Dr. Hernandez

Archbold, Ohio (10-1-25) – Northwest State Community College hosted its “State of the College” Address at the Voinovich Auditorium, held on September 25, 2025. The 2025 event was an internal offering, as Northwest State faculty, staff and administration were in attendance, along with members of the NSCC Board of Trustees. Following introductions from Emcee Joel Miller and NSCC Board of Trustees Chair Katrina DeGroff, NSCC President Dr. Todd Hernandez provided an important update on the College’s “Elevate Northwest Ohio” initiative. The event’s closing speaker was Daniel Benecke, a 2000 NSCC graduate and a 2025 NSCC Distinguished Alumni. The overall theme of the event was one of gratitude and appreciation, and all speakers shared personal examples embodying that theme.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Dr. Hernandez provided a nearly 30-minute speech that included a number of topics that showed the strengths of Northwest State. Key takeaways from the speech included:

  1. Elevate Northwest Ohio – The overarching goal of the “Elevate Northwest Ohio” initiative is to raise the level of at least some college attainment to 65% in the College’s six-county service area. Dr. Hernandez noted that the current college attainment figure in our area is 49.9%, and the opening of the new NSCC Van Wert campus will help increase those figures through increased access. Hernandez provided some recent enrollment trends, including the ongoing work to upskill employed individuals through the Custom Training Solutions (workforce division of NSCC) efforts.
  2. Economic Impact – the three key takeaways from the 2022-23 Economic Impact study done by Lightcast for NSCC shows that NSCC generates more tax dollars than it receives, NSCC retains and creates wealth, and NSCC performs better than the stock market in terms of return on investment. Dr. Hernandez mentioned the College’s recent Higher Learning Commission Year Four Assurance Review, which was overwhelmingly complimentary of our commitment to the NSCC mission. As part of the economic portion of the presentation, Dr. Hernandez also spoke on the College’s strong and diligent work with its investments, the strength of its reserves, and our positive Composite Financial Index score (overall financial health).
  3. Master Plan updates – NSCC has been quite busy with major capital projects and Dr. Hernandez made mention of a few specific updates: The Solar / Energy project, with the solar field at NSCC now online and activated, the ongoing renovations of the B building on the Archbold campus (expected completion in late 2025), and the new Van Wert campus, which is undergoing the final stages of Phase One renovation to open its doors for classes this fall.

SPRING 2026 REGISTRATION

The Northwest State spring 2026 semester enrollment period will open for student-veterans on Friday, October 10, with open registration starting on Monday, October 13th. For more information on NSCC education, training and services, please visit NorthwestState.edu or call 419.267.5511 today.

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Northwest State Community College is an accredited two-year, state-assisted institution of higher education that has served northwest Ohio since 1969. Northwest State is committed to providing a quality, affordable education with personal attention and small class sizes.  The College offers associate degrees with numerous transfer options, short-term certificate programs, and workforce training programs designed to meet the needs of local businesses and industries. For more information, visit NorthwestState.edu or call 419.267.5511.