Ohio Wesleyan University has hired Karen Gray as administrative director of The Woltemade Center for Economics, Business and Entrepreneurship. Gray brings more than 20 years of higher education experience to the job, including roles with Franklin University, Ohio Dominican University, Columbus State University, and Western Governors University in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Gray will work to support The Woltemade Center’s strategic vision, benefiting students and enhancing the center’s impact and visibility within the fields of economics, finance, marketing, management, entrepreneurship, accounting and international business.
“Karen brings a depth of experience to The Woltemade Center that will benefit students, the business community, and anyone who uses the center as a trusted resource,” said Alice E. Simon, Ph.D., The Louis A. Simpson ’58 Endowed Faculty Director of The Woltemade Center for Economics, Business and Entrepreneurship. “Karen believes strongly in the power of a liberal arts education and is committed to advancing The Woltemade Center’s reputation and impact in all arenas. We are pleased to welcome her to Ohio Wesleyan.”
During her career, Gray has served as the director of development and corporate relations at Franklin University, the director of P-16 Partnerships and the executive director of adult education at Ohio Dominican University, the director of dual enrollment and the executive director of adult and continuing education and academic partnerships at Columbus State University, and the program manager in career services for Western Governors University. Most recently, she served as executive director of Chapters Ahead Inc. in Westerville, a nonprofit organization that supports individuals with developmental disabilities through programs that promote learning and literacy, volunteerism, and authentic community engagement.
Gray said she is excited to return to higher education and to support The Woltemade Center and its constituents.
“It is such an honor to assume the role of administrative director of the Woltemade Center for Business, Economics and Entrepreneurship,” said Gray, a Westerville resident. “The center has such an established history of offering innovative programs that provide real-world opportunities to create the next generation of leaders. My vision for The Woltemade Center is to continue to build on this firm foundation to engage in new strategic partnerships that provide expanded opportunities for our students as well as raise the leadership impact and visibility of the center.”
Gray earned her Bachelor of Science in business administration and management from Waynesburg College in Waynesburg, Pennsylvania, and her Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Franklin. She began her new job with The Woltemade Center on April 29. The position is funded by the Woltemade Center’s Alumni Advisory Board.
Established in 1985, Ohio Wesleyan’s Woltemade Center works to enhance teaching, learning, research, and community service at the university. The center is named in honor of the late Uwe J. Woltemade, Ph.D., an Ohio Wesleyan economics faculty member from 1965 to1995. Grants and gifts from the Cleveland Foundation, the Ford Motor Co. Fund, alumni, and friends also were used to help establish the facility.
The Woltemade Center provides opportunities for students to become Accounting Fellows, Corns Business and Entrepreneurial Scholars, Economics Management Fellows, and Latham Entrepreneurial Scholars, as well as complete internships through the Blaine E. Grimes Summer Grant Program, collaborate with faculty on research through the Norman Leonard Endowed Student Research Grant Fund, participate in the Burton D. Morgan Student Paper Competition, earn a nomination for the Woltemade Prize, and be selected for the Joann P. Harvey Accounting Award. The center also assists student organizations including the OWU Marketing Group and university’s Investment Club. Learn more at www.owu.edu/woltemade.
