RALEIGH: The State Board of Community Colleges presented its prestigious I. E. Ready Award to three distinguished individuals on Friday, November 16 at the Day of Recognition Luncheon at the Holiday Inn in Research Triangle Park. In addition to this award, several other individuals received special honors.

The first I.E. Ready recipient is Harlan E. Boyles, who served as State Treasurer from 1976 until his retirement earlier this year. When he left office in January Boyles was well respected for his fiscal prudence and dedication to the State of North Carolina. Boyles was an extremely effective advocate for the 2000 Higher Education Bond Referendum. He was also instrumental in developing legislation that led to House Bill 275, a measure that provided millions in funding for technology and workforce training for community colleges. A recipient of the North Carolina Award for Public Service, he was a charter member of the State Board of Community Colleges and as State Treasurer, served as an ex officio member.

The second I. E. Ready honoree is Senator James T. Broyhill, who represented North Carolina in the United States Congress for 12 terms and in the U.S. Senate from 1986 to 1987. Broyhill is a past chairman of the State Economic Development Board and former N.C. Secretary of Commerce. He is a tireless advocate of business and industry issues, now serving on the Economic Development Committee of the North Carolina Citizens for Business and Industry. Broyhill took a leadership role in the successful 1993 community college bond referendum and was co-chairman of the statewide steering committee for the 2000 Higher Education Bond Referendum.

The late Joseph W. Grimsley, who served as President of Richmond Community College for 16 years, is the third I.E. Ready recipient. Grimsley, who passed away in July 2001, was Secretary of Administration under Governor Jim Hunt’s first administration and Secretary of Natural Resources and Community Development during Hunt’s second term. Grimsley was an instrumental leader in achieving passage of the 1993 statewide bond referendum for community colleges and worked tirelessly for passage of the 2000 Higher Education Bond Referendum.

The I. E. Ready Award recognizes people who have made important contributions to the community college movement locally, statewide and nationally. It is presented to individuals who have contributed significantly to the establishment and growth of North Carolina’s community colleges. The State Board of Community Colleges established the award in 1983 to commemorate the ratification of legislation on May 17, 1963, which created the North Carolina Community College System.

In addition to the I.E. Ready Award, the Excellence in Teaching and the President’s Leadership Award recipients were announced. The recipients of two new awards, the President of the Year and System Staff Award, were also presented.

The State Board established the Excellence in Teaching Award (EIT) in 1985 to recognize full-time teachers who exemplify the highest standard of instruction and professionalism in the classroom and excellence of service to their colleges and communities.

This year’s EIT honoree is Phyllis Caviness, a nursing instructor at Richmond Community College. A former public school teacher, Caviness has also worked as a juvenile delinquent counselor for the N.C. Department of Corrections. She began teaching at RCC in 1981. Her areas of concentration include medical and surgical nursing, gerontology, oncology, mental health, pediatrics, and pharmacology and nursing mathematics. She is a clinical instructor and laboratory instructor for both first and second year nursing students.

Ms. Caviness was selected from a group of five finalists. The four remaining finalists are: Beulah "Ann" Condrey, an Interpreter Education Instructor at Blue Ridge Community College; Johnny Underwood, a Sociology Instructor at Carteret Community College; Roselyn V. Armstrong, Occupational Therapy Instructor at Pitt Community College, and Lonnie M. Chase, a History Instructor at Wilson Tech. Community College. The EIT winner receives $5,000 funded by R. J. Reynolds and a plaque. The Richmond Community College Foundation will also gets$1250. The four remaining finalists each receives $250.00

The President's Leadership Award was established to honor students who have helped to improve campus life for their fellow students and have made significant contributions to their colleges and surrounding communities. This year’s recipient is Daryl Mitchell, a recent graduate of Durham Technical Community College and now student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. While at DTCC, Mitchell was student body president and president of the North Carolina Comprehensive Community College Student Government Association (N4CSGA). The latter position also placed Mitchell on the State Board of Community Colleges as student representative. Mitchell was a leader in the critical student campaign on behalf of the Higher Education Bond Referendum.

Dr. Donald W. Cameron, President of Guilford Technical Community College, is the first recipient of the President of the Year Award. Cameron began his community college career as Director of Continuing Education at Central Carolina Community College is 1972. He left North Carolina to become Vice President for Academic Affairs at Spartanburg Technical College in Spartanburg, S.C. He returned to North Carolina to join GTCC as Executive Vice President in 1981 and became President in 1991. This recognition is another in a long line of honors Cameron has received, including Outstanding College President for Phi Theta Kappa and the Piedmont Triad Regional Leadership Star from the Piedmont Triad Partnership. Cameron received $5,000 and a plaque. The GTCC Foundation receives $1250, provided by Wachovia.

Sidney R. "Reg" Boland, III, Associate Vice President for Student Services at Rowan-Cabarrus Community College is the first recipient of the Staff Person of the Year Award. In 25 years of service to Rowan-Cabarrus, Boland has provided students and his college a high level of innovative and dedicated service that has led to his recognition on the state, regional and national level. Boland developed several programs that improve the student orientation, registration, counseling and assessment process. Boland is known for his quiet leadership style and a dedication to students that results in past students who visit him long after they have graduated. Boland received $3,750 and a plaque and $1,250 goes to the RCCC foundation, funded by BB & T Corporation.

- NCCCS-

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