RALEIGH: Once again, North Carolina community colleges will help shape the educational landscape of a foreign country. A group of education and government officials from the Republic of Senegal will visit the North Carolina Community College System Office and two community colleges on Thursday and Friday, June 7 and 8. The group is visiting to learn about the community college system as Senegal begins to develop its own system of community colleges.

The visit is sponsored by the United States State Department and hosted by the International Visitors Council. The fact-finding tour has included stops in several cities across the country. The North Carolina visit is the last stop in the tour. The group will spend time at the System Office and will tour Wake Technical and Durham Technical Community Colleges. A full agenda is attached.

The community college concept as a means for improving higher education is a new idea in Senegal. As a former colony of France, with an educational system deeply rooted in the French model, the system does not include institutions comparable to community colleges. However, after great resistance and much negotiation, the doors of Senegal’s first community college were opened in February of this year. Bambey Community College is the first of ten community colleges the government of Senegal plans to establish in the coming years.

Senegal government officials want an educated and well-trained labor force in order to attract and sustain long-term foreign investment in the country. They recognize that community colleges are a viable tool for achieving this goal. The introduction of community colleges is also seen as a way to expand the reach of higher education in Senegal’s rural areas.

This is the third time in three months the NCCCS has offered guidance to an international audience. At the end of March a delegation of education officials from Thailand came to North Carolina to gain knowledge to assist with the development of their new community college system. Last month Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Dr. Stephen Scott was the only American presenting at the International Congress on Vocational Training Centers in the European Union in San Sebastian, located in the Basque region of Spain.

9:00 – 10:00 a.m.-  Welcome and System Overview –President H. Martin Lancaster 
                            Dr. Brenda Rogers, Vice President, Administration
                            Dr. Delores Parker, Vice President, Academic and Student Services
                                    Question and answer session
10:30 – 10:45 a.m. - Distance Learning / Virtual Learning Community – Ken Farmer 
10:45-11:10 a.m.    - Economic and Workforce Development  – Dr. Scott Ralls                      
                                     Question and answer session    
11:15 – 11:30 a.m. - Information Highway Demonstration - Connected to Gerrie Bachelor a DPI

12:45 – 1:00 p.m. Travel to Waverly Place (Wake Tech)  
                            Intersection of Kildaire Farm and Tryon Roads)

1:00-2:00 p.m. Wake Tech Community College –Business and Industry Center, Waverly Place, Cary Welcomed by L. Greg Smith
                        Tour by Wayne Loots, Dean of Business and Industry Services.
                         Overview of special projects – Cisco and John Deere
                         Overview of Small Business Center
                         Tour facility

2:00-2:15 p.m. Travel to Wake Tech Community College main campus 
                    (Highway 401, south of Raleigh).

2:30-3:45 p.m. Tour facilities at Wake Tech Community College.
                    Welcome 
                        Tour – Plastics Program, Electronics Engineering Technology, Computer Engineering Technology, Automotion/Robotics Technology, Industrial Engineering Technology – Ben White, Dean, Engineering Technology
                        Overview – Cisco Academy, Microsoft Certification, Nortel Certification, Networking Technologies – Witold Sieradzan, Dean, Computer Information Systems

3:45-4:30 p.m. Reception  (HO-102, President’s Conference Room – Administration Bldg.)

10:00 – 10:45 am    Welcome   
                    Dr. William G. Ingram, Senior Vice President/Chief Instructional Officer

12 Noon – 1:00pm Lunch  White Building, Room 49
                    Catered by campus food service contractor, The Thyme Table Restaurant

                Dorothy Brower Brokaw
                Dr. Regina George-Bowden, Teacher Education Liaison/Transfer Coordinator
                Mamadou S. Diallo, Mathematics Instructor, Campus Learning Center
                Jean Francois Bikah, President, International Students Club
                Dr. Eugene A. Eaves, Director, International Programs, North Carolina Central University

1:15 p.m. Drive back to Raleigh for 3:00 p.m. evaluation session

-NCCCS-

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