Tammie Larkins is the new Director of C-State Accelerate

Tammie Larkins has been selected as the Director of C-State Accelerate, the College’s student support and success program that will re-launch in Fall 2021.

In her five years as an Admission Representative for Cincinnati State, Tammie heard hundreds of prospective students express concerns about their ability to succeed in college.

Now, as director of C-State Accelerate, she believes the program can be an effective ally in addressing those concerns.

“Any of us who talk to students who might have doubts about coming to Cincinnati State can now tell these students the C-State Accelerate program can help them overcome the barriers they may face, and help propel their success once they enroll,” Tammie said.

C-State Accelerate will re-launch in Fall 2021 thanks to a fund-raising effort that included a lead gift of $750,000 by Fifth Third Bank. (See the Daily News article published Mar. 26.)

• The C-State Accelerate program is designed to improve retention and graduation rates for students who are Pell-grant eligible.
   
• Participants receive integrated academic, personal, and financial support, and must attend full-time to participate in the program.

“C-State Accelerate is a way for us to make good on our strategic and completion plans,” said Geoff Woolf, Dean of Humanities & Sciences.

“We know that students who attend full-time have a better chance to graduate,” Geoff said. “C-State Accelerate connects students with resources inside and outside the College, so they can remove obstacles and become successful full-time students.”

“C-State Accelerate is a one-stop program where students will get what they need, and a safe haven where they can get their questions and concerns addressed,” said Soni Hill, Senior Director of Student Success & Development.

• C-State Accelerate is modeled on a program developed by The City University of New York (CUNY), called ASAP. Cincinnati State tested the concept from 2015 to 2018 as part of a grant-funded statewide study conducted by a national research organization, MDRC.
   
• As reported in the Chronicle of Higher Education and other publications, C-State Accelerate produced impressive results during the three-year study. This record of success propelled a fund-raising effort to re-start the program as a key initiative of the College’s $15 million, 50^th Anniversary campaign.
   
• The College is about two-thirds of the way toward its $3 million goal for funding C-State Accelerate, but far enough along to begin recruiting the first class of 200 C-State Accelerate scholars for Fall 2021.

Tammie said, “I’m excited for our students and the opportunity to advance this work.”

“I’m also looking forward to working together with our faculty and academic administrators to make C-State Accelerate a success,” she added.

Tammie earned an associate’s degree in Early Childhood Education at Cincinnati State, followed by a bachelor’s degree in Elementary and Special Education from Northern Kentucky University, and a master’s in Education from Strayer University.

You can reach her at tammie.larkins@cincinnnatistate.edu or by phone/text at (513) 207-4497.

(Article provided by Richard Curtis, Cincinnati State Interim Media/Communications Coordinator)