About Us

Our Philosophy

We believe that all students can improve their time management and study skills to become more efficient and effective. Our goal is to improve the student that lives inside. The first step is to assess accurately each student's strengths and weaknesses. Only after developing a clear picture of the concerns a student has, can we suggest ideas for improvement.

We guide students on the path of developing good habits. To be successful, a student needs to solidify these new habits, and that takes practice, persistence, and encouragement. We provide the encouragement. Perhaps you have heard this proverb: "Give someone a fish and you feed them for a day; teach someone to fish and you feed them for a lifetime." The Academic Skills Center teaches fishing.

Our History

The Academic Skills Center was developed in 1997 by Dr. Richard L. Leavy, a professor in the Psychology Department at Ohio Wesleyan University. He had, for many years, realized that students with academic problems often did not know appropriate ways to budget their time, take lecture notes, study from texts, or take tests effectively. Simultaneously, he noted the frustration of junior and senior psychology majors who wanted to do counseling-type internships but could not find an agency that would allow it. The Academic Skills Center was designed to serve both the needs of the student body by providing individualized assessment and counseling for the many students without adequate study skills while also giving upper division psychology interns an opportunity to learn counseling skills.

The first location for the then-named Academic Skills Assistance office was in Room 105 University Hall. While this location had the advantage of being in a main university building and next door to Dr. Blake Michael, one of the University's academic deans, it had neither a private entrance nor a reception area for making appointments. Our name changed to Academic Skills Center in 1999 and we moved into the R. W. Corns Building as a part of the Academic Resource Center (later Sagan Academic Resource Center) in 2001.

Interns and Internships

Interns are recruited and selected by Dr. Leavy and then trained and supervised by him. They enroll in PSYC 495 (Apprenticeship) and earn 1.0 unit of credit for providing 8-10 hours per week of service. They are in training for roughly 8 hours prior to beginning the internship, keep a journal which is reviewed biweekly; receive 1 hour of supervision per week during the semester and write papers on their experiences at the end of the semester.

Students interested in the internship must contact Dr. Leavy during the pre-registration period in the semester prior to the start of the internship. It is preferred but not required that interns serve for a year rather than a semester. Particularly in the transition from fall to spring semester, this provides continuity of service for the student body.

Current Interns

Stacy Ling is a Junior Psychology major and Economics Management minor from Gahanna, Ohio. This is her second semester as an ASC intern. Stacy’s hours are from 2-5pm Mondays and Wednesdays. She enjoys being a member of the women’s rugby team and Kappa Alpha Theta.

Stephanie Bologeorges is a junior Psychology and English Literature double major and French minor from Chicago, IL beginning her first semester at the ASC. Her office hours are from 2-5pm Tuesdays and Thursdays with additional hours by appointment. She is also involved in Kappa Alpha Theta and is the editor of Opportunity Knocks.

Past ASC Interns