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CIRCLEVILLE – Ohio Christian University has named Silvia Lucaschi-Decker as vice president of enrollment and marketing for OCU’s Adult and Graduate Studies program. OCU has also promoted Dr. Bradford Sample to assistant provost and vice president of academics for OCU’s Adult and Graduate Studies program (AGS).
Sample was hired in September 2014 as associate vice president. He oversees faculty, curricula and educational quality for OCU’s 15 educational sites and online, which includes four associate, seven bachelor, and three master’s degrees with numerous concentrations available in most of the programs. In this capacity, he supervises 50 full-time employees and 500 part-time employees.
Sample comes to OCU from Bryan College in Dayton, Tennessee, where he served as the vice president of academics and professor of history. Prior to that, he was the dean of the College of Adult and Professional Studies at Indiana Wesleyan University. Sample earned a bachelor of arts in political science and history and master of arts in American history from Indiana University, and Ph.D. in history from Purdue University.
“I’m happy to be working with such a fantastic team at Ohio Christian University,” Sample said.
Decker supervises 47 employees including 38 recruiters. Decker has worked at OCU since July 2006, first as director and later as assistant vice president.
“As a critical member of OCU’s administrative cabinet, Silvia consistently meets enrollment goals and provides innovative thinking,” said Dr. Mark Smith, OCU president. “With more than 3,000 students enrolled in adult and graduate studies, she has earned the vice presidency and will be invaluable as she continues to lead enrollment growth.”
Decker brought experience to OCU as a financial aid counselor and student recruiter at Indiana Wesleyan University. When presented with the opportunity to duplicate her recruiting success at OCU, Decker accepted the challenge and now, nearly nine years later at OCU, is certain she made the right decision.
“I know I made the right decision,” she said. “I have been challenged, but have learned so much. The leadership experience I have gained while at OCU has been invaluable. I am very thankful to have wonderful mentors and work with a dedicated group of leaders.”
Decker feels she has found her niche in higher education. OCU thinks so, too. She came to the United States in 1998 with the expressed desire to study economics but fell in love with U.S. higher education and decided to pursue higher education administration as a career. Since her arrival at OCU in 2006, she has led enrollment in AGS programs from 200 to more than 3,000 students.
Decker earned a bachelor of science in economics and a master in business administration, both from Indiana Wesleyan University, and is pursuing a Ph.D. in higher education administration from the University of Toledo.
If her academic credentials and experience are not impressive enough, Decker has a rich heritage. She was born and raised in Bucharest, Romania, where she lived her first 18 years. Decker’s parents instilled in her a strong work ethic and a desire for constant self-improvement. She describes her mother as “the epitome of unconditional love, self-sacrifice, and hard work.” Her parents provided the opportunity to study German, English, Russian, French and Latin, both in school and with private tutors. She was also involved in several extracurricular activities including figure skating, painting, gymnastics and tennis. As a child, Decker won two regional figure skating awards. She became a U.S. citizen in 2009.
For more information and upcoming events at Ohio Christian University, visit www.ohiochristian.edu.
This article originally appeared on The Pickaway News Journal
