H. Martin Lancaster
President, North Carolina Community College System
Mayland Community College, Burnsville, NC
Monday, June 18, 10 a.m.
Thank you. I bring you greetings from the System Office of the North Carolina Community College System and from the State Board of Community Colleges. I am delighted to follow in the footsteps of generations of flatlanders who have sought relief from summer heat in western North Carolina's beautiful mountains. I'm an easterner myself, but I had the good sense and great fortune to marry a Rutherford County native, so I am no stranger to mountain scenery, hospitality and, of course, wonderful food. What kind of North Carolinian would I be, if I didn't know about the NuWray Inn's famous dinners?
I am delighted that this occasion offers me the opportunity to get to know more about Mayland Community College as well. This is not, of course, my first visit. Three years ago, I was honored to serve as your commencement speaker. Today, President Williams and his fine staff, faculty and students have set aside several hours for a full tour and introduction to the terrific work you do here.
The quality of that work is well-known in the System Office. President Williams is an active and energetic participant in the life of your community college system, and he represents you well.
There is a lot to know about Mayland -- a lot that causes your community college to stand out from its peers in our sprawling system.
Yes, every community college is different. But yours really IS different! You have a unique structure that gives you not one, not two, but THREE true home counties, with shared responsibilities spelled out by contract.
And then there's your name. Those of you who are fortunate enough to live in this great part of our state take it for granted that everybody knows what Mayland means. You know that the name echoes the terrific partnership among Mitchell, Avery and Yancey Counties that serves your citizens so well. In our office, it's kind of fun to ask newcomers to figure out what the name means. They've been known to scour maps looking for the county of Mayland!
The most striking characteristic that distinguishes your institution, however, is the tremendous initiative your leaders, faculty, staff and students take in turning challenges into opportunities.
We all know that the beauty and serenity of these three great counties come with challenges of distance, transportation, and a changing economy. At Mayland, one of the ways you have met that challenge is by establishing yourselves as exceptional leaders in realizing the potential of technology for bridging distances. Many times, faculty and staff from Mayland have helped System Office staff with maps and other complex, attractive graphics. On your own initiative, Mayland folks developed an on-line version of the statewide community college catalogue.
You have also helped open the doors of opportunity even wider for our citizens by providing an excellent comprehensive catalogue of distance learning classes offered across the state. Thanks to people in Mitchell, Avery and Yancey Counties, students in the other 97 counties…and the other 58 institutions… can quickly find out how to enroll in community college classes offered over the internet, on public television and through two-way video.
Given your demonstrated leadership in technology, it makes sense that part of this new Yancey County facility will be dedicated to distance learning. I understand that the new video classroom is already booked for fall with classes offered over the North Carolina Information Highway for students at Mountain Heritage High School.
Given the demonstrated ability of your communities to work together to support this institution, it makes sense that part of this Yancey County facility will be shop space vital to business and industry training to bolster your region's prosperity.
Given the collaboration that has made Mayland Community College a reality for 30 years, it makes sense that the facility itself represents a partnership. It has been paid for with strong local support from the Yancey County Commissioners; private funds for equipment; state funds from the 1993 bond referendum and equipment money; and federal dollars through a grant from the Appalachian Regional Commission.
Every one of you is a part of that partnership. Every student and every employer touched by Mayland Community College benefits from this partnership. You deserve to be proud of the example you have set for the rest of North Carolina. I thank you for your commitment, and I congratulate you on your achievement as you dedicate this wonderful new facility.
Thank you.
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