Celebrating its 10th anniversary, the Association for University Regional Campuses of Ohio will come full circle, in a sense, when it visits Ohio University Southern this weekend.

For the first time ever, OUS will host the annual conference for the association today and Saturday. The association consists of Ohio's 23 regional campuses. The theme will be "Celebrating a Decade of Collegiality."

"The purpose of the association is to provide a forum for faculty at the regional institutions to discuss and do research on educational issues that are important today," said Dr. Terrance Quinn, an OUS math professor and vice president of AURCO.

"Specifically, (the focus will be) issues that arrive in the regional campus venues. There are all sorts of features of teaching at regional campuses that are different than at a main campus. Regional campuses often serve as a bridge for students to higher education."

Associate Dean Dr. Eric Cunningham called the event an honor, in part because of the ironic history of the group.

"It is a bit of an honor because it is the 10th anniversary," Cunningham said. "Plus, AURCO was founded on the Lake campus of Wright State University. The Dean of Ohio University Southern, Dr. (Dan) Evans, was dean at Lake when it was founded, so, you see the connection."

Unfortunately, Evans will be unable to attend the conference due to a prior commitment in Athens. OU Provost Dr. Stephen Kopp will be the keynote speaker.

The presentation sessions on Saturday will be summaries based on research projects conducted by some of the education professionals. Topics include innovations in teaching and scholarship, technology, diversity, assessment of teaching and learning, special initiatives and partnerships with the community.

After being reviewed, many of the papers will be published in AURCO's professional journal.

"(The conference) is invaluable," Cunningham said. "Faculty members need to stay current in their teaching techniques and on current issues to allow them to hone their skills."

As far as Quinn is concerned, another tremendous benefit is that it "helps establish a community of teachers from across the state and shows that we are in this together."

Quinn was also quick to point out that the conference would not be possible without his peers at OUS.

"There are about 12 people on the main organizing committee that worked so hard on this," he said. "They have been working for months behind the scenes to prepare for this conference."