exhibition has turned out to be a very positive and enjoyable event as well as good exposure for ATI. It's one way we can give back to the Wooster community."

The 2009 Embracing Our Differences Ohio exhibition ran from May 3 through June 17.

--By Frances Whited

BTES helps businesses retool for tough times

When economic times are tough, businesses often need to seek out every possible efficiency in order to remain profitable. Businesses in northeast Ohio have lately been turning more and more to ATI's Business Training and Educational Services (BTES) office for help in improving their bottom line.

BTES recently completed nine new contract training programs for clients in a variety of businesses and industries. Two of the most popular training programs have been supervisory training and Lean/Six Sigma Process Improvement.

"Two of our new clients have promoted some of their employees to supervisory positions," said Melanie Garcia, BTES account executive. "Many of these people came to their new positions with little or no experience managing other employees." Training for new supervisors focuses on such areas as effective leadership and communication, how to provide job performance feedback, and managing and resolving conflict.

The latter presented some special challenges for one new client, a Holmes County company with a largely Amish workforce. Garcia explained, "Amish culture eschews confrontation, so new supervisors had a tendency to overlook performance issues rather than deal with them. The training they received focused on using non-confrontational supervisory techniques."

Training in these so-called "soft" skills can yield concrete gains. For one BTES client, supervisory training brought about reductions in waste and employee turnover that contributed to almost $250,000 in annual savings.

Lean process improvement is another training program that has attracted new clients. Although this management approach was developed in large manufacturing environments, it can be effective for any size or type of business, said Kim Sayers, director of BTES. Following lean training, one BTES client realized more than $75,000 in annual savings. Eliminating waste in just one part of their shipping process accounted for more than half of that savings.

Other new clients include a safety apparel manufacturer, a financial management software company, a plastics firm, and two metal fabricators. Garcia, who joined BTES in September, has been working hard at getting the word out about what BTES can provide. "A lot of people are surprised to find out that we can be a training and consulting resource for just about every type of business or industry, not just agriculture."

--By Frances Whited