Release Date: July 18, 2008
Contact: Audrey Bailey, (919) 807- 6963
Seamless Education Highlighted at State Board Meeting
Boone -- The State Board of Community Colleges met at the Watauga Campus of Caldwell Community College and Technical Institute this month. A major focus of the meeting was seamless education and the partnerships that make it happen.
“It’s all about the global leadership and the global education we are providing in North Carolina,” said State Board Chair Hilda Pinnix-Ragland, as she praised Caldwell and President Ken Boham for the partnership with neighboring Appalachian State University and the public schools. “The partnership you have with the university, public schools and local government is outstanding.”
In his report to the State Board, System President Scott Ralls also focused on seamless education. He shared examples of students who began at community colleges and successfully transferred to four-year institutions. One student, Chris Stroud, became an engineer through a 2 + 2 partnership between Craven CC and NC State University. The other, Chad Stevens, was laid off from his manufacturing job in 2005. He obtained his GED and completed his Associates Degree, both at Caldwell. He is now on track to be one of North Carolina’s future teachers as he completes his Bachelor of Science in Early Childhood Education from Appalachian State University at the ASU Center located on Caldwell’s Hudson campus.
“North Carolina’s community colleges are to me, the ‘seam,’ – the place of coming together if you will – of seamless education,” said Ralls. “Chad’s opportunity to become a teacher is just one example of how university transfer opportunities are a part of our important education and workforce development mission.”
Board action included approval of 18 community college applications for designation as Cooperative Innovative High School Programs. These programs serve high school students who are at risk of dropping out of school before obtaining a high school diploma or who would benefit from accelerated academic instruction.
The Board also approved a process that allows Richmond Community College to quickly add Welding Technology to meet an immediate need for trained welders in its service area. According to the Department of Labor, retirements and job growth in oil and gas and other industries are expected to create excellent opportunities for welders. Welding employers report difficulty in finding enough trained welders. Richmond CC wants to position itself to provide access to those jobs.
The Board approved Dr. Catherine Chew as fourth president of Craven Community College in New Bern. She will replace Dr. R. Scott Ralls, who left Craven after five years to assume the presidency of the North Carolina Community College System on May 1. Chew is currently the vice president for academic affairs at Orange County Community College in Middletown, N.Y. She has also served as assistant dean in the College of Professional Studies at New Jersey City University in Jersey City, N.J., and a number of leadership positions at community colleges in Pennsylvania, Texas, Wisconsin and Virginia, and also has worked as a public school teacher and counselor in Virginia. Chew is no stranger to North Carolina; her son, mother and sister live in Charlotte.
The Board also approved Dr. T. Eston “Bud” Marchant III, as the fifth president of Central Carolina Community College in Sanford. Marchant is currently the vice president for Educational Affairs at Piedmont Technical College, Greenwood, S.C., will take the helm from President Matt Garrett, who retires September 1. Marchant will start on Aug. 15, providing a brief overlap with Garrett’s presidency for continuity. His higher education career includes service as vice president for Educational Programs at South Piedmont Community College in North Carolina, dean at Union Technical Education Center at Anson and Stanly Community Colleges in North Carolina, and director of Continuing Education at the College of Charleston (S.C.). He started his career in education as a social studies teacher and assistant principal, also in South Carolina.
The NC Community College System enrolls more than 800,000 students in 58 comprehensive community colleges. Internationally recognized for the scope and quality of its programs, the system is North Carolina's primary provider of workforce preparation and adult education.
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