Meet the Staff

Barb Jenkins, Director
Email: bmj@uakron.edu; Phone: (330) 972-2777

majoretteBarb got both her undergraduate degree in English Education and a master’s degree in English from The University of Akron. After teaching English, working for a publishing company and 15 years in the College of Education at Cleveland State, she came back “home” to UA. Barb loves the fact that we are a “one stop shop” and have so much interaction with our graduate students. Being able to offer online graduate credit and host accredited, high quality master’s degrees near where teachers live and work is what makes her tick. Barb considers the Outreach staff to be top notch and totally focused on student success. Her priorities are relationship building, marketing programs, and recruiting new students.

Kelly Chaff, Student Services Counselor
Email: klc512@uakron.edu; Phone: (330) 972-7028

secretary clipartKelly has been with Outreach since 2006. She started as a Student Assistant and then was promoted to a Graduate Assistant after 2 months of hard work. After she graduated with her Masters in Higher Education Administration in 2007, Kelly had a short stint as a part-time program assistant. Not too long after that, Kelly was promoted to our full time Student Services Counselor. In Fall of 2009, Kelly received her Master’s in Postsecondary Technical Education and played a small role in aiding the Higher Learning Commission approval for the first fully online program at The University of Akron, Postsecondary Technical Education. Kelly’s first priority at work is her cohort students! No matter what the problem, Kelly is here to help.

Sue Petsche, Workshop Coordinator
Email: susan3@uakron.edu; Phone: (330) 972-8056

paint easelSue has been our full-time Workshop Coordinator since 2009. She has continually improved workshop operations to provide quality service to our workshop students as well as maintaining great relations with our workshop partners, both in and outside of the University. Due to Sue’s hard work, enrollment has increased and new partnerships have been formed. Her main priority is to provide the excellent customer service to her workshop students, educational partners and University departments that she works with. Besides working full-time, Sue attends classes to complete her Art degree and has become a strong advocate for the non-traditional student.

Keely Kalb, Program Assistant
gold coinsEmail: keely@uakron.edu; Phone: (330)972-2409

Keely became a part-time member of the Outreach team in June of 2011; she assists Outreach with financial matters and provides support as needed. She earned her A.A.B. in 2010 as a member of Phi Theta Kappa. From 2007-2010, Keely served as a substitute for North Canton City Schools and tutored college students in both Microsoft Office and Records Management at Stark State College. 

Teacher clipart for otureach pageSteve Staszak, Graduate Assistant
Email:  outreachga2@uakron.edu; Phone:  (330) 972-7576

Steve is new to Outreach and will be working with Sue on workshops. He is receiving his Master’s Degree in Special Education: Mild/Moderate Intervention.

Chris Simmons, Graduate Assistant
Email: outreachga3@uakron.edu; Phone: (330) 972-7383

greek actorChris has been with the Office of Outreach for only a short time, coming on board as a Graduate Assistant in June of 2011. He graduated from The University of Akron in May of 2009 with Bachelor’s Degrees in Secondary Education and Theatre Arts. Chris has been working as a substitute teacher for several local school districts for two years and is excited to be returning to UA to pursue his Master’s Degree in Instructional Technology. Chris works closely with Kelly and focuses on recruitment for our cohorts. If you ever need information on one of our programs, Chris would be the one to talk to.