|
The President’s Report |
| to the |
| State Board of Community Colleges |
| February 18, 2000 |
The big news since our last Board meeting has been snow. The 20-plus inches of snow pretty much ground us to a halt for several days and impacted appointments, meetings, and regular work schedules for many days thereafter.
Despite the snow, I risked life and limb to travel to Roxboro to speak to their Chamber of Commerce annual dinner, to Charlotte for various Foundation-related meetings and to Goldsboro to speak to their Rotary Club.
Dean Joan Michael at North Carolina State University and I have begun the planning for meetings, which she and I will co-chair to explore the need for training in various technology careers over the next thirty years. This is an outgrowth of Vision 2030, an initiative of Governor Hunt, Jane Patterson and the Governor’s technology staff. Dean Michael will host one of the planning sessions with participants using interactive video from sites at UNC-Asheville and East Carolina University. We will host the second meeting with participants using our Information Highway classrooms at McDowell Technical Community College and Martin Community College.
While in Washington to participate in the National Prayer Breakfast in early February, I met with Peter Hans and several congressional staff and Members of Congress with regard to wireless licenses for which seventeen of our colleges have applications pending which are now threatened by an FCC proposal to auction those licenses instead of making them available to educational institutions.
Phil Phillips and Phil Kirk, recognizing the capitol needs of both the University System and the Community College System, brought Molly Broad and me together to begin a series of meetings to develop a joint package of needs and a joint strategy for meeting short-term and long-term needs for our systems. More formal meetings have now begun with the State Board represented in that process by your Chairman, Mr. Woody, and Mr. King, in addition to Kennon Briggs and me. Also participating on the community college side is Dr. Phail Wynn, representing the presidents, and Mr. Edgar Moore, representing the trustees. We are pleased at the leadership role taken by NCCBI and are optimistic with regard to the outcome.
En route to the Southern Regional Meeting of the College Board in Savannah, I videotaped an interview with Al Warrick and Dr. Don Reichard of Johnston Community College which will be played on their local cable system.
The meeting in Savannah was very productive, as I learned more about the College Board’s contribution to assessment of our students for placement and their interest in a more active role in the work and mission of community colleges.
The meeting in Savannah had been on my calendar for many weeks when the snow made necessary the rescheduling of the Presidents’ Association meeting for the same time I was due in Georgia. However, as always, the System Office was well represented by Dr. Scott and our vice presidents. A very productive series of meetings considered many issues, with the short session budget being at the top of the list.
The Annual Law Seminar of the North Carolina Association of Community College Trustees was held this week in the Research Triangle Park. This is an excellent meeting that was well-attended and at which several of your staff and I spoke.
On Wednesday Dr. Phail Wynn hosted a meeting of officials from Nortel and our System Office to discuss ways to replicate at other colleges the excellent networking training program now underway at Durham Technical Community College.
That afternoon the Planning Council met again here at the System Office as they continue to refine our Strategic Plan.
You will recall that I chaired the Working Group on Education and Human Resource Development of the Rural Prosperity Initiative chaired by Erskine Bowles. We have completed our work and will be formally making our presentation to the Governor and the General Assembly next Monday. Among the recommendations directly related to community colleges are extending House Bill 275 for an additional two years to provide additional funding for worker training for jobs that are determined strategically important to regional economic development goals. There is also a recommendation to increase rural community college funding in low-wealth counties similar to the funding equity now provided to public schools. As you know, inequity in funding between rich and poor counties is a matter of a very expensive and high profile lawsuit. Erskine Bowles’ group decided to proactively address the issue of funding equity for rural and poor community colleges before it would become the subject of another lawsuit. Tremendous support was given to my idea of "home-growing" our teachers by providing opportunities for the first two years of an education degree on our campuses and the last two years on our campuses through degree completion programs offered by four-year institutions.
We are very proud to announce that through the good offices of Dr. Delores Parker, we have received a $15,000 one-year grant from the W. K. Kellogg Foundation for much needed staff development for System Office staff. Dr. Parker and her staff are working very closely with other divisions and with development officers across the System to be much more proactive and effective in bringing outside dollars into the System for programmatic purposes. This effort will complement our endowment efforts of the Foundation which continue to go well thanks to Greg Poole’s continued effective leadership.
As you know, one of our most important and fastest growing programs is providing language training for recent immigrants to the state. Dr. Florence Taylor is working with English as a Second Language instructors from across the System on model lesson plans for this program. Mary Siedow is continuing the training across the state for our Bridges to Practice Leaning Disabilities Program. For many with learning disabilities, the Community College System is their gateway to higher education.
De Boyer and the Basic Skills Advisory Committee are working hard to address the matter of GED test security. We regret that GED test security was breached at two of our colleges this year necessitating our responding to this problem lest one or more of our colleges lose the opportunity to test for GED’s.
Dr. Randy Whitfield attended the National Literacy Summit 2000 in Washington and while there, met with other state directors in the White House Office of Science and Technology to discuss distance learning projects, especially as they relate to literacy.
A national study of School-to-Work partnerships is underway. We are pleased that two of our colleges (Piedmont Community College and Wake Technical Community College) have been chosen for inclusion in this study.
We are now engaged in a collaborative initiative with North Carolina State University to offer over the Information Highway a supervisory certificate program in criminal justice. Four pilot colleges (Southwestern, Southeastern, Pitt and Catawba Valley) will be involved.
The Program Services unit of Dr. Parker’s division continues to receive positive comments from presidents who have taken advantage of site visits by that staff to analyze their program offerings and make suggestions for improvements. This is an invaluable service that we provide to community colleges across the state.
The development of the Virtual Learning Community is going gangbusters. Twelve distance learning instructors and coordinators participated in a two-day training session and will in turn offer basic training to other instructors across the system in how to use the delivery platform the VLC will be using. The goal is to have experts in this technology at every campus through the train-the-trainer process.
Dr. Scott Ralls and the Division of Economic and Workforce Development continue to provide invaluable assistance to the Department of Commerce and local economic development commissions in attracting new industry to North Carolina and training the workforce. Corning Corporation just announced a major expansion in North Carolina, giving significant credit in the process to community colleges for their decision.
I am happy to announce that Scott Bauer, President of Southern Community Bank and Trust in Winston-Salem, has assumed the chairmanship of our Small Business Center Advisory Committee, replacing your former colleague, Rachel Smith.
Progress continues on our manufacturing certification program with full participation of our Focused Industrial Training (FIT) directors and division staff. We believe that this will be an important initiative for business and industry in North Carolina.
The Human Resources Development Program had a very successful state conference last week attended by 126 people from fifty-two of our colleges.
Last month Dr. Ralls was to present at a national workforce development conference in New Orleans, but because of snow was unable to get out of Raleigh. Fortunately, Dean Tom Howard of Central Piedmont made it to New Orleans and filled in for Dr. Ralls.
Scott is not with us today, but is serving as the community college representative on a panel discussion before the Job Training Study Commission of the General Assembly. Others on the panel are Secretary of Commerce Rick Carlisle, Commissioner of Labor Harry Payne, Superintendent of Public Instruction Mike Ward, Secretary of Administration Katie Dorsett and Secretary of Health and Human Services David Bruton.
At long last the Library Resources automation system contract is being finalized with SIRSI Corporation. This new system will be used by forty-one of our colleges beginning in July. The Divisions of Administration and Business and Finance have worked hard and effectively to bring us to this point.
Likewise, hard work continues to move along our Information Systems for the Future Project. We have hired John Taffe as project coordinator and have begun working with ACS/Consultec, the vendor awarded the Data Warehouse project, the first component of our Management Information System. College staff from around the System are working with the division staff on technical proposals for the administrative systems part of this initiative.
You will recall that last session the General Assembly gave us eleven new positions in information technology. We are happy that we have filled all but one of those positions, with our most recent employee, Kathy Rowlands, coming to us from Wake Technical Community College, having worked in the System Office as a cooperative education student while at Wake Tech.
Dr. Rogers and Terry Shelwood on her staff have done a wonderful job in obtaining the full cooperation of community colleges and their data coordinators in improving the accuracy and timeliness of various data reports required by statute and regulation.
As you might imagine, the Division of Business and Finance has been hard at work on Funding Study issues and the 2000 budget request all in preparation for the short session. Input from our consultant, Dr. Kent Caruthers, the Presidents’ Association, and the Trustees Association have been invaluable during this process. We are awaiting input from the Faculty Association which meets this weekend.
Despite the challenges of the snow, Joe Barefoot of the Administration Division and the staff of Business and Finance made sure that January payrolls were processed on a timely basis, which was greatly appreciated.
To further assist the work of the Capital Needs Study Commission of the General Assembly and the ad-hoc working group convened by NCCBI, Kennon Briggs is resurveying colleges on their repair and renovation needs, having heard from several presidents that information previously provided was now out of date.
That division continues the process of automating college receipts deposits to improve the timeliness of receipts reporting. They are also providing outstanding support to the Foundation and gathering much needed detailed information about the impact of tuition waivers as mandated by the General Assembly.
As reported last month, the Finance Division is undergoing a study by the Office of State Budget and Management of personnel resource allocation. Surveys are now underway of other personnel in the System Office and in the field with regard to ways in which the division can improve their services to the field and to other divisions in this office.
As you have been around the building, you have noticed a new look. We are pleased with the variety and quality of art which has been arriving daily in recent weeks from our colleges. We have the largest participation in terms of artists and schools represented that we have had. This year’s exhibit includes work from fifty-one of our community colleges; eighty-eight artist are represented in the 108 pieces chosen for display. Pieces have been hung on existing nails as they came in, so you may see different pieces in different places when you come back for the March meeting. However, I hope that you will enjoy the art wherever it ends up. It is one of the things that makes working in this office such a great joy.
Return to previous page
RETURN TO TOP OF CURRENT PAGE
Last modified: Wednesday, November 02, 2011 03:30:58 PM
This page maintained by Chancy Kapp.