Springfield Business Journal_2021-02-22

SPRINGFIELD BUSINESS JOURNAL · 1 $2.00 · SBJ.NET FEB. 22-28, 2021 · VOL. 41, NO. 31 40 YEARS • YOUR BUSINESS AUTHORITY OTC hire aims to bolster student, employee diversity Daniel Ogunyemi is the latest education industry hire in a diversity and inclusion role, but private businesses lag by Mike Cullinan · mcullinan@sbj.net As Ozarks Technical Community College’s first director of diversity, equity and inclusion, Daniel Ogunyemi said he’s ready to shift his career and take on the challenges of build- ing a more diverse and welcoming campus community. Ogunyemi started his new position Feb. 8 after working less than a year with Burrell Behavioral Health, where he served as learning, development and inclusion partner. “There was no way I could pass up an opportunity like this for myself and my family to step into a place like OTC that has great leaders,” he said. “It became more about their goals and where they wanted to take this type of road and the vision that they have for students, employees and the commu- nity. It was golden and was speaking my lan- guage.” OTC spokesperson Mark Miller said Ogu- nyemi was chosen among more than 40 candi- dates. The national search was conducted over a three-month period, Chancellor Hal Higdon said. “We also wanted to be super careful because the first person you hire in this role will be the most critical hire you’ll ever have in the devel- opment of the program,” Higdon said. Ogunyemi said his initial goal is to learn more about the inner workings of the institution, which runs six campuses across its 12-county service area. He also is starting to build relationships with his new colleagues and students at the college, which had an enrollment of 10,066 for the spring 2021 semester. The student count is down 4% from spring 2020, according to school officials, but had a 44% boost in online enrollment during that period. “I want to just lay a solid foundation of how we can de- crease those other barriers that may exist outside of college for the students that come here as well as making sure peo- ple feel like this is a place they can learn, grow and thrive,” he said. Ogunyemi reports to Chief of Staff Amy Bacon, and he’s part of the college’s executive leadership team, Higdon said. Beyond numbers At OTC, Ogunyemi is slated to build on a student popu- lation that officials say already is more racially diverse than the area at large. The OTC system has an 18% population of “non-white” students, according to school of- ficials. Comparatively, they say U.S. Census Bu- reau data show 8% of residents in the service area are of a race other than white. OTC’s student population among its 12-coun- ty service area shows more racial diversity than in Springfield. The Queen City’s population is 88.1% white, followed by 4.4% Black or African American and 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, accord- ing to the Census Bureau as of 2019. “We’re a community college, so we want to reflect the community we serve,” Higdon said. “We’re really fortunate that we actually are more diverse than the community we’re serving.” Higdon said there’s no specific numbers OTC is aiming to reach for diversity, which includes race, gender, sexual orientation and social backgrounds. Daniel Ogunyemi : It will take time to determine diversity issues at OTC’s six campuses. See OTC on page 21 BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT A family-run Ozark manufacturer plans to rebound from the challenges in 2020. PAGE 6 by Emily Cole · ecole@sbj.net As temperatures sat in the single digits and snow piled up, energy companies had to react to not only an increased de- mand for resources but also a shortfall in supply, leading to natural gas curtailments in the area. In the early morning hours of Feb. 16, Mark Lewellen, owner of Springfield Powder Coating LLC in Ozark, received a text message from his company’s natural gas provider – Spire Inc. (NYSE: SR) – asking him to partici- pate in natural gas curtailment. Steve Mills, vice president and general manager for Spire’s Western Missouri region, said curtailment practices help combat supply issues and ensure there is enough natural gas to keep homes and businesses heated. St. Louis-based Spire, which serves customers in Missouri, Mis- sissippi and Alabama, started con- tacting customers late Feb. 15 as temperatures dropped. “With the frigid temperatures we’ve had, it’s impacted natural gas supplies across the Midwest, so we had to imple- ment a natural gas curtailment plan,” Mills said. Decreasing the demand on resources ensures customers are able to continue using smaller amounts to keep their homes heated and with power while preventing outages. Frigid temps lead to resource- saving measures Utility companies ask businesses to preserve natural gas in Missouri Steve Mills: Gas curtailment is not commonly needed. See UTILITY on page 7