Full Biography for Martha Iskyan

Candidate for
Board Member; Princeton City School District

Martha Iskyan, Ph.D., 10541 Heathercrest Circle, Cincinnati, Ohio 45241, Residence (513)769-3100

Qualifications

Qualified by 15 years of teaching, consulting and leadership experience in curriculum and adult development, career and reemployment counseling in college and corporate settings. Background includes development and establishment of career centers and implementation of training seminars related to reemployment, as well as curriculum development for adult students at the college level. Manager of small business and publicly elected Board Member of two school systems. Consistent record of accomplishments includes the following:

• Career Consultant
• Career Assessments
• Curriculum/Student Assessment
• Team Building Training
• Teaching/Training
• Leadership Skills
• Curriculum Development
• Computer Skills
• Curriculum review * Communication Skills

• Licensed Professional Counselor, State of Ohio
• Licensed Social Worker, State of Ohio
• Certified School counselor, Ohio and Massachusetts
• Language Fluency: Spanish, Dutch, French, Portuguese

• Coordinate faculty/student/library evaluation instrument consistency of three campuses
• Coordinate and lead monthly 3 campus deans' meetings and quarterly Liberal Arts faculty meetings in Columbus
• Guide faculty in regular review of curricula to ensure academic rigor in Liberal arts and technical majors
• Aid faculty in development of continuous improvement plan to ensure students gain specific skills required for successful placement in workforce
• Oversee faculty developed and driven institutional effectiveness assessment program ensuring the centrality of proficiency in skills and competencies for all southern Ohio college students
• Responsible for 14 full time and 20 adjunct faculty
• Charged with daily tasks in running an Institution of Higher Education in all academic areas
• Academic, career and personal counselor for 1,650 at risk students
• Organized, scheduled and delivered brown bag seminars for 2,700 Cincinnati Bell Telephone employees
• Developed and wrote a monthly newsletter to improve communications about the re-engineering efforts and resulting career opportunities of the corporation
• Developed and conducted workshops on resume writing and interview techniques
• Interviewed and negotiated with vendors on contracts to present seminars
• Counseled individuals and work groups on career planning and college educational opportunities
• Established career center for redundant employees to facilitate corporation restructuring
• Consultant for scientists, executives, engineers, and hourly employees in job search
• Supervised Master students in counseling training

• Improved retention rates at Community College from 45% to 65% in one year
• Taught career options to first year students, increasing re-enrollment rates by 10%
• Enrolled 150 hourly employees in college courses
• Initiated and maintained brown-bag seminars offered several times a month at 5 worksites
• Provided successful training and counseling for 800 employees in 12 months
• Educated hourly employees to continue self development resulting in a marked increased use of tuition aid
• Successfully developed day long seminar on managing change and produced handbook for employees in handling stressful situation in conjunction with EAP counselor
• Established groundbreaking AIDS and drug-awareness program for 1,300 college students
• Helped pass levy as Member of Board of Education thereby improving educational opportunities for 3,800 students

State board of Proprietary School Registration 1998-Present Consultant/Evaluator

• Consult, evaluate, audit and approve 2 year renewal applications for 80 Proprietary Schools in SouthWest Ohio for the Ohio State Board of Registration. Consult with owners of new schools on Rules & Regulations for preparation of Board Registration. Investigate complaints of owners and students and advise Director of Board on outcomes.

• Responsibilities: Oversee daily academic operations of 14 full-time and 20 adjunct faculty and student services for 385 students. Ensure students gain specific skills required for successful placement in workforce thereby fulfilling Institutional Mission. Guide faculty in regular review of curricula and ensure academic rigor. Aid in development of continuous improvement plan, including writing across the curriculum implementation. Evaluate full-time faculty twice a year and recommend salary increases. Aid faculty in development and submission of annual business plan and budget for individual departments. Guide and coordinate wit faculty the institutional assessment plan to ensure t he centrality of proficiency in skills and competencies for Southern Ohio's graduates. Approve and offer continuing education opportunities for faculty on-campus or off-campus as requested by faculty. Responsibilities of chief Academic Officer: Coordinate and implement a consistent faculty/student and library evaluation instrument with time line across the 3 campuses. Coordinate institutional assessment plan to ensure consistency across 3 campuses. Coordinate and lead monthly 3-campus Deans' meetings and coordinate quarterly Liberal Arts faculty meetings in Columbus, Ohio. Deletion of programs upon the recommendation of faculty.

• Responsibilities: Curriculum, syllabi and course offering review of 45 majors. Responsible for contracts and development of 125 Adjunct Faculty. Charged with implementation and oversight of large three-year Cultural Diversity grant. Responsible for all Weekend course offerings and adult student services.

• Responsibilities: Coordinated all facets of career and personal development opportunities for 2,700 hourly employees. Organized and implemented brown-bag seminars of topics of interest. Developed, implemented and conducted workshops on resume writing and interview techniques for all management and hourly associates.

• Responsibilities: Aided in establishing career center for redundant corporate employees. Conducted two day seminars on career planning and resume writing. Conducted one-on-one counseling to assist successful job searches. Administration and interpretation of personal and career assessments to enhance success in securing compatible positions.

• Responsibilities: Academic, career, and personal counselor for 650 adult students. Taught orientation class. Supervised office personnel and Master Degree students in practicum.

• Responsibilities: Career personal, and social counselor for 1,300 students. Prepared grant proposals. Established AIDS and drug awareness programs. Taught English as a Second Language.

Ph.D., Counseling, Higher Education Administration, University of Toledo, Toledo, Ohio, 1993

M.Ed., Counseling, Boston University, Boston, MA, 1987

B.S., Liberal Arts, Languages, University of New York, Albany, NY, 1985

Community Services

• Princeton School Board Member, Cincinnati, Ohio 1995-present
• Kiwani International, Member, 1995-present
• Coordinator for "Teen Speakers Bureau,"Partnership Against Drug Abuse, 1993-1995
• Oregon School Board Member, Oregon, Ohio 1989-1993
• Volunteer of YMCA for various projects, Oregon, Ohio 1987-1991
• President of American Women's Club (500 Members), Madrid, Spain, 1983-1985

Iskyan, M. Dissertation: The Effects of an Orientation Seminar on Non-Traditional Female Students, Initiating College Studies, Bell Howell, 1993.

Feature Article: Life-Long Learning for these Workers Starts at Lunch. Workforce Training News, March 1995, page 12, showcasing successful brown-bag seminars to be used as model for other corporations.

Iskyan, M. GOAL Newsletter. Monthly publication for 4,000 Cincinnati Bell Employees. June 1994-July 1985.

Gubbe, L., Iskyan, M. Career Planning and Orientation Components in the Study Strategies Course. Ohio Association for Developmental Education Journal, Columbus, Ohio, December 1992.

Iskyan, M. Ethical Issues in Counseling and Advising. The Exchange Advisor. University of Toledo: Volume 2, #3, May 1992. (Circulation 2500 employees).

Iskyan, M. GPA and Academic Performance of Community College Transfer Student. the Advisor change. University of Toledo: Volume 2,#2, October 1991.

Iskyan, M. Freshman Seminar "Yes or "No". the Advisor Exchange. University of Toledo: volume 2, #1, January 1991.

Iskyan, M. Profile of the Student of the 90's. the Advisor Exchange. University of Toledo: Volume 1, #3, January 1991.

Iskyan, M. Decision Making Styles in Board Meetings. OSBA Journal, October, 1998.

Presentations

• Ohio School Board Association Annual Conference, Columbus, Ohio, 1998. Conflict Resolution..
• College of Mt. St. Joseph, Cincinnati, Ohio. 1995-1996.

Guest lecturer for Graduate education classes, Undergraduate Physical Therapy classes, Student Leadership Workshops and guest speaker at Honor Society Induction Ceremony and Princeton High School Summer Graduation, 1995-1996, 1997,1998.

• Cincinnati Bell Telephone, Cincinnati, Ohio. June 1994-1995

Monthly presentation on various topics including: Resume Writing, Interview Techniques, "In" Career, Career Inventory Reviews, Team Building Strategies, Effective Communication Skills, Conflict Resolution, How to Start Your Own Business, Myers-Briggs Type Inventory Interpretations, and other topics of interest.

• Women's Center and Student Development. University of Northern Kentucky, April 1993. Curacao: The Island of Multicultural and Multilingual Harmony, Martha Iskyan.
• Ohio Association for Developmental Education Conference, Columbus, Ohio, November 1992. Career Planning and Orientation Components in the Study Strategies Course, Linda Gubbe and Martha Iskyan.
• Ohio Great Lakes Association of Mental Health Professionals Conference, Columbus, Ohio 1990. Women and Health Issues: Issues of the 90's. David Hughes, Ph.D. and Martha Iskyan.